A packet processing method used in a wireless communication is disclosed to have the packet data not to contain the identification code of the transmitter and to let the receiver read out the correct identification code of the transmitter and verify the effectiveness of the data, assuring excellent confidentiality of the data, reducing packet size, maintaining packet data integrity, extending wireless communication distance and saving power consumption. Under the fix bit error rate, the invention effectively reduces the chance of erroneous data and lowers the current loading to the battery of each of the transmitter and the receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data packet processing and more particularly, to a packet processing method for use in a wireless packet transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wireless digital communications, a corresponding error detection and control measure is employed to assure high speed and high reliability data transmission. This measure includes an error detection and correction method in which a check code is transmitted with the data to the receiver, and the receiver checks the correctness of the received data. If each data does not occupy much communication bit space and short packet data format is employed to mach the error check for transmission processing, the digital communication can have high speed and high reliability characteristics. However, under the fast development step of information technology, if the data occupies a long bit space, shortening the signal transmission processing time in order to achieve signal transmission rapidly in time may narrow the signal waveform, relatively increasing the chance of bit transmission error. Any interference of the transmission medium or external noises during the transmission may relatively increase the chance of error.
For example, in all error check processing methods, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is an easy way to analyze mathematically, and good at detecting common errors caused by noise in transmission channels. A CRC is method of checking for errors in data that has been transmitted on a communications link. The dividend polynomial is initially preset to 0, and the 1s and 0s of the data stream become the coefficients of the dividend polynomial. The division uses subtraction modulo 2 (no carries), and the remainder is transmitted as the error check field. The receiving station compares the transmitted remainder with its own computed remainder, and an equal condition indicates that no error has occurred. The polynomial value depends on the protocol and code set being used. In other words, the higher the order of the polynomial value is, the lower the chance of error in the CRC will be. However, because the transmission of a long data requires a higher order of CRC to avoid detection error, the transmission signal waveform needs to carry a long data, lowering the data transmission speed. Unless a circuit processing device of high transmitting power is used to improve the transmission speed and to compensate the increasing of bit error rate due to lowering of the bit width, the effective energy transmission distance of the wireless communication will be limited, and the chance of packet collision will increase, resulting in a detection error and data error.

Packet processing method for wireless communications


Throttle-at-valve apparatus, internal combustion engines employing throttle-at-valve apparatus, and methods of throttling an internal combustion engine using a throttle-at-valve apparatus, where the throttle-at-valve apparatus includes a throttle slide body disposed within a throttle slide cavity that is defined between and in fluid communication with both an unobstructed air intake passage and an intake valve of an internal combustion engine, where the air flow from the air intake passage to the intake valve is regulated by the reciprocal movement of the throttle slide body within the throttle slide cavity.

Internal combustion engines are widely employed in automotive, railroad, maritime, or other industries, applications, etc. Generally, internal combustion engines convert chemical energy from fuel into mechanical energy, such as, for example, to move one or more associated pistons inside one or more respective cylinders. In some instances, automotive and/or like applications may employ, for example, a four-stroke and/or four-cycle internal combustion engine, such as a gasoline engine using an Otto cycle, as one example, with four strokes or cycles comprising intake, compression, combustion and/or expansion, and/or exhaust. Briefly, during an intake stroke, an intake valve opens and/or air may be drawn and/or forced into a cylinder as a piston moves down within the cylinder. During a compression stroke, a piston moves back up within the cylinder and/or compresses the air. During a combustion and/or expansion stroke, as the piston reaches an approximate top of its stroke within the cylinder, fuel may be injected and/or a compressed air/fuel mixture may be ignited, thus forcing the piston in an opposite direction (e.g., back down). During an exhaust stroke, the piston moves back to the top, thus pushing exhaust created from the combustion out of an exhaust valve. As a result of the piston being connected to a crankshaft, a substantially linear reciprocating motion of the piston (e.g. up and/or down) translates into a rotational motion of the crankshaft, and/or a rotating crankshaft may be used to rotate wheels of a car, ship propeller, etc. At times, instead of or in addition to gasoline engines, so-called "diesel" engines may be employed. Briefly, diesel engines are generally similar to gasoline engines, but may have no spark plugs to ignite fuel. Rather, diesel engines may typically have an air charge drawn and/or forced into a cylinder as a piston moves down within the cylinder. During a compression stroke, a piston moves back up within the cylinder and thus compresses the air. Fuel may be injected directly into a combustion chamber and the fuel may be ignited via heat resulting from compression of air within the combustion chamber.
Since an initial design of an internal combustion engine, such as a four-stroke internal combustion engine, as one example, there has been an ongoing effort to improve its performance. At times, performance may be measured in a number of ways, such as, for example, via power output per engine weight and/or cylinder volume, an ability to operate on lower octane fuels, an ability to operate with greater fuel efficiency, a reduction of a number of moving parts within an engine for reliability purposes, and/or the like. In some instances, performance may also be measured based, at least in part, on a reduction of noise, vibration, and/or harshness (NVH), for example. Thus, how to improve performance of an internal combustion engine continues to be an area of development.


A motor vehicle high beam indicator comprising a flashing light and/or audible signal generator to inform a driver that his headlight high beams are turned on. The flashing light and audible signal ar automatically activated when the high beams are turned on and automatically deactivated when the headlights are switched to the low beam operating mode or turned off. The flashing light may also be switched to a non-flashing operating mode and the audible signal deactivated separately with a driver control. If the headlights are turned off in the high beam operating mode, the high beam indicator system automatically resets itself irrespective of whether the indicator system has been deactivated with the driver control.

This invention relates to automobile controls and more particularly to a system for informing a driver that his high beam headlights are turned on.
The current practice is to provide a steady low intensity blue light on the instrument panel for notifying the driver that his high beams are turned on. For many drivers, the blue light is not effective, and high beams are inadvertently left on, subjecting other drivers to considerable annoyance and in some cases impairing their driving ability.
One solution to the bright headlight problem is to signal oncoming drivers and drivers behind a vehicle to transmit a signal to request them to dim their vehicle's bright headlights. Systems for warning other drivers to dim their bright headlights are covered in Robert Adell U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,175 and 5,119,067.

Interior high beam headlight warning system


A multi-function office product having a printer unit comprising a printer body, print engine and a first connecting portion, removably coupled with a scanner unit comprising a scanner body, flat bed, image sensor and a second connecting portion. The scanner body can be detachably connected to the upper portion of the printer body, wherein the connection of the first and the second connecting portions provides an electrical connection between each. The printer body and the scanner body comprise fastening holes and fastening protrusions for the mechanical connection thereof, and comprise first and second connecting portions for the electrical connection. As a result, connecting and disconnecting the printer unit and the scanner unit becomes easy, and retrieving printed papers and resolving maintenance tasks, such as paper jam removal and repairs, can be carried out with efficiency and convenience.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-function office product. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-function office product having a printer function and a scanner function therein, each being removable from the other.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advancements in the office appliance field, many functions of office appliances are now available in the integrated form of a multi-function product. Such multi-function products usually comprise a scanner function to scan original documents and output image data, a facsimile function to transmit the image data through a communication line, and a printer function to print out the transmitted image data on a suitable recording medium. Therefore, the multi-function product, having various functions such as printing and scanning, is available for performing printer, scanner, facsimile and copier functions according to the selection by the user.
FIG. 1 schematically shows such a conventional multi-function product.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional multi-function product 10 comprises a printer unit 20 and a scanner unit 30, each being integrated in the upper portion of the product 10.
The printer unit 20 comprises a printer body 21, a light exposure device 22, a photosensitive drum 23, a developing device 24, a transfer roller 25, a fuser device 26 and a paper feed cassette 27. The paper feed cassette 27 receives a plurality of printing paper sheets therein, and the paper sheets are picked up and conveyed to the photosensitive drum 23 one by one by a pick-up roller 28. A toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23, and is transported to the surface of the printing paper by the transfer roller 25. The printing paper bearing the toner image thereon passes through the fuser device 26, and is discharged to a paper tray 29 mounted at the upper portion of the printer body 21.
The scanner unit 30 comprises a scanner body 31, a flat bed 32, an image sensor 33 and a cover 34. The scanner body 31 is secured to the upper portion of the printer body 21 to cover the paper tray 29, and the cover 34 is openably mounted to the upper portion of the flat bed 32 on which an original document can be placed. The image sensor 33 reads data of the original document while moving along the original document.
As described above, the conventional multi-function product 10 is constructed such that the paper tray 29, where the print-completed paper sheets are fed from the printer unit 20 and stacked, is covered by the scanner body 31. Accordingly, upon completion of the printing, the user has to put his/her hand between the scanner body 31 and the printer body 21 to get the printed paper.
An additional problem encountered is that it is hard to remove a paper sheet if paper jamming occurs in the paper discharging portion. Furthermore, due to the structural characteristic wherein the scanner unit 30 and the printer unit 20 are integrally connected with each other, repair of the device is inconvenient.
Accordingly, a need exists for a multi-function office product providing printing, scanning and other features, and having improved convenience in use and maintenance.


