A laboratory sample distribution system is presented. The laboratory sample distribution system comprises a plurality of container carriers. The container carriers each comprise at least one magnetically active device such as, for example, at least one permanent magnet, and carry a sample container containing a sample. The system further comprises a transport plane to carry the multiple container carriers and a plurality of electro-magnetic actuators stationary arranged below the transport plane. The electro-magnetic actuators move a container carrier on top of the transport plane by applying a magnetic force to the container carrier. The system also comprises at least one transfer device to transfer a sample item, wherein the sample item is a container carrier, a sample container, part of the sample and/or the complete sample, between the transport plane and a laboratory station such as, for example, a pre-analytical, an analytical and/or a post-analytical station.

The present disclosure generally relates to a laboratory sample distribution system, a laboratory system and a corresponding method of operation.
Laboratory sample distribution systems are used to distribute samples or specimens, for example, blood, between various different laboratory stations or specimen-processing instruments, such as pre-analytical stations, analytical stations and post-analytical stations, of a laboratory system.
In one prior art system, a drive mechanism which operates to advance specimen-container racks on a surface by producing an X/Y movable magnetic field below the surface. The movable magnetic field is produced by permanent magnets carried by an X/Y movable magnetic truck assembly. The magnetic field produced by each magnet magnetically couples with magnetically-attractive members carried in a base portion of each specimen-transport rack. The magnetic bond between the magnets and magnetically-attractive members is sufficiently strong that, as the magnetic truck assembly moves in the X/Y plane, a magnetically-coupled rack follows. Due to mechanical constraints caused by the X/Y movable magnetic truck assembly independent simultaneous movements of multiple specimen-transport racks are difficult to implement. Further, specimen-containers can only be moved together in specimen-transport rack quantities.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a laboratory sample distribution system, a laboratory system and a method of operating that is highly flexible and offers a high transport performance.

Laboratory sample distribution system, laboratory system and method of operating


The overall length of a lens, particularly the thickness thereof, is reduced to thereby reduce the volumetric capacity occupied by a lens system for distance measurement. A distance measuring apparatus has a light-emitting device; a light-projecting lens system for projecting light emitted from the light-emitting device onto a subject; a light-receiving lens system for receiving and converging reflected light from the subject; and a detector for detecting the light. The light-projecting lens system or the light-receiving lens system includes a diffractive optical element having plane surfaces r.sub.1 and r.sub.4 on both sides thereof, at least one of which is formed from a diffraction surface. A similar diffractive optical element is provided in a similar lens system adapted to change a projected light angle by adding a converter lens to a master lens, and also provided in a similar lens system adapted to change a projected light angle by changing the spacing between a plurality of lens units.

The present invention relates to a distance measuring apparatus using a diffractive optical element (hereinafter abbreviated to "DOE") with a diffraction surface having a lens action based on a diffraction phenomenon. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical system used in an active distance measuring apparatus that measures the distance to a subject by projecting infrared light onto the subject and receiving reflected light therefrom.
An active distance measuring apparatus that measures the distance to a subject by projecting infrared light onto the subject and detecting reflected light therefrom has heretofore been well known and already applied to various products. In this type of distance measuring apparatus, infrared light is projected onto a subject through a light-projecting lens system, and reflected light from the subject is received by a detector through a light-receiving lens system provided apart from the light-projecting lens system by a predetermined distance, that is, baselength. Then, the distance to the subject is calculated from position information on the detector.
The active distance measuring apparatus will be described below more specifically with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an essential part of an active distance measuring apparatus. An infrared-emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as "IRED") 11 is controlled by a control unit 11a. A light-projecting lens system 12 projects light emitted from the IRED 11 onto a subject 13. Reflected light from the subject 13 is received and converged through a light-receiving lens system 14. A position sensing device (hereinafter referred to as "PSD") 15 detects the position of the converged light. Reference numeral 16 denotes a distance calculating device. Reference numeral 17 denotes a controller that performs a position calculation for a focusing lens. Reference numeral 18 denotes a driver, and reference numeral 19 denotes a driving motor. Examples of the IRED 11 include an IRED in which a light-emitting portion is covered with a resin package having a curvature as shown in the figure, and an IRED in which a light-emitting portion is covered with a resin package having a plane surface. The controller 17 incorporates a CPU. The output of the CPU drives the motor 19 as a power source for the lens focusing motion produced by the driver 18.
In the distance measuring apparatus having the arrangement as shown in FIG. 1, assuming that the subject distance is d, the distance between the light-projecting lens system 12 and the light-receiving lens system 14, that is, baselength, W, the focal length of the light-receiving lens system 14 is f, and the position of light converged on the PSD 15 is x, the following relationship is obtained: EQU d=W.multidot.f/x (a)
Assuming that photoelectric currents outputted from both sides of the PSD 15 are I.sub.1 and I.sub.2, the ratio I.sub.1 /I.sub.2 is not dependent on the intensity of incident light but determined by only the incident light position x. Assuming that the entire length of the PSD 15 is t, the following relationship is obtained: EQU I.sub.1 /I.sub.2 ={(t/2)+x}/{(t/2)-x} (b)
From the above Eqs.(a) and (b), the following relationship is obtained: EQU I.sub.1 /I.sub.2 ={t+(2.multidot.W.multidot.f/d)}/{t-(2.multidot.W.multidot.f/d)}(c)
Accordingly, if the photoelectric current ratio I.sub.1 /I.sub.2 of the PSD 15 is obtained, the subject distance d is uniquely determined.
The distance measuring apparatus of the type described above is based on the trigonometrical measurement. In a case where the apparatus has a distance measurement range only in the center of the image field, if the principal subject is not in the center of the image field, the distance measuring apparatus is undesirably focused on another subject or a background (i.e. a distant object in many cases). Consequently, a focusing error occurs, resulting in a picture in which the principal subject is out of focus. To overcome such a disadvantage, a technique known as multipoint distance measurement has been proposed in which a plurality of light beams are projected to enable distance measurement to be performed in a plurality of ranges in the image field. See Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication Number hereinafter referred to as "JP(A)"! 4-248509 as an example of a light-projecting lens system. As specific examples of this technique, the following methods are known: A method in which a plurality of light-emitting units are prepared, and a plurality of light beams are projected through a single lens; and a method in which a plurality of light beams are obtained from a single light-emitting unit through a lens divided into a plurality of surfaces having different curvatures. In the case of a fixed (single) focal length lens, the phenomenon in which the principal subject that is not in the center of the image field undesirably becomes defocused can be satisfactorily prevented by such a conventional method. However, in the case of a camera that effects zooming or a magnification change such as switching between a telephoto position and a wide-angle position, the field angle changes. Therefore, it is necessary to change the angle of projected light (i.e. the angle formed between the central beam of the projected light and the peripheral beam of the projected light) in accordance with the change of the field angle. To meet such a demand, a method in which a large number (5 or 7) of light beams are prepared and selectively projected has also bee proposed.
Meanwhile, JP(A) 63-292118 is known as an example in which the light-projecting lens system also effects a magnification change in accordance with a magnification change of the taking lens. However, this prior art is not adapted for the multipoint distance measurement but schemed to change the size of the spot of projected light in accordance with the magnification change of the taking lens so that the range of a frame for distance measurement displayed in the viewfinder is always coincident with the range of the actual spot. More specifically, a zoom lens system consisting essentially of two, negative and positive, lens units is used as a device for changing the size of the spot of projected light, and the focal length is changed by changing the spacing between the two lens units. In JP(A) 6-94976, spots of projected light for multipoint distance measurement line up in the diagonal direction of the film format, and when panoramic photography is performed, the angle of projected light is reduced so that the projected light beams will not be blocked by the panoramic mask. As a device for changing the projected light angle, a cylindrical lens is inserted after the light-projecting lens. With this method, however, the projected light angle can be changed only in a predetermined direction.
Thus, there is no prior art relating to a scheme of adapting the light-projecting lens system or the light-receiving lens to achieve a magnification change, and the subject matter of the related art is not satisfactory. However, there has recently been a growing tendency for cameras to have a zooming function. Therefore, there is an increasing need for a distance measuring apparatus capable of varying the projected light angle.
Next, diffractive optical elements (DOEs) will be described. Regarding the application of DOEs, "Hybrid diffractive-refractive lenses and achromats" Appl. Opt. 27,2960-2971, "International Lens Design Conference (1990)" SPIE, 1354, etc. are known.
Conventional lenses are based on the refracting action at the interface of a medium, whereas DOEs are based on the diffracting action of light. In general, when light enters a diffraction grating as shown in FIG. 2, diffracted light emanating from the diffraction grating satisfies the following relationship: EQU sin.theta.-sin.theta.'=m.lambda./d (d)
where .theta. is the incident angle; .theta.' is the exit angle; .lambda. is the wavelength of light; d is the pitch of the diffraction grating; m is the order of diffraction.
Accordingly, if the pitch of the ring-shaped diffraction grating is appropriately set according to Eq.(d), the incident light can be converged on a point. That is, a lens action can be given to the diffraction grating. Assuming that the radius of the j-th grating ring is r.sub.j and the focal length of the diffraction surface is f, the following condition is satisfied in the domain of linear approximation: EQU r.sub.j.sup.2 =2j.lambda.f (e)
Examples of diffraction grating configurations hitherto proposed include an amplitude modulation type in which a diffraction grating is formed from bright and dark rings, and a phase modulation type in which the refractive index or the optical path length is varied. In the amplitude modulation type DOE, a plurality of orders of diffracted light are generated; therefore, the ratio of the amount of first-order diffracted light to the amount of incident light (hereinafter referred to as "diffraction efficiency"), for example, is about 6% at the most. Even if the amplitude modulation type DOE is improved by bleaching, the diffraction efficiency is about 34% at the most. In the phase modulation type DOE, the diffraction efficiency can be increased up to 100% if it is formed with a sawtooth sectional configuration such as that shown in FIG. 3(a). Such a DOE is known as "kinoform". In this case, the height of the crests of the sawtooth sectional configuration is given by EQU h=m.lambda./(n-1) (f)
where h is the height of the crests, and n is the refractive index of the base material.
As will be predicted from Eq.(f), the diffraction efficiency 100% can be attained for only one wavelength. An optical element formed by stepwise approximation of the kinoform configuration as shown in FIG. 3(b) is also known as "binary optical element", which can be produced relatively easily by a lithographic technique. In the case of binary optical elements, it is known that a diffraction efficiency of 81% is obtained by 4-step approximation; 95% by 8-step approximation; and 99% by 16-step approximation.
Some DOE designing methods are known. In the present invention, the ultra-high index method is used. This method is described, for example, in "Mathematical equivalence between a holographic optical element and ultra-high index lens" J. Opt. Sos. Am. 69,486-487, and "Using a conventional optical design program to design holographic optical elements" Opt. Eng. 19,649-653. In other words, it is known that a DOE is equivalent to a refracting surface having a thickness of zero and an exceedingly large refractive index.
As an example in which such a DOE is applied to an active distance measuring apparatus, JP(A) 7-63982, filed by the present applicant, is known. In this publication, a converter lens is inserted on the IRED side of a master lens to effect a magnification change. In this case, the principal point position of the converter lens is appropriately set to enable a magnification change to be effected with the master lens remaining fixed. This cannot be done by only a conventional refracting lens system from the viewpoint of aberration correction. Regarding the lenses in this publication, the master lens is a convex-plano lens, and the converter lens is a concave-plano lens. The plane surface of each lens is formed from a diffraction surface.
In JP(A) 7-63982, however, each lens is unfavorably thick because it is formed by adding a diffraction surface to a lens with a surface having a large curvature. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve a reduction in the size. The intensity of light weakens in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. In the case of the active type, the subject is illuminated by a certain light beam, and reflected light from the subject is detected. Therefore, as the distance to the subject increases, the intensity of reflected light rapidly weakens. However, under the necessity of performing distance measurement in the light during the day, infrared light is employed in order to use a signal light for distance measurement at a low noise level. Accordingly, a sufficiently high brightness is demanded of light for distance measurement. Consequently, the light-projecting and -receiving lenses are demanded to have a light-passing ability of about 1 in terms of F-number. To meet such a demand, the lenses inevitably become thick. However, there is a recent tendency for cameras to become compact. Therefore, the lens systems for distance measurement are demanded to reduce in size.


