A character recognition apparatus may include an imaging element configured to read a character string placed on an information recording medium; an image memory configured to store image data of the character string; and a character segmenting unit configured to segment a character constituting the character string. The character segmenting unit may include a minimum intensity curve creating unit configured to detect a minimum intensity value among light intensity values, and create a minimum intensity curve of the image data according to the minimum intensity value of each pixel row; a character segmenting position detecting unit configured to calculate a space between the characters neighboring in the created minimum intensity curve, in order to detect a character segmenting position between the characters; and a character segmenting process unit configured to segment each character according to the detected character segmenting position between the characters.

Conventionally, used are apparatuses for recognizing a character string printed on a surface of a medium such as a check. For example, known is a character recognition apparatus in which a character part is retrieved out of a binarized image datum, and the character part is segmented along a circumscribing rectangular frame; and then, an amount of characteristic is extracted from a obtained character pattern, and a level of similarity is calculated between a characteristic vector of an input pattern and a reference vector of each character in a characteristic dictionary in such a way that a candidate character is chosen according to the magnitude of the similarity.
In a character segmenting operation of a character recognition apparatus, a position in a direction perpendicular to a character string is detected according to projection data of image data in the direction of the character string. Then, according to the detection, while a detecting position being shifted in the direction of the character string, projection of the image data in the direction perpendicular to the character string is calculated. Subsequently, a position having its obtained projection data exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected as a segmenting position of characters constituting the character string.
The applicant discloses a technology in which the position of the character string in a vertical direction perpendicular to the direction of the character string is detected in the operation of segmenting a character from the image data according to the horizontal projection data of the image data in the direction of the character string; according to the detection, while the detecting position being shifted in the direction of the character string, the vertical projection of the image data in the vertical direction is calculated; and then a position having its vertical projection data, obtained in that way, exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected as a segmenting position of characters constituting the character string; in the meantime, a segmenting position of the characters included in the character string is detected according to either threshold of a first threshold and a second threshold, as the predetermined threshold, the first threshold being determined in accordance with the number of pixels between both ends of the character string detected from the vertical projection data, and the second threshold being determined in accordance with the number of the characters constituting the character string, out of positive peak values included in the vertical projection data (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Apparatus, method, and program for character recognition using minimum intensity curve of image data


The present invention realizes picture recording in simple configuration such that a user can easily and intuitively identify a minified picture of a multi-view picture from among minified pictures of pictures being taken. A 3-dimensional thumbnail picture is created by performing 3-dimensional CG processing on a multi-view picture thumbnail picture, and a thumbnail picture is created from a normal picture and recorded in association with a primary picture. The 3-dimensional CG thumbnail picture X is given a stereoscopic effect as a result of the 3-dimensional CG graphic processing so that the difference from a normal 2-dimensional thumbnail Y is clear at a glance. Consequently, a viewer can readily recognize the picture X as a minified picture of a multi-view picture without using a special apparatus to realize a graphical approach.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display of a list of minified pictures of a multi-view picture and a single-view picture. The present invention also relates to recording of minified pictures of a multi-view picture and a single-view picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a general stereo picture display system, a picture drawn from a viewpoint of a right eye and a picture drawn from a viewpoint of a left eye are presented to a right eye and a left eye, respectively. Normally, in such two pictures from viewpoints of a right eye and a left eye (hereinafter, referred to as a multi-view picture), objects at a distant position from the viewpoints are viewed to be approximately same because the lines of sight from both eyes are approximately parallel so that the pictures are drawn at the approximately same position. On the contrary, objects at a near position to the viewpoints are viewed to be different because the lines of sight from both eyes are not parallel so that the pictures are drawn at different positions. When such a picture with parallax (hereinafter, referred to as a parallax picture) is viewed from a right eye and a left eye, an observer recognizes perspective to the object.
Approaches to generation of a parallax picture include a graphical approach of using two cameras at left and right to shoot a subject and showing a gained parallax picture in a 3-dimensional form using ocular deception, and 3-dimensional computer graphic (3-dimensional CG) display to generate a parallax picture by viewing transformation of model data from viewpoints of both left and right eyes using a computer graphic technique. The 3-dimensional computer graphic display is commonly referred to as virtual 3-dimensional display or pseudo 3-dimensional display.
In the graphical approach, a 3D monitor in the parallax barrier system or in the lenticular lens system is used for stereoscopic display of a parallax picture. In the parallax barrier system, a parallax barrier is produced that has a pattern in which a light transmission part and a light shielding part are alternately arranged in a parallax barrier display layer at a predetermined pitch, and striped picture pieces indicating left and right images are alternately arranged and displayed on a picture display surface being the lower layer, so that the parallax picture can be viewed stereoscopically.
Alternatively, in the graphical approach, a lenticular scheme using a lenticular lens sheet, an integral photography scheme using a micro lens array sheet, or a holography scheme using an interference phenomenon is employed, for example.
In general computer graphics, an object defined in a 3-dimensional space is represented as a group of a plurality of polygons (polygonal shapes). As a polygon, the simplest triangle is normally used. Coordinates of each polygon constituting the object is transformed from object coordinates of the polygon to 3-dimensional coordinates based on the position of a viewpoint of an observer, i.e., visual-field coordinates using a mathematical approach such as a vector or matrix. Further, for display on a display apparatus, coordinate transformation is performed for perspective projection of the polygon represented in the visual-field coordinates on a 2-dimensional plane (perspective transformation). Position data of the final polygon subjected to the series of coordinate transformations includes a value Z representing a distance from a viewpoint in a direction perpendicular to the display (Z-axis), a value X and a value Y representing position coordinates in the display surface.
A method of deciding the color value of a pixel constituting each polygon includes a method of arranging a virtual light source on visual-field coordinates, physically calculating the intensity of light radiated on each vertex constituting the polygon from the light source, and obtaining the light intensity of each pixel position in a rasterizing process in the polygon from the value by linear interpolation.
Alternatively, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-24850 discloses a method of pasting a picture representing a texture or special pattern of the object surface called a texture to the polygon surface. In this method, position coordinates and texture coordinates are given to each vertex of a polygon constituting an object at a stage of object coordinates before coordinate transformation. Then, similarly to the above case using the light intensity, texture coordinates are linearly interpolated for each pixel position in a polygon rasterizing process, and the color value of the pixel is decided depending on the obtained texture coordinates.
The above procedure can generate a graphic picture from a particular viewpoint. However, to generate a parallax picture for stereoscopic vision as the above, a multi-view picture is generated by moving the viewpoint position to the positions of a right eye and a left eye and drawing the identical object for two times. An expensive system comprises a display apparatus which can realize a graphical approach as the above to generate a multi-view picture.
On the other hand, conventionally, if a storage apparatus stores both of a multi-view picture and a normal picture without parallax, a technique displays minified pictures of those pictures to be differentiated. Electronic equipment according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120165 comprises a display apparatus which can realize a graphical approach. To display a list of thumbnail pictures in a plane, the apparatus adds a symbol "3D" to a thumbnail picture corresponding to a 3-dimensional picture and represents the picture in a circle or an ellipse. It adds a symbol "2D" to a thumbnail picture corresponding to a 2-dimensional picture and represents the picture in a triangle. In this way, it makes the thumbnail created from the 2-dimensional picture and the thumbnail created from the 3-dimensional picture to be differentiated.
Further, conventionally, an imaging method is proposed to improve a stereoscopic vision effect even if a subject is at long range. For example, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-51872; camera units are provided on both edges of an open chassis, thereby improving an effect of a stereo picture even if a subject is at long range.

Picture processing apparatus, picture recording apparatus, method and program thereof


