A one-dimensional scanner system for two-dimensional image acquisition includes a flying spot scanner for scanning in a line at a first velocity in a first direction across an object which is moving at a second velocity in a second direction transverse to the first direction; the first and second velocities establish a first sample rate in the second direction for defining a pixel size in the second direction; a timing device for detecting the velocity of the object in the second direction and generating a sample rate in the first direction and a frame accumulator for reading and storing each line scanned, assembling a two-dimensional image of the object and reading out that image; the frame accumulator including a compensation device responsive to the second sample rate for normalizing the second sample rate with the first sample rate to eliminate distortions in the pixel size and two-dimensional image in the first direction.

High speed automatic identification of random size items has historically been attempted using various optical, magnetic and RF means. By far the most popular is the bar code label. Bar codes are typically read using a low speed (<1000 scans per second) laser line scanner. Normally the laser line must be aligned with the axis of the bar code in such a manner that a single laser line passes through all the bars of the code in a single pass. Although the bar code inherently has a large amount of vertical redundancy to allow for error correction by multiple passes through the data, it is possible for a label to be damaged in such a way as to render no path through a completely undamaged position of the label even though the total damage to the label is small. The large amount of vertical redundancy is also the main drawback of the bar code, because it limits the density of the bar code, i.e., the bar code has a practical limit of around 30 ASCII characters.
Omnidirectional bar code readers have recently been introduced that do not require a complete pass through an entire label by a single line to read the bar code information. These omnidirectional bar code readers acquire positions of a bar code label on successive passes through the label and then typically use a high performance processor to piece these fragments of a label together by looking for overlap between the fragments and/or timing the movement of the item bearing the label with respect to the laser line. To achieve true omnidirectional capability and to cover a large field of view, a typical omnidirectional scanner uses multiple laser beams placed at various angles and locations.
Many other optical data encoding techniques have been proposed. Stacked bar codes and area codes are the most promising of these. These codes have not been widely adopted because a practical reader for them has not been produced. Raster laser line scanners are available for reading stacked bar codes, but these typically have limited fields of view, limited depths of field and are not high speed or omnidirectional. They are only practical in human interactive applications where the operator is required to provide rough alignment between the reading device and the label.
The area or line CCD camera can be the basis for an omnidirectional bar code or area code reading device. The camera is used to assemble an image of the scene in a frame buffer and then this image is processed using standard image processing techniques to find, orient and decode the bar code or area code label. However, the CCD camera has many drawbacks as the image collection device for a reader. Limitations of the area CCD camera as a sensor include field of view (FOV) versus cost, depth of field (DOF), and lighting requirements. The line CCD camera has the same DOF and lighting problems.
The field of view of a cost effective omnidirectional bar code or area code reader using an area CCD camera is limited by the cost of the CCD semiconductor sensor. To read a code with a 30 mil X dimension requires approximately 10 mil samples (i.e., three pixel per min discernible feature). A typical 512.times.512 CCD camera can cover a maximum field of view 5 inches square. While this may be useful for some applications (pharmaceutical package verification for example) the ability to scale this to a large area like a 30 inch (or 1 meter) wide conveyor is limited by the rapid increase in cost of the CCD sensor. This cost is due to the physical size of the semiconductor which limits the number of parts that fit on a wafer and the number of elements in the device which limits the yield of the semiconductor process. Because of these factors and the limited demand for large area CCD sensors, the cost is not expected to drop appreciably in the near future.
One alternative is to use two sensors, a low resolution sensor to cover a large FOV and identify possible areas of interest coupled with a high resolution sensor with a mechanical aiming device to focus on a small FOV which contains a label. This system is limited by the speed and complexity of the mechanical mechanism and cannot process an image cluttered with many areas of interest typical of a package sorting application.
The CID array has been investigated as a solid state alternative to the two camera high/low resolution system. The CID array differs from a conventional CCD array in that pixels can be addressed and read randomly and non-destructively. This would allow it to be read out first at low resolution to identify areas of interest and then the areas containing possible labels re-read in high resolution to identify and decode the actual labels. A practical CID array does not currently exist. It is also likely that a large CID sensor would have the same high piece cost as CCD sensors.
Typical cost effective CCD cameras are limited to a two to four inch depth of field without being refocused. Better lenses and faster shutters coupled with brighter lighting can expand the DOF. However, due to the specialty nature of these lenses, the cost rises rapidly with DOF improvements. A mechanical refocusing system can provide a large DOF; however, it requires an additional height sensor and a significant time to move the lenses. There are cameras available which can focus by moving the sensor rather than the lenses. The low mass of the sensor allows this system to be very fast; however, it is an expensive option.
To image a moving object with a CCD camera requires the image to be electronically or mechanically "stopped" by reducing the duration of exposure of the sensor to less than the time for the object to move enough to smear the image. The faster the object is moving the shorter the exposure duration must be to "stop" the motion of the object. To achieve sensitivity at fast shutter speeds requires progressively brighter lighting. A strobe (or flash) light is the normal method of producing this light. A strobe may not be acceptable for use in an industrial environment around moving machinery because of the safety issues involved. Lighting of acceptable intensity, lifetime and compliance with an industrial environment can be a costly additional component in a reader.

One-dimensional scanner system for two-dimensional image acquisition


The present invention uses a portion of an orthogonal spreading code space in a CDMA spectrum for uplink from a user element to a base station. By assigning the user elements one or more codes, which are orthogonal to those used to spread data, to use for uplink , the present invention significantly reduces interference between channels, and between the data channels and the channels, while supporting additional capacity. The codes may be individually assigned to user elements or assigned to groups of user elements. Further, different length codes may be assigned to the user elements to support different rates depending on Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.

Evolutionary and future wireless systems are expected to carry significantly higher levels of traffic than today's wireless networks. Consequently, there is a significant desire to increase the aggregate capacities of both the uplink and downlink channels as much as possible. One technique that has been proposed for increasing uplink capacity is synchronous code division multiple access (S-CDMA). In this form of CDMA, all active users transmit data with synchronized, variable-length orthogonal spreading codes. This essentially removes intra-cell interference, thereby allowing users to transmit with less power while still achieving the same power versus noise requirements at the receiver. The reduction in transmission power for each user results in less overall interference.
In S-CDMA, there are a limited number of synchronous orthogonal spreading codes available for use for uplink transmissions. Hence, in order to maximize uplink capacity, it is desirable to allocate an orthogonal code to a user only when that user actually has data to transmit. This then implies the need for users to have the capability to quickly signal the resource control mechanism when uplink transmission resources are required. A previously proposed method for accomplishing this is the System Access Channel (SACH), which is a dedicated low bit rate channel allocated to all active users, and which may be used to send short signaling messages, such as idle messages when there is no data to send and transmission request messages when there is data to send. In the S-CDMA infrastructure, the spreading codes used in these SACHs are not orthogonal to those used in the data channels, thus, the SACHs and data channels interfere with one another. Since CDMA and S-CDMA are essentially interference-limited technologies, system capacity decreases as interference increases. Accordingly, there is a need for a way to minimize the interference between the data channels and SACHs to allow increased capacity while maintaining a relatively low transmission power.


