A tool for subcutaneously implanting a subcutaneous electrode comprising several wire patch electrode segments by way of a single surgical incision. The tunneling tool comprises a stylet and a peel-away sheath. The tunneling tool is inserted into an incision, in a direction which corresponds to the desired placement of an electrode segment. Once the tunneling tool reaches a desired position, the stylet is withdrawn, thereby revealing the interior of the peel-away sheath and a resulting subcutaneous tunnel. The corresponding electrode segment is then inserted into this subcutaneous tunnel, and subsequently implanted in the patient. The implantation procedure is then repeated as many times as is necessary, using the same incision, until all the electrode segments for the particular electrode configuration have been implanted. In addition, the tunneling tool can be adapted to conform to varying electrode segment sizes, which thereby allows the tool to conform to the varying needs of each individual patient. As an even further feature, the tunneling tool can be constructed in a curved configuration to facilitate electrode implantation in the lateral thoracic region of the body.

It is well known that cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial or ventricular fibrillation, can be overcome by applying electrical energy to the arrhythmic myocardium. This procedure, commonly referred to as defibrillation or cardioversion, can be accomplished by applying the electrical energy either to the chest of the patient by means of conductive-metal paddles held in place by medical personnel or, during the course of cardiac surgery, by holding conductive-metal paddles in direct contact with the surface of the heart. Such procedures are well known and have been found to be generally effective in practice.
In addition, automatic defibrillation/cardioversion has been achieved by implanting an automatic defibrillating/ cardioverting device capable of detecting one of the aforementioned arrhythmias, and defibrillating/cardioverting the heart accordingly. Automatic defibrillating/cardioverting devices of this type have traditionally employed endocardial electrodes or epicardial electrodes, the latter of which is inserted in a rather invasive manner.
Additionally, another type of implantable electrode is a subcutaneous planar electrode, which does not violate the pleural cavity, and requires only minor surgery. A subcutaneous electrode is used in implantable cardioversion/defibrillation to discharge against one or more epicardial or endocardial electrodes. Subcutaneous electrodes heretofore known comprise a planar conductive screen. The implantation procedures for such subcutaneous electrodes require the formation of a subcutaneous pocket by blunt dissection, and the subsequent insertion of a suitable planar electrode. These planar subcutaneous electrodes result in discomfort in some patients, though they are used on a widespread basis in internal defibrillation/cardioversion.
The present invention relates to a tool and a method for implanting an array type or multi-segment subcutaneous electrode which is the subject of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/533,886, field Jun. 6, 1990. This type of subcutaneous electrode is as effective as planar electrodes and more comfortable than such planar electrodes. The present invention also relates to an improvement of the subcutaneous electrode disclosed in the aforementioned prior application.

Insertion and tunneling tool for a subcutaneous wire patch electrode


A method of producing ultrafine particles by vaporization comprising: vaporizing a target by sputtering; causing particles that fly from the target by vaporization to be deposited on an oil surface; and recovering the oil on which the flown particles have deposited to obtain individually dispersed ultrafine particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ultrafine particles, and to a method and an apparatus for producing the same. As used herein, the term "ultrafine particle" refers to fine particles having an average particle size ranging from 1 nm to 50 nm, that is, so-called "nano size particles" (occasionally referred to as "nano particles").
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various methods of producing ultrafine particles have been researched. Since nano particles having an average particle size of below dozens of nano meters cannot be obtained by grinding, build-up methods have been used. Primary examples of build-up methods can be divided into gas phase methods, such as condensation by evaporation and vapor phase reaction, and liquid phase methods, such as precipitation and desolvation.
As an example of a liquid phase method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-54012 discloses a method of forming, through reduction, magnetic nano crystals made of metals, intermetallic compounds and alloys. Although it is possible to obtain ultrafine particles having a relatively uniform particle size, the method has limitations in that raw materials must be dissolved as a solution and only a compound having a stoichiometric composition ratio is obtained.
When the gas phase method is used, a thin film can relatively easily be formed. However, various procedures are needed to recover a product in the form of nano particles. For example, JP-A No. 2001-35255 introduces silver or oxygen using in-gas evaporation to obtain nano particles of silver oxide. The Journal of Crystal Growth 45 (1978), pp. 490 to 494, proposes a method of producing ultrafine particles of higher purity by vacuum evaporation on a rheological oil surface (VEROS method). In this method, resistance overheating or an electron beam is used as the evaporation source. However, although these methods are suitable for forming particles made of a single-element of noble metals, it is difficult to produce ultrafine particles made of two or more metal elements. It is also the case that there is no effective way of producing nano particles of alloys having an arbitrary composition.
In the VEROS method described above, resistance overheating, an electron beam or the like is used for vaporization. In this method, when a multi-element base target is used, a problem arises in that, timing of evaporation may shift depending on a difference in a vapor pressure, whereby only giving single-element particles and failing to produce composite particles. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to use ion beams as vaporizing means to vaporize a multi-element base target having the form of molecules or an alloy. However, in this case, vaporization efficiency is poor and the apparatus cost is high. Further, these methods require a relatively high vacuum. In order to individually disperse fine particles, it is necessary to either discharge the vaporized molecules from the system before aggregation occurs or protect the surface, and for this purpose, a medium that adheres to the surfaces of particles must be present in the vacuum system. Consequently, there are problems in that the degree of vacuum is decreased and the vaporizing means cannot function in an ordinary manner.
As stated above, it is difficult to obtain nano size particles having a variety of compositions and applicable to various objects by liquid phase methods, and such nano size particles cannot be obtained by gas phase methods such as a CVD method. Because particles aggregate to form a film within one to several seconds even if ordinary sputtering is used, there is currently no specific method capable of producing nano size particles.
Moreover, when arranging nano particles in the form of a film, it is effective to coat a colloidal solution of nano particles. However, it is necessary to select a dispersing medium and a coating equipment suited for particle constituent elements. Although gas phase methods are known in which fine particles are recovered by causing vaporized particles to adhered to a dispersion medium, there is the problem that the particles easily coagulate when their concentration is high. There has also been a demand for a method of readily producing a stable colloidal solution of nano particles.

Ultrafine particles and method and apparatus for producing the same


A system and method for controlling information output based on user feedback about the information is provided that comprises a plurality of information sources providing information. The information sources may be electronic mail providers, chat participants, or page links. At least one neural network module selects one or more of a plurality of objects to receive information from the plurality of information sources based at least in part on a plurality of inputs and a plurality of weight values during that epoch. At least one server, associated with the neural network module, provides one or more of the objects to a plurality of recipients. The objects may comprise electronic mail messages, chat participants viewers, or slots within a link directory page. The recipients provide feedback about the information during an epoch. At the conclusion of an epoch, the neural network takes all of the feedback that has been provided from the recipients and generates a rating value for each of the plurality of objects. Based on the rating value and the selections made, the neural network redetermines the weight values within the network. The neural network then selects the objects to receive information during a subsequent epoch using the redetermined weight values and the inputs for that subsequent epoch.

With the proliferation of network connectivity between users of computer systems, a vast amount of information has become readily available to those users. Indeed, many call recent times the "information age" because of the ease of gaining access to information from homes and businesses throughout the world. As the amount of available information increases, users have become overwhelmed because they simply do not have enough time or sufficient resources to absorb all of that information in any meaningful way.
Accordingly, users have created information filters of various types in an attempt to filter through the large value of information to derive useful information. Some electronic mail receiving programs parse incoming messages and filter out messages based on content or the initiator of the message. Search engines have been created in an attempt to identify relevant web pages on the Internet out of the millions of such pages that exist and the vast numbers of new pages that are created on a daily basis.
These systems all suffer from various drawbacks. To filter based on some characteristic of an electronic mail message, the electronic mail filtering system requires that such attributes be determined beforehand and provided for the filtering. The filtering system then filters every message having designated attributes. That requires identification of those attributes that are to be excluded before being able to create the filter. It is often difficult to determine the proper attributes to be used as the basis for the filtering.
Similarly, in some existing chat rooms, a user may select participants from whom to receive information. Other persons are excluded, even if the information they might provide would be useful to that user and even if the other participants in the chat room find that information to be useful. Such selections are inflexible to changing circumstances and again, like the electronic mail example, require the user to select those participants to include or exclude from the chat room without regard to the substance of the contribution those participants will make.
In other situations, web pages may include a number of links to other web pages. Sometimes these pages may contain hundreds or thousands of links and often new links being added. It may be difficult for a user to find or remember the links that were previously useful the next time the user opens that link directory page with such a large volume of links.
Further, although search engines exist to enable users to locate pages based on key words contained in the page, these engines also suffer from drawbacks. Many pages incorporate a large volume of words so that those pages will provide "hits" to the search engines that include those words. Often the page may contain such words even though the subject matter of the page may have little or nothing to do with the words that are included. Inclusion of words in this manner may render current search engines less useful in identifying pages with information that is likely to be useful to the user.
Other drawbacks also exist with current systems.