Automatically finding and using network services. An extensible framework is defined which allows any network service, new or old, to be defined. A base schema is defined that defines existing network services, and extension schemes may also be defined which are specific to new network services. A vendor can define the schemas in XML, as well as using software plug-ins and configuration data. The information is stored on a network provider's server. Clients can browse the network providers server for available services. Any available services can be accepted. When this happens, a form is provided to the client; the client fills out the form; and returns it. The information on the form is associated with the XML schemas and used to select and automatically configure the network service.

A network is formed by any two computers or processors which are connected by an information line. A provider of network services is often called a service provider. A specialized kind of service provider is an Internet service provider or ISP. More generally, however, an xSP may be a provider of an unspecified type of network services to users.
Many service providers provide simple bandwidth. However, there has been a demand for these providers to provide more advanced services such as virtual private networking, voice over IP (Internet Protocol), IDS (Intrusion Detection Systems), and quality of service systems. Many of these services, and other similar services which can be provided over a network, are generically referred to as network services.
E-commerce transactions and sales often define sale items using extensible markup language or XML. XML can provide a way to describe the common characteristics of goods. The goods may be generically described using their common elements such as price, product description, number of goods in inventory, source, item numbers and other information.
Certain network services are available for purchase on-line. Often, the purchase may either include a line of services from a single vendor, or a single type of network service such as bandwidth. The single type of network service may be offered from different vendors at common locations using a common description. However, new and emerging network services may not be susceptible of description over that common schema.


The mold-in fastening member comprises a substrate having engaging elements on a top surface thereof and a foamed synthetic resin layer bonded to a rear surface of the substrate. The foamed synthetic resin layer has overhanging marginal portions or sealing portions extending outwardly beyond at least both lateral edges of the substrate. The foamed synthetic resin layer has a thickness of 1 to 10 mm and an initial compressive modulus of 0.02 to 1.0 MPa. The mold-in fastening member surely prevents a molding resin from entering through gaps between the mold-in fastening member and a recess formed in a mold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mold-in fastening member to be fixed to the surface of a molded resin article, such as automotive seat cushions and office chair cushions. The molded resin article with the mold-in fastening member is made into seats, etc. by fixing an upholstery material, such as fabric or similar, to the surface of the molded resin article through the mold-in fastening member.
2. Discussion of Background
A new molding method has recently been proposed for the production of an automotive seat. This method involves the steps of: placing a fastening member, having a large number of engaging elements on its top surface and a large number of anchoring elements on its back surface, i.e., a flat fastener tape, in position within a mold; injecting a foamable resin into the mold; and expanding the foamable resin such that the anchoring elements are embedded into a molded resin article to integrally bind the molded resin article and the flat fastener tape and the engaging elements are bared or exposed on its outer surface (i.e., so-called mold-in forming method). The molded resin article is covered along its contour with a seat cover (i.e., upholstery material) by the engaging function between the engaging elements on the back surface of the seat cover and the engaging elements of the flat fastener tape.
In the mold-in forming method, a fastening member is held in place within a mold by fitting it into a recess formed at a given position of the mold with its surface having engaging elements facing the bottom of the recess and then, a resin is cast into the mold while keeping the fastening member in position to perform the molding. In performing the mold-in forming method with the fastening member fitted into the recess of the mold, a liquid foamable molding resin (hereinafter may be referred to as "resin") injected into the mold may enter into the side of the fastening members through gaps between the fastener member and the recess of the mold, thereby burying the engaging elements in the resin. Since the engaging elements buried in the resin no longer have the engaging function, the infiltration of the resin through the gaps between the fastener member and the recess of the mold should be prevented. More specifically, since the fastening member is usually of an elongated rectangular shape, i.e., a tape-like shape, the infiltration of the molding resin occurs at gaps between the lateral edges of the fastening member and the recess, particularly the shoulders of the recess, and gaps between the longitudinal edges of the fastening member and the edges (shoulders) of the recess. Since the infiltrated resin buries the engaging elements held in the recess, the engaging elements that are intended to be exposed to the surface of the molded resin article are no longer exposed because of the covering resin.
A conventional method for solving the above-described problems is shown in FIG. 3. A fastening member (A) comprises a flat fastener tape (E), a steel strip (F), and a cover film (G). The flat fastener tape (E) has a substrate (B) having a large number of engaging elements (C) on its top surface and a large number of anchoring elements (D) on its back surface. The steel strip (F) under the engaging elements (C) is magnetically attached to a magnet (J) embedded in the bottom of a mold during the mold-in process. The cover film (G) entirely covers the steel strip (F) and the engaging elements (C) to prevent a molding resin composition from entering into the side of the engaging elements (C) during the mold-in process. The outer periphery of the cover film (G) is integrally bonded to the periphery of the flat fastener tape (E) by an adhesive or heat sealing.
The fastening member (A) is fixed in a recess (K) of the mold by the magnetic force exerted on the steel strip (F) by the magnet (J) disposed at the bottom of the mold with the engaging elements (C) facing the bottom of the recess (K). Then, a foamable resin is injected into the mold to produce a molded article, such as a cushion, in which the anchoring elements (D) are embedded. After taking the molded article out of the mold, the cover film (G) and the steel strip (F) are removed to allow the engaging elements (C) of the flat fastener to be bared or exposed on the surface of the molded article.
However, after the production of the molded article, the above-described mold-in forming method requires the removal of the steel strip (F) and the cover film (F) which should be disposed of as waste. In addition, the cover film (G) should be removed with great care to make the removing operation troublesome because film residues on the engaging surface, if any, prevent the exposure of the engaging elements (C) to result in a reduced engaging force and poor appearance. Thus, the removing operation is labor-intensive and the removal of the steel strip (F) has a risk of injuring fingers or hands.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-113214 (hereinafter "JP '214") and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-16173 (hereinafter "JP '173") each disclose fastening members comprising a flat fastener and a foamed resin bonded to each other. In JP '214, a flexible foam and a flat fastener having engaging elements are bonded to each other through a magnetic film, with the surface of the magnetic film that faces the flat fastener exposed around the periphery of the flat fastener. The magnetic film is magnetically attached at its exposed peripheral surface to magnets provided at shoulders of a recess in a mold, thereby preventing gaps from being formed. However, since the magnetic film is disposed between the flexible foam and the flat fastener, the entire part of the fastening member falls or is difficult to be efficiently fitted into the recess because of a weak magnetic attraction force. Further, it is difficult to provide magnets in the narrow space of the recess shoulder, making the proposed method difficult to put into practice.
In JP '173, a flat fastener and a foamed body having a width and a height relatively larger than those of the flat fastener are bonded to each other to form a fastening member, which is inserted into a hollow space surrounded by a raised wall formed in a mold. Therefore, the fastening member has a considerably large size and is difficult to handle. Also, a fastening member having a foamed body with a large contact resistance to the raised wall cannot be easily inserted in position.
Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open No. 7-148007 (hereinafter "JP '007") discloses a mold-in fastening member having a substrate provided on its front surface with engaging elements and on its rear surface with fitting elements raised from the lateral edge portions and extending along the longitudinal direction. In JP '007, the head portion of the fitting elements projects outwardly from the lateral edges to leave no gap between the lateral edges of the fastening member and the recess of a mold.
Since the above fastening member is push-fitted into the recess, care must be paid to ensure a close contact between the fitting elements and the side wall of the recess. If loosely fitted, gaps are left to allow the resin to flow into the recess. Further, the proposed method is applicable only to the production of fastening members having linear shapes, but substantially inapplicable to the production of fastening members having curved shapes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Mold-in fastening member and process for producing molded resin article having the same


A reactive jamming software defined radio (SDR) apparatus to target Frequency Hopping Spread-Spectrum (FHSS) signals includes a peripheral module for SDR processing; a reactive jamming hardware IP core that implements time-sensitive operations on a field programmable gate array (FGPA); and a host computer that implements non-time-critical operations, such as jammer configuration, logging, and strategy composition.

Software-Defined Radio (SDR) technology has become a mainstay in the field of wireless communications due to its runtime reconfigurability, which is achieved by implementing most of the traditional radio communication processes in software instead of dedicated hardware. Current SDR platforms provide a fast, user-friendly prototyping environment for a wide range of communications protocols and allow for experimental field studies with minimal resource investment into dedicated hardware or firmware design.
Meanwhile, reactive jamming is a serious, stealthy, and energy-efficient way to perform attacks and disable communication in networks that use SDR technology. One such threat is the Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack, wherein the adversary transmits interfering signals, i.e. jamming signals, to make the network unavailable to legitimate users. In its most basic form, a DoS attack can just be a continuous inband jamming signal with sufficient power to corrupt all transmitted packets. These continuous jammers, though simple to implement, suffer from two disadvantages: High power requirement and high probability of detection. On the other hand, reactive jammers are more efficient due to their ability to sense the wireless medium and jam packets that are already in the air. By jamming wireless packets reactively at critical moments, adversaries can significantly reduce network throughput using little energy while minimizing the chances of being detected. Nevertheless, reactive jammers have not been considered a serious threat in practice, mainly due to the implementation challenges in meeting strict real-time constraints for detecting and reacting to in-flight packets of high-speed wireless networks.
Current software-defined radios provide a fast and user-friendly way to launch and iteratively enhance reactive jamming against multiple communication paradigms, including narrowband, wideband OFDM, direct-sequence spread spectrum, and frequency-hopping spread spectrum signals. Due to their PHY layer flexibility, however, achieving high-performance and real-time reactive jamming operations on SDRs remains a challenge. Recent research in wireless communications has emphasized securing the physical layer against external threats, however, due to limitations of host side signal processing, particularly due to latency constraints, the real-time requirement of reactive jamming and threat detection has not been met.

