A balloon catheter which is good in cross ability and is also good in gripping property so as not to cause slipping during kissing technique includes a tubular body having a balloon 3provided in a distal section 12 of a shaft 1, the shaft 1 being flexible in the distal section 12 and stiff on its proximal side, whereby gripping property and cross ability are adjusted with good balance. Specifically, the gripping property is adjusted to 3.2 N to 6.0 N, and the cross ability is adjusted so that its initial value is not higher than 0.65 N and its middle value is 0.40 N.

Balloon catheters have heretofore been used for treatment of stenoses due to thrombi formed in organic lumina of blood vessels, bile ducts, air tubes and other organs.
A balloon catheter has a form approximately as shown in FIG. 1, and having a guide wire (GW) inserted through its internal cavity from a guide wire port 11, where the guide wire (GW) is inserted into, for example, a blood vessel. A balloon catheter (BC) is required to have an ability to cross to an objective area (cross ability), and therefore, is required to have an ability to be pushed into an objective area along the guide wire (GW) (pushability), followability which allows the balloon catheter (BC) to be easily deformed along the guide wire (GW), and a lubricative property of a portion to be inserted. To improve the pushability and the followability, a shaft 1 of the balloon catheter (BC) in general is flexible in a distal section 12 on a distal side relative to the guide wire port 11 and is stiff on a proximal side relative to the same. In addition, to improve the cross ability, a lubricative property is imparted by lubrication processing to the distal section 12 on the distal side relative to the guide wire port 11, which section includes the balloon 3 and a distal portion 2 extending from the balloon straight portion toward the distal end. As a method for lubrication processing, in general, the formation of a lubricant film by silicone coating or hydrophilization processing with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or the like is adopted (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,503,631 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,144). In FIG. 1, reference numeral 36 denotes a marker for confirming the position of the inserted balloon 3.
There is a case where stenoses occur in both bifurcated blood vessels in the vicinity of, for example, a bifurcation of a blood vessel. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, two balloon catheters (BC and BC) are respectively inserted into areas which extend from the bifurcation to the bifurcated blood vessels, and balloons (B and B) are respectively expanded to perform treatment for expanding the stenoses (U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,670).
However, the operation (kissing techniques) of introducing two balloon catheters into a bifurcation of a blood vessel and inserting and expanding their respective balloons in areas which extend from the bifurcation to the bifurcated blood vessels has the problem that when the balloons are expanded, the mutually adjacent balloons slip together and one of the balloons moves and deviates from the objective area (see, FIGS. 5b: one slips toward the distal end, and 5c: one slips toward the proximal end) so that the balloon that has deviated from the objective area cannot accurately expand the stenosis (see, FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c).
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the invention is to provide a balloon catheter which is improved in cross ability and is also improved in stability in an objective area (gripping property), which properties are adjusted with good balance so as not to cause slipping during kissing techniques.

Balloon catheter suited to kissing techniques


A method of creating an interactive broadcast, comprising allowing a plurality of participants to vote on an aspect of a scenario in a virtual space, the broadcast being a computer-generated animated scenario comprising graphics and audio, the participants voting by means of user interface devices which are linked over a communications network to a server, the server being operative to process the received votes and determine how the broadcast should be collectively influenced in view of the votes received, and then generate the broadcast.

Interactive broadcasting has of recent times found high popularity. This is undoubtedly due to the ability of such broadcasting to provided heightened enjoyment through the viewers having a sense of involvement. In a known 'virtual cartoon' series (The Smithsons produced by Illumina for the TV channel Sky TV in the UK), participant viewers are able to e-mail or post suggestions to the cartoon producer. The producer, a real person, would then determine which content suggestions were to be incorporated into a particular week's episode. For example the suggestions may include plot developments, phrases to be spoken by the cartoon characters, and even for graffiti which would appear in the cartoon environment. A disadvantage of such a production is that a high human input is required to select and incorporate the suggestions.
In a known television series (e.g. "Big Brother", a UK TV show) a group of people live together in a house and their day-to-day life in the house as they interact with others is watched by viewers using an array of cameras and microphones. Those viewing the series over the Internet are able to vote in support of or against the interests of the people in the house: whether a particular person should be evicted from the house. Automated telephone voting is also possible, as is Internet voting. The viewers are telecommunications/web participants. One costly aspect of such a series is the need to provide food and shelter for the human 'residents' of the house. Another is the cost of the production crew: there may be more than a hundred people (e.g. 300) employed to produce the show. The interactivity of the viewer-participants is limited to voting who they want to see evicted next.
In both of the examples given, humans are heavily involved in implementing the viewer-participant selected wishes (and in the case of "Big Brother" the characters are humans and there is no viewer-participation in what they do).

Method and apparatus for interactive broadcasting

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An umbrella includes a pole with an axially extending wire hole, a cover, and a plurality of cover support ribs, each of which is formed with a plurality of lamp holes, within each of which a lamp is mounted detachably. A main wire member extends through the wire hole in the pole. A plurality of branch wire members connect the lamps respectively and electrically to the main wire member. Each of the branch wire members is disposed between the cover and a corresponding one of the cover support ribs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an umbrella, and more particularly to an umbrella that includes a plurality of lamps mounted respectively and detachably within a plurality of holes in cover support ribs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sometimes, a plurality of lamps are mounted detachably on a conventional garden umbrella for purpose of decoration or illumination. However, the lamps are exposed outwardly of the pole and ribs of the conventional garden umbrella, and are likely to be damaged. Furthermore, it is difficult to open and close the conventional garden umbrella due to the presence of the lamps.

Umbrella with lamps mounted detachably within holes in cover support ribs


A food serving utensil is provided for grasping food. The utensil includes two concave, bowl-shaped members oriented relative to each other to define a cavity. The bowl-shaped members are rotatably coupled at a hinge to allow opening and closing of the cavity using a single hand. The hinge is preferably made of a resilient material and extends over the bowl-shaped members to provide a gripping surface for operation. A lock is provided to lock the bowl-shaped members in a partially closed position. The locked position enables the food serving utensil to be easily stored in limited spaces such as a kitchen drawer. The lock is also preferably designed such that utensil will not open inadvertently while stored. The lock is released by pushing the bowl-shaped members toward each other, preferably in a specific location on the bow-shaped members. A method for making the utensil is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to food serving utensils. In particular, this invention relates to an easily storable hand-held serving utensil that can be used to grasp foods such as salad or pasta.
2. State of the Art
Utensils are often used to assist the gathering and movement of difficult to grasp foods such as salad or pasta from a serving dish to a plate. Examples include salad serving utensils and tongs. Salad utensils typically include an elongated fork and a separate elongated spoon which are used in conjunction with each other. Salad utensils generally require the use of two hands to operate except when they are formed as salad tongs.
Tongs are another example of a food grasping utensil and are typically made of a metal or plastic material and contain two elongated arms. Unlike standard salad utensils, the elongated members of tongs are generally joined at a hinge for single-handed operation. The two elongated arms may be opened and then closed about the food to grasp a quantity of food. The tongs may also include end structures to assist in the grasping of the food such as prongs, forks, or spoons.
When stored, the elongated arms of the tongs may occupy a significant amount of kitchen drawer space. Furthermore, the elongated members of the tongs may spread apart as the kitchen drawer is opened and closed to remove and insert other kitchen utensils placed therein.
Typically, the elongated arms of the tongs end at a hinged joint and may be biased to an open position that requires the user to close the tongs against the bias to collapse about food for collection. Tongs biased in this manner often include a lock to maintain the tongs in a closed position for ease of storage. Examples of locks in the prior art include clasps and clips. Furthermore, while tongs having extended arms are functionally suitable to move food, these types of tongs provide limited space for food grasping, particularly large servings of a food item.
Those of ordinary skill in the art of utensil design will appreciate that because both tongs and salad utensils require the maneuvering of food grasping members distanced from the user's hands on respective elongated members, these instruments may be somewhat awkward to use. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art the desirability of having a food serving utensil in which the user's hand is more directly in control of the grasping function and also in which larger quantities of food can be grasped than with prior art utensils.


In order to provide a sprue-bush which is capable of suitably cooling a melt raw resin in a raw resin-flow path as a whole, there is provided a sprue-bush, comprising a raw resin-flow path and a cooling medium-flow path located around the raw resin-flow path, wherein a width dimension of the raw-resin flow path gradually becomes larger toward a downstream side-end surface of the sprue-bush, and wherein the downstream side-end surface of the sprue-bush is a heat transfer surface.