A system and method for performing topology control in a wireless network (100). The system and method operate to enable a node (102-1) to determine the link cost of a link between itself and another node (102-2), based on the number of nodes (102, 106, 107) that would be affected by message transmission by the node (102) and the other node (102-2), and the number of nodes (102, 106, 107) that would be affected by message reception by the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2). The number of nodes (102, 106, 107) affected by the message transmission and message reception at the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2) is affected by the transmit power of the control messages sent by the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2). The node (102-1) further bases routing decisions on the calculated link costs.

In recent years, a type of mobile communications network known as an "ad-hoc" network has been developed. In this type of network, each mobile node is capable of operating as a base station or router for the other mobile nodes, thus eliminating the need for a fixed infrastructure of base stations. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, network nodes transmit and receive data packet communications in a multiplexed format, such as time-division multiple access (TDMA) format, code-division multiple access (CDMA) format, or frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) format, which enables a single transceiver at a first node to communicate simultaneously with several other nodes in its coverage area.
More sophisticated ad-hoc networks are also being developed which, in addition to enabling mobile nodes to communicate with each other as in a conventional ad-hoc network, further enable the mobile nodes to access a fixed network and thus communicate with other mobile nodes, such as those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and on other networks such as the Internet. Details of these advanced types of ad-hoc networks are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/897,790 entitled "Ad Hoc Peer-to-Peer Mobile Radio Access System Interfaced to the PSTN and Cellular Networks", filed on Jun. 29, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,650, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/815,157 entitled "Time Division Protocol for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer Radio Network Having Coordinating Channel Access to Shared Parallel Data Channels with Separate Reservation Channel", filed on Mar. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,165 and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/815,164 entitled "Prioritized-Routing for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer, Mobile Radio Access System", filed on Mar. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,839, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference.
Topology control, as understood in the art, is performed to enable a node to selecting neighboring nodes for routing packets in such a way as to optimize communication. In general, topology control includes the operation of adjusting the transmission power of nodes in a wireless multi-hop network in order to create a desired topology. In most topology control schemes, each node determines its transmission power in a distributed manner, for example, by adjusting its transmit power based on its number of neighbors (i.e., the "node degree").
A constraint on topology control is that it should not harm the connectivity of the network, while the benefits of performing topology control are twofold. First, topology control enables nodes in a wireless network to save energy by reducing their transmission power. Second, topology control enhances the network capacity of a network due to the potential for more concurrent transmissions with less interference. The later benefit, however, could come at a cost, since with less transmission range, there could be more intermediate hops required for an end-to-end flow.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

System and method for performing topology control in a wireless network


A fuel cell power plant and a process for operating a series of molten carbonate fuel cells in the fuel cell power plant are described. In the fuel cell power plant, cathode feed gas at required cathode feed temperature is introduced into the cathode inlet of the first fuel cell of the fuel cell series. The cathode exhaust gas from the first fuel cell and the cathode exhaust gas from the exhaust outlet of each successive fuel cell is introduced to the cathode inlet of the next fuel cell downstream thereof. The cathode feed temperature to the inlet of each fuel cell after the first fuel cell is maintained at the desired level by adding a reactant-containing gas to the cathode side exhaust between each pair of consecutive fuel cells in the series. The added reactant-containing gas is at a lower temperature than the cathode side exhaust to which it is added, whereby desired cathode feed temperature to the inlet of each successive fuel cell downstream of the first fuel cell is achieved.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power generation system using molten carbonate type fuel cells.
2. Background Art
A fuel cell directly transforms chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy and there are proposed a lot of power generation systems using fuel cells. A conventional molten carbonate type fuel cell system will be explained with reference to FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings. A fuel cell 1 includes a stack of fuel cell elements with separators being interposed between two adjacent fuel cell elements. The fuel cell element is generally composed of an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte sandwiched by the anode and the cathode. Anode gas passages and cathod gas passages are formed in the separators. Air A is compressed by a compressor 4, then cooled by a cooling device 5, compressed by another compressor 6, preheated by an air preheater 7 and led into a cathode chamber 2 of the fuel cell 1 through a line 8. This is an oxidizing gas introduction to the cathode chamber 2. A part of the air A flowing through the line 8 is branched to a reformer 10 by a line 9. Gases discharged from the cathode chamber 2 are led into a turbine 12 through a line 11 and then introduced into the air preheater 7 before expelled. Part of the gases discharged from the cathode chamber 2 is fed back to an cathode chamber entrance side by a recycle line 25 and a recycle blower 26.
Gases discharged from the anode chamber 3 of the fuel cell 1 contain moisture. Thus, the moisture is usually separated from the gases before used againg in the cycle. For this purpose, the anode gas discharged from the anode chamber 3 of the fuel cell 1 is forced to flow through a heat exchanger 13, preheaters 14 and 15, an evaporator 16, a condenser 17 and a gas-liquid separator 18. The anode gas is cooled in the heat exchanger 13 and is subjected to a heat exchange with natural gas NG in the preheaters 14 and 15. The anode gas is condensed in the condeser 17 and the moisture and gases are separated from each other by the gas-liquid separator 18. The gases separated are introduced into the reformer 10 by the blower 19 through a line 20 extending to the heat exchanger 13. Water (H.sub.2 O) is pressurized by a pump 21 and sent to a water heater 22. The water is heated to steam by the heater 22 and led to the reformer 10 via a line 23 and the evaporator 16. The water is mixed with the natural gas NG in the reformer 10. Fuel produced in the reformer 10 is introduced to the anode chamber 3 of the fuel cell 1 through a line 24 whereas gases discharged from the reformer 10, which gases containing carbone dioxide, are introduced to the cathode chamber 2 of the fuel cell 1 with gases flowing in the line 8.
Heat is produced in the fuel cell 1 as the fuel cell power generation system is operated. Thus, in order to cool the fuel cell 1, a ratio of gases introduced to the anode chamber 3 and the cathode chamber 2 is adjusted to about 1:10. In other words, an amount of gases to be introduced to the cathode chamber 2 becomes larger than that of gases introduced to the anode chamber 3 so that the cathode is cooled by a large amount of air. A temperature difference between the entrance and the exit of the cathode chamber 2 is generally 100.degree. to 150.degree. C. This is a small difference. Therefore, a large amount of air is necessary for cooling, namely air of five to ten times necessary for reaction is required.
FIG. 8 shows a fundamental construction where air is used for cooling the cathode. The line 8 which supplies the cathode gas to the cathode chamber 2 is provided with the air preheater 7 and the cathode exhaust gas is fed to the air preheater 7 by the line 11.
Following passages deals with a case where the entrance temperature of the cathode chamber 2 is 600.degree. C., the exit temperature of the cathode chamber 2 is 700.degree. C. and the difference therebetween is 100.degree. C.
Meanwhile, in a case where a large amount of air is required for cooling the cathode, the system employing the air preheater 7 like the one illustrated in FIG. 8 has following disadvantages:
(1) The air preheater 7 has to be large in size. Accordingly, a profitability of a power generation plant is deteriorated in terms of cost and volume and the piping and the blower become large;
(2) High temperature exhaust gases of the fuel cell cannot be used. Specifically, a high temperature portion of the gases discharged from the cathode chamber 2 is used for preheating the gases to be fed to the cathode chamber 2 in the air preheater 7. Therefore, it is not possible to effectively use the hot exhaust gas discharged from the cathode chamber 2; and
(3) A partial pressure of CO.sub.2 drops as an amount of air increases. Therefore, a large voltage (potential difference) cannot be expected.
On the other hand, a construction of FIG. 9 is also proposed. In FIG. 9, with comparison to FIG. 8, the air preheater 7 is not used. Instead, a part of the cathode gas discharged from the cathode chamber 2 is recycled to the entrance of the cathode chamber 2 by the recirculation line 25 and the recirculation blower 26. The high temperature gases discharged from the cathode chamber 2 is mixed with air introduced to the cathode chamber 2, thereby adjusting the temperature. In this case, the energy consumption of the recycle blower 26 becomes large a problem of safety arises as an amount of cooling air increases.
As described above using a large amount of air in cooling the cathode raises a lot of problems.