Energy-efficient reactive jamming of frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) signals using software-defined radios


This disclosure relates to a curable composition comprising at least one polymer A with at least one reactive silyl group and at least one polymer B with at least one reactive silyl group, the number of reactive silyl groups in the polymer A being greater or equal to the number of silyl groups in polymer B and the reactive silyl groups being capable of cross-linking to form siloxane bonds. The disclosure also relates to preparations containing a composition of this type and to the use of said compositions.

Silane-crosslinking adhesive and sealing compounds contain as binders alkoxysilane-terminated or acyloxysilane-terminated polymers. Polymer systems having reactive alkoxysilyl groups have long been known. In the presence of atmospheric humidity, these alkoxysilane-terminated polymers are capable of condensing with one another, splitting off the alkoxy groups, even at room temperature. Depending on the alkoxysilane group content and their structure, mainly long-chain polymer (thermoplastics), relatively wide-mesh three-dimensional networks (elastomers) and highly crosslinked systems (thermosetting plastics) are formed.
As a rule, the polymers have an organic basic structure, which has the alkoxysilane groups. The basic organic structure may be, for example, polyurethanes, polyesters, polyesters, polyols, poly(meth)acrylates, polyvinyl alcohols, etc.
DE 197 27 029 A1 discloses a single-component reactive system composition containing an alkoxysilane-terminated polyurethane, a curing catalyst and conventional additives, if necessary.
WO 99/48942 A1 describes alkoxysilane-terminated polyurethanes and corresponding preparations that contain polyurethane and may also contain solvents, catalysts, plasticizers, reactive diluents, fillers and the like, in addition to the alkoxysilated polyurethanes.
EP 333222 B1 claims a curable polymer composition comprising a silylated polymer based on alkyl (meth)acrylate, a silylated polymer based on oxyalkylene, a silicon-containing compound and a curing accelerator.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,751 discloses silyl-terminated polymers containing essentially polyoxyalkylene units in the backbone for use in the field of sealing and adhesive compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,457 discloses the synthesis of high-molecular polyoxyalkylene polymers with a high molecular weight distribution by so-called double metal cyanide catalysis.
EP 0397036 describes the introduction of reactive silyl groups capable of crosslinking onto such polyoxyalkylene polymers, e.g. by the hydrosilylation method.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,955 describes, as another method of attaching reactive silyl groups capable of crosslinking to such polyoxyalkylene polymers, the reaction of isocyanate-terminated polymers consisting of a polyoxyalkylene basic structure with aminosilanes.
EP 1678254 A1 describes the reaction of a hydroxyl-terminated polyoxyalkylene polymer (polyether polyols) with isocyanatosilanes to attach reactive silyl groups to polyoxyalkylene basic structures.
EP 1678254 A1 discloses polymeric compositions of mixed oxyalkylene units including both mixtures of polymers constructed from various oxyalkylene units and polymers constructed from different oxyalkylene units.
EP 327017 B1 claims a curing composition comprising a silylated oxyalkylene polymer, a polymeric plasticizer having an average (number average) molar weight of 500 to 15,000 g/mol and liquid polybutadiene.
WO 2005/042605 discloses moisture-curing polyether urethanes, which have an alkoxysilane functional finish. The reactive silyl groups are attached to the polyoxyalkylene polymer, which will later have at least two reactive silyl groups, by reaction of the polyoxyalkylene polymers which contains groups reactive with isocyanate groups, with silanes containing isocyanate. This silyl group is attached to the polyoxyalkylene polymer, which later has one reactive silyl group, by reaction of an aminosilane with an isocyanate group. This method results in the composition containing polymers having urea groups. However, urea groups can have a negative effect on the viscoelastic and/or plastic properties of the cured compositions as well as the processability of the curable compositions.
With all moisture-curing polyurethanes or preparations (systems) containing such polyurethanes, in particular, however, with the systems containing silicon, it is usually a disadvantage that these systems become brittle after processing due to the curing operation and thereby lose a large portion of their elasticity and/or have lower tear propagation strength values. The loss of elasticity occurs frequently at low temperatures in particular; on cooling, the known systems often lose their resilience and flexibility. However, attempts to improve the elasticity and flexibility of the cured systems often lead to an exacerbation of other material properties, e.g. a higher tackiness of the surface, or the systems have such a high viscosity before processing that solvents must be used, e.g. to ensure processability. Likewise, a reduction in stability of these systems is often observed during storage. Exacerbation of important material properties or storage properties and also the use of solvents are not acceptable, either economically or ecologically.
The use of plasticizers in such a system often cannot significantly improve the viscoelastic properties.
For example, for use in sealing compounds and highly elastic adhesives, low-molecular plasticizers, e.g. phthalates must be incorporated into the compositions to achieve the required elasticity. Not only are these plasticizers often objectionable toxicologically but also adding low-molecular compounds usually results in exacerbation of viscoelastic properties of the preparations, e.g. an increased viscosity of the curable composition. Furthermore, addition of low-molecular plasticizers has also a negative effect on the restoring force of the cured compositions, i.e., the cured compounds have inadequate restoring force.
High-molecular plasticizers in some cases also have an extremely negative effect on the processability of the uncured compositions. In addition, the use of high-molecular plasticizers can have an unfavorable influence on the elastic properties and the restoring force of the cured composition.

Compositions consisting of partially silyl-terminated polymers


A water-based ink of the present invention comprises water, a plurality of different water-soluble organic solvents, and a water-insoluble coloring material, wherein the above water-soluble organic solvents consist of a good solvent to the above water-insoluble coloring material and a poor solvent to the above water-insoluble coloring material, and the total amount (% by mass) of the good solvents in the ink is represented by A and the total amount (% by mass) of the poor solvent in the ink is represented by B, the ratio of A to B ranges from 10:5 to 10:30 both inclusive, and when the respective Ka values of the above water-soluble organic solvents are determined by the Bristow method and compared with each other, a water-soluble organic solvent having the largest Ka value is the poor solvent. The pigment ink has a sufficiently large area factor even with a small amount of ink and provides an image of high OD.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water-based ink that comprises a water-insoluble coloring material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a water-based ink, which is preferably used for a recording method and a recording apparatus using an ink jet recording system, and further in an ink jet image forming method.
2. Related Background Art
It is known that ink containing a water-insoluble coloring material such as a pigment (pigmented ink) can provide images excellent in fastness such as water resistance or light resistance. In recent years, various techniques have been proposed to improve the optical density of an image formed with such ink. For example, there has been proposed a method for further improving image density, using an ink containing a self-dispersing carbon black and a certain salt (refer to, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-198955). There has been also proposed a technique to form a high quality image, in which an ink composition for ink jet recording, containing a pigment, a polymer particle, a water-soluble organic solvent and water, is applied to a recording Medium with an aqueous solution containing a polyvalent metal to cause react-on between the ink composition and the polyvalent metal in the aqueous solution (see e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-63719). In these techniques, a pigment present dispersed in the ink is forced to agglomerate on the surface of the recording medium to prevent penetration of the pigment into the recording medium whereby an image of a higher density than with conventional pigmented ink can be obtained.
However, as a result of intensive studies, the present inventors found out that, as the pigment particles are agglomerate on a recording medium in the above techniques, the area on the surface of a recording medium to be covered with the coloring material when a certain amount of the ink droplet Is used (so-called area factor) tends to be insufficient. This means that the above techniques require more ink to obtain the same image density in comparison with the conventional pigmented ink in which a pigment is dispersed by a polymer dispersant or the like. This point needs further improvement. Although there is a method of obtaining a large area factor with a small ink droplet by increasing permeability of the ink to a recording medium, the ink of increased permeability diffuse not only on the surface of the recording medium but also into the inside thereof, resulting in insufficient image density.
The present inventors studied both advantages and disadvantages of the conventional inks and analyzed the characteristics of the images formed with such inks. They have found that, when an ink contains a coloring material in a larger amount, there arise such problems that coloring material remains in a larger amount on the surface of the recording medium, visually uneven dots are formed, or the coloring material is not effectively used but wasted in the recording medium. The present inventors have found that images superior to the conventional images can be obtained by solving at least one of these technical problems summarized below. The present invention solves at least one of the following problems.
(1) When a pigment which exists in the state of dispersion in an ink is forced to agglomerate on the surface of a recording medium, the area of the surface of the recording medium which the coloring material can cover with an ink droplet of a predetermined volume (so-called area factor) might be insufficient. In this case, the amount of ink necessary to obtain the same image density increases.
(2) When the ink permeability is increased, the ink spreads not only on the surface of a recording medium but also permeates in a direction of the thickness of the recording medium. Accordingly, the coloring material cannot distribute at a high density near the surface of the recording medium, and a high image density cannot be obtained.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a water-based ink, which can provides sufficient area even with a small droplet of pigmented ink (large area factor), can provide an image having high OD (image density), and has a long-term storage stability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording method of using the above ink to form a high-definition image with high OD with a small amount of the ink.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge, a recording unit, and an ink jet recording apparatus, which are preferably used for the above recording method.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method in which color mixing (bleeding) is effectively prevented on the border between a black ink region and a color ink region without causing feathering, when a color image in which different colors are adjacent to one another is recorded on a plain paper.
The technical concept of the present invention can be summarized as follows: a water-based ink that comprises water, a plurality of different water-soluble organic solvents, and a water-insoluble coloring material, wherein the above water-soluble organic solvents are a good solvent and a poor solvent For the water-insoluble coloring material to be used, and when Ka values of the above water-soluble organic solvents are determined by the Bristow method, the above poor solvent has the largest Ka value and diffuses along the surface of a recording medium in the form of substantially a perfect circle before the good solvent diffuses, assisting agglomeration of the above water-insoluble coloring material in the diffusion process. By this structure, the water-based ink of the present invention has an advantage that it is not necessary to contain a large amount of the coloring material that is diffused and wasted in a recording medium without contributing to image density as in the prior art. In addition, an image can be formed in an ideal state, that is, much of the coloring material is not located on the surface of a recording medium and at the same time the coloring material does not reach the back side of the recording medium thereby enabling printing on the both sides, As a result, an image with a high density is uniformly formed on the surface of the recording medium.