Technologies supporting "manufacturing" industry in Japan includes a molding technology using molds. The molding technology includes a pressure molding method, an injection molding method, and an extrusion molding method. In these molding methods, the injection molding method is a method for obtaining a molded article from a melt raw resin using a mold for an injection mold.
In the injection molding method, a melt raw resin is injected into a mold cavity 203′ composed of the one of molds (i.e., core side mold) 201′ of an injection mold 200′ and the other of molds (i.e., cavity mold 202′ thereof (see FIG. 8). The injected melt raw resin is subjected to a cooling followed by a solidification in a mold cavity 203′ to form a molded article. An injection of the melt raw resin into the mold cavity 203′ is generally performed via a sprue-bush 100′.
As shown in FIG. 8, the sprue bush 100′ used for the injection mold 200′ has a raw resin-flow path 10′ therein. The raw resin-flow path 10′ extends from an upstream side-beginning portion 10a′ into which the melt raw resin is supplied to a downstream side-end portion 10b′ leading Into the mold cavity 203′.
The raw resin-flow path 10′ is in a form of a taper to make an ejection of the molded article easier. Specifically, a width dimension W′ of the raw resin-flow path 10′ gradually increases as it extends from the upstream side-beginning portion 10a′ to the downstream side-end portion 10b′. As shown in FIG. 8, a width dimension W1′ of an upstream side 10α′ of the raw resin-flow path 10′ is relatively small, whereas a width dimension W2′ of a downstream side 10β′ of the raw resin-flow path 10′ is relatively large.
The raw resin-flow path 10′ in the form of the taper is preferable in view of the ejection of the molded article, however it may not be necessarily preferable in view of the cooling followed by the solidification of the melt raw resin. For example, in a case where the raw resin-flow path 10′ in the form of the taper has a longer length, it may largely affect the downstream side having a relatively large width dimension W′. Namely, it may make the cooling and subsequent solidification of the melt raw resin difficult. In a case that the cooling and subsequent solidification of the melt raw resin is difficult, it may cause an increase of a necessary time from the injection of the melt raw resin to the ejection of the molded article, which may make a molding cycle longer. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, a cooling medium-flow path flow path 20′ having a configuration of a straight pipe may be located around the raw resin-flow path 10′.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Apparatuses and methods for initiating a discovery of accessible network resources between Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices upon detection of a user and in advance of a user command are disclosed. A detector is to detect the presence of a user prior to the user issuing a command to an IoT device, and a resource discoverer is to discover and connect to accessible network resources. User commands may be processed following discovery and connection. The detector and resource discoverer may be part of a device controller, and may be part of an IoT device.

IoT devices, especially those following the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) specifications, may connect to each other in the form of an ad-hoc mesh topology, with multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) connections. IoT devices may be configured to automatically discover and connect to proximate devices, allowing the mesh topology to self-generate. Some IoT devices may be configured to act as relays, thereby enabling information exchange between IoT devices that can exceed the transmission and/or reception range of a single IoT device.
Because the use pattern of IoT devices can tend towards short and infrequent interactions, IoT devices may spend significant time in a sleep or low-power consumption state, during which a given device may disconnect from the mesh. While an IoT device is in a sleep state and is disconnected, proximate devices may disappear and new proximate devices may appear periodically, may change internet protocol (IP) addresses, or may be removed or added. A given IoT device may not be able to rely on a persistent connection to neighboring devices. P2P connections may be short-lived, and may need to be re-established or new P2P connections established where the network topology has changed after an extended period without communication.

Discovery of network resources accessible by internet of things devices


A magnetic storage medium formed on a front major surface of a tape substrate defines a multiplicity of longitudinal data recording and playback tracks, each track having a nominal lateral location relative to the other tracks: and a predetermined optically manifested track servo pattern defined on the back major surface of the tape for indicating lateral displacement of the tape from a nominal lateral location of the track during tape movement across a read/write head. A magnetic tape recording and playback system employing the magnetic storage medium is also disclosed.

Digital tape recording remains a viable solution for storage of massive amounts of data. Conventionally, at least two approaches are employed for recording of digital information onto magnetic recording tape. One approach calls for moving the tape past a rotating head structure which records and plays back user information from discontinuous transverse tracks. Interactive servo systems are employed to synchronize rotation of the head structure with travel of the tape. Another approach is to draw the tape across a non-rotating head at a considerable linear velocity. This approach is sometimes referred to as linear "streaming" tape recording and playback.
Increased data storage capacity, and retrieval performance, is being required of all commercially viable mass storage devices and media. In the case of linear tape recording a popular trend is toward multi-head, multi-channel fixed head structures with narrowed recording gaps and track widths so that many linear tracks may be achieved on a tape medium of predetermined width, such as one-half inch width tape. Tape substrates are also being made thinner, with increased tape lengths being made possible in small diameter reel packages.
Because of a relatively high linear tape velocity, and because tape substrates continue to be made thinner and thinner, guiding tape past a tape head structure along an accurate invariant linear path has proven to be highly problematical. One error phenomena is known as "lateral tape motion" or "LTM". LTM is a major source of tracking errors in linear tape recording. One approach to minimizing LTM tracking errors is to provide a multi-roller tape guide structure, such as the type described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,585 entitled: "Rotating Tape Edge Guide", the disclosure thereof being incorporated herein by reference. While this approach has provided a viable "open loop" solution to LTM, with the advent of new head technologies, such as magneto-resistive read heads, and new higher coercivity recording media, track widths may be very small, and many additional tracks may be defined on the tape. Unfortunately, a limiting factor is LTM, and at some track width dimension and track density, it is not possible to follow the tape accurately enough to provide reliable performance.
One solution to correction for LTM has been to record or pre-record magnetic servo tracks (i.e. "servowrite") onto the tape before it reaches the user. These tapes are known in the art as "preformatted" tapes, and the step of recording accurate servo tracks onto the tape is both time consuming and expensive. Examples of tape systems employing preformatted tapes are given by U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,652 entitled: "Servo and Data Format for Magnetic Tape Having Plural Spaced-Apart Servo Areas Interleaved with Data Track Areas Having Serpentine Track Scanning Using Any One of a Plurality of Number of Concurrently Accessed Tracks." Another example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,448 entitled: "Track Pitch Error Compensation System for Data Cartridge Tape Drives".
Once the decision has been made to provide separate magnetic servo tracks or to embed servo information within the magnetic user data tracks recorded onto the tape, a suitable coarse position/fine position actuator mechanism must be added to the tape drive. One example of a stepper motor/voice coil actuator is provided by U.S Pat. No. 5,280,402 entitled: "Combined Stepper Motor and Voice Coil Head Positioning Apparatus".
Optical servo tracks have been provided within floppy disks. One example of a floppy disk and compatible drive is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,387 entitled: "Method and Apparatus for Generating Tracking Error Signals by Means of an Optical Servo System", the disclosure thereof being incorporated herein by reference.
While these prior methods and approaches have worked within their intended applications and uses, improvements and simplifications in the medium and drive apparatus have been lacking. Accordingly, a hitherto unsolved need has remained for a multi-track, multi-channel digital streaming tape system which overcomes limitations and drawbacks of the known prior approaches.

Multi-channel magnetic tape system having optical tracking servo


A system and method for determining and monitoring various characteristics of a patient positioned on a patient support apparatus, such as a bed, stretcher, or cot, is disclosed. The system and method involve monitoring the forces exerted by the patient on one or more force sensors, which may be load cells on the support apparatus. These force sensors will detect vibrations that correspond to various conditions of the patient, including the patient's heart rate, breathing rate, and/or the seizure status of a patient. These vibrations may be analyzed, such as by Fast Fourier Transforms, in order to determine the various conditions of the patient.

The present invention relates to patient support apparatuses, such as beds, stretchers, cots, or the like, and more particularly to patient support apparatuses that monitor one or more conditions of the patient while the patient is positioned on the support apparatus.
A patient's health status is typically evaluated by reference to a plurality of vital signs, such as a pulse rate and breathing rate. When these vital signs fall below or rise above normal readings, a patient is usually in distress and requires quick attention by healthcare professionals. It is therefore desirable for health care professionals to know these vital sign readings.

System for detecting and monitoring vital signs


In a pneumatic fender, reinforcing layers of a body portion and reinforcing layers of a predetermined range in the longitudinal direction of a fender near a boundary between each hemispherical portion and the body portion are formed by aligning cords of reinforcing layers of the body portion and that of the predetermined range in parallel, and in a neutral state without expansion, the cords of the reinforcing layers of the body portion meet each other and the cords of the reinforcing layers of the predetermined range meet each other, and cord angles A and B are each set to from 15° to 45° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the fender. When the interior of the fender is set to a specified internal pressure, the cord angles A and B increase to extent of a static angle, and the body portion and the predetermined range expand.

A pneumatic fender generally includes hemispherical portions each having a bowl shape at both ends of a body portion having a cylindrical shape, and the body portion is configured by layering a plurality of reinforcing layers between an inner layer rubber and an outer layer rubber. Each of the plurality of reinforcing layers is a cord layer formed by aligning a number of cords in parallel, and the cords are disposed at a predetermined cord angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the fender (cylinder axial direction). The cords of the reinforcing layers layered adjacent to each other meet each other and are disposed. Since the cord angle is set to the extent of a static angle (from 54° to 55°) in a neutral state without expansion, a size (length and outer diameter) does not change so much even when the interior of the fender is filled with air to be set to a specified internal pressure.
On the other hand, there is proposed a pneumatic fender in which a cord angle of a reinforcing layer in a body portion is set to from 15° to 45° in a neutral state (see Patent Document 1). In this fender proposed, when the interior of the fender is filled with air to be set to a specified internal pressure, the cord angle of the reinforcing layer tends to increase to a static angle. Accordingly, since the body portion is more greatly enlarged in diameter and expands, the fender is compact when the fender is not in use, while excellent cushioning performance (counter force) can be obtained during use.
However, unlike the reinforcing layer of the body portion, a reinforcing layer of a hemispherical portion does not have specifications in which a cord angle is set to from 15° to 45° in the neutral state. Thus, even when the interior of the fender is set to a specified internal pressure, the hemispherical portion is not enlarged in diameter as greatly as the body portion. Accordingly, when the interior of the fender is expanded to a specified internal pressure, distortion occurs at or near a boundary between the body portion and each of the hemispherical portions at both ends, and the fender tends to have an unstable shape.


