An inhaler for inhaling powdered medicament from capsules is described. Once the capsule has been placed in the capsule holder (3), the patient can press an actuating member (8), which interacts with at least one pin (9) adapted to be pushed into the capsule holder (3), causing the medicament to be released. In a preferred embodiment, the actuating member (8) is constructed as a multi-functional actuating member (8a) wherein, in a first functional position, the closure element (6) can be disengaged from the lower part (1) in order to pivot the cover (5), and wherein, in a second functional position, the mouthpiece (4) engaging with the plate (2) can be released from the plate (2) in such a way that the mouthpiece (4) can be pivoted away from the lower part (1).

The invention relates to an inhaler for inhaling powdered medicament from capsules which are inserted in a capsule holder arranged in the inhaler before use. After the capsule has been placed in the capsule holder the patient can press an actuating member, which can be set in motion from a resting position and thereby interacts with at least one pin adapted to be pushed into the capsule holder. Using the minimum of one pin the capsule is pierced and the medicament is released.
An inhaler of this kind is described for example in EP 0 703 800 B1 or EP 0 911 047 A1. The inhaler known from the above-mentioned specifications comprises a dish-shaped lower part and an equally dish-shaped cover which fits it, the two parts being adapted to be flipped apart for use by means of a hinge provided at the edge region. Engaging between the lower part and the cover in the hinge are a mouthpiece which can also be flipped out and a plate located below it with a capsule holder provided underneath. After the individual parts have been opened out the patient can place a capsule filled with medicament in the capsule holder, pivot the plate with the capsule holder and the mouthpiece back into the lower part and pierce the capsule by means of a spring-loaded actuating member projecting laterally from the lower part. Sucking on the mouthpiece then causes the medicament to be delivered to the respiratory tract of the patient being treated.
The intention is to improve the known inhalers further in terms of their handling.


The disclosure discloses a wide-concentration multi-component hazardous gas detector and an implementation method thereof, solving the problems of the existing technology that false negative results, ultra-limit concentration and sensor poisoning often occur in a gas detector used in fire fighting forces. The wide-concentration multi-component hazardous gas detector includes a gas diluting and sampling connector, a sensor integrated module, electrochemical sensors, ADC (analog to digital converter) circuits, MCU (microprogrammed control unit) single chip microcomputers, acousto-optic alarms, a 4-button keyboard module, an LED (light-emitting diode) display module, an SD card data memory module, a power supply control and electric quantity display module, a high-performance lithium battery pack, a small evacuation pump, 433M signal transmission modules and a remote command platform signal collection terminal.

At present, the most commonly used hazardous gas detection equipment in fire fighting forces mainly includes a four-in-one gas detector and a combustible gas detector. The four-in-one gas detector is applicable to on-site detection in multiple sites such as chemical industry, petrochemical industry, coal and municipal gas, can achieve measurement needs of special occasions to perform gas concentration detection or leakage detection on tunnels, pipelines, tanks, sealed windows and the like. The combustible gas detector is a general detector for detecting and measuring multiple hazardous gases, is applicable to detection of toxic gases and corrosive gases in temporary occasions and has the characteristic of simple operation.
However, a portable gas instrument that is commercially available and is equipped in fire fighting forces can detect a small number of gases, and generally only can detect oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane. But, there are many kinds of hazardous gases in a fire scene, high-toxic lethal gases mainly include hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, chlorine and phosgene, and flammable and explosive gases include propane and benzene. A portable gas analyzer equipped in fire fighting forces cannot meet detection needs of hazardous chemicals accident sites, and at the same time various gas detectors have their fixed detection ranges. The instruments can be ensured to be correctly determined only when it completes measurement within its determination range. The gas detection equipment existing in the market and equipped in fire fighting forces are all designed for daily gas micro-leakage monitoring alarm and environmental pollution monitoring with a narrow detectable gas concentration range. When hazardous chemicals are leaked in large quantities and tire accidents occur, the concentration of hazardous gases is often hundreds or thousands times that of daily micro-leakage. The gas detector equipped in fire fighting forces often generates concentration false alarm, sensor poisoning and the like often occur in the gas detector equipped in fire fighting forces, and therefore is not applicable to use during emergency rescue. At the same time, the instrument mainly depends on imports, and therefore is expensive in price and difficult in later maintenance, and has no detailed Chinese information and professional training. False positive test results, false negative test results and concentration misjudgment often occur due to non-standard instrument operation of fire fighters. Such errors are fatal to rescue workers on the spot.
Therefore, it is urgent for those skilled in the art to design a wide-concentration multi-component hazardous gas detector and an implementation method thereof to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

Wide-concentration multi-component hazardous gas detector and implementation method thereof


Speckle reduction apparatus includes a radiation path and a mask arranged within the radiation path. The mask includes an array of electrically controllable cells configured to form a pattern on the mask that varies with time. The speckle reduction mask includes a first linear array including first parallel lines arranged to change the phase of incident radiation, and a second linear array including second parallel lines arranged to change the phase of incident radiation and further arranged such that cells are formed at the intersections of the first parallel lines and the second parallel lines. The speckle reduction mask includes a N1×N2 array of cells, A, formed according to:ATA=βδk,l,

Speckle is induced by light interference emerging from a screen. As shown in FIG. 1, the presence of speckle results in a granular pattern and can mask image formation.
The origin of this granular pattern is the extremely rough screen surface on the scale of the incident (e.g. optical) wavelength. Under illumination of coherent radiation, such as lasers, the wave reflected from such a surface consists of contributions from many independent scattering areas. Propagation of this reflected light to a distant observation point results in the addition of these various scattered components with relative delays, which may vary from several to many wavelengths. Interference of these de-phased but coherent wavelets results in the granular pattern known as speckle. Specifically, the constructively interfered wavelets lead to bright spots; the destructively interfered wavelets lead to the dark spots; the partially constructively interfered and partially destructively interfered wavelets lead to the intermediate or grey spots.
In order to improve the image quality in a laser display system, or any other system that may encounter speckle, it is necessary to reduce the speckle effect. The amount of speckle may be measured or calculated by Contrast Ratio (CR): CR=s/I, where I is the mean intensity and s is the root mean square intensity fluctuation. Speckle can be reduced by creating a number of independent speckle patterns and averaging them out within an integration time of a detector viewing the image, such as human eyes. Speckle contrast may be reduced to 1/√{square root over (N)} by superimposing N independent speckle patterns within the integration time. Speckle reduction may be achieved by using a vibrating screen. However, this technique may not be very practical due to the required high-power actuator. Speckle can also be reduced at the illumination source, by using multiple sources such as laser arrays or wide-band laser, for example. However, the special designed laser arrays may increase costs accordingly.
US2004/0008399 describes a method to suppress the speckle by creating N independent speckle patterns using a Hadamard Matrix (HM) phase mask as the diffuser, which is located on an intermediate image plane. A large HM phase mask is etched on a fused silica plate and then mechanically moved to create different speckle patterns at the screen when a laser beam passes through. However, the mechanical components required in this approach limit the technique and are impractical, especially when a high order HM is introduced to achieve a higher degree of speckle reduction. Using mechanical vibration, an actuator with a larger vibrating distance and a high working frequency is required.
Therefore, there is required a speckle reduction technique that overcomes these problems.

Abstract: where AT is the transpose of A, β is a real and positive constant, dk,l is Kronecker delta and N1≠N2.


A positive terminal 20 for a dry battery of a battery box 1a includes an electrode portion 22 adapted to make contact with the anode of a battery, a soldering portion 13 soldered to the substrate 6, and a lead portion 21 integrally provided between the electrode portion 22 and the soldering portion 13. Further, a load absorbing means is provided in the lead portion 21 to prevent a force exerted in the longitudinal direction of the battery from being applied directly to the soldering portion 13. The lead portion 21 includes an extending part 21a which extends in the longitudinal direction of the battery and is continuous with the electrode portion 22, and a loop part 21b bent in a substantially ring shape and positioned within a plane roughly perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the battery, wherein the loop part 21b forms the load absorbing means. According to the positive terminal described above, it is possible to prevent a damage of the substrate due to vibration or shock and to reduce a manufacturing cost of a battery box equipped with the positive terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a positive terminal for a dry battery and a battery box equipped with the positive terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prior art structure of a battery box is shown in FIG. 3. This battery box 1 includes a casing 2 having a cover 2a which can be opened and closed, a battery receiving portion 3 provided in the casing 2, a partition plate 4 integrally formed in the casing 2, mounting members 5 provided on the partition plate 4, a positive terminal 10 for a dry battery which includes an electrode portion 12 formed by bending one end portion of a steel wire into a roughly W shape and inserted in the mounting members 5, a substrate 6 soldered to the other end of the positive terminal 10, a storage capacitor 7 provided on the substrate 6, and a coil-shaped minus terminal 8. A cable 16 which extends from the battery box 1 includes a connector 17 provided at the tip thereof that is adapted to make a connection with a device (not shown in the drawing) such as a MD or the like to supply electricity to such device.
In order to achieve a simple structure for the battery box 1, the positive terminal 10 of the battery box 1 also serves as a lead wire that connects the electrode portion 12 to the substrate 6. A lead portion that serves as the lead wire is indicated by the reference numerals 11, and one end of this lead portion 11 forms a soldering portion which is soldered to the substrate 6 as shown by the reference number 13.
However, in the battery box 1 having the above structure, when the battery box 1 receives vibration or shock, a force due to the vibration or shock will cause the battery (not shown in the drawing) housed inside the battery box 1 to push against the electrode portion 12 of the positive terminal 10. As a result, the partition plate 4 will bend slightly, and at the same time, a load will be added to the substrate 6 through the lead portion 11 of the positive terminal 10.
This load concentrates at the soldering portion 13, thus resulting in the problems such as the formation of cracks in the substrate 6 at the soldering portion 13 and the wearing away of solder and the like.
It is thought that these problems can be solved by using a flexible wire conductor for the lead portion 11. However, because this in turn requires the use of an additional component separate from the electrode portion 12, the manufacturing cost will increase.