Power generation system using molten carbonate type fuel cell


Methods for repelling flying or biting insects from an area, a human, or an animal subject are provided. The methods include treating the area, or applying to a subject or to a device worn by the subject seychellene, α-guaiene, and α-bulnesene, or a mixture thereof. Additional compounds including β-caryophyllene, isocaryophyllene, β-caryophyllene oxide, β-caryophyllene ketone, α-humulene, β-patchoulene, α-patchoulene, β-elemene, (+)-longipinene, (−)-isolongifolene, (+)-longifolene, and linalool, clove oil, and/or patchouli oil may also be used.

Insects in the order Diptera include many familiar flying insects such as filth and biting flies and mosquitoes. Many species of Diptera are known as vectors for varieties of diseases in man, other animals, and plants. For example, diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and yaws may be transmitted on house flies' feet and mouthparts. Horse flies and deer flies are known to spread tularemia, loiasis, and trypanosomiasis. Black flies are known to spread human onchoceriasis and leucocytozoon infections of poultry. Sand flies are known to spread leishmaniasis. Mosquitoes are known to spread malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, and filariasis. Accordingly, it is important to control flying or biting insects such as flies and mosquitoes, especially in less developed countries, to minimize and reduce the risk of these insects serving as vectors for diseases in humans.
Various chemicals and mixtures have been studied and used for insect repelling activities. For example, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), and dimethyl phthalate are widely used as insect repellents. DEET is very effective in protecting outdoor people from insects. Certain formulations containing DEET have been designed for cosmetic uses, for example, in sunscreen products such as lotions.
While DEET is an effective repellent, it is not particularly pleasing in smell, it stings when applied, and its use causes a number of harmful side effects in humans including injuries to eyes, mucous membranes, and sensitive skin. Because DEET is absorbed through the skin, toxic systemic reactions may result even when the compound is only used topically. Repeated exposure to DEET has been associated with incidences of seizures, irritability, confusion, insomnia, encephalopathy, and coma.
The potential hazards of using a product with DEET as an active ingredient indicate that there is a need for new methods for repelling insects.

Methods for repelling insects using sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and their derivatives


A power supply architecture for a structural application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is provided. The power supply architecture includes a first conductor and a second conductor. The first conductor is coupled to a fixed voltage. The first conductor at least passes through two edges of a cell. The first conductor and the second conductor are connected through a contact. The second conductor at most passes through one edge of the cell. The structural ASIC includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The first metal layer includes the first conductor. The second metal layer includes the second conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a structural application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in particular, to a power supply architecture applied to a structural ASIC.
2. Description of Related Art
A common ASIC does not have a fixed structure, and a mask of each layer can be randomly designed, but the structural ASIC is different. FIG. 1 shows a partial structure of a conventional structural ASIC 100. A metal oxide semiconductor field effect (MOS) transistor exists at lower part of FIG. 1, which includes a P-type substrate 105, N-wells 103 and 104, and an insulating layer 102 of a gate. At the upper part, three metal layers 121-123 are connected to the MOS transistor through a contact 111.
The structural ASIC features in that some layers are fixed and cannot be changed, and other layers can be designed or altered by the user. For example, in the structural ASIC 100, all the layers under the metal layer 123 is fixed, and the layers above the metal layer 123 and all the layers of the metal layer 123 can be freely designed. In the structural ASIC, the layers which can be freely designed are referred to as programmable layers, and the layers which cannot be altered are referred to as non-programmable layers.
The user can design the product by using the non-programmable part as the basis, so as to save a part of the cost. Particularly, the mask of the bottommost layer is usually the most complicated and expensive. Under a desired status, a complete circuit can be obtained through adding several masks by the user. The structural ASIC 100 of FIG. 1 is set as an example, the bottommost layer can be the MOS transistor, and then the metal layers 121 and 122 are connected to the MOS transistor, so as to form the cells which are non-programmable. Then, the user may connect the cells with the programmable metal layers above 123, so as to form the required functions. Recently, a metal programmable cell array (MPCA) available on the market is similarly a structural ASIC.
All the circuits require a power supply line and a ground line, and in a conventional structural ASIC, no matter the programmable or the non-programmable metal layer adopts the design as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows atypical cell 201 and a power supply line 202 and a ground line 203 therein. The power supply line 202 and the ground line 203 are shared by a plurality of cells, so the power supply line 202 and the ground line 203 pass through many cells by adopting a passing-through design. The problem is that the passing-through power supply line and ground line occupy much precious area, particularly on the programmable layers. In order to save the mask cost, the user naturally hopes that the programmable layers are the less the better. In order to achieve the objective, it is necessary to simplify the routing of the programmable layers, and it is a method to reduce the total area of the wire. Under this requirement, the passing-through power supply line and ground line are obstacles of the routing simplification.

Power supply architecture for structural ASIC


The cleaning process best suited to the condition of an inkjet printer is selected and run, thereby removing nozzle clogging without wastefully consuming ink. The first time a cleaning switch 7 is operated a CL1 cleaning process is run. If the cleaning switch 7 is pressed a second time and the print pass count is less than e.g., 400, a CL2 cleaning process that uses more ink than the CL1 process is used to clean the recording head, but if the print pass count is 400 or more, the CL1 cleaning process is used. If the print pass count is less than 400 the third time the switch is operated, the CL2 cleaning process is used, but the CL1 cleaning process is used if the print pass count is 400 or more. If the cleaning switch 7 is operated four or more times and the print pass count is less than 400, a YCL cleaning process that consumes substantially no ink is used to clean the recording head, but if the print pass count is 400 or more, the CL1 cleaning process is used.

1. Field of Technology
The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus, recording head cleaning method, control process and computerized cleaning program for the recording head in a printer.
2. Description of Related Art
Inkjet printers that print by discharging ink from a recording head are widely available. This type of printer requires regular maintenance in order to maintain the reliability of the recording head. To prevent nozzle clogging and other printing problems resulting from ink drying and ink viscosity increasing inside the recording head nozzles, inkjet printers often have a mechanism for regularly cleaning the nozzles as shown in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. 2000-141686 (page 9 and FIG. 11).
Cleaning the recording head in a conventional inkjet printer is not limited to simply cleaning the nozzle port (by wiping or rubbing), and is more specifically directed to forcibly discharging ink that has increased in viscosity inside the nozzles, and to clearing bubbles that have grown in the ink path from the ink tank to the nozzles. In the cleaning process ink is vacuumed from the recording head. The cleaning operation consumes much ink, thus actually reducing the amount of usable ink inside the cartridge, increasing the frequency of cartridge replacement, and thus increasing the operating cost. The number of depleted cartridges (waste) thus increases, which is undesirable in terms of resource conservation and environmental protection.
The cleaning method taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. 2000-141686 provides timer cleaning for repeatedly cleaning the recording head at a regular interval in addition to manual cleaning which consumes a relatively large volume of ink and is used when the appropriate operator instruction is received. The cleaning method simply prevents manual cleaning from being used when the remaining ink level drops to a certain level. More particularly, this cleaning method does nothing to reduce ink consumption due to cleaning. More specifically, timer cleaning and manual cleaning simply consume different amounts of ink, and in neither cleaning mode is ink consumption reduced by adapting the cleaning process to the current condition of the printer.