A touch sensing unit has an ac signal generator for supplying an ac signal to a semiconductor chip of a semiconductor wafer or a test probe needle, and a touch sensor for sensing formation of an ac signal loop passing an ac signal of the signal generator when the test probe needle and the IC chip are touched with each other by being relatively approached to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch sensor unit used for a tester device for testing an electric circuit such as an integrated circuit and for detecting whether or not a prober for testing an electric circuit is in contact with the terminal of the electric circuit, and an electric circuit testing apparatus having the touch sensor unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a semiconductor element and particularly an IC (integrated circuit) is manufactured, 500 to 600 pieces of semiconductor chips are formed on a semiconductor wafer at the same time. After these chips are divided, the chips are contained in a predetermined package to complete an IC element. In this case, before the chips of the wafer are divided, electric characteristics of the respective chips of the semiconductor wafer are measured.
The measurements are conducted by contacting a plurality of testing probers, i.e., probe needles with a plurality of electrode pads of a semiconductor chip, respectively, and connecting the semiconductor chip to a measuring unit (tester) through the probe needles. In this case, a prober card on which a number of probe needles are provided is employed, and this prober card is mounted above a semiconductor wafer. The wafer is placed on a placing base movable in directions X, Y and Z. The base is moved to align the probe needles with the electrode pads. If the probe needles are aligned with the electrode pads, the base is raised in the direction Z (vertical direction), and the probe needles touch the electrode pads. At this time, the wafer is moved so that the wafer and the prober card are adjacent to each other, that is, the base is further raised at a predetermined distance from the height position where the probe needles touch the electrode pads (hereinafter merely referred to as "a touch position") so that predetermined needle pressure is applied to the probe needles to completely electrically contact the probe needles with the electrode pads. This movement from the touch position is called "an over-driver", and the moving distance is called "an over-drive distance".
Heretofore, the touch sensing has been carried out by a method for visually observing by an operator, an edge sensor for mechanically detecting the touch by a switch, or a needle sensor for detecting that a dc loop is closed when the probe needles are contacted with the electrode pads by supplying a dc current to the probe needles in contact with the street of the semiconductor chip.
When the touch sensing is carried out by an operator's visual observation, an irregularity occurs in the detected positions in accordance with the operator, and the same over-drive distance is detected differently in accordance with the needle pressure. Therefore, if the needle pressure is excessively applied, aluminum of the electrode pad is, for example, pierced by the probe needle to malfunction an IC. Particularly, if the IC chip has an high integrated density such as 4M, 16M and 64M, the electrode pad becomes as thin as the thickness of several micro-meters. As a result, the electrode pad is easily broken by the probe needle and thus the number of defective IC chips increases.
On the other hand, if the needle pressure is excessively low, a spontaneous oxide film formed on aluminum electrode is not pierced by the probe needle and the electrode pad is not in contact therewith, thereby disabling a correct measuring check of the IC chip.
Therefore, a method of detecting the touch, using an edge sensor or a needle sensor is considered, but according to the method of employing the needle sensor, if a circuit is formed in the street of the semiconductor chip, the touch sensing cannot be carried out due to an insulating film of the circuit.
According to the method of employing the edge sensor, the edge sensor is relatively expensive and a pressure must be applied to the sensor to mechanically detect the touch. Thus, a large irregularity occurs at the touch sensing position, and the method has a similar problem to that of the method for visually observing by an operator. Further, since it is necessary to apply a considerably high needle pressure to the probe needle so as to mechanically operate the edge sensor, there is an apprehension that the electrode pads, i.e., aluminum electrodes further reduced in thickness upon higher integration are pierced by the probe needles, and the method of employing the edge sensor is accordingly not practical.
Recently, the high integration of an IC chip is advanced to 32 Mbits and then 64 Mbits. In such a high integration IC chip, the electrode pads are considerably reduced to 30 to 60 .mu.m.
If a test for electric characteristics of the chip of a wafer is carried out in the state wherein its touch sensing is uncertain, even a normal chip is detected as being malfunctioned to deteriorate its yield. Therefore, in a semiconductor field, it is desired to develop a wafer prober which ensures a touch sensing.

Touch sensor unit of prober for testing electric circuit and electric circuit testing apparatus using the touch sensor unit


A cleaning implement includes a fabric layer made from a splittable conjugate fiber, a sponge wiper layer made of melamine foam, and a reinforcing layer made of a non-melamine foam material and disposed between the fabric and sponge layers. The non-melamine foam material has higher water-absorbing and elastic properties than the melamine foam.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cleaning implement, more particularly to a cleaning implement that can wipe off different kinds of dirt and stains.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cleaning sponge includes a sponge layer 12, and a fabric layer 11 superimposed on the sponge layer 12. The fabric layer 11 is made of nylon. During user manipulation of the conventional cleaning sponge, the fabric layer 11 and the sponge layer 12 remove stains by rubbing a surface of an article to be washed. However, since the fabric layer 11 is made of nylon, it cannot achieve a sufficient cleaning effect. Further, although the sponge layer 12 can absorb water, it also has a poor cleaning effect and is not durable.


An assembly for Kratky collimator is provided. The assembly may be used for a small angle x-ray camera or system requiring such filtering. The assembly may include a first block with a first working surface and a second block with a second working surface. The first and second blocks may be aligned with the first working surface pointing an opposite direction of the second working surface and the first working surface being aligned in a common plane with the second working surface. In some implementations, the first block may comprise a crystal material. In some implementations, an extension may of the first block may be configured position a beamstop.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) measurement system which uses Kratky assembly for beam conditioning.
2. Description of the Known Art
Kratky collimation has been used to create a parasitic scattering-free data collection space. Kratky collimation assemblies have been used by the traditional 1D Kratky camera and some newer 2D SAXS system (U.S. Pat. No. 7,734,011). The quality of the Kratky collimation assembly may be important to the performance of a small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) camera to eliminate parasitic scattering. Specifically, the flatness of the working surfaces, alignment between the surfaces of the two blocks and the scattering characteristics of the Kratky blocks affect the background "cleanness" and the total flux on the sample for a given system resolution (Qmin). These qualities are elements that determine the highest resolution, the lowest Qmin, and the performance consistency the system can achieve. Mechanical stability of the system over time determines the system performance consistency over time.


A diaphragm pump 1 has a base block 2, a diaphragm 8 and a drive unit for driving the diaphragm to reciprocate. The base block 2 has three or more liquid flow paths, each having three recesses 23 through 25 or more recesses. The diaphragm 8 and the respective recesses 23 through 25 define a plurality of valve chambers and the metering chamber. The drive unit includes: pressing rods 73 through 75 arranged corresponding to the respective recesses with the diaphragm interposed therebetween; and a pressing member drive controller adapted to execute a liquid discharging operation and a liquid sucking operation at a predetermined timing defined for each of the pressing rods, in which in the liquid discharging operation, each of the pressing rods is moved toward the respective recesses so as to gradually decease the volume of the respective valve chambers and the metering chamber and eventually hermetically seal the metering chamber; while in the liquid discharging operation, each of the pressing rods is moved away from the respective recesses so as to gradually decease the volume of the respective valve chambers and the metering chamber.

Diaphragm pumps using a diaphragm made of synthetic resin thin film are being used in various industrial fields including the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the semiconductor industry and the printing industry because of the advantages they provide including that the liquid can be transferred without being damaged, that it is not necessary to use an anti-leakage seal member and that it can be arranged so that liquid does not contact any metal.
However, such diaphragm pumps normally generate pulsation because liquid is taken in and discharged by reciprocating the diaphragm.
Arrangements of combining a pair of diaphragm pumps and using them complementarily so as not to generate any pulsation at the liquid discharge side are proposed for the purpose of suppressing the pulsation of a diaphragm pump (see, for instance, Reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-042069).
In addition, arrangements of sequentially closing three chambers with diaphragms, which functions as a pump without providing a check valve, has been also proposed (see, for instance, Reference 2: specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,290).
However, such combined diaphragm pumps disclosed in Reference 1 are provided with a check valve for preventing liquid from flowing backward. In other words, they are accompanied by a problem that they cannot allow liquid to flow back.
In the pump disclosed in Reference 2, since the diaphragm is deformed by a liquid, it is difficult to speed up a drive operation, and since chambers of plural systems are provided in parallel, it is difficult to reduce size and weight.

Diaphragm pump and manufacturing device of electronic component


An apparatus for assembling a plurality of sheet articles into a document includes a plurality of individual sheet input paths along which one or more sheet articles can be advanced, and a central accumulation area for accumulating the sheet articles. The central accumulation area includes a single-level accumulation surface for receiving one or more sheet articles advanced from each individual sheet input path and accumulating the sheet articles in a single stack. The central accumulation area can receive sheet articles from two or more different directions. The sheet articles can optionally be staged for accumulation into subsets prior to advancement to the central accumulation area. The central accumulation area advances the assembled document into an output path.

Documents such as booklets, packets, and the like often consist of subsets of printed sheet material that are bound together by perfect binding or other finishing techniques. The various subsets comprising each document can contain one or more units of sheet material. The subsets are often supplied from different sources such as color printers, black and white printers, and offset printers. Each subset might have been printed at a different time and place, so that the subsections must be subsequently merged to form a complete document. In order to assemble a large volume of documents, each containing multiple subsets of sheet material, multiple print streams must be merged. The merging of multiple print streams is typically done manually, and accordingly can be time consuming, create health problems due to repetitive motion, and result in an unacceptable rate of integrity defects due to human error. These and other problems can be more acute in processing jobs where each document, while containing the same types of subsets, is personalized such that one or more of the subsets includes information specific to the individual intended to receive that document.
Accordingly, the desirability of automating the process of merging multiple sheet streams is well recognized within the industry. As a general matter, the merging of sheet materials can be performed by collating machines, but conventional collators are not optimized for assembling a series of personalized documents from multiple input streams. Typical collators are capable of accumulating only single sheets. Moreover, typical collators are order-dependent, meaning that their input streams are fixed such that the accumulation or collating process cannot be modified or randomized. In addition, the scrap cost associated with conventional collators is unacceptably high due to the required use of separator sheets. Separator sheets are used to mark or identify each subset of sheet material within the stack comprising a complete document. Such separator sheets are typically discarded upon completion of the document, and in any event do not add value to the information provided by the document.
An example of a system for collating multiple incoming sheet streams is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,399. Like other conventional collators, the disclosed system is order-dependent. The system includes three input devices oriented at right angles to each other. Each input device feeds sheets into a centrally located collating device. The collating device is constructed from a stack of three vertically spaced trays. Each input device is limited to feeding its corresponding sheets into a specific one of these trays. Thus, after each input device has been operated, the collating device contains three separate stacks of sheets and hence does not itself truly merge the three input streams. A kicker arm, spanning the height of the entire collator, is then activated to push the stacks of all three levels into an exit device. Due to the configuration of the three-level collator, three distinct sets of sheets are maintained after being supplied from the three input devices. The disclosed system therefore cannot be randomized with respect to the relative order in which sheets enter the collator from multiple directions.