Water-based ink, ink jet recording method, ink cartridge, recording unit, ink jet recording apparatus, and image forming method.


The present invention discloses a method and apparatus of performing outer loop link adaptation (OLLA) operation. This method may comprise: accelerating in an initial probing phase, increase of an OLLA scaling factor until obtaining a negative result regarding codeword selection; and fine modifying, in a fine modification phase, the scaling factor using an upturn factor and a downturn factor in response to the result regarding codeword selection so that a channel quality indication, which is modified using the scaling factor, is matched with its actual value. Compared with the prior art, the technical solution as provided in the present invention can quickly modify a CQI to match its actual value, thus this solution may effectively mitigate the CQI mismatch, improve the CQI feedback accuracy, and further enhance the cell throughput performance and frequency utilization.

With the constant increase of mobile data services and emergence of new-type applications such as multimedia online game (MMOG), mobile TV, Web2.0, and stream media, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) organization has developed long-term evolution (LTE) specifications. 3GPP LTE, which is known as an evolution standard of the Global System for Mobile Communications/High Speed Packet Access (GSM/HSPA) technology that has achieved a great success, aims at creating a new series of specifications for the new evolving radio-access technology, so as to go on improving the cellular communication system performance, such as achieving a higher throughput and a lower packet transmission latency.
An LTE system can operate both in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode. In the FDD mode, the uplink and downlink employ a pair of frequency spectrums for data transmission; while in the TDD mode, the uplink and downlink channels share the same frequency, but occupy different time slots. Therefore, the TDD system has channel reciprocity, by which the downlink wireless channel information could be obtained with the knowledge get from the uplink channel.
FIG. 1A illustrates a typical scenario of a multi-cell LTE/LTE-A/TD-LTE system. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the LTE system comprises a core network (EPC), base station devices (eNB1 to eNB3) and a plurality of user equipments UE1, UE2, . . . , UEn, . . . , UEm. It should be noted that although the shown system comprises three cells, it can be more in actual application. User equipment UE transmits data to eNB or receives data therefrom via their wireless interfaces; and respective eNB1 to eNB3 are further connected to the core network EPC.
In a downlink operation of the TDD system, a user equipment (UE) is responsible for measuring the downlink channel and feeding information back to a base station device (eNB) for using by the eNB to perform scheduling and allocating operations. FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a block diagram of a typical single-cell communication system according to the prior art, wherein the system comprises a plurality of UEs that communicate with an eNB. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, to enable the UE to fully appreciate the downlink channel, eNB transmits a cell specific reference signal (CRS) to the UE in some certain time and frequency combination resources (also called resource element RE) in the LTE system. The CRS is a pre-defined signal, pre-known to both the transmitter and the receiver; therefore, the UE can derive the downlink channel condition based on the received CRS. The CRS is not pre-coded and is transmitted over the entire system bandwidth of a cell. A data receiving unit 101 in the UE is for receiving CRS/data. A feedback calculation unit 102 is for measuring a feedback parameter, for example estimating a channel quality indication (CQI) based on the CRS. The feedback calculation unit 102 in the UE can calculate the CQI based on the channel information on some valid sub-frames, so as to obtain the CQI based on a PDSCH transmission scheme configured by a transmission mode (TM). For example, for mode 7 and mode 8 (hereinafter referred to as TM7 and TM8, respectively), if the number of PBCH antenna ports is one, then a single port solution is adopted; while if the number of PBCH antenna ports is more than one, then transmit diversity is adopted. A feedback transmission unit 103 is for transmitting to the eNB feedback information such as CQI, Pre-coding Matrix Information (PMI), Rank Indication (RI), etc. At the eNB, a scheduler unit 111 performs resource scheduling to each UE based on feedback information from the UE. Then, an allocation processing unit 112 performs channel resource allocation processing.
Besides, thanks to the channel reciprocity feature in the TDD system, it is possible for LTE to enable better performance for radio resource control and advanced antenna techniques. For example, in coverage limited areas like rural area, beamforming is one of the most effective ways to provide coverage extension and to reduce the number of cell sites. The enhanced signal strength to noise ratio allows more margins for UE decoding the data symbols, and the more efficient Modulation Coding and Scheme could be used to improve the spectrum efficiency. Further, in LTE release 8 and 9, single layer and dual layer beamforming on antenna port 5 and 7, 8 are already supported.
FIG. 1C schematically illustrates a flowchart of beamforming operation according to existing specifications. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, this operation mainly comprises beamforming weight and CQI acquirement process and beamforming and link adaptation process, which are illustrated by two big dashed blocks. As illustrated in the figure, at step S101, the UE transmits an uplink channel sounding reference signal (SRS) to the eNB. At step S102, the eNB obtains the channel state indication (CSI) information through the SRS information and calculates a beamforming weight based on the CSI information. At step S103, the UE obtains the CQI based on the CRS from the eNB and transmits the CQI to the eNB. At step S104, the eNB obtains the CQI. Then, at step S105, the eNB performs pre-coding and link adaptive operation based on the calculated beamforming weight and CQI indication. After that, at step S106, pre-coded data symbols and a UE specific reference signal (UE-RS) that is pre-coded in the same manner as those data symbols are transmitted to the UE. At step S107, after receiving the UE-RS, the UE performs demodulation on the received data symbols based on the received UE-RS.
The beamforming operation is based on non-codeword pre-coding and relies on the UE-RS for data demodulation. Because the UE-RS symbol is pre-coded with the same pre-coding matrix as the downlink data symbols, the UE can estimate out an effective channel. However, the UE-RS is transmitted only when the UE is being scheduled, and is therefore only transmitted over the frequency resource assignment of data transmission and can not be used as the resource for measuring the CQI by the UE. Therefore, it is based on the CRS assuming transmit diversity that the UE calculates the CQI, while the downlink data symbols are transmitted based on transmit beamforming. Therefore there is a CQI difference between the UE reported CQI and the actual CQI. Such CQI difference is actually a CQI difference between the transmit diversity and the transmit beamforming, or a CQI difference between CRS and UE-RS. Therefore, if eNB uses the UE reported CQI to transmit data, then the gain due to adopting beamforming will be lost, which directly causes degradation of the throughput performance. Therefore, there is a need for a scheme for performing CQI modification so as to mitigate the CQI difference.
To compensate for the CQI difference between the UE reported CQI and an actual CQI, an outer loop link adaptation scheme is disclosed by K. I. Pedersen, F. Frederiksen, T. E. Kolding, T. F. Lootsma, and P. E. Mogensen in an article entitled "Performance of high-speed downlink packet access in Coexistence with dedicated channels", Trans. on VT, VOL. 56. NO. 3, May 2007. This scheme is a universal technical solution, that is to say, it can be used for either uplink or downlink. Hereinafter, a CQI measurement process using OLLA will be described with an OLLA for the downlink at UE side.
FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a CQI measurement method performed in a CQI measurement unit (as illustrated in FIG. 1B) at the UE. As illustrated in FIG. 2, first at step S201, the CQI measurement unit 202 calculates SINR based on CRS received by a data receiving unit 201. Then, at step 202, OLLA operation is performed on SINR so as to perform CQI modification by adding an OLLA scaling factor A to the SINR, wherein detailed description regarding calculation of the scaling factor will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3. Next, at step S203, the modified SINR is mapped to the CQI according to an SINR-CQI look-up table. The resulting CQI is transmitted to the eNB through a feedback transmitting unit 103.
FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of performing OLLA operation on the SINR. As illustrated in FIG. 3, first at step S301, a scaling factor A of the OLLA operation is initialized to be 0. Then, at step S302, codeword selection operation is performed based on the reported CQI, and then the method proceeds to step S303. If it is determined at step S303 that the codeword is successfully received, then at step S304, the scaling factor is increased by Aup dB; next, the method returns to step S302 to continue selection of codeword. If, at step S303, it is determined that the codeword is not successfully received, then at step S305, the scaling factor is decreased by Adown dB; next, the method returns to step S302 to continue selection of codeword. Further, it should be noted that such CQI adjustment may also be performed at eNB which may modify the OLLA scaling factor using an upturn factor Aup or a downturn factor Adown based on an ACK or NACK from the UE regarding whether the codeword is successfully received.
Besides, according to the OLLA scheme, the ratio of Adown to Aup is at least 9 in order to keep the block error probability (BLEP) within a predetermined threshold (in an actual application scenario, usually 0.1). In the actual application scenario, Aup=0.05, while Adown=0.45.
Therefore, OLLA is a simple but robust universal scheme. However, this modification is done by increasing or decreasing SINR/CQI based on an ACK/NACK feedback regarding codeword selection. Generally, it will take a long time to realize matching between a reported CQI and an actual CQI, especially when there is a bigger difference between an SINR estimated based on CRS and an actual SINR. Further, it is more susceptible to error. Once error occurs, it will significantly affect this modification and greatly prolong the time for modification. As a result, it will cause degradation of system performance.
Therefore, there is urgently needed an improved CQI modification scheme in the art.