Positive terminal for a dry battery and battery box equipped with the positive terminal


A method of realizing a preferred in-vehicle chime includes the steps of selecting the preferred in-vehicle chime from an Internet-enabled program or a call center, transmitting the preferred in-vehicle chime from the Internet-enabled program to a telematics unit operatively disposed within the vehicle, and transmitting the preferred in-vehicle chime from the telematics unit to a vehicle chime module disposed within the vehicle.

Many vehicles are fitted with chime modules, which provide a notification chime to alert a vehicle user/operator of any of a multitude of vehicle settings, operations, and/or conditions. A chime module may alert a vehicle user to the fact that a key is in the ignition after the vehicle is off, the headlamps are on after the vehicle is off, a door is ajar, a safety restraint should be enabled, the fuel level is low, an object is in the path of the vehicle, a device has been selected or a button on a device pushed, and/or the like.
A chime module typically uses a standard, factory-installed tone to alert a user. For example, a standard, factory-installed tone may be "dong," "ding," or "ding-dong." Current chime modules generally cannot be personalized or altered. Thus, the user may succumb to the pre-existing vehicle chime or replaces the entire chime module to change the sound of the in-vehicle chime.
As such, it would be desirable to provide an alterable and/or personalizable in-vehicle chime(s), and a method for altering and/or personalizing the chime(s) of a chime module.

Method for realizing a preferred in-vehicle chime


Systems and methods for use in displaying user interface components upon user interfaces of computing devices. A system and method could be configured to receive an image to be displayed upon a user interface of the device. One or more indicators can be used to specify how the image is to be divided into multiple regions. The regions of the divided image are displayed with a user interface component upon the user interface of the device.

1. Technical Field
This patent document relates generally to the field of communications, and in particular to generating user interfaces on mobile wireless communications devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Borders around user interface components (e.g., buttons, windows, menus) are typically drawn by delegating the task to a piece of code. When a user interface graphic designer wishes to change the look of a user interface in more than in a minor way, then this code usually has to change.
Additional problems arise if a designer is to use an image (e.g., bitmap, vector image, etc.) of the user interface's border. As one illustration, a bitmap cannot simply be scaled to fit the varying dimensions as this may distort it, thereby resulting in "pixelation" problem (e.g., distortion may have the effect that larger user interface components have thicker borders).

System and method for user interface generation


Thermally assisted processes for removing internal defects in glass ceramic products, specifically electrical shorts formed in a substrate during product fabrication, are set forth. According to one aspect of the invention, a method for repairing shorts between metallic conductors located within in a glass ceramic product, such as an electronic substrate, comprises the steps of (a) pre-conditioning the glass to resist cracking from the generation of heat by any shorts melt down current subsequently applied to said conductors; and (b) subsequently applying a melt down current to said conductors to repair any short located therebetween. The aforestated method minimizes the potential for glass damage resulting from defect repair activity and optimizes defect repair yield. Further aspects of the invention relate to processes that involve preconditioning conductors located within glass ceramic products to assure that molten metal from a short melt down juncture draws back toward parent conductor lines, and processes that are used to effectively control the thermal gradient in the areas within glass ceramic products where shorts repair activity is to take place.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to methods for improving the performance of glass ceramic products. Such products include multi-layer ceramic (MLC) electronic substrates upon which semiconductor components, such as integrated circuits, may be fabricated as part of a device package. More particularly, the invention relates to thermally assisted processes for removing internal defects in glass ceramic products, specifically electrical shorts formed in a substrate during the glass ceramic product fabrication process, wherein the novel methods minimize the potential for glass damage resulting from defect repair activity and optimize defect repair yield.
A further aspect of the invention relates to glass ceramic products fabricated as a result of utilizing the aforementioned processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many recent advances in the field of electronic device fabrication and packaging utilize improved materials and processes to achieve more durable products, achieve greater device densities, improve overall product performance, etc. For example, it is presently well known to utilize durable glass ceramic products, such as MLC electronic substrates upon which semiconductor components (e.g., integrated circuits) may be fabricated, as part of a device package.
Processes commonly used to fabricate glass ceramic products may yield, for example, substrates having internal defects, such as electrical shorts between metallic conductors located within the substrate, where such conductors are utilized to interconnect components eventually mounted on the substrate surface. Procedures for correcting such defects, in particular the aforementioned type of short, typically involve identification of defect locations followed by the application of an electrical current to "melt" the shorts.
The aforementioned procedures, also used in repairing shorts and shunts in surface (versus internal) substrate electrical conductors, and in repairing defective thin film semiconductor components per se, are problematic in that the heat generated at the location of the short by a melt down process may cause the glass to crack. Such an occurrence would require that the entire substrate be scrapped.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide novel processes which minimize the potential for glass damage resulting from defect repair activity, and optimize defect repair yield for glass ceramic products generally. More particularly, it would be desirable if such processes could be applied to removing shorts located within a glass ceramic substrate in such a way as to prevent the substrate from being damaged while a short is being repaired.
As indicated hereinabove, the use of electrical energy to melt shorts is generally well known. In the course of utilizing such processes, various solutions to problems such as preventing a glass substrate and/or component packaging from cracking, for preventing further short conditions from occurring as a result of metals spattering during the short melt down process, etc., have been developed; however such solutions have been directed only to the problems that occur in performing short (and shunt) repair activity on the surface of a substrate, for thin film repair, and/or purposes other than the repair of defects occurring internally in glass ceramic products.
Several of these solutions will be indicated and discussed hereinafter for the purpose of illustrating the state of the "short repair" art.
For the purposes of the discussion of the known art, in particular with reference to short repairs performed in semiconductor devices, an electrical "short" is said to occur when two electrodes come in electrical contact through a conductive metal path extending through a semiconductor body. This path can be caused by a local point defect, which either prevents the formation of semiconductor layers during manufacturing of the device, or causes the semiconductor layers to be peeled off. An electrical "shunt" is the loss of charge in the semiconductor body due either to an imperfect rectifying barrier or to the formation of an ohmic contact via high work-function metal.
Keller, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,304, Nostrand, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,918, Firester, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,171, Arya, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,454 and Seiler in U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,633, generally teach the use of electrical energy to repair electrical shorts and shunts when fabricating integrated circuits, photoconductors, solar cells, etc.
In particular, Keller, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,304, teaches methods and apparatus for performing selective burnout trimming of integrated circuit units. According to Keller, et al the selected burnout is carried out by applying a sequence of pulses to the segments to be burned out under monitoring by a measuring circuit which blocks the delivery of further pulses either immediately or after a short time interval once the measuring circuit detects the opening of the connection.
Keller, et al indicates that in many cases the burning out of metallic paths in an integrated circuit produces difficulties because of the ejection of partly liquified particles of connection metallization when electrical energy is applied to the cross section to be burned out. It is noted that these prior art burn out techniques have a potential for impairing product yield and product reliability, for example, by short circuit risks from spattered metal.
Keller, et al goes on to indicate that covering the circuit with a glassy coating does not provide a sufficient remedy for the aforementioned problem since the covering is often torn away or cracked at the place of burnout; this is precisely the type of phenomenon that it would be desirable to prevent, utilizing the invention taught herein, where a glass substrate is in effect the "glass coating" for circuit conductor components located within the substrate.
It was with the aforestated problems in mind that the Keller, et al invention was directed to the application of electrical energy to supplementary conductive pads in the form of a sequence of separate pulses to limit energy expenditure and avoid the spattering problems, glass cracking problems, etc. referred to hereinbefore. Keller's solution did not however involve the preconditioning of a glass substrate which, as will be seen hereinafter, is proposed as an integral step in a shorts repair process contemplated by one aspect of the invention.
Nostrand, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,918, describes a method for removing the effects of electrical shorts and shunts created during the fabrication process of a solar cell (not a glass ceramic substrate). In particular, Nostrand, et al teaches the application of a reverse bias voltage which is sufficient to burnout electrical shorts and shunts but less than the breakdown voltage of the solar cell. Again the use of electrical energy to repair a short is demonstrated; however no teaching of how to prevent a glass ceramic product from cracking when using such a process is taught.
Firester, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,171, teaches a method for improving the performance of a photodetector by removing defects such as a shorts and shunts, by preferentially removing a portion of an exposed surface of a detector electrode at the defect site.
The preferential etching at the exposed surface is obtained by immersing the photodetector in a chemical etching ambient which has an etching rate for the exposed surface of the electrode which increases with increasing temperature while applying a reverse bias voltage to the electrodes. The reverse bias voltage has sufficient magnitude to cause a local increase in temperature of the exposed surface at the defect site.
Although useful in repairing shorts utilizing electrical energy, the aforementioned process as taught by Firester, et al, requires product immersion in a chemical ambient and once again fails to teach, claim or even suggest how to prevent a glass ceramic product per se from cracking upon application of electrical energy to melt a short.
Arya, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,454, describes a method for removing electrical shorts and shunts from a thin film semiconductor device. The method is similar to the one described in Firester, et al in that it involves the step of coating the exposed contact surfaces of the device with a solution (in particular an ionic solution) and successively applying a reverse bias voltage between exposed contact surfaces of electrode pairs.
Once again, the solution is such that it has an etching rate that increases with temperature. The applied reverse bias voltage creates a local temperature increase at the site of shorts and shunts causing them to be selectively etched or oxidized, rendering them substantially nonconductive. Like the other art referred to hereinbefore, the pre-conditioning of a glass ceramic substrate to prevent its cracking upon the application of electrical energy to melt a short, and other aspects of the invention to be described hereinafter, were not the subject of the Arya, et al patent which, once again, is presented herein simply to illustrate the state of the shorts repair art.
Seiler in U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,633 teaches a method for making an integrated circuit with a severable conductive strip. In order to render severing of electrical conductors on integrated circuit chips more reliable, (i.e., reduce the danger of metal spattering, cause only a desired portion of a conductor to be severed, etc.), Seiler proposes increasing the region of insulating material, typically silicon oxide, beneath the zone to be severed. This affects heat dissipation when a burn off current is applied to the strip causing only the metal at the thickened portion of the silicon oxide layer to be severed.
Seiler does not address burning out or otherwise severing electrical shorts occurring within a glass ceramic package, i.e., a defect that is not on the surface of a device.
Other patents and publications teach (1) elevating temperature during a manufacturing process and (2) the application of a voltage for stress testing; but not short repair. For example, Gordon et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,255 teaches that prior to packaging, semiconductor lasers be purged by subjecting them first to high temperatures and high current simultaneously so as to suppress stimulated emission and stress the shunt paths which allow leakage current to flow around the active region of the semiconductor laser.
Suzuki et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,496, teaches a method for manufacturing photoelectric conversion devices in which short current paths resulting from the formation process of semiconductor lasers can be eliminated by the application of a reverse bias voltage to the layers that are thus heated and made insulating. Once again, no teachings in this reference are directed to pre-conditioning of glass ceramic products, in particular products serving as substrates, so that follow on shorts repair activity can be performed without damaging the glass product itself.
As indicated hereinabove, the processes typically used for removing shorts in glass ceramic products involve the application of an electric current to invoke a short melt down process. Often, pulsed current techniques are used in which a voltage is applied across a defective area to cause the fuse like melt down and effect short removal. The cracking of the glass product, also mentioned hereinabove, is caused by the thermal shock associated with heat required to perform the short melt down. The thermal shock phenomenon occurs because the thermal gradient in the area surrounding the shorts repair activity has a steep slope.
Another problem with the known shorts repair processes used on glass ceramic products is that upon cooling, the metal that was "burned out" may fail to be drawn back to the parent conductor lines and flow back toward the melt down juncture recreating a short condition.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide processes which can be used to repair shorts in glass ceramic products which not only preserve the integrity of the glass, but also help assure that molten metal from a short melt down juncture draws back toward parent conductor lines.

