Bakery dough continuously emergent from a dough-handling machine is cut into successive pieces of uniform weight by apparatus which involves a nozzle containing a downwardly directed extrusion orifice having a shape that is oblong about a line of elongation. A taut cutting wire aligned in a direction parallel to the line of elongation is caused to move in a reciprocating manner across the orifice in a path that is transverse to the line of elongation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the handling of dough for baking, and more particularly concerns a method and apparatus for dispensing successive pieces of dough of constant weight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Methods and apparatus for pumping, homogenizing and dividing dough into pieces of predetermined uniform weight for baking into bread loaves, buns, rolls and the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,601; 4,517,212; 4,449,908; 4,424,236; 4,332,538; 4,948,611; and 5,046,940. In general, such apparatus includes a hopper which receives dough, auger means for advancing the dough, metering means which control the advance of the dough, multiple nozzles which receive the metered dough, and cutting means which sever the continuously advancing dough into discrete pieces that fall onto an underlying moving belt.
It is important that the successive dough pieces be of constant weight because bread, buns and rolls are sold on a weight basis. The uniformity of weight also produces products of uniform quality and facilitates the automated handling and packaging of the baked products. The weight of the dough is one of the most expensive cost elements in manufacturing baked goods, and control of the weight tolerances can reduce the need for excess dough. The production of dough pieces of a given weight is known as "scaling" in the trade. In general, less than 2% deviation in weight is sought relative to a target weight.
Modern dough processing equipment operates at high speeds wherein the linear rate of dough extruded through the nozzles may be as high as about 75 feet/minute. The rate of cutting of the stream of dough into discrete pieces may be in the range of 100 to 150 cuts/minute. Since the cutting means acts in a direction transverse to the direction of dough flow, it must move rapidly and with high precision. If the rate of movement of the cutting means is slow relative to the linear rate of movement of the extruded dough, the severed pieces of dough will be of improper shape, or may be fragmented. A problem often encountered at the site of cutting is the accumulation of dough which diminishes the accuracy of the cutting step.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,948,611 and 5,046,940 disclose cutting means comprised of an elongated knife which scrapes a vertically disposed flat exit face having circular orifices therein for emergence of the extruded dough. The knife cuts only on the down-stroke, and is driven by a complex four-bar link mechanism which causes the knife to push the severed piece of dough forwardly before it returns again to its uppermost position. The mass of the blade imposes considerable wear upon the mechanism which drives the blade in its complex path of movement. Also, the relatively large surface area of the blade permits attachment of dough which randomly dislodges onto dough pieces, thereby producing over weight pieces.
Cutter devices known as guillotine cutters are well known for the high speed cutting of continuously advancing substrates. Such devices employ a blade that reciprocates transversely to the direction of movement of the substrate and severs the substrate as it emerges from an interactive anvil or holding member.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide means for cutting a rapidly extruded stream of dough into uniform discrete pieces.
It is another object of this invention to provide cutting means as in the foregoing object having improved accuracy or performance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide cutting means of the aforesaid nature of simple, durable construction amenable to low cost manufacture.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method for cutting a rapidly extruded stream of dough into uniform discrete pieces.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.


An RF amplifier includes an amplifier chip on a flange having an input and an output comprising a parasitic capacitance and a parasitic inductance, a first chip capacitor coupled to the output of the output of the amplifier by a first plurality of bond wires, and a second chip capacitor coupled to the first chip capacitor by a second plurality of bond wires, and an output impedance matching network having an input coupled to the output of the second chip capacitor by a third plurality of bond wires, and an output, and a phase shift between the input and the output of less than 90 degrees, wherein the phase shift from the output of the amplifier chip to the output of the output impedance matching network is 180 degrees.

RF power amplifiers are important elements in wireless communication infrastructure. One of the key cost factors of wireless service providers is the real estate rental cost of the base-station installation including the RF power amplifiers. A small form factor of the power amplifiers is therefore of high interest to wireless service providers. The Doherty power amplifier topology and its derivatives are one of the most preferred topologies due to its simple architecture and high efficiency operation for modulated signals. However, with the highly increasing demand of data traffic, the foot-print of the Doherty power amplifier is getting larger in order to meet the large power back-off operation for high efficiency with the modulated signals. One of the most typical way of improving average efficiency is using multiple way or multiple stage Doherty amplifiers, which take up a large space.

Compact doherty power amplifier using non-uniform phase match devices


A novel image processing system includes a pixel position indicator and a pixel inserting unit. The pixel position indicator is configured to indicate insertion positions in the image data. The pixel inserting unit is configured to enlarge a size of the image data by inserting an additional pixel at each of the insertion positions and accordingly shifting the original pixels in a given direction. The additional pixel has a value lower than a given threshold. Each insertion position is at an approximate center of an area formed of pixels having values higher than the given threshold. A novel image forming apparatus incorporates such an image processing system and an electrophotographic system. The electrophotographic system is configured to form an image by irradiating a photoconductive surface with a laser beam according to the processed image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system and an image forming apparatus incorporating same, and more particularly, to an image processing system that enlarges image size by inserting additional pixels in an original image, and an image forming apparatus incorporating such an image processing system.
2. Discussion of the Background
As electrophotographic technologies have developed to provide high speed, high definition, and high performance image forming systems, modern image data processors are required to cope with various issues arising from the high quality requirements of such electrophotographic systems.
One issue faced by an image data processor employed in an electrophotographic system is the occurrence of errors such as image misalignment or misregistration, which result when multiple images are formed on a single sheet-like recording medium (hereinafter also "recording sheet").
Image misalignment takes place in printers featuring an automatic duplex mode, where images are successively created and melted on to both sides of a single recording sheet. As a recording sheet tends to shrink slightly when heated, heat application between successive passes causes slight but noticeable misalignment of the images printed on opposite sides of the same sheet. Such a defect seems to issue from the faster processing speeds and compactness typical of modern electrophotographic printers, which reduces a time or a space interval between successive image formations in the duplex printing mode.
Image misregistration occurs where a full color image is produced by superimposition of sub-images of distinct colors formed by multiple electrophotographic units. Such errors are commonly encountered by high speed color printers that employ a tandem architecture for reducing processing time.
One solution to such misalignment and misregistration defects is to use a scaling function, which adjusts image size by electrophotographically adding or deleting picture elements (pixels) to or from an original image before creating a final image.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example of scaling operation where image size is enlarged by adding new pixels.
In FIG. 1, two-dimensional arrays 600 and 610 are corresponding portions of pixel matrices or image data before and after a scaling operation, where each square cell represents one pixel, "X" or horizontal direction indicates a main scan direction, and "Y" or vertical direction indicates a sub-scan direction.
In the scaling operation, a single row of additional pixels is inserted after every ten rows or scan lines of the image data 600 to shift the original pixels in the sub-scan direction Y. This obtains the resulting image data 610 vertically enlarged, with the rows of added pixels 612 periodically appearing in the pixel matrix. When used in electrophotographic printers, such a scaling function enables fine adjustment of image size in a desired direction, thereby effectively preventing misalignment or misregistration.
A drawback of such a size adjusting method is that the scaled image tends to suffer from an undesirable pattern of streaks, a print defect commonly known as "banding".
Generally, artifacts on a printed image such as banding and moiré patterns result from periodic density variations due to various causes, including periodic insertion or deletion of pixels in the image data. As the human eye is most sensitive to repeating parallel lines with spatial frequencies ranging from 5 to 10 cycles per degree (cpd), equivalent to 0.8 to 1.6 cycles per millimeter (cpm) at a viewing distance of 350 millimeters, density variations periodically appearing at such frequencies are perceived as a defect on a printed image.
In the case of the scaling operation depicted in FIG. 1, an image can be scaled up to 102% by inserting one scan line after every 48 scan lines. However, when the image has a resolution of 1,200 dots per inch, such pixel insertions translate into density variations in the printed image occurring at approximately 1 cpm, which falls within the range of perception to cause a noticeable banding defect.
Consequently, it is desirable to compensate for periodic variations when processing image data for output to an imaging system, and for this purpose, various techniques have been proposed in the field of image data processing.
One known method provides an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus with an offset detector and a compensation circuit. When a full color image is created by superimposition of multiple sub-images originating from different imaging stations, the offset detector detects an amount of displacement for each sub-image using a reference pattern. Based on the offset information derived from the offset detector, the compensation circuit calculates a number of pixels to be added to compensate for the displacement amount. Pixels are randomly inserted in image data by the calculated amount, so that the multiple sub-images have substantially the same width along a scan direction. According to this method, a defect-free color image may be obtained with no periodic variation present in any direction.
Another known method proposes a color image forming apparatus with a registration capability, where a screening unit processes image data with a halftone screen and a registration unit serves to compensate for misregistration by adding or deleting a given sequence of pixels in the processed image data. When the screening unit applies halftone screens of different frequencies to different portions of an original image, the registration unit correspondingly adjusts the frequency at which to insert or delete pixels so that the screen frequency and the insertion/deletion frequency do not coincide with each other at least within a range of 0.5 millimeters in the resulting image.
Unfortunately, these conventional methods require complex calculations and significant memory capacity in determining where to insert or delete pixels in the image data, increasing manufacturing cost of a printing system implementing the size adjustment capability.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a cost-effective, low memory consumption image processor for use in electrophotographic systems, capable of adjusting image size without causing significant loss of image quality. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus incorporating such an image processor can provide high quality images with enhanced performance and reduced manufacturing cost.