Method and apparatus of performing outer loop link adaptation operation


The invention relates to an agent for the prophylaxis and/or therapy of conditions associated with a disorder of bone formation. It contains alkali metal citrates and/or alkali metal lactates and/or alkali metal malates, optionally together with one or more active substances selected from vitamin K, calcium salts and vitamin D. The agent preferably contains potassium citrates and/or sodium citrates or potassium lactates and/or sodium lactates and serves for the prophylaxis and/or therapy of osteoclasis, in particular osteoporosis or osteomalacia.

Disorders of bone metabolism, in particular in the form of the occurrence of osteoporosis, are widespread in Western industrial countries. Osteoporosis is a disease which is characterised by disorders of osteogenesis and also by intensified osteoclasis. In the case of a disorder of osteogenesis, reduced synthesis of the bone proteins, eg. collagen, elastin, osteocalcin, occurs. There may also be reduced incorporation of calcium and phosphate. Such a diminution of synthesis and/or of incorporation results in osteoporosis or, in some cases, a more intense osteoporosis. Vitamins D and K, for example, are important for protein synthesis and for the incorporation of calcium and phosphate. In the case of osteoclasis, besides calcium, phosphate is also excreted in increased amounts, and in addition the bone proteins decrease. Consequently osteoporosis constitutes a multi-factor phenomenon, with the catabolism of bone mass and the reduction in bone density in the foreground. In this connection the annual rate of catabolism amounts to 1% to 2%; but it may rise to a multiple of this value and becomes dramatic with regard to osteoporosis if it exceeds 3% to 4%. In the case of osteoclasis, calcium, above all, is removed from the bone, which as a result can easily become brittle.
Another disease involving a disorder of bone formation is osteomalacia, which is characterised by deficient incorporation of minerals into the normally or exuberantly formed albumin basic skeleton. This results in broad uncalcified osteoid seams and, accompanied by a general increase in the elastic osteoid substance, greater softness of the bones and a tendency for them to become distorted.
Osteoporosis usually occurs in the sixth decade of life; in men, on account of the greater bone mass and bone density and the continual production of testosterone, it occurs later and far less severely than in women.
Besides the administration of oestrogens as well as highly dosed fluorides in the case of post-menopausal women, in connection with the prophylaxis and therapy of disorders pertaining to bone metabolism and of osteoclasis, use is made above all of calcium and vitamin D, frequently in combination.
For instance, an increase in the daily calcium intake in food from between about 600 and 800 mg to between about 1000 and 1500 mg is recommended, it being possible for these supply quantities to be achieved through increased consumption of milk and milk products. Since milk also contains vitamin D, the supply of vitamin D also rises by this means.
However, since many people do not ingest milk or milk products in sufficient quantities, calcium salts and vitamin D are conventionally ingested in isolated form by way of food supplement or as medicine. By this means the rate of osteoclasis is reduced. Nevertheless, the catabolism progresses, albeit to a lesser extent. It is therefore desirable, besides the administration of calcium and vitamin D, to administer further substances which are as easily digestible as possible and which additionally reduce osteoclasis, characterised by the loss of calcium from the bone.

Agent for acting upon bone formation disturbances containing alkaline citrates, lactates and/or malates


A method for producing dense aluminum nitride articles having enhanced thermal conductivity is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of forming a powder compact comprising AlN alone or in combination with other ceramic compounds, adding a densification aid, subsequently exposing the compact to an environment which serves to reduce the oxygen content of the compact, and then densifying the compact by sintering or hot-pressing to provide a dense article. The densified AlN article is found to have a high thermal conductivity.

As the electronics industry advances toward higher circuit densities, efficient thermal management will assume increasing importance. The removal of heat from critical circuit components through the circuit substrate is directly dependent on the thermal conductivity of the substrate. Beryllium oxide (BeO) has traditionally been the ceramic of choice for applications requiring electrically insulating materials having high thermal conductivity. Unfortunately, beryllium oxide is toxic to a small fraction of the general population, thus leading to a significant reluctance to use it.
Alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) is nontoxic and is easily fired to full density at 1500.degree.-1600.degree. C.; however, its thermal conductivity of between about 20 to about 30 W/m.degree.K is about one order of magnitude less than that of BeO (which has a thermal conductivity of about 260 W/m.degree.K). Additionally, the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) over the range of 25.degree.-400.degree. C. for alumina (6.7.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C) and beryllia (8.0.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C) are not well matched to those of semiconductors such as silicon (3.6.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C), and gallium arsenide (5.9.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C). Thus, alumina and beryllia provide less than ideal results when used in applications such as integrated circuit substrates through which heat transfer is to occur. In contrast, the CTE for aluminum nitride (AlN) is 4.4.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C, a value which is well matched to both of the previously described semiconductor materials.
In addition to having a CTE which makes it compatible with materials such as silicon and gallium arsenide, AlN can be sintered to provide shaped ceramic articles. Additionally, AlN articles are amenable to a variety of metallization processes. As such, AlN has repeatedly been suggested as a ceramic substrate for semiconductor applications. Although a variety of attempts to produce sintered AlN parts having high thermal conductivity are described in the literature, these generally have achieved limited success.
There is extensive literature on the sintering of AlN using a variety of sintering or densification aids. The bulk of the literature centers around the use of oxides of either rare earth elements (i.e., yttrium and lanthanide series elements), oxides of alkaline earth elements (i.e., the Group IIA elements), and mixtures thereof. These include compounds such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, La.sub.2 O.sub.3, CaO, BaO, and SrO. A system using Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and carbon is described in a variety of patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,232, U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,233, U.S. Pat. No. No. 4,578,234, U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,364 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,365, each of Huseby et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,930,875 and 4,097,293 of Komeya; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,592 of Kuramoto. Additionally, there is a wide variety of patents using Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and YN including U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,471 of Huseby et al.
In the Huseby et al. patents which relate to the Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and carbon system, described above, AlN samples which are doped with Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and carbon are heated to 1500.degree.-1600.degree. C. for approximately one hour. The carbon serves to chemically reduce Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 phases contained in the AlN, thereby producing additional AlN and lowering the overall oxygen level in each part. The patents state that the Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 sintering aids are unaffected by this process. The parts are then sintered at about 1900.degree. C. Thermal conductivities as high as 180 W/m.degree.K have been reported for carbon treated samples produced by the methods described in these patents. Some evidence indicates, however, that these methods may introduce residual, free carbon within the sintered AlN piece, and this residual carbon can act to decrease the dielectric constant and loss throughout the piece. These effects may be undesirable in electronic applications, although acceptable in many other applications. Additionally, two other patents of Huseby et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,785 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,645) disclose a similar process that does not make use of a Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 sintering aid.
Other techniques for the production of sintered AlN and high thermal conductivity AlN have also been disclosed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,611 of Iwase et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,298 of Kuramoto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,618.592 of Kuramoto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,513 of Komeya et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,992 of Komeya et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,179 of Matsuo et al., European Patent Application No. 75,857 of Tsuge et al., and U.K. Patent Application 2,179,677 of Tanicjuchi et al.
Thermal conductivities of up to 200 W/m.degree.K have been reported in parts sintered from mixtures of 1-5% Y.sub. O.sub.3 and an aluminum nitride powder containing a low oxygen level (for example, an oxygen content less than 1.0%). See, for example, K. Shinozaki et al., Seramikkusu, 21(12):1130 (1986). In a presentation at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society, (Pittsburgh, Pa., May 1987), Tsuge described a three stage process for increasing the thermal conductivity of sintered AlN parts. Further treatment of these parts for as long as 96 hours to remove the yttrium aluminate grain boundary phase reportedly can increase the thermal conductivity to 240 W/m.degree.K. Finally, by treating these samples to increase the average grain size, thermal conductivities which approach the theoretical thermal conductivity of 320 W/m.degree.K have been reported. This method, however, requires lengthy, multiple, independent steps to increase the thermal conductivity of the aluminum nitride material and produces sintered parts having large grain sizes. Additionally, the ultra-high thermal conductivity samples which have been produced to date contain extremely low levels of both oxygen (less than 400 ppm) and yttrium (less than 200 ppm).
Finally, German Patent DE 3,627,317 to Taniguchi et al. describes the use of mixtures of alkaline earth and rare earth halides and oxides to produce aluminum nitride parts that are reported to have thermal conductivities as high as 250 W/m.degree.K.
This technology, however, has been demonstrated only with parts which are relatively thick (e.g., 6 mm or more). Thin samples, (on the order of 3 mm) such as those associated with circuit substrate applications exhibit significantly lower thermal conductivities, e.g. 170-205 W/m.degree.K.
None of the processes described above teach the production, via a simple firing program, of sintered AlN parts having a thickness below about 6 mm and a thermal conductivity above about 220 W/m.degree.K.
Additionally, each of the processes described above requires either the use of solid-phase carbon or carbonaceous compounds, or extended firing schedules to increase the thermal conductivity of the final sintered part. The use of solid-phase carbon or carbonaceous compounds interferes with the ability to increase the thermal conductivity of previously sintered aluminum nitride parts, and has the potential for leaving porosity in AlN greenware following the heat treatment step. This porosity may result in non-uniform sintering.
Since AlN is a material with a number of unique properties which render it particularly useful in electronic and structural applications, it is particularly desirable to develop a method for the production of high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride which is simple and does not require extremely long firing times to produce a dense article.