Thermally assisted shorts removal process for glass ceramic product using an RF field

International Business Machines Corporation


A high-pressure fuel supply pump which has no probability of discontinuity of a thin film of fuel at a sliding portion even when the fuel is not needed to be compressed to a high pressure is obtained. Two low-pressure fuel ports are provided on the high-pressure fuel supply pump in addition to a high-pressure discharge port to a high-pressure fuel capacity chamber. One of the two low-pressure fuel ports is connected to a low-pressure fuel capacity chamber and remaining one is connected to a low-pressure fuel supply pump. Accordingly, the interior of the high-pressure fuel supply pump is always filled with fresh fuel even in a mode in which a high-pressure fuel injecting valve does not inject fuel and only a low-pressure fuel injection valve injects fuel, so that a temperature rise of a plunger and a cylinder is prevented and locking of the plunger and the cylinder can be prevented.

A fuel supply system of the related art described in JP-A-2008-157094 includes a low-pressure fuel supply system configured to supply fuel to a low-pressure fuel capacity chamber (also referred to as a common rail) provided with a low-pressure fuel injection vale through a low-pressure fuel channel by a feed pump (low-pressure fuel supply pump) configured to pump up fuel from a fuel tank and a high-pressure fuel supply system configured to pressurize the fuel pumped up by the feed pump by a high-pressure fuel supply pump and then supply the high-pressure fuel to a high-pressure fuel capacity chamber (also referred to as a high-pressure fuel accumulator) provided with a high-pressure fuel injection valve.
Specifically, the high-pressure fuel supply system includes a bifurcated piping provided at a midpoint of a low-pressure fuel supply piping of the low-pressure fuel supply system, and one piping of the bifurcated piping is connected to the high-pressure fuel pump and the other piping is connected to the low-pressure fuel capacity chamber.


A vehicle body frame structure includes a side sill and a rear frame continuously joined, with a curved portion formed in the vicinity of a boundary between the side sill and the rear frame. In the curved portion, a continuous change is achieved extending from the side sill side to the rear frame side from a side sill side closed cross-sectional structure portion where a first stiffener is provided to a rear frame side closed cross-sectional structure portion where a second stiffener is provided having a different direction of alignment from that of the first stiffener. An improvement is obtained in the strength of a curved portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a side sill and a rear frame when these are joined together so as to be continuous with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-163033, filed Jun. 1, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a vehicle body frame structure and, in particular, to an improvement in the rigidity thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Technology has been developed for a vehicle frame structure that achieves an improvement in rigidity as a result of joining a side sill to a rear frame such that they form a continuous member by joining a front end portion of the rear frame to an inner side of a rear end portion of the side sill (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Examined Publication No. 62-60309. If a side sill and rear frame are joined together so as to be continuous in this manner, the space utilization efficiency is also improved. Consequently, this type of structure has the merit of allowing the space for installing a fuel tank and the like to be enlarged.
In a structure in which a side sill and rear frame are joined together continuously in this manner, a curved portion is provided in the vicinity of a boundary between the side sill that is positioned at a bottom portion of the vehicle body side portion and the rear frame that is positioned to the rear of the side sill so as to avoid the rear tire. The strength of this curved portion is slightly reduced.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body frame structure that enables an improvement to be obtained in the strength of a curved portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a side sill and a rear frame when these are joined together continuously.


A device (40) for limiting overspeed in a turbomachine in the event of breakage of the turbine shaft (24), comprising means (38, 44) of propelling a pin (42) into the path of the blades (22), these propelling means being controlled by means (36) that detect overspeed or that the turbine shaft has broken.

The present invention relates to a device for limiting overspeed in a turbomachine such as an aircraft jet engine, in order to guard against turbine shaft breakage, a phenomenon which is extremely rare but the consequences of which may prove disastrous.
When this shaft breaks, the turbine rotor finds itself uncoupled from the fan which was limiting its rotational speed, but the blades of the turbine continue to be turned by the gases leaving the turbomachine combustion chamber. The turbine then begins to "overspeed" or "spin", thus subjecting the rotor to excessive centrifugal forces liable to cause it to explode, with the risks of puncturing the outer casing of the turbine and also the fuselage of the aircraft equipped with this turbomachine. The overspeed limit is therefore a constraint that absolutely must be observed in turbomachines.

