A film image reading apparatus reads the image of a strip film and can generate index display screen data to be displayed on a monitor screen of a host apparatus with the contents arbitrarily selected and set by the user. The film image reading apparatus also includes a memory to store index display setting screen data to be displayed on the monitor screen of the host apparatus and an display data generator which takes an output from an image reader and from a magnetic information reader which are entered from the host apparatus according to setting data selected and set on the index display setting screen, and which generates index display screen data to be displayed on the monitor screen of the host apparatus.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a film image reading apparatus which reads an image of a strip of film.
2. Description of Related Art
A film image reading apparatus which reads the image of the film shot by a camera is known as a film scanner. Film scanners are used to read an image of a negative film or a reverse film and to input the image data into host apparatus such as a personal computer.
Such film image reading apparatus are divided into transmission type reading apparatus--in which light transmitted through the film medium is given to the image reading means, such as, e.g., a CCD, (hereafter "line sensor")--and into reflection type reading apparatus in which light reflected from the film medium is given to the line sensor. The line sensor and the film medium are related such that either the film medium is made to move relative to the line sensor or the line sensor is made to move relative to the film medium.
Conventionally, the line sensor is formed of an image accumulation unit which is a plurality of photo-electric conversion units arranged in a row, and a transfer unit to transfer electric charge accumulated in each of the image accumulation units. In the line sensor, transferring the electric charge accumulated in each of the image accumulation units to the transfer unit and scanning the electric charge to the external apparatus is executed sequentially from one end of the film image to the other end in the length direction. This image reading scanning is defined as main scanning and the direction of this scanning is defined as main scanning direction.
An image in the image region of the film is read by moving the film medium relative to the line sensor by the moving means in the subscanning direction, which is perpendicular to the main scanning direction.
Further, a more recent type of standard film is also available. This film is a strip of film (hereafter "roll film") to which magnetic information may be added and which may be handled without being taken out of the cartridge even after development of the film.
For example, this roll film comprises a magnetic memory unit (or portion) in the lead unit and in each frame. Film information is stored in the magnetic memory unit of the lead unit. A title, a shooting date, shooting conditions and the like are written in the magnetic memory unit of each frame.
The film information includes a type and model of the film, frame number, total number of frames and the like. The type of the film indicates whether the film is color or black and white, and whether the film is positive or negative, and so on.
In a film image reading apparatus which handles roll film, index display image data is generated which enables one-glance observation of each frame of the roll film. This index display image data is sent to a host apparatus and is index-displayed in a monitor screen. Moreover, an index print of the index-displayed image data may be obtained.
However, in a camera which handles a roll film, a high vision size (H size), a classic size (C size) and a panorama size (P size) may be selected, for example, for the size of the shooting image.
Shooting conditions may also be stored in the magnetic memory unit of each frame. Thus, a user can enjoy taking pictures by arbitrarily setting shooting conditions in a camera designed to handle the roll film. Therefore, it is desirable to have an index display with user designable features.

Film image reading apparatus and method in which multiple images are simultaneously displayed


The intermittent application method of intermittently applying an application liquid to a continuously conveyed band-shaped or cut-sheet-shaped supporting body, includes the step of causing a lower surface of the supporting body, and a circumferential surface of an application cylinder which takes up the application liquid from an application liquid reservoir by rotation, to make contact with each other and separate from each other in a relative manner by means of a cam mechanism in such a manner that an application section where the application liquid is applied, and a non-application section where the application liquid is not applied, are formed on the lower surface of the supporting body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intermittent application method and apparatus, and an inkjet recording method and apparatus, and to technology for intermittently applying an application liquid with high accuracy onto a supporting body by means of an application cylinder, and more particularly, to technology for intermittently applying a treatment liquid with high accuracy onto a supporting body (for example, an intermediate transfer body) in a two-liquid transfer type of inkjet recording method and apparatus wherein an ink image formed by causing two liquids, such as ink and treatment liquid, to react together on an intermediate transfer body is transferred onto a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet recording method performs recording by ejecting droplets of ink respectively from a plurality of ejection nozzles which are formed in an inkjet head, and this type of method is used widely since it enables images of high quality to be recorded onto recording media of a wide variety of types, while incurring low running costs and producing little noise during the recording operation.
There are known inkjet recording methods in which an ink image is formed temporarily on an intermediate transfer body by ejecting droplets of ink onto the intermediate transfer body from an inkjet head, and the ink image is then transferred onto a recording medium (for example, paper) by a roller, in a transfer part. According to a transfer type of inkjet recording method of this kind, it is possible to remove ink solvent (for example, water, or the like) on the intermediate transfer body by means of a solvent removal roller or the like, and then transfer the image onto the recording medium. Therefore, problems such as bleeding of the image, printing through to the rear surface, deformation of the recording medium (so-called cockling), and the like, which are caused by the presence of ink solvent, are avoided, and therefore an image of high quality can be obtained.
The intermediate transfer body may be an endless belt formed in the shape of a band, which is conveyed by being wrapped about a plurality of rollers, or it may be a sheet-fed intermediate transfer body which is conveyed on a conveyor belt, or the intermediate transfer body may be a drum-shaped member.
Furthermore, an inkjet recording method is also known which is a two-liquid method of promoting fixing of ink by forming an ink image by causing reaction of two liquids, namely, an ink and a treatment liquid which aggregates the ink. A two-liquid method of this kind is used also in a system which forms an image directly on a recording medium, in addition to a transfer system such as that described above.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-321350 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-170036 disclose related art technology which applies a two-liquid method to a transfer type of inkjet recording method. These publications state that it is possible to use, as a device which applies treatment liquid to an intermediate transfer body, an application roller system or spray nozzle system which is able to apply treatment liquid to the whole surface of the intermediate transfer body, as well as ejection nozzles which eject treatment liquid as liquid droplets.
However, the full surface of the intermediate transfer body does not necessarily form an image region for forming an ink image, and there may be an image region where an ink image is formed and a non-image region where an ink image is not formed. For example, sheets of a recording medium, such as cut paper, are supplied at a uniform spacing to the transfer roller, and the portion of the intermediate transfer body corresponding to the uniform spacing forms a non-image region.
Consequently, as shown in FIG. 13A, intermittent application is required in which a treatment liquid is applied only to the image regions 12A (black diagonally hatched regions) of the intermediate transfer body 12 which correspond to the recording media, and treatment liquid is not applied to the non-image regions 12B (white regions) of the intermediate transfer body which correspond to the uniform spacing. Furthermore, even if band-shaped recording media are supplied continuously to the transfer unit, then since an image region 12A and a non-image region 12B are formed on the intermediate transfer body 12 as shown in FIG. 13B, intermittent application for applying treatment liquid only onto the image regions 12A (black diagonally hatched regions) is required. In other words, on-demand application is required for applying treatment liquid in an intermittent fashion, only to the required regions of the intermediate transfer body 12.
If treatment liquid is applied to the whole surface of the intermediate transfer body 12 as in the related art, then not only is the treatment liquid used wastefully, but this can also lead to problems such as the occurrence of foreign material and increase in the cleaning load, as described below.
In other words, since the treatment liquid which has been applied to the non-image regions 12B of the intermediate transfer body 12 may adhere to the roller of the transfer unit, and the like, during transfer, then if the treatment liquid adheres to the roller in this way a large number of times, the treatment liquid forms foreign matter, which is then transferred to the recording medium.
As a countermeasure against foreign material, a composition is possible in which a cleaning apparatus for the intermediate transfer body 12 is provided on the downstream side of the transfer unit, but if there is a large amount of treatment liquid remaining on the intermediate transfer body 12, then the cleaning load will be very great. In particular, if the treatment liquid includes components such as a strong acidic material or alkali material, then these can be causes of degradation of the intermediate transfer body 12 itself, or of corrosion of the roller of the transfer unit.
Furthermore, the length of the non-image region 122B where treatment liquid is not applied to the intermediate transfer body 12 is generally an extremely short length of the order of a millisecond (msec) when converted to time. Consequently, highly accurate application technology is required in order to halt the application instantaneously for the non-image region 12B of the intermediate transfer body 12. Moreover, due to demands for image quality of high resolution and reduced drying time for transfer, technology is also required which is able to apply the treatment liquid in an extremely thin film of several microns, at a uniform thickness, on the intermediate transfer body 12.
If the application roller system and the spray nozzle system described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-321350 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-170036 are considered in view of these requirements relating to the application of treatment liquid, then although a spray nozzle can turn the spray of treatment liquid on and off with relatively good accuracy, by controlling the opening and closing of a valve, for example, it is difficult to apply an extremely thin film uniformly.
On the other hand, an application apparatus which comprises an application cylinder, such as an application roller apparatus, is excellent for applying a uniform thin film, but this structure is not beneficial for switching the supply of treatment liquid on and off. Therefore, such an apparatus is not suitable for highly accurate intermittent application in which the application of liquid is halted instantaneously when changing from the image region 12A to the non-image region 12B on the intermediate transfer body 12.
In view of these circumstances, an apparatus which is capable of highly accurate intermittent coating by comprising a function for instantaneously halting application and restarting application is required as an application apparatus comprising an application cylinder, and an intermittent application apparatus of this kind would be highly valuable not only in the field of applying treatment liquid in an inkjet recording apparatus, but also in various other technical fields.