In a method of manufacturing a stator core of an electric rotating machine, a cylindrical laminated core is formed by thinning a side portion of a steel plate with magnetic pole teeth and helically winding the steel sheet, and the stator core is manufactured by performing ironing for the laminated core. This laminated core has steel sheets aligned along the axial direction thereof, and the sheets have respective thinned outer end portions spaced apart from one another on the outer side of the laminated core. In the ironing, the thinned outer end portions of the steel sheets are brought into contact with one another in a forming apparatus, and an ironing load is given to the thinned outer end portions to shorten lengths of the thinned outer end portions in the radial direction of the laminated core at a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a stator core of an electric rotating machine by thinning outer end portions of steel sheets of the core and performing ironing for the outer end portions.
2. Description of Related Art
A small-sized electric rotating machine efficiently generating a rotational force or electric power has been recently desired. In an alternator representing the machine, a stator core formed of a lamination of steel sheets is disposed, and a conductor is wound on the stator core so as to be received in slots of the core and to be protruded from both ends of the slots as coil ends. To manufacture a small-sized alternator efficiently generating electric power, it is required to densely dispose the conductor in the slots and to densely form the coil ends. Therefore, the number of slots has been inevitably increased while the intervals of the slots are narrowed.
Further, to efficiently generate electric power in the alternator, the strength of the magnetic field induced in the stator core has been heightened. In this case, iron loss in the core caused during the operation of the alternator is undesirably increased. More specifically, a magnetic field is induced in a rotor and a stator in response to an alternating current flowing in the rotor, and the induced direction of this magnetic field is changed in a cycle equal to that of the alternating current. In the core of the stator, eddy currents are produced in response to the changing magnetic field, so that iron loss is caused by the eddy currents in the stator core. The magnitude of the iron loss is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, the second power of the cycle of the magnetic field, and the second power of the thickness of the steel sheet. When the cycle of the magnetic field is reduced by lowering the rotation speed of the alternator, the level of the electric power is undesirably lowered. Therefore, to reduce the iron loss in the stator core while maintaining the electric power, it is required to reduce the thickness of the steel sheet. However, when the steel sheet is thinned, the mechanical strength of the steel sheet is lowered. In this case, the steel sheet is easily deformed or bent along the axial direction of the stator core.
A helically-laminated core has been generally used as a stator core of the electric rotating machine. To form this laminated core, a long steel plate having magnetic pole teeth on one side of the sheet is press-formed, and the steel plate is helically wound to obtain a plurality of ring-shaped steel sheets disposed in layers as a cylindrical-shaped laminated core. Each ring-shaped steel sheet has the magnetic teeth and slots alternately arranged along the circumferential direction of the sheet on the inner side of the sheet. Further, before the long steel plate is wound, the other side portion of the plate is thinned by a roller or the like so as to lengthen the peripheral portion of each steel sheet. Therefore, the long steel plate can be easily wound.
After the laminated core composed of the ring-shaped steel sheets is obtained, positions of the sheets are minutely adjusted in each of the radial and circumferential directions of the lamination so as to align the sheets within a permissible range in the radial and circumferential directions. Then, the peripheral portions of the sheets are partially welded to one another to fix the positional relationship of the sheets aligned in the radial and circumferential directions. Then, in a finishing process, ironing (or shaving) is performed for the laminated core to adjust the circularity of the core at the outer diameter, the concentricity between inner and outer portions of the core, and the perpendicularity of each sheet to the axial direction of the core. Therefore, the stator core is formed from the laminated core in the ironing. This ironing is, for example, disclosed in Published Japanese Patent First Publication No. 2006-246586.
In this Publication, a stator core forming apparatus is disclosed. This apparatus forms a stator core by performing the ironing for a laminated core. To form the stator core, this apparatus has a work receiving member holding the laminated core, a first pressing member supporting the work receiving member, an inner diameter forming member fixedly disposed to align and reshape inner portions of steel sheets of the stator core, a pushing member pushing the laminated core to the work receiving member to move the laminated core with the work receiving member, a slot correcting member correcting slots of the stator core, a second pressing member moving the pushing member and the slot correcting member, an outer diameter forming member holding the pushing member and the second pressing member and performing ironing for outer portions of the steel sheets of the laminated core, and a third pressing member moving the outer diameter forming member. When the pressing force of the second pressing member is set to be larger than the pressing force of the first pressing member, the laminated core is pushed by the pushing member and is moved down with the work receiving member, the inner diameter forming member aligns and reshapes the inner portions of the laminated core to form the inner portion of the stator core by adjusting the inner diameter of the laminated core. When the pressing force of the third pressing member is set to be larger than the pressing force of the second pressing member, the outer diameter forming member is moved down to perform the ironing for the outer portions of the laminated core. That is, the outer diameter of the laminated core is adjusted, so that the outer portion of the stator core is formed.
In the ironing for the outer portions of the steel sheets composing the laminated core, when an outer die denoting the outer diameter forming member is moved up and down, the outer portions of the laminated core are pushed into an inner hollow of the outer die while receiving the plastic deformation.
Therefore, the inner and outer diameters and the slots of the laminated core can be simultaneously adjusted in one process to form one stator core. Further, a plurality of stator cores can be successively formed. As a result, the cost for the facility forming the stator cores can be reduced, and the processing time required to form the stator cores can be shortened.
However, in the ironing for the outer portions of the steel sheets of the laminated core, because the outer portions are thinned, the outer portions are spaced apart from one another through openings along the axial direction. In this case, before the plastic deformation directed in the radial direction is caused during the ironing in the outer portions in response to the pressing load added to the outer portions, the pressing load initially induces the outer portions to be deformed or bent toward the axial direction of the laminated core. Therefore, the outer portion of a specific steel sheet having a larger outer diameter is easily moved with the outer die so as to reduce the ironing load given to the outer portion, and the outer portion of the specific steel sheet is largely bent so as to discontinuously form a large opening between this sheet and one adjacent sheet.
This large opening (hereinafter, called inter-sheet opening) is not good in view of the external appearance of the stator core. Regarding the quality of the stator core, the stator core is easily rusted at the bent portion forming the inter-sheet opening. Regarding the performance of the stator core, the inter-sheet opening increases the magnetic resistance of the stator core so as to lower the strength of the magnetic field, and electric power outputted from an alternator using this stator core is undesirably lowered. Regarding the mechanical strength of the stator core, when each of though bolts fastens the steel sheets of the stator core to one another along the axial direction of the core through frames attached to respective axial ends of the core, the inter-sheet opening prevents the sheets from uniformly receiving the fastening force. Therefore, it is difficult to reliably hold the steel sheets in the alternator.
The mechanism of generating the inter-sheet opening at the peripheral end of the laminated core will be described with reference to FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C. FIG. 1A is a sectional view of the core forming apparatus disposing a laminated core.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a laminated core 102 helically wound is mounted on a work receiving member 103, a pushing member 107 is moved down to press one axial end of the laminated core 102 and to place the core 102 between the members 103 and 107. Then, a slot correcting member 105 is moved up to align the slots of the core 102 along each of the axial and circumferential directions. Then, an inner diameter forming member 104 is moved up to align and reshape the inner portions of the core 102. Therefore, the sheets of the core 102 are positioned in the apparatus 100 in each of the radial and circumferential directions of the core 102. Then, an outer diameter forming member 106 is moved down.
FIG. 1B is an explanatory view of the ironing not yet performed for outer portions of the core 102, while FIG. 1C is an explanatory view of the ironing now performed for outer portions of the core 102.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the outer portions of the sheets are thinned so as to form a tapered opening between the adjacent outer portions in each pair. Therefore, although the sheets of the laminated core 102 are in contact with one another, the thinned outer portions are spaced apart from one another along the axial direction. Further, because the sheets are positioned so as to adjust the inner circumferential surfaces of the sheets along the axial direction of the core 102, the outer ends of the sheets are placed at various positions in the axial direction, and the outer diameter of each sheet is set at various values along the circumferential direction. Therefore, when the ironing load is given to the core 102 along the axial direction, the ironing load received in the outer portions of the sheets has various magnitudes along each of the axial and circumferential directions.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1C, during the ironing for the outer portions of the sheets, because each outer portion facing openings formed on both axial sides thereof is movable along the axial direction, some outer portions are easily deformed and bent along the axial direction in response to the ironing load. In this case, the ironing load used for the plastic deformation directed toward the radial direction is reduced. Further, the bending level of the sheet depends on the length of the outer diameter of the sheet, so that the outer portions of some sheets are bent by various amounts. Therefore, when two sheets adjacent to each other are largely different from each other in outer diameter, the opening between the sheets is enlarged and changed to an inter-sheet opening.
Further, the whole opening along the circumferential direction between two outer portions of the sheets is not changed to this inter-sheet opening, but the inter-sheet opening is discontinuously formed along the circumferential direction. Particularly, the inter-sheet opening is easily formed near the welded point of the outer portions. The reason is as follows. When steel sheets are welded to each other, the hardness in the welded portion becomes higher than that in the non-welded portion, so that the welded portion is hardly bent. In contrast, a non-welded portion placed near the welded portion is easily bent. Therefore, the inter-sheet opening is easily formed near the welded point of the outer portions.
Moreover, as described above, the steel sheets of the stator core have been thinned to reduce the iron loss caused in the core, so that the rigidity or mechanical strength of the steel sheets along the axial direction is inevitably lowered. Therefore, each sheet is further easily deformed and bent in response to the ironing load, and the inter-sheet opening is formed at a higher probability. To manufacture a stator core composed of steel sheets having thinned outer portions, it is important to prevent the stator core from forming any inter-sheet opening between outer portions of sheets during the ironing for the outer portions of the sheets.

Method of manufacturing stator core of electric rotating machine


The present invention relates to a method for regulating wrinkles and/or atrophy in mammalian skin comprising treating the skin with a safe and effective amount of N-acetyl-L-cysteine and/or a derivative thereof.