Image processing system and image forming apparatus incorporating same


A decorative casing including a base material having a surface that includes at least one uneven region and a multilayer film having a plurality of thin films laminated together alternately of different refractive indexes from each other, which is adhered to the surface of the base material. The multilayer film includes at least one first region and at least one second region, wherein each thin film of said multilayer film in the first region has only smooth surfaces and one or more of the plurality of thin films of said multilayer film in the second region have uneven surfaces that each correspond positionally to the at least one uneven region of the surface of the base material. The multilayer film generates interference color in the first region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decorative casing of an electronic device or the like, and specifically relates to a decorative casing using a multilayer film generating interference colors of which color tones change depending on a viewing angle of the decorative casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a factor that determines a salability of an electronic device or the like, obviously importance is attached to the actual function of the electronic device. However, the appearance of the product is also an important element. At present, functions of products in certain product groups have become similar, so it is difficult to differentiate the functions of the products. Consumers usually prefer a decorative product among many products which have substantially the same functions; however the appearance of the products is likely to have a greater influence on the sales of the products.
Based on the miniaturization of electronic devices in recent years, portable products are becoming more widespread, as represented by portable telephones and portable music players, compared with products used in a fixed state. As a result, users of portable products consider them to be accessories, and place importance on decoration, such as color, as well as shape and appearance. Therefore, manufacturers are differentiating their products from competitors' products through appearance. In addition to products that are always used in a mobile state, in products such as a mouse and a memory card of a personal computer, the outward appearance along with, surface decoration of the product is important to differentiate the product from those of competitors. Accordingly, manufacturers are actively studying techniques to enhance decoration of products.
One technique of applying decoration to a product is a decorative technique by which colors of the product appear different from different angles. This technique uses changing colors to give color depth. Various methods for achieving this kind of decoration are in use.
First, there is a method of coloring a casing of a product itself using a colored resin. However, it is difficult to obtain an impression of high quality from this method. Further, because a color of the surface does not change even if the surface shape is changed, the color of the surface becomes simple.
Second, there is a method of coating a casing of a product. However, a coating material which changes the color according to the viewing angle of the product is expensive, and this coating material gives an impression of low quality.
Third, there is a method of coating with a metal film and a dielectric film. However, the addition of a coating process increases tact time, which results in a decrease in productivity of the product.
Fourth, there is a method of attaching a seal to a casing. However, according to this method, a surface of the product is hidden under the seal, which results in the surface shape of the seal becoming flat, even when stereoscopic modeling is performed on the surface of the product under the seal.
Consequently, there is proposed a method of using a multilayer film utilizing interference colors of light. The multilayer film has a lamination of two or more layers having different refractive indexes which exhibits colors using interferential effect of light due to an optical path difference. The principle of coloring will be explained with reference to FIG. 1. When a multilayer film 101, having plural films of a thin film A and a thin film B are alternately laminated, and provided on a base material 100, light 102 incident to the multilayer film 101 is reflected at the interface between thin films A and B, and the reflected light interferes with each other. Following expression is established:
(nAdA cos θA+nBdB cos θB)=mλ (where m is an integer), where film thicknesses of the thin films A and B are expressed as dA and dB, light incident angles are expressed as θA and θB, refractive indexes are expressed as nA and nB, and a wavelength is expressed as λ.
(nAdA cos θA+nBdB cos θB)=mλ (where m is an integer). In this case, the lights of wavelength λ interfere with each other to increase the strength of the light. When an observer changes a viewing angle of the base material adhered with the multilayer film, incident angle θ of a reflected light reaching the observer relative to the multilayer film changes. Accordingly, wavelength λ of the interfering light changes. As a result, the coloring of the interference colors change. Therefore, when the multilayer film exhibiting interference colors is applied to a product, coloring that changes at different angles of viewing the product can be achieved, thereby providing decoration to the product.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-219394 (Patent Document 1) discloses a decoration technique using a multilayer film exhibiting the interference colors. FIGS. 2A and 2B depict cross-sectional views of a decorative material described in above Patent Document 1. A multilayer film 201 is formed as a light-interference multilayer film, by laminating synthetic-resin thin films via adhesive layers. Synthetic resin films 202a and 202b for shape stabilization are laminated on multilayer film 201, to stereoscopically form a material film 203. Material film 203 is used as a decorative material 205. When multilayer film 201 is stereoscopically formed, the film is distorted, and is not totally uniform. As a result, a wavelength region for transmitting or reflecting the light at each part of decoration material 205 changes. Consequently, a rainbow-like pattern appears, or the pattern becomes substantially transparent due to the emphasis or reflection of a certain wavelength region, and various optical changes appear.
According to this conventional technique, coloring can be changed on curved parts, using a stereoscopic shape. However, it has been difficult to generate a change of color tone to a desired shape at a desired position. On a flat part, coloring is substantially uniform, because an angle formed between the flat surface and the observer becomes substantially constant. As a result, when this technique is applied to a product having many flat regions, the color tone becomes simple.

Decorative casing and manufacturing method thereof


A method of making a fluid flow device comprises: providing a substrate of porous material (2) impregnated with a light-sensitive substance (5) in a first state and which is configured to change from the first state to a second state when exposed to light (3), the second state being a solid state that is resistant to a solvent and the first being removable with the solvent; the substrate having a fluid flow channel (7) defined therein, the channel having a depth; exposing a beam of light (3) onto an area of the substrate surface within the fluid flow channel to deliver energy to a volume of the substrate below the area to change the light-sensitive substance to the second state; during exposure, creating a partial barrier to flow of fluid along the channel by controlling the amount of energy delivered to the volume below at least part of the area to change the light-sensitive substance to the second state in a volume of the substrate within the fluid flow channel that has a depth less than the depth of the fluid flow channel; and developing the substrate in the solvent to leave the light-sensitive substance which is in the solid state and remove the light-sensitive substance which is in the other state. The device may be a medical diagnostic device, and the substrate may be a paper substrate or may be a nitrocellulose substrate.