Increasing AlN thermal conductivity via pre-densification treatment


The present disclosure is directed to lens, methods of making, designing lens and/or methods using lens in which performance may be improved by providing one or more steps in the central portion of the optical zone and one or more steps in the peripheral portion of the optic zone. In some embodiments, such lens may be useful for correcting refractive error of an eye and/or for controlling eye growth.

A basic bifocal or multifocal ophthalmic lens such as an intraocular lens, a corneal onlay, a corneal inlay, or a contact lens has a central area of the optical zone with an optical power that provides distance vision and an annular area about the central area with a power that gives near vision (i.e. center-distance bifocals or multifocals). Another basic bifocal or multifocal ophthalmic lens has a central area of the optical zone with an optical power that provides near vision and an annular area about the central area with a power that gives distance vision (i.e. center-near bifocals or multifocals). The optical zone of a contact lens may be approximately the size of the pupil. The pupil diameter may vary in the range 3 mm to 8 mm and the optical zone size of a contact lens may be selected accordingly. Some contact lenses designed for controlling the progression of myopia or correcting presbyopia rely on the use of an optical power in at least one area of the optical zone that is relatively positive compared to the distance power, wherein the distance power is for example defined as a power of a lens required to provide the appropriate refractive correction to the eye when the eye is viewing distant visual objects. The one or more areas of this relatively more positive power can be located centrally or in the periphery of the optical zone or both, wherein periphery is for example the zone of the contact lens that lies at a greater distance from the optical axis than the central zone and/or the area with an optical power providing distance vision.
The presence of additional relatively positive power in the optical zone of the contact lens is often reported by wearers to be causing effects that diminish vision performance or visual performance. Such effects include subjective complaints of doubling, ghosting, looking through a fish bowl (i.e. distortion) and/or in some instances a decrease in high and low contrast visual acuity. A decrease in low contrast visual acuity may also be reported as a decrease in contrast. A decrease in contrast may be identified and/or measured as a loss in contrast sensitivity.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an ophthalmic lens that for the wearer results in suitable or improved vision performance or visual performance in one or more aspects of vision performance or visual performance. It is also an object of the present disclosure to provide an ophthalmic lens that for the wearer results in suitable or improvement in vision performance or visual performance and has additional relatively positive power compared to distance power in the optical zone. It is also an object of the present disclosure to provide an ophthalmic lens that corrects refractive errors of an eye and has one or more areas of relatively positive power in the optical zone. It is another object of the present disclosure to provide an ophthalmic lens that corrects refractive errors of an eye, has one or more areas of relatively positive power compared to distance power in the optical zone and provides suitable or improved visual performance or vision performance in one or more aspects of vision performance. Combinations of one or more of these objectives are also contemplated. It is also an object of the present disclosure to provide methods of using such lens. Suitable or improvement in vision performance or visual performance may be one or more of the following: clarity of vision, degree of doubling, degree of ghosting, distortion, contrast, contrast sensitivity, visual acuity and overall quality of vision.
The prior art lenses and methods have the drawback that with the addition of more positive power in the optic zone, then vision performance or visual performance is affected. The present disclosure is directed to overcome and/or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art as will become apparent from the discussion herein by providing more positive power in the optic zone by use of steps in one or more regions of the optic zone. This results in lenses that may be used both for correction of myopia and/or control of the progression of myopia. This also results in lenses that may be used to correct refractive errors of an eye such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and/or presbyopia without substantially affecting one or more aspects of vision performance or visual performance, for example without substantially changing ghosting. This also results in lens that may be used to correct refractive errors of an eye with suitable or improvement in vision performance or visual performance and to control of eye growth. Accordingly, methods of designing, methods of use and lenses for solving these and other problems disclosed herein are desirable. The present disclosure is directed to overcome and/or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art as will become apparent from the discussion herein.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or form of a suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or other jurisdictions or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be ascertained, understood and regarded as relevant by a person skilled in the art.

Ophthalmic optical lens for vision correction having one or more areas of more positive power


A method provides a diagnostic on a combined humidity and temperature sensing device including a humidity sensor having a humidity sensing element, a temperature sensor, and a heater. The method comprises obtaining a first temperature and a first relative humidity, heating the humidity sensing element with the heater, obtaining a second temperature and a second relative humidity after heating the humidity sensing element, and determining a difference between the first temperature and the second temperature and a difference between the first relative humidity and the second relative humidity. Diagnostic information representative of a possible malfunction of the humidity sensor is output when the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature difference threshold and the difference between the first relative humidity and the second relative humidity is lower than a predetermined humidity difference threshold.

In the automotive industry, on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems are commonly used for providing self-diagnostics capabilities for various vehicle components. For instance, OBD systems can provide real-time information regarding the status of a particular vehicle component or subsystem to a user of the vehicle, or to a technician during a maintenance operation. In some countries or regions, certain types of self-diagnostics can be compulsory upon request by local or regional environmental protection agencies, and a lack thereof may result in a fine.
Some self-diagnostics were previously limited to out-of-range diagnostics; sensors outputting a value outside of a predefined validity range for the sensor. It is, however, increasingly requested by environmental protection agencies and the automotive industry to provide in-range diagnostic capabilities. An in-range diagnostic analyzes a sensor's output when the output value is within the predefined validity range for the sensor but is otherwise incorrect according to current application conditions. For example, assuming application conditions in which a current measurable temperature is 20° C. and a temperature sensor is configured to measure temperatures between 0° C. and 60° C., a temperature of 40° C. output by the temperature sensor would fall in the range of measurable temperatures but would be incorrect and, therefore, non-representative of the current application conditions.
It is further known to use humidity sensors for measuring humidity, for example, in an air intake of an internal combustion engine. As described for instance in U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0237646 A1, such humidity sensors have a heating element used for heating and thereby cleaning the humidity sensing element of the humidity sensor. It is also known to combine these humidity sensors with a temperature sensor to measure a temperature in the vicinity of the humidity sensing element.
In the automotive industry, vehicles may have more than one temperature sensor; it is known to perform in-range diagnostics on a given temperature sensor by comparing its output values with the values output by other temperature sensors, for instance, other temperature sensors arranged in nearby areas of the vehicle. While this method could also be applied in order to identify a malfunctioning humidity sensor, it is not a cost efficient method.
Methods of diagnosing the validity of a humidity sensor output signal are known, for instance from U.S. Pat. No. 9,224,252 B1, which describes a method in which a humidity sensor output signal has passed a rationality diagnostic if the output signal is changing sufficiently over time. When the output signal is not changing sufficiently, this known method relies on a humidity capacity index to determine rationality or validity, which is based on combined temperature and pressure measurements. This and other known methods are limited to out-of-range diagnostics of the humidity sensor and are not sufficient to provide in-range diagnostics, especially regarding which subcomponent of a humidity sensor might be failing.