Neural network system and method for controlling information output based on user feedback


An image forming apparatus includes: an image recording device having an eject tray on a top thereof, and recording an image on a recording medium corresponding to input image data and discharging the recording medium onto the eject tray; an image reading device mounted over the image recording device to read the image, thereby converting the image to image data, and output the image data to the image recording device; at least one support member supporting the image reading device to keep a predetermined interval between the eject tray and the image reading device; and a pivot unit to pivotally support one end of the support member.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the invention relate to an image forming apparatus and, more particularly, relate to an image forming apparatus including a printer which forms an image corresponding to input image data on a recording medium and discharges the recording medium bearing the image to an eject tray mounted at an upper part thereof, and a scanner which reads out the image above the eject tray.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-295411 discloses an image forming apparatus that includes an image recording device having an eject tray on an upper surface and an image scanner mounted above the eject tray. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the image forming apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-295411.
Referring to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a printer U2 formed with an eject tray TRh on the upper surface, an image scanner U3 having an operation panel PA provided at the upper part of a front surface, while being protruded forward, and a lower protruding part 16 provided at the longitudinal central part and rear part of a lower surface, while being protruded downward, a front part 17 of the lower surface, and a rack U1 connecting the printer U2 to the lower part and having a top plate U1a for supporting the image scanner U3 above the eject tray TRh on the upper surface of the printer U2.
In the above-structured conventional image forming apparatus, since a gap between the eject tray TRh and the image scanner U3 is open forward and transversely, the recording medium (not shown) discharged onto the eject tray can easily be taken out. However, the rack U1 formed as a cantilever, including the top plate U1a, is not stable enough to support the image scanner U3 so as not to droop. Factors that can cause the image scanner U3 to droop can include the weight of an automatic document feeder (ADF) which is mounted on the image scanner U3, the weight of document being scanned, and the weight of the image scanner U3, as well as a sudden impact by a user.
FIG. 2 shows the structure of another conventional image forming apparatus that includes a dedicated support member in relation to the above problem of droop in the image forming apparatus. Referring to FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus includes an image reading device 50S and an image recording device 50P. The image reading device 50S reads out image information from a document, whereas the image recording device 50P produces an image on a recording medium (not shown) according to the image information read by the image reading device 50S, by an electro-photographic system.
The image recording device 50P is equipped with an eject tray 51 onto which the recording medium bearing the image is discharged. The image reading device 50S is disposed apart from the eject tray 51 by a predetermined interval so as to provide a space for removing the recording medium. A dedicated support member 55 is further provided, herein, to prevent the image reading device 50S from being drooped by the weight of an ADF 53 which is mounted at one side of the image reading device 50S. However, the support member 55 can interfere in removing the recording medium from the eject tray 51.

Image forming apparatus including support member to maintain interval between eject tray and image reading device


The present invention is an optical pick-up system for use in an optical disk device including more efficient beam diffraction for tracking purposes. The system may be used for one or more types of optical disks (e.g., DVDs, CDs, CD-ROMs). The invention includes a system for use in a DVD player; however, the present invention is applicable to any optical disk device. The system invention includes a gray-scale grating, which provides more efficient diffraction of tracking and processing portions of the laser(s) used in optical disk devices.

Optical memory technology that uses optical disks having a pit pattern as high-density, large-capacity information storage media has been used in an increasingly expanded range of applications from digital audio disks to video disks, document file disks, and further to data files, etc. In recent years, a high-density optical disk such as a DVD-ROM using a visible red laser of wavelength of 630 nm to 670 nm as a light source has become prevalent. Furthermore, an optical disk (DVD-RAM) capable of high-density recording has been commercialized. A large capacity of digital data has been able to be recorded on an optical disk easily. Furthermore, CD-R that is highly compatible with CD technology, which has been used broadly, has been prevalent. CDs (CD, CD-R, CD-RW) have a base material thickness of about 1.2 mm, and DVDs (DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, or the like) have a base material thickness of about 0.6 mm. Throughout this document, the term optical disk is used generically to refer to optical storage disks such as DVDs and CDs.
Portable optical disk players (like DVD players and CD players) are becoming increasingly popular. Two of the important differentiating factors of these portable players are (1) small size and (2) lower power consumption. Small size contributes to lightweight portable devices that consumers want. Low power consumption allows for longer battery lifetimes of the devices. These longer battery lifetimes increase consumer satisfaction. A need exists for a way to make optical disk players that are smaller and use less power.
Current methods for reading optical disks include directing a laser upon the pits or bumps within the tracks of the optical disk. The majority of this beam (the "processing portion") is reflected off the optical disk and is incident upon photodetectors that then convert the photonic signal into an electric signal representing the bits stored on the optical disk. As the optical disk spins, it may wobble (especially in a portable player) and the processing portion of the beam may either go out of focus or off the track on the disk. A need exists for a way to ensure that the processing portion stays focused in the center of the track to ensure accurate reading of the disk.
In U.S. Patent Application No. 20030007436, entitled, "Optical pick-up, optical disk apparatus and information processing apparatus," this beam tracking is handled by diffracting a tracking portion of the laser with a binary grating, such that it is incident on the "land" of the optical disk between tracks. This tracking portion of the beam is reflected at a different angle and is measured with a separate photodetector than the processing portion. A problem remains that a third portion of the beam is lost due to inefficiencies in the binary grating. In one example, 75% of the beam is used for reading the disk, 9% of the beam is used for tracking, and 16% of beam energy is lost due to unused diffraction orders. If the lost energy could be utilized for either reading or tracking, a less powerful laser could be used within optical disk devices (like DVD/CD readers and writers), which would lower the costs of producing and operating these devices. Therefore, a need exists for a way to decrease the inefficiencies in diffracting a portion of the laser beam used in optical disk devices.
It is an object of this invention to make optical disk drives that are smaller and use less power.
It is another object of this invention to ensure that the processing portion stays focused in the center of the track to ensure accurate reading of the disk.
It is yet another object of the present invention to increase the efficiency of the optical path of the laser beams used in optical disk devices.
It is yet another object of the present invention to decrease the inefficiencies in diffracting a portion of the laser beam used in optical disk devices.

Optical pick-up system for use in an optical disk device including use of improved gratings with more efficient beam diffraction

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A multi-group transmission of a vehicle is arranged in a drivetrain and includes traction force support during gearshift operations. A clutch mechanism, including a frictional clutch and two shifting clutches is arranged between a drive motor with a driveshaft and a transmission input shaft, such that the driveshaft can be connected to the transmission input shaft by one shifting clutch in a first shift position in combination with the frictional clutch or in a second shift position with bridging of the frictional clutch, such that the driveshaft can be directly connected to a main transmission shaft by the other shifting clutch in a shift position in active combination with the frictional clutch. In a method for operating the transmission, the frictional clutch is controlled and operated in combination with the first shifting clutch as a starting clutch and with the second shifting clutch as an intermediate-gear clutch.