In order to detect a change in the temperature of a substrate (2) and a change of the distribution of oxygen radical concentration near a surface of the substrate (2), a lamp power in each zone of a heater (3) and a pressure in a reactor (1) are measured, the measured lamp power in each zone of the heater (3) and the measured pressure in the reactor (1) are inputted to the prediction equation of process model of a monitoring device (16)to predict the thickness profile of the substrate (2), and it is decided whether an abnormality occurs in thermal processing on the substrate (2) based on the predicted thickness profile.

In film deposition apparatuses and film deposition methods in which publicly known sheet-fed RTP apparatuses are used, the accuracy of measuring a substrate temperature in a high-temperature region may be affected by variations in measured temperature between temperature sensors and different positions of a temperature sensor relative to a specific substrate in a reactor (chamber). For example, in a publicly known film deposition apparatus and film deposition method described in National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2002-522912, temperature measurement values are accurately obtained in a high-temperature region by correcting variations in measured temperature between temperature sensors and different positions of a temperature sensor relative to a specific substrate during substrate processing.
The following will describe the publicly known film deposition apparatus and film deposition method described in National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2002-522912.
In the publicly known film deposition apparatus, a substrate transported into a reactor is held by a substrate supporting part and rotated at a desired rpm, process gas is introduced into the reactor, and the substrate is heated by a lamp in each zone of a heater disposed above the substrate, so that a film is formed on the substrate.
The publicly known film deposition apparatus includes a pyrometer (temperature sensors), a measurement device, a lamp power supply, a processor, a temperature recipe (temperature cycle/profile), and a temperature controller.
The pyrometer can measure a temperature in a high-temperature region of about 1000° C. and is placed under the reactor to measure temperatures on different positions in the radial direction of the underside of the substrate. The measurement device includes, for example, a polarization analyzer and measures the thickness of a coating (film thickness) of a substrate 2. The lamp power supply adjusts a voltage (lamp voltage) applied to the lamp in each zone of the heater. The processor calculates a temperature correction value based on the thickness having been measured by the measurement device and predetermined processing conditions. The temperature recipe sets a desired substrate temperature in advance and changes the set substrate temperature with time.
The temperature controller corrects temperature measurement values having been measured by the pyrometer on different positions in the radial direction of the underside of the substrate (underside temperatures on substrate positions) based on a temperature correction algorithm, corrects the output of the lamp power supply based on the corrected underside temperatures on the substrate positions, the temperature having been set by the temperature recipe, and the temperature correction value having been calculated by the processor, and the temperature controller controls the temperature of the substrate to "the set substrate temperature changing with time" which is inputted according to the temperature recipe, so that the thickness of a coating formed on each position on the substrate, that is, the thickness profile of the substrate is controlled. With the temperature correction algorithm, a fixed adjustment is made on the substrate underside temperatures having been obtained by the pyrometer on the substrate positions, and accurate temperature measurement values are obtained in the high-temperature region.
According to the configuration of the publicly known film deposition apparatus, the substrate transported into the reactor is held by the substrate supporting part and rotated at, for example, at 100 rpm, process gas is introduced with a fixed flow rate, the lamp voltage of a lamp in each zone of the heater disposed in a radial zone is separately set based on the substrate underside temperature or the like having been sampled and corrected from the pyrometer by the temperature controller, and the thickness of the coating formed on each position on the substrate, that is, the thickness profile of the substrate is controlled, so that a desired coating is formed on the substrate. Since temperatures are measured on different positions in the radial direction of the underside of the substrate, the pyrometer generates (measures) a mean temperature on different ring-shaped regions on the substrate. The ring-shaped regions correspond to the zones of the heater.
The publicly known film deposition apparatus and film deposition method cause the following problem:
The substrate underside temperature measured by the pyrometer on each substrate position is controlled to the set substrate temperature having been set according to the temperature recipe, so that the thickness profile of the substrate is controlled. Therefore, for example, when the substrate temperature changes on a point other than measurement points or the distribution of an oxygen radical concentration changes near the surface of the substrate, in other words, even when the state of the apparatus changes so as to vary the thickness profile, the temperature measurement value is normal and an abnormality is hard to detect in the thickness profile.

Film deposition apparatus, film deposition method, monitoring program for film deposition apparatus, and recording medium thereof


A private branch exchange (PBX) is provided particularly adapted for telemarketing. The PBX contains a virtual terminal interface for effecting outbound telemarketing calls which eliminates the need for a special telephone terminal, interfaced to a host computer, for initiating these calls. A successful call from the virtual terminal interface is immediately connected to an idle agent by the PBX's call handler. The PBX also is provided with a registration terminal interface which eliminates the necessity for the agent to interact with his or her telephone terminal. The registration terminal interface acts as a surrogate signaling part for the physical terminal interface to which the agent's telephone terminal is connected and is controlled by the agent's associated computer terminal. Upon registration of the telephone terminal with the PBX's call handler, all activity in connection with that telephone terminal is controlled by the agent's associated computer terminal.

This invention pertains to a private branch exchange (PBX) adapted for telemarketing and, more particularly, to a PBX adapted for controlling a telephone terminal using a computer terminal and for automatically initiating outbound telephone calls without using a telephone terminal.
Telemarketing, the sale of products and services to customers over the telephone, is one of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. In a typical telemarketing installation, telemarketing agents are equipped with a telephone terminal and a computer terminal. The telephone terminal usually is connected to a digital or analog PBX and has a headset, in place of a handset, to free the agent's hands. The computer terminal typically is connected to a host computer having a data base of information used by the agent in conducting the telemarketing operation. This information typically includes data regarding products or services sold by the telemarketing group or pertaining to the accounts or customers serviced by it. The data base may include, e.g., customer telephone numbers, addresses, amounts due, credit card numbers, etc. An agent typically modifies the data base using the keyboard associated with his or her computer terminal, usually while a telephone conversation is ongoing.
Telemarketing may involve principally initiating outbound telephone calls or receiving inbound telephone calls. A typical organization involved in inbound telemarketing is a customer support group, e.g., a group making reservations for an airlines, whose agents answer customers' questions and effect requested transactions. Typical organizations involved in outbound telemarketing include credit collection agencies, whose agents interact with delinquent customers, and companies attempting to sell products through random calling.
The telecommunications equipment presently used to conduct telemarketing comprises a host computer, a PBX and a special telephone terminal controlled by the host computer. For outbound telemarketing, the host computer may run a predictive dialing program. This program assumes that a percentage of calls initiated will be answered and, therefore, initiates more calls than the number of agents available.
Upon selection by the host computer of a particular telephone number for dialing, the number is transmitted to the special telephone terminal. This terminal automatically dials the number by transmitting corresponding DTMF (dual tone, multi-frequency) or other appropriate signals to the PBX. The PBX effects the necessary switching connections, using the public switched telephone network, to the called telephone terminal. When a customer answers, a corresponding signal is transmitted from the special telephone terminal to the host computer which responds with a signal to the special telephone terminal to transfer the call to a particular agent (usually selected on the basis of being idle). The special telephone terminal then transmits appropriate signals to the PBX to cause the PBX to execute the necessary steps to establish a communication path between the called party and the agent. These steps include transmitting an alerting signal to the agent (an auditory or visual signal), receiving an answering signal from the agent (usually initiated by the agent's lifting of the handset on his or her telephone or by activating a key on the telephone's keypad) and then executing the necessary switching connections to establish a communication path from the called party' s telephone terminal to the agent's telephone terminal. The multitude of steps involved often result in several seconds of delay between the called party picking up his or her telephone handset and responding with "hello" and a corresponding response from an agent. The called party often hangs up before the agent is on the line.
A further source of inefficiency and expense in telemarketing is the necessity for an agent's simultaneous operation of both a computer terminal and a telephone terminal. The agent must use his or her telephone terminal to make a call, place a call on hold, respond to a call, etc. and must use his or her computer terminal to access the data base pertinent to the call. The telephone commands are transmitted from the telephone terminal to the PBX via DTMF, dial pulse, or other appropriate signals, and interaction with the host computer is via a separate communication path between the agent's computer terminal and the host computer. Although attempts have been made to integrate a telephone terminal and a computer terminal, these attempts merely involve the integration of two key pads into one key pad. In other words, the integration merely involves housing both a computer terminal and a telephone terminal together controlled by a single key pad. In all other respects, the computer functions and telephone functions are identical to those executed by a separate computer terminal and a separate telephone terminal. Thus, when the key pad is used to execute telephone functions, signals are transmitted to the PBX, and when the key pad is used to execute computer functions, signals are transmitted to the computer's central processing unit (CPU) or a host computer. The necessity for continuously dealing with two pieces of equipment is not eliminated and, in addition to the other stresses of telemarketing, this necessity often leads to frustration and a high degree of turnover by agents in this industry.
A PBX used for telemarketing sometimes is connected to an ISDN (integrated services digital network), and, on the inbound side of the PBX, a digital telephone terminal is required to perform the many sophisticated functions involved. Such a terminal is many times more expensive than a standard, analog telephone terminal, particularly a digital telephone terminal capable of performing the functions required for telemarketing. The necessity for such a digital telephone terminal, particularly if many agents are involved, substantially increases the overall cost of telemarketing equipment.