Printing apparatus, recording head cleaning method, control process and computerized cleaning program for the recording head in a printer


A dynamic water/oil demulsification system for a gas-oil separation plant (GOSP) includes:                an in-line microwave treatment subsystem upstream of one or more of each of a dehydrator vessel, desalter vessel and/or water/oil separator vessel, each of which vessels receives a water-oil emulsion;        sensors that monitor and transmit data corresponding to properties of the water-oil emulsion in or downstream of the respective vessel(s); and        a processor/controller associated with the in-line microwave treatment subsystem that initiates the application of microwave energy to the emulsion(s) based on the data from the sensors.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in whole crude oil processing, and in particular to an improved method for the demulsification of whole crude oil in a gas-oil separation plant.
Description of Related Art
Crude oil typically contains varying quantities of gas, water and solids based on various well known factors. Water injection processes, in which water is injected into the reservoir to increase pressure and stimulate production, particularly in mature oil fields, increases the water cut, or percentage of water in the produced crude oil. Oil can be present in water as free-oil, an emulsion, and/or dissolved states of varying proportions. "Free-oil" commonly refers to oil droplets of 150 microns or larger which will float immediately to the surface due to their large size and relatively rapid rise velocity. An emulsion is a stable dispersion of oil in water and is formed due to the relatively small diameters of the oil droplets.
Gas oil separation plants (GOSPs) are well known and are used to separate gas, water and oil in order to produce dry crude oil as the end product. Higher water cuts and tight emulsions of wet oil from reservoirs increase the difficulty of and requisite time for the separation in the GOSP. As the water cut increases, the retention time within the separation equipment is increased to cope with the excess water, and, as a result, the rate of oil production is reduced and the GOSP becomes a bottleneck in the oil production.
Oil droplet size distribution is an important factor impacting the design of oil-water separators. Costs associated with treating, handling and disposing of this water increases over time, as separation efficiency is low. The settling velocity (Vt), which measures coarse separation of oil and water, depends on the magnitude of the difference in densities of the two immiscible liquids. The settling velocity function according to Stoke's law is
      V    t    =                    gD        2                          (                              d            o                    -                      d            w                          )                    18            μ                      where, g=gravitational acceleration (m/sec2);        D=diameter of a globule (m);        dw=density of water (kg/m3);        do=density of a globule (kg/m3); and        μ=absolute viscosity (kg/m·sec).The same relationship governs the rising of light liquid droplets in a heavier liquids, in which Vt is a negative value.
Small oil droplets are more difficult to separate. According to Stoke's law, decreased droplet size results in lower rising velocities. A prerequisite for efficient separation is, therefore, that oil droplets coalesce, i.e., become larger and rise more rapidly.
Water discharge regulations have become more stringent, and compliance in an economical and efficacious manner presents an ongoing challenge to the industry. While several widely accepted techniques exist for removing oil from water, there are limitations, including the oil removal efficiency, i.e., final oil concentration in the treated water, and the oil droplet size for which a selected technique is optimized. Often two to three types of oil-water separation technologies are employed to treat the produced water to the desired lower hydrocarbon concentrations. In a mature oilfield, e.g., one producing oil having a water cut of greater than 30%, the economics of the well change significantly. Accordingly, design characteristics of a free-water knockout (FWKO) should be changed or else the FWKO becomes a bottleneck due to the excess water in the influent crude.
GOSPs are typically designed and constructed to handle oil production from one or more wells situated in one or more reservoirs, the crude oil sources being pooled for processing. The main objective of a GOSP is to increase the flowability and to produce dry crude oil as an end product, e.g., for loading into tankers or for passage through pipelines to the refineries.
In general, a GOSP is a continuous separation process that commonly includes a two-stage or three-stage oil-gas separation facility. Unit operations include a dehydrator unit, a desalting unit, a water/oil separation vessel (WOSEP), a stabilizer column, a high pressure production trap (HPPT) and a low pressure production trap (LPPT). In addition, the GOSP can include boilers, condensers, separation pumps, heat exchangers, mixing valves for addition of demulsification chemicals, skimmers for stabilizing the emulsion, recycle pumps, level valves, relay valves, and control system components such as one or more sensors operatively coupled to a computerized controller or an operator notification system.
Referring to the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, a typical single train GOSP system 10 of the prior art includes an LPPT unit 31, a LPPT unit 41, a wet crude oil holding tank 49, a dehydrator unit 51, a desalter unit 61, a water/oil separator vessel 71, a wastewater vessel 72, a stabilizer column 81, a reboiler 82 and a dry crude oil vessel 91.
A wet crude oil or a tight emulsion crude oil stream 30 from a well pool enters the HPPT unit 31 where crude oil is separated into a gas discharge stream 32, a water discharge stream 33 that is discharged for collection to the water/oil separator vessel 71, and a wet crude oil stream 34. Wet crude oil stream 34 from the HPPT unit 31 is passed to the LPPT unit 41 where the contents are separated into a gas discharge stream 42, a water discharge stream 43 which is discharged for collection to the water/oil separator vessel 71, and a wet crude oil stream 44 which is passed to a wet crude oil holding tank 49.
Wet crude oil stream 48 is pumped from wet crude oil holding tank 49 and is conveyed to a dehydrator unit 51 for further water/oil separation. A water stream 53 is discharged for collection in water/oil separator vessel 71, and a crude oil stream 52 is conveyed to a desalter unit 61. Wet crude oil is washed in desalter unit 61 with aquifer water (not shown), the treated wet crude oil stream 62 is passed to a stabilizer column 81, and a water stream 63 is discharged for collection in water/oil separator vessel 71.
The stabilizer column 81 has a number of trays (e.g., up to sixteen), whereby crude oil flows down over each tray until it reaches a draw-off tray. A reboiler 82 heats dry crude oil from the draw-off tray and returns it to the stabilizer column 81. Light components in the crude oil vaporize and rise through the stabilizer trays. Hydrogen sulfide and light hydrocarbons are removed as a gas stream 84, and a dry crude oil stream 92 is discharged and collected in a dry crude oil vessel 91.
Water/oil separator vessel 71 collects water from streams 33, 43, 53 and 63, and separates oil from the collected water using, e.g., centrifugal pumps. Wastewater is discharged to a wastewater vessel 72 and extracted oil is conveyed to the wet crude oil holding tank 49.
In general, the HPPT unit 31 operates at a pressure of from about 100 pounds-force per square inch gauge (PSIG) to about 200 PSIG and a temperature of from about 50° C. to about 80° C. LPPT unit 41 operates at a pressure of from about 30 PSIG to about 70 PSIG and a temperature of from about 35° C. to about 80° C.
A GOSP is generally designed to treat water cuts in the range of about 30% to about 40% by gravimetric separation. The ultimate goal of a GOSP is to reduce the content of contaminant to a suitable level, e.g., less than 0.2% bottoms, sediment and water (BS&W), and lower concentration of dissolved hydrogen sulfide in order to meet crude oil specifications.
Tight emulsions of oil in water (or water in oil) occur naturally, during transportation of crude oil from the wells to the GOSP, and within the GOSP. The emulsion level in wet crude increases due to agitation and mixing, particularly when production from the wells is enhanced by injected water. In addition, excess water increases the load in the dehydration and desalting units, the time for gravimetric separation, and the requisite quantity of chemical additives.
Tight emulsions can be formed by mechanical mixing and/or chemical action. Chemically-created emulsions are generally due to addition of stabilizers in the reservoir formation. Mechanically-created emulsions are caused by pumping, large pressure drops through chokes, control valves, and other mixing operations. These mechanical forces also impact droplet size. For example, passing fluids through choke valves (from high pressure regions to lower pressure regions) may cause a reduction in droplet size. The mechanical shearing forces can create a high proportion of dispersed oil droplets of 10 μm and less.
Tight emulsions become increasingly difficult to remove, especially when they contain about 1%-4% water in the crude oil. For very tight emulsions, dehydration and desalter units require additional chemicals and an increase in recycling/pumping to remove the water from the emulsions. However, incorporation of chemical additives can be inefficient due to the low retention time and inefficient mixing.
Accordingly, the long-standing problem addressed by the present invention is how to improve whole crude oil processing to increase the crude oil flowability in a GOSP, and in particular, to improve the demulsification of whole crude oil in a GOSP.