The present invention relates to devices configured to control the flow of fluid, and methods for making such devices.
Devices configured to deliver a fluid sample from a first location on the device to a second location, for example a test location provided with a reagent, are well-known. A particularly important application of such devices is in medical diagnostics, where a sample comprising a biological analyte is deposited on the device for flow to a test location for reaction with a reagent that tests for a disease or other clinical condition or parameter. Often the result of the test is indicated by a colour change at the test location. The device takes the form of a substrate that defines a fluid flow path or channel between the deposition site and the test site.
These devices are of great interest because the role of diagnostics and point-of-care (POC) testing is highly beneficial for early stage non-invasive clinical detection. POC testing provides an effective and rapid technique that excludes or minimises delay by providing a prompt exchange of vital information between the clinical care team and the patient, because the testing can be conducted at the point-of-care (which may be the patient's home, their general practitioner's clinic, or a hospital). The testing is facilitated through the use of uncomplicated, user-friendly and portable testing devices, and much effort has been directed towards producing diagnostic test-kits which are smaller, quicker and smarter, and importantly, cost-effective, which is a key requirement for enabling POC test procedures that may need to be performed repeatedly over large sample groups.
It has been recognised that microfluidic-based "lab-on-chip" (LOC) technology has considerable potential for medical diagnostics devices and systems [1]. Advantages of compact LOC devices include the use of smaller reagent volumes, faster reaction times and portability arising from the smaller device dimensions, and ease of manufacture. These devices were originally developed on platform substrates such as silicon and glass using clean-room based fabrication processes adapted from the semiconductor processing industry. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a low-cost polymer, has also been considered but has various limitations; this has led to a search for other substrate materials, which now include paper, cotton, thermoplastics and photo-curable polymers. In particular, paper is now considered as a highly suitable substrate for the fabrication of LOC-type devices [2, 3]. Of particular importance is the relatively low-tech nature of paper, which has almost all of the attributes that would help realise 'low-cost' POC diagnostic tests, particularly in the context of low-resourced locations in developing and third-world countries.
As a substrate material, paper is inexpensive, abundantly available in a range of different engineered forms that exhibit different properties, can be stored and easily transported, modified in terms of its liquid transport properties, and readily disposed of after use. Additionally, paper-based fabrication procedures themselves are relatively cheap, and paper as a technology has been in use for more than two thousand years, lending itself to routine low cost high volume production procedures. Finally, delivery of paper-based items is routinely available to everyone world-wide that has access to a postal service. Paper is currently implemented for analytical and clinical chemistry, and chromatographic tests are routinely performed for the detection of different chemical species. Two commonly known paper-based chromatographic clinical tests are the pregnancy test and the lateral flow-based urine dipsticks that can simultaneously detect blood sugar, pH and ketone [4]. Clinical tests that can yield quantitative information of a multiplexed nature (i.e. can perform a series of parallel tests) using a single test strip are very attractive, and microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) are an ideal platform for this. These paper-based microfluidic devices have one or more flow channels that are designed to guide and transport an analyte fluid from a point of entry on the device to a reaction zone that has been pre-treated with specific reagents. Unlike glass, silicon and polymer substrates on which fluid channels have to be surface-relief structures, for paper-based device the channels are formed within and extend throughout the thickness of the paper. The walls that are required to delineate the individual channels to contain and guide the flow of liquids are made from hydrophobic materials integrated into the structure of the paper.
An early design for these structures relied on a cleanroom-based lithographic technique of exposure of a UV-sensitive polymer impregnated in a paper substrate through a custom-designed mask; this cross-linked the polymer to form the required pattern of fluid channels [5]. Lithography has also been proposed elsewhere [6, 7]. A development aimed at reducing costs arising from the lithographic procedure involved the use of a modified desktop plotter to dispense an ink composed of PDMS [8]. Other approaches include inkjet printer-based etching of paper impregnated with polystyrene [9], plasma-treatment through a metal mask of a paper impregnated with hydrophobic alkyl ketene dimer [10], paper-cutting using a computer-controlled X-Y knife plotter [11], printing of wax [12, 13], inkjet-printing [14, 15], flexographic printing [16], wax-screen printing [17], and laser-treatment of a paper with a hydrophobic coating [18]. Each of these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages. Lithography and plasma-treatment require expensive patterning masks or equipment and controlled laboratory conditions. The knife-plotting technique requires specialised or custom-modified patterning equipment, and other techniques may include undesirable post-processing procedures. Other issues are the limitation on achievable feature size resulting from lateral spreading of the hydrophobic material (for example with wax printing), the need for specialised chemicals and inks (for ink-jet printing), and the use of harsh chemical etchants.
Also, it is often desirable to control the fluid flow in the device so that the analyte flows along different channels at different speeds. The above fabrication techniques are often poorly suited to implement channel designs that offer the required flow rate control, and additional manufacturing steps can be needed to modify the channel network. Proposals for achieving flow rate control include using a circuitous or serpentine channel geometry to delay flow, and forming dissolvable barriers in the flow channels, for example made from sugar [19, 20, 21].
Hence, there is a requirement for improved microfluidic LOC-type devices, in particular devices in which the fluid flow speed can be modified or controlled, and improved methods for producing such devices.

Fluid flow device with flow control and method for making the same


The present invention relates to vehicle transporters. Apparatus for totally or partially lowering or raising the upper platform of a vehicle transport trailer comprising a lower platform disposed on a chassis and an upper platform supported at a distance from the lower platform by at least four vertical support posts, characterized in that it comprises at least one motor driving in rotation at least two vertical screws each lodged in one of the support posts of a given pair; the rotation of the screws producing the vertical displacement of means rigidly connected to the upper platform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicles used to transport a plurality of automobiles or commercial vehicles, more specifically, vehicle transporters.
These transporters generally comprise a carrier vehicle and a trailer, each comprising two levels consisting of a lower platform and an upper platform. The lower platform is stationary and is disposed directly on the chassis of the trailer. The upper plaform is supported at a distance from the lower platform by means of support posts which may be stationary or partly movable. It is designed to be lowered onto the lower platform. The lowering and raising of the upper platform is still accomplished in conventional units by means of jacks which act either on cables or directly on pivotable support posts, as described, for example, in French Pat. No. 2 213 856 belonging to the Applicant.
However, these devices for manoeuvering the upper platform have various disadvantages. Firstly, they necessitate large support posts, particularly in the case of pivotable posts, thereby reducing the useful space on the trailer. When cables are used it is also necessary to systematically replace them periodically to avoid the risk of breakage. Finally, in all cases, the driver of the unit has to engage or withdraw safety pegs before loading or unloading.

Apparatus for use on vehicle transporters


A driving apparatus allows simple detection of the light writing characteristic of light writing means, such as a CRT, without detaching the light writing means from the liquid crystal light valve. A display apparatus uses such a photoconductive liquid crystal light valve. The driving apparatus applies a drive voltage signal from a drive voltage source across two electrodes of a photoconductive liquid crystal light valve having a liquid crystal layer, a photoconductive layer and the two electrodes arranged to sandwich the liquid crystal layer and photoconductive layer and allows a writing light to be incident upon the photoconductive layer by light writing means coupled to a writing side, and comprises detection means for detecting an impedance across the two electrodes. The apparatus generates an adjusting video signal having white and black levels, supplies the adjusting video signal as an input video signal to video signal amplifying means, and compares the levels of detection outputs of writing light intensity detection means at times of generation of the adjusting video signals of the white level and the black level, with reference levels corresponding to the white and black levels. The offset and gain of the video signal amplifying means are changed in accordance with the comparison outputs of the comparing means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for driving a photoconductive liquid crystal light valve, which is used in a projection type liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus and is coupled to light writing means, and also, to a display apparatus using a photoconductive liquid crystal light valve.
2. Description of the Background Information
FIG. 1 shows an example of a projection type LCD apparatus that comprises a display photoconductive liquid crystal light valve.
Referring to this diagram, a drive voltage signal output from a drive voltage source 101 is applied across two electrodes (to be described later) of a photoconductive liquid crystal light valve 1. Means for writing an image on the liquid crystal light valve 1 may be, for example, an optical fiber light tube, which comprises a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) 3 to which a video signal V.sub.V is supplied via a video amplifier 2, and an optical fiber 4, coupled to the CRT 3, to guide an image displayed on the CRT to the liquid crystal light valve 1. The output image of the CRT 3 is written on the photoconductive film of the liquid crystal light valve 1. The video amplifier 2 is capable of changing the level of the output video signal in accordance with a control signal V.sub.c to thereby alter the output image of the CRT 3 or the level of the writing light to the liquid crystal light valve 1.
Reading light, emitted from-a light source 5, will be incident via a mirror 6 and through a condenser lens 7 upon a polarization beam splitter 8. The incident light has a P polarization component and an S polarization component. The former component directly passes through the polarization beam splitter 8, while the latter has its direction turned by 90 degrees to enter the liquid crystal light valve 1.
If an image drawn is on the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal light valve 1, the light reflected by the liquid crystal light valve 1 locally includes a P polarization component according to the tint of the image on the liquid crystal layer. This P polarization component in the reflected light alone directly passes through the polarization beam splitter 8 to enter a projection lens 9, so that the image corresponding to that P polarization component is projected on a screen 10.
FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of the photoconductive liquid crystal light valve 1 used in the projection type LCD apparatus.
In this diagram, a spacer 12 is placed around a liquid crystal layer 11, with alignment films 13 and 14 provided on the respective sides of the layer 11. Sandwiched between the liquid crystal layer 11 and a photoconductive film 15, which may be formed of amorphous silicon, are a dielectric mirror 16 as a light reflecting film and a light shielding film 17. The light reflecting film 16 serves to reflect projection light coming from the reading side, while the light shielding film 17 serves to absorb leak light from the light reflecting film 16 to block the light to the photoconductive film 15. Transparent conductive films 18 and 19, serving as two electrodes, are provided outside the liquid crystal layer 11 and the photoconductive layer 15 respectively to sandwich the liquid crystal layer 11. All the components mentioned above are sealed by glass substrates 20 and 21.
When an image is drawn on the photoconductive film 15 in the thus constituted photoconductive liquid crystal light valve 1 by the writing light incident from the right-hand side (writing side) in FIG. 2, the internal resistance of the photoconductive film 15 changes locally according to the tint of the image. The drive voltage across the transparent electrodes 18 and 19 is applied to the liquid crystal layer 11 adjacent to those portions which correspond to the resistance-changed portions, in accordance with the tint of the image, causing spatial modulation.
Referring again to FIG. 1, before the liquid crystal light valve 1, CRT 3 and optical fiber 4 are coupled together, the output to input characteristic of the CRT 3 is adjusted to a specific characteristic. This adjustment is done to make the light writing characteristic to the liquid crystal light valve 1 constant to acquire a stable and good projection image. This is actually accomplished by arranging a photometer to the front surface or the display surface of the CRT 3 before the liquid crystal light valve 1 is coupled to the CRT 3 by the optical fiber 4, measuring the level of the output light of the CRT 3 by means of photoelectric transfer of the photometer when a video signal V.sub.V of predetermined level and pattern is supplied to the CRT 3, and supplying a control signal V.sub.c of the level that should provide a predetermined level of output light to the video amplifier 2 based on the result of the measurement.
The video amplifier 2 includes an offset controller 201 a gain controller 202, and a drive amplifier 203 as shown in FIG. 3. The offset and gain for amplifying the input video signal V.sub.V are controlled by control signals V.sub.c1 and V.sub.c2, respectively. The levels of those control signals may be changed, for example, by a user manually altering volume controls Vol1 and Vol2 on the operation section (not shown). The solid line io in FIG. 4 represents the initial characteristic of the CRT 3 that is to be controlled in the above manner to satisfy the predetermined output light level characteristic. In the diagram, the horizontal scale V.sub.cg [V] is the voltage that is applied between the cathode and grid of the CRT 3 according to the input video signal V.sub.V, and the vertical scale I [W/cm.sup.2 ] is the level of the output light or the output power of the CRT 3 that is produced according to that voltage V.sub.cg. For the illustrated initial characteristic, it is apparent that the proper white level I.sub.w and black level I.sub.B are acquired by supplying such a video signal as to apply the voltages V.sub.cgWO and V.sub.cgB0 to the CRT 3.
The liquid crystal light valve 1 is coupled to the CRT 3 after the output writing light to input video signal characteristic of the CRT 3 to the liquid crystal light valve 1 are adjusted. The coupling should be made with a high precision, which is inevitable to provide a high-quality image.
If the light writing characteristic varies due to some time series changes by a change in heater current that drives the CRT 3 or a change in fluorescent body due to a temperature rise on the tube surface, after the liquid crystal light valve 1, CRT 3 and optical fiber 4 are coupled together, the characteristic as represented by the broken line ia in FIG. 4 will be provided. In this case, the black level and white level of the CRT 3 change from those of the initial characteristic, degrading the gray scale characteristic and shifting the white balance. To cope with them requires a troublesome work to detach the CRT 3 in close contact with the liquid crystal light valve 1, detect the light writing characteristic using the photometer, readjust the characteristic, and then couple the CRT 3 again to the liquid crystal light valve 1.
Further, since the user manually controls the light writing characteristic of the CRT, not only the image quality will vary in each product, but also the prompt and accurate adjustment cannot be expected.