Multi-group transmissions consist of two or more transmission groups, usually arranged in series, by combining which a large number of gears can be produced. Increasingly, they are designed as automated gearshift transmissions consisting, for example of an input group, a main group and a downstream range group. Such transmissions are used in particular in utility vehicles since they provide an especially fine gradation of gears, for example with 12 or 16 gears, and are highly efficient. For a smaller number of gears configurations with only a main group and an input group or a main group and a range group are also possible. Furthermore, compared with manual gearshift transmissions they are characterized by high operating comfort and, compared with automatic transmissions, their production and operating costs are particularly economical.
By virtue of their structure conventional multi-group gearshift transmissions, like all manual or automated gearshift transmissions not shifted under load, undergo a traction force interruption during gearshifts since the force flow from the drive motor is always interrupted by disengaging a clutch in order to disengage the engaged gear without load, to synchronize the transmission and the drive motor in a neutral position to a connection speed, and then to engage the target gear. Since the vehicle is rolling during the traction force interruption undesired speed increases or speed decreases can occur. In addition the fuel consumption can increase. Whereas with passenger motor vehicles the traction force interruption, which affects the driving dynamics, is as a rule perceived only as annoying, for example during upshifts in a driving style of sporty orientation, in the case of medium-weight or heavy utility vehicles the driving speed can be reduced to the point where an upshift is made impossible and, on uphill stretches, undesired downshifts, creep-driving or even additional starting operations may be necessary.
From DE 10 2006 024 370 A1 by the present applicant a traction-force-supported automated multi-group transmission is known and has a splitter group as its input transmission, a main group as its basic transmission and a range group as its output or downstream transmission. The structure of this known multi-group transmission with its input group and the main group enables a direct gear to be engaged as an intermediate gear during a gear change. For this, a direct connection is temporarily formed between an input shaft of the input transmission and a main shaft of the main transmission by means of a change-under-load clutch. This renders the main transmission and the splitter group free from load, so that the engaged gear can be disengaged, the transmission synchronized and the target gear engaged. The change-under-load clutch transmits the motor torque to the transmission output, and a dynamic torque that is released during a speed reduction between the original and target gears is used to compensate for the traction force interruption to a large extent. A conventional, separate starting clutch, which can remain engaged during the gearshift operation, maintains the force flow between the drive motor and the input shaft. The change-under-load clutch can be positioned between the input group and the main transmission or between the starting clutch and the input group.
Moreover, from DE 195 48 622 C1 a countershaft gearshift transmission is known, in which a frictional clutch that can be driven by the drive motor, a claw clutch and a synchronous clutch are arranged between a drive motor and a transmission input. The input element of the frictional clutch can be connected by the claw clutch to a transmission input shaft. On the transmission input shaft are mounted fixed wheels of the 1st and 4th gears, which mesh with associated loose wheels on a parallel countershaft. The loose wheels can be connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the countershaft by synchronous clutches. For a 5th gear, conversely, the loose wheel is mounted on the transmission input shaft and the associated fixed wheel on the countershaft.
The output element of the friction clutch can be connected selectively by the synchronous clutch either to the transmission input shaft or to the loose wheel of the 5th gear. In a starting operation the synchronous clutch connects the frictional clutch to the transmission input shaft, from which the torque of the drive motor is transmitted via the gearset of the engaged 1st gear to the drive output of the countershaft.
After starting, the frictional clutch is disengaged and the claw clutch is engaged, i.e. the torque flow changes from the frictional clutch to the claw clutch. For a subsequent gearshift from 1st gear to 2nd gear the synchronous clutch is connected to the loose wheel of the 5th (the highest) gear and the frictional clutch is engaged. This removes load from the gearset of the 1st gear, whereupon the connection of the loose wheel of the 1st gear to the countershaft is released and the loose wheel of the 2nd gear is connected to the countershaft. The frictional clutch is then disengaged again, so that the torque flow is now passed on in 2nd gear via the claw clutch.
This known transmission enables gearshifts to be carried out without interruption of the traction force, and therefore performs the task it is intended for, especially in the starting range when changing from 1st gear to 2nd gear, namely to avoid torque interruptions. However, it is limited to five gears. But multi-group transmissions with 12 or more gears require further measures, not described in the document, in order to enable traction-force-supported shift sequences of the transmission groups.

Multi-group transmission of a motor vehicle


A system and method for enabling the operation of intervendor and intravendor messaging service systems within an operator network includes correctly routing data messages and handshaking messages between the various system components. In one aspect, the present invention uses the uniform resource identifier of a particular messaging system to route one or more handshaking messages from a target terminal to the particular messaging system. In another aspect, the present invention uses a message transaction identification embedded in the handshaking message to direct the handshaking message to the correct messaging service system. In one embodiment, the transaction identification is analyzed by a load balancing switch to determine the location of the particular messaging service system. In another embodiment, one or more of the several messaging service systems in the operator network are used to analyze the transaction identification to determine the location of the particular messaging service system.

The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Computer networks, television networks, and telephony networks are experiencing an unprecedented technological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.
Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate ease of information transfer and convenience to users. The proliferation of local, regional, and global networks, such as the Internet, has made available to users a vast sea of information. These networking technologies have expanded to increasingly include wireless and mobile technologies. Through these networks, messaging information can be transferred between desktop systems, wireless systems, mobile systems, etc. For example, multimedia messaging information available via the Internet can now be transferred between mobile wireless units, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, etc. Multimedia messaging information may also be transferred between mobile units and email servers.
One such technology facilitating the transfer of Internet content to and from wireless devices is the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), which integrates the Internet and other networks with wireless network platforms. Generally, WAP is a set of protocols that accounts for characteristics and functionality of both Internet standards and standards for wireless services. It is independent of wireless network standards, and is designed as an open standard. WAP bridges the gap between the wireline Internet paradigm and the wireless domain, which allows wireless device users to enjoy the benefits of the Internet across both platforms.
Second generation wireless service, often referred to as 2G wireless service, is a current wireless service based on circuit-switched technology. 2G systems, such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Personal Communications Services (PCS), use digital radio technology for improved quality and a broader range of services over first generation mobile technologies. 3G, or third generation, refers to a set of digital technologies that promises improvements in capacity, speed, and efficiency by deploying new packet-based transmission methodologies between terminals and the network. Users of 3G devices and networks will have access to multimedia services such as video-on-demand, video conferencing, fast WEB access and file transfer.
The demand for multimedia messaging between mobile terminals and between mobile wireless devices and internet-connected devices is increasing. It is often desirable or necessary to operate two or more messaging systems within one operator network. The two or mores messaging systems may include messaging systems of one vendor, or the messaging systems of several vendors. The present mobile communication standards, such as those disseminated by the WAP forum and 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), lack the option of supporting several messaging systems in one operator network.
There is a need in the communications industry for a system and method providing a standardized approach to facilitate the operation of multiple messaging systems in an operator network. There exists a further need for such a system and method that is capable of supporting legacy mobile terminals that do not comply with newer standardized solutions. The present invention provides a solution to these and other shortcomings of the prior art, and offers additional advantages over the prior art.

System and method for operating intravendor and intervendor messaging systems


A hand held spectrometer is used to illuminate the object and measure the one or more spectra. The spectral data of the object can be used to determine one or more attributes of the object. In many embodiments, the spectrometer is coupled to a database of spectral information that can be used to determine the attributes of the object. The spectrometer system may comprise a hand held communication device coupled to a spectrometer, in which the user can input and receive data related to the measured object with the hand held communication device. The embodiments disclosed herein allow many users to share object data with many people, in order to provide many people with actionable intelligence in response to spectral data.

Spectrometers are used for many purposes. For example spectrometers are used in the detection of defects in industrial processes, satellite imaging, and laboratory research. However these instruments have typically been too large and too costly for the consumer market.
Spectrometers detect radiation from a sample and process the resulting signal to obtain and present information about the sample that includes spectral, physical and chemical information about the sample. These instruments generally include some type of spectrally selective element to separate wavelengths of radiation received from the sample, and a first-stage optic, such as a lens, to focus or concentrate the radiation onto an imaging array.
The prior spectrometers can be less than ideal in at least some respects. Prior spectrometers having high resolution can be larger than ideal for use in many portable applications. Also, the cost of prior spectrometers can be greater than would be ideal. The prior spectrometers can be somewhat bulky, difficult to transport and the optics can require more alignment than would be ideal in at least some instances.
Although prior spectrometers with decreased size have been proposed, the prior spectrometers having decreased size and optical path length can have less than ideal resolution, sensitivity and less accuracy than would be ideal.
Data integration of prior spectrometers with measured objects can be less than ideal in at least some instances. For example, although prior spectrometers can provide a spectrum of a measured object, the spectrum may be of little significance to at least some users. It would be helpful if a spectrum of a measured object could be associated with attributes of the measured object that are useful to a user. For example, although prior spectrometers may be able to measure sugar, it would be helpful if a spectrometer could be used to determine the sweetness of an object such as an apple. Many other examples exist where spectral data alone does not adequately convey relevant attributes of an object, and it would be helpful to provide attributes of an object to a user in response to measured spectral data.
In light of the above, it an improved spectrometer and interpretation of spectral data that overcomes at least some of the above mentioned deficiencies of the prior spectrometers would be beneficial. Ideally such a spectrometer would be a compact, integrated with a consumer device such as a cellular telephone, sufficiently rugged and low in cost to be practical for end-user spectroscopic measurements of items, convenient to use. Further, it would be helpful to provide attribute data of many objects are related to the spectral data of the objects to many people.

Spectrometry systems, methods, and applications


An operability verification apparatus includes a work plane generation section that generates a work plane on a virtual space where a three-dimensional model of an equipment to be verified is disposed; a plane display section where a two-dimensional image on a work plane generated in the work plane generation section of the three-dimensional model is displayed on the display screen; and a mark display update section in which a mark representative of the pointing device is displayed on the display screen, and upon receipt of the notification of direction of movement and migration length of the pointing device, the mark on the display screen is moved in the direction of the movement corresponding to the direction of the movement of the pointing device by only a migration length in which a ratio of a real size of the equipment to a display size of the two-dimensional image on the display screen is considered.