Skin is subject to abuse by many extrinsic (environmental) factors as well as intrinsic (chronoaging) factors. A common extrinsic factor is exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Whether extrinsic or intrinsic, the abuse results in wrinkling of the skin. To many people, skin wrinkles are a reminder of the disappearance of youth. As a result, the elimination of wrinkles has become a booming business in youth-conscious societies. Treatments range from cosmetic creams and moisturizers to various forms of cosmetic surgery.
Chronoaging results in the thinning and general degradation of skin. As the skin naturally ages, there is a reduction in the cells and blood vessels that supply the skin. There is also a flattening of the dermal-epidermal junction which results in weaker mechanical resistance of this junction. As a consequence, older persons are more susceptive to blister formation in cases of mechanical trauma or disease processes. (See Oikarinen, (1990) "The Aging of Skin: Chronoaging Versus Photoaging", Photodermatal. Photoimmunol. Photomed., Vol. 7, pp 3-4).
N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a preferred active of the present invention, has been used as a mucolytic, corneal vulnerary and an antidote to acetaminophen poisoning (The Merck Index, (1989) 11th Edition, p.14). European Patent Application 219 455, Fabbro, published Apr. 22, 1987, discloses a dermatological and skin cosmetic, topical, pharmaceutical composition containing N-acetyl-L-cysteine as the active constituent. The composition is disclosed as being useful for the prevention and treatment of sunburn and for increasing the speed of skin pigmentation bronzing.

Use of N-acetyl-cysteine and derivatives for regulating skin wrinkles and/or skin atrophy


An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a support, an undercoat layer formed on the support, and a photosensitive layer formed on the undercoat layer, in which the undercoat layer contains a polymerized product of a compound represented by the formula (1) or a polymerized product of a composition containing a compound represented by the formula (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each including the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and an imide compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic photosensitive members containing organic photoconductive materials (charge generation materials) have been mainly used as electrophotographic photosensitive members for use in process cartridges and electrophotographic apparatuses. Electrophotographic photosensitive members advantageously have high productivity because they can be produced by coating with good film formability.
Typically, an electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a support and a photosensitive layer disposed on the support. To inhibit the charge injection from the support side to the photosensitive layer side and inhibit the occurrence of image failure, such as black spots, an undercoat layer is often provided between the support and the photosensitive layer.
However, the presence of the undercoat layer reduces the properties of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, in some cases.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2007-148294 and 2008-250082 and PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2009-505156, attempts are made to improve the properties of the undercoat layer by incorporating an electron transport material into the undercoat layer to allow the undercoat layer to serve as an electron transport layer. In the case where the electron transport material is incorporated into the undercoat layer, a technique is reported in which the undercoat layer is cured to form a cured layer in such a manner that the electron transport material is not eluted with a solvent in a photosensitive layer coating liquid upon forming a photosensitive layer serving as an upper layer of the undercoat layer.
In recent years, charge generation materials having higher sensitivities have been used. A higher sensitivity of a charge generation material result in a larger amount of charges generated; hence, the charges are liable to stay in the photosensitive layer, thereby easily causing a positive ghost. There have recently been advances in improvement in image quality typified by colorization. This requires a further reduction of the positive ghost. The positive ghost refers to a phenomenon in which, in the course of formation of an image on a sheet, when a portion irradiated with light is responsible for a halftone image in a next rotation, the density of only the portion irradiated with light is increased.
The inventors have conducted studies and found that the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2007-148294 and 2008-250082 and PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2009-505156 still have room for improvement in the reduction of the initial positive ghost.

Electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge, electrophotographic apparatus, and imide compound


A prepackaged safety needle device has fitted to a holder a double-ended needle assembly and a needle protection housing pivotally connected to the neck of the housing. The hub of the double-ended needle is mated to the neck of the holder. A circumferential sleeve extending from the neck of the holder envelops the hub so that when the needle that extends away from the holder is capped by a sheath, the lower portions of the sheath would coact with the sleeve to form a relatively tight fit. The configurations of the sleeve and the sheath with respect to the needle hub, at their respective interacting portions are such that a tortuous path is established which allows sterilizing gas to pass into the space capped by the sheath, but yet prevents bacteria or other contaminants from intruding into the space. The opening at the end of the holder away from the needle assembly is sealed by a porous cover that allows sterilizing gas to pass into the interior of the holder while acting as a barrier to prevent bacteria from entering into the holder. Thus, configured, the prepackaged device is a convenient to use device that remains sterile until use.

In the blood drawing devices disclosed in Hollister U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,139,489 and 5,154,285, a Vacutainer holder has fitted thereto a pivotable housing for covering a contaminated cannula of a double-ended needle that is threaded to the Vacutainer holder. The disclosures of the '489 and '285 patents are incorporated by reference herein. Although work well, the devices of the '489 and '285 patents require that the user thread a double-ended needle assembly to the Vacutainer holder before use. For the user to thread the double-ended needle assembly to the Vacutainer holder, the protective cap that keeps the double-ended needle sterile needs to be removed first. Accordingly, even before the device is used, there is the problem that the end of the double-ended needle assembly that fits into the Vacutainer holder may become non-sterile. So, too, given the fact that the Vacutainer holder is shipped without any protection, the inside of the holder is non-sterile to begin with.
Furthermore, for those Vacutainer holders that do not have the protective housing disclosed in the '489 and '285 patents, a phlebotomist tends to reuse the Vacutainer holder for drawing blood from multiple patients. To wit, once a double-ended needle assembly that has been threaded into the Vacutainer holder is contaminated, the phlebotomist will unthread the contaminated needle assembly and discard the same. A new double-ended assembly is then threaded into the same Vacutainer holder, so as to be used for the next patient. As a consequence, cross-contamination may occur at the inside of the Vacutainer holder, as blood collected from the earlier patient may have been splattered to the inside of the Vacutainer holder, so that blood collected from a later patient may be contaminated by the earlier drawn blood.


The invention relates to a wiper blade for a windscreen wiper, comprising a wiper strip on which at least one support rail (312, 314) is disposed, wherein said support rail has a spring element (412, 415) provided with a plastic sheath (313, 315), and further comprising a base connection device (160), which includes plastic and is welded to plastic sheath (313, 315), wherein a flat weld seam (419, 421) is formed between the base connection device (160) and the at least one support rail (312, 314).

The present invention relates to a wiper blade for a windscreen wiper, having a wiper strip, on which at least one loadbearing rail is arranged which has a spring element which is provided with a plastic covering, and having a base connection device which has plastic and is welded to the plastic covering.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,523,522 B2 describes a wiper blade of this type having a base connection device which has a plate-shaped carrier part with holding claws which are formed integrally thereon. The holding claws engage round associated loadbearing rails of the wiper blade at least in sections. Four cylindrical depressions are formed in the plate-shaped carrier part, into which cylindrical depressions cylindrical welding tools, what are known as rod-shaped sonotrodes, can be introduced in order to weld the base connection device to the loadbearing rails by means of ultrasonic welding. Said rod-shaped sonotrodes make punctiform welding of the loadbearing rails to the holding claws and the underside of the plate-shaped carrier part in the region of the cylindrical depressions possible.
A disadvantage of said prior art is that the welding takes place only at four predefined welded points and is therefore problematic in the event of the occurrence of shear forces in a direction along the loadbearing rails. Moreover, the punctiform shape of a weld of this type prevents optimum transmission of the forces of a corresponding wiper arm to a wiper strip which is assigned to the wiper blade and therefore to the wiper lip of said wiper strip. In particular, this shape of the weld has a negative influence on the bearing force distribution of the wiper lip on an associated pane, which bearing force distribution is decisive for a desired wiping result.


A method and apparatus for the carbonization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fibers. The apparatus comprises a furnace, or series of furnaces in side-by-side arrangement. Each furnace includes a heater, an air inlet and an air diffusion plate. The fiber is located in the furnace above the air diffuser plate, such that heated air is evenly dispersed over the fibers. The method generally comprises the steps of heat treating the PAN precursor in an oxidizing environment to stabilize the fiber, and then further heat treating the stabilized fiber in an oxidizing environment to carbonize the stabilized fiber. The method can be carried out in a single furnace, or can be carried out in a series of furnaces in a continuous process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an apparatus and method for making carbon fibers.
2. Invention Background
The present invention relates an apparatus and method for making carbon fibers.
Carbon fibers are known to be produced by the two-stage pyrolysis of rayon, polyacrlonitrile (PAN) or petroleum (or coal) pitch precursor fibers. Other synthetic fibers that have been considered as possible precursors for carbon fibers include aromatic polyamides, polyvinyl alcohol, polyphenylenes, polyvinyl chloride and polyoxadiazoles.
Generally, production of carbon fibers has been carried out by first heat treating precursor (raw) fibers in an oxidizing environment. Tension can be applied to the fibers during this heat treatment to retard fiber shrinkage and to maintain molecular orientation. This step is usually carried out at about 191 to 279 degrees Celsius for about one half hour to several hours. This step, known as stabilization forms chemical bonds that resist burning and increase the flash point of the fibers. Once the fiber is stabilized, it is further processed by carbonization through further heat treating in a non-oxidizing environment. Usually, the carbonization takes place at temperatures in excess of 525 degrees Celsius and in a nitrogen atmosphere.
The resultant carbon fibers are primarily fibers having in excess of 92 percent carbon. Higher carbonization temperatures can be used and can result in complete or nearly complete graphitization of the fibers. Fibers in excess of 99 percent carbon are known to be produced through this process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,573 teaches a biregional carbon fiber and method of making them. The '573 patent shows a fiber that, instead of being completely carbonized, has an outer carbonized sheath surrounding an inner noncarbonized core. The biregional fiber is produced from a homogeneous polymeric material in which an outer fiber portion of the polymeric material is oxidation stabilized and then carbonized to form two distinct regions in the fiber. A preferred polymeric material for this purpose is a standard acrylic polymer (i.e. copolymers and terpolymers of acrylonitrile, in which the copolymers and terpolymers contain at least 85 mole percent acrylic units and up to 15 mole percent of one or more vinyl monomers copolymerized therewith or optionally a subacrylic polymer).
Current production techniques call for batch carbon fiber formation. Therefore, fibers are maintained at an oxidizing temperature in the presence of oxygen for a length of time and then transferred to a non-oxidizing environment, such as an oxygen-free tube furnace, for carbonization or graphitization. As a result, batch carbon fiber production is time consuming.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. RE34,162 to Boyd, Jr. teaches the continuous carbonization of previously stabilized fibers with the use of a known continuous line carbonizer.
None of the prior art production techniques employ a continuous process for continuously carbonizing the precursor fiber.