Device for limiting turbine overspeed in a turbomachine


A description of a device and method of use are provided for a containment chamber, accompanying sensing and monitoring instrumentation, and method of creation of a physical force wave that would be capable of mimicking physiologic waves such as pulse pressure, muscle contraction, peristalsis, acoustic waves and other desired waves to be studied. This device allows for the use of various biologic or biologically comparable fluids—alone or in combination—that would allow for the analysis of the passage of these waves through these media. Singularly, this device also allows for the manipulation of the external constraints that mimic the containment of that media in vivo. This allows for the analysis of the effects on the nature of the wave, its reflections, potential augmentation or dampening that occur in conjunction with various selected external and internal (baffle) constraints that mimic those found in nature or in therapeutic interventions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device and method for simulating and analyzing transmitted physical force waves in diverse media, said media being comparable with various biological fluids and said device allowing for the control and manipulation of the various internal and external constraints controllably applied to that media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Biologic and physiologic systems for mammals have two circulations—the vascular and the lymphatic. At the terminal loops of these two systems we have all elements in close proximity, microscopically close. Previous physiologic studies of this terminal bed at microscopic level essentially just show summary effects, such as flow variations—and then, only in the vascular, red-cell-filled portion of the circulation. Histological exam of this terminal set of circulatory loops clearly shows the vascular, red-cell loops to be continuous from afferent to efferent but the lymphatics start as blunt end channels. Fluid exchange between them is ubiquitous but it is known from clinical and experimental evidence that if the pulsatile nature of arterial flow is dampened or lost, then lymphatic flow stops. The exact nature of this relationship is so far minimally investigated. It is extremely challenging to get in vivo, invasive or non-invasive, instrumentation into these systems at microscopic levels and to sort out the intertwined signals and messages of this complex network of vessels and pulses and flows. Because of that, we propose a "bench-top" simulation for meaningful analysis of the elements and components of this biological system in isolation, allowing controlled variation and study of the potential relationships with the long term vision of being able to re-apply them in vivo.
An average human peripheral pulse pressure at the level of a major named artery is about 110-120/70-80 mmHg giving a pulse pressure of 40 Torr and a mean pressure of 90-100 Torr. This pressure wave decreases as we move peripherally and the mean pressure decreases to approximately 32 Torr as the afferent arteriole enters the terminal capillary loop where it filters extracellular and interstitial fluid as it passes through this capillary loop resistance and the pressure is generally a 20 mmHg drop across the loop and average pressure at the beginning of the efferent venous channel is 12 mmHg with no or a minimally detectable pulse differential. At this level, the blunt end of the lymphatic capillary is collecting this filtrate and starting its flow at a pressure of roughly 7 mmHg. Downhill gradients therefore exist in this system. However, we know that without a pulsating arterial system, flow ceases or is very ineffective in this early lymphatic collection.
Most of these interactions take place in an environment fluidically that is very complex, consisting of liquids of various oncologic and osmotic pressures and concentrations, some with and some without cells, inside of these circulatory vessels or channels. And these vessels, then, are in direct apposition to, in fact they are bathed in or embedded in, an environment of a visco-elastic matrix of fiber and cells suffused in its interstices with this interstitial and extra-cellular fluid. For simplicity and the ability to analyze components, we will refer to the intra-vessel component as "liquid" and the material outside the vessels as "gel."
Two areas of note in the body have a different fluid distribution. The first is the chest or thorax portion of the body with its ribbed, buttressed walls and its muscular diaphragm able to generate its own separate set of pressure and thus inspire and expire air. So this section of the body interfaces gas with these liquids and gels. The other is bone where we have a porous solid filled with liquids. Our device interfaces with all these states of fluidity.
The human body is highly compartmentalized and specialized. If we look at the body in all its complexity, its different tissue types and organs, its functional "systems," its solid and hollow viscera, etc., the permutations seem almost unlimited. But based on repeating patterns of compartments, there are actually just a few types that we need to consider. If we look at the extremities, for example, we see the outer layer of skin that we will refer to as the "external constraint." Inside this we have several clearly identifiable major chambers of strong, more fibrous, less yielding walls called fascia. We reproducibly, predictably have the deep fascia which parallels the skin and separates the "superficial" and "deep" compartments of the extremity. This compartment layer forms a circumferential layer around all the extremities and the trunk of the body. Inside this layer of deep fascia in the extremities, we have one or two bones centrally and strong separating layers called "intermuscular septi" that join the bone to the deep fascia creating two or three compartments depending on the location. Inside each of these compartments, then, we have additional layers, less strong or thick but still less elastic than the skin, that surround and contain or compartmentalize the muscle groups and the neurocirculatory bundles—which include the larger lymph collecting channels. We will refer to all of these internal, fascial, compartment-producing layers as "internal constraints."
If we look at the thorax or chest, we have gas against the circulatory channels and a more rigid external wall. In the abdomen then we have relatively thin hollow tubes, the intestines, filled with liquid. This is a much different liquid to gel ratio than we find in the extremities. And in the abdomen we have larger more distinct circulatory channels not in compartments but in thin membranes (mesentery) in essentially direct contact with the viscera around them and with the large aortic pulse behind them.
Considering how these elements are arranged and manipulated to achieve special circumstances in circulation, multiple examples are found. Based on the premise that a pressure wave is necessary for (lymphatic) flow, we see this arranged in a variety of patterns: first, for example, with arterial pulsation intimately intertwined with the "two circulations" in peripheral and terminal vascular beds; then we also see it in enclosed neuro-vascular compartments (internal constraints) in the extremities along the paths of major longitudinally arrayed vessels. We see it combined in compartments with different types of pressure waves: muscular action produces a compressive wave in the muscle compartments of the extremity; the slow undulating wave of peristalsis, or abdominal hollow visceral contraction, is yet another type of pressure wave that the vessels are exposed to and compartmentalized with. One of the most dramatic, and applicable examples for our purposes, is the inter-species mammalian differences between, on the one hand, a human forearm, in which the skin is thin, supple and elastic, and in an individual with low body fat, allows us to see the veins bulging out, pushing the skin with just 10 Torr, and then the tissue tenting inward (at transiently created negative pressure because of the change in surface area and volume in relation to ambient air pressure) between the outward protruding pairs of flexed tendons, and, on the other hand, the thick, non-flexible or minimally elastic skin of the giraffe's ankle which aids in the return of blood up a significant height back to the right atrium of the heart and aids in maintenance of the correct filtration pressures given the size of the heart pump in the giraffe which is twice the size of mammals of similar weight.
These examples of the variation of external constraint have direct clinical application and constitute requirements for the construction of our device. We want to be able to manipulate the external constraints on our device to mimic at least the four major types of clinically applied external dressings or garments that are felt to have vascular (flow) effects: 1) rigid, immobile, closely-applied dressing (at least non-elastic if not rigid), e.g. "contact casting" for diabetic foot wounds, orthopedic casting for trauma, Unna boot for stasis ulcers; 2) flexible, elastic single or multilayer wrap, e.g. Jones wrap, 2 or 3-layer compression wraps for stasis disease, ace wrap for athletic injuries; 3) air or water filled compression wraps (positive pressure), e.g. "G suits," MAST trousers for trauma, compression garments for venous stasis disease; and 4) vacuum-press applied dressings (negative pressure), e.g. compressed-foam suction applied external dressings such as the VAC, or external suction dressings with other materials.
The effects that changing volume and surface area inside a space can have on fluid dynamics and vice-versa are well known. Ideally, a device to duplicate physiologic states should have this ability to change volumes by manipulating the external constraints and changing the internal pressures independently.
An area of wound-dressing and wound-healing technology is known as "moist wound healing." Three major components that constitute the external and physical environment of the healing wound should, in an ideal wound-healing environment, be controlled. First, wound healing is inversely related to bacterial growth. Second, it has been shown that, holding other variables constant, there is a clear linear relationship between the moisture level at the wound-site and the rate of epithelial advancement. The final important characteristic is the surface contact property of the wound dressing. The surface contact property can help to control the other two major factors, but must be made of a suitable material that promotes endurance of the dressing as well as comfort to the patient.
Thin pieces of foam have been used in moist-wound healing applications. The external face of the thin foam was more open allowing for enough moisture retention initially, but then allowing drying to occur with the dressing still in place. Because this foam did not adhere to the wound, it could be moved or removed without disrupting the epithelium. However, this practice was often limited to use with incisions smaller than one inch, as the thin foam is incapable of managing a large amount of exudates for a large, fresh wound, and if exudates accumulate under the foam piece the foam will lose surface contact, which allows bacteria to build up.
In general, epithelium advances or migrates best if moisture is maximized and then matures best if moisture is minimized. Although the idea of moist wound healing is not new, it is still evolving.
Another important aspect of wound healing relates to the respective roles of the vascular and lymphatic circulatory systems, both of which are involved in wound healing, but perform different functions. An injury to the vascular system typically results in clotting due to the exposed red blood cells, which controls bleeding. Lymph fluid, however, lacks comparable coagulating properties. Moreover, the lymphatic circulatory system lacks the muscled walls of the vascular circulatory system. Stemming the outpouring of lymph, interstitial fluid and white cells involves compressing the lymphatic circulatory system through surrounding tissue swelling from an accumulation of edema and interstitial fluid. Unlike the quick response of coagulating red cells, lymphatic circulatory system closure tends to be slower and can take days.
Based on the involvement of the vascular and lymphatic circulatory systems in wound healing, influencing the performance of these circulatory systems can significantly improve wound healing. Wound closure can be achieved more quickly and infection risks can be reduced by controlling the factors affecting vascular and lymphatic circulation. For example, a profusion of blood flow in the wound site generally promotes re-epithelialization. The cells are also responsive to compression and tension. Properly applied and sequenced, compression and tension can promote healing.
The present invention addresses these wound healing factors by controlling and directing cellular functions based on contact and controlling such physical forces as shear, compression, tension and other physiological variables associated with the tissues and the fluids associated with the wound site and otherwise involved in the wound healing process.