Intermittent application method and apparatus, and inkjet recording method and apparatus


A system and program product for enabling dormant computer hardware resources in a computer system having a set of dormant computer hardware resources. The method includes accepting a customer request to enable a set of dormant hardware resources, and providing computer readable instructions to a customer accessible console in communication with the computer system. The instructions are installable by the customer, and are capable of enabling dormant computer hardware resources upon installation. An order process establishes prerequisites, facilitates customer order placement, and provides rapid order fulfillment. Prerequisites include contract terms, information describing the computer system configuration, access to provider systems, and customer system setup. Ordering is facilitated through information management, configuration rules, and an interactive interface, presenting valid configuration options to the customer. Fulfillment is facilitated through parallel processing, providing computer readable upgrade instructions nearly concurrently with provider's internal order approval. An alternative embodiment provides upgrade instructions before provider's internal order approval.

As is known, there exists considerable variation in the needs of computer users. A "one size fits all" approach to providing computing resources, such as processor type, number of processors, memory, input/output (I/O) etc., is therefore impractical. To meet the various needs of users, therefore, providers of computing resources should have the ability to tailor the resources and capabilities of a particular system to the needs of a particular user.
As is also known, providers of computing systems and services operate in a highly competitive industry. In order to simultaneously maintain competitive pricing and adequate profit margins, computing providers must control costs. In particular, it is highly desirable for providers of computing systems to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing and inventory management of a proliferation of computing system models and configurations. Cost reductions may be achieved, therefore, by reducing the number of computing system models and configurations produced, inventoried, and sold.
While the above objectives appear contradictory, methods have been developed to simultaneously reduce manufacturing and inventory complexity while tailoring computing system resources to the needs of specific users. For example the following patents, each of which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application and each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describe various aspects by which a computing system may be constructed with installed resources that are initially dormant: U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,587 to J. E. Campbell et al., entitled "Self Modifying Access Code for Altering Capabilities"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,749 to R. J. Easter et al., entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Secure Hardware Configuration"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,753 to R. J. Easter et al., entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Secure Hardware Configuration"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,144 to F. A. Almquist et al., entitled "Method and System for Selectively Altering Data Processing System Functional Characteristics Without Mechanical Manipulation"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,281 to J. E. Campbell et al., entitled "Self Modifying Access Code for Altering Capabilities." As taught in the referenced patents, initially dormant computing resources may be activated or enabled as needed, thereby allowing a system provider to manufacture a reduced number of system models, each of which may be easily configured in a variety of ways simply by enabling various combinations of the initially dormant resources.
Computer systems having dormant resources may provide advantages to computer users as well. Such systems may be delivered to a customer location containing a set of installed hardware resources, only some of which are enabled. The remaining dormant resources may be enabled at a future date, at the customer location and without installing additional hardware resources. Such an arrangement provides a simplified path for the user to upgrade system resources.
While advances have been made in the underlying technologies enabling the activation of dormant computing resources, the technologies and methods used to deliver these capabilities to computer users have not kept pace. While the needs of computer users may change in rapid and unpredictable ways, the technologies and methods used to deliver system upgrades reflect an environment where system upgrades required the installation of physical hardware resources. These delivery technologies and methods do not, therefore, fully exploit the capabilities of the underlying technologies used to enable dormant resources.
For the foregoing reasons, therefore, there is a need in the art for an on demand method of enabling dormant computing resources that is responsive, flexible, and which leverages the capabilities of existing computer upgrade technologies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System, and computer program product for on demand enablement of dormant computing resources

International Business Machines Corporation


A braking member for rotatable mounting on a wheel axle of a hand-driven wheeled vehicle such as a shopping cart has a first part having an opening for mounting on a wheel axle, and a second part releasably secured to the first part and having a braking surface adapted to engage the ground when the braking member is in an operative position. When the braking member becomes worn, the entire member does not have to be removed from the wheel or caster, but instead the second part is released from the first part while the first part remains on the wheel. The second part can only be released using a special tool which is provided to store personnel.

The present invention relates generally to security devices for hand-operated wheeled vehicles, such as shopping carts, to deter theft of such vehicles, and is particularly concerned with a braking shell forming part of such a security device which is arranged to be deployed on actuation to rotate down into contact with the ground in order to inhibit wheel rotation.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,881,846 and 6,125,972 of French et al., a shopping cart security apparatus and system is described in which a braking member in the form of a shell is rotatably mounted on the wheel axle of one of the wheels, so as to partially surround the wheel. The shell is movable between a raised, inoperative position in which it does not contact the ground, and a lowered, operative position contacting the ground between the wheel and the ground, preventing rotation of the wheel. One problem with this arrangement is that the portion which contacts the ground, which is generally a skid plate, becomes worn over time and eventually needs to be replaced. This requires the entire caster to be removed from the cart so that the shell can be removed from the wheel axle and replaced or repaired. This makes the cost and time required for maintenance relatively high.

Braking shell for shopping cart security device


A medical port assembly having a body assembly with a top wall, a bottom wall, first and second walls, and an interior wall. The body assembly further has an exterior wall and an interior adhesive wall. The interior adhesive wall has adhesive means. A permeable wall comprises a slit protected by an overlapping flap. The interior wall and the permeable wall define a cavity. A protective cover covers the interior adhesive wall and/or the cavity. The protective cover adheres to the adhesive. A feeding tube is positioned through the slit. The feeding tube has a distal end, an external retention ring, and at least one port defined as a feeding port, a medication port, or a fluid port. When not utilized, the feeding tube is stored within the cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to port assemblies, and more particularly, to medical port assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
A stoma is an incision into the human body to create an artificial opening to the exterior of the abdomen or the stomach. For gastrostomy, a feeding tube is connected to the stoma. Stomas are different in shape and size.
Several inventions for ostomy supplies have been developed in the past. However, Applicant is not aware of any medical port assemblies that facilitate and comfortably secure a feeding tube to the stoma, without affecting sensitive skin at the stoma opening.


A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium are described in which a radio and core integrated layers service is provided. The service provides a direct mapping of a quality of service flow between a packet data unit layer and a service data adaptation layer associated with a user plane function and a central unit-user plane function without an intermediary mapping of a tunneling protocol in the user plane.

Development and design of radio access networks (RAN) and core networks present certain challenges from a network-side perspective and an end device perspective. For example, depending on the configurations from both network-side and end device-side perspectives, such configurations may reduce the effective use of resources and negatively impact various performance metrics, such as latency, etc. Accordingly, a need exists to overcome these challenges.


A granule dispensing device is provided and includes a chamber having a predetermined volume for housing granules and defining a flow path for a flow of granules, a valve assembly for controlling the flow path, and an actuator configured to actuate the valve assembly for dispensing the granules.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention a granule dispensing device is provided and includes a chamber having a predetermined volume for housing granules and defining a flow path for a flow of granules, a valve assembly for controlling the flow path, and an actuator configured to actuate the valve assembly for dispensing granules.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the chamber defines a first slot on a first wall and a second slot on a second spaced-apart and opposing wall.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the flow path is allowed to flow into the first slot when the actuator is in a first position and into the second slot when the actuator is in a second position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the chamber further includes a ramp.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the chamber defines a greater area about the first slot than an area about the second slot such that the ramp decreases the area of the chamber towards the second slot.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the actuator further includes a plurality of stop members configured to restrict movement of the chamber beyond the first position and the second position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the dispensing device also includes at least one rake member positioned about an end of the granule dispensing device for moving undergrowth away from a desired fertilizing position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the granule dispensing device also includes a channel within the flow path for providing a passageway for the flow of granules to enter the chamber.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the granule dispensing device includes a funnel for providing access to the channel through an opening formed in the channel.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the funnel has an open position and a closed position and the funnel comprises a shroud having a contour approximating a contour of the channel and is hinged about the channel such that the funnel maintains about the same shape as the channel when the funnel is the closed position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the actuator comprises a pair of shrouds connected by a longitudinally extending member, and the actuator moves between a first position and a second position by rotation of the pair of shrouds.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the chamber defines a first opening and a shroud of the pair of shrouds defines a second opening, wherein the first opening and the second opening are generally misaligned when the actuator is in the first position, and the first opening and the second opening are generally aligned when the actuator is in the second position, thereby allowing a flow of granules through the second opening when the actuator is in the second position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the granule dispensing device further includes a channel within the flow path for providing a passageway for the flow of granules to enter the chamber.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the granule dispensing device includes a funnel comprising a shroud having a contour approximating a contour of the channel and hinged about the channel such that the funnel has an open position and a closed position and maintains about the same shape as the channel when the funnel is in the closed position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the chamber includes a first slot on a first wall of the chamber and a second slot on a second wall of the chamber, wherein the second wall is spaced-apart from the first wall, and the actuator blocks the first slot and does not block the second slot when the actuator is in a second position, and blocks the second slot and does not block the first slot when the actuator is in a first position.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a granule dispensing device is provided and includes a granule dispensing chamber having a predetermined volume and defining a tapered shape such that the area of the chamber decreases towards an end of the chamber, a channel in communication with the granule dispensing chamber and configured to allow a flow path of granules to flow into the dispensing chamber, a valve assembly positioned within the chamber and configured to control the flow path of granules, and an actuator configured to actuate the valve assembly for dispensing the valves, whereby actuation of the actuator is operable to move the valve assembly between and open and a closed position.