Method for providing a diagnostic on a combined humidity and temperature sensor


A method, system and computer program product for storing document information in an application service provider (ASP) which is connected to a user terminal through a network, such as the Internet. The method on which the system and computer program product are based includes inputting the document information into the user terminal, inputting a previously created e-mail address into the user terminal, the e-mail address being confirmed by the ASP and corresponding to a storage location in the ASP, and sending the document information to the e-mail address via the network. The document information may be input into the user terminal either manually or automatically and a storage folder may be created for storing documents to the ASP. Where the user terminal is an Internet fax machine, the Internet fax machine can be set up to automatically send all document information received by the Internet fax machine to the ASP for storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods, computer-based systems and computer program products for storing documents, and in particular storing documents to an application service provider.
2. Discussion of the Background
With the ever increasing complexity of business relationships, the number of paper documents generated by individuals is increasing at a rapid rate. Therefore, it is becoming more and more necessary for corporations, small businesses and even households entering into such relationships to reduce and manage paper documents. To meet this demand, business owners and other individuals have recently turned to application service providers (ASPs) that can store and manage documents at a storage location remote to the user. This saves valuable physical and electronic storage space local to the user. Moreover, ASPs can provide the user with useful document management services.
However, in order to store the documents in an ASP, it is necessary for the user to put paper documents in electronic format for transmission and storage in the ASP. Moreover, the process of storing a document to an ASP typically involves interaction with an ASP web site in order to register with the ASP and establish storage files for storing the documents. Thus, using an ASP to store documents may require a variety of electronic equipment such as an optical scanning device to scan paper documents, a printer for printing documents, and an Internet ready computer, such as a PC, for connecting and interacting with the ASP. The present inventors have proposed an integrated system for managing documents that provides all of these features in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,965 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/839,221, filed on Apr. 23, 2001, for example, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
However, such an integrated system is expensive and therefore companies may provide a limited number of such devices as a resource for employees. Moreover, small businesses and family members running a household may not be able or willing to purchase such an integrated system or the separate components necessary to use ASP services. Where an ASP user does have all of the electronic equipment necessary for using an ASP, the process of storing a document may be a time consuming interactive process of accessing web page menus of the ASP. Moreover, this process may be complicated for individuals unfamiliar with using Internet resources.

System, computer program product and method for storing information in an application service provider via e-mails


A method of image scaling includes the steps of: determining the coordinates of a virtual pixel in an original image, wherein the virtual pixel corresponds to an actual pixel in a scaled image; determining the coordinates of four actual pixels in the original image that are closest to the virtual pixel; determining the weights of the four actual pixels; and determining the pixel value of the virtual pixel in the original image in accordance with the determined weights and the pixel values of the four actual pixels.

With the development of technology, image processing is more and more widely used. Image scaling is an important part of the image processing. Image scaling requires that images be resized at a continuous ratio. The conventional method of image scaling is to calculate an image from its coordinate origin point by point, from left to right, and row after row, and so as to calculate the scaling result of the full image. In the scaling process, the conventional image scaling method often uses a product of the natural coordinates and numerator of a scale factor as the basis of weight calculation, which is computationally expensive and difficult to implement.