Apparatus for driving photoconductive liquid crystal light valve having write intensity detecting function and display apparatus using such light valve


A process of drying moisture containing material having a tendency to create dust when dried, said process including the steps of providing said material in a heated chamber having a steam containing atmosphere at a temperature above the dewpoint of the steam, recirculating a hot gas including a portion of the steam through said chamber in order to evaporate moisture from the material to a predetermined level of dryness.

Low rank carbonaceous materials, such as brown coal, peat and lignite, are materials having water locked into a microporous carbonaceous structure. The water content is typically high—for example 60% or higher. This means that such raw materials have a low calorific value. Moreover, these materials have the undesirable mechanical properties of being soft, friable and of low density, meaning that they are difficult, messy and inconvenient to handle.
Prior processes for upgrading low rank carbonaceous materials (which for ease of discussion will be hereinafter collectively referred to as "brown coal") in order to remove water and increase calorific value have included "briquetting" and solar drying.
Briquetting typically involves heating the raw brown coal to remove excess water, then pressing the cooled brown coal into briquettes using a press or roll briquetting machine. However, briquetting is energy intensive due to the need for thermal energy to heat the raw brown coal.
The solar drying process involves milling of the brown coal with addition of water, then solar drying of the milled slurry in shallow ponds. This process is lengthy—particularly the solar drying step which may take up to several months—and energy intensive.
Another proposal mechanically releases water from brown coal by physically breaking up the brown coal. However, this process is inconvenient and time consuming and still requires lengthy air drying of the final product.
WO 01/54819 describes an upgrading process which comprises subjecting brown coal to shearing stresses which cause attritioning of the microporous structure of the brown coal and release of water contained in the micropores.
The shearing-attritioning process is conducted at a nip defined between two or more converging surfaces, wherein at least one of the surfaces is rollable towards the nip. The two or more converging surfaces may comprise part of a pelletising machine, such as a rotating roll type pelletising machine. The shearing-attritioning is continued until the brown coal forms a plastic mass that can be simultaneously formed into pellets, then subsequently dried. The pellet formation may be by way of forcing ("extruding") the mass through apertures in the wall of the pelleting machine. The moisture content of the formed pellets may be around 50-60%, depending on the provenance of the brown coal. Run of mine Loy Yang lignite, from Victoria, Australia typically contains around 65% moisture, which reduces to around 52% moisture after pellet formation.
All of the above upgrading processes, and particularly those involving the use of thermal energy applied through direct-drying applications, can suffer from the problem of dust generation during drying of the product, thereby requiring use of dust control steps, such as wet scrubbing or use of dust removal means including bag-house applications, which are inconvenient and expensive and can even be dangerous.
In the case of WO 01/54819, in order to accelerate drying of the upgraded brown coal pellets, hot air may be blown through the pellets. However, this can cause significant generation of dust and associated environmental pollution. Moreover, due to the pyrophoric nature of brown coal, hot air drying may also pose a significant risk of spontaneous combustion of the upgraded brown coal under some circumstances.
Another disadvantage of hot air drying is that evaporated moisture is lost. Given the current imperative to conserve water in industrial processes, it would be desirable to capture the evaporated moisture for other purposes.
The above discussion of the background to the disclosure is included to provide a context for the present disclosure. It is to be understood that such discussion does not constitute an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.
It would accordingly be desirable to provide a process and an apparatus for drying material prone to generating dust, such as low rank carbonaceous material (which will hereon be collectively referred to as "brown coal" for ease of discussion), which overcomes, wholly or partly, one or more disadvantages of the prior art.

Process for drying material and dryer for use in the process


An initial segment set generation unit (120) generates an initial segment set (F) from training time-series data (S). An initial segment set sorting unit (130) sorts initial segments included in the initial segment set by the order of feature quantities. A sample segment set generation unit (140) generates a sample segment set (E) from the initial segment set. A sample segment set sorting unit (150) sorts sample segments included in the sample segment set by the order of the feature quantities. A search result distance calculation unit (160) calculates a search result distance (Z) for each of test segments by using the sample segment set.