Private branch exchange adapted for telemarketing


A system for evaluating semiconductor wafers includes illumination sources for generating probe and pump beams. The pump beam is focused on the surface of a sample and a beam steering mechanism is used to modulate the point of focus in a predetermined pattern. The moving pump beam introduces thermal and plasma waves in the sample causing changes in the reflectivity of the surface of the sample. The probe beam is focused within or adjacent to the area illuminated by the pump beam. The reflected probe beam is gathered and used to measure the changes in reflectivity induced by the pump beam. By analyzing changes in reflectivity, a processor is able to deduce structure and chemical details of the sample.

Ion implantation and annealing are two processes used during the fabrication of integrated circuits. Ion implantation introduces charged atoms (ions) into the surface region of a semiconductor wafer. Annealing removes damage (changes to the crystalline lattice) that occurs as a side effect of the implantation process. The annealing process also activates implanted ions and changes the type of electrical conductivity of the uppermost layer of a semiconductor. To be effective, the implantation process must produce a layer of implanted ions at the correct depth and concentration. The annealing process must be uniform over the entire surface of the implanted wafer. Correctly controlling these two processes may be difficult, especially in the ultra-shallow junction case, where the implanted layer is very thin and highly doped.
There is a great need in the semiconductor industry for sensitive metrology equipment that can provide high resolution and noncontact evaluation of product Si wafers as they pass through the implantation and annealing fabrication stages. In recent years, a number of products have been developed for the nondestructive evaluation of semiconductor materials. One such product has been successfully marketed by assignee herein under the trademark Therma-Probe (TP). This system incorporates technology described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,634,290; 4,636,088; 4,854,710; 5,074,669 and 5,978,074 (each incorporated in this document by reference).
In the basic device described in the patents just cited, an intensity modulated pump laser having a wavelength from the visible part of the spectrum is focused on the sample surface for exciting the sample. In the case of a semiconductor, thermal and carrier plasma waves are generated close to the sample surface which spread out from the pump beam spot inside the sample.
The presence of the thermal and carrier plasma waves affects the reflectivity R at the surface of a semiconductor. Features and regions below the sample surface, such as an implanted region or an ultra-shallow junction alter the propagation of the thermal and carrier plasma waves. In turn, this results in changes in the optical reflectivity at the sample surface. By monitoring the changes in reflectivity, information about characteristics below the surface, such as a degree of damage introduced during the ion implantation process (implantation dose) and/or characteristic depth of the doped region below the sample surface (ultra-shallow junction depth) can be investigated.
In the basic device, a second laser having a visible wavelength different from that of the pump laser is provided for generating a probe beam of radiation. This probe beam is focused collinearly with the pump beam and reflects off the sample surface. A photodetector is provided for monitoring the power of reflected probe beam. This photodetector generates an output signal that is proportional to the reflected power of the probe beam and is therefore indicative of the varying optical reflectivity of the sample surface. A lock-in detector is used to measure both the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the signal. The two channels of the output signal, namely the amplitude A2=I2+Q2 and phase Θ=tan−1(I/Q) are conventionally referred to as the Photomodulated Reflectivity (PMR) or Thermal Wave (TW) signal amplitude and phase, respectively.
Another optical monitoring system based on modulated optical reflectance (MOR) methodology and employing pump-probe beam offset scans is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,074 also incorporated in this document by reference. A block diagram of this photothermal system is shown in FIG. 2. In this system, a tracker mechanism is used to separate the position of the pump and probe beams on the sample surface. TW amplitude and/or phase signals are then measured and analyzed as a function of pump-probe beam separation.

Position modulated optical reflectance measurement system for semiconductor metrology


Provided is a charger for an electric vehicle. The charger for an electric vehicle includes a light emitting unit displaying charging operation information of the charger, a communication unit performing near-field wireless communication with an external device, a guide guiding visible light of the light emitting unit, and a control unit controlling operations of the light emitting unit and the communication unit. The guide includes a reflective layer surrounding a portion of the outside of the guide to reflect the visible light toward the inside of the guide.

Electric vehicles mean vehicles driven by using electricity. Electric vehicles may be largely classified into battery powered electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.
Here, the battery powered electric vehicles mean vehicles driven by using only electricity. Thus, such a battery powered electric vehicle may be called a general electric vehicle. Also, the hybrid electric vehicles mean vehicles driven by using electricity and fossil fuel. Such a hybrid electric vehicle includes a battery supplying electricity for driving. Particularly, in a case of the battery power electric vehicle and a plug-in type hybrid electric vehicle of the hybrid electric vehicle, a battery is charged by current supplied from an external power source to drive an electric motor.
In a case of a codeset type charger for charging the electric vehicle, the electric vehicle may be charged by using commercial electricity. For this, the codeset type charger may be connected to a socket provided in households or offices and the electric vehicle to supply a power to the electric vehicle.
The charger according to the related art includes only a display unit for displaying a charged state when the battery is charged. Thus, when the charger is broken down, it may be difficult to diagnose the cause of the defect or update a firmware.
These limitations may be solved when a port that is capable of connecting a diagnostic device or a device for upgrading the firmware is connected to the charger. In the case of the charger, the charger has to obligatorily secure waterproof performance. However, if a separate port is provided in the charger, an additional unit for securing the waterproof performance is needed.
Also, since a port for communicating is separately provided, a malicious user may change or damage internal program of the charger.


Novel pentaphenylenes having the following general formula are described;

Organic electronic devices are present in many different kinds of electronic equipment. In such devices, an active layer is sandwiched between two electrical contact layers. At least one of the electrical contact layers is light-transmitting so that light can pass through the electrical contact layer. One type of electronic device is an organic light emitting diode (OLED), which holds promise for display applications due to its high power conversion efficiency and low processing costs. Such displays are especially promising for battery-powered, portable electronic devices, including cell-phones, personal digital assistants, handheld personal computers, and DVD players. These applications call for displays with high information content, full color, and fast video rate response time in addition to low power consumption.
OLED's typically contain electroluminescent (EL) layers arranged between an anode and a cathode. Types of electroluminescent materials which have been used in OLED's include fluorescent dyes, fluorescent and phosphorescent metal complexes, conjugated polymers, and mixtures thereof. Several classes of luminescent polymers have also been disclosed. These include, for example, poly(1,4-phenylene vinylene) and derivatives; polythiophenes, especially, poly(3-alkylthiophenes); and poly(p-phenylenes). Alkyl and dialkyl derivatives of polyfluorene have also been disclosed.
There is a continuing need for active compounds having the necessary efficiency and color. In particular, blue-emitting polymers are desirable.

Light-emitting polymers and electronic devices using such polymers

Abstract: These polymers generally exhibit blue electroluminescence and are useful in electronic devices. A novel diketone compound having a low LUMO level of the following general structure is also described;


A putter head includes substantially parallel plural grooves formed on a face thereof, wherein a ratio W/S of a groove width W (mm) and a space width S (mm) between the grooves is from 0.5 to 2.0.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a putter head for golfing, and more particularly to a putter head having grooves on a face thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A putter head is a head part of a putter, which is a golf club for rolling a ball on a green. According to JP-A-2003-777, often found is a face having grooves, formed by a cutting work with a milling machine and called a milled pattern, over the entire surface of the face in an equidistant arc-shaped pattern when seen from a front side of the face. Such grooves are provided for various advantages such as for obtaining a soft feeling owing to a reduced contact area with the golf ball, avoiding a ball slippage in a state where the face is wetted with rain or dew, and providing a good appearance by a designed pattern, and are often found in putter club head for an advanced player, giving emphasis on feeling of hitting and of use.
JP-A-2003-777 defines a space between grooves as from 0.3 to 3 mm, a groove depth as from 0.03 to 0.3 mm, and a radius of the arc-shaped groove as from 8 to 80 mm.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The friction clutch between the prime mover and the change-speed transmission in the power train of a motor vehicle is actuatable by a slave cylinder cooperating with a master cylinder wherein the piston is movable by a clutch pedal or by an electric actuator. The casing of the slave cylinder is made, at least in part, of a plastic material and defines a plenum chamber arranged to receive pressurized fluid from the master cylinder by way of a conduit extending through a bell which contains the clutch and the slave cylinder. The annular piston of the slave cylinder surrounds the input shaft of the transmission. The plastic material of the casing of the slave cylinder can contain one or more additives which enhance its strength and/or influence its frictional engagement with the adjacent surfaces of the piston or of a lip seal which reciprocates with the piston. The piston and/or the lip seal can be installed in the casing to contact one or two metallic or plastic guide sleeves which are connected to or form part of the casing.