In recent years, three-dimensional data making of the device design is advanced, and when an operability such as convenience and the usability of the device wherein it is designing or design ends is verified, the verification on a virtual space is done. That is, the operability of the device is verified by displaying the image of three dimension model of the device on a display screen of computers and the like. Because the size of the device on the virtual space (size of the image of three dimension model on the display screen) is different from an actual size of the device, it tries to make the operator recognize the feeling of the device by displaying the size on the numerical value and the scale in the image of the device on the display screen generally so far.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a state where an operator is verifying the operability of the equipment on a virtual space. FIG. 2 is a view showing a display image in a monitor.
Here, a monitor 12 for the image display is put on a desk 11 as shown in FIG. 1, and the operability of the equipment displayed in the monitor is being verified by an operator 1.
FIG. 2 shows an example of the display image on the monitor 12 at that. Here, an ATM is assumed as an equipment to be verified. Size d of an actual ATM is written in the display image shown in FIG. 2, so that those who operate it see size d written in the display image, ideally imagine the size of the ATM, and imagine the operability where the arm is extended, for instance.
However, according to such a verification method, there is a need for an operator to grasp the distance feeling and the scale feeling depending on only ideal information like the numerical value and the scale, and thus such a verification method is an insufficient verification method in the point that the operator experiences the operability of the equipment.
As a verification method by which the operability of the equipment can be experienced, there is known a method of using a so-called virtual reality that the technique of the motion capture that detects the operator's operation is adopted, to make a model to imitate the human body on a virtual space (on the display screen) appear, and to make the model imitate the movement of the operator detected by the motion capture, thereby performing verification while seeing a positional relation between the image of the device on the display screen and the image of the human body model image. According to this verification method, an operator's model appears in a virtual space, and the same movement as operator's movement is made, so that the operator can experience the operability of the equipment. This verification method is often adopted for the operability verification of the product.
However, to adopt such a verification method, there is a need to use special equipment as the motion capture that detects the operator's operation. Such special equipment is very expensive, and it needs a large occupation space when using it. Thus, this involves a problem that the operability verification is not easily performed.
Japanese Patent Document 1: TokuKaiHei.6-348791 proposes a method in which a model on a real space to imitate an operation section of equipment is prepared, and the movement of an operator's finger when the operator operates the model is detected, and informs an operability evaluation device of the detected movement, so that the operability of the model of the equipment in the virtual space constructed in the operability evaluation device is evaluated.
However, according to the method of Japanese Patent Document 1, there is a need to install in an operator's finger a sensor for detecting the movement of the finger, and it belongs to the above-mentioned motion capture, and it is the motion capture of a simple version. Therefore, the equipment to be evaluated in operability will be limited.
Japanese Patent Document 2: TokuKaiHei.7-110804 proposes a technique of evaluating operability for various types of users in such a manner that an operation section of the equipment is displayed on a display screen, and it is displayed with changing a red lamp to a green lamp assuming that it is operated by the user of color blindness, or it is displayed with making the position of the operation button right and left opposite, assuming that it is operated by a left-handedness user.
The evaluating method of Japanese Patent Document 2 has an effective point in the evaluation when only the operation section is taken out. However, according to the evaluating method of Japanese Patent Document 2, the operation section is simply displayed by various variations, and it is difficult to experience operability, and the operability is greatly different depending on an arrangement position of the operation section in the entire equipment. Thus, the evaluating method of Japanese Patent Document 2 is not suitable for the evaluation in this respect.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an operability verification method and an operability verification apparatus that need not adopt special input device, and can experience operability of equipment easily and at a low price.

Operability verification apparatus, operability verification method, and computer-readable storage medium storing operability verification program


A breath alcohol ignition interlock device includes a mock beverage housing including at least one of breath alcohol electronics and a hand held breath alcohol analyzer therein, a mouthpiece in fluid communication with an alcohol sensor associated with the at least one of breath alcohol electronics and a hand held breath alcohol analyzer and a vent exhausting breath from the mock beverage housing. The mock beverage container housing can be disguised as a coffee cup, a fountain drink cup, a soda can, and a soft drink bottle. The mouthpiece can be disguised as a coffee cup lid, a fountain drink cup straw, a soda can opening, and a soft drink bottle top. A wireless communication module can support data synchronization and communications between the device and a base station installed within a motor vehicle.

An ignition interlock device or a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (IID and BIID) is a breathalyzer (breath analyzer) installed on or around the dashboard of a vehicle, often as required by law following a DUI conviction. The ignition interlock device prevents a vehicle from starting until the driver successfully passes a blood alcohol concentration test. Before the vehicle will start, the driver must blow into the BAC tester. If the breath test shows a driver's BAC to be above a set limit, usually around 0.02-0.04%, the starter on the car vehicle will lock and the driver can't use the vehicle. If a driver's BAC is below that level, then the vehicle will start and operate normally.
IIDs are often issued as part of the mandatory punishment for a DUI/DWI conviction. A single DUI conviction could require that one of these systems be installed in the offender's car. If required by the court of law as part of a conviction or plea bargain, the DUI offender will also be responsible for paying for the installation and monthly usage fees for the devices, which may cost hundreds of dollars. Alcohol detection devices can also include a camera to record the user of the system during its use and ensure that a driver is using the system. Wireless (cellular) reporting to remote monitoring stations is also being promoted and suggested for state adoption by breathalyzer system manufacturing companies.
Although breathalyzer systems can ensure public safety and deter future offenses by DUI offenders, their installation, albeit temporary, is unsightly and can be embarrassing to offenders. Many DUI offenders feel remorseful about the offense, willingly comply with terms of conviction or a plea that includes breathalyzer use and are otherwise law-abiding citizens. Compliance with breathalyzer usage to ensure sober vehicle operation is the only written purpose by states and municipality that legally require the installation of such systems in offender vehicles. Public embarrassment of offenders (especially first offenders), however, is not affirmatively written into legislation for jurisdictions mandating the use of breathalyzer systems.
For the foregoing reasons, the present inventor believes that DUI offenders that are required to pay for the installation and use of ignition interlock devices should also be able to disguise the user interface portion of such systems during a court-mandated period of use.

Beverage disguise for hand held breathalyzer interface of ignition interlock device


A generator structure includes a lower compartment, an upper compartment, and an intake duct. The lower compartment is configured to support and house at least an alternator and an engine. The upper compartment configured to support and house and at least one cooling device configured to cool the lower compartment. The upper compartment and the lower compartment are vertically arranged. The intake duct is integrated with the lower compartment and includes an upper pathway duct and a lower pathway duct. The upper pathway duct provides a path of air to at least an intake of the engine and the lower pathway ducts provides a path of air to at least cool the alternator.

Generators are used in a variety of applications to provide electrical power when power from a power grid is unavailable or not desired. Generators may be used in both commercial and residential settings. In both instances, the generator may be placed outside, adjacent to a building structure or other structure requiring electrical power. In certain instances, the available area to place the generator system may be limited or it may be desired to limit square footage when utilized for a generator system.


A magnetic bias apparatus for generating a magnetic field for recording or erasing information in the magnetooptical disk drive apparatus is disclosed. The magnetic bias apparatus has a permanent magnet for generating a bias magnetic field which is rotatable about a rotating axis, a coil for rotating the permanent magnet and a circuit for driving the coil. The central axis of the coil is directed toward the rotating axis parallel to the plane of a magnetoptical disk and perpendicular to a plane of the permanent magnet defined by the two poles and extending through the central axis. The apparatus can be constructed in a reduced height while the permanent magnet can be rapidly rotated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic bias apparatus for a magnetooptical disk drive apparatus in which information is recorded on and erased from a recording medium using the magnetooptical effect.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The technique of magnetooptically recording information on a recording medium such as a disk has drawn great attention. A magnetooptical recording apparatus using this technique is provided with a magnetic bias apparatus which is disposed in a position opposite to an optical head.
FIG. 11 diagrammatically recording apparatus. The prior art magnetooptical recording apparatus. The apparatus of FIG. 11 comprises a motor 1a for rotating a magnetooptical disk 1, an optical head 2, and a magnetic bias apparatus A which faces the optical head 2 through the disk 1. The optical head 2 includes an object lens 2a, and a semiconductor laser device (not shown). The magnetic bias apparatus A has a permanent magnet 3, and a coil 4 which is arranged above the magnet 3 (i.e., above the N-pole of the magnet). The magnet 3 is rotatable about an axis 3a. When data erasing is performed. The S-pole of the magnet 3 is directed as shown in FIG. 11 to face the disk 1 so as to produce a magnetic field of a predetermined direction, and a light beam emitted from the optical head 2 is converged onto the disk 1, thereby erasing data stored on the disk 1. When data is to be recorded on the disk 1, the coil 4 is driven to rotate the magnet 3 about the axis 3a by a half turn, so that the N-pole faces the disk 1 and a magnetic field of a direction opposite to the predetermined direction is applied to the disk 1. Then, a light beam modulated in accordance with the data to be recorded is converged onto the disk 1 to record the data on the disk. Alternatively, the relationships of the directions of the magnetic fields may be inverted, in other words, the magnet 3 may be positioned so that when data is to be erased the N-pole faces the disk 1 and when data is to be recorded the S-pole faces the disk 1.
It is desirable that a magnetooptical recording apparatus should be as small and as thin as possible. For this reason, it is necessary for a magnetic bias apparatus also to be made as thin as possible. In an apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 11, the coil 4 for reversing the direction of the magnetic field is positioned above the permanent magnet 3, and therefore the magnetic bias apparatus cannot be thinly constructed.
FIG. 12 illustrates another magnetic bias apparatus. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 12, the coil 4 and the permanent magnet 3 are juxtaposed in parallel so that the overall height of the apparatus can be decreased. Although the apparatus shown in FIG. 12 can solve the above-mentioned problem, it has another problem in that the coil 4 generates the magnetic flux as shown in FIG. 12, and therefore the rotating force f which is caused by the magnetic field of the coil 4 and acts on the magnet 3 is extremely small, resulting in that a significant amount of time is required for rotating the magnet 3 or the response characteristic of the magnetic bias apparatus is poor.