A voltage converter that recovers quickly from a transition from a power save mode where the load is relatively low to a fully operation mode where the load is relatively high. The converter utilizes circuitry that is not dependent upon the slew rate of an amplifier in recovering from the transition. When the transition is sensed high current is applied for a short duration to increase the output voltage rapidly and thereby shorten the transition time from power save mode to fully operational mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the power supply circuitry of battery powered devices in which low power consumption is critical.
2. Related Art
In many battery powered devices there exists a power saving mode that a device may enter in order to save power and extend battery life. This is especially important in devices such as cellular phones. In order to maximize battery life, the devices must have very low power consumption. At the same time, the devices must quickly respond to input from a user.
DC-DC converters are a part of a larger power supply circuitry. The latest DC-DC Converters drain about 15 uA from the battery while operating in the power save or "No Load Current" mode. This power save mode is also referred to as Pulse Frequency Modulation ("PFM") mode or pulse skipping mode, whereas the device would otherwise be in operating mode, which employs Pulse Width Modulation ("PWM"). In the power save mode of many current devices, low or quiescent current usage is achievable by turning off all of the building blocks except the reference voltage and two comparators when the converter is skipping pulses.
In the operating mode, the DC-DC converter must regulate the output voltage at high load current. While in the operating mode the device operates at a fixed switching frequency and the regulation is achieved using error loop feedback. The recovery time to a high load current of the operating mode from the low current power save mode depends on the error loop setting time from the power save state and on the slew rate of the error amplifier.
FIG. 1 shows the block diagram of a prior art current-mode step-down DC-DC converter.
The PFM circuitry 138 resets the latch 106 during power save mode. In PWM mode the latch is being reset by the error loop feedback from PWM circuitry 125 comprising error amp 126, comparator 132 and current sensing and slope compensation circuitry block 134. The error amp 126 produces a voltage VE and the current sensing and slope compensation circuitry block 134 produces a voltage Vs, both of which are inputs to comparator 132. Latch 106 drives transistors 110 and 112 via drivers 108. Inductor 114 is directly or indirectly coupled to the output of transistors 110 and 112 and to a Voltage output 116.
The PFM circuitry 138 resets the latch during the power save (or Pulse Skipping) mode. In PWM mode the latch is being reset by the error loop feedback of PWM circuitry 125. The converter switches automatically between the two modes of operation. The switching is accomplished by the 'OR' gate 136 in FIG. 1.
In PWM circuitry 125, the output voltage level VE of error amp 126 changes with the load current and input voltage. The 'Current sensing and Slope Compensation' block 134 provides a voltage ramp proportional to the inductor current. The comparator 132 compares the voltage ramp (Vs) to the error signal (VE) and resets the flip-flop.
In the PWM mode operation, the converter 100 operates at a fixed frequency while controlling the duty cycle of transistor 110. At the beginning of each clock cycle, transistor 110, which is preferably but not necessarily a P-channel type transistor, is turned on. The current in inductor 114 ramps up and is sensed via the Current Sensing and Slope Compensation circuitry block 134. Transistor 110 is turned off when the sensed current causes the PWM comparator 132 to trip (as seen in the little graph in FIG. 1). After a minimum dead time preventing shoot through current, transistor 112, which is preferably but not necessarily an N-channel type transistor, will be turned on and the inductor current ramps down. As the clock cycle is completed, transistor 112 will be turned off and the next clock cycle starts.
While in power saving or pulse skipping mode, the PWM circuitry 125 including error amplifier 126 is turned off to save power and its output voltage is zero. When a high current load transition takes place the error amplifier is turned on and its output voltage rises to the regulation level. The converter 100 runs with a low duty cycle until the output voltage 116 regulation level is reached and the recovery time is a function of the error amplifier 126 slew rate. Because the recovery time depends on the slew rate in these prior devices, the recovery takes a relatively long time. In the prior art example shown in FIG. 1, the recovery time is on the order of 50 to 70 microseconds or longer. This recovery time is significant and is an undesirable quality of prior converters.

No load to high load recovery time in ultraportable DC-DC converters


Apparatus and methods for treating back pain are provided, in which an implantable stimulator is configured to communicate with an external control system, the implantable stimulator providing a neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy designed to cause muscle contraction to rehabilitate the muscle, restore neural drive and restore spinal stability; the implantable stimulator further including one or more of a number of additional therapeutic modalities, including a module that provides analgesic stimulation; a module that monitors muscle performance and adjusts the muscle stimulation regime; and/or a module that provides longer term pain relief by selectively and repeatedly ablating nerve fibers. In an alternative embodiment, a standalone implantable RF ablation system is described.