The invention relates to improvements in hydraulic operating arrangements, particularly to operating arrangements for clutches in the power trains of motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements in hydraulic operating arrangements which can be utilized with advantage in or in combination with so-called master and slave cylinders to actuate friction clutches between the prime movers (such as internal combustion engines) and the change-speed transmissions in the power trains of motor vehicles.
Published German patent application No. 197 42 468 discloses a clutch operating arrangement wherein the housing or casing of the slave cylinder consists, at least in part, of a plastic material. Such slave cylinders are known as central clutch release devices and their casings are normally affixed to the transmission housing or case by threaded fasteners. At least a part of the casing of the slave cylinder is mounted in such a way that it surrounds the input shaft of the change-speed transmission. Securing of the casing of the slave cylinder to the transmission case by threaded fasteners during assembly of the power train is time consuming and hence expensive.
Presently known seals, such as lip seals, which serve to seal the internal chamber of the casing of the slave cylinder from the atmosphere when such chamber is to receive hydraulic fluid from the master cylinder are normally mounted on the reciprocable piston in the slave cylinder of a brake actuator. Such seals share the axial movements of the piston and are called upon to move along inner and outer sealing surfaces which are respectively provided on a metallic and on a plastic material. The sealing surface which is provided on a plastic material normally offers a greater frictional resistance to axial movements of the piston and is likely to generate noise while guiding a piston during actuation (such as disengagement) of the friction clutch.
It is also known to provide the slave cylinder in the hydraulic clutch actuating system of the power train in a motor vehicle with an internal sleeve which serves to guide the piston of the slave cylinder and is made of steel or an equivalent material. A drawback of such slave cylinders is that adequate sealing of the contact surface(s) between the guide sleeve of steel and the plastic casing of the slave cylinder can create serious problems. In order to avoid such problems (including high cost or an unsatisfactory seal), the casings or cylinders of many presently known slave cylinders do not employ separately produced guide sleeves for the piston, i.e., the guide sleeve is part of the plastic casing. A drawback of such proposals is that the making of a slave cylinder casing without a separately produced guide sleeve for the piston but with an adequate guide surface for the piston (i.e., with a guide surface provided on a part made of a plastic material) cannot be made at a reasonable cost in available machines, e.g., in standard injection molding machines for the making of articles from plastic material. As a rule, an injection molding machine which is to turn out such plastic slave cylinder casings must be equipped with highly complex parts such as shifting or pushing arrangements and the like.

Hydraulic operating arrangement for clutches and the like

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


A ring-shaped cushion for a hearing protector or audio headset. The cushion has a circumferential contact pad for sealing on a wearer's head and an attachment for sealing with an earmuff. The cushion further has a sound insulation tube that inwardly defines an inner space. The sound insulation tube extends between the contact pad and the attachment. The cushion has a ventilation passage that extends entirely through the cushion between an inlet opening in the contact pad and an area outside of the inner space. The cushion may further include one or more physiological sensors to monitor the health of a wearer.

Hearing protectors are typically used in noisy environments for protecting a wearer's hearing from noise at potentially harmful noise levels. Typically, hearing protectors have two muffs or caps which cover the ears of the wearer and which are connected to one another by a headband. Each cup further typically is formed by a rigid shell that is furnished with a noise dampening material, for example a foamed material.
There is a general desire to make hearing protectors user-friendly, in particular to encourage persons that are in noisy environments for longer times to actually wear the protectors. Often a wearer sweats in an area in which the hearing protector is in contact with the wearer's skin. There are hearing protectors which are furnished with materials that have moisture absorbent properties.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,069 discloses the use of a superabsorbent nonwoven material in a moisture absorbing cover for an earmuff. A moisture absorbing ring-shaped cover for a sealing ring of an earmuff includes an inner layer of super-absorbent fiber material.
Although existing active hearing protectors have a variety of advantages there is still a need for a hearing protector which provides maximized wearing comfort and which is relatively inexpensive.

Cushion for a hearing protector or audio headset


Enhanced probe cards, for testing unpackaged semiconductor die including numerous discrete devices (e.g., LEDs), are described. The die includes anodes and cathodes for the LEDs. Via a single touchdown event, the probe card may simultaneously operate each of the LEDs. The LEDs' optical output is measured and the performance of the die is characterized. The probe card includes a conductive first contact and another contact that are fabricated from a conformal sheet or film. Upon the touchdown event, the first contact makes contact with each of the die's anodes and the other contact makes contact with each of the die's cathodes. The vertical and sheet resistance of the contacts are sufficient such that the voltage drop across the vertical dimension of the contacts is approximately an order of magnitude greater than the operating voltage of the LEDs and current-sharing between adjacent LEDs is limited by the sheet resistance.

The present disclosure relates to the manufacture and assembly of electronic display devices.
Electronic displays are a core component of many computing devices, such as smart phones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, desktops, televisions (TVs), and head-mounted devices (e.g., virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, and/or mixed-reality (MR) devices). Near-eye displays (NEDs), such as those included in head-mounted devices, benefit from a sufficiently high definition (i.e., a significant pixel density), as well as fast refresh rates and high luminance levels.

Probe card for efficient screening of highly-scaled monolithic semiconductor devices


In a method for detecting defects in sheet metal segments of electric generators and motors, wherein between the sheet metal pieces of the sheet metal segment an electric insulating layer is arranged, respectively, and wherein between the sheet metal segments a cooling channel is provided, respectively, magnetic induction is generated within the sheet metal segments by applying externally a magnetic field and the temperature of the heat generated within the sheet metal segment is measured in the cooling channel.

The invention relates to a method for detecting defects in sheet metal segments of electric generators and electric motors, wherein between the sheet metal pieces of the sheet metal segments an electric insulating layer is arranged, respectively, and wherein between the sheet metal segments cooling channels are provided. The detection method comprises generating magnetic induction in the sheet metal segments by applying externally a magnetic field and measuring the temperature of the heat generated in the sheet metal segment. The invention further relates to a device for performing the method.
The present invention is designed for electric generators as well as electric motors for industrial applications. Such electric generators as well as electric motors are comprised of sheet metal segments of stacked sheet metal pieces. Thin electric insulation layers are arranged between the individual pairs of sheet metal pieces. The problem of these electric generators and motors resides in that, for example, as a result of aging or vibrations, loosening can occur, in particular, loosening of the windings within the package of sheet metal pieces, on the one hand, and loosening of the sheet metal pieces, on the other hand. The result of loosening of the sheet metal pieces is that the interposed insulation layers are subjected to wear. Because of this, short circuits can result which lead to heat generation and can cause core burning in extreme situations.
For detecting defects in the sheet metal segments with regard to possibly present wear of the insulators, it is known to apply an external magnetic field by means of a testing coil for high induction testing and to generate in this way magnetic induction within the sheet metal segment. In accordance with the level of wear, heat is generated within the sheet metal segment. This generated heat can be made visible by means of a thermocamera.
A disadvantage of this known method is that by means of a thermocamera only the surface of the sheet metal segments can be sensed with regard to the heat profile. A more precise information regarding the temperature in the interior of the sheet metal segment cannot be obtained in this way.

Method and device for detecting defects in sheet metal segments of electric generators and motors


A method for repairing a thermal barrier coating on an article designed for use in a hostile thermal environment, such as turbine, combustor and augmentor components of a gas turbine engine. The method is particularly suited for the repair of thermal barrier coatings composed of an aluminide bond coat formed on the surface of an article, and an insulating columnar ceramic layer overlaying the bond coat. Processing steps generally include preparing a powder mixture of a halogen-containing activator and an aluminum-containing material, contacting the ceramic layer with the mixture, and then heating the ceramic layer for a duration sufficient to cause the halogen-containing activator to deteriorate the ceramic layer, while the aluminum-containing constituent of the mixture prevents the bond coat from being attacked or otherwise depleted by the halogen-containing activator. A suitable composition for the mixture is about 0.5 to about 1 weight percent of the halogen-containing activator and about 0.5 to about 1 weight percent of the aluminum-containing material, with the balance being an inert diluent.