Method and apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles from multiple input paths


A microlithograpic tool, such as a projection stepper, for manufacturing integrated circuits, shapes light that illuminates a photomask with a chevron illumination system. The system uses either a chevron aperture mask of diffractive optical elements to shape a light source into four chevrons (110b, 120b, 130b, 140b). The chevrons are located in the corners of the circular pupil of the condenser lens. The chevrons may be a small a square poles at the corners or as large as an annular square ring. The chevrons provide superior performance for illuminating conventional X and Y oriented features of a photomask.

Semiconductor lithography utilizing optical imaging systems has been carried out for many years. The process involves the creation of relief image patterns through the projection of radiation within or near the UV visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Earlier methods of optical semiconductor lithography utilized a proximity printing technique, where a photomask with the desired device pattern image was held close to the surface of a photosensitized silicon wafer surface, transferring the image the image to the surface. Resolution, device size, and device yield are limited using this approach because of the lack of reduction optics. Modern reduction projection techniques using step-and-repeat or step-and-scan optical systems minimize some of the problems encountered with earlier proximity lithography methods and have lead to the development of tools that currently allow resolution below 0.15 μm.
Semiconductor device features are generally on the order of the wavelength of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation used to pattern them. Currently, exposure wavelengths are on the order of 150 to 450 nm and more specifically 157 nm, 293 nm, 248 nm, 365 nm, and 436 nm. The most challenging lithographic features are those which fall near or below sizes corresponding to 0.5λ/NA, where λ is the exposing wavelength and NA is the objective lens numerical aperture of the exposure tool. As an example, for a 193 nm-wavelength exposure system incorporating a 0.65NA objective lens, the imaging of features at or below 0.13 micrometers is considered state of the art. Generally, systems employ Köhler type illumination and an effective source that is shaped circularly. More recently, source shapes have been varied from this conventional circular shape to best optimize illumination conditions for a specific photomask pattern, wavelength, NA, and other imaging parameters. Off axis illumination using dipole illumination, with a pair or circular source shapes oriented in the direction of mask geometry can offer a significant enhancement to imaging performance. This is because only oblique illumination at an optimized illumination angle can be designed to allow projection of a single orientation of mask diffraction energy at the outermost edges of an objective lens pupil. The problem with dipole illumination arises when geometry of both X and Y (or horizontal and vertical) nature is considered since imaging is limited to features oriented along one direction in an X–Y plane. Additionally, the use of circular pole shapes could be improved by using poles with square or rectangular shaping. Four pole or quadrupole source shapes are an example of a modification for X and Y oriented geometry [see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,054]. Here, four circular poles are utilized to accommodate the mask geometry located along two orthogonal axes. The use of multiple circular shaped poles is not the best shaping for use with mask geometry oriented on orthogonal X and Y-axes however. I have discovered that particular square pole shapes extended along X and Y axes, forming chevron shapes at the corners of an illumination source, show superior performance to other illumination approaches.

Method of illuminating a photomask using chevron illumination


Agricultural mechanized system for pulling-off and chopping stubs of cotton plants and similar agricultures, especially of a agricultural mechanized system coupled to a tractor, to plow and pull off the stubs preferably from the cotton agricultures and similar cultures firmly buried, which comprises a set of plows (10) provided with a pair of cutting wheels (14) and a pair of adjustable plowing blades (16 and 16′) between a first position above the ground and a final position of penetration in the ground which is longer than the radicular portion depth of the referred stubs, a chopper set (12) with blades (96) which chop the referred stubs into a particulate material into smaller fragments forming a layer of inert organic matter with at least a stub pulling-off set (11) arranged between the referred plowing set (10) and chopper set (12) mounted upon a support frame (2) on wheels (7 and 8).

As it is known by the experts in the matter, this is the harvest of the cotton or the plume from the rest of the plant or stub, formed by the stem, branches and the radicular portion. Having a solid consistency, the stub with its radicular portion is firmly buried within the soil due to the entanglement formed by the roots with earth and stones particles, which was developed during the plant growth.
It is also known that the legislations in force both in the Federal level and in the State level as well, rule that the stub should be fully pulled off after the cotton harvest and within a very short period to avoid the re-sprouting and the propagation of insect plagues such as the "Bicudo" (Anthonomous Gradis), besides requiring the full pulling-off of the stub from the soil, in which said stub should be completely fragmented in pre-set sizes, otherwise, the floral structure (capsules) could present eggs or the insect itself, larger stub particles could generate an opportunistic germination, a formation of nematodes or fungi in the fragmented radicular system, whether it is buried or not.
The current method used for the destruction of the stubs basically involves three operations, the first one being performed by a cropper provided with blades and blades and vertical axle or horizontal rotating rollers with blades; the second operation is performed by means of a plough intended to pull out the remains with the roots and the third one consists of using a large leveling machine or equivalent apparel to level the soil for the next plantation. This methodology presents several drawbacks among which we point out the following:
Upon the land clearing, since the cut size is not accurate, an entanglement of residue of different sizes remains in the soil which in its turn makes the next step of plowing, harrowing and subsequently, planting harder;
Upon plowing the soil to pull off the remains of the plants with their roots, part of the tree paths are not pulled off and they sprout again, facilitating the propagation of plagues and other nuisances;
The cost of this methodology is very high since distinct operations are performed with the occupation of machinery and labor, and it is not very efficient;
As a supplementary technology for the plagues control, the application of chemical pesticides is always performed based on the plagues sampling by means of control files, then the products Diflubenzuron and Endosulfan are applied diluted at 12% to fight the caterpillar and Endosulfan at 10% to fight the Bicudo insect, and these are forbidden techniques, since they contaminate the groundwater.


A heat recovery system includes a source of waste heat, and a refrigeration system operatively connected to the source of waste heat. The refrigeration system is capable of extracting heat rejected from the source of waste heat to form a cooling medium.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to the art of turbomachines and, more particularly, to a heat recovery system for a turbomachine.
In gas and steam turbine combined systems there exists a thermodynamic requirement to reject a large amount of low grade heat. For example, in a typical gas and steam turbine combined cycle power plant having a three pressure reheat recovery steam generator (HRSG), about 33% of heat is rejected at a steam condenser of the power plant. This rejected heat represents an overall efficiency loss for the power plant.
There currently exist power plants that utilize heat rejected directly from the steam turbine to power a refrigeration system. The refrigeration system is utilized to cool inlet air for a compressor, or as a cooling source for associated structures and enclosures in the power plant. The needed steam is taken directly from the steam turbine and passed through a vapor absorption refrigeration system. Siphoning steam in this manner lowers the overall efficiency of the steam turbine.

Heat recovery system for a turbomachine and method of operating a heat recovery steam system for a turbomachine


Methods and systems are provided for efficiently providing content to a client in a massively multiplayer game.

A massively multiplayer game ("MMP") is a computer game played by a large number of users through a communications network, which can be a local area network (e.g., Ethernet), a medium-area network (e.g., an intranet), or a wide-area network (e.g., the Internet). In addition, the communications network can be a wireless network, a cellular network or any other system which facilitates the transmission of data. In MMPs, humans and their avatars within the game ("players") are free to interact with other players as well as autonomous "non-player characters" which inhabit and are part of the game. Early examples of MMPs include games such as Ultima Online, EverQuest, and CrossGate.
Most MMPs are fantasy role-playing games ("RPGs") which take place within a mythical or mystical world. Most MMPs appear timeless, in that from the player's perspective they have no beginning and no end. New players can join a game in progress at any time, and do not need to wait for the start of a new game. In addition, many MMPs do not even define an absolute game endpoint, making the end of a game a logical impossibility. Thus, once a game has started, it can continue indefinitely. The players of that MMP are thereby involved in a continuing storyline akin to life within the real world. MMPs allow players to develop their avatars, form personal relationships with other players, and to enjoy social interaction through the reality of the game.
In order to make MMPs more immersive for their players, MMP creators constantly strive to provide a richer and more complete sensory interaction. To that end, MMP creators have developed graphics and multimedia content that takes advantage of ever-improving consumer graphics and multimedia hardware. However, because many graphics and multimedia files are often very large relative to other informational content such as text, transmitting these files from a server to a client may require significant bandwidth and time. Clients who do not have sufficient hardware, bandwidth or time may not wish to receive such large files unnecessarily.
Accordingly, new methods are needed to improve the efficiency with which players receive content.