Apparatus and method for making carbon fibers

Industrial Technology and Equipment Company


Electric arc welder (10) performs a given weld process with selected current waveform performed between electrode (24) and workpiece (26). Welder (10) includes a controller with a digital processor (30), sensor (44) for reading instantaneous weld current, and circuit (56) to convert the instantaneous current into a digital representation of the level of instantaneous weld current. Digital processor (30) has program circuit (64, 66) to periodically read and square the digital representation at a given rate, register (70, 72) for summing a number N of square digital representations to give a summed value, and an algorithm (82, 84, 86, 88) for periodically dividing the summed value by the number N to provide a quotient and then taking the square root of said quotient to thereby digitally construct rms signal (40) representing the root mean square of the weld current.

As illustrated in prior patents and literature, electric arc welding has heretofore used the average weld voltage and the average weld current for controlling the operation of the power source in the welder. The digital controller includes a digital signal processor (DSP) for controlling a waveform generator or wave shaper that directs the operation of the normal pulse width modulator. This device creates the waveforms successively used by the welder to perform the welding process. Welders regulate the output current or voltage to an average value such as an average weld current by a feedback loop. For a constant voltage process that is welding in the "spray" region, the average current is an accurate gage of the welding process. However, in pulse welding, the average current and average voltage do not accurately reflect the result of the welding process including the deposition rate, heat zone and penetration. This is explained by a example of an ideal pulse welding process, such as one having 500 amperes for 25% of the time and 100 amperes of background current for 75% of the time has an output current of 200 amperes. However, the average current of the welding process merely indicates the deposition rate and does not reflect the true heat input to the welding operation. Consequently, when the welding process is controlled by a series of repetitive waveforms, such as A.C. welding or pulse welding, average current values can not control the heat input. Recently, the welding processes have become quite complex and now often involve a number of successive waveforms, such as A.C. current and pulse current, so the old technology of feedback control for the welding process is not completely accurate and requires a substantial amount of on-site manipulation by a person knowledgeable in welding, especially a person knowledgeable in the new waveform welding procedure using a welder, such as shown in Blankenship U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,390. With the advent of pulse welding using waveform generators and high speed switching power sources, such as inverters, the obtained weld heat has been adjusted by trial and error. Too much heat causes metal to burn through, especially in thin metal welding. Thus, the welding engineer modulates the average current and average voltage to provide the heat input to the welding process to a level so that burn through is theoretically eliminated. This procedure was applicable, however, only for a pure spray type welding process. This procedure of controlling the heat by the average current and average voltage was not applicable to the new generation of electric arc welders where waveforms are changed to control the welding process. This is the new waveform control technology to which the present invention is directed. The old technology used for non-waveform welding is inapplicable to controlling heat in a controlled waveform type welder. The heat is not known by merely reading the voltage and current when the new waveform type arc welders are employed. Consequently, the welding engineer when using waveform control technology changed the base frequency during pulse welding while maintaining a constant or set average voltage. Using this approach of frequency adjustment of a pulse welding procedure while maintaining a constant voltage, the heat could be adjusted by a trial and error technique. When this trial and error procedure was used to modify the waveforms in a new waveform welder, the heat could, indeed, be controlled; however, it was not precise and involves substantial technical knowledge combined with the trial and error procedures.
There is a distinct advantage in pulse welding. This welding process lowers the heat into the joint for the same wire feed speed as a "spray" or "globular" weld process. Thus, a lower heat setting can be set at the factory. The welder had a knob to adjust the nominal frequency, for the purpose indicated above. This change in base frequency did adjust the heat at the welding operation. This resulted in a slight change in the power factor of the welding process through the trial and error method when knowing that the average voltage times average current multiplied by the power factor equals the input heat. Thus, by using a knob to change the base frequency, the power factor was changed to determine heat. However, neither the factory nor the welding engineer at the welding site had the capabilities of directly controlling the power factor. Computation of actual power factor on the fly was not realized in prior control systems and method used for electric arc welders even of the type that used a waveform or wave shape control of the welding process. Consequently, with the introduction of the new waveform welding pioneered by The Lincoln Electric Company, there is a need to control the welding parameters to a value that accurately reflects the heat content. Only in this manner can weld parameters be used in a closed loop feedback system, or otherwise, to control the penetration and heat separately in a weld process using generated waveforms.

Electric arc welder and method for controlling the welding process of the welder


A novel input device and for an information processing system for carrying out a process on the basis of input data, the input device is disclosed. In the input device, the output unit develops instructive-document form information and outputs an instructive document to which an entry is not yet made by a user. The extracting unit extracts analysis information for analyzing an instructive document to which an entry has been made by the user from the instructive-document form information. The storing unit stores the extracted analysis information. The analyzing unit analyzes the information on the received instructive document after a user makes an entry to thereto while referring to the analysis information. With such an arrangement, the input device receives the information on the instructive document having entries made thereto, and inputs information obtained by the process of analyzing the received information to the information processing system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input device for an information processing system, and an input method for the information processing system. More particularly, the invention relates to an input device for an information processing system which receives instructions from a user through an instructive document and transform the received instructions into such data as to be acceptable by the information processing system, and an input method for the information processing system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An input method using a mark sheet (referred to as "a mark-sheet input method") for an information processing system is known as one of the input methods for inputting data into an information processing system. The mark-sheet method has advantages of its own, which cannot be found in the input method using a full keyboard or a mouse. For this reason, the mark-sheet method is still used for the totalizing on questionnaire, marking on test, totalizing on orders received, and the like.
A first advantage of the mark-sheet method is that a user need not memorize related commands one by one. A second advantage thereof is that the user can indicate desired items and instructive items with only a pencil, and hence each user need not have a keyboard or a display. Another advantage is that tick marks or painting of the check boxes can directly be read and input into the information processing system. An additional advantage is that mark sheets may be stored and transported in a stacked state (The term "check box" means an area on a sheet to be ticked or painted. The wording "marking with a tick mark, painted out for tick, and the like" will be referred simply to "tick".).
This mark-sheet method may be used also for the general input method for an information processing system. This input method using the mark-sheet is disclosed in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Nos. Sho. 57-60456, 63-8889, and 63-242060, and Hei. 1-183771 and 2-291767, and Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 3-40862, and the like.
The work using the information processing system may roughly be categorized into two types, first work continuously performed (referred to as continuous work) and second work discontinuously performed (referred to as discontinuous work). An example of the continuous work is the document preparation work. In the document preparation work, an operator forms a document on the screen of the display device, while manually operating a keyboard or a mouse. An example of the discontinuous work is the work to make an access to a data base. In the data base access work, an operator enters a keyword to retrieve desired information, prints out the retrieval results on a sheet, carefully examines the results, and makes an access to the data base again on the basis of the results of the examination to retrieve further detailed information.
The mark-sheet method is suitable for the discontinuous work. The continuous work proceeds while seeing a display on the screen. Therefore, if the mark-sheet method is applied to the discontinuous work, much ore time is taken for the work.
In the case of the discontinuous work, the following situation frequently takes place. The work to access the data base, for example, may be more efficiently done when a user moves to a location where materials are stored. In this case, the mark-sheet method is superior since in the mark-sheet method, the data base access work may be performed without a full keyboard, a display device, or the like.
Also in the above-mentioned conventional art, the mark-sheet method is applied to this field. Particularly, in the publications of Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Nos. Sho. 63-242060, Hei. 1-183771 and Hei 2-291767, a mark sheet is transmitted by a facsimile machine. In these days, the facsimile machines are widespread as telephone sets. Therefore, the mark-sheet method using the facsimile machines may make full use of the advantages of this method.
The conventional mark sheet method have some problems to be solved when applied to the general input method for the information processing system.
Firstly, in the mark-sheet method, the mark sheet is not flexible in the layout thereon. Timing marks are located at the upper side and/or the lower side or the right side and/or the left side on the mark sheet. The timing marks are used as reference marks when the mark sheet is read. The check boxes must be formed at the locations associated with the timing marks (FIG. 26, reference numeral 56, and others in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 2-291767, for example). In other words, the check boxes must be placed at limited locations on the mark sheet.
For this reason, it is difficult to obtain an easy-to-understand layout of the mark sheet.
Let us consider a case where a list of files hierarchically stored is taken out by using a "DIR" command, and a desired file is read out of the list.
In this case, the employment of a tree structure for the list is preferable, for the sake of easy-to-see. Check boxes to be selected, explanations and the like are preferably located on the side of the file names.
As described above, the locations of the check boxes are limited in the conventional mark-sheet method. The limited locations of the check boxes make it difficult to use the tree structure, and to lay out check boxes and explanations in a balanced and easy-to-see fashion.
Secondly, the processes on the mark sheet, such as outputting, read, and analysis is developed every application software, and are handled as the combination of those processes and the application software thereof ("application software" will be referred to simply as "application").
To set or alter the layout on the mark sheet and the display contents in accordance with a situation where the mark sheet is output, uses of the mark sheet, and the like, an increased number of developing processes is required for developing and altering the software. This makes it difficult to develop and alter the software.