Higher operating temperatures for gas turbine engines are continuously sought in order to increase their efficiency. However, as operating temperatures increase, the high temperature durability of the components of the engine must correspondingly increase. Significant advances in high temperature capabilities have been achieved through the formulation of nickel and cobalt-base superalloys, though such alloys alone are often inadequate to form components located in certain sections of a gas turbine engine, such as the turbine, combustor and augmentor. A common solution is to thermally insulate such components in order to minimize their service temperatures. For this purpose, thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems formed on the exposed surfaces of high temperature components have found wide use.
To be effective, thermal barrier coatings must have low thermal conductivity, strongly adhere to the article, and remain adherent throughout many heating and cooling cycles. The latter requirement is particular demanding due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion between materials having low thermal conductivity and superalloy materials typically used to form turbine engine components. Thermal barrier coatings capable of satisfying the above requirements have generally included a metallic bond coat deposited on the component surface, followed by an adherent ceramic layer that serves to thermally insulate the component. In order to promote the adhesion of the ceramic layer to the component and prevent oxidation of the underlying superalloy, the bond coat is typically formed from an oxidation-resistant alloy such as MCrAlY where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel, or from an oxidation-resistant intermetallic such as a diffusion aluminide or platinum aluminide. Various ceramic materials have been employed as the ceramic layer, particularly zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) stabilized by yttria (Y.sub.2 O.sub.3), magnesia (MgO) or another oxide. These particular materials are widely employed in the art because they can be readily deposited by plasma spray, flame spray and vapor deposition techniques, and are reflective to infrared radiation so as to minimize the absorption of radiated heat.
A significant challenge of thermal barrier coating systems has been the formation of a more adherent ceramic layer that is less susceptible to spalling when subjected to thermal cycling. For this purpose, the prior art has proposed various coating systems, with considerable emphasis on ceramic layers having enhanced strain tolerance as a result of the presence of porosity, microcracks and segmentation of the ceramic layer. Microcracks generally denote random internal discontinuities within the ceramic layer, while segmentation indicates the presence of microcracks or crystalline boundaries that extend perpendicularly through the thickness of the ceramic layer, thereby imparting a columnar grain structure to the ceramic layer. Ceramic layers for thermal barrier coating systems employed in high temperature applications of a gas turbine engine are typically deposited by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD) techniques that yield the desirable columnar grain structure, which is able to expand without causing damaging stresses that lead to spallation. A strong adherent continuous oxide surface layer is often formed over the bond coat to protect the bond coat from oxidation and hot corrosion, and to provide a firm foundation for the PVD columnar ceramic layer.
Though significant advances have been made in attaining spallation-resistant thermal barrier coatings, there is the inevitable requirement to repair such coatings under certain circumstances. Typically, spallation occurs in localized regions or patches, either during engine service or during post coating processing of the coated component. In addition to service-related incidents, processing flaws that occur during the formation of the thermal barrier coating system can also necessitate repairs. One example is during the deposition of an EBPVD ceramic layer, where a molten liquid splat of ceramic may mar the coating, rendering the coating unacceptable for service.
The current state-of-the-art repair methods often result in removal of the entire thermal barrier coating system, i.e., both the ceramic layer and bond coat, after which the bond coat and ceramic layer must be redeposited. Due to a heightened resistance to spallation, a columnar ceramic layer is very difficult to remove. Prior art techniques for removing thermal barrier coatings have generally involved grit blasting or subjecting the coating to an alkaline solution at high temperatures and pressures. Grit blasting is a slow, labor-intensive process and erodes the ceramic layer and bond coat, as well as the substrate surface beneath the coating. With repetitive use, the grit blasting process eventually destroys the component. The use of an alkaline solution to remove a thermal barrier coating requires the use of an autoclave operating at high temperatures and pressures, and also results in removal of the entire coating system.
A more recent process for repairing a thermal barrier coating system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/362,377 to Reeves et al., assigned to the assignee of this invention. The disclosed process entails heating the thermal barrier coating to about 870.degree. C. or more while exposing the coating to a halogen-containing powder, which causes the coating to deteriorate to the extent that it separates from the underlying substrate. In doing so, both the ceramic layer and the bond coat must be redeposited as a result of the halogen-containing powder attacking each of these layers.
From the above, it can be appreciated that a process for repairing a thermal barrier coating system that does not damage or remove the bond coat would be advantageous. In particular, if a process were available that attacked only the ceramic layer, the labor, processing and costs required to refurbish a thermal barrier coating system could be significantly reduced.

Method for repairing a thermal barrier coating


A box includes a base having a substantially rectangular perimeter. A pair of side walls and a pair of end walls extend upward from the perimeter of the base to form a box bottom having rounded corners and vertices. The box bottom includes a mouth at the top thereof. The mouth has a substantially rectangular perimeter. Reinforcing ridges are formed at the corners and vertices of the box bottom, and a lip formed at the perimeter of the mouth. A lid fits over the mouth of the box bottom. The lid includes a collar having a cuff that engages the lip to hold the lid in position over the mouth of the box bottom. At least one air hole is formed in the base and in the lid. A plurality of inwardly protruding panels is formed in the lid and in the base and walls of the box bottom.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of packaging, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of an improved plastic box and methods for making same.
2. Description of Prior Art
In current designs, boxes for retail items, such as shoes, are commonly fabricated from cardboard. There are a number of reasons that cardboard is used rather than plastic. First, cardboard boxes are relatively inexpensive, yet strong enough to allow multiple boxes to be stacked on top of each other. Further, cardboard boxes are typically breathable, preventing a buildup of moisture within the box that could lead to mildew, mold, or other damage to the boxes' contents.
However, cardboard boxes suffer from a number of disadvantages. First, cardboard boxes tend to lack esthetic appeal. Although it is possible to apply graphics and other designs to the exterior of a cardboard box, the appearance of a cardboard box is often spoilt when the box becomes even slightly worn or damaged. Also, cardboard boxes typically have unfinished or plain white interiors. One reason for this is that the use of a colored box interior carries with it the risk that the interior colors may migrate onto the contents of the box.
Plastic has not been a favored material for use in fabricating boxes and lids to hold certain types of retail items, such as shoes. One reason is that plastic boxes may be more expensive to manufacture than cardboard boxes. In addition, plastic boxes may lack the structural strength of a comparably sized cardboard box. Further, a plastic box may not be sufficiently breathable to prevent mildew or mold from forming on the box contents.

Plastic boxes and methods for making same


Various embodiments provide methods, apparatus, and computer readable medium for determining a malicious program. In an exemplary method, a specific application programming interface (API) within an application program can be obtained. Call logic for calling the specific API can be determined. The call logic can include a triggering event to trigger the specific API to be called, a feedback path provided after the specific API is called, or a combination thereof. Whether the application program is a malicious program can be determined according to the call logic.

With development of software technology, more and more application programs are developed and used to enrich people's life with significant convenience. However, there are malicious programs appeared for the purposes of stealing user's private information and/or phone charges. This causes personal information and property to become unsafe.
Currently, malicious programs may be identified by manually testing the application program. Specifically, various functions of the application program may be manually triggered. The operating behavior of the application program may be observed and analyzed to determine whether the application program is a malicious program.
However, such manual testing of the application program to determine whether the application program is a malicious program requires high cost but with slow testing speed and is thus inefficient.

Method and apparatus for determining malicious program

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


An acousto-optical component is suggested, in particular for use in the beam path of an optical arrangement, preferably of a microscope, with a crystal for the passage of light. Sound waves are generated via an electrical transducer and passed through the crystal. The sound waves passing through the crystal affect the optical properties of the crystal and therefore the light passing through the crystal. For exerting a variable influence on the light passing through the crystal, the sound waves passing through the crystal, or the acoustic field in the crystal, are/is variable.