Efficient method for providing game content to a client


A tool generally consisting of a handle, an implement pivotally connected to the handle, a first magnetic element mounted on the implement having a magnetic field of a selected polarity intersecting a path disposed circumferentially relative to the axis of the pivotal connection and a second magnetic element mounted on the handle having a magnetic field of a polarity of one of the same or the opposite of the selected polarity intersecting the circumferential path whereby dependent upon the angular relationship of the handle and the implement, the magnetic fields will have the effect of one of a first interaction, producing no motive force for angularly biasing the implement relative to the handle, a second interaction producing a repellant motive force for angularly biasing the implement relative to the handle and a third reaction producing an attractive motive force for angularly biasing the implement relative to the handle.

In the prior art, there is a myriad of hand tools generally consisting of a handle and an implement pivotally connected to such a handle, which may be angularly displaced relative to the handle between fully retracted and fully extended positions. Typically, when the implement of such a tool is in the fully retracted position relative to the handle, usually partially received within a recess in the handle, such handle may be gripped with one hand and the implement may be displaced from the fully retracted position to the fully extended position either by manipulation of the fingers on the hand holding the handle or by the fingers of the other hand of the user. Generally, it is preferred that such tools be capable of being held by a hand and manipulated with the fingers of such hand in displacing the implement between the retracted and extended positions. Often, however, because of the design of such tools, the fingers of the hand holding the handle of the tool are unable to bring sufficient force to bear on the implement of the tool to easily and conveniently displace the tool between the fully retracted and fully extended positions of the implement. To assist the manual force applied by the fingers of a hand holding such a tool, in either angularly displacing the implement relative to the handle from a retracted to an extended position or an extended position to the retracted position, prior art tools of such type typically have provided various biasing devices such as coil springs and leaf springs which function to provide a motive force tending to angularly bias the implement. Such mechanisms, however, because of their size and intricacy often provide complicated and expensive manufacturing operations.
In view of the perceived inadequacies of such mechanisms in prior art hand tools of the type described, it has been found to be desirable to provide such a hand tool which may be gripped with a hand, manipulated by the fingers of the hand gripping the tool to angularly displace the implement of the tool relative to the handle and provide a means to produce a motive force cooperating with such manual force for angularly displacing the implement relative to the handle of such tools.


A system and method for EVM self-testing a communication device is provided including receiving (305) a complex waveform, sampling (310) first and second sample voltages from the complex waveform, selecting (315) first and second ideal voltages from I- and Q-arrays, and determining (320) an error vector by comparing the first and second sample voltages with the first and second ideal voltages for a desired number of comparisons (N). The first ideal voltage corresponds with the first sample voltage, the second ideal voltage corresponds with the second sample voltage, and the I- and Q-arrays are derived from a conversion of a bitstream to the complex waveform.

An Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) test is a transmitter modulation quality metric for electronics such as communications (e.g., cellular, wireless local area network (WLAN), paging, and the like) electronics, such as embodied in integrated circuits (ICs), multi-chip modules, and chipsets. In general, the transmitted EVM is measured via a comparison of an input demodulated constellation point to an ideal constellation point, given a proscribed filtering, etc., and after error-compensation. The EVM test may be used to measure deviations of the output waveform voltage (e.g., of the IC, multi-chip module, chipset, etc.) from an ideal waveform at the exact data-slicer sample time and after equalization and signal conditioning has been performed. Using the measured deviations, modifications to the IC, multi-chip module, or chipset may be made to correct for such deviations. Additionally, such deviations may be used as a quality metric in regulator acceptance testing or, when compared to acceptance limits, for production pass/fail testing.
One concern is whether the EVM test results are representative of the actual deviations from ideal. The IC, multi-chip module, or chipset performs most of the demodulation and data slicing for demodulating a received signal using digital signal processing (DSP) techniques often utilizing fixed-point software or hardware filters and calculation blocks. Disparities in EVM test results may exist between EVM tests performed using test equipment external to the IC and the actual transmit modulation/receive demodulation quality of the transceiver IC or chipset. For example, external test systems use proprietary down-conversion, demodulation, and baseband signal extraction algorithms that are typically different from the fixed-point hardware down-conversion, demodulation, and baseband extraction algorithms performed by the communication IC. In some instances, the derived voltage using the test equipment may differ from the derived voltage produced by the communication IC. The actual deviation within the IC may be different from the deviation detected by the test equipment, and thus the EVM result may be non-indicative of the transceiver IC or chipset quality. Additionally, because the baseband signal extraction algorithms typically vary from one test equipment vendor to another (e.g., producing different EVM results), correlating results with customers using different EVM test equipment is a difficult process.
EVM tests may be used to evaluate the magnitude of deviations of the IC waveform voltage from the ideal waveform during production as an acceptance gate. For example, devices that pass the EVM test are deemed shippable product while those devices that fall short of the EVM test are recycled. From a production test time perspective, conventional EVM tests take a considerable amount of time which increases IC production costs. Much of this test time may be attributed to the fact that the conventional EVM test equipment first digitizes the transmitted signal and then post-processes the digitized signal to calculate the EVM.
Test system vendors typically develop EVM solutions on an as-needed basis. The proprietary algorithms of each Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) vendor are typically individually developed as the need arises, and these algorithms often take several months to develop and several more months to correlate. This development and correlation time often adversely impacts production delivery schedules. For example, delivery of the EVM test results can take about four (4) to six (6) months and then take a few more months for correlation and prove-in. Conducting EVM tests in a production environment is generally a time consuming and costly process. Volume EVM testing is typically not available early enough in a device design cycle to permit design fixes based upon the EVM results. Additionally, the test system should be fully configured for modulated radio frequency (RF) source and measurement capabilities which is expensive to implement.
Accordingly, systems and methods for testing electronics are desired that provide a representative quality metric. More particularly, in some examples, systems and methods for EVM testing of ICs or chipsets are desired that provide a representative quality metric in real time. In addition, systems and methods for testing communication electronics are desired that provide a representative quality metric while reducing correlation difficulties. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.


A sealing device is provided to bridge a gap defined between open frontal portions of inner and outer tubs of a horizontal axis washing machine in order to prevent foreign objects from getting into the outer tub from the inner tub through the gap and potentially clogging a pumping system of the machine. In the preferred form of the invention, the sealing device includes a first seal portion fixedly secured to a lower, inner wall portion of a cover attached to the outer tub and a flexible, second seal portion which extends toward and preferably slidably contacts a balance ring provided about the open frontal portion of the inner tub. In accordance with one embodiment, the sealing device is constituted by a brush member, with the second seal portion being defined by bristles of the brush member. In another embodiment, the sealing device is constituted by a plastic film having one longitudinal side secured to the outer tub cover and another longitudinal side in sliding contact with the balance ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of washing machines and, more particularly, to a seal arrangement provided between inner and outer tubs of a horizontal axis washing machine.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Both vertical axis and horizontal axis washing machines are currently available in the marketplace for laundering articles of clothing. Due to significant improvements made in the art of horizontal axis washing machines in recent years, the demand for these types of machines are on the rise. Horizontal axis washing machines currently under production have the capability of utilizing less power and a reduced amount of water/detergent for a given washing operation over conventional vertical axis-type washing machines. Therefore, the operating costs associated with horizontal axis washing machines are typically lower than more conventional vertical axis washing machines. In addition, particularly due to the tumbling action imparted on articles of clothing being laundered in a horizontal axis washing machine, a horizontal axis washing machine generally has a greater ability to remove any tough stains on the clothing.
Obviously, there are a number of different structural features between these two types of known washing machines. However, both types of machines generally include a cabinet shell within which is suspended an outer tub. An inner tub or spinner is rotatably mounted within the outer tub, with annular side walls of the inner and outer tubs being arranged in a spaced, concentric fashion. Therefore, a gap is provided between the side walls of the inner and outer tubs, including at the open ends thereof. A pivotable door is secured to the cabinet shell for providing access to the inner tub in order to selectively load or unload laundry items. In addition, both types of machines function to wash clothes by saturating the clothes in a washing fluid and imparting various mechanical actions upon the clothes. At least during certain times in the washing operation, the washing fluid will be caused to flow from the inner tub to the outer tub. In each type of machine, at least one pump, having an input side which draws from the outer tub, is provided for draining the washing machine.
Of course, there are also some potential problems which must be overcome in the design of a horizontal axis washing machine that are simply not a consideration in the making of a vertical axis washing machine. For instance, given that the access opening to the inner tub in a horizontal axis washing machine will extend below the level of the washing fluid during operation of the machine, some of the fluid will be caused to naturally flow from the inner tub to the outer tub through the gap provided between the tubs at the open ends thereof. Without being contained within the inner tub or spinner, other objects can also be caused to flow through this gap. Therefore, string, large pieces of lint, hair and even certain objects inadvertently placed in the inner tub with the clothes to be laundered can get between the spinner and the outer tub. Typically, if the washing machine pump is capable of handling the foreign objects, there is no problem. However, if the objects are rather large in size or number, the pump may not be able to handle the objects. In this situation, the pump will clog and lead to problems for the consumer.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an arrangement which will effectively prevent foreign objects from flowing through the gap formed between the inner and outer tubs of a horizontal axis washing machine in order to prolong the smooth operation of the pump, while also enhancing the overall efficiency of the machine.