Inputting device and inputting method for information processing system


A combination wheelchair and seat lifting device for a disabled person. The wheelchair includes a pair of conventional wheelchair wheels centrally positioned and four small stabilizer wheels one at each corner of the chair support structure. The wheelchair includes a padded seat pivotally attached to a toilet seat. The toilet seat is manually pivoted from a use position to a stowed position. When used as a wheel chair, the padded seat is parallel with the chair support surface and when not in use as a wheel chair is pivoted to a position normal to the chair support surface. When pivoted the toilet seat is exposed for use. The toilet seat and pivotally attached padded seat are translatable vertically by a electric motor operating a cable system that is controlled by the user of the chair. When utilized as a wheel chair, the seats can be elevated to a suitable comfortable elevation selected by the user of the chair. When utilizing the chair as a toilet seat with the padded seat positioned normal to the chair support surface, the seats can be elevated to a selected elevation to receive the user on the toilet seat and then lowered with the user adjacent to the upper surface of a toilet bowl.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, The Two-In-One Chair Lift and Toilet Seat is directed to patient lifting devices and portable electric hydraulic johnny aid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,572 issued Aug. 23, 1983, has a seat for patient lifting which is activated by human assistance to pump the handle which is located in the rear of the seat which patient is not able to activate. The carrier frame which is attached to a hoisting gear will limit the size of the patient to be lifted by the chair due to weight limitations. In that, the chair's specifications do not state the maximum weight allowed to successfully lift patient. Therefore, this chair requires the patient to be dependent upon assistance to activate the chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,833 issued Dec. 16, 1975, the portable electric hydraulic johnny aid is a staionary chair that allows patient to use a toilet bowl fixture by rotating a handle lever to raise and lower the chair over the toilet bowl. If the patient has arthritis or any other such ailments restricting hand movements, or perhaps weakend by their infirmity, would find it difficult to operate. This chair also must remain in one room, such as the bathroom for it would be very difficult to move from room to room.
This present invention, the Two-In-One Chair Lift and Toilet Seat device would allow the patient to use the Chair independently without the assistance of another person to raise and/or lower the Chair over the toilet bowl fixture. The patient may also use the Chair as a wheelchair to move from bedroom to bathroom and any other location in and around the home or residence. Whereas, the previous inventions require the chair to remain in one position as there are not wheels for movement or they require the patient to be totally dependent on another individual to activate the chair. None of the prior art references allow the patient to use the chair alone nor do they allow the patient to move the chair from room to room, thus requiring another chair for movement, such as a wheelchair.


A valve apparatus for a fluid transmission line. The valve apparatus comprising a housing; a drive mechanism; a leadscrew selectively rotatable in a first or second rotational leadscrew direction by the drive mechanism; a drive gear mounted to the housing, the drive gear configured to be selectively driven in a first or second drive gear direction during rotation of said leadscrew in the first or second leadscrew direction to operate an iris mechanism.

The present disclosure relates generally to a valve apparatus for natural gas flow and other gas and fluid flow.
The flow of the gases and other fluids piped through lines is controlled with valves. U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,783 discloses a valve apparatus that can be used for such purposes. It is often difficult to protect the mechanical arrangement by which the iris mechanism control element is mechanically adjusted as well as the mechanism which is used to reduce the drive motor revolutions to a single revolution so that it may be used to limit the travel of the control element.
The present disclosure relates to a valve apparatus for a fluid transmission line. The valve apparatus comprises: a housing; a drive mechanism; a leadscrew selectively rotatable in a first or second rotational leadscrew direction by the drive mechanism; a drive gear mounted to the housing, the drive gear configured to be selectively rotatable in a first or second drive gear direction during rotation of said leadscrew in the first or second leadscrew direction, said drive gear defining a throughhole; a plurality of leaves disposed about said throughhole, each of said leaves including a curvilinear portion and a pair of ends and being pivotally or otherwise mounted to the drive gear, and each of said leaves being oriented to extend radially inward into said throughhole to define an orifice; and a plurality of engagement members biasing said leaves to reduce the orifice when said drive gear rotates in said first drive gear direction and to increase the orifice when said drive gear rotates in said second drive gear direction to adjust a volume of transmission of fluid therethrough. The housing may define a bore, the leadscrew, and the drive gear housed substantially within the bore.
The valve apparatus may further comprise a fastener threadingly or otherwise engaged with the leadscrew and engage with the drive gear for transferring torque from the leadscrew to the drive gear during rotation of the leadscrew. The fastener travels along a length of the leadscrew during rotation of the leadscrew. The valve apparatus may further comprise a stationary shaft adjacent the leadscrew, the fastener slidably engaged with the shaft for balancing the torque transferred from the leadscrew to the fastener. The valve apparatus may further include a lever arm engaging the fastener and the drive gear. The valve apparatus may further include a bushing engaging the fastener and the lever arm. The lever arm may include two parallel arms, each of which is operatively associated with the bushing.
The drive mechanism of the valve apparatus includes a motor operatively associated with the leadscrew for selectively rotating the leadscrew in the first or second leadscrew direction. The drive mechanism may also include a planetary gear transmission operatively associated with the motor. The planetary gear transmission comprises a central sun gear, a plurality of planetary gears, and a ring gear. The housing may define a bore and include a casing defining a cavity, the motor and the planetary gear transmission housed substantially within the cavity.
Features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and the accompanying drawings described below, wherein an embodiment of the disclosure is described and shown, and in part will become apparent upon examination of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A flexible multi-leaf collimator for electron radiotherapy is provided, where the leaves are not a single rigid component, but are configured in a manner that curves away from the patient to provide greater clearance. The invention includes a plurality of flexible assemblies, at least one guide supporting the assemblies, and a plurality of assembly drivers. The driver engages the assembly and moves the assembly along the guide. The assembly has an extended state and a retracted state relative to the guide, such that when in the extended state the assembly is held in the aperture plane and when in the retracted state the assembly conforms along the guide. When in the extended state the assemblies are disposed as a treatment aperture.