An electric power plant, a chemical plant, a steel plant, a water supply and sewage plant, or the like introduces a control system for controlling a process in a plant. Likewise, a facility such as a building or a factory introduces a control system for controlling air conditioning, electricity, illumination, water supply and drainage, and so on. Meanwhile, a logging system for recording a state of an appliance is equipped in an appliance for a line in a factory, a motorcar, and a railroad car to recognize a state of an appliance.
In these systems, various types of time-series data obtained by a sensor installed at the appliance as time elapses are accumulated.
The time-series data is analyzed as follows.
Partial time-series data extracted from recent time-series data, namely, test time-series data is compared with partial time-series data extracted from past time-series data, namely, training time-series data and then, partial time-series data of the test time-series data similar to the partial time-series data of the training time-series data is searched for. Subsequently, among the partial time-series data of the test time-series data similar thereto, partial time-series data of the test time-series data least similar to the partial time-series data of the training time-series data is detected as a singularity. Thereafter, an abnormality of the appliance is detected through the detection of the singularity.
The partial time-series data is data extracted from the time-series data to have a length corresponding to a width of a sliding time window and called a segment.
A segment of the training time-series data having a distance closest to a segment of the test time-series data is extracted with respect to each of the segments of the test time-series data and then, a segment of the test time-series data having a distance farthest from the segment of the training time-series data is regarded as the singularity. A Euclidean distance and a DTW distance are widely utilized as types of the distance between segments. The DTW stands for Dynamic Time Warping.
Here, the aforementioned approach for detecting the singularity is called a simple approach.
Because distances of all combinations of the segments of the training time-series data and the segments of the test time-series data are found out, the simple approach has a considerably increased amount of computation.
Non Patent Literature 1 has proposed an approach for reducing the amount of computation by discontinuing the computation of the distances by way of an indicator having a less amount of computation than the case of the computation of the distances between the segments.
Non Patent Literature 2 has proposed an approach for reducing the amount of computation by comparing the segments of the test time-series data with a sample segment. The sample segment is called an Exemplar and generated from the training time-series data by integrating similar segments thereof.
In a case where the number of sample segments can be sufficiently narrowed down, the approach according to Non Patent Literature 2 can reduce the amount of computation more considerably than the case of the simple approach and the approach according to Non Patent Literature 1.
However, the approach according to Non Patent Literature 2 is an approach for finding out an approximate solution by sampling the training time-series data and accordingly, an error thereof, namely, an approximation error needs to be taken into account.
In the approach according to Non Patent Literature 2, as long as a test segment having a distance to the sample segment equal to or less than a threshold is present, the union of this test segment with the sample segment is repeated. As a result, the approximation error increases and the approximation error cannot be ensured to fit within an allowable range.
Besides, it is also not possible to find out the approximation error contained in the sample segment by way of quantification, an error contained in a search result cannot be evaluated as well.
Non Patent Literature 3 has disclosed the degree of complexity as a feature quantity used in the judgment of an inter-segment distance relative to the threshold.

Time-series data search device and computer readable medium


A flux trap neutron absorber arrangement for use in a fuel storage body between a pair of fuel storage cans which receive and store nuclear fuel assemblies includes separate pockets spaced from one another and extending vertically along and attached to the exterior of each of the adjacent side walls of adjacent spaced storage cans, an elongated flat plate of a thermal neutron absorber material mounted in each pocket, the plates of thermal neutron absorber material being likewise spaced from one another and defining a fast neutron slow-down region therebetween, a slab of a metal hydride disposed in the fast neutron slow-down region between the plates of thermal neutron absorber material and the separate pockets on the adjacent side walls, a canister containing the slab of the metal hydride being disposed in the fast neutron slow-down region, the canister being connected to at least one of the adjacent side walls of the adjacent storage cans. The thermal neutron absorber material of the plates is usually boron carbide. Preferably, the metal hydride of the slabs is usually titanium hydride.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to nuclear fuel storage and shipping and, more particularly, is concerned with an improved flux trap neutron absorber arrangement for a fuel storage body, such as a fuel shipping cask or a fuel storage pool of a fuel storage facility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fuel storage facility provides for on-site storage of both new and spent fuel assemblies at nuclear power plants. The fuel storage facility includes a fuel pit or pool which is a reinforced concrete structure with a stainless steel liner, filled with borated reactor makeup water. Fuel storage containers or cans of square cross-section and standing upright in a spaced side-by-side array are provided under water in the fuel pool. The cans are designed to accommodate a large number of fuel assemblies, for example 850, at predetermined locations such that the fuel assemblies are maintained in a sub-critical array in the fuel pool.
Neutron absorbers or poisons, such as boron carbide, in slab-like form are typically mounted in narrow pockets extending vertically along the sides of the cans, with the makeup water filling the remainder of the space between the cans, to assist in maintaining the fuel in a condition of subcriticality. Fast neutrons are emitted by the fuel and therefore it is desirable to be able to slow them so that they can be absorbed more effectively in the absorber material.
The slabs of boron carbide and volume of borated makeup water between them serve as a flux trap neutron absorber arrangement in the storage pool between the stored fuel assemblies. The water provides a fast neutron slow-down region with the surrounding boron carbide, in the slab or plate form, providing a thermal neutron absorber. The fast neutrons enter into the water contained in the slow-down region between the boron carbide plates of thermal neutron absorber. The hydrogen atoms in the water slow the fast neutrons down between the plates so that they can be absorbed by the thermal neutron absorber of the plates.
A plurality of such flux trap neutron absorber arrangements are located between the cans containing the fuel assemblies to assist in maintaining the fuel assembly array in a safe shutdown subcritical condition. Because the pool space is fixed at the nuclear power plants and the demand for more and higher enrichment fuel storage is becoming critical, there is a need for maximizing the amount of fuel that can be stored there. As a result the minimization of the storage cell structural volume in the pool is important. Dimensional changes as small as 0.1 inch are critical to the designer, in meeting the sub-criticality requirements, maximizing the storage capacity, and minimizing material requirements.
Consequently, there is a pressing need for improvements in the design of the flux trap absorber arrangement for maximizing available fuel storage space.

Metal hydride flux trap neutron absorber arrangement for a nuclear fuel storage body


In operating to open or close a door (step S1), when an outside switch indicating whether a door knob portion is grabbed or not grabbed by the hand of an operator is brought into an ON state (grip state), or when a distance of moving the door is less than a predetermined angle after bringing the outside switch into an OFF state from the ON state (non-grip state) (step S6), a current threshold higher than a normal current threshold is set (step S3, step S7), a motor current and the current threshold is compared (step S4) and pinching of an obstacle of the door is detected (step S5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a back door opening and closing apparatus for generating a torque necessary for operating to open and close a back door by a motor in opening and closing the back door provided at a rear portion of a vehicle.
2. Related Art
In a background art, there is known a vehicle having an opening and closing member of a back door, a slide door or the like which is automatically opened and closed by driving, for example, a motor in JP-A-2003-27832 or the like shown below.
According to an automatic opening and closing apparatus of an opening and closing member for a vehicle described in JP-A-2003-27832, in opening and closing, for example, a back door, a state of opening and closing the back door is detected by detecting a rotational pulse of a motor and when the period of the rotational pulse becomes considerably smaller than a standard pulse period to constitute a pinching determining time period, the apparatus detects that pinching is brought about.
Particularly, according to the automatic opening and closing apparatus of the opening and closing member of the vehicle described in JP-A-2003-27832, in order to prevent a state of pinching a foreign matter from being erroneously recognized in opening and closing the back door, at a stage before reaching the pinching determining time period, a duty ratio which is an amount of supplying current of the motor is gradually increased until firmly determining the period of the rotational pulse. Thereby, according to the automatic opening and closing apparatus of the opening and closing member for the vehicle of the background, erroneous recognition of determining that the pinching is brought about can be prevented when pinching of the foreign matter is not brought about.
Further, it is known by the background art that a target operational speed is set depending on a position of operating the back door, and when an actual operational speed is less than the target operational speed, a value of current supplied to the motor is increased by increasing the duty ratio, the current value is compared with a previously set threshold and when the current value exceeds the threshold, it is determined that pinching of the foreign matter is brought about.
However, according to the above-described background, in the case of setting a threshold to the motor current value, when a door knob is operated to pull up by the hand of an operator in automatically operating the back door to open by the motor torque, the operational speed of the back door is increased and the current supplied to the motor is reduced in accordance therewith. Thereafter, when the operator detaches the hand from the door knob, the operational speed of the back door is reduced at the instance and therefore, the torque is generated at the motor to prevent the reduction in the operational speed and therefore, the motor current is increased.
At that occasion, according to the background art, it is necessary to rapidly increase the motor current in order to increase the motor torque and there is a case in which the motor current exceeds the threshold and it is erroneously detected that pinching of the foreign matter is brought about although pinching of the foreign matter is not brought about.


A bullet-type slip weight is provided including a forward end portion defining a cavity therein double fluid tight sealed from the exterior of the weight and in which a plurality of loose rattle members are loosely received. The weight incorporates a tubular plastic body and a central longitudinal plastic tube portion extending longitudinally therethrough to define an annular cavity within the plastic body about the central tube portion. The rear end of the cavity is occupied by a tubular weight body snugly telescoped thereinto and the rear end of the cavity is closed by an annular rear closure wall sealed relative to the outer periphery of the rear end of the body and the rear end of the tube portion. The forward portion of the cavity disposed forward of the weight body has the aforementioned rattle members loosely received therein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fishing weight of the centrally bored, bullet-type and wherein the nose portion of the bullet weight defines a central cavity in which a plurality of rattle members are loosely received.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of fishing line weights, fishing lures and fishing line dynamic depressors including some of the structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,466,787, 3,736,690, 3,848,353, 3,905,147, and 4,008,539. However, even though some of these fishing line sinkers or weights are of the "slip" type and include interior loose rattle members for noise making purposes, these prior known devices do not include the overall combination of structural features incorporated in the instant invention, which combination of features greatly simplifies the manufacture and expense of the rattling weight and further ensures waterproof construction of the weight against the entrance of water thereinto.