Seal arrangement between inner and outer tubs of a horizontal axis washing machine


A cutting insert may include a base and a cutting part. The cutting part may include an upper surface, a first cutting edge and a second cutting edge. The first cutting edge may be located on a first ridgeline. The second cutting edge may be located on a second ridgeline. The upper surface may include a first inclined surface, protrusions and a first upheaved part. The first inclined surface may be located along the first ridgeline. The protrusions may be located side by side in a direction along the first ridgeline on the first inclined surface. The first upheaved part may be located at a side further away from the first ridgeline than the pair of protrusions. The second cutting edge may be inclined downward. An upper end of the first upheaved part may be located above the second cutting edge.

For example, a cutting tip is discussed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2-106204 (Patent Document 1) and may be used for a turning process of a workpiece, such as metal. The tip discussed in Patent Document 1 may be usable for a grooving process and a cutting-off process. The tip discussed in Patent Document 1 may include a main cutting edge, sub cutting edges respectively located on both sides of the main cutting edge, a rake surface located along the main cutting edge and the sub cutting edges, and a protruding breaker located in the rake surface. The protruding breaker may be formed by a central protrusion and lateral protrusions.

Cutting insert, cutting tool, and method for manufacturing machined product


An apparatus for adjusting a prompt voice depending on an environment comprises a receiver module used for receiving a background sound, an analyzer module generating a control signal according to the background sound and an output module adjusting an output frequency of a prompt voice through the control signal and outputting the adjusted prompt voice.

A general portable electronic device with a voice output function, for example, mobile phone, personal data assistant (PDA) and global positioning system (GPS), must use manual way to set a voice volume output. However, a user must use hands to adjust the volume of the portable electronic device once more accompanying the change of background sound volume; the output voice can then be heard clearly under different environments. Thus, it will cause the user to be inconvenient on use.
Thereupon, Taiwan Patent Application No. 93125950 entitled as "Apparatus and method for volume control" mainly discloses generating a corresponding volume adjustment signal and adjusting an output amplitude of an input voice source signal by analyzing the relationship between an environmental interference sound source signal and the input voice source signal when the environmental interference source signal comes in thereby improving inference problems caused from environmental factors to attain to the volume controlling object.
Furthermore, Chinese Patent No. CN1783928 entitled as "Method and apparatus for realizing automatically adjusting volume of ring tone in mobile terminal" mainly discloses setting a corresponding processing program in a cellular phone to automatically realize processing an adjustment to the volume of ring tone depending one a background noise situation of an environment in which it is located to satisfy a cellular phone user with a requirement for a different ring tone volume in a different environment. Therefore, a user's cellular phone can automatically detect the background noise situation of the current environment and process the automatic adjustment of the ring tone volume of the cellular phone depending on the aforesaid background noise situation so as to exempt the cellular phone user from a tedious operation of the manual ring tone volume adjustment thereby being convenient for the user's use.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,247 entitled as "Method and Apparatus for Automatic Volume Control" is mainly applied on a communication device; it can measure background noise, and automatically adjust a volume of an output signal depending on the measured background noise signal.
The conventional technologies mentioned above disclose the technologies of automatically adjusting the output volume. The disclosed technologies are all used for adjusting the voice amplitude, i.e. so-called volume part. However, under certain environments, because background noise is too loud, it is unable to hear the output voice signals clearly even if the volume is adjusted to the largest. Besides, that the voice amplitude is adjusted higher causes the use of a speaker to be shortened. Therefore, how to effectively improve the problems of traditional automatic voice adjusting technologies is a topic to be solved urgently.

Apparatus and method for adjusting prompt voice depending on environment


The following items are recorded on an interchangeable storage medium used for input/output in a computer system: (1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program for subjecting the data file to processing that makes it possible for the data file to be utilized by a computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, the name of a program for applying the processing to the data file specified by the file name and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating the corresponding relationship between a program name and a program location. When a data file is to be read from an interchangeable storage medium, the data file is subjected to predetermined processing by a program which corresponds to the data file so as to be converted to data capable of being utilized by a computer system. When a data file is written, the data file is subjected to predetermined processing by a program which corresponds to the data file and then written to an interchangeable storage medium.

This invention relates to an interchangeable storage medium on which a data file and a program, which subjects the data file to processing so that the file can be utilized by a computer system, are stored in correlated form, to a method of writing/reading data files to/from an interchangeable storage medium, and to a computer system in which this interchangeable storage medium is used as a data input/output medium.
In order to make it possible for a data file that has been stored on an interchangeable storage medium such as a floppy disk or optical disk to be utilized by a computer system, the prior art is such that software for utilizing the data that have been stored on the interchangeable storage medium is required to be stored in the computer system beforehand.
Consequently, a user who desires to use data that have been stored on an interchangeable storage medium is required to register the software (program) for utilizing the data in the computer system, before the data are utilized, in conformity with the format of the data stored on the interchangeable storage medium and the method of keeping the data in storage. The result is poor operability. Moreover, if the software cannot be registered, the data that have been stored on the interchangeable storage medium cannot be utilized. In particular, there are cases where data stored on an interchangeable storage medium can be utilized in one computer system or operating system (OS) but not in another computer system or operating system. In such case it is not possible to perform an exchange of data between computer systems having different architectures or between different operating systems.
Further, in a case where it is desired to limit the computer systems (operating systems) or users that are capable of utilizing data stored on an interchangeable storage medium, or in a case where it is desired to allow data read only and inhibit data write, such control cannot be performed in simple fashion.
Furthermore, according to the prior art, the reading of a data file is performed upon specifying the file name. This means that a data file cannot be read in simple fashion using a retrieval keyword and that a plurality of data files cannot be read using a single retrieval keyword.
Furthermore, a conventional operating system accesses a data file upon defining fixed units of data length (clusters) as well as the layout thereof. If the cluster length is short, therefore, a highly disjointed state is produced and write/read performance deteriorates in the case of data of great length, such as moving-picture data. Conversely, if cluster length is enlarged, unused areas are produced and space efficiency declines when data of comparatively small length, such as text data, are recorded.

Interchangeable storage medium containing program for processing data files thereupon to match a data file format to a computer system


A plug and socket combination positions a plug and electrical cord at an orientation perpendicular to a wall socket, thus reducing the required clearance to substantially that of the plug width without the electrical cord or less than half of the clearance normally required. Two-pronged and three-pronged plug and socket combinations have been developed that are substantially the same width, length, and depth as the typical plug on a two or three wire electrical cord.

The field of the invention pertains to common household plugs and sockets in use in North America and, in particular, to plug and socket combinations for use in very restricted areas.
A wide variety of plug and socket combinations have been created for expanding the number of sockets from the one or two sockets available in a typical wall outlet. Wall outlet sockets require two or more inches of clearance for typical plugs and associated wires to avoid pinching the wires and causing a possible fire hazard. Plug and socket combinations for expanding the number of available sockets increase the clearance required to three or more inches. Where space is at a premium and furniture or appliances should be as close to the wall sockets as possible, a more compact plug and socket is needed to reduce the clearance required. This problem also occurs where sockets are mounted in mantelpieces, or just above mantelpieces. In such locations, plugs and sockets should be discretely hidden.

Compact electric plug and socket combinations


The present invention is a photoconductive element that includes an electrically conductive support, an electrical barrier layer disposed over said electrically conductive support, and disposed over said barrier layer, a charge generation layer capable of generating positive charge carriers when exposed to actinic radiation. The barrier layer includes a vinyl polymer with aromatic tetracarbonylbisimide side groups and crosslinking sites.