Reduced height magnetic bias apparatus for a magnetooptical disk drive including a coil means having a central axis perpendicular to the rotating axis of a rotatable magnet

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A display apparatus is disclosed. The display apparatus includes: a transparent display, a scanner comprising a lens array and attached to the transparent display and a controller configured to control the scanner to scan an object viewed through the transparent display using the lens array being slid from a side of the transparent display to another side opposite to the side, and control the transparent display to display information in response to the scanning of the object.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to a display apparatus and a controlling method thereof, and more specifically, to a display apparatus including a transparent display and a controlling method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Development of electronic technologies has enabled introduction of various types of display apparatus. Particularly, recent researches regarding next-generation display apparatuses such as a transparent display apparatus have been increasingly discussed.
A "transparent display apparatus" refers to an apparatus having a transparent property that enables one to see things behind the transparent display apparatus. In related art, non-transparent semiconductor compounds such as Si or GaAs are used in manufacturing a display panel. However, efforts for developing a new type of electronic component have been made. One of the results from these efforts is a transparent display apparatus.
A transparent display apparatus is implemented by including transparent oxide semiconductor layers which provide a transparent property. Thus, if a transparent display apparatus is used, a user can view both the screen provided from a transparent display apparatus and real objects placed at the back of the apparatus. Therefore, the present inventive concept may overcome spatial and time limitations of the related-art display apparatuses, and there is a need to utilize these apparatuses.

Display apparatus and control method thereof


A demodulator with a filter having a reduced number of filter taps without a sacrifice in filter accuracy. The demodulator includes elements that generate a data stream that carries a component of an input signal in response to a data stream that carries samples of the input signal. The demodulator also includes elements that generate a sample clock for sampling the input signal such that the sample clock is preselected to cause the data stream that carries the component to carry alternating samples that are substantially equal to zero. The filter in the demodulator has a set of filter taps which are arranged to tap only the samples in the data stream that carries the component that are not substantially equal to zero.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of communication systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a reduced-tap filter in a demodulator.
2. Art Background
Communication systems commonly employ signal modulation to generate an information signal which is suitable for transmission via a communication channel. Such a communication system usually includes a transmitting station having a modulator that generates the information signal and a receiving station having a demodulator that extracts the information carried by the information signal. The information in an information signal is usually carried as a sequence of symbols each of which is defined by an amplitude component and a frequency component.
In addition, prior demodulators typically include one or more filters. For example, prior demodulators usually include one or more matched filters which are provided to filter the amplitude and frequency components so as to reduce interference among successive symbols in the information signal. Interference between successive symbols is commonly referred to as inter-symbol interference.
Prior filters are commonly implemented with a series of delay circuits that provide a series of filter taps and a multiplier and an adder for each filter tap. Typically, the multipliers are used to multiply the signal provided by each filter tap by a corresponding filter coefficient and the adders are used to accumulate the results and provide an output signal for the filter.
The accuracy of a prior filter usually increases as the number of filter taps increases. However, as the number of filter taps increases so does the number of multipliers and adders. Unfortunately, an increase in the number of multipliers and adders increases the integrated circuit die space required to implement a filter and increases the overall cost of a communication system.


Provided are a display module and a display apparatus. The display module includes: sub-pixels arranged in an array along a first direction and a second direction; and an array substrate including an underlay substrate, a fingerprint recognition unit, and a first light-shielding layer. The fingerprint recognition unit includes a photosensitive semiconductor layer, and an orthographic projection of the photosensitive semiconductor layer on a plane of the underlay substrate is located between two adjacent sub-pixels along the second direction. The first light-shielding layer is located on a side of the photosensitive semiconductor layer close to the underlay substrate, and an orthographic projection of the first light-shielding layer on a plane of the photosensitive semiconductor layer completely covers the photosensitive semiconductor layer, and along the first direction, a length of the first light-shielding layer is larger than or equal to twice a length of each of the plurality of sub-pixels.

In recent years, with the continuous development of the display technology, more display apparatuses adopt fingerprint recognition for the purpose of user privacy protection. When operating the display apparatus with a fingerprint recognition function, the user only needs to touch a display screen with a finger to realize permission verification, which is relatively simple.
With respect to the display apparatus adopting the optical fingerprint recognition technology, during the process of fingerprint recognition, light emitted by a light source is reflected, via a touch body such as a finger, into a fingerprint recognition unit. The fingerprint recognition unit recognizes fingerprint based on a difference in light intensity of the reflected light at positions of valleys and ridges of the fingerprint. However, based on structures of the existing display apparatuses, during the process of fingerprint recognition, in addition to the reflected light reflected by the fingerprint to the fingerprint recognition unit, light that is not reflected by the fingerprint, i.e., light that cannot reflect fingerprint information, may also enter the fingerprint recognition unit, affecting accuracy of fingerprint recognition.

Display module including light-shielding layer, and display apparatus

Xiamen Tianma Micro-Electronics Co., Ltd


The invention relates to a composition mixture comprising (i) at least one ester-acid, ester-salt or mixtures thereof and (ii) at least one amidic-acid, amidic-salt or mixtures thereof a polymer fabrics treated with the same. The treated polymer fabrics have improved wicking/wetting characteristics. The treated polymer fabrics maintain these characteristics upon repeated exposure to aqueous fluids.

Polymer fabrics are extensively used in a wide variety of products, ranging from disposable towel sheets to sanitary napkins and from disposable diapers to surgical sponges. All these applications involve the absorption of water or aqueous liquids (urine, blood, lymph, spills of coffee, tea, milk, etc.). The fabrics must have good wicking properties, i.e., water must be readily taken up and spread.
Polymer fabrics are generally hydrophobic. It is desirable to improve the wicking/wetting ability of the polymer fabrics. Often wetting agents are used to improve the ability of the polymer fabric to pass water and bodily fluids through the polymer fabric and into an absorbent layer. Further, it is desirable that the polymer fabric maintain its wicking/wetting characteristics after repeated exposure to water or aqueous liquids.

Composition and polymer fabrics treated with the same


A cable tuner front end circuit is disclosed for receiving a radio frequency television input signal and for selectively amplifying the signal in dependence upon a predetermined level of the tuner circuit output signal. The tuner front end circuit having first and second radio frequency paths, where in dependence upon the predetermined level of the output signal, the input signal either propagating along the first path without amplification or the input signal propagating along the second path with low noise amplification. Such that, when amplification is not required the amplifier circuit is disabled thereby offering a savings in tuner circuit power consumption.

Television and data signals travel over coaxial cable. These signals are transmitted as radio frequency (RF) signals, and are approximately in the range of 50 MHZ to over 860 MHz. These RF signals are either analog or digital in nature, and tuner circuits are used for tuning into one of the channels within the RF signal. They typically require low distortion, low noise figure, low phase noise, 2nd and 3rd order filters. Filtering by the filters is required over the entire dynamic range of the approximately 10 dB RF input signal range. Desensitization of the filter, due to interference, also needs to be kept at a minimum. Ideally prior to filtering, a low noise figure front-end provides amplification of the RF signal prior to tuning. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,761 a low noise amplifier circuit is disclosed which can handle a wide frequency range as well as provide a wide amplification range.
Unfortunately, filters that provide 2nd and 3rd order filtering over this wide dynamic range suffer from a tradeoff between speed and power consumption. In order to handle broadband signals the tuner requires more power since a faster, more linear, circuit is required, where faster circuits consume more power and slower circuits consume less. Consequently, as the bandwidth for TV and data signals increases, the power consumption of the tuners increases. High linearity is needed for high bandwidth operation within the frequency band This increases heat dissipation and therefore is undesirable. It is also undesirable due to newer applications for tuners requiring lower power consumptions, such as telephone signal transmission via television cable networks.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a tuner circuit which offers a highly linear output signal having a low noise figure at low signal levels while advantageously keeping tuner power consumption to a minimum.

High linearity, low noise figure tuner front end circuit


A vehicle includes an axle which is connected with steerable vehicle wheels and is movable relative to a body of the vehicle with the steerable vehicle wheels. A rack and pinion steering mechanism is fixedly connected with the axle and is movable with the axle relative to the body of the vehicle. A shaft assembly connects the rack and pinion steering mechanism with a vehicle steering wheel. The length of the shaft assembly can be varied to accommodate movement of the rack and pinion steering mechanism and the axle relative to the body of the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a new and improved vehicle steering system and more specifically to a vehicle steering system in which a rack and pinion steering mechanism is fixedly connected with an axle of the vehicle for movement therewith relative to a body of the vehicle.
Four wheel drive vehicles may have a solid axle across the front of the vehicle. During operation of the vehicle, a wheel of the vehicle may encounter a bump or depression in the road. When this occurs, the wheel of the vehicle moves relative to the body of the vehicle. An end of the axle connected with the wheel of the vehicle also moves relative to the body of the vehicle.
In the past, vehicle steering mechanisms have been mounted on the body of the vehicle so that the axle moves relative to the steering mechanism and the body of the vehicle when the wheel of the vehicle encounters a bump or depression in the road. The body mounted steering mechanism is connected with the vehicle wheels by a linkage assembly. Relative movement between components of the linkage assembly has resulted in undesirable lash or play in the linkage.