The human back is a complicated structure including bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and other structures. The spinal column consists of interleaved vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. These joints are capable of motion in several planes including flexion-extension, lateral bending, axial rotation, longitudinal axial distraction-compression, anterior-posterior sagittal translation, and left-right horizontal translation. The spine provides connection points for a complex collection of muscles that are subject to both voluntary and involuntary control.
Muscles provide mechanical stability to the spinal column. Cross sectional images of the spine demonstrate that the total area of the cross sections of the muscles surrounding the spinal column is much larger than the spinal column itself. Additionally, the muscles have much larger lever arms than those of the intervertebral disc and ligaments. The motor control system sends signals down nerves to activate the muscles of the back in concert to maintain spine stability.
The multifidus is the largest and most medial of the lumbar back muscles. It consists of a repeating series of fascicles which stem from the laminae and spinous processes of the vertebrae, and exhibit a substantially similar pattern of attachments caudally. These fascicles are arranged in five overlapping groups such that each of the five lumbar vertebrae gives rise to one of these groups. At each segmental level, a fascicle arises from the base and caudolateral edge of the spinous process, and several fascicles arise, by way of a common tendon, from the caudal tip of the spinous process. Although confluent with one another at their origin, the fascicles in each group diverge caudally to assume separate attachments to the mamillary processes, the iliac crest, and the sacrum. Some of the deep fibers of the fascicles which attach to the mamillary processes attach to the capsules of the facet joints next to the mamillary processes. All the fasicles arriving from the spinous process of a given vertebra are innervated by the medial branch of the dorsal ramus that issues from below that vertebra.
Normally, load transmission in the spinal column is painless, with the muscles acting in concert with the ligaments and bones preventing excessive relative movements of the structures. The neutral zone is the range of intervertebral motion, measured from a neutral position, within which the spinal motion is produced with a minimal internal resistance. Over time, dysfunction of the spinal stabilization system can lead to instability and abnormal movement of the spine, resulting in overloading of structures when the spine moves beyond its neutral zone. High loads can lead to inflammation, disc degeneration, ligament damage, facet joint degeneration, and muscle fatigue, all of which can result in pain.
For patients believed to have back pain due to instability, clinicians first offer a group of therapies that attempts to minimize the abnormal range of motion that leads to the pain. If this group of therapies does not work, then the next group of therapies aims to block the pain produced by the abnormal range of motion.
Common conservative methods of attempting to reduce abnormal motion aim to improve muscle strength and control and include core abdominal exercises, use of a stability ball, and Pilates. If conservative methods of preventing abnormal movement are ineffective, surgical approaches may be used.
Spinal fusion is the standard surgical treatment for chronic back pain. One or more vertebrae are surgically fused together to prevent relative motion. Following fusion, motion is reduced across the vertebral motion segment. Dynamic stabilization implants are intended to reduce abnormal motion and load transmission of a spinal motion segment, without fusion. Total disc replacement and artificial nucleus prostheses also aim to improve spine stability and load transmission while preserving motion.
If pain persists after physical therapy or surgical intervention to prevent the abnormal motion that leads to pain, few options are available for relief.
One option is a technique referred to as "RF rhizotomy", in which radio frequency ("RF") energy is used to ablate the medial branch of the dorsal ramus that contains the afferent fibers responsible for transmitting pain signals from the facet joint. There are several devices available for performing this treatment, such as those offered by Baylis Medical Inc. (Montreal, Canada). While this technique can be effective, it provides only short term relief as nerve fibers may regenerate over time, and generally the procedure must be repeated approximately every six months to maintain effective pain control. The electrical parameters for RF ablation of nerves differ amongst various suppliers.
Another option for pain relief is Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS). This technology provides low energy electrical signals delivered via externally applied skin pad electrodes. While the exact mechanism of action is still subject to some controversy, it is generally believed that the electrical energy blocks the signals in the afferent nerve fibers that transmit the pain signals to the brain.
A modification to this approach is to use percutaneous wires connected to electrodes placed nearer to the nerves (PENS or Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). A wide variety of PENS or TENS stimulation parameters have been published, including high-frequency (HF; >10 Hz), low-frequency (LF; <10 Hz), variable-frequency (VF) and acupuncture-like (AL), which employs very low-frequency, high-amplitude stimulation. The intensity of the TENS or PENS stimulation (voltage or current) is generally adjusted to a level which achieves analgesia without causing irritation or pain from the stimulation itself. One such PENS device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,557.
Implantable devices for electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves for control of pain have been described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,324,852 B2 describes an implantable electrical stimulation device with a plurality of electrodes that are implanted subcutaneously and are stimulated in a pre-determined pattern to provide pain relief.
A Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) is an implanted electrical stimulation device with one or more electrodes that are placed adjacent or near to the spinal cord, with the goal of blocking the pain signals from being transmitted via the spinal cord to the brain. Although SCS was originally designed and approved for radicular pain (sciatica), the technique is increasingly being used for lower back pain. Spinal cord stimulators may be self-powered (i.e., contain a primary battery or cell) or may include a rechargeable battery (i.e., a secondary battery or cell), as described for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,227.
The key drawback with all of the previously known electrical stimulation techniques that seek to block the pain signals (TENS, PENS, SCS and RF Ablation of the nerves) is that relief, if obtained, is usually only temporary, and repeated or continuous therapies are needed.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2008/0228241 to Sachs, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describes an implanted electrical stimulation device that is designed to restore neural drive and rehabilitate the multifidus muscle. Rather than masking pain signals while the patient's spinal stability potentially undergoes further deterioration, the stimulator system described in that application is designed to reduce the propensity for instability of the spinal column, which in turn is expected to reduce persistent or recurrent pain.
While the stimulator system described in the Sachs application seeks to rehabilitate the multifidus and restore neural drive, it does not provide relief of the pain during the application of the therapy. Thus, it is possible that for some patients the effectiveness of the therapy may be hindered by the continuation of pain, which may interfere with restoration of neural drive to the muscle or impede the patient's ability to tolerate the therapy. In addition, it is possible that as the tone of the multifidus muscle improves during use of the stimulator system described in the Sachs application, it may be desirable to reduce the stimulus amplitude, frequency or duration, or stimulation intervals.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to augment the stimulator system described in the Sachs application with additional therapeutic modalities, such as the ability to alleviate pain during and between muscle stimulation. It therefore may be desirable to provide pain blocking stimulation to afferent nerve fibers simultaneously with muscle stimulation pulses, or at other times.
It further may be desirable, depending upon the severity of the pain experienced by a patient and the degree to which it interferes with rehabilitation of the multifidus muscle, to provide pain blocking by selectively ablating afferent nerve fibers in conjunction with the stimulation therapy described in the Sachs application.
It also would be desirable to combine the rehabilitative stimulation therapy described in Sachs with a capability to monitor muscle performance during the stimulation therapy, and to adjust the applied stimulation pulses to account for changes in the muscle tone and neural drive. In addition, it would be desirable to detect the duration, frequency and strength of muscle contractions to further reduce the patient's perception of pain resulting from the muscle stimulation therapy, for example, to avoid spasm.

Modular stimulator for treatment of back pain, implantable RF ablation system and methods of use


Displacement detector 1 generates bi-phase sine wave signals S1A and S1B with a period of P1 in accordance with a displacement L to be detected. Another displacement detector 2 generates bi-phase sine wave signals S2A and S2B with a period of P2 different from the period P1 in accordance with the displacement L to be detected. Wavelength composing means 3 composes the sine wave signals S1A, S2A and the cosine wave signals S1B, S2B output from the displacement detectors 1 and 2 to generate bi-phase sine wave signals, SxA=S1Axc2x7S2Bxe2x88x92S1Bxc2x7S2A and SxB=S1Bxc2x7S2B+S1Axc2x7S2A, with a period of Px equal to the least common multiple between the periods P1 and P2. Then, detecting each phase of a fine resolution signal comprising either of outputs from the displacement detectors 1 and 2 and a coarse resolution signal comprising the output signal from the wavelength composing means 3, and computing the displacement L as an absolute position within said period Px based on the phase information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for measuring an absolute displacement, which is applicable to a linear encoder, a lightwave interferometer for measuring a length, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for detecting a mechanical displacement of an object have been know in the art as a linear encoder of scale type and a lightwave interferometer, for example. These displacement detection devices include in principle an incremental type for detecting a relative displacement and an absolute type for detecting an absolute displacement. The incremental type device employs a displacement detector that generates a sine wave signal in response to the mechanical displacement, and counts the number of periods of the resultant sine wave signal to obtain a relative displacement (position). The absolute type device employs displacement detectors that generate a plurality of sine wave signals with different signal periods, detects phases of respective sine wave signals, and composes the resultant position information to obtain an absolute displacement (position).
Specifically employed in the case of the absolute type device are such displacement detectors that generate, for example, three sine wave signals with greatly different periods from each other. The sine wave signal with the largest period is a coarse resolution signal; the sine wave signal with a smaller period than the largest period is a medium resolution signal; and the sine wave signal with much smaller period is a fine resolution signal. A high precise absolute displacement can be obtained within a period of the coarse resolution signal by performing a process of interpolating the position information of the coarse resolution signal corresponding to an objective displacement with the medium resolution signal and further interpolating it with the fine resolution signal.
As described above, the absolute displacement measuring device requires the plural displacement detectors to generate the sine wave signals with greatly different periods. An absolute measurement can not be performed in principle within an additional measuring range that exceeds the originally prepared measuring range of the displacement detector. Then, there is proposed a wavelength composing method that employs displacement detectors prepared to generate two sine wave signals with close periods and composes their outputs to obtain a sine wave signal with a larger period, from which an absolute measurement can be performed within a broader measuring range that is not planned originally in the displacement detectors (for example, in JP 59-79114A).
In the wavelength composing method proposed in the art, a finite difference is calculated between a triangular wave signal with a period of P1 as shown in FIG. 12A and a triangular wave signal with a period of P2 as shown in FIG. 12B to obtain a composed signal with a period of P1xc2x7P2/(P2xe2x88x92P1) as shown in FIG. 12C. The closer the periods P1 and P2, the larger the period of the synthesized signal, P1xc2x7P2/(P2xe2x88x92P1). By using the composed signal as the coarse resolution signal and calculating the number of the period P1 or P2 and a fraction distance within the coarse resolution signal, an absolute position can be obtained within a period of the coarse resolution signal.
In the wavelength composing method proposed in the art, however, an error occurs at a transition of the period as shown in FIG. 12D when calculating the finite difference simply. Therefore, correction arithmetic is inevitably required to correct the error in order to obtain such the composed signal as shown in FIG. 12C. Instead of performing such the correction arithmetic, there is another detecting system that squares a beat signal that is generated from two modulated signals when they are mixed, and detects it through a low pass filter. This detecting system, however, has a disadvantage that requires a precise modulation.
In the conventional wavelength composing method, it is not considered to perform a multiple composing that further composes the composed period signal with another period signal. Because the above described correction arithmetic and modulation are strongly required to have a higher precision when the period of the composed wavelength becomes extremely greater than the period of the original signal. If such the multiple composing is not performed, two displacement detectors with extremely close periods are required to obtain a period signal with a larger measuring range. To prepare such the displacement detectors, in the case of electrical displacement detectors, for example, it is difficult to obtain a scale with a very small difference in graduations due to a limitation to accuracy for processing graduations of the scale. In addition, in the case of optical displacement detectors, it is difficult to realize a wide measuring range because a wavelength of a light source can not be selected freely with ease.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring an absolute displacement, which is capable of measuring an absolute displacement based on a long period signal obtained from a wavelength composition with a simple arithmetic.
A first aspect of the present invention is provided with a measuring device for absolute measurement of displacement, comprising: a first displacement detector for generating a sine wave signal S1A and a cosine wave signal S1B both with a period of P1 in accordance with a displacement L to be detected; a second displacement detector provided in parallel to the first displacement detector for generating a sine wave signal S2A and a cosine wave signal S2B both with a period of P2 different from the period of P1 in accordance with the displacement L to be detected; a wavelength composing circuit for composing the sine wave signals S1A, S2A and the cosine wave signals S1B, S2B from the first and second displacement detectors to obtain a sine wave signal, SxA=S1Axc2x7S2Bxe2x88x92S1Bxc2x7S2A, and a cosine wave signal, SxB=S1Bxc2x7S2B+S1Axc2x7S2A, both with a period of Px equal to the least common multiple between the periods P1 and P2; a phase detector for detecting a phase of a fine resolution signal comprising either of output signals obtained from the first and second displacement detectors and a phase of a coarse resolution signal comprising the output signal from the wavelength composing circuit; and a distance arithmetic circuit for computing the displacement L as an absolute position within the period Px based on phase information detected by the phase detector.
A second aspect of the present invention is provided with a measuring device for absolute measurement of displacement, comprising: a first displacement detector for generating a sine wave signal S1A and a cosine wave signal S1B both with a period of P1 in accordance with a displacement L to be detected; a second displacement detector provided in parallel to the first displacement detector for generating a sine wave signal S2A and a cosine wave signal S2B both with a period of P2(xe2x89xa0P1) in accordance with the displacement L to be detected; a third displacement detector provided in parallel to the first and second displacement detectors for generating a sine wave signal S3A and a cosine wave signal S3B both with a period of P3 (xe2x89xa0P2, P1, and |P3xe2x88x92P2|xe2x89xa0|P2xe2x88x92P1|) in accordance with the displacement L to be detected; a first wavelength composing circuit for composing the sine wave signals S1A, S2A and the cosine wave signals S1B, S2B obtained from the first and second displacement detectors to obtain a sine wave signal, SxA=S1Axc2x7S2Bxe2x88x92S1Bxc2x7S2A, and a cosine wave signal, SxB=S1Bxc2x7S2B+S1Axc2x7S2A, both with a period of Px equal to the least common multiple between the periods P1 and P2; a second wavelength composing circuit for composing the sine wave signals S2A, S3A and the cosine wave signals S2B, S3B obtained from the second and third displacement detectors to obtain a sine wave signal, SyA=S2Axc2x7S3Bxe2x88x92S2Bxc2x7S3A, and a cosine wave signal, SyB=S2Bxc2x7S3B+S2Axc2x7S3A, both with a period of Py equal to the least common multiple between the periods P2 and P3; a third wavelength composing circuit for composing the sine wave signals SxA, SyA and the cosine wave signals SxB, SyB obtained from the first and second wavelength composing circuits to obtain a sine wave signal, S1A=SxAxc2x7SyBxe2x88x92SxBxc2x7SyA, and a cosine wave signal, S1B=SxBxc2x7SyB+SxAxc2x7SyA, both with a period of PI equal to the least common multiple between the periods Px and Py; a phase detector for detecting a phase of a fine resolution signal comprising either of output signals obtained from the first through third displacement detectors, a phase of a medium resolution signal comprising an output signal from the first or second wavelength composing circuit, and a phase of a coarse resolution signal comprising the output signal from the third wavelength composing circuit; and a distance arithmetic circuit for computing the displacement L as an absolute position within the period PI based on phase information of the fine, medium and coarse resolution signals detected by the phase detectors.
According to the present invention, an absolute position can be obtained precisely within a period of a composed bi-phase sine wave signal with a long period, which is obtained through a wavelength composing with a simple arithmetic including multiplication, addition and subtraction of two bi-phase sine wave signals. In addition, according to the present invention, a coarse resolution signal with a high period precision can be obtained by performing multiple wavelength composing, in which two bi-phase sine wave signals are obtained by performing wavelength composing among three bi-phase sine wave signals and are further directed to another wavelength composing. As a result, an absolute position can be measured precisely within a wider measuring range.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof.