When beams of high energy x-rays or electrons are used for radiotherapy, it is important to direct the beams to a tumor within the patient, while restricting the beams from striking healthy tissue outside the tumor region. Tumors commonly have irregular shapes and it is necessary to shape the beam cross-section to the corresponding irregular shape. It is common for the treatment plan to prescribe the beam to be directed at the tumor from a number of different angles, where the beam profile is unique for each corresponding angle.
Currently, radiotherapy accelerators producing therapeutic electron beams utilize "applicators", also known as "cones", are attached to the therapy machine to provide a final collimation aperture along the beam path before the tumor is exposed. The applicator defines the final beam cross-section profile and it is desirable to place the applicator as close to the patient as possible to limit exposure to healthy tissue. Because the tumor has a unique shape for each prescribed exposure angle, a unique collimating aperture is required for each corresponding angle. It is common to have multiple apertures fabricated for treating a single tumor, where alloys with low melting temperatures are typically cast into the required irregular shapes. The cast apertures can be interchanged with the radiotherapy device to provide a beam that conforms to the shape of the area to be irradiated. These unique apertures are expensive and time consuming to fabricate.
In an attempt to alleviate the need to fabricate a unique aperture for each exposure, multi-leaf collimators (MLC) have been implemented as a way to shape the beam cross-section. These devices include a set of flat, thin leaves made from a high-density material, such as tungsten, where each leaf in moved transversely in and out of the radiation field to selectively attenuate portions of the beam to create a unique beam cross-section. The shape of the beam can be altered dynamically during the therapy session using motorized controls connected to each leaf. By dynamically attenuating select portions of the beam, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has been made possible, where by moving the leaves during beam exposure, the beam can be delivered in a manner such that the spatial fluence of the irradiation is not constant over the irradiated area. IMRT can also be accomplished by making multiple irradiations, each with a different field shape, the sum of which creates a field of non-uniform intensity. The leaves must be thick enough to highly attenuate the beam. For example, when using x-ray beams, at least a 6 cm thickness of tungsten is required.
X-ray MLC's are typically mounted as far from the patient as practicable to ensure maximum clearance between the radiotherapy machine and the patient. In accordance with some accelerators, the MLC has been used to replace the standard field-shaping jaws of the accelerator. The shape of the portion of the leaf that defines the edge of the field is designed for minimum penumbra to create the sharpest edge of the beam as possible between the irradiated and protected areas.
In electron radiotherapy, fabricated electron applicators are typically used, where the applicators are customized for each patient to define each unique final beam aperture. This process is very time consuming and expensive. The custom aperture must be installed by hand for each treatment field. If two or more fields are used for a therapy session, the aperture must be changed for each field. Further, the aperture must be redesigned to accommodate changes in the tumor size during the course of treatment. The beneficial practice of IMRT delivery cannot be used with these fixed apertures.
It is desirable to be able to use multi-leaf collimators for electron irradiation as well as for x-ray irradiation. Currently, MLC's that are designed for x-rays are not suitable to this end. To produce a desired penumbra, a collimator for electron beams must be close to the patient surface, typically within 5 cm. Conversely, the usual location of an x-ray MLC is far from the patient, which makes creating desirable beam characteristics unfeasible. It is possible to move the patient closer, but the penumbra achievable still cannot match that which is attained with an electron applicator.
Attempts to create the final aperture of an electron applicator using a form of MLC have been reported. In these efforts, the final aperture of the applicator has been constructed of a bank of leaves that can be moved to a variable position relative to the beam, similar to an x-ray MLC. The leaves do not have to be as thick as those for x-ray MLC's, where it requires only approximately 1 cm of brass to stop 20 MeV electrons compared to the 6 cm of more of tungsten required for an effective x-ray MLC.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art applicator and multi-leaf collimator assembly 100 for use with electron beams 101, where shown is an applicator 102 and a multi-leaf collimator 104 having two opposing sets of movable leaves 106 configured to move parallel with one another in a collimator housing 108 disposed as a treatment aperture 110. As shown, the leaves 108 are positioned manually however motorized leaves are also known in the art.
FIG. 2 is a planar view of a treatment configuration 200, where a patient 202 is positioned close to the prior art multi-leaf collimator assembly 100 attached to an accelerator 204. Here, the large extensions of the MLC 104 to each side of the treatment field prevent the applicator 102 from being positioned close to irregular surfaces on the patient 202, such as near the head and neck. This results in the final aperture 110 being further away from the patient 202 than desired, and prevents optimization of the penumbra.
Accordingly, there is a need to minimize the lateral extention of the electron applicator near the patient and minimize clearance issues to overcome the current shortcomings in the art.

Multileaf collimator for electron radiotherapy


A method for manufacturing an ultrahard compact includes assembling a mass of ultrahard material with a mass of substrate material such that the mass of ultrahard material extends radially outward a greater extent than the substrate material to compensate for a difference in the radial shrinkage of the ultrahard material compared to the substrate material during a sintering process. The method may further includes subjecting the assembled compact to a high pressure high temperature process that results in the forming of an ultrahard compact including an ultrahard layer integrally bonded with a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ultrahard compacts, and more specifically to ultrahard compacts including ultrahard material integrally formed with a substrate. The invention also relates to improved methods for forming such ultrahard compacts.
2. Background Art
Ultrahard compacts typically comprise a body of ultrahard material bonded to a substrate. Examples of ultrahard materials include polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN). Substrates of ultrahard compacts typically are formed from a carbide material, such as tungsten carbide cemented with cobalt. Ultrahard compacts are well know for their mechanical properties of high wear resistance making them a popular choice for use as cutting elements in industrial applications, such as in cutting tools for machining and for subterranean mining and drilling tools.
Ultrahard compacts are typically formed by loading a can assembly with ultrahard material particles and substrate material and then subjecting the assembly to a high pressure high temperature (HPHT) pressing process that results in the sintering of the ultrahard material particles and bonding of the ultrahard material to the substrate. Methods for making ultrahard compacts are more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,609,818; 3,743,489; 3,745,623; 3,850,591; 4,403,015; 4,954,139; and 6,610,095, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Ultrahard compacts used for cutting tools and drilling tools are most commonly made in the form of a cylindrical member as illustrated in FIG. 1. The refractory metal containers used to form these compacts have cylindrical walls of uniform internal diameter along the length of the can. Ultrahard compacts produced in these types of cans have been found to have as much as a 20% to 30% difference in radial shrinkage between ultrahard material and substrate material when the compact is retrieved from the can after a pressing process. This has been found to be especially true for compacts formed with thicker ultrahard material layers, such as layers 1.0 millimeters (mm) or more in thickness. This is also particularly true for ultrahard compacts that are sintered in a high pressure high temperature apparatus known as a cubic press, although similar issues exist when compacts are formed using other types of presses, such as a belt press. The difference in radial shrinkage is believed to be due to differences in the shrinkage and consolidation of the different materials.
Ultrahard compacts, especially those with thick ultrahard layers, are typically tapered in form when recovered from the press, as illustrated for example in FIG. 4. The layer of ultrahard material 42 in these compacts 40 is tapered such that the ultrahard material nearest the substrate 44 (proximal interface 43) has the largest diameter and the ultrahard material furthest away from the substrate 44 has the smallest diameter. To obtain an ultrahard compact having a final desired uniform shape, these compacts 40 must be ground after the HPHT pressing process to bring the ultrahard material 42 and the substrate 44 to the same desired diameter 46 along the entire length of the compact 40. The thicker the body of ultrahard material 42 is on the substrate 44, the more pronounced the taper will be after the pressing operation, and the more grinding required to obtain a final uniform product.
Following conventional methods of manufacturing compacts as described above, the cost associated with centerless grinding of a compact with a diamond wheel to produce a final uniform product can be as much as 20% to 40% or more of the overall cost of the product, depending on the thickness of the ultrahard material body and the type and composition of the ultrahard material used to form a compact. Reducing the amount of centerless grinding required to manufacture an ultrahard compact of desired shape can result in a substantial cost saving due to a reduction in the number of grinding wheels required to finish products and in the time spent grinding and finishing products. Therefore, a method for manufacturing ultrahard compacts that reduces the amount of grinding and finishing required to obtain a final product is desired.

Methods for manufacturing ultrahard compacts


A memory, particularly but not limitatively a flash memory, comprises at least one data storage area comprising a plurality of data storage locations, and an access circuitry for accessing the data storage locations for either retrieving or altering a data content thereof, depending for example on a memory user request. The memory includes at least one first user-configurable flag element and a second user-configurable flag element. Both the at least one first and the second flag elements are used by a user to set a protected state of the respective data storage area against alteration of the content of the data storage locations thereof. The protected state defined by setting the first flag element is user-removable, i.e., it can be removed by request from the user, so as to enable again the alteration of the content of the data storage area. On the contrary, the protected state defined by setting the second flag element is permanent and, once set, it cannot be removed: the data storage area becomes unalterable.

In the field of semiconductor memories, flash memories have become rather popular, because they combine the capability of storing relatively large amounts of data with the possibility of modifying their content directly in the field.
Flash memories are, for example, used to store the code to be executed by data processing units (e.g., microcontrollers, microprocessors, coprocessors, digital signal processors and the like) in a variety of electronic apparatuses, such as personal computers, mobile phones, set-top boxes for cable or satellite television, videogame consoles, just to mention some.
In particular, by using flash memories, it is possible to modify the stored code without having to remove the memory component from the respective socket. It has thus become possible to, e.g., change the code, fix code bugs, update the code version directly at the premises of the users; the new code can be, for example, downloaded over the internet, or received directly by a mobile phone from the service provider company.
There are applications in which these possibilities offered by flash memories raise problems of security. Electronic piracy acts may for example cause the code stored in the memory to be corrupted.
A family of flash memories produced by Intel® include a 128-bit One-Time Programmable (OTP) protection register that can be used to increase the security of a system design by allowing tracking and fraud protection. For example, the number contained in the protection register can be used to match the Flash memory component with other components of an electronic system, such as the CPU or an ASIC, preventing device substitution. The 128 bits of the OTP protection register are divided into two 64-bit segments. One of these segments is programmed at the factory with a unique 64-bit number, which cannot be changed. The other segment is left blank for customer designers to program as desired. Once the customer segment is programmed, it can be locked by programming bits in a lock word part of the OTP register, so as to prevent reprogramming of the customer-reserved 64-bit segment. This lock cannot be reversed by the customer.
The OTP protection register does not however allow avoiding fraudulent or generally unwanted alteration of the content of the memory storage area, where the program code and/or data are stored.
Therefore, there is the need of devising some scheme of protection of the memory content against fraudulent changes or even simply unwanted corruption.