Simulation and control system and method using contact, pressure waves and factor controls for cell regeneration, tissue closure and related applications


A side wall of a vehicle bed can be configured to provide support against vertical loads, such as step loading, imposed on a lateral side wall of the bed. The bed can be defined in part by a first lateral side wall and a second lateral side wall. The first and/or second lateral side wall can include an inner wall member, an outer wall member, and a top protector. The top protector can being operatively connected to the inner and outer wall members. The top protector can define a top surface of the respective lateral side wall. The inner wall member can include a transverse portion that extends to an innermost end. The innermost end can be substantially adjacent to an inner side of the top protector. Thus, the inner and outer wall members can support the top protector across substantially its entire width.

Some motor vehicles have storage spaces located behind a passenger seating area. For example, pick-up trucks are motor vehicles with a rear open top cargo area, which is commonly referred to as a bed, located behind a passenger cabin. The bed allows the vehicle to be utilized in many different ways, including carrying or storing various types of cargo (e.g., tools, groceries, sporting equipment, etc.). Some beds can include features to facilitate the securing and/or transport of cargo loaded within the bed, such as tie down members and accessory rails.

Vehicle bed side wall configured for vertical load support

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


An upholstery cover article comprises a pad; a facing laminated to one side of the pad; a backing scrim laminated to the other side of the pad opposite the fabric cover; and an edge attachment article secured to a perimeter of at least one of the pad, the facing, or the backing scrim. The edge attachment article consists essentially of a ribbon of spring material, which is formed to provide a securement portion that is secured along the perimeter of the flexible panel, and to provide an catch portion that is not secured to the flexible panel and protrudes contiguous from the securement portion partway across the flexible panel.

Technical Field
The invention relates to upholstered furniture. Particular embodiments of the invention relate to means for attaching upholstery covers to furniture frames.
Discussion of Art
Upholstery for aircraft seating usually includes a "dress" upholstery cover that is used to provide the final layer of comfort control, feel and appearance. Such covers are made from many materials, commonly cloth fabrics, natural, reconstituted, and faux leather are used. Some include foam or other types of padding. The covers must be removable for maintenance, especially fabric ones which require dry cleaning. Dress cover design and construction varies widely depending on the seat configuration, material, design aesthetics, and acceptable cost. However, it is common for covers to be complicated to make and install. Much of the complexity stems from needing to be removable. Additional complexity arises from attempts to conform flexible covers to contoured seating surfaces.
Accordingly it is desirable to provide lightweight upholstery covers that are easily removable and installable, and that can conform to contoured seating surfaces without complex installation.

Lightweight upholstery cover with edge attachment


A method and apparatus for producing esters without the aid of a conventional acid catalyst. A mixture of a monohydric aliphatic alcohol and a lower carboxylic acid is provided in a reaction vessel equipped with a fractionating column connected to a condenser and a collecting vessel. Heating means and a device for passing small bubbles of gas through the reactants are included. The alcohol/carboxylic acid mixture is maintained at a temperature of at least about the boiling point of the alcohol, but below about the boiling point of the carboxylic acid, and a gas inert to the esterification reaction is bubbled through the mixture to remove the esterification product therein formed. The removed vapors are collected and condensed, and the esterification product is recovered in high conversion and purity.

This invention relates generally to the manufacture of esters, and more particularly to a process for the efficient, economic manufacture of such esters, and especially ethyl acetate, without the need of a conventional catalyst.
The production of many esters is accomplished by the reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid. For example, ethyl acetate has long been produced commercially according to the following reaction: EQU C.sub.2 H.sub.5 OH+CH.sub.3 COOH.revreaction.CH.sub.3 COOC.sub.2 H.sub.5 +H.sub.2 O
This reaction is known to proceed slowly however, so that without the use of a catalyst to promote the forward reaction, equilibrium is established after several weeks at room temperature. Because this rate of reaction is not satisfactory for commercial applications a strong acid catalyst is often used to drive these reactions. For example, both concentrated sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride gas have been used and are known to be particularly effective esterification catalysts in such reactions. These catalysts drive the reactions through to equilibrium more rapidly, i.e., within a matter of hours.
The use of such acids to catalyze esterification reactions may not be favored however. Acid catalysts also promote numerous side reactions to varying degrees resulting in small amounts of contaminants, some of which have very low sensory thresholds. As a result, synthetic ethyl acetate esters made from petroleum-based alcohols and carboxylic acids may have objectional sensory profiles.
In addition, acid catalysts are not acceptable for use in a particular and growing segment of the food industry which requires "naturally-made" esters for certain products. For example, "naturally-made" ethyl acetate is commercially useful for "natural decaffeination" processes for coffee. Other potential uses of natural esters include the preparation of certain pharmaceutical products and as direct food additives in natural flavor extracts.
Presently, such "naturally-made" esters are largely produced as by-products of certain fermentation processes. Unfortunately, the cost of manufacturing such "naturally-made" esters can be prohibitively high. For example, at current market prices, the cost of "naturally-made" ethyl acetate is approximately $10.00/lb. In addition, the purities of the product esters from such processes are unsatisfactory in many cases. For example, the purity of ethyl acetate commercially produced as a fermentation by-product rarely exceeds 90% to 92%. A variety of undesirable contaminants are also typically found in the resulting acetates when such processes are employed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of efficiently and economically producing esters without the aid of conventional acid catalysts. The present invention addresses that need.


A permanent magnet motor or actuator, such as the voice coil motors used in disk drives to position read/write heads, with an armature to magnet interface or junction modified to expand the magnetic material into regions of the armature that carry less than the maximum possible magnetic flux so as to have increased flux strength without inducing leakage of the flux out of the armature. Reduced flux regions include outside corners of the armature, places where the flux divides into two paths, and parts of the armature that have comparatively longer flux lines.

Contemporary computer non-volatile random access mass data storage is often provided by either magnetic disks, such as floppy or hard disks, or optical disks. The magnetic media are accessed with magnetic read/write heads while the optical disks are written and read by lasers. Either type of device is best positioned at the desired location on the disk with a voice coil motor that derives its motive force from a current carrying coil moving in a magnetic field. The magnetic field usually is generated by permanent magnets.
Although the present invention is applicable to any type of magnetic motor, its benefits are especially welcome in the VCM technology where design constraints are particularly stringent. Voice coil motors use permanent magnets to generate magnetic flux, through armatures, to a gap. A coil of wire in the gap is moved by the flux when current is conducted through the coil. The force on the coil is proportional to the current. The coil is, in turn, mechanically connected to suitable structures to move the read/write heads or laser optics.
The armature shape is very important. Since the permanent magnets and armatures must often move with the heads or optics, they contribute to the moving mass and seriously affect seek time. Thus, a minimum weight permanent magnet and armature are required. This conflicts with other needs, however. For maximum motive force, it is important to have a high and uniform flux density in the gap so as to produce a high force in the coil with reduced power dissipation. Uniform flux is needed to keep the force constant as the coil moves in the gap. And yet, the flux must not be allowed to exceed the level that the armature can contain since flux leakage from the armature could be disastrous to the magnetic storage media which operate in very close proximity to the voice coil motor. Optical systems also store data in frozen magnetic domains on the surface of the disk. Spurious magnetic fields could erratically change or erase data.
VCM designers, then, strive for a careful balance of all of the above factors. The most powerful neodymium magnets are used to produce the strongest flux fields for the lightest weight. Armatures are shaped to have just the cross sectional area needed to carry the flux without leakage, and no larger, so as to achieve the lightest weight. Coils may even be wound from square wire to carry the maximum current at the smallest size and weight. As a consequence, VCM's have been built that seek to the selected data track very fast and, in the case of optical systems, focus optics on the data track very fast. Despite these advances, faster data access is a never ending goal. To make even more efficient VCM devices, this invention discloses an improved magnet and armature design which allows still further improvements in the efficiency of the VCM magnetic circuits.


A glass panel unit includes: a first panel; a second panel facing the first panel; a sealing member bonded to respective facing peripheral portions of the first panel and the second panel; and at least one spacer provided in a reduced pressure space between the first panel and the second panel. The at least one spacer includes a resin body and at least one ultraviolet protective layer provided on a surface of the resin body.

A glass panel having a vacuum space between a pair of glass plates (hereinafter referred to as a "vacuum glass panel") has been known in the art. The vacuum glass panel is also called a "multiple pane." The vacuum glass panel has excellent thermal insulation properties because the vacuum space reduces heat conduction. When a vacuum glass panel is manufactured, two glass plates to form a pair are bonded together with a gap left between them, the space inside the pair is evacuated, and the inner space is sealed hermetically, thus forming a vacuum space there.
It has been proposed that spacers be used to maintain a sufficient thickness for the vacuum space of such a vacuum glass panel. The spacers are parts to be interposed between the two glass plates. The spacers are required to have some strength, and therefore, a metal is one of well-known materials for the spacers. Meanwhile, spacers made of a polymer have also been disclosed as in Patent Literature 1, for example.
According to Patent Literature 1, using a polymer (i.e., a resin) as a material for the spacers imparts some flexibility to the spacers. However, it is not easy to ensure a sufficient thickness for the vacuum space successfully with such polymer spacers. In addition, installing a vacuum glass panel in a place exposed to an ultraviolet ray (e.g., outdoors) would make the spacers easily degradable, which is not beneficial.