Measuring device for absolute measurement of displacement


A crosslinkable composition is described comprising an acid- and epoxy-functional copolymer, which when crosslinked with a triazine crosslinking agent provides a pressure-sensitive adhesive and pressure-sensitive adhesive articles.

Pressure-sensitive tapes are virtually ubiquitous in the home and workplace. In one of its simplest configuration, a pressure-sensitive tape includes an adhesive and a backing, and the overall construction is tacky at the use temperature and adheres to a variety of substrates using only moderate pressure to form the bond. In this fashion, pressure-sensitive tapes constitute a complete, self-contained bonding system.
According to the Pressure-Sensitive Tape Council, pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are known to possess properties including the following: (1) aggressive and permanent tack, (2) adherence with no more than finger pressure, (3) sufficient ability to hold onto an adherend, and (4) sufficient cohesive strength to be removed cleanly from the adherend. Materials that have been found to function well as PSAs include polymers designed and formulated to exhibit the requisite viscoelastic properties resulting in a desired balance of tack, peel adhesion, and shear holding power. PSAs are characterized by being normally tacky at room temperature (e.g., 20° C.). PSAs do not embrace compositions merely because they are sticky or adhere to a surface.
These requirements are assessed generally by means of tests which are designed to individually measure tack, adhesion (peel strength), and cohesion (shear holding power), as noted by A. V. Pocius in Adhesion and Adhesives Technology: An Introduction, 2nd Ed., Hanser Gardner Publication, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2002. These measurements taken together constitute the balance of properties often used to characterize a PSA.
With broadened use of pressure-sensitive tapes over the years, performance requirements have become more demanding. Shear holding capability, for example, which originally was intended for applications supporting modest loads at room temperature, has now increased substantially for many applications in terms of operating temperature and load. So-called high performance pressure-sensitive tapes are those capable of supporting loads at elevated temperatures (e.g., 70° C.) for 10,000 minutes. Increased shear holding capability has generally been accomplished by crosslinking the PSA, although considerable care must be exercised so that high levels of tack and adhesion are retained in order to preserve the aforementioned balance of properties.
There are two major crosslinking mechanisms for acrylic adhesives: free-radical copolymerization of multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated groups with the other monomers, and covalent or ionic crosslinking through the functional monomers, such as acrylic acid. Another method is the use of UV crosslinkers, such as copolymerizable benzophenones or post-added photocrosslinkers, such as multifunctional benzophenones and triazines. In the past, a variety of different materials have been used as crosslinking agents, e.g., polyfunctional acrylates, acetophenones, benzophenones, and triazines. The foregoing crosslinking agents, however, possess certain drawbacks which include one or more of the following: high volatility; incompatibility with certain polymer systems; generation of corrosive or toxic by-products; generation of undesirable color; requirement of a separate photoactive compound to initiate the crosslinking reaction; and high sensitivity to oxygen. A particular issue for the electronics industry and other applications in which PSAs contact a metal surface is the generation of corrosive or toxic by-products and the generation of undesirable color.