A gasket for a threaded element such as a spark plug to be screwed into a threaded hole of a support such as a cylinder head is provided. The threaded element has a threaded portion and an annular seat portion. The gasket is installed on the threaded element and compressed between the seat portion and an outer surface of the support around a threaded hole, when the threaded element is screwed into the threaded hole, to provide a seal between the threaded portion and the threaded hole. The gasket is formed from an annular sheet metal and in the form of an annular strip of a cross section including a plurality of bent portions. The cross section is made by a plane including a center axis of the gasket and of a such a bent shape as to enable an imaginary reference line which is located on the above described plane and parallel with the center axis, to cross at least three portions of the cross section. The initial axial size of the gasket, i.e., the height of the gasket before the gasket is compressed, is at least 2.5 mm. When pressure within a proper pressure range is applied to the gasket, i.e., within a proper pressure range from 6 to 12 kgf/mm2, a variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 of the gasket corresponding to advance or axial movement of the threaded element by at least 0.5 pitch of the thread, i.e., corresponding to movement of the threaded element resulting from at least 0.5 turn is retained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to spark plugs for internal combustion engines and more particularly to captive spark plug gaskets.
2. Description of the Related Art
A spark plug has a metal shell. The metal shell has a threaded portion for securing the spark plug to a cylinder head of an engine. The spark plug is generally provided with an annular gasket which is so-called a captive spark plug gasket. The gasket is generally formed from an annular metal sheet by bending the metal sheet radially thereof. The gasket is mounted on the metal shell at a location adjacent an inner end of the threaded portion. At a location adjacent the inner end of the threaded portion, the metal shell has a flanged, seat portion. When the threaded portion is screwed into a threaded hole of the cylinder head to cause the gasket to be compressed between the seat portion and the outer surface of the cylinder head around the threaded hole, the gasket provides a seal between the outer surface of the cylinder head around the threaded hole and the seat portion of the metal shell for thereby providing a seal between the threaded portion of the metal shell and the threaded hole.
In this connection, to attain a seal by means of the gasket, it is important to control the tightening torque for screwing the treaded portion into the threaded hole so that a proper compressive force is applied to the gasket. To this end, for each type of spark plug, a recommended tightening torque range for attaining a good seal is fixed. FIG. 14 shows a relation between tightening torque and compressive deformation xcex1 of gasket due to advance or axial movement of the threaded portion, which is exhibited by a prior art gasket. The prior art gasket heretofore used causes, at the initial state of deformation, the compressive force to concentrate at a bent portion or portions thereof and is thus compressed and deformed considerably even when the compressive force is still within a relatively low range and tightening of the spark plug is still at the initial stage. In such a low range, a tightening force necessary for attaining a desired seal can be hardly obtained.
However, when the deformation proceeds further to make smaller the space for allowing further deformation, a larger compressive force is necessitated for further compressive deformation, thus causing the tightening torque to increase abruptly. As shown in FIG. 14, in case of the prior art gasket, the recommended tightening torque range for the spark plug, which is indicated by the hatched area, is located on a sharply sloped line portion of the graph where the tightening torque increases sharply or abruptly with increase of deformation. From this, it will be understood that the gasket deformation xcex1 range capable of attaining the recommended tightening torque range is quite narrow.
In recent automotive engines, the lean air-fuel mixture is used increasingly as the restriction on the exhaust emission control becomes severer (i.e., so-called lean-burn engines are used increasingly). As shown in FIG. 13, since the lean mixture is low in the ratio of fuel mixed, misfire may possibly be caused in case the mixture is introduced into the combustion chamber K in a certain direction (or in case the intake valve is disposed in a certain position) to cause the flow of the mixture into the spark gap g between the center electrode 203 and the ground electrode 204 to be obstructed by the ground electrode 204. For this reason, this kind of engine generally takes instructions that the threaded portion 201a of the metal shell 201 of the spark plug 200 is screwed into the threaded hole S1 of the cylinder head SH so as to orient the ground electrode 204 to optimize ignition.
However, when the threaded portion 201a is screwed into the threaded hole S1 to such an extend as to attain a desired seal, the ground electrode 204 is not always oriented to optimize ignition. In this connection, if the threaded portion 201a is tightened further or loosened so as to adjust the orientation of the ground electrode 204, the tightening torque changes to be out of the above described recommended limits since the gasket deformation xcex1 range capable of attaining the recommended tightening torque is so narrow. For example, when further tightening causes the tightening torque to become larger beyond the upper limit of the recommended tightening torque range, there is a possibility that the gasket 206 and/or the threaded portion 201a of the metal shell 201 is damaged to deteriorate the seal, and in the worst case, part of the metal shell is twisted off from the remaining section. On the contrary, when the threaded portion 201a is loosened to cause the tightening torque to become smaller than the lower limit of the recommended range, a desired seal cannot be obtained, thus leading to a trouble of leakage of gas or the like. In the meantime, indicated by reference numeral 202 is an insulator.
It has been proposed, as for example disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 11-13613, to enable the ground electrode 204 to be oriented to optimize ignition, even if the recommended torque range is so narrow, by making the positional relation between a starting end of the thread of the threaded portion 201a and the ground electrode 204 constant. However, this method requires positioning of the ground electrode 204 with respect to the starting end of the thread of the threaded portion 201a, thus requiring much labor and longer working time and therefore causing lowered manufacturing efficiency and increased cost.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a gasket for a threaded element such as a spark plug, which enables to adjust the orientation or circumferential location of a certain reference part of a threaded portion of the threaded element within wide limits, under the condition where a suitable tightening torque is maintained, and accordingly which enables to adjust the orientation of a ground electrode of a spark plug relative to a cylinder head with ease and without causing any problem.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spark plug or the like threaded element with a captive gasket of the foregoing character.
To accomplish the above objects, there is provided according to an aspect of the present invention a gasket for a threaded element to be screwed into a threaded hole of a support. The threaded element has a threaded portion and an annular seat portion. The gasket is adapted to be installed on the threaded element and compressed between the seat portion and an outer surface of the support around the threaded hole, when the threaded element is screwed into the threaded hole, to provide a seal between the threaded hole and the seat portion. The gasket is formed from an annular sheet material and in the form of an annular strip of a cross section including a plurality of bent portions. The cross section is made by a plane including a center axis of the gasket and of a such a bent shape as to enable an imaginary reference line which is located on the plane and parallel with the center axis, to cross at least three portions of the cross section. An initial axial size of the gasket is at least 2.5 mm.
The structure for enabling the reference line parallel to the center axis to cross at least two portions of the cross section, means that, when a gasket 70 shown in FIG. 2 is taken as an example and reference is also made to FIG. 12A, the cross section is so shaped as to extend from a portion Sg1 crossed by the reference line PB to another portion Sg2 crossed by the reference line PB by way of a turnaround portion DC1. When the gasket 70 is deformed yieldingly or plastically in the direction of the center axis O, its deformation is mainly caused by buckling of the above described turnaround portion DC1. The structure for enabling the reference line PB to cross at least three portions of the cross section, means that such a cross section has at least two turnaround portions. Based on the above structure, it was discovered by the applicants that to set the initial axial size (i.e., the height of the gasket before the gasket 70 is compressed and hereinafter also referred to simply as height) of the gasket 70 to at least 2.5 mm makes it possible to adjust the circumferential location (or angular position) of a certain reference part of the threaded portion within relatively wide limits, under the condition where a proper compressive or tightening force is held applied to the gasket 70. The present invention is made based on such a discovery.
The reason why the above described effect can be produced by the present invention is considered as follows. Firstly, at the initial stage of compression, the respective turnaround portions resiliently deformed so that the stress increases relatively sharply with increase of deformation (first stage). When the applied pressure reaches to a certain level, bucking of the turnaround portions accompanied by plastic deformation starts, thus causing the rate of increase of pressure relative to increase of deformation to become more gradual (second stage). According to the present invention, the height of the gasket is set to at least 2.5 mm. By this, the portions of the gasket, by which the above described buckling is mainly caused, have the total length larger than that of the prior art gasket and constituted by at least two turnaround portions which are disposed separately. Thus, the pressure produced at the second stage where the circumferential location of a certain reference part of the threaded portion can be adjusted within relatively wide limits, can be increased up to such a level as to enable a proper compressive or tightening force to be applied to the gasket.
In the meantime, when the height of the gasket is smaller than 2.5 mm, it is difficult to make adjustment of the circumferential location of a certain reference part of the threaded portion within wide limits. On the other hand, in case, for example, the gasket is applied to a spark plug, it is necessary to set the upper limit of the height of the gasket so that the gasket does not interfere with the circumferential periphery of the countersink of the support (i.e., cylinder head) when deformed yieldingly or plastically to increase in outer diameter. Although the upper limit value varies depending upon a variation of the width of the gasket before the gasket is deformed, it is preferable to set the height of the gasket within the range equal to or smaller than 4.5 mm. In the meantime, it is more preferable to set the height of the gasket within the range from 2.7 to 3.5 mm.
According to another aspect of the present invention, assuming that the pressure P applied to the gasket is expressed by P=F/{xcfx80(R12xe2x88x92R22)} where R1 is xc2xd of the initial outer diameter of the gasket, R2 is {fraction (1/2)} of the initial inner diameter of the gasket and F is a compressive force applied to the gasket, a variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 of the gasket in response to a variation of the pressure P within the range from 6 to 12 kgf/mm2 is at least 0.5 mm.
In the above structure, the pressure range wherein a proper compressive force is applied to the gasket (hereinafter referred to as a proper pressure range) is determined so as to be from 6 to 12 kgf/mm2. The gasket is constructed so that a variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 of the gasket in response to a variation of the pressure P within the range from 6 to 12 kgf/mm2 is at least 0.5 mm, whereby it becomes possible to adjust the orientation or circumferential location of a certain reference part of the threaded portion within relatively wide limits.
An example of the thread element which the gasket of this invention is particularly effectively used with, is a spark plug for an internal combustion engine such as an automotive engine. The spark plug includes a center electrode, an insulator surrounding the center electrode, a tubular metal shell mounted on the insulator and having a threaded portion, and a ground electrode connected to the shell and spaced apart from the center electrode so as to provide a spark gap therebetween. In this instance, the metal shell has the threaded portion and a seat portion on the outer periphery thereof.
When the gasket of this invention is applied to a spark plug, it can produce the following effects. As described above, for the purpose of improving the assuredness with which the air-fuel mixture is ignited by the spark plug, the orientation of a certain reference part of the threaded portion when screwing of the threaded portion into the threaded hole is finished, is instructed in many lean-burn engines so that the ground electrode is oriented to optimize ignition. In this instance, the gaskets usually vary in size and material to some extent and the positional relationship between the starting end of the thread of the threaded portion and the ground electrode is not constant. For this reason, there can possibly occur such a case in which when the threaded portion is screwed into the threaded hole until the pressure on the gasket (i.e., tightening torque) reaches a predetermined, target value, the ground electrode is not always oriented to optimize ignition but is largely displaced from the target circumferential location.
However, the gasket of the present invention is constructed so that a variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 of the gasket in response to a variation of the pressure P within the above described proper pressure range wherein a proper compressive force is applied to the gasket is at least 0.5 mm and the range of turn of the thread corresponding to the variation xcex94xcex1 is wide. As a result, it becomes possible to turn the threaded portion within relatively wide limits, under the condition where a proper compressive force on the gasket is retained, thus making it possible to attain desired adjustment of the circumferential location of a certain reference part of the threaded portion, i.e., desired adjustment of the orientation of the ground electrode without causing any problem. Thus, the gasket of this invention can dispense with the control of the positional relationship between the starting end of the thread of the threaded portion and the ground electrode, so there is not any possibility of causing such lowered production efficiency as is caused by the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 11-13613.
In this instance, it is preferable that the variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 of the gasket in response to a variation of the above described proper pressure range wherein the pressure P on the gasket ranges from 6 to 12 kgf/mm2 is of the length corresponding to at least 0.5 pitch of the thread of the threaded portion, i.e., of such a length as to allow the threaded portion to advance or axially move at least 0.5 pitch. This means that the threaded potion can be rotated by at least 0.5 turn within the pressure range in which a proper compressive force is applied to the gasket. Accordingly, adjustment of the circumferential location of a certain reference part of the threaded portion relative to the cylinder head can be made by rotating the threaded portion by 0.5 turn or more, i.e., within wide limits. In the meantime, the variation xcex94xcex1 of compressive deformation xcex1 is preferably of the length corresponding to at least one-pitch of the thread.


Disclosed is a battery comprising a cover; a housing having a base, two side walls, and two end walls; a cell wall spanning between the first and second side walls defining two cells; a battery element provided within a cell, the battery element having a bottom; an element bottom gap, the element bottom gap defined in a first and second dimension by the cell width and length, and a third dimension by the distance between the base and bottom of the battery element.

The present disclosure relates to batteries (e.g., lead-acid batteries for use as automotive, commercial, industrial, and marine batteries in starting, lighting, and ignition ("SLI"), deep cycle, or other applications) as well as to batteries and housings for batteries.
It is known to provide for a battery housing for one or more battery cell elements in a flat-plate format that may be used for deep cycle, SLI, or other applications. The battery housing is designed to hold multiple cell elements for charging and discharging. Known batteries and housings have certain disadvantages.
For example, known batteries may have problems with shorting. Known batteries may likewise have certain disadvantages for performance characteristics.


A data transfer interface system is provided that directly transfers data from one data storage drive to another data storage drive under the control of a host. The host and data storage drives are jointly connected to one another with data lines and control lines. Each data storage drive is connected separately to the host with a read/write command line. The host initializes the data storage drives providing initialization data to the drives where the data may include position information and commend information. After initialization, the host concurrently instructs one data storage drive to read the data from the drive while the other data storage drive writes the data to memory.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a data transfer interface system that interfaces with a controller and data storage drives. In particular, the system relates to a method for directly transferring data between multiple data storage drives.
2. Related Art
Data transfer interfaces may be found in systems that transfer digital data between communication devices, such as printers, video screens, and storage media. For instance, a data transfer interface permits a computer to send and receive information to peripheral devices such as hard disk drives and optical data storage media. The peripheral devices may connect to a control device or host via an AT-Attachment (ATA) bus with the IBM/AT PC format. The peripheral devices also may connect via the extended ATA bus standard, AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI), known as ATA/ATAPI, and similar types of buses. The ATAPI supports the connection of external peripheral devices to personal computer systems.
A communication session with a peripheral device using the ATA/ATAPI bus proceeds through several steps. In the first step, the host computer writes a command to a command register in a peripheral device. The host then executes a data transfer step where data is transferred between a peripheral device to a computer and then from the computer to another peripheral device. In this operation, only a single peripheral device at a time may be selected to perform either the read operation or the write operation making the transfer of data time-consuming. Further delay is encountered when a large amount of data is transferred. Thus, a need exists to provide a data transfer interface that is capable of transferring the data between peripheral devices such as data storage drives in a more efficient manner.

Data transfer interface for a direct transfer of data from a first device to a second device