The invention relates to an acousto optical element, in particular for disposition in the beam path of an optical device, preferably a microscope, comprising a crystal for transmitting light, wherein via an electrical converter sound waves are generated and are passed through the crystal and wherein the sound waves passing through the crystal change the optical properties of the crystal and therefore influence the light penetrating through the crystal.
The present invention relates in general to an acousto optical element, i.e. to an element by means of which light beams can be manipulated depending on the acoustic situation.
Acousto optical elements or components are known from practical application in many varieties. In this regard, it is particularly referred to acousto optical elements such as an AOM (acousto optical modulator), an AOD (acousto optical deflector), an AOTF (acousto optical tunable filter), frequency shifter or the like. For related embodiments comprehensive scientific literature is known, for instance "Acousto-Optics" from Adrian Korpel, New York 1997, "Acousto-optic devices" from Jieping Xu and Robert Stroud, New York 1992 and "Design and Fabrication of the Acousto-Optic devices" from Akis P. Goutzoulis and Dennis R. Pape, New York 1994.
In this connection, it is pointed out that with regard to optoacoustic elements there are various terms, explanations and operating principles and properties. In this respect it seems necessary to discuss the invention behind this background, namely discuss general properties of optical components.
Acousto optical elements consist typically of a so-called acousto optical crystal and an electrical converter attached thereto (in the literature often named transducer). Typically, the converter comprises a piezo material as well as one electrode above and one electrode below the piezo material. By electrically subjecting the two electrodes to a radio frequency that is typically in the range of 30 to 800 Mhz the piezo material is induced to oscillate so that a sound wave, i.e. an acoustic wave is generated and passes thereafter through the crystal. Mostly, the acoustic wave is absorbed or reflected at the opposite side of the crystal after it has passed through an area of optical interaction.
Acousto optical crystals have the properties that the generated wave changes the optical properties of the crystal, wherein by means of the acoustic wave sort of an optical grating or a comparable, optically active structure is induced, for example a hologram. By means of the crystal the light passing therethrough is deflected at the optical grating. Accordingly, the light is deflected in several diffractive orders in the direction of diffraction.
Acousto optical elements exist that influence the entire incident light more or less independently from the wavelength. In this connection, as examples, the aforementioned elements AOM, AOD and frequency shifters are pointed out. Further, meanwhile elements exist that act upon incident light selectively with regard to individual wavelengths (AOTFs). Frequently, such acousto optical elements consist of birefringent crystals, such as tellurium dioxide, wherein the position of the crystal axis in relation to the plane of incidence of the light and its polarization determine the optical properties of the respective elements.
For practical application, use of the light that has not been influenced by the diffraction (zeroth diffractive order), the light that has been deflected into the various diffractive orders, or both types of light are used.
In case of a conventional acousto optical element as it is known from practical application, the radio frequency is supplied through a coax cable to the acousto optical element. There, on a circuit board, an impedance matching is conducted, so that a radio frequency reflection is prevented and therefore as high a radio frequency power as possible arrives at the crystal that has a different impedance as the radio frequency cable. From the circuit board the radio frequency is transmitted further to the converter (transducer) that is provided on the crystal where the acoustic wave is generated.
It is essential for this acousto element according to prior art that various layers are provided on the surface of the crystal. The lowermost layer that is applied to the crystal consists of metal and provides the negative electrode. It is typically connected via a circuit board with the outer conductor of a coax cable transmitting the radio frequency. Upon the lowermost metal layer, a layer of piezo material follows. This material is typically lithium niobate. Upon this layer of piezo material the second metallic electrode follows, typically connected to the inner conductor of the coax cable. When subjecting the two electrodes to the radio frequency an alternating electrical field is generated between the two electrodes that induces the piezo element to oscillate between them so that from this area an acoustic wave spreads through the interior of the crystal. The acoustic wave is typically reflected away from the opposite side of the crystal. By roughening the opposite side of the crystal it is possible to absorb a major portion of the acoustic wave so that as little reflection as possible back into the acousto optical interaction area of the crystal occurs.
In particular when the converter is large the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the two electrodes is much too high for allowing a useful impedance matching between the radio frequency cable and the acousto optical crystal. In this situation a trick is applied, namely the converter is split into two parts, wherein the two parts are connected in series. For this purpose it is necessary to pole the piezo material in both parts differently so that the two converter halves do not work against each other. In that case the inner conductor of the coax cable is connected to the positive electrode. The outer conductor of the coax cable is connected with the negative electrode that is provided on the other side of the piezo material. The converter provides a capacitance to which the alternating electrical field is applied.
In case of a split converter the inner conductor of the coax cable is connected with the positive electrode that, however, does at maximum cover half of the front side of the converter. The respective counter electrode is at the same time the counter electrode with respect to the negative electrode and covers the other half of the front side of the converter. In this case, the capacitances of two capacitances that are electrically interconnected in series are provided. Consequently, by splitting the converter into two parts, a reduction of the capacitance down to one quarter is achieved wherein the size of the sound field generating area is maintained. In this connection it has to be taken care that the piezo layers of the two halves of the converter are poled in opposite directions since these would otherwise work against each other and the generated sound field would then not be the same as in case of the non-split converter.
The structure of the converter, in particular its size and shape, determines how the acoustic field in the interior of the crystal is shaped. This results in defining the optical properties of the electrically interconnected crystal.
In case of an acousto optical tunable filter (AOTF) the spectral characteristics of the deflected light is determined substantially by the Fourier-transformed of the converter form. This means that wide converters provide a sharper spectral transmission function in comparison with more narrow converters. Consequently, an AOTF with a wide converter cuts out from the incident light a spectrally more narrow range compared to an AOTF with a converter that is narrower. The AOTF with a wide converter comprises therefore a higher spectral resolution. In the reverse case, an AOTF with a narrower converter has a higher spectral bandwidth and deflects therefore more portions of the spectrum of the incident light.
While in the past acousto optical elements as known from the prior art, in particular AOTF, were typically used for adjusting and controlling the light intensities, there has been a meanwhile stronger tendency making it necessary to use such acousto optical elements for cutting or filtering out a particular portion from the light having more or less broad band spectrum. In this connection it is for instance referred to DE 101 15 488 A1.
Such an application of the acousto optical element can be mainly found in cutting out particular spectral portions of light from a light source emitting a continuous spectrum or a spectrum of a wide bandwidth for the purpose of illumination (white light laser, broad band laser, ultra-short pulsed laser, superluminescent-LED, or other superluminescent light sources, ASE light sources, light bulbs, Point-Source-LEDs and other LEDs, sunlight, starlight or the like). Another field of practical application is cutting out particular light portions of a spectrum for the purpose of detection. In this connection, for example, it is referred to conventional, programmable spectral filters. Moreover, the application of an acousto optical element as a component in a programmable beam splitter is of significance in this connection.
However, for the acousto optical elements that are available at present and in particular AOTFs the optical properties of the respective elements are predefined and non-changeable, namely by the choice of a particular converter design. A later change or adjustment of the bandwidth of the spectrum of an AOTF is so far not possible while, in light of the explanations above, this would be desirable.


After an initial user sign-on with an identity provider, and in response to an intention of the user to use a third-party application executing on a client device of the user and requiring user sign-on, the identity provider provides a client script to the third-party application. The client script facilitates user and application authentication and invokes a trusted broker application that interacts with the identity provider to enable the user to use the third-party application. The use of the trusted broker application provided by the identity provider frees the authors of third-party applications from the need to modify their applications to explicitly sign in with the identify provider.

Many organizations, such as businesses or other enterprises, provide their employees or other members with access to a variety of software applications, such as e-mail applications, chat applications, payroll applications, timekeeping applications, and the like. For security reasons, the organizations may impose sign-in as a prerequisite for use of the applications. Thus, a user could potentially have a different set of sign-in credentials (e.g., username and password) for every application to which he or she has access. The necessity of separately signing in to each application (i.e., providing the user's credentials for that application) imposes considerable burden on users, who must enter the credentials for every application used, and on the organization's information technology departments, which must respond to user inquiries about forgotten credentials.

Facilitating single sign-on to software applications


An electromagnetic actuator includes a rotor rotatable within a predetermined angular range, a magnetizing coil, and a yoke having an arcuate surface facing the rotor, and first and second magnetic-pole parts that have mutually different magnetic poles upon energizing the coil. The rotor includes a magnetized rotor part defining the outer peripheral surface of the rotor and magnetized to have different magnetic poles, a non-magnetized driving pin rotatable with the magnetized rotor part, and a protrusion part protruding radially from the rotor and facing the first or second magnetic-pole part while being magnetized to have the same magnetic pole as the outer peripheral surface of the rotor. The surface of the rotor that faces the yoke and that exerts a magnetic action is increased due to the inclusion of the protrusion part, and hence a desired maintaining force and driving torque can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator that generates a driving force by an electromagnetic force. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator that includes a rotor having a magnetized outer peripheral surface and a yoke that forms a magnetic-pole part facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor and that is used when a blade member of a camera, such as a shutter blade or a diaphragm blade, is driven, and relates to a camera blade driving device using the electromagnetic actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventionally known electromagnetic actuator mounted on, for example, a shutter device of a camera includes a cylindrical rotor that is supported rotatably with respect to a base plate having an exposure aperture and that is magnetized into N and S-poles by bisecting its outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction, a nearly U-shaped yoke that has a magnetic-pole part disposed to face the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, and a magnetizing coil wound around the yoke (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. H9-152645 and 2001-327143, for example).
An other conventionally known electromagnetic actuator includes a cylindrical rotor that is supported rotatably with respect to a base plate having an exposure aperture and that is magnetized into N- and S-poles by bisecting its outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction and a protrusion part that is protruded in the circumferential direction with respect to the rotor, in which the protrusion part is fixed so as to be rotatable together with the rotor and in which the rotational range of the rotor is restricted by bringing the protrusion part into contact with a stopper formed on the base plate (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H7-13215, for example).
Meanwhile, correspondingly to a reduction in size of, for example, a digital camera, an electromagnetic actuator mounted on the digital camera is required to be reduced in size. If the electromagnetic actuator is merely reduced in size without changing the conventional structure, the magnetized cylindrical rotor becomes small in size, and it becomes difficult to sufficiently secure a driving torque generated by the rotor during energization and a magnetic attraction force generated during non-energization. Accordingly, when the electromagnetic actuator is used as a driving source that drives a shutter blade, etc., it becomes difficult to stably drive the shutter blade and hold this at a predetermined position.

Electromagnetic actuator and camera blade driving device


A method of and system for speech synthesis. First and second text inputs are received in a text-to-speech system, and processed into respective first and second speech outputs corresponding to stored speech respectively from first and second speakers using a processor of the system. The second speech output of the second speaker is adapted to sound like the first speech output of the first speaker.