The invention is a paint roller corner cover consisting of a cap made out of any suitable material having a circumference equivalent to that of a paint roller cover and having a narrow circular annular base with a holding mechanism consisting of lugs which are evenly spaced around the outside of the end cover cap to serve as a holding mechanism. The outside surface of the end cap is matted with a napped material Which is to be similar or identical to the nap material on the paint roller. This device provides a paint roller corner cover which effectively paints a 90 degree corner and which results in a smooth final surface area. In addition, the invention provides an end cap which can easily be attached and detached, the holding mechanism of which does not interfere with the circumference of the paint roller. In addition, the invention is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to paint rollers and covers for paint rollers.
2. Invention Disclosure Statement
As shown in the drawings, the invention is a cap made out of any suitable material having a dimension equivalent to that of the paint roller cover and having a narrow, circular base with a holding mechanism which is inserted into the paint roller. The circular outside end of the cover cap is matted with a nap material which is similar or identical to the nap material on the paint roller, such that the painter is able to paint a corner where two walls meet and accomplish painting of the opposing corner.


The present invention provides a rubber composition that can enhance the fuel economy, wet-grip performance, and abrasion resistance in a balanced manner, and a pneumatic tire using this rubber composition. The present invention relates to a rubber composition that contains a rubber component, silica, and a silane coupling agent, wherein the rubber component contains, based on 100% by mass of the rubber component, not less than 5% by mass of a conjugated diene polymer containing a constituent unit based on a conjugated diene and a constituent unit represented by formula (I) below, at least one terminal of the polymer being modified with a specific compound; an amount of the silica is 5 to 150 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component; and the silane coupling agent contains a mercapto group.

The demands on automobiles for better fuel economy have been increasing in recent years as concern with environmental issues has been rising. Good fuel economy is also being required of the rubber compositions used for automotive tires. For example, rubber compositions containing a conjugated diene polymer (e.g., polybutadiene, butadiene-styrene copolymer) and a filler (e.g., carbon black, silica) are used for the rubber compositions for automotive tires.
Patent Literature 1, for example, proposes a method for enhancing the fuel economy. This method uses a diene rubber that has been modified with an organosilicon compound containing an amino group and an alkoxy group. These days, however, further enhancement of the fuel economy has been demanded. Meanwhile, wet-grip performance and abrasion resistance are also properties required of the rubber compositions for automotive tires; however, these properties generally assume an inverse relationship with the fuel economy. Thus, it has been difficult to achieve the respective properties at high levels in a balanced manner.
Moreover, in order to meet the demand for fuel economy, silica-containing rubber compositions have been used in not only treads but also other various components. However, silica has a lower affinity for rubber (in particular, natural rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, and others that are often used for tires) than carbon black due to hydrophilic silanol groups on its surface. Thus, silica is often inferior in terms of abrasion resistance and mechanical strength (tensile strength, elongation at break).
Use of a silane coupling agent and use of highly reinforcing silica such as finely divided silica are known as the methods for improving the above properties.
However, such highly reinforcing silica generally exhibits low dispersion in rubber compositions. Therefore, the abrasion resistance and mechanical strength may not be much improved, or even may be deteriorated.
Conventional silane coupling agents generally used in rubber compositions for tires (e.g. bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)disulfide, bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide) greatly improve the dispersibility of silica to impart good mechanical properties. However, since a large amount of silane coupling agent is necessary to favorably disperse highly reinforcing silica, the cost increases greatly. Moreover, the addition of even a sufficient amount of silane coupling agent may fail to provide good dispersion.
Use of a mercapto group-containing silane coupling agent has been proposed which has higher reactivity than the aforementioned conventional coupling agents (for example, see Patent Literature 2). Although such highly reactive silane coupling agents have high performance, they cause the scorch time to be considerably shortened, making their practical use difficult in the tire industry. Therefore, currently such silane coupling agents are hardly ever used.
Patent Literature 3 discloses a silica-containing rubber composition for a tire that can enhance the wet-grip performance without deteriorating the performance in terms of rolling resistance and abrasion resistance. However, this rubber composition still needs to be improved in terms of enhancing these properties in a balanced manner.


Aluminum substrate suitable for making lithographic plates which has been treated to render the surface hydrophilic and negatively charged and thereafter ionically colored with a cationic dye.

This invention relates to lithographic printing plates with visible images and to a process for making such plates.
Lithographic printing techniques, using, for example, anodized and silicated aluminum base plates such as described in Fromson U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,461 issued May 4, 1965, have come into widespread use in the printing industry and especially in offset printing and direct lithographic printing by newspapers using converted letterpress printing presses.
A conventional negative working lithographic printing plate of this type has a coating of a light sensitive substance that is adherent to the aluminum base sheet for exposure. If the light sensitive coating is applied to the base sheet by the manufacturer, the sheet is referred to as a "presensitized plate". If the light sensitive substance is applied to the base by the lithographer or trade plate maker, the plate is referred to as a "wipe-on plate". Depending on the nature of the photosensitive coating employed, a coated plate may be utilized to reproduce directly the image to which it is exposed, in which case it is termed a positive-acting plate, or to produce an image complementary to the one to which it is exposed, in which case it is termed a negative acting plate. In either case, the image area of the developed plate is oleophilic and the non-image area is hydrophilic.
In the case of negative working plate, the surface is coated with an aqueous solution of a conventional diazo resin. The plate is dried and exposed through a negative. The exposed image areas become water insoluble and the unexposed non-image areas remain water soluble. The plate is conventionally developed with a lithographic lacquer which consists of a two-phase system, one phase containing an oleophilic resin in a solvent and the other phase a hydrophilic gum. Upon application, the oleophilic resin adheres to and makes visible the exposed insoluble areas, while the hydrophilic phase dissolves away the unexposed soluble non-image or background areas. In this way, the visible image is made oleophilic or ink receptive and the background is made hydrophilic or ink repellent.
In our companion application, Ser. No. 064,322 filed Aug. 6, 1979, we describe the simultaneous chemical amplification of diazo sensitized plates using an anionic material in an ionizing reaction medium. This provides a water developable plate and eliminates the use of conventional solvent/resin containing lacquers. In the present invention we provide a lithographic substrate and plate that produces a visible image upon development without relying on a component of the developer to become adhered to the image area.

Aluminum lithographic plate with visible image and process


Systems and methods are disclosed for providing sample prescriptions electronically and creating a complete data set of information regarding the life-cycle of the sample prescription. In one embodiment, a sample prescription system comprises a management module that stores files corresponding to sample prescriptions. Each corresponding file is linked to a unique sample code. The sample code and linked file together comprise an electronic history of the sample's life-cycle, which is built dynamically over time into a comprehensive code containing all information relevant to a prescribed sample and it's path to consumption.