Photoconductive elements useful, for example, in electrophotographic copiers and printers are composed of a conducting support having a photoconductive layer that is insulating in the dark but becomes conductive upon exposure to actinic radiation. To form images, the surface of the element is electrostatically and uniformly charged in the dark and then exposed to a pattern of actinic radiation. In areas where the photoconductive layer is irradiated, mobile charge carriers are generated which migrate to the surface and dissipate the surface charge. This leaves in non-irradiated areas a charge pattern known as a latent electrostatic image. The latent image can be developed, either on the surface on which it is formed or on another surface to which it is transferred, by application of a liquid or dry developer containing finely divided charged toner particles.
Photoconductive elements can comprise single or multiple active layers. Those with multiple active layers (also called multi-active elements) have at least one charge-generation layer and at least one n-type or p-type charge-transport layer. Under actinic radiation, the charge generation layer generates mobile charge carriers and the charge transport layer facilitates migration of the charge carriers to the surface of the element, where they dissipate the uniform electrostatic charge and form the latent electrostatic image.
Also useful in photoconductive elements are charge barrier layers, which are formed between the conductive layer and the charge generation layer to restrict undesired injection of charge carriers from the conductive layer. Various polymers are known for use in barrier layers of photoconductive elements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,226 discloses a photoconductor element having an n-type charge transport layer and a barrier layer, the latter comprising a particular vinyl copolymer. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,082,551 and 3,428,451 disclose a two-layer system that includes cellulose nitrate as an electrical barrier. U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,677 discloses photoconductive elements having a barrier layer comprising certain polyester ionomers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,873 discloses solvent-soluble polyimides as polymeric binders for photoconductor element layers, including charge transport layers and barrier layers.
Still further, a number of known barrier layer materials function satisfactorily only when coated in thin layers. As a consequence, irregularities in the coating surface, such as bumps or skips, can alter the electric field across the surface. This in turn can cause irregularities in the quality of images produced with the photoconductive element. One such image defect is caused by dielectric breakdowns due to film surface irregularities and/or non-uniform thickness. This defect is observed as toner density in areas where development should not occur, also known as breakdown.
The known barrier layer materials have certain drawbacks, especially when used with negatively charged elements having p-type charge transport layers. Such elements are referred to as p-type photoconductors. Thus, a negative surface charge on the photoconductive element requires the barrier material to provide a high-energy barrier to the injection of positive charges (also known as holes) and to transport electrons under an applied electric field. Many known barrier layer materials are not sufficiently resistant to the injection of positive charges from the conductive support of the photoconductive element. Also, for many known barrier materials the mechanism of charge transport is ionic. This property allows for a relatively thick barrier layer of previously known barrier materials, and provides acceptable electrical properties at moderate to high relative humidity (RH) levels. Ambient humidity affects the water content of the barrier material and, hence, its ionic charge transport mechanism. Thus, at low RH levels the ability to transport charge in such materials decreases and negatively impacts film electrical properties. A need exists for charge barrier materials that transport charge by electronic as well as ionic mechanisms so that films are not substantially affected by humidity changes.
Condensation polymers of polyester-co-imides, polyesterionmer-co-imides, and polyamide-co-imides are all addressed in:                1. Sorriero et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,301.        2. Sorriero et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,956.        3. Sorriero et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,046.        4. Sorriero et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,866,977.        5. Molaire et al. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/888,172.
These polymers have as a repeating unit a planar, electron-deficient, tetracarbonylbisimide group that is in the polymer backbone. The polymers are either soluble in chlorinated solvents and chlorinated solvent-alcohol combinations, or they contain salts to achieve solubility in polar solvents. In all cases, care must be taken not to disrupt the layer with subsequent layers that are coated from solvents, as this may result in swelling of the electron transport layer, mixing with the layer, or dissolution of part or all of the polymer. Furthermore, salts can make the layer subject to unwanted ionic transport. Thus there is a need for polymers with planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide groups and do not contain salts that can be coated from solvents, but will not be soluble or miscible with subsequent solvents or layers. Further, there is a need for polymers with planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide groups and do not contain salts that can be coated from non-chlorinated solvents. Further, there is a need for polymers with planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide groups and do not contain salts that can be coated from solvents, but will not be soluble or miscible with subsequent solvents or layers.
Another disadvantage to the condensation polymers of polyester-co-imides, polyesterionomer-co-imides, and polyamide-co-imides addressed above is they generally consist of monomers other than the planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide groups. The level of electron transport agent in the condensation polymers is generally limited because common condensation monomers are also incorporated into the polymer to achieve good mechanical as well as good solubility properties. For example, although the alcohol portion of the polyester may consist of a planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide group, the acid portion is generally an aliphatic or aromatic diacid that does not transport charge. It is generally necessary to have the comonomer as a spacer in order to achieve good solubility, even when chlorinated solvents are used. In fact it is difficult to prepare a soluble condensation polymer where all of the diol groups consist of the planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide groups. Generally other diols and diacid monomers are used to prepare the polyesters described above. This limits the amount of planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide group that can be incorporated into the polymer, and thus limits the amount of charge that can be transported through these layers. The same limitation is true for the polyamides described in the patents above, where the planar, electron-deficient tetracarbonylbisimide group is generally only a fraction of the acid portion used in the polymer, and a common amine that does not transport electronic charge is used as the diamine monomer portion of the polyamide.
Japanese Kokai Tokkyo Koho 2003330209A to Canon includes polymerizable naphthalene bisimides among a number of polymerizable electron transport molecules. Some of the naphthalene bisimides contain acrylate functional groups. The monomers are polymerized after they are coated onto an electrically conductive substrate. However this approach does not ensure the full incorporation of all of the monomers. Some of the functional groups would not react to form a film and could thus be extracted during the deposition of subsequent layers. This would result in a layer that was not the same composition as deposited before polymerization. Further, it would allow for the unwanted incorporation of the electron transport agent into the upper layers of the photoreceptor by contamination of the coating solutions. Thus, the need remains for a well characterized electron transport polymer that can be coated and crosslinked completely to produce a layer that will transport electrons between layers of a photoreceptor without contaminating subsequent layers.
Japanese Kokai Tokkyo Koho 2003327587A to Canon describes the synthesis of naphthalene bisimide acrylate polymers. The polymers were coated from solution onto "aluminum Mylar" and crosslinked to harden the layer to form crack free films. Mobility measurements were made. No layer was coated upon this layer and no crosslinking chemistry for the polymer is described. A photoreceptor is not described. The need exists to form an insoluble film from a polymer that can transport electrons and has active sites for crosslinking that result in a film that can be overcoated with subsequent layers to form a photoreceptor. The crosslinking should be done either thermally or with UV light. The naphthalene bisimide polymer must be completely soluble in the coating solution and crosslink so the layer is intact when subsequent layers are coated upon the naphthalene bisimide layer.
Photoconductive elements typically are multi-layered structures wherein each layer, when it is coated or otherwise formed on a substrate, needs to have structural integrity and desirably a capacity to resist attack when a subsequent layer is coated on top of it or otherwise formed thereon. Such layers are typically solvent coated using a solution with a desired coating material dissolved or dispersed therein. This method requires that each layer of the element, as such layer is formed, should be capable of resisting attack by the coating solvent employed in the next coating step. A need exists for a negatively chargeable photoconductive element having a p-type photoconductor, and including an electrical barrier layer that can be coated from an aqueous or organic medium, that has good resistance to the injection of positive charges, can be sufficiently thick and uniform that minor surface irregularities do not substantially alter the field strength, and resists hole transport over a wide humidity range. Still further, a need exists for photoconductive elements wherein the barrier layer is substantially impervious to, or insoluble in, solvents used for coating other layers, e.g., charge generation layers, over the barrier layer. It would also be an advantage to have polymers that form barriers that can be coated out of non-chlorinated solvents. Solvents such as toluene and alcohols are more desirable environmentally because the vapors are not as noxious as those of chlorinated solvents, and the disposal of the excess coating solutions is not as dangerous if chlorinated solvents are not used. Thus, it is a goal to have a barrier layer that can be manufactured and coated from "green" solvents.
Accordingly, a need exists for a negatively chargeable photoconductive element having a p-type photoconductor, and including an electrical barrier layer that can be coated from an aqueous or organic medium, that has good resistance to the injection of positive charges, can be sufficiently thick and uniform that minor surface irregularities do not substantially alter the field strength, and resists hole transport over a wide humidity range. Still further, a need exists for photoconductive elements wherein the barrier layer that is itself coated from non-chlorinated solvents and is substantially impervious to, or insoluble in, solvents used for coating other layers, e.g., charge generation layers, over the barrier layer.
Photoconductive elements comprising a photoconductive layer formed on a conductive support such as a film, belt or drum, with or without other layers such as a barrier layer, are also referred to herein, for brevity, as photoconductors.


A transmission mechanism of an image scanner with adjustable resolution is disclosed. The transmission device is driven by a step motor to move a carriage to perform a scanning operation at a selected speed The transmission device includes a transmission control set switched between a first and a second transmission states in response to a command for changing a moving speed of the carriage, and driven by the step motor to output a transmission power; a first transmission set of a first deceleration ratio, coupled with the transmission control set to receive the transmission power from the transmission control set in the first transmission state, and providing the transmission power for the carriage to have the carriage move at a first speed; and a second transmission set of a second deceleration ratio different from the first deceleration ratio, coupled with the transmission control set to receive the transmission power from the transmission control set in the second transmission state, and providing the transmission power for the carriage to have the carriage move at a second speed.