Semiconductor memory with access protection scheme


In an information processing apparatus, a program processing unit executes a program described as an object-oriented language executed by a platform-independent machine language. A monitor unit monitors a change of a network address of the information processing apparatus. A reference provision unit provides a new network address of the information processing apparatus for another information processing apparatus when said monitor unit detects the change of the network address of the information processing apparatus.

Recently, by development of program executive environment Java (Ken Arnold, James Gosling, "The Java Programming Language, Second Edition,") independent from a platform, a system to cooperate various kinds of information equipments with Java is greatly taken into consideration. In case of implementing a distributed application by Java, in general, a communication mechanism, "Remote Method Invocation (RMI)", is utilized as communication means (Troy Bryan Downing, "RMI: Developing Distributed Java Applications with Remote Method Invocation and Serialization," IDG Books World Wide, Inc. 1998). RMI is an extended version of method invocation mechanism between objects in Java. RMI is a simple and powerful communication mechanism that conceals a complicated communication processing. However, Java and RMI cannot adjust to a change in the IP address (Hereinafter, called "network address") of the executive computer (host). The following two problems then arise.
(1) When a client connects to a server, in RMI, the connection is executed using information "remote reference". The remote reference includes the network address (IP address) and a port number of the computer executing a server program. For example, when the computer is activated (power is turned on) and the service is disclosed, the server program creates the remote reference. In this case, the network address at the creating time is written in the remote reference. If the network address is changed, a mechanism to update the remote reference is not prepared. Accordingly, after the network address changes because the computer moved, the remote reference distributed by the server program (to register to a directory service program) includes the network address before the computer moved. After a client program receives this remote reference, the client program tries to connect to the server using the old network address. The client program cannot connect to the server having the new network address.
(2) In the RMI, a Java object is sent and received between the server and the client. In the Java program receiving side, a class file corresponding to received Java object is necessary. If the Java program already has the class file, the Java program executes processing of received Java object using the class file. However, if the Java program does not have the class file, the Java program refers to information of supply source of the class file annotated to the Java object, and downloads the class file from the supply source. After that, the Java program executes processing of the Java object. The information of supply source of class file annotated to the Java object is called "codebase". The codebase is indicated by Uniform Resource Locator (URL) format. In the same way as the remote reference, the codebase is static, and the codebase does not have an update mechanism in cooperation with a change of the network address. Accordingly, if a computer whose network address dynamically changes such as network moving is the supply source of a class file (in case that HTTP server is executed on a server machine), the codebase is not updated and a program at the receiving side cannot normally operate.

Information processing apparatus and method


While a user of a digital television gives a command to switch from a first channel to a second channel, a comparison between a first remembered volume of the first channel and a second remembered volume of the second channel is provided. According to the result of the comparison, a currently-used volume of the second channel may be adjusted from the first remembered volume to the second remembered volume iteratively and by step volumes so that the adjustment of the currently-used volume of the later channel is not annoying for the user. Moreover, the user is also allowed in determining a preferred volume to be the currently-used volume of the second channel. While the user of the digital television flips between channels, unnecessary updates in a volume setting of the second channel are abandoned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a volume adjusting method, and more particularly, to a volume adjusting method for channel switching of a digital television.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In families, a television may provide people with entertainments. For better entertainments, visual qualities and audio qualities of televisions are getting important, as well as interactions with the televisions. Digital televisions are designed for providing better visual qualities and audio qualities in entertainments, and therefore, visual and audio requirements of digital televisions are highly regulated as well.
A digital television is often switched to play programs of different channels, each of which uses different levels of remembered volumes, a receiver of the digital television, which may also be called as a digital television receiver and be implemented within a set top box, may record a used volume for each channel played by the digital television, where the recorded volume is used at a last time when the user switches the digital television to each the channel. Volumes of other portable devices, such as a portable television or a personal digital assistant capable of playing programs of various channels, may also be recorded according to the various channels received by the portable devices with the aid of similar receivers.
However, a same digital television may be used by different people so that the digital television has to follow different volumes in the volume setting for each the channel played by the digital television, and therefore, some defects may arise. For example, when a user of the digital television switches from a first channel, which uses a significantly low remembered volume, to a second channel, which uses a significantly high remembered volume, the user may be frightened by a huge volume difference from the significantly low remembered volume to the significantly high remembered volume.
In US Patent Application No. 20060018493, an apparatus and method is disclosed for compensating volume in response to a channel change. In the related disclosure, disclosed characteristics include generating a gain to adjust a level of an input audio signal by comparing an average level of the input audio signal with a predetermined input/output curve, adjusting a volume of the input audio signal by applying the generated gain to the level of the input audio signal, and adjusting a dynamic range of the audio signal having the adjusted volume. However, according to the disclosed application, when the new channel plays soft voices, which indicate a significantly low volume, or explosion of bombs, which indicate a significantly high volume, at the time when the user of the digital television switches to the new channel, the generated gain may be deviated from succeeding volumes of the new channel so as to bring unexpected peaks or foots in volume. Moreover, if the gain is adjusted continuously for matching the succeeding volumes of the new channel, played volumes of the digital television are not stable also as a price so that audio qualities of playing programs of the new channel are significantly reduced. As can be inducted, continuously adjusting the played volume of the new channel on the digital television may not be feasible because of the price of affecting the audio qualities of the digital television.

Volume adjusting method for channel switching of digital television


An optical communication device for detecting a defect in a standby optical fiber. An active optical output unit converts an electrical signal to an optical signal, and a standby optical output unit is provided as a substitute for the active optical output unit. An optical router is connected to the active optical output unit by an active optical fiber, and is also connected to the standby optical output unit by a standby optical fiber. The optical router outputs the optical signal received from the active optical output unit to the subsequent stage, and also outputs part of the optical signal to the standby optical output unit. A defect detector detects a defect in the standby optical fiber on the basis of the light level of the optical signal output from the optical router to the standby optical output unit through the standby optical fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical communication devices, and more particularly, to an optical communication device for detecting defects in optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some optical communication devices employ a redundant configuration so that data transmission/reception can be performed even in the event of a fault occurring in the device (e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. H06-216847).
FIG. 5 shows an exemplary system configuration of conventional optical communication devices. As shown in the figure, an optical communication device 150 includes optical transmitters 151a, 151b, . . . , 151n, optical fibers 154aa, 154ba, 154ab, 154bb, . . . , 154an, 154bn, redundancy controllers 155a, 155b, . . . , 155n, redundant multiplexers 156a, 156b, . . . , 156n, an optical multiplexer 157, and an optical output unit 158. Another optical communication device 160 includes an optical input unit 161, an optical demultiplexer 162, redundant demultiplexers 163a, 163b, . . . , 163n, and optical receivers 164a, 164b, 164n. The optical communication devices 150 and 160 are connected by a WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) transmission line 171.
The optical transmitter 151a includes an active unit 152 and a standby unit 153, each for converting an electrical signal to an optical signal. Specifically, the active and standby units 152 and 153 have transmitters 152a and 153a, respectively, both capable of converting an electrical signal to an optical signal and input with the same electrical signal. The transmitters 152a and 153a are configured in the same manner and convert the input electrical signals to optical signals of an identical wavelength.
The active and standby units 152 and 153 also have output controllers 152b and 153b, respectively. The output controllers 152b and 153b operate under the control of the redundancy controller 155a so that one of the optical signals output from the transmitters 152a and 153a may be supplied to the redundant multiplexer 156a.
Usually, the redundancy controller 155a controls the output controllers 152b and 153b in such a manner that the optical signal output from the transmitter 152a is delivered to the redundant multiplexer 156a. In the event a fault or the like occurs in the transmitter 152a, the redundancy controller 155a controls the output controllers 152b and 153b so that the optical signal output from the transmitter 153a may be supplied to the redundant multiplexer 156a.
The optical transmitters 151b, . . . , 151n are configured in the same manner as the optical transmitter 151a and each include active and standby units. The optical transmitters 151a, 151b, . . . , 151n are, however, adapted to convert electrical signals to optical signals of respective different wavelengths. The redundancy controllers 155b, . . . , 155n function in the same way as the redundancy controller 155a. Specifically, each of the redundancy controllers 155b, . . . , 155n usually controls its associated output controllers so that the optical signal from the active unit may be output and, in the event a fault or the like occurs in the active unit, controls the output controllers so that the optical signal from the standby unit may be output.
The redundant multiplexer 156a includes a coupler 156aa and outputs the optical signal supplied from the active or standby unit 152 or 153 to the optical multiplexer 157. Similarly, the redundant multiplexers 156b, . . . , 156n each include a coupler and output the optical signal supplied from the active or standby unit to the optical multiplexer 157. The optical transmitters 151a, 151b, . . . , 151n are connected to their corresponding redundant multiplexers 156a, 156b, . . . , 156n by the optical fibers 154aa, 154ba, 154ab, 154bb, . . . , 154an, 154bn.
The optical multiplexer 157 multiplexes the optical signals output from the redundant multiplexers 156a, 156b, . . . , 156n and outputs the multiplexed signal to the optical output unit 158. The optical multiplexer 157 comprises optical filters, for example, and multiplexes the optical signals of different wavelengths, output from the redundant multiplexers 156a, 156b, 156n.
The optical output unit 158 amplifies the optical signal output from the optical multiplexer 157 and outputs the amplified signal to the WDM transmission line 171.
The optical input unit 161 of the optical communication device 160 receives the optical signal from the WDM transmission line 171, amplifies the received signal, and outputs the amplified signal to the optical demultiplexer 162.
The optical demultiplexer 162 comprises optical filters, for example, and demultiplexes the wavelength-multiplexed optical signal output from the optical input unit 161 into optical signals of respective wavelengths. The optical signals of different wavelengths, demultiplexed by the optical demultiplexer 162, are output to the respective redundant demultiplexers 163a, 163b, . . . , 163n.
The redundant demultiplexer 163a, which includes a coupler 163aa, separates the optical signal output from the optical demultiplexer 162 into signals of an identical wavelength and outputs the separated optical signals to the optical receiver 164a. Similarly, each of the redundant demultiplexers 163b, . . . , 163n includes a coupler and separates the corresponding optical signal output from the optical demultiplexer 162 into signals of an identical wavelength.
The optical receiver 164a includes an active unit 165 and a standby unit 166, each for converting an optical signal to an electrical signal. Specifically, the active and standby units 165 and 166 have receivers 165a and 166a, respectively, which are capable of converting an optical signal to an electrical signal and input with the identical optical signals. The receivers 165a and 166a are configured in the same manner and output electrical signals, obtained by converting the input optical signals, to circuits of the subsequent stage.
Let it be assumed here that the optical fiber 154ba connecting the standby unit 153 and the redundant multiplexer 156a is defective due to improper connection or fault and also that the control is switched to the standby unit 153 because of a fault in the active unit 152. In this case, since the standby optical fiber 154ba connecting the standby unit 153 and the redundant multiplexer 156a is defective, a problem arises in that signal loss is caused.