To market their products, pharmaceutical companies commonly provide samples of the products to physicians, such as sample prescription medications. Typically, a pharmaceutical representative visits a physician's office where the representative discusses with the physician such things as the applications of their product and advantages of their product over competing products. The representative may then provide the physician with free samples of the product (packaged as, for example, blister packs, bottles or sample boxes) to prescribe to patients. This serves two principle purposes. First, it is hoped the patients will like the samples and will want to continue use of the product. Second, it is hoped that the physician will learn from the patients using the samples that the product is effective, causing the physician to prescribe or recommend the product to future patients. There are also other reasons pharmaceutical companies give out samples. For example, pharmaceutical company sponsored patient assistance programs provide both samples and regular prescriptions of medications to those unable to afford the medications.
However, the current process of distributing and prescribing sample prescriptions suffers from numerous problems. First, there is insufficient control over who receives the samples. It is intended that the physicians or pharmaceutical companies give the samples to deserving patients. However, the current system has inadequate control checks, occasionally resulting in samples being misused by patients (e.g. used abusively) or redirected to unintended users. Second, the current system typically has insufficient examination procedures to determine whether or not a sample prescription is right for a particular patient. For example, the patient may be taking a different drug that adversely interacts with a sample medication. Third, the companies providing the products (e.g., pharmaceutical companies) desire better sample prescription tracking information for marketing purposes. Current prescription tracking systems only provide limited information, which is typically inadequate for comprehensive marketing evaluations. Other attributes of the current system are also inefficient for the provision of products from the physician's perspective, including the need for additional paperwork related to ordering or receiving physical stock of the products. This may be in the form of shipping companies requiring signatures to validate receipt of products, which demand more time throughout the process from the physician. The involvement of pharmaceutical company representatives also creates inefficiencies from the regular turnover of personnel, which may result in depleted sample stocks not being replenished in a timely fashion. This disrupts patient care for the physician. Fourth, the current sample prescription system frequently results in waste. For example, pharmaceutical companies frequently provide sample prescriptions to physicians in packaged sample containers that have expiration dates. The packaging itself is expensive, and further waste is added if the samples are not given to patients prior to a sample's expiration date. Disposal of expired samples poses a health risk to the general public in that samples may end up either in dumpsters or flushed into the water system. This has resulted in significant levels of medication found in lakes and municipal water systems. Fifth, after new U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("U.S. FDA") Black Box Labeling regulations were implemented, all antidepressant packaging inserts inside sample boxes needed to be recalled and replaced with U.S. FDA compliant samples having updated inserts. This resulted in expensive shipping and repackaging costs. Sixth, as a further result of new U.S. FDA Black Box warnings and labeling, pharmaceutical companies have been initiating new policies resulting in discontinuing distribution of many types of samples (e.g., certain classes of medication) to pediatric practices. Consequently, the pharmaceutical companies are requiring the physicians to sign "reinstatement requests" in which the physician certifies that they examine and treat adult patients that require that class of medication. Otherwise, the pharmaceutical company will not provide the samples to the physician. This is an often lengthy process requiring the completion of many forms that may not be readily accessible. This causes delay and additional work for the physician in obtaining samples, which may disrupt patient care. Moreover, there has been no mechanism in place to streamline this authorization process.
The overriding impetus for pharmaceutical companies to move away from traditional sampling is that the cost of packaging, warehousing and distributing the samples, under current practices, is very expensive. This ultimately raises the cost of medications from production all the way down to what the patient eventually pays for their prescriptions. One fashion in which pharmaceutical companies have attempted to address this is by introducing different media, which can be distributed to patients by physicians and taken to a dispensing pharmacy to collect the sample. Current media in the marketplace include paper vouchers and magnetic strip cards, among other things (all of which have expiration dates which leave gaps in initiating new prescriptions written, and require additional storage space in the prescribers' offices). These approaches remove the physician from needing to maintain sample box inventory at their office, but create an inconvenience in the process by requiring the transfer of the media between the participants in the sample chain. While it does create a partial electronic record of the dispensing of the sample to the patient, many significant data gaps in the sample's life-cycle remain.
Some attempts have been made to remedy some of the above-described problems. For example, some are attempting to implement radio frequency identification ("RFID") systems. However, such RFID systems have many disadvantages, including, among other things, being unreliable. Other gaps in the RFID systems as applied to pharmaceutical company samples include a maximum radius for tracking, high expense in tracking to the individual package (beyond a bulk shipment), and the absence of recipient information (e.g. gender, age, diagnosis code, etc.) that is critical in the distribution of a healthcare product such as a prescription drug sample.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for improved systems and methods for giving sample prescriptions.

Methods and systems for prescribing sample prescriptions


A retention capacity in which a first electrode, a lower side capacity insulation film, a second electrode, an upper side capacity insulation film, and a third electrode are laminated is formed between a pixel electrode and a TFT. The lower side capacity insulation film and the upper side capacity insulation film respectively include a plurality of insulation films, and the lamination order thereof is the same.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electro-optic apparatus such as a liquid crystal apparatus, and an electronic apparatus, such as a liquid crystal projector, which includes the electro-optic apparatus.
2. Related Art
As this type of electro-optic apparatus, there is, for example, an electro-optic apparatus which includes pixel electrodes, scan lines used to selectively drive the pixel electrodes, data lines, and Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) for switching pixels on a substrate, and which drives an active matrix. Switching devices, such as TFTs, and various types of wiring are formed on the substrate as a laminated structure.
In the above-described electro-optic apparatus, retention capacities are formed on the laminated structure, so that it is planned to increase the contrast of a display image and decrease flickering. For example, JPA-2000-284722 proposes a technology for implementing the increase in capacity by connecting a plurality of retention capacities in parallel.
However, it has become clear that, when the above-described plurality of retention capacities are formed, the temporal variation in fixed electrical potential, which is supplied to each of the retention capacities, increases because of the difference in the configurations of the respective retention capacities (in detail, materials and laminated structures) in the study performed by the inventors of the present application. The temporal variation in fixed electrical potential causes, for example, flickering or image sticking. Therefore, the above-described technology has a technical problem in that the quality of the display image may be degraded.

Electro-optic apparatus and electronic apparatus


A flying saucer toy consisting of a pistol and a flying disk fired from said pistol, wherein the pistol includes a pair of resilient pinching blades between which the flying disk is loaded, one pinching blade having an opposing corner while the other having a slippery corner, a thrust provided by the pinching blades to the disk being transformed into a torque between the opposing and slippery corners, the pistol further including a landing spot for allowing a flying disk to land thereon during its flight, the flying disk having an inwardly concave bottom adapted to receive a lift efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flying saucer toy consisting a pistol and a flying disk, wherein the flying disk is not only fired from the pistol but also can be landed thereon. More particularly, the invention relates to a pistol for firing a flying saucer in an aimed direction over a relatively long distance during which the flying disk can be caught in the pistol, wherein the flying disk has an inwardly concave bottom so as to receive a lift efficiently.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A flying disk or saucer having a concave bottom is known and popular among children; one of the examples is known as "Frisbee". However, such known flying disks must be projected directly by hand or by means of a suitable projector operated by hand. In either case a high degree of skill is required to fly it, particularly to manoeuvre it in a desired direction over a relatively long distance. Owning to this difficulty, children, especially infants, cannot play with them. In the case of "Frisbee" or any other known flying disk, it may be true that the operator feels excitement and enjoyment when he throws it with his determination for its successful flight, but the excitement and enjoyment are limited to his personal experience, not shared by other people. Other people are only bystanders, who have to watch the disk fly and wait for it to return to the ground. The operator's happy feeling cannot be shared by others until they themselves try the play.
In order to overcome the difficulty of throwing a flying disk, a variety of firing tools or pistols have been developed, but the common disadvantage is that the mechanism is complicated and accordingly costly. The complicated mechanism is involved in imparting torque as well as thrust to the flying disk at the moment of firing. In addition, the known pistols are only intended to fire a flying disk, and has no provision of a landing facility in which the flying disk is caught during its flight. In general, if the pistol has two-fold functions of firing and catching, not only the operator but also other people can enjoy the play together, wherein each has a pistol in his hand. A new play will start from a catcher. In this way all people can participate in the play, and their enjoyment will be multiplied.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved flying saucer toy consisting of a pistol and a flying disk, wherein the pistol not only fires said flying disk but also can catch same during its flight.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved flying saucer toy which is easily operated by children and infants.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious to one skilled in the art from the following description of the invention.


Contemplated ladder assemblies include: a) at least two rails, b) at least one step, wherein each step is coupled to the at least two rails, such that the rails are relatively vertical and the steps are relatively horizontal, c) at least one grappling footing peg, wherein the peg is operationally coupled with a rail, d) at least one safety handle, wherein the handle is coupled with at least one rail, and e) at least one commuter train, passenger train or railway car coupling fixture, wherein the coupling fixture operationally engages with a mating fixture on the commuter train, passenger train or railway car. In addition, contemplated ladder assemblies for use with a commuter train, a passenger train or a railway car include: at least two rails, at least one step, wherein each step is coupled to the at least two rails, such that the rails are relatively vertical and the steps are relatively horizontal, at least one grappling footing peg, wherein the peg is operationally coupled with a rail, at least one safety handle, wherein the handle is coupled with at least one rail, and at least one commuter train, passenger train or railway car coupling fixture, wherein the coupling fixture operationally engages with the ladder assembly.