Dynamic demulsification system for use in a gas-oil separation plant


The invention relates to a manipulation device (3) for manipulating a workpiece (4) on a bending press (2), comprising multiple successive moving elements (17), in particular articulated arms (18), connected to one another via articulated joints (19), wherein one moving element (22) has a rotary head (23) which is rotatable about a rotational axis (24) which at least approximately coincides with a center axis (25) of the moving element (22), and comprising a gripping device (27) connected thereto having a gripping zone (34), formed by one or more gripping elements (32), by means of which the workpiece (4) may be held. According to the invention, the gripping device (27) is connected to the rotary head (23) via a boom element (26), by means of which a midpoint (35) of the gripping zone (34) is situated at a distance (36) from the rotational axis (24), and by means of an adjustment device (40) on the boom element (26) the position and/or angular orientation of the gripping device (27) and the gripping zone (34) with respect to the boom element (26) may be adjusted in at least two different working positions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a manipulation device for manipulating a workpiece on a bending press, comprising multiple successive moving elements in the form of articulated arms connected to one another via articulated joints, wherein one moving element has a rotary head which is rotatable about a rotational axis which at least approximately coincides with a center axis of the moving element, and comprising a gripping device connected thereto having a gripping zone, formed by one or more gripping elements, by means of which the workpiece may be held. Also described herein is a production system employing such a manipulation device.
2. Prior Art
A production system comprising a bending press, in addition to a manipulation device for positioning workpieces to be bent, is known from EP 1 503 874 B1 by the present applicant. The manipulation device is designed as a swivel-arm system, and at one end region of the swivel-arm system has a rotary device with a rotational axis perpendicular to the swivel axes of the swivel-arm system. A gripping device is provided on this rotary device for grasping workpieces to be bent on the bending press. In particular for small workpieces to which bending edges are to be applied in various directions, for a manipulation device having such a design it is necessary for the gripping device to grasp the workpiece at various gripping positions between the individual bending operations, since collisions with the bending press would otherwise be unavoidable as a result of the geometries of the swivel-arm system and the rotary device. Naturally, these regripping procedures are at the expense of productive machining time, and increase the manufacturing costs for such workpieces due to the longer time that the machines are occupied. Since for each regripping procedure there is also the risk of positioning errors, the overall workpiece precision may suffer, which may likewise adversely affect the economical use of such a manipulation device as the result of possible rejects, refinishing, or complaints.

Manipulation device and production system


Quality assurance device for calibrating and testing the accuracy of movement-correlated computed tomography (“4D CT”) target-locating systems has a test unit sub-assembly adapted to be combined with a dynamic phantom system. The test unit sub-assembly has an axially and rotationally moveable test rod slideably disposed inside of a substantially hollow fixed housing. A matrix of markers, or “fiducials”, are located in the wall of the housing. A single fiducial is located near the distal end of the moveable test rod. The distal end portion of the moveable test rod is adapted to be connected to a motion actuator, which is programmed to oscillate the test rod in a predetermined pattern. When the test unit sub-assembly is inserted into a tissue equivalent phantom member, the combined sub-assembly and phantom member can then be subjected to four-dimensional imaging to generate a visual image. A visual comparison actual relative positions of the fiducials to the know positions of the fiducials in time indicates the accuracy of the 4D CT system.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography (CT) quality assurance (QA) equipment. More particularly the present invention relates to devices used to calibrate, confirm and test the accuracy of movement-correlated 4D CT target-locating systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The technologies of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) have undergone rapid change. Four-dimensional CT acquisition—that is, CT acquisition of a moving three-dimensional target object (for example, a tumor)—is commercially available, and can provide important information on the shape and trajectory of a tumor and normal tissues. The primary advantage of four-dimensional imaging over light breathing helical scans is the reduction of motion artifacts during scanning that can significantly alter tumor appearance.
Precise knowledge and control of three-dimensional dose distribution in considered to be essential for a favorable therapeutic outcome. The ability to deliver highly conformal dose distributions through intensity-modulated radiotherapy has become common for sites such as head and neck and prostate. When the target moves due, for example, to respiration, precise delivery of dose becomes more challenging.
Artifacts due to motion (known as "temporal aliasing artifacts") during tomographic scans have been appreciated for many years. Three-dimensional CT images are typically obtained by taking a series of adjacent image slices (or, alternatively, a continuous helix of images) of a subject who/that is typically placed on a platform (e.g., bed) that moves relative to the scanner, and are then digitally stitching (via computer software) the various image slices together. If the subject moves relative to the bed, as for example during breathing, while adjacent image slices are being scanned, the movement can result in temporal aliasing artifacts.
In order to minimize such temporal aliasing artifacts, motion-correlated CT systems have been proposed. Motion-correlated CT systems that acquire 3-dimensional image data are referred to herein as four-dimensional CT ("4D CT") systems.
Respiration-correlated CT uses a surrogate signal, tracking movement such as of the abdominal surface, or of respiratory air flow, or of internal anatomy to provide a signal that permits re-sorting of the reconstructed image data, resulting in multiple coherent spatiotemporal data sets at different respiratory phases. The scan time for 4DCT with multislice scanners is on the order of a few minutes. In general, in order to re-sort and correlate the image data, each image slice is time- and/or position-stamped and each surrogate signal is time- and/or position-stamped. Computer software is then used to re-sort and correlate the various image slices into the proper sequences as dictated by the time- and/or position-stamps of the respective surrogate and the image slices. The output of this process is typically 10 CT volumes, each with a temporal resolution of approximately 1/10th of the respiratory period.
The ability of a 4D CT system to accurately re-sort and faithfully reconstruct three-dimensional data sets of a moving target volume within a subject depends heavily on how accurately and precisely the system can track the actual position in space of that target volume relative to the subject at all times during the scanning process.
There is a need, then, for a means to confirm, measure and calibrate the accuracy and precision with which a 4D CT system tracks the actual position in space of a scanned target volume.

Four-dimensional computed tomography quality assurance device


A micro structure includes a seed electrode layer on a substrate and a plurality of conductive layers on the seed electrode layer. The combined thickness of the seed electrode layer and the plurality of conductive layers can be more than 0.1 mm and the lateral dimensions of the seed electrode layer and the plurality of conductive layers vary less than 20% along the direction normal to a surface of the substrate and the micro structure has striations on an outer surface.

The present disclosure relates to fabricating microstructures on a substrate.
Many micro devices include micro structures which are required to have predefined lateral dimensions and heights with specific aspect ratios. For example, a micro mechanical device on a substrate may have a structure portion that protrudes over the substrate. The height of the structure portion over the substrate may vary from several microns to several millimeters. Packaging the micro mechanical device on the substrate may include fabricating a wall structure and a cover. The wall structure can be connected to the substrate and surround the micro mechanical device. The cover is connected to the top surface of the wall structure. The wall structure and the cover can form a chamber on the substrate. To encapsulate the micro mechanical device in the chamber, the wall structure needs to be higher than the micro mechanical device on the substrate. The wall structure may be required to be as high as several hundred microns to several millimeters. The wall structure is often required to be separated from the micro mechanical device by a well defined distance within the chamber to ensure the proper operation of the micro mechanical device and to minimize the footprint of the micro mechanical device and the chamber on the substrate. The lateral dimensions of the wall structure thus often need to be minimized and controlled within a small tolerance.


Thin effective gate oxide thickness with reduced leakage for replacement metal gate transistors is achieved by forming a protective layer between the gate oxide layer and metal gate electrode, thereby reducing stress. Embodiments include forming a protective layer of amorphous carbon containing metal carbides decreasing in concentration from the metal gate electrode toward the gate oxide layer across the protective layer. Embodiments of methodology include removing the removable gate, depositing a layer of amorphous carbon on the gate oxide layer, forming the metal gate electrode and then heating at an elevated temperature to diffuse metal from the metal gate electrode into the amorphous carbon layer, thereby forming the metal carbides. Embodiments also include metal gate transistors with a gate oxide layer having a high dielectric constant and silicon concentrated at the interfaces with the metal gate electrode and substrate.

The integration of hundreds of millions of circuit elements, such as transistors, on a single integrated circuit necessitates further dramatic scaling down or micro-miniaturization of the physical dimensions of circuit elements, including interconnection structures. Micro-miniaturization has engendered a dramatic increase in transistor engineering complexity, such as the inclusion of graded well-doping, epitaxial wafers, halo implants, tip implants, lightly doped drain structures, multiple implants for source/drain regions, silicidation of gates and source/drains, and multiple sidewall spacers, for example.
The drive for high performance requires high speed operation of microelectronic components requiring high drive currents in addition to low leakage, i.e., low off-state current, to reduce power consumption. Typically, the structural and doping parameters tending to provide a desired increase in drive current adversely impact leakage current.
Metal gate electrodes have evolved for improving the drive current by reducing polysilicon depletion, and reducing processing temperature subsequent to metal gate formation. In order to implement replacement metal gate process flow, a dummy gate, such as polysilicon, is removed by dry/wet etching, followed by metal deposition.
The relentless drive toward greater miniaturization requires a reduction in the feature size of transistors, including gate oxide layers for metal gate transistors. Such gate oxide layers must be reduced to achieve a very thin effective oxide thickness (EOT). This objective has been illusive in attempting to form gate oxides at thicknesses of about 15 Å because of the leakage current.
Accordingly, there exists a need for metal gate transistors having a gate oxide with a reduced EOT with reduced leakage current. There also exists a need for methodology enabling the fabrication of semiconductor devices comprising metal gate transistors having a gate oxide with a reduced EOT without sacrificing device speed.

Replacement metal gate transistors with reduced gate oxide leakage


A fluid dynamic bearing is provided. A structure in which a shaft member and an annular member fitted about the shaft member are rotatably supported by a bearing member and an annular member on the bearing member has a fifth gap for storing a lubricating fluid and supplying it to a second gap below the annular member on the shaft member and a third gap around its outer periphery through a fourth gap. The fourth and fifth gaps are tapered to produce a capillary drawing force toward the third and second gaps, so that the lubricating fluid may be supplied effectively from the fifth gap to the second and third gaps. This makes it possible to suppress any sudden formation of a reduced pressure upon exposure to impact or vibration to prevent the leakage of any lubricating fluid caused by the generation of bubbles, while making up for the loss of any lubricating fluid by vaporization.