Glass panel unit, glass window provided with same, and method for manufacturing glass panel unit

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A graphics processing unit (GPU) of a processing system transmits pixel data for a frame to a display in a compressed burst, so that the pixel data is communicated at a rate that is higher than the rate at which the display scans out the pixel data to refresh the frame at a display panel. By transmitting pixel data for the frame in a compressed burst, the GPU shortens the time spent transmitting the pixel data and extends the time before the next frame of pixel data is to be transmitted. During the extended time before the next frame of pixel data is to be transmitted, the GPU saves power by placing portions of the processing system in a reduced power mode.

A typical processing system employs a graphics processing unit (GPU) to generate images for display. Based on commands received from a central processing unit (CPU) or other processing unit, the GPU generates a series of frames and renders the series of frames for a display, such as a computer monitor. The GPU encodes the frames and transmits the frames via an interconnect to the display. The display processes the received encoded data and updates the image at a display panel based on the received data. Typically, the rate at which the GPU transmits frames to the display is synchronized with the rate at which the display updates the display panel. For example, a display with a 60 Hz refresh rate is updated every 16.6 milliseconds (ms). Likewise, the GPU transmits the updated frame to the GPU over a span of 16.6 ms.


A semiconductor device comprises a substrate. A plurality of electrode layers and a plurality of insulating layers are formed in an alternating stack above the substrate. A semiconductor column extends through the plurality of electrode layers and the plurality of insulating layers. The semiconductor column comprises a single-crystal semiconductor material on an outer peripheral surface facing the electrode and insulating layers. First insulating films are formed between the semiconductor column and the electrode layers. The first insulating films are spaced from each other along the column length. Each first insulating film corresponds to one electrode layer. A charge storage layer is between each of the first insulating films and the electrode layers. A second insulating film is between the charge storage layer and each of the electrode layers.

Variations in dimensions of various components in three-dimensional memory devices or the like resulting from variations in manufacturing processes may ultimately diminish the reliability and performance of the memory devices. For example, a variation in a diameter of a memory hole in a three-dimensional memory device causes a variation in a thickness of a channel semiconductor layer, possibly resulting in variations in a cell current and a threshold voltage for individual memory cells in the device.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing same


A magnet sheet 3 with a thickness of 0.05 to 0.15 mm is formed by molding a material obtained by adding magnetic particles to a synthetic resin material into a sheet and multiple pole magnetizing one surface of the sheet to form alternate N and S poles on that surface. A printing sheet 2 with a thickness of 0.05 to 0.15 mm, constituted by a paper sheet such as a high quality paper sheet or a coated paper sheet or a synthetic paper sheet or a synthetic resin film, is bonded to the non-magnetized surface of the magnet sheet 3. A magnet display sheet 1 , which has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, is thus obtained, and it is capable of being printing on with a usual home or office copier or printer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetic sheets which can be directly magnetically attached to magnetic surfaces of steel boards, white boards, etc., and more particularly, to magnetic sheets for display which are capable of printing print contents thereon using home or business office printers, such as copiers, laser printers, ink jet printers, bubble jet printers, ink ribbon type heat-sensitive printers, dot printers, plotters, etc.
2. Prior Art
A magnet sheet, which is made of a material obtained by adding magnetic particles to a synthetic resin material and has one surface with alternate N and S magnetic poles formed by multiple pole magnetization, is sheet-like and flexible and can be magnetically and detachably attached to magnetic surfaces of steel boards, white boards, etc. Thus, it has extensive applications as marks for car driving beginners, business displays, document binders, drawing boards, and notices to be attached to magnetic surfaces.
The marks for car driving beginners and business displays are produced in a method, in which a white vinyl chloride sheet or like display sheet is bonded with an adhesive or the like to a magnet sheet and a desired display is formed by silk printing or the like on the display sheet, or a method, in which a display is printed in advance on a display sheet and then the display sheet is bonded likewise to a magnet sheet. They can be conveniently attached to surfaces of magnetic members such as steel boards.
Although displays using magnet sheets as above can be conveniently magnetically attached to any magnetic surface, they are expensive because each of them is prepared by the above method of bonding a white vinyl chloride sheet or like display sheet on a magnet sheet and printing a desired display content thereon by silk printing which requires a printing plate for each color or preliminarily printing a display content on a display sheet using a printer and bonding this display sheet to a magnet sheet. Also, the kind and form of the display are inevitably limited. Therefore, it is, presently necessary for general home or offices to purchase magnetic sheets for display, with impressions of display contents, from specialized shops, or displays have to be given up when magnetic sheets with desired display contents are not available.


A recording head for use in an inkjet recording device, the recording head including a cavity unit having a plurality of nozzles each of which ejects a droplet of an ink, a plurality of communication holes which communicate with the plurality of nozzles, respectively, and a common ink chamber which communicate with each of the communication holes and which temporarily stores the ink to be supplied to the each of the nozzles via a corresponding one of the communication holes. The cavity unit has at least one inner wall surface which defines the common ink chamber and has respective open ends of the communication holes. The at least one inner wall surface further has a plurality of grooves each of which is connected, at one end thereof, to the open end of a corresponding one of the communication holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer head, i.e., a recording head for use in an inkjet recording device.
2. Discussion Of Related Art
As one of recording devices that record an image on a recording medium such as a recording sheet, there has conventionally been known an inkjet printer that ejects droplets of ink toward a recording medium and thereby records an image on the medium. Recently there has been a tendency that the inkjet printer employs an increased number of ink ejection nozzles to perform recording (i.e., printing) at an increased speed. Accordingly the inkjet printer employs an increased number of pressure chambers (i.e., individual ink chambers) corresponding to the increased number of ink ejection nozzles, respectively. In the case where the inkjet printer is for recording a full-color image, the inkjet printer employs a plurality of groups of pressure chambers corresponding to a plurality of color inks (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks), respectively, and a plurality of manifolds (i.e., common ink chambers) each of which supplies a corresponding one of the color inks to a corresponding group of pressure chambers. In this case, each of the manifolds is provided in the vicinity of the corresponding group of pressure chambers.
FIG. 10 shows a recording head 101 for use in a conventional inkjet recording device. The recording head 101 includes a cavity unit 131 and a piezoelectric actuator 151. The cavity unit 131 has a plurality of nozzle holes 141a (i.e., ink ejection nozzles) that eject droplets of an ink; a plurality of pressure chambers 149a (i.e., individual ink chambers) that communicate with the nozzle holes 141a, respectively; and a manifold (i.e., a common ink chamber), that is, a pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a that temporarily stores the ink and supplies the ink to each of the pressure chambers 149a. The piezoelectric actuator 151 changes a pressure of the ink in each of the pressure chambers 149a and thereby ejects, from a corresponding one of the nozzle holes 141a, a droplet of the ink toward a recording sheet.
The cavity unit 131 includes a nozzle sheet 141, and a stacked structure consisting of a plurality of stacked sheets. Those stacked sheets include a spacer sheet 142; a damper sheet 143; two manifold sheets 144, 145; a ceiling sheet 146; an aperture sheet 147; a base sheet 148; and a cavity sheet 149, and are bonded with an adhesive to each other. Communication holes 146a, 148a and communication passages 147a through which the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a communicates with the pressure chambers 149a, respectively, are formed in the sheets 146, 148, 147; and communication holes 142a, 143b, 144b, 145b, 146b, 147b, 148b through which the pressure chambers 149a communicate with the nozzle holes 141a, respectively, are formed in the sheets 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148. The damper sheet 143 has a recess 143a functioning as a damper chamber that damps vibration of the ink present in the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a. The recess 143a opens toward the nozzle sheet 141.
Generally, the communication holes 146a are through-holes that are formed through the thickness of the ceiling sheet 146, and have a circular cross-section shape whose diameter ranges from 150 μm to 250 μm. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, if a small air bubble, B1, whose diameter ranges from 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm, flows from an upstream-side portion of the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a toward a downstream-side portion of the same, and remains just under each of the communication holes 146a, the small air bubble B1 blocks or closes the each communication hole 146. Thus, the ink cannot be supplied to a corresponding one of the pressure chambers 149a, or ejected from a corresponding one of the nozzle holes 141a.
FIG. 12 shows such a large air bubble, B2, that blocks the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a as a whole. In this case, as the ink is consumed through the nozzle holes 141a corresponding to the downstream communication holes 146a currently located on the downstream side of the large air bubble B2, the large air bubble B2 is moved downstream toward the downstream-side portion of the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a. Since the large air bubble B2 is moved little by little, each communication hole 146a that has temporarily been closed by the air bubble B2 is again supplied with the ink, and accordingly the ink is again ejected from the corresponding nozzle hole 141a. However, when the large air bubble B2 reaches the downstream-side end of the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a, the air bubble B2 becomes unable to move any more and stays there. Thus, the communication hole or holes 146a, provided around the downstream-side end of the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a, remain closed by the large air bubble B2, and accordingly the ink cannot be ejected from the corresponding nozzle holes 141a.
The nozzle holes 141a that have failed because of staying of the air bubble B1, B2 can be restored to their normal condition, by being subjected to a known purging operation. However, if one or more nozzle holes 141a fail because of staying of the air bubble B1, B2 during a recording operation of the inkjet recording device, those nozzle holes 141a cannot be instantaneously subjected to the purging operation and cannot be restored to their normal condition.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-20186 or its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,296 proposes an inkjet recording device that employs, for the purpose of supplying, in spite of staying of air bubbles, a sufficient amount of ink to a recording head, a first ink supply passage that is provided with a plurality of radial ridges that are spaced from each other by an angular pitch assuring that the radial ridges can capture the air bubbles.
However, the inkjet recording device disclosed by the above-indicated document is one that additionally employs a second ink supply passage through which the ink flows from an ink cartridge toward the first ink supply passage; and a filter that is provided in an area where the first and second ink flow passages are connected to each other. Therefore, the disclosed technique cannot be used as a countermeasure to deal with the air bubbles B1, B2 produced in the pair of manifold holes 144a, 145a of the cavity unit 131 of the recording head 101.