Pressure-sensitive adhesives with triazine-epoxy crosslinking system


An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control apparatus for a toilet seat apparatus which generates electric power by a user's pressing operation, the remote control apparatus being capable of balancing operability and the ability to reliably stop water spray at a high level.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a remote control apparatus for remotely controlling a toilet seat apparatus that sprays water toward the private parts of a human body.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a widely-used toilet seat apparatus in existence which sprays water toward private parts of a user seated on a toilet seat in order to cleanse such private parts. The user presses buttons or the like provided on the toilet seat apparatus to select the operations of the toilet seat apparatus, such as starting water spray from a nozzle after relieving himself/herself, stopping the water spray after cleansing and so on. Another practical and common configuration is such that a remote controller provided with such buttons is installed on a wall surface of a bathroom compartment in order to arrange these buttons in a place where the user can easily operate them, so that the toilet seat apparatus is remotely and wirelessly controlled.
When an operation of the toilet seat apparatus is selected using a remote controller, the electric power required for generating a signal according to the selected content and transmitting the signal to the toilet seat apparatus is typically supplied from a battery in the remote controller or by a commercial power source supplied via wires. However, when the electric power is supplied by a battery or via wires, burdensome work is required in order to replace the batteries and install wires.
Patent Document 1 (JP2006-009280 A) proposes a remote controller for a toilet seat apparatus which eliminates the need for such battery replacement and wire installation. In the remote controller described in Patent Document 1, when a user presses a button on the remote controller, the pressing operation generates electric power and the resulting electric power is used to generate and transmit a signal. More specifically, mechanisms such as a switch and an engagement piece provided in the remote controller are actuated by the user's pressing operation, an impact is made on a piezoceramic body and the resulting electric power is used for generation of a signal, etc.
The remote controller described in Patent Document 1 has a problem with its degraded operability. Specifically, since the electric power is generated using mechanical energy input by the pressing operation of a button, a larger force is needed to press the button and the button needs to be pressed more deeply, as compared to the related-art remote controllers which use batteries, etc.
A possible method for alleviating such degradation of operability would be to reduce the electric power generated by the pressing operation of the button. Since there is a proportional correlation between the mechanical energy input by the pressing operation of a button and the amount of electric power generated in a mechanism in the remote controller, the reduction in the electric power to be generated can also reduce the force needed to press the button and the depth of pressing that the button needs to be pressed.
However, if the electric power to be generated by the pressing operation of the button is reduced, the accuracy of transmission of a signal from the remote controller to the toilet seat apparatus will be lowered, which might cause the operation selected by the user via the remote controller to be unable to be performed by the toilet seat apparatus. In particular, when the user is about to finish cleansing his/her private parts on the toilet seat apparatus, he/she cannot leave the toilet seat unless the water spray from the nozzle has stopped and it is thus necessary to stop the water spray rapidly and reliably. Accordingly, it is not desirable to reduce the accuracy of transmission of a water stop signal for stopping the water spray from the nozzle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control apparatus for a toilet seat apparatus which generates electric power by means of a user's pressing operation, the remote control apparatus being capable of balancing operability and the ability to reliably stop water spray at a high level.

Abstract: When a cleansing button MB2, being a button other than a stop button MB1, is pressed, a slide member 10 receives force F2′ at a branch 13a. When the branch 13a slides in a direction indicated by an arrow A2, a main part 11 also slides in a direction indicated by an arrow A1. A power generation unit GU generates electric power using mechanical energy input by a pressing force of an output part 14 of the slide member 10. When the stop button MB1 is pressed, the slide member 10 receives force F2 at a stop input part 12 and slides in the direction indicated by an arrow A1. At this time, a loss in the mechanical energy caused until it is transferred to the power generation unit GU by the slide member 10 is smaller than that caused as a result of the pressing operation of the cleansing button MB2.


Landing gear for selectively supporting a semitrailer and a method of assembly of the landing gear is provided. The landing gear includes a leg having an upper section and a lower section telescopingly received in the upper section. A lead screw extends and retracts the upper and lower sections relative to each other upon rotation thereof. An input shaft applies a torque to the lead screw to drive rotation thereof, the input shaft being rotatable about a rotation axis and movable in translation along the rotation axis for shifting between a first position for low gear operation and a second position for high gear operation. An output shaft, axially aligned with the input shaft, has an output gear for transmitting torque to the lead screw. A gearing subassembly is received in the upper leg section and is configured to augment lift when the input shaft is in the first position and augment speed in the second position.

This invention relates generally to landing gear used in the support of semitrailers and more particularly to gearing configurations of a landing gear.
Landing gear of the present invention has particular application in the support of semitrailers when they are not attached to a tractor. The landing gear conventionally includes a pair of telescoping legs capable of extending to engage the pavement or other supporting surface to hold up the front end of the semitrailer, and of retracting to move up out of the way when the semitrailer is being pulled over the road by a tractor. The extension and retraction is most often carried out by the driver manually turning a crank connected by gearing to a lead screw in the leg. The lead screw interconnects telescoping leg sections of the leg so as to retract a lower leg section into an upper leg section or extend the lower leg section from the upper leg section depending on the direction the screw is rotated.
The semitrailers are very large and heavy by themselves, and further carry large loads. In order to lift such loads when extending the legs, the gearing provides a mechanical advantage in addition to the crank. In providing the mechanical advantage, the rotation of the lead screw is very much retarded in relation to the rotation of the crank. In other words, it will require numerous turns of the crank to achieve a very small linear travel of the lower leg section relative to the upper leg section. The high ratio of turns per inch of travel is acceptable when the legs are actually bearing the load of the trailer because of the accompanying mechanical advantage. Once the load is relieved from the leg, such as when the semitrailer is supported by the tractor, the slow linear movement of the lower leg section becomes an issue because of the long time it takes to get the lower leg section retracted far enough above the ground for safe travel over the road. Likewise, slow extension of the lower leg section into engagement with the pavement is also highly undesirable. It is known to provide for shifting between a low gear and a high gear in the gearing, with the low gear providing the mechanical advantage needed for lifting large loads and high gear providing for more rapid linear movement of the lower leg section (i.e., a lower turns per inch ratio). Co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,733 discloses gearing of this type. Generally, a large difference between the turns per inch ratio in low gear versus high gear is desirable.
One way to assist in providing greater lift in low gear is to provide a gear on an idler shaft located between the input shaft (of the crank) and the output shaft connected to the lead screw. This arrangement is typically referred to as a double reduction. An idler shaft requires additional space in the gear box, which is at a premium. In addition, there are two additional openings in the gear box containing bearings for the idler shaft. These openings provide an additional place from which leakage of lubricant becomes more likely over the life of the landing gear.
Conventionally, the gearing has been located in a gear box which is formed separately from the leg. For instance, the gear box may be formed from two halves which are individually stamped and later bolted together. The gears making up the gearing may be installed in one half of the gear box before it is completed. The gear box is welded or otherwise attached to the landing gear leg on the inside or outside of the leg. The input shaft from the crank, and the output shaft which is connected to the lead screw, are held by bearings located in the landing gear leg. The conventional construction requires a number of parts in addition to the landing gear leg and several manufacturing steps to assemble the gearing in the gear box with the input and output shafts and the leg. It is known to incorporate some of the gearing in the leg, but significant manufacturing steps are required to assemble component parts of the gearing together with the input and output shafts.


A wrench includes a handle having a chamber for receiving one or more batteries and having a socket for engaging with one or more light bulbs. A conductor has one end engaged with the case electrode of the battery and the other end to be actuated to engage with the center electrode of the battery. A cover is secured to the handle for supporting the socket and for allowing the light bulb to be easily engaged with the socket without disengaging the cover. A knob may actuate the conductor to engage with the center electrode of the battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wrench, and more particularly to a wrench having a light device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical wrenches have no light device for lighting purposes, such that the wrenches may not be easily operated in the dark places.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional wrenches.


A fixture has a pedestal set on a wall by a fixing device, a bracing plate is fixedly connected to a side wall of the pedestal away from the wall, an upper end of the bracing plate is provided with a supporting device, a lifting recess is provided on a side wall of the pedestal away from the wall, an end of the lifting recess away from the bracing plate penetrates the pedestal, a lifting block is slidingly connected to the lifting recess, an end of the lifting block away from the lifting recess is fixedly connected with a clamping plate, the clamping plate is provided with a clamping device, a threaded hole is provided at an end of the clamping plate away from the lifting block.

The invention relates to line pipe installations, especially to fixtures for mounting line pipe of weak current engineering of the Internet of Things.
The Internet of Things is an important part of new generation of information technology, and weak current engineering is a classification of power applications. In weak current project of the Internet of Things, in order to make cables successfully complete the transmission work, it is necessary to use corresponding line pipe to install the weak current cable. In order to prevent weak current signals from being affected by external electric magnetic fields during transmission, galvanized steel pipes are often used as line pipes in weak current projects. In addition, corresponding installation and fixing structures are required to install and fix line pipes. The existing line pipe installation and fixing device is a simple metal installation bracket. When line pipes are installed, in order to fix line pipes firmly, a complicated fixing operation may be required, which may greatly reduce installation efficiency. In addition, galvanized steel pipes as weak line pipes are very easy to rub against the bracket during fixing process, which may destroy galvanized layers, and then affect shielding effect of the galvanized steel pipe, and affect transmission work in weak current project.

Fixture for mounting line pipe and operation method thereof

SHENZHEN AIRUIXING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN CO., LTD.