A visual disk-capacity indicator for indicating to a user an approximate amount of disk space available for recording data on a floppy disk is located proximate a peripheral edge of a cartridge housing the floppy disk. The visual disk-capacity indicator includes a transparent window that provides visual access to an indicator needle. The window includes indicia showing various capacity levels ranging from empty to full. The indicator needle has a first end slidably engaged with a first guide rail and a second end slidably engaged with a second guide rail to maintain a longitudinal axis of the indicator needle in a parallel relation with the indicia. An access opening at the peripheral edge of the cartridge proximate the visual disk-capacity indicator allows a small external arm to enter the cartridge to adjust the indicator needle. The indicator needle may also be adjusted by magnetic member.

The present invention relates generally to a floppy disk cartridge. More particularly, the present invention relates to a floppy disk cartridge having a visual disk-capacity indicator for indicating an amount of disk space available for recording on an attached floppy disk recording medium.
With the widespread use of computers in the "information Age" currently taking place, floppy disks have become common devices for storing data to and from computers. Floppy disks are generally small in size, lightweight, reasonably inexpensive, and can store well over 1 Mbyte of information on each disk. Floppy disks are also easily transferred from one computer to another, and therefore are a convenient means to transfer data between various computers without requiring a network system or a modem device.
One of the most common types of floppy disks is the so-called 3.5-inch floppy disk. A perspective view of a typical 3.5-inch floppy disk 1 is shown in FIG. 1. A disk-shaped recording medium 2 is housed in a rigid cartridge 3 that provides reasonable protection from inadvertent physical damage. The cartridge 3 is formed of an upper half 31 and a lower half 32 and includes a sliding cover plate 6 that selectively covers an aperture 5 in the upper half 31 of the cartridge 3 for accessing an upper side of the recording medium 2 housed therein. The cover plate 6 provides limited access to the recording medium 2 housed in the cartridge 3. A spring mechanism 7 biases the cover plate 6 to a normally closed position covering the aperture 5. When the floppy disk cartridge is inserted into a disk drive unit, the cover plate 6 is moved to expose the aperture 5 and a portion of the recording medium 2.
In order to determine how much disk space is available for recording in a typical floppy disk, such as that shown in FIG. 1, a user must insert the floppy disk into the disk drive of a computer and then input commands instructing the computer to electronically access the recording medium in the floppy disk to retrieve information on the amount of disk space available for recording data. The computer responds by displaying the information on a display monitor.

Visual disk-capacity indicator for disk recording systems


A semiconductor device of the SOP type packaged on a lead frame and separated individually is fed into a lead-forming position by a holder, and the distal ends of leads arrayed on one side of the semiconductor device are imaged by a camera. The image data from the camera is processed by a recognition unit, which outputs the actual position of the semiconductor device. If the recognized actual position is different from the position to start forming leads, then a controller actuates the holder to eliminate the positional error and to position the semiconductor accurately in the lead-forming position. Based on data corresponding to the type of the semiconductor device, the lead bases of the leads are held by a lead-fixing finger assembly, and the distal end portions of the leads are bent arcuately by a lead-forming finger assembly, thereby forming the leads to a predetermined shape. Then, the leads on the opposite side of the semiconductor device are similarly formed to shape after the semiconductor device has been turned 180.degree. by the holder. To form the leads arrayed on four sides of a semiconductor device of the QFP type, two arrays of leads are simultaneously formed to shape by lead-forming devices disposed one on each side of the lead-forming position, and then two other arrays of leads are simultaneously formed by the lead-forming assemblies. Therefore, the leads can be formed to shape in two cycles of operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming leads of a semiconductor device to a predetermined bent shape, and more particularly to a method of forming leads of a semiconductor device such as of the QFP (Quad Flat Package) or SOP (Small Outline Package) type.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a conventional process of forming leads of a semiconductor device. As shown in FIG. 1, semiconductor device 1 packaged on a lead frame is placed in die assembly 10 by a feeder (not shown). Then, press 11 is actuated to close die assembly 10, thereby forming separate leads 12 extending from the lead frame to a predetermined shape. Specifically, when press 11 is actuated, lead holders 9 hold lead bases, or proximal lead ends, against die 8, and then punches 7 press leads 12 downwardly against die 8. Leads 12 are sandwiched between and plastically deformed to the desired shape by punches 7 and die 8. Punches 12 and die 8 are dimensioned to press leads 12 to the final shape when punches 12 are displaced toward die 8.
Conventional die assembly 10 needs to be newly manufactured and the dimensions of the pressing components have to be measured each time semiconductor devices of different package sizes are fabricated. Die assembly 10 is expensive, e.g., it costs 2 million to 4.5 million yen, and it takes a long period of time, e.g., 2 to 4 months for the die manufacturer to supply a new die assembly to the semiconductor manufacturer. The long period of time required to manufacture die assemblies has been a bottleneck in the development of new semiconductor devices.
The recent trend of the semiconductor industry is toward the fabrication of small quantities of semiconductor devices of many different types. Since the number of semiconductor devices per lot s small, e.g., several hundred or less, according to this fabrication practice, the time required to produce one lot of semiconductor devices with one die assembly is short, resulting in frequent die assembly replacement (one replacement process takes about 20 minutes). Accordingly, the availability of the semiconductor fabrication system is lowered, as is the productivity thereof. Another problem of an increased number of die assemblies used is that a large floor space is required to store the die assemblies in the factory, and hence the efficiency of factory floor utilization becomes poor.
When leads 12 are formed by die assembly 10, solder-plated layers are scraped off leads 12 because they are held in abrasive engagement with punches 7 and die 8. The scraped solder particles are attached to leads 12, tending to develop a short circuit when semiconductor device 1 is put to use.

Method of forming leads of semiconductor device to shape


A container includes a container body for receiving a liquid, a locking connector, a pump unit and a depressible head assembly. The locking connector includes a locking ring threadedly disposed on a top portion of the container body, a dosage guide ring protruding upwardly from the locking ring, and at least one dosage guide unit. The pump unit extends downwardly into the container body and is drivenable to move in a top-bottom direction so as to draw the liquid in the container body. The depressible head assembly includes a depressible head for driving the pump unit to move in the top-bottom direction, and a biasing member abutting against the depressible head and the locking connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a container, more particularly to a container including a depressible head assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A skincare solution is generally received in a container with a depressible head so as to conveniently draw the skincare solution by depressing the depressible head. However, the conventional container with the depressible head is unable to quantitatively draw the skincare solution. When a user intends to have access to the skincare solution received in the conventional container with the depressible head, he or she has to carefully control the extent of depression of the depressible head so as to obtain the desired amount of the skincare solution. However, it is quite often to draw an excessive or insufficient amount. Thus, there is still a need for further improvement on quantitatively controlling the amount to be drawn of the content received in a container with a depressible head.

Container including a depressible head assembly


The present invention relates to a nucleic acid for vaccine that has undergone codon optimization for expression in Bombyx mori, a vector comprising the nucleic acid, Bombyx mori comprising the vector, and a method for producing a vaccine in which they are used.