The recent reduction in size of hard disk drives has been bringing about an increased use thereof in handy music players and various kinds of storage devices. Under these circumstances, a further reduction in size and thickness, higher bearing accuracy (accuracy in the maintenance of smooth rotation) and reliability and a prolonged life have come to be required of fluid dynamic bearings used in spindle motors for driving hard disk drives.
The leakage of a lubricating fluid (so-called oil leakage) and its vaporization exist as factors hindering the reliability and prolonged life of fluid dynamic bearings. The leakage of a lubricating fluid is, among others, serious for mobile devices which are very likely to be subjected to vibration and impact from outside.
FIG. 7A is a top plan view showing the basic construction of a fluid dynamic being known in the related art, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view, partly in section of FIG. 7A. The fluid dynamic bearing 900 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B has a bearing member 904 supporting a shaft member (rotary shaft) 901 rotatably in a housing 905, an annular portion 901a of the shaft member formed in the shape of a flange as an integral part of the shaft member 901 to hold the shaft member 901 against detachment from the bearing member 904 and an annular member 903 on the bearing member which is fitted in the housing 905 to hold down the annular portion 901a of the shaft member at its edge.
According to the construction shown, a lubricating fluid continuously fills (1) a gap between the bottom of the shaft member 901 and the housing 905, (2) a gap between the inner periphery of the bearing member 904 and the outer periphery of the shaft member 901, (3) a gap 907 between the bottom of the annular portion 901 a of the shaft member and the top of the bearing member 904 and (4) a gap 906 forming a seal between the annular member 903 on the bearing member and the annular portion 901a of the bearing member to enable the shaft member 901 to rotate smoothly out of contact with the bearing member 904. The outer periphery of the annular portion 901a of the shaft member and the inner periphery of the annular member 903 on the bearing member are so shaped as to mesh with each other and the annular member 903 on the bearing member has a portion arranged to tie on the annular portion 901a of the shaft member along its edge to hold the shaft member 901 against detachment from the bearing member 904.
If the structure is subjected to impact or vibration, the shaft member 901 repeats its tendency to move to and away tom the bearing member 904 alternately. For example, the shaft member 901 tends to move away from the bearing member 904 at a first moment and move toward it at a second moment. At the first moment, the gap 907 tends to widen, while the gap 906 partly tends to narrow. At the second moment, the gap 907 tends to narrow, while the gap 906 partly tends to widen.
It is ideal that the lubricating fluid moves between the gaps 906 and 907 fast enough in response to any sudden change in size of the gaps to enable the seal to perform its function of preventing any leakage of the lubricating fluid. More specifically, it is ideal that the lubricating fluid moves from the gap 906 to the gap 907 at the first moment, while from the gap 907 to the gap 906 at the second moment, so that the movement of the lubricating fluid may prevent any unbalance occurring to its pressure and thereby any leakage thereof effectively.
However, as the fluid dynamic bearings make a further reduction in size and thickness, and as it is more likely to be subjected to a heavier level of vibration or impact, the gaps defining the seal change their dimensions so rapidly that any smooth movement of the lubricating fluid in the seal may be difficult.
More specifically, if the shaft member 901 tends to move up relative to the annular member 903 on the bearing member at a speed above a certain level, the lubricating fluid fails to move smoothly in a timely way from that part of the gap 906 having a rapid reduction in dimensions to the gap 907 having a rapid increase in dimensions. If such is the case, the gap 907 has a reduced pressure instantaneously and the gaseous components dissolved in the lubricating fluid form bubbles in the gap 907. As the formation of bubbles is a phenomenon corresponding to the sudden formation of expanding components in the lubricating fluid, the repeated exposure to impact or vibration causes the lubricating fluid to be forced out and leak through the opening 908. Even if no bubbles may be formed, an unbalance in the pressure of the lubricating fluid makes it likely to leak.
As the annular portion 901a of the shaft member and the annular member 903 on the bearing member meshing with each other, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, require the lubricating fluid to move along a bent path and thereby disable it to move rapidly, the unbalance in pressure and the formation of bubbles are particularly likely to occur as stated above. Accordingly, the leakage of the lubricating fluid is likely to occur.
Because of its construction, the fluid dynamic bearing inevitably has a portion where the surface of the lubricating fluid is exposed as shown at 908 in FIGS. 7A and 7B, and where the vaporization of the lubricating fluid occurs. The vaporization of the lubricating fluid results in a gradual reduction in the amount of the lubricating fluid which the bearing device holds. The fluid dynamic bearing finally loses its function as a bearing when it has ceased to retain the necessary amount of the lubricating fluid for maintaining its function as a bearing.
As regards the art of preventing the leakage of a lubricating fluid from a fluid dynamic bearing the disclosure of JP-A-9-79272 is, for example, known. FIG. 8 is a sectional view outlining the fluid dynamic bearing described in JP-A-9-79272. According to its arrangement, the structure in which a shaft member 21 is supported by a bearing member 22 has a lubricating fluid reservoir 28 for storing an excess of lubricating fluid to prevent the leakage of the lubricating fluid through a seal 27. According to its arrangement, the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 has an opening area smaller than that of the seal 27, so that owing to its surface tension, the fluid may have a higher surface level in the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 than in the seal 27, so that any leakage of the lubricating fluid through the seal 27 may be prevented more effectively.
However, the structure shown in FIG. 8 does not consider any function of supplying the lubricating fluid from the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 to the seal 27, since the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 has an opening area smaller than that of the seal 27 to rely on the surface tension of the fluid for keeping a higher surface level in the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 than in the seal 27. Therefore, the lubricating fluid reservoir 29 cannot be expected to prevent effectively the formation of bubbles originating from the failure of the lubricating fluid to move rapidly in the seal as stated before.
As the lubricating fluid has a higher surface level in the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 than in the seal 27, the lubricating fluid partly remains unused in the lubricating fluid reservoir 28 in the event that its surface level in the seal 27 has dropped to a level below the end of the bearing member 22 due to e.g. the evaporation or leakage of the lubricating fluid. This means that the bearing is so constructed as not to permit tie complete use of the lubricating fluid in the lubricating fluid reservoir 28, which is not desirable for prolonging the bearing life to the maximum possible extent. Thus, the structure shown in FIG. 8 has not been satisfactory in the effect of preventing the leakage of the lubricating fluid, nor has it been satisfactory in the measure against the vaporization of the lubricating fluid.

Fluid dynamic bearing, motor and storage disk device


This invention relates to a rubber composition having a high interaction between rubber component and carbon black, a good wear resistance and an excellent low heat buildup (low hysteresis loss), and more particularly to a rubber composition comprising (A) 100 parts by mass of a rubber component containing not less than 10% by mass of a conjugated diene polymer having a polymer chain with at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of particular substituted amino group and cyclic amino group, (B) not less than 20 parts by mass of carbon black and (C) not more than 1.0 part by mass of a polycyclic aromatic compound (PCA).

Heretofore, carbon black is frequently used as a filler for rubber reinforcement. Because, the carbon black can be given a high reinforcing property and an excellent wear resistance as compared with the other fillers. On the other hand, with the escalation in the recent social demand on energy saving and in the interest on the environmental problem are more increasing the attention of low fuel consumption in automobiles and the demand on the low heat buildup in the rubber composition for tires accompanied therewith. As a countermeasure is considered the decrease of the filling amount of carbon black or the use of large particle size carbon black. In these cases, however, there is known that it is unavoidable to lower the reinforcing property, wear resistance and gripping property on wet road surface. On the contrary, silica hydride (wet silica) is known as a filler for establishing the low heat buildup and the gripping property on wet road surface (see, for example, JP-A-3-252431, JP-A-6-248116, JP-A-7-70369, JP-A-8-245838 and JP-A-8-337687), and many studies and developments are made.
However, silica has a tendency that particles are aggregated to each other due to hydrogen bond of silanol group as a surface functional group, so that it is required to prolong the milling time for improving the dispersion of silica particles into rubber. Also, the dispersion of silica particles into rubber is insufficient, so that there are drawbacks that the Moony viscosity of the rubber composition becomes high and the processability in the extrusion or the like is poor. Furthermore, since the surfaces of silica particles are acidic, they have a drawback that a basic substance used as a vulcanization accelerator is adsorbed to conduct the insufficient vulcanization of the rubber composition and hence the elastic modulus is not increased. In order to solve the above-drawbacks, silane coupling agents are developed. In the latter case, however, the dispersion of silica particles does not arrive at a sufficient level, and particularly it is difficult to industrially obtain the good dispersion of silica particles.
In order to provide rubber compositions having a low heat buildup, there have hitherto been made many technological developments for enhancing the dispersibility of the filler used in the rubber composition. Among them is most popularly made a method wherein a polymeric activating end of a diene polymer obtained an anion polymerization using an organolithium compound, particularly styrene-butadiene copolymer is modified with a functional group having an interaction with the filler. Under the aforementioned situations, it is variously attempted to apply this technique to a system using carbon black as a reinforcing filler.
For example, there are mentioned a method wherein carbon black is used as a reinforcing filler and the polymeric activating end is modified with a tin compound such as tin tetrachloride or the like (see JP-B-5-87530), a method wherein carbon black is used likewise the above and both the polymeric activating ends are modified with the tin compound (see JP-A-6-49279), a method wherein carbon black is used likewise the above and an amino group is introduced into the polymeric activating end (see JP-A-62-207342, JP-A-6-199923, JP-A-8-231658 and JP-A-8-225604) and the like.
However, almost of the improvements described in these patent articles are examined on the styrene-butadiene copolymer. Although the improving effect on the low heat buildup is recognized, when this copolymer is applied to a tread or the like of a heavy duty tire, it can not still be said that the low heat buildup is sufficient.
Further, in order to improve the low heat buildup and wear resistance, a high cis-polybutadiene rubber obtained by using a cobalt-nickel-neodymium catalyst has been used together with natural rubber from the old time. However, the low heat buildup is still insufficient likewise the above, so that the further improvement is required for satisfying the marketing needs.