A drive-train for a fuel-efficient wheeled vehicle includes a first internal combustion engine and a second internal combustion engine of lesser power adapted to drive a generator. An electric motor is adapted to drive the vehicle primarily during cruising mode operation. The first engine is employed primarily to provide maximal power to the vehicle for acceleration, hill-climbing and towing. The power from both the motor and first engine can be selectively combined for varied conditions of operation of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns fuel-efficient vehicles, and more particularly relates to automotive vehicles powered by both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, popularly known as "hybrid" vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hybrid vehicles have been developed to improve the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles. They are powered by both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor energized by rechargeable storage batteries. The combined power of both power sources is used when maximal power is needed, such as for acceleration, towing heavy loads or climbing steep grades. The engine is generally used for cruising, and is usually severely down-sized to achieve fuel efficiency. The electric motor can be used alone but only for relatively short distances because of the limited power capacity of the batteries which soon become discharged and lose their power. Consequently, the electric motor is usually simply used to augment the power of the engine for some fairly short duty cycles such as to quickly accelerate the vehicle from a standing start and for passing. Performance can deteriorate for longer heavy duty cycles such as when climbing long grades or towing heavy loads when the down-sized engine may have to toil alone without assistance from the electric motor after the batteries become discharged.
Some hybrid vehicles have been modified to increase the cruising range of the electric motor by adding substantial numbers of storage batteries to the vehicle, and then by charging these batteries overnight using household electricity. Although such vehicles can travel as much as 60 miles between charges, and with little use of gasoline, the cost of the extra batteries is considerable. The batteries also have limited life expectancy, and the added weight of the batteries adversely affects the vehicle's fuel efficiency.
Examples of hybrid vehicles involving an internal combustion engine and one electric motor are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,513,7195,788,0036,044,9226,209,6726,328,6716,668,9546,706,7896,712,1656,958,5496,995,4807,004,2737,028,796
Hybrid vehicles involving a single internal combustion engine in exemplified or suggested association with two or more electric motors are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,343,9716,717,2816,856,0356,959,2376,962,2246,965,1737,044,255
Hybrid vehicles have high initial and maintenance costs due to the need for an especially down-sized engine, batteries of high amperage capacity, and the associated specialized control components. These requirements make it difficult to apply current hybrid technology as after-market modifications for converting current standard automotive vehicles into fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.
The present invention provides cost-effective solutions to the problems cited above.
Firstly, it enables the vehicle to cruise for long distances powered by an electric motor without the need for a substantially increased number of high-capacity batteries. Instead, the electric motor is energized by an on-board generator powered by a fuel-efficient internal combustion engine. This permits the vehicle to cruise over long distances with maximal fuel-efficiency using mainly the power from its electric motor. The weight of the added equipment need not significantly affect the fuel economy of the vehicle, and the cost should compare favorably with that of current hybrid vehicles.
Secondly, this invention achieves the desired fuel economy for long distance cruising without sacrificing the vehicle's performance, particularly in acceleration, load-bearing, towing and hill-climbing. This is done through the use of a separate auxiliary "accelerator" engine to add to the power of the electric motor whenever more power is needed. Since the accelerator engine is usually operated only for short periods of time, and is usually not operated while the vehicle is traveling over long distances at cruising speed, its size, power and fuel consumption need not substantially impact the over-all fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Hence, the operator can enjoy the comfort and confidence of having as much power as he desires under the hood and yet, with properly prudent driving technique, cruise with high fuel-efficiency over long distances.
This invention further permits great versatility in the choice of both the generator engine and accelerator engine. For example, the generator engine can be a small diesel engine, powerful enough to keep the batteries fully charged, and the accelerator engine can be a powerful gasoline engine, such as a Wankel rotary engine, for quick throttle response and lively performance.
The power train aspect of the present invention is easily adaptable for use as an add-on after-market modification of some existing motor vehicles which are thereby converted into fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles in a cost-effective manner.
It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a hybrid vehicle capable of cruising for long distances using power from an electric motor without the need for high storage battery capacity.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a hybrid vehicle capable of cruising for long distances with maximal fuel-efficiency, without sacrifice of acceleration, hill climbing, and load-carrying capabilities.
It is another object of this invention to provide a fuel-efficient hybrid power train which can be installed into an existing automotive vehicle as an after-market add-on modification requiring minimal changes in said vehicle.
In one aspect of the present invention, a conventional non-hybrid vehicle having a regular engine with a horsepower in the range of about 100 to 350, a 12 volt battery, and a generator that is belt-driven by the vehicle's drive shaft is converted into a hybrid vehicle by the introduction of the following features:    a) an electrically actuated motor of about 50 to 120 horsepower which serves as the main source of power to maintain the vehicle at cruising speed for long distance travel,    b) a relatively small, fuel-efficient second internal combustion engine of about 50 to 120 horsepower henceforth referred to as a "generator" engine that drives said generator, and    c) control means causing said regular engine, henceforth referred to as the first or "accelerator" engine, to operate only when the vehicle requires additional power, as for acceleration, hill climbing, and carrying heavy loads.
In effect, such converted hybrid vehicle utilizes said motor as its primary source of power for cruising travel, and employs the accelerator engine simply as an auxiliary engine to be used only when additional power is needed. The ratio of the horsepower of the accelerator engine to the horsepower of the generator engine is preferably in the range of 1.5:1 to 3:1.
For ease of operation, the generator engine can be programmed to run automatically whenever the battery needs to be charged and to stop automatically when the battery is fully charged. For added fuel-efficiency, the electric motor can be configured as a motor/generator to charge the battery through regenerative braking, a technology which is well known in the art. For further ease of operation, the accelerator engine can be caused to start automatically whenever the gas pedal is depressed beyond what is needed to run the electric motor at full power, and to be automatically coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor, when its power is needed, through a suitable automatic clutch mechanism such as an overriding sprag clutch. Further savings in fuel consumption can be achieved if the accelerator engine is configured to be automatically shut down, namely deprived of fuel whenever the vehicle is being maintained at cruising speed by the electric motor alone. This may be controlled by the degree to which the gas pedal is depressed. Alternatively, start-up, shut down, engagement and disengagement of the accelerator engine may be controlled through the vehicle cruise control system in response to input signals from speed sensors and/or load sensors associated with the driving wheels.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a hybrid automotive vehicle is provided having a power train comprised of:    1) a first internal combustion "accelerator" engine,    2) speed change transmission means having an input shaft which receives power from said first engine,    3) an electric motor having sufficient power to maintain said vehicle at an acceptable cruising speed and delivering said power in a manner to controllably receive additional power from said first engine, and    4) an electrical supply system comprised of a) a second internal combustion "generator" engine of lesser power than said first engine, b) an electrical generator driven by said second engine, and c) a rechargeable storage battery interactive between said generator and motor.
In preferred embodiments, releasable coupling means are interactive between said accelerator engine and transmission means, enabling controlled automatic transfer of power to said transmission means. Suitable coupling means include free wheeling devices such as an overriding sprag clutch.
Said conveyance of power serves to accelerate said vehicle from a standing start to cruising speed by the combined power of said electric motor and said accelerator engine, and then, when the operator partially releases the gas pedal to stop the acceleration and to simply maintain the vehicle at cruising speed by using power from the electric motor alone, the fuel supply to said accelerator engine is diminished then stopped, causing said accelerator engine to slow down and stop, and as said accelerator engine slows down below the speed of said electric motor, said engine is automatically decoupled from said transmission input shaft through the function of said sprag clutch. Then, if or when the operator depresses the gas pedal again to provide more power than that produced by said electric motor, said accelerator engine is automatically restarted and speeded up to match the speed of said electric motor, causing said accelerator engine to be automatically coupled to said transmission input shaft through the action of said sprag clutch.
The aforesaid hybrid vehicle of this invention achieves four desirable results, namely:    a) It enables said electric motor, powered by said electric generator assembly, to maintain the vehicle at cruising speed with reduced fuel consumption per unit of distance traveled.    b) It enables the vehicle to accelerate quickly to cruising speed through the combined power of the electric motor and the accelerator engine.    c) It enables the power train, including said accelerator engine, to remain ready to be activated whenever increased power is needed. and    d) It enables the operator to selectively control the operation of said motor and said accelerator engine, including the automatic engagement and disengagement of said accelerator engine by simply depressing or releasing the gas pedal in the same manner as would have been required if he were operating a standard non-hybrid motor vehicle.
Said releasable coupling means may be a friction clutch such as the type used with standard manual transmissions, a fluid torque converter of the type generally used with automatic transmissions, a centrifugal clutch, electromagnetic clutch, or other suitable types of releasable coupling means.
In an alternative embodiment, the accelerator engine is coupled to the speed change transmission in the conventional manner (i.e., via a friction dry plate clutch in the case of a manual transmission, or via a fluid torque converter in the case of an automatic transmission) and the vehicle is accelerated from a standing start to cruising speed by power from the accelerator engine alone. After the vehicle reaches cruising speed, the speed change transmission is shifted to neutral and the vehicle is placed in a free-wheeling state.
The electric motor may be coupled to a pinion drive of a differential, completely bypassing the speed change transmission, using a power transfer means which may be an endless chain connected to sprockets, or spur gears, or combinations thereof. For added speed flexibility, a continuously variable torque converter may be installed between the electric motor output shaft and said power transfer means.
For clarity of illustration, details which are not relevant to the invention, such as engine mounts, electrical circuits, transmission mounts, internal parts of the speed change transmission, differential, transaxle, sprag clutch and continuously variable torque converter, etc., have been omitted from the aforesaid drawings.