The deployment of vaccine countermeasures against human diseases is currently an issue of critical importance. For example, the following problems have occurred with respect to influenza. Although the proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) are present on the surface of influenza virus particles, there are 16 types of HA subtypes and 9 types of NA subtypes, and all of these subtypes are present in birds. Among these, highly virulent (highly pathogenic) viruses that kill large numbers of birds are limited to the H5 and H7 subtypes. Influenza caused by a virulent virus having the H5 subtype was first discovered in 1961 in South Africa after spreading among sea birds in the form of the common term. Since then, the virus spread throughout the US in 1983 and 1984, spread to chickens and humans in Hong Kong in 1997, and has since spread throughout all regions of the world. An inactivated whole-virus vaccine for use in humans and chickens has already been developed for the purpose of its prevention. Moreover, the H7 virus, which demonstrates potent virulence in birds, spread throughout the world starting in 1927. It was responsible for a large number of human victims in the Netherlands in the latter half of the 1980s in particular, and after the H7N7 virus had spread to domestic poultry in 2003 as well, it was confirmed to have infected 89 persons and caused 1 death. Subsequent surveys revealed that 59% of persons who had contact with infected poultry were antibody-positive and it is estimated that at least 1,000 people were infected. Moreover, the avian influenza that occurred in China starting in March 2013 also spread to humans, and its cause was determined to be an attenuated strain of the H7N9 subtype.
In addition, hepatitis C virus not only induces symptoms of acute hepatitis through its infection, but also plays a significant negative role in chronic hepatitis and the subsequent onset of cirrhosis and its subsequent escalation to liver cancer. There are two types of viral hepatitis, consisting of that in which infection spreads by oral infection and that which infects through the blood, with the latter being represented by hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. Although vaccines have recently come to be able to be used for hepatitis B virus, with respect to hepatitis C, although there has been considerable progress in the area of chemotherapy, there is still no definitive treatment that is effective against all virus strains, and although research is being aggressively conducted primarily in advanced nations, there is essentially no vaccine that can be provided for practical use.
The causative virus of Japanese encephalitis is a virus that was isolated in Japan in 1935, and there were numerous patients of this disease in Japan at the time. Subsequently, a vaccine inoculation was developed in 1954, after which the number of patients decreased dramatically to the extent that fewer than 10 patients per year have been reported since 1992. However, this does not mean that the virus is no longer present in Japan. Although Japanese encephalitis is thought to infect humans from pigs by being transmitted by mosquitoes, the serum of a large number of pigs in Japan are positive for anti-Japanese encephalitis antibody even at present. In addition, in looking overseas, patients having this disease occur at the rate of 35,000 to 50,000 patients annually, primarily in Asia, with about 10,000 to 15,000 fatalities, thus making this an important infectious disease that requires countermeasures. Inoculation with the vaccine currently used in Japan began in 2009, and is considered to have fewer adverse side-effects than previous vaccines. However, two fatalities from this disease were reported in 2012 in patients who had received inoculations against the disease. In consideration of these circumstances, there is clearly an urgent need to develop a vaccine that is inexpensive and demonstrates few adverse side-effects.
Japan, along with the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Sweden, is one of the exceptional countries where there are no outbreaks of rabies. Outbreaks have occurred in other countries, and these outbreaks cause 30,000 to 50,000 deaths annually. Rabies virus is able to propagate in numerous wild animals, and it is necessary to introduce immunity into wild animals in order to completely prevent rabies. Live vaccines using recombinant vaccinia virus have been effective and are currently attracting attention. However, although problems have yet to be reported at present, the possibility cannot be denied that the wide-ranging introduction of live vaccines into the natural world will lead to unexpected results. Thus, there is a desire for the development of an inexpensive and effective oral inactivated vaccine.
The West Nile virus was first isolated in Uganda in 1935. The infection cycle of this virus exists between birds and mosquitoes and human may occasionally be infected by mosquitoes. Although the rate at which an infected person exhibits symptoms is about 80%, patients with the disease exhibit serious encephalitis and meningitis symptoms at the rate of about 1 in 150 persons, with the disease being fatal in 3% to 15% of serious cases. This disease had not infiltrated the western hemisphere until the occurrence of an outbreak in New York in the summer of 1999. Infected persons have since appeared throughout nearly the entire US, and there is the risk of this disease eventually invading Japan. 36,500 patients have been confirmed in the US during the period from 1999 to 2012, and 1,500 of those patients have died. Mosquitoes already present in Japan are considered to have the ability to transmit this virus, and as such, the entry of this disease into Japan is most likely just a matter of time. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an effective vaccine.

Isolated nucleic acid for the production of a vaccine against virus


A method, device, and article of manufacture for detecting airborne sulfur, the method including obtaining a gel solution; applying the gel solution onto film; exposing a frame of the film on the film reel to surrounding air, where the surrounding air contains a concentration of airborne sulfur; and detecting a color change in the gel solution, where the color change is a response to a reaction between the amount of airborne sulfur and at least one component of the gel solution. The device may include a detector; a film; and a gel solution applied to a film. The article of manufacture may include a film; and a gel solution applied to a film.

The present disclosure relates to airborne sulfur contamination and, more specifically, to the detection of airborne sulfur to prevent contamination.
Photodetectors are detectors, or sensors, of light and electromagnetic energy. Photodetectors may convert photons, a fundamental particle, from the light into electrical current, where the current indicates an absorption of light. Photodetectors may use semiconductors such that light is absorbed and generates a photocurrent.

Colorimetric detection of airborne sulfur

International Business Machines Corporation


A system seals a filter or equipment component to abase and will continue to seal the filter or equipment component to the base in the event of hot air or fire. The system includes a first sealing material between the filter or equipment component and the base; and a second sealing material between the filter or equipment component and the base and proximate the first sealing material. The first sealing material and the second seal material are positioned relative to each other and relative to the filter or equipment component and the base to seal the filter or equipment component to the base and upon the event of fire the second sealing material will be activated and expand to continue to seal the filter or equipment component to the base in the event of hot air or fire.

Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to filters, equipment, or systems and more particularly to emergency sacrificial sealing method in filters, equipment, or systems.
State of Technology
European Patent Application No. EP 2 412 409 A1 for single-body intumescent gaskets for cold and hot smoke sealing, in particular for fire dampers published Jan. 2, 2010 provides the state of technology information reproduce below.
The present invention relates to intumescent gaskets for hot smoke and also cold smoke sealing, particularly suitable for fire dampers.
Fire dampers are used in the compartmentalisation of fire-fighting zones in ventilation and for air-conditioning systems and their purpose is to avoid the propagation of smoke in the air distribution channels during a fire by means of the closure of the respective blade mounted on said damper.
The closure of the blades generally takes place when a sensing member present thereon reaches the temperature of 72° C.: however the intumescent gaskets mounted on the blade or in the immediate vicinity thereof generally ensure good hot smoke sealing, generally at temperatures higher than 110° C., thanks to the expansion of the intumescent material, but are not suitable for lower temperature smoke sealing.
This is due to the fact that gaskets for fire dampers available to date on the market are formed in actual fact by two different gaskets adjacent one to the other and not integral, each one suitable for performing a different task: the first gasket is suitable for fire damping and hot smoke sealing which is made up of a band (A) in intumescent material having a minimum expansion temperature of 120-200° C., which can also be covered by a profile (B) in plastic, rigid or semi-rigid; the second gasket is suitable for cold smoke sealing which is made up, for example, of expanded polyurethane foam (C), The limits of this technical solution lie in having to use two different gaskets with different function to ensure the functioning of the entire system, and in having to attach the gasket (C), for example in polyurethane foam, close to the other gasket and to the blade by means of appropriate adhesives. Moreover, in the specific case of profiles for intumescents in rigid plastic, for example those for containing intumescent calcium silicates, their elastic and sealing performances are limited due to the reduced adaptability to curvilinear shapes.
To overcome this problem of elasticity and of sealing attempts were made to incorporate the intumescent material, in general intumescent graphite, in a PVC matrix so as to generate a composite suitable for being extruded in flexible tubular form: however the incorporation of intumescent material in a polymeric matrix such as PVC results in a smaller expansion of the intumescent material at the time of use since it expands partially already during the incorporation and/or crosslinking of the tubular article, and therefore with lower the damping performances. Moreover the obtaining of flexible gaskets with smooth surface from said extrudable matrices is difficult and their combustion generates toxic fumes such as hydrochloric acid.
Profiles in plastic are not known to date which are flexible and which contain intumescent material able both to seal against cold smoke and to expand completely during the fire.

Emergency sacrificial sealing method in filters, equipment, or systems

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


A safety system for a coking facility where there is a coke drum and a drill assembly. When the coke accumulates in the drum, a drill head of the drill assembly is lowered into the coke drum to emit high pressure water jets to remove the coke from the coke drum. There is a enclosing structure with an access door which is fixedly mounted at a location above an upper opening of the coke drum, so that when the drill head is moved out of the coke drum and there is an accidental jet water discharge, it will be redirected at a location within the enclosing structure. Interlock systems are provided.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coke drums, and more particularly to an apparatus which is used in connection with a drill assembly that is used in the coking drums for removing the coke from the coke drum.
b) Background Art
Coke is commonly made in a petroleum processing facility as follows. The petroleum product goes through a fractionating process where some of the more volatile material is extracted, and the petroleum product that remains is a heavy, more viscous petroleum product which is at about 720° degrees F. when it leaves the fractionator. This is passed through a heater which raises the temperature of the petroleum product to about 930° degrees F., and this petroleum product is directed through a switch valve alternatively into one or the other of two coke drums. When the petroleum product is being directed into the first coke drum, the coke drum is substantially closed. The feeding of the viscous petroleum product is continued until it reaches a level in the first drum which is about 20 feet from the top of the drum. When the first coke drum is filled to this level, then the switch valve is operated to direct the viscous petroleum product into the second coke drum.
With filling of the first drum being completed, steam is directed upwardly through the petroleum product in first the drum to drive off the lower boiling point volatiles which are discharged from an upper coke drum opening and through one or more vents. After a period of time when removal of the lower boiling point volatiles from the coke has been completed, there remains the coke product which is in the form of a porous solid.
The next step is to cool this porous solid coke product, and this is accomplished by passing water upwardly through the coke product that is still in the drum. After this cooling period, a drill head which is attached to a drill stem is lowered into the coke drum through the top central opening in the coke drum. When the drill head reaches the proper operating position, the drilling starts by use of high pressure water jets (e.g. 3,000–4,000 PSI). In accomplishing the drilling process, the drill head is first set so that the high pressure water will be discharged through the pilot jets which are arranged to drill downwardly to form a central hole in the coke material. Then the drill stem is raised to lift the cutting head out of the coke drum, and the setting of the cutting nozzles is changed so that the laterally directed cutting jets will operate. The drill head is moved downwardly again into the coke drum and when it reaches the level of the petroleum product, the other set of water jet nozzles are used to discharge laterally directed water jets to remove the rest of the coke material from the wall of the coke drum. During this time, the bottom closure plate is opened to permit the water with the coke product to be discharged from the bottom of the drum, and from there is carried to another location. With this being completed, the first drum is again filled with the viscous petroleum product, and at the same time the process described above is repeated in the second drum which has now already been filled with the viscous petroleum product.
The system is arranged so that when the drill head is moved up above the level of the coke drum, an automatic interlock operates which prevents the water to be discharged from the nozzles. However, it could occur that this interlock may be disabled or otherwise made inoperative, so that when the drill stem is brought up, the water jets could be discharged outwardly at a high velocity, thus possibly causing damage to various equipment, injuring personnel, or even killing nearby personnel.