Rubber composition containing modified conjugated diene polymer and tire


A process for the continuous and discontinuous production of tetrahydrofuran polymers by homopolymerizing tetrahydrofuran or copolymerizing tetrahydrofuran with 1,2-alkylene oxides in the presence of compounds with reactive hydrogen or carboxylic acid anhydrides on an acid-treated, calcined and granulated aluminium silicate catalyst which may consist of amorphous aluminium silicate, a zeolite or kaolin. By keeping the concentration of carboxylic acid anhydride or alkylene oxide constant below 1 wt. % in the polymerization recipe throughout the polymerization it is possible to largely prevent the formation of cyclic ethers and to obtain a polymer with a very narrow molecular weight distribution. In granular form, the catalysts exhibit a hitherto unknown activity and form polymers with a very narrow molecular weight distribution and low color and acid numbers.

The present relation relates to a process for batchwise or continuous preparation of tetrahydrofuran polymers by homopolymerization of tetrahydrofuran or copolymerization of tetrahydrofuran with 1,2-alkylene oxides in the presence of acid-activated and calcined aluminium silicate, in which process homo- and copolymers are obtained which have a particularly narrow molecular weight distribution, contain a negligible amount of oligomeric cyclic ether contaminants and have low color and acid numbers.
The catalytic synthesis of tetrahydrofuran polymers on aluminium silicates is well known. British patent No. 845 948 describes a process for copolymerizing tetrahydrofuran with alkylene oxides, in which the polymerization is carried out in the presence of compounds with reactive hydrogen and bleaching-earth catalysts. In this process, relatively large amounts of low-molecular-weight products consisting predominantly of oligomeric cyclic ethers are obtained as byproducts. The molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran polymers is very broad. Depending on the average molecular weight, it can assume a polydispersity M.sub.w /M.sub.n of 3 to 4 for the molecular weight range from 1000 to 2000 (M.sub.w : weight-average molecular weight; M.sub.n : number-average molecular weight). The polymers are altogether yellowish in color, are for the most part not strictly bifunctional and have an acid number (usually >0.1 mg KOH/g) which makes them unsuitable for further processing to polyesters and polyurethanes.
The homopolymerization of tetrahydrofuran to polybutylene glycol diacetates using montmorillonite silicates as catalysts is described in the German published examined application No. 1226560. Powdered catalysts prove superior to granular ones (cf. column 4, lines 34-36). This process, however, results in products which alone on account of their poor color require costly purification if they are to be processed further. These problems are described in the unexamined German laid open patent application No. 3935750.
The oligomeric cyclic ethers formed during the homo- and copolymerization reactions are undesirable contaminants in the polymers since they represent inert material and lower the quality of the final polymers made from polymeric glycols. Various proposals for reducing their content have already been made. For example, it is proposed in the EP-A 6107 that the copolymers be treated at an elevated temperature with an activated montmorillonite. In the US Patent No. 4127513 it is suggested that a specially activated montmorillonite be used as catalyst. The disadvantages of this process are the high color numbers of the polymers, the relatively low rate of polymerization and an oligomeric cyclic ether content which is still as much as 5 to 6% by weight.
A further proposal for improving the copolymerization of alkylene oxides with tetrahydrofuran under the catalytic action of activated bleaching earth is to be found in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,272, which describes the use of bleaching earths with a given specific pore volume, a defined catalytic surface area and a given pore diameter. The oligomer content of 4 wt. % (cf. column 5, lines 14-15) is, however, still too high for the copolymers to be used in the production of polyurethanes, on which higher mechanical demands are made.
As is known, all processes for copolymerizing alkylene oxides with tetrahydrofuran in the presence of bleaching earths result in high-molecular weight copolymers with terminal hydroxyl groups, the copolymers always being contaminated by a variable proportion of macrocyclic ethers without hydroxyl groups. Hence it has also been proposed that the cyclic ethers be removed by way of extraction with hydrocarbons, water or supercritical gases (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,500,705, 4,251,654 and 4,306,056).
The unexamined German laid open patent application 3 3 46 136 describes a process for the copolymerization of alkylene oxides and tetrahydrofuran where the formation of cyclic oligomeric ethers is prevented from exceeding 2 wt. % by polymerizing continuously in a reactor and adding to the circulating reaction mixture less than 30 wt. % of fresh feed comprising tetrahydrofuran and 1,2-alkylene oxide. The disadvantage of this process is that the resulting polymers have a broad molecular weight distribution, and the polydispersity M.sub.w /M.sub.n exceeds 4 in this case.
From the EP-A-0104 609 it is known that polyoxybutylene oxyalkylene glycolic acid diesters with a low oligomeric cyclic ether content are obtained if the copolymerization of tetrahydrofuran and a 1,2-alkylene oxide is carried out in the presence of carboxylic acid anhydride and bleaching earth with a water content of less than 3 wt. %. However, in this process too, the molecular weight distribution of the copolymers is unsatisfactory. The two recently developed methods of polymerizing with bleaching earths or amorphous aluminium silicates (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,208,385 and 5,210,283) are not satisfactory either. Only very heterogeneous polymers are obtained, which have the further disadvantages of being colored and having acid numbers >0.1 mg KOH/g.
The EP-A-0239787 contains a proposal for narrowly limiting the molecular weight distribution and reducing the formation of oligomeric cyclic ethers by means of batchwise copolymerization using bleaching earth catalysts in the presence of telogenes with reactive hydrogen atoms and by keeping the concentration of 1,2-alkylene oxide constant but low.
In comparison to these products, there is nevertheless still a need to reduce the molecular weight distribution of both homo- and copolymers with molecular weights between 1000 and 2000 to a value even lower than 1.5 to 2.8, for example to a value between 1.3 and 2.2, and to limit the formation of oligomeric cyclic ethers to less than 2 wt. %. In the desired process low-molecular-weight polymers with an average molecular weight of less than 250 should not be formed at all, or at the most to an extent of 1 wt. %. An additional purification step to remove these products, as is required with the processes currently in use, would then be unnecessary.

Process for the preparation of tetrahydrofuran polymers


A method of transmitting digitized block coded audio signals includes forming scale factors of the digitized audio signals. The n(k-1) differences are formed from k successively in-time scale factors for each frequency sub-band or for a group of spectral values of the audio signal. The n(k-1) differences are grouped into at least two value classes. New scale factors are selected for each of the n sub-bands or spectral value groups based on a sequence of n(k-1) value classes. Identifying information, including the control information indicating at which locations in the sequence of n(k-1) value classes the selected new scale factors are disposed, is associated with each sequence of n(k-1) value classes. The associated selected new scale factors are assigned to each sequence of the sampled signal values and to the identifying information associated with each sequence of sampled signal values. A transmission pattern of new scale factors is determined separately for each of the n sub-bands or spectral value groups. Lastly, audio signals are regenerated from the sampled signal values and from the assigned selected new scale factors.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of transmitting digitized block coded audio signals using scale factors formed during block coding of the digitized audio signals based on a peak value of a sequence of signal values of the digitized audio signals, especially during irrelevance and redundance reducing methods. Such a method is disclosed in German Patent 3,328,344.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known (German Patent 3,328,344) to transmit digitized audio signals by forming a scale factor during block coding from the amount of the peak value of a sequence (block) of signal values, with this scale factor indicating in which one of several magnitude ranges the amplitude of the peak value lies. In addition, as disclosed in German Patent 3,639,753, the sampled signal values may be represented in a plurality of spectral sub-band signals and the sampled values of the individual sub-bands may be changed as determined by the respective masking threshold of the human auditory system in the sense of a reduction of irrelevance and redundance. Instead of dividing the digitized audio signal into spectral sub-bands, it is also possible to subject the digitized audio signal to a Fourier analysis and to determine the scale factors for groups of spectral values as well as to perform a reduction of irrelevance and redundance.

Perceptual audio signal subband coding using value classes for successive scale factor differences


A compact, hand-held electrical line tester includes a normally-open relay switch which is closed by connection of its relay portion to a line of a predetermined voltage level, and a piezoelectric tone generator, connected in series with the relay switch and a battery, which emits an audible sound to indicate that the tested line is electrified with the predetermined voltage level. The tester circuit can include a plurality of relay switches and/or tone generators for emitting different sounds in response to different line voltages, so that the user can determine the line voltage(s) without having to check a light indicator or read a dial.