Commuter trains, including those that run both underground and above-ground, are utilized by millions of people each day. Railway cars and trains that travel longer distances, such as high speed rail and Amtrak, use these same tracks and stations to pick up and drop off passengers.
Most of these trains are either level with the platform or require one step to get from the train to the platform. If a step is required, it is usually permanently attached to the train by the door. When the train pulls out of the station, the door is elevated usually several feet above the ground. This design feature can present a significant problem, if the train is forced to stop and the passengers are forced to exit the train between stations, such as in an emergency.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a removable and storable ladder assembly for commuter trains, passenger trains and railway cars, wherein the ladder assembly is: a) easily stored near the doors of the train or railway car without getting in the way of passengers, b) easily removable from the storage area, c) easily transported to the door where the passengers need to exit, and d) easily and securely locked in place, so that passengers can safely exit the train or railcar in an emergency.

Commuter train and railway car exit ladder assembly and methods of storage and use


A clamping apparatus with a control mechanism includes a cam, a cam post, a handle, and a handle plate. The cam is configured to rotate into a clamped position in which the clamping apparatus is in a clamped state and an unclamped position in which the clamping apparatus is in an unclamped state. The cam post is rotatable with the cam. The handle is movable into a first position and a second position. The handle plate is rotatable with the handle. The handle plate is configured to rotate the cam post in a first direction when the handle moves from the first position to the second position. The handle plate is configured to rotate in a second direction without rotating the cam post in the second direction for a predetermined distance when the handle moves from the second position to the first position. The first direction is opposite to the second direction.

There are several different types of clamping apparatuses. For example, one-type of clamping apparatus includes a spring-actuated lever, which is configured to transition the clamping apparatus from a clamped state to an unclamped state, and vice versa. This type of clamping apparatus is beneficial in a number of applications.
For example, a power tool, such as an oscillating tool, may utilize this type of clamping apparatus to attach an accessory thereto while in a clamped state and detach this same accessory therefrom while in an unclamped state. By using this type of clamping apparatus, the oscillating tool is configured to quickly switch to a different accessory, such as a cutting tool, a sanding tool, or any suitable tool, by simply moving the spring-actuated lever.
However, upon transitioning, the spring-actuated lever is configured to return to a position (e.g., position associated with the clamped state) with a substantial amount of force at least due to the spring. In addition, the spring-actuated lever may do so relatively quickly. In this regard, when a user is operating the spring-actuated lever, there is a possibility that the fast and forceful return of the spring-actuated lever may present a safety hazard for the user's fingers or whatever happens to be in the path of the spring-actuated lever.

Clamping apparatus with control mechanism for spring-actuated lever


According to one or more embodiments, a variation is detected in light that is cast over a display interface of a computing device. A characteristic of the light variation is identified. From this characteristic, a determination is made as to whether the variation in light is to be interpreted as an input or to be ignored.

Optical touch screens are a form of light sensitive display interfaces. An optical touch screen uses light sensors to detect an object being placed in proximity or against a display interface. Many existing optical touch screen applications use a controlled environment, where incidental or inadvertent light variations are less of an issue. But there is increasing attention to using optical touch screens on portable and small-form factor devices, because optical touch screens provide better lighting, are more efficient, and can potentially reduce thickness of the device.

Light sensitive display interface for computing devices

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A pressure sensitive transducer array in which a plurality of transducers are connected in series and in parallel with one another. In one embodiment, a resistive layer is formed from carbon or silver ink on a polyester film. A plurality of conductive shunt elements having greater conductivity than the resistive layer is formed on a second polyester film. The films are placed adjacent to one another with the shunt elements contacting the resistive layer. Voltage is applied across the resistive layer and pressure is applied thereto. As the pressure increases, the number of current paths set up through contact points on the shunt elements increase thereby decreasing the resistance across the resistive layer and increasing current flow. In another embodiment a plurality of plate elements are contained in a plane on one side of a dielectric layer. A plurality of plate elements are contained in a plane on the other side of the dielectric layer. As the layer is pushed together responsive to force applied, total capacitance as measured across the planes of plate elements varies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sensing the level of a first form of energy and convening it to a corresponding value in a second form of energy and more particularly to doing so with an array of transducers.
2. Description of the Related Art
When measuring a given phenomenon, for example measuring pressure with a transducer which converts a change in pressure to a related change in electrical resistance, it is desirable that the conversion be smooth and repeatable. In many applications, such as pressure operated controls or process sensors, a linear transducer response is also desirable.
Prior art transducers have a number of inherent disadvantages. Several methods have been developed in the prior art to compensate for the disadvantages. For example, electrical circuits are used to filter noise, to average signals which waiver over time and to linearize the response of the transducer. Such circuits add expense, as well as limitations of their own, to the combined response of the transducer and associated compensating circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,227 to Eventoff discloses an electronic pressure sensitive transducer which produces a decreasing resistance responsive to increasing pressure applied to the transducer. In Eventoff, two sets of relatively conductive contact fingers are interleaved with one another. The interleaved fingers are pressed against a less conductive facing layer. So doing forms a plurality of parallel connections between the two sets of interleaved fingers through the resistive surface. When the pressure applied to the transducer is relatively low, the number of contacts formed between the fingers through the facing layer is also low. In this operating range, the transducer exhibits an unrepeatable, nonlinear response. In this range the transducer is also relatively noisy. As pressure applied to the transducer increases, the number of connections between the fingers also increases. In this range the response is more repeatable although still nonlinear until fairly high pressures are applied.
Because each of the connections between the interleaved fingers through the facing layer are electrically in parallel with one another, a single low resistance connection can dominate the response of the transducer unless the number of connections is very large. As noted above, when a relatively low pressure is applied to the transducer, the number of connections is not large. In the presence of one or more low resistance connections, transducer response tends to be noisy and very nonlinear. Such low resistance connections may arise in a number of ways, such as variations in the surface finish of the interleaved fingers, variations in the resistance of the facing layer or as a result of physical damage to the transducer. Increasing the number of interleaved fingers increases the number of potential connections and thus reduces the problem. In practice, however, there is a limit to the number and separation of the fingers that can be reliably produced without occasional shorting between the fingers. Such shorting renders the transducer useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,629 to Lecklider discloses a variable control device comprising a conductive elastomeric material urgeable against an adjacent resistive layer. As the elastomeric material is pressed onto the resistive layer, it shunts a progressively larger area of the resistive layer thereby lowering the resistance between two electrodes connected to opposite edges of the resistive layer. Such a transducer exhibits a range of responses depending upon the resistances of the elastomer and the resistive layer as well as the shapes of the elastomer and the surface of the resistive layer where they touch one another. Relatively low noise, linear responses may be obtained when the resistances of the elastomer and resistive layer as well as the shapes thereof are carefully controlled.
The Lecklider transducer, as well as other transducers utilizing elastomeric material, suffer from several disadvantages. Conductive elastomers exhibit creep effects over time which inject hysteresis into the transducer response. Temperature variations change the elasticity of the material and therefore the response of the transducer. In addition, the elastomeric material must be formed into selected shapes. Regardless of the shape, contacts between the elastomeric material at the leading and trailing edges thereof dominate transducer response. Careful control of the shape contacting the resistive layer is therefore required for good response. In order to deform the elastomeric material, movement is required. In many applications, however, no movement or very little movement of the transducer or the transducer actuator is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,392 to Froeb et al. discloses a force transducer which produces a varying resistance responsive to varying force applied thereto. The Froeb et al. transducer includes a planar low resistant shunt opposite a planar resistive surface. Both the shunt and resistive area are formed from inks silkscreened onto opposed planar insulating substrates. One of the substrates is a film against which an actuator is movable in order to urge progressively increasing surface areas of the resistive layers together responsive to increasing force. A conductive elastomer is not required but careful control of the shape of the actuator is necessary. The opposing resistive layers must be spaced apart to insure that the only area of contact is that resulting from force applied to the actuator.
A linear relationship between force applied to the actuator and the surface area of the contact created is desirable, but difficult to achieve in practice. A further disadvantage is that only the contact points along the leading and trailing edges of the contact area determine transducer response. Care must therefore be taken to control the progression of leading and trailing edges responsive to applied force. Appreciable movement of the actuator is required which, as noted above, is not desirable in many sensing applications. Because the actuator is preferably formed from elastomeric material, the relationship between actuator force applied to the actuator and the shunted surface area may change with time and temperature.
Another problem in prior art transducers is a lack of control of manufacturing parameters which can affect sensitivity and response characteristics of the transducer. Such parameters may include resistance between the contacts made by the opposing layers, shape of the contact or the resistance of an elastomeric material. It may be difficult to control these parameters closely, especially in high volume manufacturing. It would be desirable to have easily controlled manufacturing parameters which can be easily varied to define a desired transducer response.