Nowadays, image scanners have become common peripheral equipment of computers. As known, resolution of an image scanner is one of the important indices to evaluate a scanner. In general, resolution consists of two components, i.e. horizontal resolution and vertical resolution. The horizontal resolution depends on the specification of the optical system, the pixel number of the image pickup device such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) and/or hardware circuitry. The vertical resolution, on the other hand, relates to the operations of the transmission device 11 and step motor 12 shown in FIG. 1.
An advanced image scanner provides two options for users. The image scanner may perform a scanning operation on the conditions of a relatively high speed but relatively low resolution. Alternatively, the scanning operation may be performed on the conditions of a relatively high resolution but a relatively low speed. The prior art technique adjusts the scanning resolution and speed by changing the revolving speed of the step motor. However, the motor at a high revolving speed generates significant noise, and is required to be a high torque motor that is of high cost and bulky.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transmission mechanism of image scanner with adjustable resolution


An interactive binder and platform system includes a remote multimedia source, a feedback unit electronically connected to the remote multimedia source, and a plurality of binders. Each binder includes a plurality of conductive pins and at least one fixed medium having a plurality of distinct circuits operatively connected to the binder and a plurality of touch points defining exposed portions of the distinct circuits. A transceiver electronically connected to at least one of the binders provides power to the at least one of the binders and transmits/receives signals to provide two-way communication between the remote multimedia source and the binders where selection of a particular touch point by a user electronically connects the distinct circuit associated with the particular touch point and the remote multimedia source, the output from the remote multimedia source associated with input sent to the remote media source by the selection of the particular touch point.

This invention relates generally to means for accessing audio and video information from multimedia sources. More specifically, the present invention relates to an interactive binder/platform wherein tactile input is translated into an electronic signal which is transmitted to a multimedia source which provides output in response to the tactile input.
The widespread availability and use of personal computers has revolutionized information management worldwide. With improvements in computer memory and speed, applications are being developed which enable tasks to be performed today which only a few short years ago could be accomplished only through the use of large, main-frame computers. Computers are routinely utilized for tasks such as word processing, accounting, inventory control and desktop publishing, as well as a myriad of other uses. Increasingly, CD-ROM drives are incorporated into personal computing work stations, primarily because CD-ROM disks are capable of storing a great deal of information which may be accessed quickly.
Many tasks and operations which were formerly accomplished utilizing books, manuals, writing paper and/or boards, are now routinely accomplished by means of the personal computer, wherein interactivity between the information of a software program and the user is accomplished by means of a display screen and one of several available input devices, including a keyboard and a mouse. While such interactivity is acceptable in many applications, there are others where a more conventional tactile-type input remote from the computer would be preferable.
For example, many people are far more comfortable with books than with a computer screen. Such people usually prefer to read information from a tangible page than from the screen of a computer. Often such is the case when one has the task of learning a great deal of information such as in school studies. Further, while many may find the visual display of a computer satisfactory, it is well known that some types of learning are far better if some type of direct tactile feedback is available. In this regard younger children, while they may benefit from the modern technology found in today's computers, often find it quite difficult to respond to inquiries posed by the computer through a keyboard or a mouse. There is, therefore, the need for some type of input device which provides an appropriate feedback channel that may be actuated through tactile-type input.
Another example is in the realm of games, whether such games are structured purely for pleasure or have an educational aspect. While many games can be played on a computer utilizing nothing more than the keyboard and a mouse, some computer game enthusiasts still prefer something akin to a normal game board wherein games pieces may be moved from one spot to another as play progresses. Even under such circumstances a computer could be utilized to increase the complexity of the game and automatically keep score and remind players of the proper play order and rules if a suitable tie-in where available between a game board and the computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,176 discloses a station for providing interactivity with a multimedia source, such as a computer or CD-ROM player, which can be advantageously utilized to provide convenient tactile input to the multimedia source either as part of a game or in response to a printed or computer-generated inquiry. However, this system is limited in that there is only one-way communication from the station to the multimedia source and no feedback from the multimedia source back to the station.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an interactive binder and platform system that serves as an exciting and informative book. There is an additional need for an interactive binder and platform system that includes "free-standing" volumes that can be filled with colorful graphics, valuable information and challenges. There is a further need for an interactive binder and platform system that is a separate repository for information. There is also a need for an interactive binder and platform system that can be used in school settings to teach and test students, incorporate games, and serve as an audio device as well as a visual device. There is a need for an interactive binder and platform system that provides two-way communication between the binder and a multimedia source. There is also a need for an interactive binder and platform system that can serve as a catalog that a user can fully browse by flipping the pages, and, when fascinated by a product, the user can touch a single dot in the binder to connect to the Internet and access audio and video supplements and subsequently make purchases. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.


A window covering, a lifting mechanism for a window covering and a locking device for a lifting mechanism are disclosed. The lifting mechanism includes main body, a pair of cord spools rotatably mounted to the main body, and a pair of coil springs that rotate a member separate from the cord spools, and the member rotates the spools to wind the cord onto the spools. The locking device includes a main body, a cord slot associated with the main body and a locking arm having a cord channel in sliding engagement with the main body and having a channel, and a biasing mechanism to move the cord channel out of alignment with the slot and releasably lock the cord in position

Window coverings such as Venetian blinds and cellular shades are typically raised with an outer pull cord. Venetian blinds typically comprise a plurality of horizontal slats suspended beneath a headrail by two or more flexible ladder laces. The ladder laces each include a pair of vertically extending side cords interconnected by a plurality of vertically spaced slat supporting rungs, and the upper ends of the ladders are attached to a ladder drum or tilt drum to tilt the slats in response to turning of the ladder drum. Carriers for the several ladders typically are rotated in unison by a tilt rod. Cellular shades typically comprise a headrail, a bottom rail, and a continuous, collapsible web of material suspended between a headrail and a bottom rail that is raised or lowered with an outer pull cord.
Recent improvements to Venetian blind and cellular shade lifting mechanisms have involved the use of spring motor lifting mechanisms. Spring motor lifting mechanisms provide lifting force for the bottom rail and the window covering, and the lifting mechanism allows the lifting cords to be concealed in the body of the window covering. The cords are stored on spools associated with the lifting mechanism. Spring motors are well-known and generally include a flat ribbon of pre-stressed spring metal coiled to have a natural or relaxed state in which the spring forms a tightly wound coil. Although a variety of lifting mechanisms presently exist, improvements in lifting mechanisms are needed. It would be desirable to provide an inexpensive and compact window covering lifting mechanism and improved locking devices for such lifting mechanisms.


The present invention is directed to a stop device for a mailbox. The stop device includes a body having a front surface, a back surface and an orifice for hanging the device from a mailbox. The stop device is able to restrict the movement of items hanging from a mailbox when the device is suspended from the mailbox.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a stop device, and more particularly, to a stop device for hanging material on a mailbox.
2. Description of Related Art
A large number of mailboxes include a mailbox hook or similar structure located on the mailbox for hanging various items. For example, postal carriers, solicitors, and others often use mailbox hooks to hang bags containing advertising material or newspapers. Unfortunately, as the bags or other items hang from the mailbox hook, they are easily moved about due to wind and other weather conditions. As a result, the items hanging from the mailbox hook often become twisted, tangled or fall off of the mailbox hook completely. What is needed is a device that would prevent the items hanging from a mailbox hook becoming twisted or tangled.