Inkjet printer head with ink-flow grooves on the wall of the common ink chamber


The present invention is an adjustable door sweep that would be available as either an accessory attached to the bottom exterior of a door or as an integrated component installed inside a newly manufactured door. Both embodiments would feature sweep bristles stored vertically in the housing, running the width of the door, and protruding from a half-inch aperture on the bottom of the door itself or attached accessory. When deployed from the bottom of the door or accessory, the individual bristles would conform perfectly to the exact contour of the threshold surface, regardless if it is natural or man-made, then be locked in place by the present invention.

The installation of a hinged door often results in gaps between the threshold (whether manufactured or natural ground surface) and the bottom of the door. To prevent, or at least mitigate, the migration of insects, snakes, rodents, dust, leaves, etc. from entering via those gaps, devices such as weather stripping, seals, and traditional door sweeps have been utilized. However, such devices are typically either a.) a predetermined, non-adjustable height and therefore may not close the gap or b.) have an adjustable height but is unable to conform to the slope and/or contour of the threshold surface.


Furniture pieces are disclosed. A furniture piece includes a body, a non-flat base surface, a seat surface, a back protrusion, and a work surface. The non-flat base surface is positioned on a first side of the body, and the seat surface is positioned on a second side of the body opposite the first side. The back protrusion extends outward from the second side of the body adjacent the seat surface. The work surface is positioned on a third side of the body extending between the first and second sides.

Classroom environments conventionally provide a static setting for learning. These environments usually consist of a "student area" where a student can sit and have a work surface. In the most conventional setting, the student area consists of a conventional desk configuration, which includes a desk base that supports a work surface, as well as, a seat to position the student in a positional relationship to the work surface. These conventional desk configurations have been designed for a single basis purpose, to provide a work area for a student to learn.
However, studies have shown that static classroom settings do not necessarily provide an efficient environment for learning for many students. More specifically, these studies have found that a dynamic classroom setting may provide an effective learning environment.
One way to realize a dynamic classroom setting is to periodically re-arrange the physical environment, such as moving the conventional desks into various physical arrangements, such as a cluster arrangement or a circular arrangement. Another arrangement would be to "remove" the desks so that the students either stand in a certain area or even sit of the floor or mat to facilitate the learning process.
One issue in realizing a physical dynamic classroom setting is that the conventional desks are not easily moved and can be bulky, thereby hindering an effective "removal" thereof.
Another way to realize a dynamic classroom setting is to provide for positive non-disruptive distractions, such as using multi-media to break-up traditional lectures. Such positive non-disruptive distractions are usually classroom wide; however, these positive non-disruptive distractions do not always provide the "break" some students need to enable them to re-focus on the learning process.
In such situations, individual positive non-disruptive distractions are desirable.
An example of a conventional individual positive non-disruptive distraction device to provide a means for the student to use to assist in re-focusing the student on the learning process is illustrated in FIG. 12.
As illustrated in FIG. 12, a foot rest device 1100 is connected to the legs 1000 of a conventional desk by straps 1200. The straps 1200 are not rigid, thereby allowing some three-dimensional movement of the foot rest device 1100.
The conventional individual positive non-disruptive distraction device of FIG. 12 provides a mechanism for the student to non-disruptively release energy so as to assist in re-focusing the student on the learning process.
Although this conventional individual positive non-disruptive distraction device provides for energy release, the device hinders the stackability of the conventional desk, and thereby hinders the efficient "removal" of the desks.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide classroom "desks" which provide easy and effective dynamic classroom settings. Moreover, it is desirable to provide classroom "desks" which provide easy and effective dynamic classroom settings and an effective individual positive non-disruptive distraction mechanism.

Multi-orientation modular furniture having an energy releasable design


A powdery mixture of fine SiC powder with one or more oxide sintering additives of Al2O3, Y2O3, SiO2 and CaO is blended and uniformly dispersed in a polymeric SiC precursor to prepare a matrix-forming polymeric slurry. A preform of SiC fiber, which has quasi-stoichiometric composition with high crystallinity, is impregnated with the polymeric slurry and then hot-pressed at a temperature of 1600° C. or higher in presence of a liquid phase. Since the heat-resistant SiC fiber is used as strengthening fiber, the prepreg is sintered to a dense SiC composite excellent in mechanical properties by one-step hot-pressing.

Various ceramics such as SiC and Si3N4, which have good properties such as heat-resistance, corrosion-resistance and mechanical strength, have been developed so far for structural members of aircraft, spacecraft, nuclear reactors or the like driven under severe conditions. Such ceramics are also used as members of heat exchangers or mechanical seals driven under heavy-duty conditions. Especially, SiC is a suitable material in various industrial fields from aerospace to nuclear power generation, due to its excellent heat- and wear-resistance as well as chemical stability and reduced-activation property in a nuclear environment.
SiC is brittle itself, despite of good high-temperature property with a sublimation temperature higher than 2600° C. In order to overcome poor toughness, a SiC fiber-reinforced SiC-matrix composite (hereinafter referred to as merely "a SiC composite") has been proposed, as reported in A. Lacombe and C. Bonnet, 2nd Int. Aerospace Planes Conf. Proc. AIAA-90-5208 (1990) and C. W. Hollenberg et al., J. Nucl. Mat., 219, (1995)70-86.
Several methods, e.g. hot-pressing and liquid-phase sintering, have been developed so far for manufacturing a SiC composite. However, it is very difficult to manufacture a SiC composite good of thermal conductivity, density and strength, so that the same steps are necessarily repeated in order to improve properties of the SiC composite. Repetition of the same steps complicates a manufacturing process and raises a manufacturing cost. Moreover, members with complicated profiles cannot be manufactured with ease due to repetition of the same steps. In this meaning, a SiC composite has not been available for industrial application, yet.
Although a polymer impregnation and pyrolysis process, hot-pressing and liquid-phase sintering are regarded as methods, which will be industrially adopted in near future, there still remains the problem that a sintering temperature can not be elevated to a level enough to improve properties of a SiC composite without damages of SiC fiber. Due to the restriction on the sintering temperature, properties of the SiC matrix are not well improved. For instance, when SiC fiber synthesized from polycarbosilane is used for manufacturing a SiC composite, a sintering temperature is necessarily predetermined not higher than 1600° C. even in short-time heat-treatment, since heat-resistance of SiC fiber itself is 1300° C. or so at highest. The sintering temperature below 1600° C. is too low to promote a liquid-phase sintering reaction. Consequently, a heat-treated SiC composite is not well densified and poor of thermal and mechanical properties.

Method for producing SiC fiber-reinforced SiC composite material by means of hot press

Japan Science and Technology Corporation


A method for controlling quantization scales when encoding video signals, includes: obtaining a number of changes in the quantization scales of within a time period; generating a new quantization scale; and comparing the number of changes with a predetermined value to determine whether to replace a prior quantization scale with the new quantization scale; wherein when the number of changes exceeds the predetermined value, retain the prior quantization scale instead of replacing it with the new quantization scale.

