A voltage controlled oscillator having a resonator wherein a substrate is made up of a plurality of dielectric layers; an inductor functioning conductive film and grounding electrode films are each formed at a boundary surface of one of the dielectric layers; the earth electrode films are arranged, in the direction in which the dielectric layers are laminated, at both sides of the conductor functioning conductive film; the inductor functioning conductive film and the grounding electrode films constitute the resonator; and electric lands are formed on the surface of the substrate so that other components of the oscillator are mounted on the surface of the substrate.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a voltage controlled oscillator used in a communication apparatus, a BS tuner and similar devices.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Voltage controlled oscillators are often used as local oscillators in various kinds of tuner circuits because the frequency of the oscillators can be adjusted to a desired value according to voltage input therein.
In recent years, all the components of the voltage controlled oscillators have come to be integrated into one chip of a substrate, like other electronic parts.
The voltage controlled oscillators, in many cases, have an integrally formed resonator, so the way to incorporate such a resonator with other components affects the size of the whole construction, oscillating characteristics and so on. FIGS. 1-3 show conventional oscillators, wherein a resonator is incorporated in each of substrates 21, 23 and 26. In FIG. 1 , a dielectric block 20 and specified electrodes formed on upper and lower surfaces of the block constitute a resonator 22 which is mounted on the substrate 21.
In FIG. 2 , the substrate 23 itself has a so-called microstrip line resonator formed by disposing a conductive film 24 thereon and a grounding electrode 25 thereunder.
In FIG. 3 , a capacitor element 27 and an inductor element 28 are mounted on the substrate 26, these elements 27 and 28 being connected with each other by a wiring pattern (not illustrated) to form the resonator.
Such voltage controlled oscillators need to mount such parts as diodes and capacitors on the substrate besides the resonator, which have to be placed on the remaining area on the substrate.
Therefore, the conventional voltage controlled oscillators have the disadvantage of having a large-size construction as a whole because a large substrate is needed to mount a resonator and all other parts on it.
They have another disadvantage that the resonator is easily affected by a magnetic field because it is exposed outside. Shielding the resonator to avoid this with a metal case or the like causes the problem of making the whole size still larger.

Voltage controlled oscillator having a resonator


Increased xanthan concentrations are obtained in Xanthomonas fermentations by the gradual addition of a source of assimilable carbon, preferably glucose, to the aqueous nitrient medium during the course of the fermentation cycle.

There are extensive published reports relating to the production of hydrophilic colloids by the aerobic propagation of bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas in aqueous nutrient media. The earliest work in this field was done at The Northern Regional Research Laboratory of The United States Department of Agriculture at Peoria, Ill. and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,790. Modified fermentation processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,020,206; 3,391,060; 3,427,226; 3,433,708; 3,271,267; 3,251,749; 3,281,329; 3,455,786; 3,565,763; 3,594,280; and 3,391,061.
The hydrophilic colloids produced by Xanthomonas species are polysaccharides which contain mannose, glucose, glucuronic acid, O-acetyl radicals and acetal-linked pyruvic acid. These gums and their derivatives have found wide food and industrial applications. Of special interest is the increasing focus on the use of Xanthomonas polymers in displacement of oil from partially depleted reservoirs.