An integrated positioning apparatus acquires a first estimated position obtained by a first positioning scheme and a first weight for the first estimated position. The integrated positioning apparatus acquires a second estimated position obtained by a second positioning scheme and a second weight for the second estimated position. The integrated positioning apparatus corrects the first and second weights based on reference position information corresponding to position environment of a user. The integrated positioning apparatus integrates the first and second estimated positions to produce a third estimated position by using the corrected first and second weights.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring a user's location. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated positioning method and apparatus which measure a user's location by integrating positioning results obtained through different positioning schemes.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, personal handheld terminals capable of providing position information have been spreading rapidly. Moreover, services for providing position information and geographical information via portable terminals are growing rapidly. At present, positioning services used to provide position information include a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) service using a navigation satellite system such as the GPS (Global Positioning System) and a WPS (WiFi Positioning System) service using WiFi APs (access points).
The GNSS service is one of the most popular positioning services today, and provides relatively high reliability and high accuracy in an environment such as an open area where navigation signals are properly received from navigation satellites in orbit. However, due to the characteristics of the GNSS service, GNSS signals may not be received properly or may not be received at all in environments such as in indoor areas, underground areas, or alleys between buildings. Due to this, the GNSS service is poor in positioning quality or the service itself is limited. That is, in urban areas to which the GNSS service is mainly targeted, the closer a user is to a building, the more severe effects signal diffraction, reflection, blocking, etc. have. Thus, positioning errors increase and positioning reliability decreases with this increase. This is the biggest disadvantage of the GNSS service.
The WPS service is a method of estimating location using APs in a WLAN (wireless local area network). In the WPS service, usually, a positioning terminal measures the strengths of signals received from APs and calculates signal transmission distances according to signal attenuation. Then, the positioning terminal estimates location using the calculated values. Alternatively, the positioning terminal estimates location using a list of APs found at a point of measurement, based on proximity positioning.
The WPS service is efficient in urban areas or indoor areas where APs are densely deployed. However, the WPS service provides low reliability in outdoor or suburban areas where APs are sparsely deployed (i.e., environments where positioning resources are relatively sparse), and exhibits wide differences in performance even in the same area depending on the distribution characteristics of APs.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Integrated positioning method and apparatus

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


Disclosed is a communication control device in which a clock frequency for processing communication data is the same as or lower than the transfer speed of the communication data without requiring a complicated construction of the input-output portion to the network so as to make it possible to realize low power consumption and easy design and manufacture of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a communication control device for carrying out serial data transmission and reception with a communication network, and particularly to a communication control device which can realize high speed operation in a high-speed local area network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, high-speed data transmission in an LAN (Local Area Network) has been studied. Particularly, the high-speed data transmission in the LAN by the so-called token ring method which is standardized in IEEE 802.5 is now noted.
As communication data used in the token ring method, the so-called differential Manchester codes (DM codes) are used. In the system of the codes, a time interval which is required for transferring data as a unit of information is divided into two parts as shown in FIG. 1. The signal level of the former half part of the time interval is compared with that of the latter half part of the previous time interval thereof, and the signal level of the latter half part of the time interval is compared with that of the former half part thereof. In FIG. 1, four states of combination of inversion and non-inversion of the former half part and the latter half part of the time interval are shown with respect to each state (H level or L level) of the latter half part of the previous time interval. These states are called "J", "K", "1", "0" respectively as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, when inversion is denoted by "1" and non-inversion is denoted by "0", the DM codes "J", "K", "1", "0" are expressed as "11", "01", "10", "00" respectively. These new codes respectively comprising a combination of the two binary bits are called ER codes. Herein, the lower bit of each of the ER codes is called a code violation bit, and the higher bit thereof is called a data bit.
In communication data in which each unit of information is serial as shown in FIG. 1, no discriminating factor for showing a boundary between serial two units of information is included in each of the units. Therefore, it is very likely that two bits comprising the latter half part of the previous unit of information and the former half part of a unit of information are recognized to be one unit of information. To prevent this problem, a start code of data or a discrimination code of boundary expressed by "JKOJKOOO" comprising the DM codes is used as a start delimiter (SD), and the units of information starts from this code by two bits.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, there is a terminal of a conventional LAN system based on the token ring method in which such DM codes are used.
In FIG. 2, a media interface 1 is mainly composed of an analog circuit, and regenerates reception data having some logic level from a weak input signal given by a network, and also extracts a reception clock signal overlapping in the input signal. The reception data regenerated by the media interface 1 are converted into reception information by a network control device 2 in synchronism with the reception clock signal extracted, then the reception information is given to a data processing device 3.
Moreover, the data processing device 3 generates transmission information. Then, the transmission information is given to the network control device 2, and converted into transmission data thereby. The transmission data are further converted into an analog output signal by the media interface 1, thereafter the output signal is outputted to the network, and transmitted therefrom.
In such construction, the communication data are transferred on the network as bits arranged in series, and transmitted or received through the media interface 1. Therefore, between the media interface 1 and the network control device 2, the transmission data or the reception data are serially transferred by one bit through a transmission data line 4 or a reception data line 5. Moreover, through another reception clock line 6, the reception clock signal is given to the network control device 2 from the media interface 1.
Accordingly, one unit of information of transmission data expressed by the DM code as described above is processed as the ER code comprising two bits, and the ER code is serially transferred by one bit through the transmission data line 4 or the reception data line 5 so as to be processed by one bit. Namely, the transmission data or the reception data must be recognized and processed by the media interface 1 and the network control device 2 not by one DM code but by one bit. However, the reception signal must have a frequency which is synchronous to one bit and is twice as high as the transfer speed of one unit of information.
As mentioned above, in the conventional LAN system based on the token ring method in which the DM code is used, it is necessary that the clock signal has a frequency twice as high as the transfer speed of communication data.
Therefore, when the transfer speed of the communication data becomes higher, a circuit included in the system for generating the clock signal must generate a clock signal having a higher frequency, so that the circuit must be operated at a higher speed. However, when the operation speed becomes high, the power consumption is inevitably increased. Moreover, by the increase of power consumption, a large-scale power source and system construction capable of heat radiation must be required. Accordingly, it is difficult to realize a small-scale system by the conventional method.
Moreover, to realize the high-speed operation, it is necessary to compose the circuit more finely. Moreover, the delay time on transmitting signals must be more reduced. As the result, the circuit design and layout design for the communication control device and the manufacture thereof become very difficult.