Speech synthesis is the production of speech from text by artificial means. For example, text-to-speech (TTS) systems synthesize speech from text to provide an alternative to conventional computer-to-human visual output devices like computer monitors or displays. There are many varieties of TTS synthesis, including formant TTS synthesis and concatenative TTS synthesis. Formant TTS synthesis does not output recorded human speech and, instead, outputs computer generated audio that tends to sound artificial and robotic. In concatenative TTS synthesis, segments of stored human speech are concatenated and output to produce smoother, more natural sounding speech.
A TTS system may include the following basic elements. A source of raw text includes words, numbers, symbols, abbreviations, and/or punctuation to be synthesized into speech. A speech database includes pre-recorded speech from one or more people. A pre-processor converts the raw text into an output that is the equivalent of written words. A synthesis engine phonetically transcribes the pre-processor output and converts the pre-processor output into appropriate language units like sentences, clauses, and/or phrases. A unit selector selects units of speech from the speech database that best correspond to the language units from the synthesis engine. An acoustic interface converts the selected units of speech into audio signals, and a loudspeaker converts the audio signals to audible speech.
One problem encountered with TTS synthesis is that some applications may use speech recorded from different people having significantly different voices. For example, TTS-enabled vehicle navigation systems use voice guidance having a multiple part syntax that may include a directional maneuver utterance (e.g. "Perform legal U-turn onto . . . ") and a street name utterance (e.g. " . . . North Telegraph Road.") The maneuver utterance may be generated from a first speaker of a navigation service provider, and the street name utterance may be generated from a second speaker of a map data provider. When the utterances are played together during voice guidance, the combined utterance may sound unpleasant to a user. For example, the user may perceive the transition from the maneuver utterance to the street name utterance, for example, because of the difference in prosody between the speakers.


A second topsheet formed with an opening is bonded along its outer periphery to a topsheet of a disposable diaper and there are provided a pair of flaps having inner side edges wrapping therein elastic members, respectively, and outer side portions bonded to an underside of the second topsheet at both sides of the opening 16 so that the pair of flaps 17 define a second opening 18 serving to receive excretion.

This invention relates to disposable diapers to absorb and hold excretion.
Japanese Patent Application Disclosure Gazette No. 1986-41304 discloses a disposable diaper in which the portion of a topsheet corresponding to a crotch area is cut away to form a longitudinal opening serving to receive excretion, and elastic members are attached, but not in a wrapped manner, to the underside of the topsheet at locations slightly spaced outward from opposite side edges of an the opening defined by opposite inner side edges of the topsheet.
In the above-mentioned disposable diaper of the prior art, the elastic members are attached, but not in a wrapped manner, i.e. in exposed manner, to the underside of the topsheet at the locations slightly spaced outward from the respective inner side edges of the topsheet defining the opposite side edges of the opening, probably because it is practically difficult for the conventional equipment for high speed mass-production of disposable diapers to bond the elastic members with adhesive onto the inner side edges of the topsheet in a neat order and, even when such bonding is attempted, adhesive will partially swell out inwardly and be unpleasantly in contact with the wearer's skin. While such swelling out of adhesive could be avoided by wrapping the elastic members with the inner side edges of the topsheet, such wrapping of the elastic members will require further processing of the inner side edges which define the side edges of the opening and, even after such processing has been done, it will be difficult for the conventional equipment to achieve rapid bonding and wrapping of the elastic members along the inner side edges thus further processed.
It should be noted here that, so far as the elastic members are attached to the topsheet at the locations spaced outward from the inner side edges of the topsheet and not wrapped by these inner side edges, these inner side edges can never form fine gathers. In view of the fact that these inner side edges should be in contact with the wearer's skin and form effective seals, the desired effect of preventing excretion, particularly fluid excretion from leaking, will be seriously affected by the absence of the fine gathers.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide disposable diapers allowing said problem to be eliminated by providing a pair of separately formed stretchable flaps on both sides of the opening formed in the inner topsheet.


A method of continuous polymerization using differential radial stirring is provided. Particularly suited for this method is a stirred tube reactor with a plurality of collinear stirring shafts that may rotate independently.

There are a number of well-known processes for producing polymers. Examples include emulsion polymerization, suspension polymerization, solution polymerization and bulk polymerization. Each of these may be carried out by either continuous or batch polymerization methods. Continuous polymerization methods, particularly continuous bulk polymerization methods, typically provide resource and energy savings over corresponding batch polymerization methods.
A plug flow reactor is one type of vessel in which to carry out continuous bulk or continuous solution polymerization. In a plug flow reactor, the reactants flow from an input end of a reactor to an output end (sometimes referred to in the art as an "extraction end"). In a plug flow reactor, the residence time distribution of reactants is generally minimized, resulting in what is often termed "plug flow" or "piston flow". In an ideal plug flow reactor any cross sectional sample taken perpendicular to the flow of reactants has a uniform residence time in the reactor. Of course, in the real world, some variation from this ideal is permitted in reactors that are still considered "plug flow" reactors.
One type of plug flow reactor is a "stirred tube reactor" (also known in the art as a "stirred tubular reactor"). Most stirred tube reactors have a shaft stirrer disposed within a reaction chamber.
Continuous polymerization carried out in a stirred tube reactor may have a number of drawbacks. For instance, the formation of stagnant fluid pockets (i.e., those portions of the reacting fluid that remain motionless) tends to occur in certain regions of the reaction vessel. These stagnant pockets can lead to non-uniform residence time and a broadening of residence time distribution. Furthermore, high viscosity polymers may tend to adhere to the surfaces inside the reaction chamber, leading to reactor fouling.

Stirred tube reactor and method of using the same


A method for estimating a suspended sediment distribution in an ocean region. The method includes receiving time-dependent variables including wave height, wave period, wave propagation direction, steady current magnitude, steady current direction, and water depth, and an estimate of bottom sediment distribution, calculating a new bottom sediment distribution using a sediment suspension and advection module, calculating a concentration of sediment by size at a plurality of depths using an ocean bottom boundary layer hydrodynamic module. A central module uses C++ language to transfer calculations from the sediment suspension and advection module and the ocean bottom boundary layer hydrodynamic module.

Optical type II water is significantly affected by inorganic mineral matter. The optical properties of type II water can change rapidly because surface waves, advection, and internal waves suspend the bottom sediments. Further, optical effects of mineral and organic particles differ because of differences in the volume scattering function. As a result, inverting radiances and irradiances to obtain optical properties and concentrations of materials such as suspended sediment and chlorophyll can be difficult.
Models that describe the optical properties of the open ocean based on biological materials such as chlorophyll have been discussed in Morel, A., and Prieur, L., "Analysis of variations in ocean color", Limnology and Oceanography, 22, p. 709-722 (1977). Some effects of inorganic materials on optical properties are discussed in Michael Sydor. Robert A. Arnone, "Effect of suspended particulate and dissolved organic matter on remote sensing of coastal and riverine waters", Applied Optics, Volume 36, Issue 27, p. 6905-6912, 1997.
Additional information about coastal ocean optical properties is found in O. Schofield, R. A. Arnone, W. P. Bissett, T. D. Tickey, C. O. Davis. Z. Finkel, M. Oliver, and M. A. Moline, "Watercolors in the Coastal Zone", Oceanography, Volume 17, No. 2. pages 24-31, and R. A. Arnone, A. M. Wood, and R. W. Gould, "The Evolution of Water Mass Classification", Oceanography, Volume 17, No. 2, pages 15-16.

System and method for computing inorganic particle suspensions by wave and current action

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A DRAM integrated circuit device is described in which at least some of the peripheral circuits associated with the memory arrays are provided on a first substrate. The memory arrays are provided on a second substrate stacked on the first substrate, thus forming a DRAM integrated circuit device on a stacked-substrate assembly. Vias that electrically connect the memory arrays on the second substrate to the peripheral circuits on the first substrate are fabricated using high aspect ratio via fabrication techniques.

A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) generally includes an array of bit cells, each cell capable of storing a bit of information. A typical cell configuration consists of a capacitor for storing a charge (i.e., corresponding to a bit of information) and an access transistor that controls access to the capacitor during read and write operations. The access transistor is connected between a bit line and the capacitor, and is "gated" (turned on or off) by a word line signal. During a read operation, the stored bit of information is read from the cell via the associated bit line. During a write operation, a bit of information is stored into the cell from the bit line via the transistor. The cells are dynamic in nature (due to leakage), and therefore must be periodically refreshed so that the stored data persist.
The figures depict various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. Numerous variations, configurations, and other embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed discussion. Furthermore, as will be appreciated, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale or intended to limit the described embodiments to the specific configurations shown. For instance, while some figures generally indicate straight lines, right angles, and smooth surfaces, an actual implementation of the disclosed techniques may have less than perfect straight lines and right angles, and some features may have surface topography or otherwise be non-smooth, given real-world limitations of fabrication processes. In short, the figures are provided merely to show example structures.
It is noted that designations such "above" or "below" or "top" or "bottom" or "top side" or "bottom side" are not intended to necessarily implicate a limitation as to orientation of the embodiments described herein. Rather, such terminology is simply used in a relative sense to consistently describe a structure as it exists in any one particular orientation and as illustrated herein. In addition, designations such as "over" are not intended to necessarily implicate a limitation as to one structure being distinct from another underlying structure. For example, if an integrated circuit integrated circuit is over a first semiconductor substrate and below a second semiconductor substrate, the integrated circuit may be formed on a topside of the first substrate by depositing additional materials onto the topside of the first substrate, or by shaping (by way of lithography and etching) a portion of the first substrate into one or more parts of the integrated circuit, or by a combination such depositing and shaping. In still other embodiments, the integrated circuit may be formed on a backside of the second substrate by depositing additional materials onto the backside of the second substrate, or by shaping (by way of lithography and etching) a portion of the second substrate into one or more parts of the integrated circuit, or by a combination such depositing and shaping.

Stacked-substrate DRAM semiconductor devices