Fermentation process for production of xanthan


This invention relates to a two-wheeled cart with an extended handle for the levered lifting and balanced moving of bales, such as bales of hay. More particularly, hay baled in the form of a rectangular solid is received by the cart at a hay-bale-receiving loader frame and lifted from the ground under leverage about the wheels applied from the handle used for pulling the cart. Once the bale is lifted by the handle and centrally balanced on an axle between the wheels of the cart, the hay-bale-receiving loader frame on the cart can be pivoted in a plane parallel to the axle of the cart. This pivot can occur from a lifting disposition where the major axis of a bale receiving frame is parallel to the axle between the wheels, to a transport disposition where the major axis of the hay-bale-receiving loader frame is normal to the axle between the wheels.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to a two-wheeled cart with an extended handle for the levered lifting and balanced moving of bales, such as bales of hay. More particularly, hay baled in the form of a rectangular solid is received by the cart at a hay bale receiving loader frame and lifted from the ground under leverage about the wheels applied from the handle used for pulling the cart. Once the bale is lifted by the handle and centrally balanced on an axle between the wheels of the cart, the hay bale receiving loader frame on the cart can be pivoted in a plane parallel to the axle of the cart. This pivot can occur from a lifting disposition, where the major axis of a bale receiving frame is parallel to the axle between the wheels, to a transport disposition, where the major axis of the hay-bale-receiving loader frame is normal to the axle between the wheels. The hay bale receiving loader permits severing of bale ties with retention of the bale contents within the bale receiving loader for convenient flake dispensing of the bale contents.
Hay is commonly baled in what may be described as a wire-bound rectangular solid. As distinguished from a cube (having six equal area sides joining one another at right angles), a rectangular solid has a periphery of four elongate sides relative to a major axis. The rectangular solid is closed at either end by minor sides parallel to minor axes taken normal to the major axis of the rectangular solid. When hay is baled in a rectangular solid, hay is crowded to the bale at right angles to the major axis of the bale. Typical dimensions of such a hay bale are 48 inches along the major axis, and 24 inches along each minor axis. Weight of a bale of hay can be in the range of 100 pounds. The hay is maintained in its baled format by binding ties or wires. When the binding ties or wires are released, hay xe2x80x9cflakesxe2x80x9d from the bale in sections parallel to the minor axes of the bale.
Hay is commonly fed to horses and cattle. Distribution of hay for feeding from the large and heavy wire bound bale can be difficult, especially for smaller women and children. Prior to a feeding, the bale is dragged or trucked to a location near the animal feed site. Thereafter, the binding ties are severed, and portions of the bale flaked normal to the major axis of the bale and distributed (usually by pitchfork) to about five or six animals having a single feeding from a bale.
Two-wheeled lift trucks have been adapted for moving hay bales. See Mings, U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,856 entitled xe2x80x9cHay Bale Carrier,xe2x80x9d Keller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,515 entitled xe2x80x9cHand Truck Having Tines and an Arm for Separating Flakes from Bales of Hay and Like Material,xe2x80x9d and Smith U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,557 entitled xe2x80x9cManual Transport Vehicle.xe2x80x9d These devices are conventional handled lift trucks adapted to the special problem of moving hay bales. Bales are transported with an end adjacent the hand truck axles and the bales disposed with their major axis angularly extending upward relative to the ground. With the bale disposed in this disposition, the load is difficult to balance and requires strength. Further, these devices make little or no provision for transport of hay after release of the binding ties about the bale; the released hay easily separates from the bale on such a hand truck.
A two-wheeled cart is provided with an extended handle for the levered lifting and balanced moving of bales, such as bales of hay. Hay baled in the form of a rectangular solid is received by the cart at a hay-bale-receiving loader frame having at least two major sides for confronting two corresponding major sides of hay baled in the form of a rectangular solid. The baled hay is met by the hay-bale-receiving loader frame, with the hay bale being rolled 90xc2x0 onto the loader frame. Once on the loader frame with the major axis of the loader frame disposed parallel to the axle, the hay bale is lifted from and balanced relative to the ground under leverage on the axle applied from the handle used for pulling the cart. The handle is moved from a substantially vertical lifting position to a substantially horizontal pulling position for hay bale transport. Balancing of the bale occurs with two major surfaces of the hay-bale-receiving loader frame disposed at 45xc2x0 angles relative to the axle. The loader frame pivots 90xc2x0 in a plane parallel to the axle with the two major sides of the loader frame remaining in a 45xc2x0 disposition relative to the axle between the wheels. Once the bale is lifted and centrally balanced relative to the cart by the handle, the hay-bale-receiving loader frame on the cart can be pivoted. The pivot can occur from the lifting disposition to a transport disposition where the major axis of the hay-bale-receiving loader frame and hay bale is normal to the axle between the wheels of the two-wheeled cart. The hay-bale-receiving loader permits severing of bale ties with retention of the tie-released bale contents within the bale-receiving loader for convenient dispensing of the bale contents.