The present invention relates to an integrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) RF apparatus and method of constructing the same. One Embodiment of the present invention provides an MRI apparatus comprising an examination region, a patient support, at least one vacuum thermal isolation housing, a main magnet system for generating a main magnetic field in the examination region, and a cryogenic system. The vacuum thermal isolation housing comprises a hermetically sealed high vacuum jacket that encloses a low vacuum space hosting at least one superconductor RF coil and a heat sink assembly therein. The RF coil is in thermal contact with the heat sink assembly that is coupled to the cryogenic system through a heat pipe to achieve and maintain a desired low temperature at the superconductor RF coil.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical imaging technique widely used in radiology to visualize the structure and function of a human body or a living object. Because MRI scanner is able to create excellent images of various kinds of tissues of the body, especially the soft tissue due to the water content differences in those tissues, it provides doctors useful diagnostic information pertaining all parts of the body such as nervous system, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, and urinary reproductive system. This technique is particularly advantageous for early detection and treatment of stroke, real-time observation of cardiovascular function, and diagnosis of tumors and cancer. In addition, it is an exceptional tool for orthopedic injury diagnosis and surgery for man and animal alike. It can also perform in vivo chemical analysis through spectroscopy.
During an examination, a patient's body is placed within the examination region and is supported by a patient support in an MRI scanner where a substantially constant and uniform primary magnetic field is provided by a primary magnet. The magnetic field aligns the nuclear magnetization of processing hydrogen atoms (protons) in water in the body. Typically, there is a radio frequency (RF) coil and a gradient coil assembly within the magnet. The radio frequency coil produces an excitation frequency pulse that temporarily creates an oscillating transverse magnetization which is detected by the radio frequency coil and used by a computer system to create an image of the part under examination.
To map the body precisely, magnetic field gradients is applied so that the magnitude of the magnetic field varies with location inside the examination region characteristics of the magnetic resonance signals from different locations within the region, such as the frequency and phase of the signals, can be made to vary in a predictable manner depending upon position within the region.
People have been pursuing better quality MRI imaging relentlessly since the inception of MRI in 1977. Similarly, imaging speed to minimize imaging blurring caused by patient movement or nature movement such as blood flow during imaging process is also improved. Several factors contribute to better MRI image quality in terms of high contrast and resolution. One of the critical parameter, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), determines the image quality. Increasing SNR by increasing the signal before the pre-amplifier of the MRI system is important in terms of increasing the quality of the image. SNR is defined as the power ratio of signal and noise.SNR=Psignal/Pnoise  (Equation 1)wherein Psignal and Pnoise are the power of signal and noise, respectively.
In an MRI system, RF coils function as transmitters to apply magnetic field pulses that excite the nuclear (proton) spins. Meanwhile, the coils function as receivers to receive the weak free induction signal. The transmitter design is not nearly as crucial as the receiver design for achieving good image quality. In some cases, the same coil serves as both the transmitter and receiver to avoid the electronic switching between transmit and receive modes of operation (M. A. Foster, J. M. S. Hutchison, Practical NMR Imaging IRL Press Ltd. p 34, 1987). However, criteria of an ideal transmission coil conflict with those of the receiver coil. Therefore in most situations separate transmission coils and receiver coils are used in an MRI system.
One way to improve SNR is to increase the strength of the magnet as the SNR is proportional to the magnitude of the magnetic field. The magnitude of magnetic field in MRI is usually measured in the unit of tesla (T), of which 1 tesla equals 10,000 gauss. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has limited the magnitude of magnetic field of MRI scanner to less than 4 tesla for use in medical imaging (FDA Guidelines for Magnetic Resonance Equipment Safety", Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA, 2002).
Another way to improve SNR is to reduce noises. Since there is an upper limitation of the strength of magnetic field for human MRI, it is more sensible to reduce noise.
Noises can be categorized to body (sample) noise created by patient's body and coil noise created by the coils.Pnoise=Psignal-noise+Pcoil-noise  (Equation 2)wherein Psignal-noise and Pcoil-noise are sample and coil noise, respectively. Using (1) and (2), one can obtainSNR=Psignal/(Psignal-noise+Pcoil-noise)  (Equation 3)
In equation 3, the signal is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the coil and the sample; the sample noise is proportional to the volume of the sample (body) or field of view (FOV). The larger the sample is, the higher the sample noise will be. On the other hand, coil noise is a function of conductance of the coil, which is determined by materials of the coil and the temperature of the coil. (Neil Alford: "Superconducting Receive Coils for a Compact Low Field MRI System", in: Physical Electronics and Materials, http://eccel .lsbu.ac.uk/research/pem/MRI.html).
A lot of research work has been done on reducing both sample (body) noise and coil noise to improve MRI image quality. However, current art of general purpose MRI scanners have intrinsic shortcomings. A general purpose scanner has large magnets and large coils in order to scan the whole body of a patient. The large magnets provide large coverage of scanning area which is suitable for all kinds of tissue in all parts of the body. Large coils have large FOVs and create high sample noise and coil noise. In order to shorten the distance from coil to the patient's body and increase the signal strength, the coils are positioned around the patient closely, making the examination region of the scanner wrapping the patient tightly, which is often the reason of claustrophobia complaint from the patient. Most of the time, doctors are interested in examining certain organ in certain part of the patient's body using different types of the coils such as general purpose surface coil, knee coil, breast coil, head coil, spine coil, and array coil. The coils can be designed to fit to the shapes of the organs to be examined, and are positioned much closer to the organs so that the signal strength will be increased. All of the current RF coils are made of metallic material such as Copper. Coils are detachable from the magnet and placed into the magnet one coil at a time to image individual organ.
A high SNR in clinic MRI imaging could be achieved by design and making better RF coils. Previous work done ("HTS Volume Coil with Improved Imaging Volume", S. Y. Chong, ISMRM, 2008) by research groups has demonstrated that SNR can be increased by as much as 300-500% using the superconductor materials, particularly the high temperature superconductor (HTS) such as YiBaCuO, BiSrTiCaO, et al. The drawback of the superconductor coil is that one has to use a bulky cryogenic subsystem in order to operate the superconductor coil. So far, all the HTS coils demonstrated are also detached from the MRI machine. In clinical applications, the superconducting coil subsystem has to be installed and detached back or forth for imaging of individual organ. With the bulky cryogenic subsystem, it is very troublesome to do the installation which limits the application. Many old designs for the general purpose scanner such as coils, cryogenic (cooling) system for the coils, the housing for the coils and the patient support are no longer suitable for the new, high performance MRI system.

Integrated superconductor MRI imaging system


A virtual machine is extended to include native support for co-routines. In this manner, high-level programmers are afforded access to such functionality. More particularly, supplied is a mechanism inside the virtual machine to enable method/function state to be maintained and subsequently restored. Consequently, a method/function can be called multiple times and resume where it last left off. This provides direct support for tier splitting patterns, iterators and comprehensions, among other things.

Computer programs are lists of instructions that describe actions to be performed by a computer or processor-based device. When a computer program is loaded and executed on computer hardware, the computer will behave in a predetermined manner by following the instructions of the computer program. Accordingly, the computer becomes a specialized machine that performs the tasks prescribed by the instructions. A programmer using a programming language creates the instructions comprising a computer program. As computer programs became more sophisticated, programming languages have evolved from low-level machine code languages, easily understood by computers, to high-level source code languages more readily comprehensible to humans. Such programs include a plurality of constructs including subroutines.
A subroutine (e.g., function, method, procedure . . . ) is a portion of relatively independent code within a larger program designed to perform a particular task. Subroutines are beneficial at least because they modularize or break code up into logical segments. This affords many advantages such as reducing program redundancy, enabling reuse across programs, decomposing complex problems into smaller pieces and improving readability, among other things. Subroutines themselves are composed of a body of code for execution, parameters that are passed when called and a return result. While subroutines are common programming constructs, a generalization thereof, namely co-routines are not.
In contrast to subroutines, co-routines are program components that allow multiple entry points as well as suspending and resuming execution at particular code locations. The start of subroutine is the only entry point, while the start of a co-routine is only one entry point. Subsequent points can follow returns. Further, a subroutine only returns once, while co-routines can return multiple times. Further yet, co-routine lifespan is defined by utilization and subroutine lifespan is completed after a sequential execution.
While co-routines are more generic, they are also less widely employed due at least in part to implementation problems/complexities. Most implementations are confined to low-level assembly language implementations. In high-level languages programmers are responsible for maintaining state and execution paths via global state variables, flags and the like. Among other things, this is difficult to comprehend and maintain and can also be computationally expensive as it adds an additional layer of interpretation.

Co-routines native to a virtual execution environment


An adjustable head support apparatus includes a head support and an adjusting assembly disposed within the seat back of a chair. The adjusting assembly includes a positioning base, a rotating block, a moving base and a latch base. The positioning base is disposed at a rear end of the seat back and the rotating block is pivoted within the positioning base. The moving base is installed at the rear end of the positioning base to move the head support. The latch base is installed at the front end of the head support and engaged with the latch. When the head support is pulled up enough to move the moving base upward, the moving base will rotate the latch of the rotating block. Therefore, the height of the head support can be adjusted to satisfy different people and the support of the head can be provided properly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable head support apparatus, and more particularly to a head support installed at an upper end of a seat back of a chair.
2. Description of Related Art
For better sitting comfort, the functions of the chair become more and more diverse. For example, by installing the wheels, the chair is conveniently movable. By adjusting the height of the chair, the chair is suitable for people of different body sizes or for different usage circumstances. By adjusting an inclined angle of the seat back, people's back can be supported properly. Accordingly, a consumer can choose to purchase the suitable chair in accordance with personal preferences.
In order to support the neck when a person is sitting on the chair, some of the chairs will install a head support on top of the seat back. When a person is sitting on the chair and the person's back touches the seat back, the person's head can lean on the head support to fully support the whole body to feel more comfortable.
However, the conventional head support is directly installed on top of the seat back. When the head support is installed, the relative position between the head support and the seat back is fixed. Accordingly, the manufacturer designs the head support in accordance with the person of a medium body size. For a person not of the medium body size, the person's head is higher or lower than the height of the head support when he is sitting on the chair. Therefore, the head is not supported properly and the head support is useless.
Therefore, since the conventional head support is installed on the seat back and the height of the head support is not changeable, the aforementioned problems exist.