The invention relates to methods and devices for controlling quantization scales of video signals, and more particularly, to methods and devices for controlling quantization scales of video signals in a video encoding device.
According to MPEG (moving picture coding experts) 2 standard, an image is compressed by eliminating spatial redundancies by chrominance sampling, discrete cosine transform (DCT) and quantization, and eliminating temporal redundancies due to similarity between frames by motion compensation (MC).
Generally, there are chromatic or geometrical similarities between frames. In order to eliminate spatial redundancies, it is required to find out important elements and remove those elements that are less important. According to experiments, the human eye is more sensitive to luminance than chrominance. Thus, the MPEG 2 standard, which symbolizes luminance (a.k.a. luma) with Y and chrominance (a.k.a. chroma) with Cr and Cb, reduces signal volume by decreasing chrominance sampling. The MPEG 2 standard defines three sampling modes—4:2:0, 4:2:2, and 4:4:4—which represent three different chroma sampling frequencies. For instance, 4:2:0 mode means sampling 4 Y blocks (each block 8*8 pixels), 1 Cr block (8*8 pixels) and 1 Cb block (8*8 pixels) from a macro block the size of 16*16 pixels. By reducing the chroma sampling frequency, data compression can be optimized.
Video data is actually a continuous series of still frames, which are perceived as a moving picture due to the persistence of images in the vision of human eyes. The frames have a very short time interval, and there is only small difference between neighboring frames. Therefore, the MPEG 2 standard eliminates temporal redundancies due to similarity between frames by motion compensation (MC). The method described above is well known by a person skilled in the art.
Please refer to FIG. 1 showing a conventional video encoder 10. The video encoder 10 includes a DCT device 12, a motion estimator and compensator 14, a quantizer 16, a variable length encoder (VLE) 18, and a rate controller 20. The video encoder 10 utilizes the DCT device 12 and the quantizer 16 to eliminate spatial redundancies and the motion estimator and compensator 14 to eliminate temporal redundancies in order to compress the digital video data. The compressed data is then encoded by the VLE 18 and sent to a system multiplexer (not shown) to output the data in a transport stream or program stream as defined by the MPEG 2 standard.
The DCT device 12 performs DCT operation to every block (each block includes 8*8 pixels) sampled from a macro block in order to transform the video data from a spatial domain to a frequency domain. The DCT operation is a completely reversible mathematical operation. A DCT coefficient obtained after transforming the chroma of the block remains as an 8*8 two-dimensional matrix. Generally, there is hardly any intensive change of colors in a frame; thus the DCT coefficient standing for higher spatial frequency in the matrix is small or even 0. Basically, DCT operation does not reduce data volume but instead transforms the data in a format where redundancies can be more easily found.
Subsequently, the quantizer 16 quantizes the DCT coefficient to further compress the video data. Quantization is to reduce the description of the bit number of each coefficient; that is, each coefficient is described in a less precise unit. Quantization makes a value close to 0 become 0 and reduces the distribution of coefficients that are not 0 for a better performance on data compression. Quantization is a sort of damaging compression, which means the data quantized is not the same as the original. Therefore, the distortion resulting from compression is dependent on the selection of quantization scale.
The rate controller 20 in the video encoder 10 is for adjusting the quantization scale of the quantizer 16 according to a predetermined output bit rate range of the video encoder 10. The rate controller 20 adjusts the quantization scale for a macro block; that is, every block sampled from a macro block has the same quantization scale.
After quantization by the quantizer 16, the video encoder 10 connects those DCT coefficients in the quantized two-dimensional matrix serially, turning it into a one-dimensional series by way of a specific algorithm, to create the series with the longest length of continuous 0's in order to optimize the data compression. Subsequently, the VLE 18 compresses the one-dimensional series to output a compressed bit stream, which is called an encoded bit stream.
Lowering the quantization scale of the quantizer 16 lowers the compression rate, which increases the image quality, but increases the bit rate of the encoded bit stream output by the VLE 18. In contrast, increasing the quantization scale of the quantizer 16 increases the compression rate, which lowers the image quality, but lowers the bit rate of the encoded bit stream output by the VLE 18. In the encoded bit stream, each quantization scale applied during encoding is represented by, for example, 7–8 bits. These bits are used for decoding the encoded bit stream.
Along with the description above, in the case that the output bit rate of the video encoder 10 is to be kept in a predetermined range, if the quantization scale varies too frequently, there may be a large number of bits used to record quantization scales in the encoded bit stream output by the video encoder 10. For instance, in the NTSC standard, there are 30 frames per second, and each frame has 1350 macro blocks. In this case, if the output bit rate of the video encoder 10 is 2 Mbps, the share of the output bit rate for each compressed macro block is only 49.3 bits. If the rate controller 20 varies the quantization scale for every macro block, around 14% (7/49.3=0.14) of the output bit rate is used for recording the quantization scale. Such arrangement of the bit rate is not efficient.
Therefore in the conventional video encoder 10, the more frequent the rate controller 20 varies the quantization scale, the more bits are wasted on recording the quantization scale, so the remaining bit rate available for recording video data itself is limited and the image quality is not satisfactory.

Method and device for controlling quantization scales of a video encoding bit stream


A powder-liquid dental curable material kit composed of (A) a liquid material and (B) a powder material, wherein the liquid material (A) contains (a1) a radically polymerizable (meth)acrylic monomer, (a2) an organic halogen compound and (a3) a radical chain transfer agent; the powder material (B) contains (b1) non-crosslinked resin particles, (b2) a pyrimidinetrione compound and (b3) an organic metal compound; and (Z) a peroxide is blended in at least one of the liquid material (A) and the powder material (B). This curable material kit is capable of reducing the heat generation during the curing of a curable material which is a mixture of the liquid material (A) and the powder material (B) and is not susceptible to the excessive prolongation of the curing time even when the curable material is cured by a brush-on technique, thereby ensuring an appropriate curing time for both of a brush-on technique and a kneading technique.

A powder-liquid curable material kit used in the field of dental treatment is composed of a liquid material containing a radically polymerizable (meth)acrylic monomer such as a lower alkyl(meth)acrylate-based monomer as the main component and a powder material containing a non-crosslinked resin such as polymethyl methacrylate as the main component, and a curable material is prepared by mixing together the powder material and the liquid material.
In this curable material kit, a chemical polymerization type radical polymerization initiator composed of a plurality of constituent components is used to polymerize the above radically polymerizable (meth)acrylic monomer. That is, the constituent components of this chemical polymerization type polymerization initiator are separately blended in the liquid material and the powder material so that a radical is produced when the liquid material and the powder material are mixed together to initiate the radical polymerization of the above (meth)acrylate-based monomer.
Although this chemical polymerization type radical polymerization initiator is generally a combination of an organic peroxide and an aromatic tertiary amine, a combination of a pyrimidinetrione derivative, an organic metal compound and an organic halogen compound is also known as an advantageous polymerization initiator because the discoloration of a cured product hardly occurs (refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Since a cured product obtained by radical polymerization contains the non-crosslinked resin, it has the advantage of high toughness as compared with a cured product containing an inorganic filler. Therefore, the powder-liquid dental curable material kit is very useful for dental clinical applications where high toughness is required and commercialized as an adhesive resin cement material which is used for the splinting of a mobile tooth, the bonding and baoding of an orthodontic and the bonding of an artificial tooth and as a normal-temperature polymerization resin material which is used for the repair of a broken denture.
In most of these applications, a mixture of the liquid material and the powder material is often cured in the oral cavity of a patient. In this case, the amount of heat generated during curing must be small in order not to hurt the patient. Further, it is also important to control the time (curing time) elapsed until the mixture is cured according to the clinical situation.
In the above powder-liquid dental curable material kit, a technology for controlling the curing time by slowing down the curing rate moderately by using a polymerization inhibitor has been proposed in order to control the heating temperature and the curing time (refer to Patent Document 3). However, when the curing time is controlled by this method, a polymerization reaction proceeds at once after the polymerization inhibitor is used up to delay curing and disappears. Therefore, the technology is ineffective for the suppression of heat generation during curing.
Also, a technology for controlling the curing time arbitrarily and suppressing heat generation during curing without deteriorating the physical properties of a cured product by using a radical chain transfer agent has been reported (refer to Patent Document 4).

Powder-liquid dental curable material kit


An apparatus device may include a bio-impedance sensor configured to take a bio-impedance measurement from a body of an individual, an optical sensor configured to take an optical measurement from the body of the individual, and a processing device configured to receive a first bio-impedance measurement from the bio-impedance sensor taken during a first period of time and a first optical measurement from the optical sensor taken during the first period of time, receive first location information of the individual during the first period of time, determine a first correlation between a physiological parameter and at least one of the first location, the first bio-impedance measurement, or the first optical measurement, and determine a first level of the physiological parameter based on the first correlation.

As portable devices and technology continue to expand and develop, individuals are increasingly searching for devices to measure and monitor various aspects of their lives. For example, wearable fitness monitors may enable users to measure how many steps an individual has taken over a period of time or an amount of time the individual may be active over a period of time. Smart watches may enable users to execute applications, receive and send text messages, make phone calls, and so forth. Portable medical devices may enable a user to take medical measurements outside of a hospital environment. For example, a diabetic may use a portable insulin measurement device to monitor their blood sugar level. While portable measurement and monitoring devices may provide users with rudimentary measurement and monitoring information, the portable measurement and monitoring devices fail to provide users with meaningful information to enable users to analyze and improve many desired aspects of their lives.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Correlation of bio-impedance measurements and a physiological parameter for a wearable device