Electrical line testers are generally known to include the type having a light indicator which is lit when an electrified line is contacted, and another type having a voltage sensing circuit and readout dial indicating the voltage level of the electrified line. The light indicator type is intended to be of low cost and simple construction for use in confirming whether or not a line is electrified with a standard line voltage, e.g., 110 volts AC. However, it has the disadvantage that the light indicator is often difficult to see in bright daylight conditions. Also, the light becomes lit for any voltage over the threshold level, and therefore does not distinguish higher line voltages, such as 220 volts AC. On the other hand, voltage readout testers are quite expensive and bulky, and are not convenient to use and read, particularly in dark, cramped spaces.
Determination of voltage through a line for such devices as high-voltage railroad "third rail" warning detectors are expensive and have complicated electrical schemes. They are intended to be permanently installed. Other detection devices are expensive in that they employ two or more different threshold detecting devices to ascertain different voltages. In addition, the method of warning, once voltage is detected, is complicated. Multiple tone generator circuits which include a pulse train source and digital gates are required to generate different tones.
In general, complicated wiring diagrams characterize the existing voltage detection and multiple tone generating devices. They all require some combination of diodes, rectifiers, amplifiers, display units, annunciators, strobe lights, oscillators, transistors, capacitors, resistors, transducers, pulsators, transient protectors, ground isolations, multiple gates, integrated circuits, anodes, cathodes, electrodes, and emitters or they require the user to manipulate switches to properly operate the device.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an electrical line tester that can be easily used by one person that is of low cost, of simple construction, small and light enough to be conveniently held in the hand or worn on the belt and carried into small, cramped, dark places, and which provides an unmistakable signal to the user of the voltage level of an electrified line in both bright daylight conditions and dark, cramped conditions. It is a further object that the line tester of the invention distinguishes between different line voltages without the user having to read a dial.

Portable electrical line tester using audible tones to indicate voltage


An image drawing apparatus includes a drawing position judging unit configured to judge a figure drawn on the scan line to be processed and extract each of vertexes constituting the judged figure, an vertex information reading unit configured to read vertex information, an image generating unit configured to generate graphics data of the scan line, and a line buffer configured to store the graphics data, wherein the vertex information reading unit includes a cache memory, a cache tag configured to store an address storing the vertex information when the vertex information is stored in the cache memory, and a control unit configured to refer to the cache tag, and read the vertex information from the address of the cache memory when the address is stored, and store the vertex information in the cache memory and store the address in the cache tag when the address is not stored.

An image drawing apparatus that draws a 3D image, and the like generates graphic information on a 2D display surface based on, for example, vertex information of a figure (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H11-31236, H10-222695, H9-180000, and 2000-30081). Further, the drawing apparatus generates an image displayed on the 2D display surface based on the generated graphic information. For example, the image drawing apparatus includes a frame buffer storing a color of a pixel and a depth buffer storing a depth (Z value) of the pixel.
In a general image drawing apparatus, the frame buffer and the depth buffer need a memory size as many as the number of pixels on the display surface. For example, when the display surface is 800×600 pixels and a data size (a total value of the color and the depth) per one pixel is 8 bytes, the frame buffer and the depth buffer need a memory size of approximately a total of 3.7 MB.
In order to store data as many as the number of pixels on the display surface, the buffers (the frame buffer and the depth buffer) having a large memory size are needed. For example, when the frame buffer having the large memory size, and the like are formed as an SRAM in the drawing apparatus, a circuit dimension and cost are significantly increased. Further, when the frame buffer having the large memory size, and the like are formed as a DRAM outside the drawing apparatus, there is a problem in that power consumption by inputting and outputting data in the external DRAM is increased and cost by mounting the DRAM as another chip is increased.

Image drawing apparatus, computer-readable medium storing program, and method of the same


A disposable diaper improved so that the wearer's skin can be reliably protected from being soiled with feces. A chassis constituting the diaper includes a spacer sheet attached to an inner sheet of the chassis. The spacer sheet has a front end zone and a rear end zone fixed to the inner sheet and an intermediate zone left free from the inner sheet. The intermediate zone is formed with an opening shaped so as to describe a circular arc which is convex forward. Along the opposite side edges of the opening, the spacer sheet is provided with elastic members extending in the length direction of the diaper and attached thereto in a stretched state in the direction. These elastic members extend forward with respect to the diaper along the peripheral edge of the opening so as to get close to a center line bisecting a width of the diaper.

The present invention relates generally to a disposable diaper and particularly to a disposable diaper improved so as to protect the wearer against soil with feces.
One example of the disposable diaper is disclosed in Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Publication for Patent Application No. 1997-506528 (Reference 1). In this known diaper, a topsheet laid so as to come close to the wearer's skin and formed with an opening defined by a pair of opposite side edges extending in parallel to each other and these side edges are provided with elastic members which are gradually spaced from each other as these elastic members extend from an anterior portion toward a posterior portion of the opening. In the known diaper, the elastic members extending in this manner function to space the opposite side edges from each other and thereby to assure that the diaper put on the wearer can maintain a predetermined width of the opening.
Another example of the disposable diaper is also disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-11044 (Reference 2). This diaper is particularly provided above the topsheet with a skin-contact sheet serving to protect the wearer's hip from soil with feces. The skin-contact sheet has longitudinally opposite ends bonded to the topsheet or the backsheet and is formed in its crotch region with an opening surrounded by an elastic member bonded in its stretched state to the skin-contact sheet. This diaper is put on the wearer's body with the opening overlapping the wearer's anus.
In the diaper disclosed in Reference 1, the topsheet has its front edge as well as its rear edge fixed to the diaper chassis and inevitably comes in direct contact with the buttocks and the external genital of the wearer. Such topsheet is necessarily hydrophilic and liquid-pervious since the topsheet must allow urine to permeate this topsheet. The topsheet wet with urine continuously in contact with the wearer's skin may cause diaper rash. In addition, if such liquid-pervious topsheet is loaded with the wearer's body weight as the wearer sits down or lies down, it is likely that feces staying below the topsheet may flow backs and soil the wearer's external genital and the vicinity thereof. Furthermore, in the diaper disclosed in Reference 1, the opening is formed at a long distance from the regions in which the topsheet is fixed. Consequentially, it is required to keep the elastic members in tight contact with the wearer's skin and thereby to alleviate deformation of the opening in view of the fact that the opening is formed in the crotch region which is apt to be deformed as the legs of the wearer move. However, the elastic members continuously kept in contact with the wearer's skin too tightly may cause diaper eczema. The elastic members gradually spaced from each other as these elastic members extend from an anterior portion toward a posterior portion of the opening may preferably assume that the opening also presents the corresponding shape. An appropriate transverse dimension of the opening in the vicinity of the anus is usually in a range of 3 to 6 cm to receive feces. However, the transverse dimension of the opening shaped so as to be gradually enlarged as it gets nearer to the rear end of the diaper may exceeds such appropriate range and make it difficult to protect the wearer's skin from soil with feces.
In the diaper disclosed in Reference 2, the elastic member is provided so as to surround the opening and thereby the skin-contactable sheet can be kept in close contact with the wearer's skin in front of the opening as well as behind the opening. However, similarly to the diaper disclosed in Reference 1, the skin-contactable sheet is bonded to the topsheet or the backsheet at the longitudinally opposite ends of the diaper and consequentially the crotch region of the diaper is repetitively compressed and decompressed depending on movement of the wearer's legs. In response to such repeated compression and decompression, the opening is repetitively deformed until the opening is out of alignment with the anus and feces is not received by the opening but soils the wearer's skin. Furthermore, the skin-contactable sheet is bonded to elastic members of front and rear waist regions laid along the longitudinally opposite ends of the diaper, respectively, and the opening may be deformed as a stretch ratio changes depending on the individual wearer's waist dimension.


This disclosure is directed to providing audio playback to a mobile device user. According to one aspect of this disclosure, a mobile device may be to modify audio playback in response to detecting an inclination of the mobile device (and thereby a user) with respect to a reference plane. According to another aspect of this disclosure, a mobile device may be configured to automatically identify an audible sound that may be motivational to a user, and store an indication of the audible sound in response to the identification. According to another aspect of this disclosure, a mobile device may automatically play back a previously identified motivational song in response to detection of user movement.

In recent years, it has become increasingly popular for both casual and professional athletes to use portable audio devices, e.g., portable radios, cassette players, compact disk players, and digital audio players (e.g., mp3 players), to listen to music and/or other audio while exercising. For many athletes, listening to audio while exercising may improve the athlete's experience. For example, an athlete may be more inclined to extend a length of an exercise session when entertained by audio. In another example, an athlete may be motivated by audio to improve performance (e.g., to increase a running pace when a fast-paced or otherwise motivational song is played). In another example, a tempo (e.g., a pace of beats) of a particular song may assist an athlete in setting a tempo for exercising.
Today's portable audio devices feature a variety of user interfaces that allow a device user to interact with the device, including electro-mechanical (e.g., button, touchscreen, and microphone input, and audio speaker and vibration output) and electro-optical (e.g., still image/video camera and ambient light sensor input, and LCD display and LED indicator output) user interfaces. Other portable audio devices may feature other means for a user to interact with the device.
Generally, portable audio devices provide device users with audio playback based on user input via a device user interface. In some portable audio devices, audio playback is provided by the device to a user in real time based on direct user input, while in other devices, the audio playback is provided based on a predetermined program (e.g., playlist) created by the user or provided by the portable audio device (auto-playlist) or another computing device (e.g., internet radio). In this manner, portable audio device users desiring playback of one or more particular audio tracks must interact with the user interface of the portable audio device to specify the one or more tracks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.