Safety system and method for a coking facility


A universal height adjustable device for controlling the effects of vibrations on vibration sensitive audio equipment, particularly loudspeakers, by dampening the vibration and eliminating or minimizing the acoustic feedback, producing quality sound without distortion. This device is a collection of embodiments comprising of a centerpiece to hold the arms, feet to support the entire system, and swivel seats assembly with a right angle cut to allow the audio equipment to rest on. This device aims to preserve the acoustic advantages of spikes in a novel manner, without damaging the floor or modifying the loudspeaker enclosure which causes damage.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the art of high quality audio equipment and, more particularly, audio loudspeaker systems, to dampen the vibration and eliminate or minimize the acoustic feedback, producing quality sound without distortion.
By term "speaker" as used herein, it will be understood that a speaker system is actually contemplated; i.e., one or more true speaker components housed in a specially designed enclosure.
Quality of sound corning from an audio loudspeaker would depend on what type of flooring the speaker is placed on. When a speaker is sitting on a tile, wooden, carpet, or concrete flooring, different acoustic feedback is resonating through the speaker enclosure which adversely affects the quality of the sound.
The intention of this invention is to eliminate the variable factor of flooring by minimizing the contact point between the speaker enclosure and the floor. This is achieved by placing the loudspeaker on a special designed stand. Even though this would eliminate the vibration to a great extent, additionally, another intention is to dampen the vibration and eliminate or further minimize the acoustic feedback by using damping material.
2. Prior Art

Universal vibration control stand for high quality audio equipment


A compact antenna system that provides an antenna capable of transmitting and/or receiving radio signals configured on a flexible substrate material supporting user control interface buttons. In an embodiment, an antenna may be formed on a user control interface button flex between the wire traces used to couple the user control interface buttons to a printed circuit board. In order to prevent the interference on the antenna that may be caused when current passes through the wire traces coupling the user control interface buttons to the printed circuit board, an RF choke (i.e., LC filter) circuit and bypass capacitors may be configured along each wire trace. In another embodiment, the wire trace coupling a user control interface button to the printed circuit board may be configured to serve the dual purposes of coupling the user control interface button to the printed circuit board; and functioning as an antenna capable of transmitting and/or receiving wireless radio signals.

Mobile computing devices have seen explosive growth over the past few years. With growing computational power and memory capacity, personal computing devices have become essential tools of modern life, providing telephone and text communications, navigation, photo, and video functionality in a package that fits in one's pocket. Advances in technology have allowed mobile computing devices with powerful processing capabilities to become smaller and smaller, thereby enabling the mobile computing devices to be housed within a wristwatch assembly. However, in order to provide wristwatch-sized mobile computing devices with wireless communication capabilities, such wristwatch-sized mobile computing devices must also include an antenna capable of receiving the radio frequency signals of wireless networks. As the mobile computing device is made smaller and smaller, especially within the wristwatch-sized mobile computing device, space within the device is increasingly in demand.

User control interface button flex antenna system


A colorant for a high redox glass composition comprising: total iron (Fe2O3) 0 to 1.1 weight percent; and from 0.0001 to 0.15 weight percent of at least one of the following: Cu nanostructures, Au nanostructures, or Ag nanostructures, wherein the weight percents are based on the total weight of the glass composition. The colorant of the invention can be used to make glass compositions having various colors.

Glass substrates are used for various applications including automotive applications, architectural applications, aircraft applications, etc. Depending on the application, the glass substrate will need to exhibit certain performance properties such as visible light transmittance, infrared absorbance, etc. and aesthetic properties such as color, brightness, etc.
The performance properties of a glass substrate are primarily determined by the glass composition, i.e., the components used to make the glass. The glass composition is not the same as the batch materials (also referred to as the "starting materials") that are processed by a standard glass making technique, such as float glass processing, sheet drawing processing, crucible melts, etc., to make the glass composition. Generally, a glass composition is made up of a base glass portion and a colorant portion. A base glass portion comprising SiO2, Na2O, CaO, MgO, Al2O3, and K2O is well known in the art. Glass having the aforementioned base glass composition is referred to as "soda-lime-silica" glass. Other types of known glass compositions include non-silicated glasses and silicated glasses such as alkali borosilicate glass, alkali free borosilicate glass, phosphate glass, alumino borosilicate glass, etc.
Oftentimes, a glass composition will contain one or more colorants that interact to provide a glass composition having the desired color. For example, cobalt, which is well known in the art as a blue colorant, can be mixed with cadmium selenide, which is well known in the art as a red colorant to provide a glass composition having a gray color.
Some glass compositions having a low redox ratio (definitions for redox terms are included below) have included nanostructure sized colorants. Such glass compositions are typically made by melting the batch materials, forming and casting the molten glass into a sheet and then further heating the glass sheet to cause the nanostructures to form. Because the batch materials must be melted and then further heat treated, the process for forming these glass compositions is inefficient and expensive.
The present invention provides a novel metal nanostructured colorant for high redox glass compositions (includes glass compositions that fall outside of the definition for "low redox") such as, but not limited to, nanostructures of copper (Cu), gold (Au) and/or silver (Ag). Glass compositions according to the present invention are formed in a single heating step (i.e., the melting step).

Metal nanostructured colorants for high redox glass


A method for assaying body fluid samples containing heparin and a diagnostic kit are described. Since the reactions go to completion, timing of the assay is not required. The sample is mixed with a heparin-dependent protease inhibitor and either a heparin-independent irreversible inhibitor or a protease substrate. The coagulation enzyme (protease) is then added in a limiting quantity and it either distributes between the heparin-dependent inhibitor and the heparin-indepedent irreversible inhibitor, or the heparin-dependent inhibitor and the protease substrate. The distribution pattern of complex formation of the protease with the two inhibitors or the level of product of the protease-catalyzed hydrolysis of the substrate are used as measures of the heparin activity. The irreversible inhibitor is a peptidyl chloromethyl ketone and the substrate is a synthetic chromogenic or fluorogenic compound that produces a readily measured signal.

Heparin is widely used clinically where immediate anti-coagulation of the blood is required. Clinical situations which call for the use of heparin include, but are not limited to, myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis, embolism and pre and post operation in hip replacement therapy. Dosages can vary from 10,000-100,000 USP units/24 hours, leading to plasma levels ranging from 0.2-0.8 u/ml. Optimal use of heparin requires accurate measurement of plasma levels and currently two general approaches are available. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that heparin, as commercially supplied as an anti-coagulant, is a mixture of oligosaccharides of varying molecular weights, each consisting of repeating units of glucuronic or iduronic acid and glucosamine variously N- and O-sulfated. These components function as catalysts in the inactivation of coagulation serine protease enzymes, particularly thrombin and Factor Xa. The mechanism of inactivation differs with the two enzymes, and thus some components of heparin are active against both, whereas others of low molecular weight are selective only for Factor Xa. If one tests for heparin by measuring the prolongation of plasma clotting, the results reflect global heparin activity but do not measure activity against one specific enzyme. While such tests are easy to perform they are not very sensitive or specific. If, on the other hand, measurements are made on the basis of residual levels of purified Factor Xa after incubation of it for a carefully timed period (e.g. 30 seconds) with the test sample plus anti thrombin III or heparin cofactor II, together with a second timed interval to measure residual Factor Xa with a synthetic substrate, activities specifically directed against Factor Xa can be measured. This latter approach yields a measure of activity directed specifically at Factor Xa, but requires careful timing for accurate results to be obtained.