Hybrid vehicle having an electric generator engine and an auxiliary accelerator engine


A data processing apparatus detects attribute information of image data, and sets a wireless communication parameter based on the detected attribute information. The wireless communication parameter used for performing wireless communication can be easily set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus, a control method for the data processing apparatus, and a computer program causing a computer to execute the control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of methods of exchanging images captured by digital cameras among users of those cameras include taking the captured images into a personal computer via a memory device and sending the images as an attachment to an electronic mail, and another is loading the captured images into a server on the Internet and allowing the images to be downloaded as required.
Meanwhile, digital cameras equipped with the wireless communication function using the IEEE802.11 wireless LAN, for example, have also been recently marketed. Those digital cameras can directly send and receive images via wireless communication between them.
When communication is performed by using the IEEE802.11 wireless LAN, wireless communication parameters, such as a network identifier (SSID), a communication channel, an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, an authentication key, have to be set in each device (see US Patent Application No. 2006/0068702, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-007120, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-187001).
Those wireless communication parameters are usually set through a user interface of the device. However, such a setting operation is troublesome. In a device not having a keyboard like a digital camera, particularly, it is not easy to input strings of characters, such as the SSID and the encryption key.

Data processing apparatus, control method for the data processing apparatus, and computer program causing computer to execute the control method


Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods of driving an electroluminescent lamp. In one embodiment, the electroluminescent lamp is driven to a first threshold during a first time period and then driven to successive voltages between the threshold and a maximum voltage during successive time. This method of driving the lamp waveshapes the lamp voltage signal. In one example, the thresholds are set to minimize audible noise from the electroluminescent lamp due to the piezoelectric effect.

The present invention relates to drivers, and in particular, to systems and methods of driving an electroluminescent lamp.
Electroluminescent lamps are known as very low efficiency lamps. For example, a good electroluminescent lamp will yield about three to five lm/W of input power while a good fluorescent lamp will yield about 50 to 80 lm/W. The advantage they offer over traditional lighting though is their ability to provide even illumination over a flat area. Because of this, they are the preferred lamp in relatively low-intensity situations where it is important to obtain even glow over an entire area. Example applications may include providing backlight for LCDs in pagers, cell phones, watches, and control systems. Additionally, some lamps such as LEDs may require the use of a light guide to achieve light uniformity. However, this may increase the form factor. Many applications of EL lamps do not require a light guide, which makes them a good choice for applications requiring a thin form factor.
Since many of the applications for electroluminescent lamps are portable, circuits driving the lamp typically take a DC source, such as a battery, and transform the voltage into an AC signal at approximately 100V and 100 Hz. The brightness of the electroluminescent lamp is proportional to the applied voltage so it is desirable to reach the voltage required for normal operation as quickly as possible. FIG. 1 illustrates typical signal driving an electroluminescent lamp. The output voltage is received by an electroluminescent lamp from a driver circuit, such as an H-bridge type driver. In the first half-cycle, the output voltage transitions to the maximum voltage for normal operation and held there until the end of the half-cycle. Similarly, the output voltage transitions to the minimum voltage for normal operation and held there until the end of the half cycle. One problem that surfaces when driving an electroluminescent lamp in this manner is the occurrence of audible noise. The rapid change in high voltage may cause the thin sheets of material used in the creation of electroluminescent lamps to change shape and create an audible noise. This is known as the piezoelectric effect. If the voltage is raised too quickly, an audible noise may be generated by the lamp due to the piezoelectric effect. Conversely, if the voltage is raised too slowly in an attempt to avoid the piezoelectric effect, the lamp may not be able to maintain the level of illumination.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method of driving an electroluminescent lamp. The present invention solves these and other problems by providing a system and method of noise reduction for electroluminescent lamp drivers.

System and methods of driving an electroluminescent lamp


A light valve has opposed, spaced apart cell walls, each cell wall carrying an electrode thereon for application of an electrical field to the light valve, at least one of the electrodes comprising a low-emissivity, electrically conductive material.

Light valves have been used for more than fifty eight years for modulation of light. A light valve may be described as a cell formed of two walls that are spaced apart by a small distance, at least one wall being transparent, the walls having electrodes thereon usually in the form of transparent, electrically conductive coatings. Between the cell walls of the cell is a "light valve suspension", which may be a liquid having a plurality of small particles suspended therein. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,565. Alternatively, the "light valve suspension" may be in the form of a film having droplets of a liquid light valve suspension distributed in the film, the liquid light valve suspension comprising a plurality of small particles suspended in a liquid suspending medium. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,521. In such cases, the film is located between the opposed cell walls.
In the absence of an applied electrical field, the particles in the light valve suspension exhibit random Brownian movement, and hence a beam of light passing into the cell is reflected, transmitted or absorbed, depending upon the nature and concentration of the particles and the energy content of the light. When an electric field is applied through the light valve suspension in the light valve, the particles become aligned and for many suspensions most of the light can pass through the cell.
Light valves have been proposed for many purposes including, e.g., alphanumeric displays, television displays, windows, mirrors, filters, ski goggles, eyeglasses and the like to control the amount of light passing therethrough.

Light valve with low emissivity coating as electrode


A translation assistance program of a word processing program used to translate a source language document written in a source language to a target language document written in a target language. The translation assistance program displays the source language document on a translation screen portion of a display device. The translation assistance program then compares each source term in a product glossary with the source terms in the source language document. The product glossary associates each source term it stores with a target term which translates the source term into the target language. For each source term from the source language document which is stored in the product glossary, the translation assistance program: 1) underlines the source term in the source language document, 2) inserts a translation handle on the translation screen portion immediately after the source term, and 3) associates the translation handle with the target term which translates the source term into the target language. When the user decides to insert the target term at a current insertion point on the translation screen, the user invokes an insert target term command which contains the translation handle associated with the appropriate source term. In response, the translation assistance program retrieves the target term associated with the translation handle and inserts the target term at the current insertion point on the translation screen portion.

Due to the globalization of trade and the advent of common markets, the process of converting information from one language to another with a computer, called machine-assisted translation (MAT), is becoming increasingly important.
In MAT systems a human translator prepares a target language document, in a target language, from a source language document, in a source language, using a word processing program, automatic terminology managers, on-line multilingual term banks, and other computer-based tools which boost translator productivity.
An example using FIG. 1 will help illustrate how existing MAT systems operate. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 which assists a human translator in translating a source language document 112 to a target language document 116. The system 100 consists of a computer 102, a keyboard 104, a mouse 106, and a display screen 108.
A user of the system 100 invokes a word processing program 110 using either the keyboard 104 or the mouse 106, and creates the source language document 112 containing the text "This is an example". The user then invokes a translation assistant 114 to assist the translator in translating the source language document 112 from the source language (e.g., English) to the target language document 116 containing the corresponding sentence in the target language (e.g., German).
To assist the user in translating the source language document 112 to the target language document 116 the translation assistant 114 displays a translation screen 118 and a dictionary screen 120 on the display screen 108. The translation screen 118 displays the text of the source language document 112. The dictionary screen 120 displays source terms 124 and corresponding translation options 126 which translate a given source term 124 into the target language. The translation assistant 114 retrieves each translation option 126 from a translation dictionary 122 which stores source terms 124 and their corresponding translation options 126. Each translation option 126 on the dictionary screen 120 is preceded by an identifier such as "a)", "b)", "c)" etc.
With the translation screen 118 and the dictionary screen 120 displayed on the display screen 108, the user reads the source language document 112 displayed on the translation screen 118. Next, the user looks away from the translation screen 118 and at the dictionary screen 120. By looking at the dictionary screen 120, the user finds the source terms 124 from the source language document 112 which are displayed on the dictionary screen 120 due to a match with the <source terms 124, translation option 126> pairs stored in the translation dictionary 122 of the translation assistant 114. The user then chooses which displayed source term 124 to translate. Then the user determines which corresponding translation option 126 to select to translate the chosen source term 124. Finally, the user invokes a copy translation command which copies the selected translation option 126 from the dictionary screen 120 to the translation screen 118. The user then looks away from the dictionary screen 120 to the translation screen 118 to see the selected translation option 126 displayed on the translation screen 118.
It is desirable to avoid looking from the translation screen 118 to the dictionary screen 120 in order to insert translation options 126.
It is also desirable to avoid looking from the translation screen 118 to the dictionary screen 120 to determine which source terms 124 from the source language document 112 have been matched with <source term 124, translation option 126> pairs from the translation dictionary 122 of the translation assistant 114.

Method and system for translating documents using translation handles