There are provided n operation circuits in a multiple-valued logic circuit which receives plural multiple-valued input logic signals corresponding to respective numeral values and outputs a multiple-valued output logic signal corresponding to a sum of the respective numeral values. The kth operation circuit includes multiple-input comparators generating carry signals, and multiple-input amplifiers performing weighted linear voltage adding operations on input signals at the kth digit, carry signals of the input signals at the kth digit, and carry signals from the (k-1)th digit where k is 0, 1, 2, . . . , n-1. The multiple-input amplifier has a feedback circuit having a capacitance. The multiple-input comparator and the multiple-input amplifier are connected to corresponding input signals through capacitances. A voltage gain of the multiple-input amplifier is based on a ratio of the capacitance through which the input signal is applied and the capacitance of the feedback circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to multiple-valued logic circuits, and more particularly to a multiple-valued logic circuit having a circuit formation in which a plurality of inputs are connected by capacitance coupling and having a function of generating an output based on a weighted linear sum thereof. More specially, the present invention is concerned with a circuit formation called a neuron MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) circuit. In view of circuit functions, the present invention relates to a multiple-valued logic circuit in which three or more voltage levels can be set on one signal line and thus has a function higher than that of normal binary logic circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, a neuron-MOS circuit has a formation in which the gate of a MOS transistor is floating and input signals are capacitively coupled to the MOS transistor. Hence, a channel of the transistor is formed in accordance with a weighted linear sum of input voltages. When such a neuron-MOS circuit is applied to a neural network, an FPGA (Flat Pin Grid Array) or the like, the resultant circuit can be simplified. The following document discloses the detail of a neuron-MOS circuit as described above: H. Ishi et al., "Hardware-Backpropagation Learning of Neuron MOS Neural Networks", 1992 IEDM Tech. Dig., pp. 435-pp. 438.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a neuron-MOS circuit. The circuit shown in FIG. 1 a complementary type source-grounded amplifier which includes a P-channel MOS transistor and an N-channel MOS transistor. The two MOS transistors have a common floating gate FG, to which input signals V1-Vn (n is an arbitrary integer) are capacitively coupled. The potential of the floating gate FG is based on a weighted linear sum of the input voltages V1-Vn. An output voltage Vout has a characteristic in which the output voltage Vout sharply falls in response to a value of the floating gate potential.
Generally, a multiple-valued logic circuit is formed by an ECL (Emitter-Coupled Logic) circuit or an IIL circuit (Integrated Injection Logic) circuit, these circuits being made up of bipolar transistors. These bipolar circuits operate in the current mode, by which it is easy to obtain a linear sum. However, there is a disadvantage in that a large amount of power is consumed.
Recently, it has been proposed that the neuron-MOS circuit is applied to the multiple-valued circuits. In the neuron-MOS circuit, it is possible to easily obtain the linear sum of the input voltages in the voltage mode. Hence, it is considered that the application of the neuron-MOS circuit to the multiple-valued circuits contributes to reducing power consumption and simplifying the circuit configuration.
The neuron-MOS circuit shown in FIG. 1 is a binary output circuit which has a disadvantage in that the output voltage is switched from a high level (V.sub.DD) to a low level (V.sub.SS) in response to a slight change of the input potential.
An improved neuron-MOS circuit capable of generating multiple-valued outputs has been proposed which is intended to overcome the above disadvantage.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a complementary-type source-follower amplifier. The source of an N-channel MOS transistor and the source of a P-channel MOS transistor are connected together. The multiple-valued output voltage Vout is obtained at the sources of these transistors. Such a neuron-MOS circuit is described in detail in T. Shibata et al., "Neuron MOS Voltage-Mode Circuit Technology for Multiple-Valued Logic", IECE TRANS. ELECTRON., Vol. E76-C, No. 3, March 1993, pp. 347-pp. 356. A multiple-valued memory using the neuron-MOS circuit shown in FIG. 2 has been proposed in R. Au et al., "Neuron-MOS Multiple-Valued Memory Technology for Intelligent Data Processing", International Conference on Advanced Microelectronic Devices and Processing, pp. 80-pp. 85.
However, the multiple-valued output neuron-MOS circuit shown in FIG. 2 has a disadvantage in that the gain to the potential of the floating gate FG is approximately equal to 1 due to the source-follower configuration and the gain with respect to the individual input voltages V1-Vn is lower than 1. This disadvantage is a serious problem encountered when a multiple-valued logic circuit is formed using the neuron-MOS circuit shown in FIG. 2. Hence, the neuron-MOS circuit can be applied to a limited field.


A catheter for fallopian tube access comprising an elongated catheter body having a proximal region, a distal end and an elongated passage extending from the proximal region to the distal end. The elongated passage terminates in a distal opening at the distal end. The catheter body has an enlarged distal body portion and the distal opening is on the distal body portion. The distal body portion has a deflecting surface in the elongated passage adjacent the distal opening for directing a member or fluid passed through the elongated passage out of the distal opening along a path having a component which extends laterally of the catheter body.

It is sometimes necessary or desirable to gain access to a fallopian tube for purposes of examination or carrying out a medical procedure. For example, the examination may be carried out with a flexible endoscope and the medical procedure may include depositing genetic material or infusing medication, dye or a contrast media into the fallopian tube.
A catheter can be used to gain access to a fallopian tube. To accomplish this, the catheter is inserted through the cervix into the uterus and then manipulated to place a distal opening of the catheter in registry with an ostium of the fallopian tube. A flexible instrument or fluid can then be passed through the catheter and into the fallopian tube.
One problem with gaining access to a fallopian tube is getting the distal opening of the catheter in proper registry with the ostium of the fallopian tube. The uterus in a normal, non-distended condition comprises two layers of tissue in closely adjacent confronting relationship, and the ostium or opening to the fallopian tube is relatively small. Consequently, it is difficult to work the catheter through the uterus to precisely the correct location and to move the confronting layers of tissue away from the ostium with the catheter. Once the catheter is properly positioned with the distal opening in registry with the ostium, it is sometimes difficult to pass a flexible member through the distal opening and cause it to properly enter the fallopian tube. This is the result of the angular relationship of the region of the fallopian tube near the ostium in relation to the uterus.
Another problem occurs as a result of the insertion of the catheter through the cervix. A conventional catheter with an on-axis distal opening acts like a scoop which picks up mucus and debris as the catheter is passed through the cervix. This can hinder visualization.

Catheter with angled ball tip for fallopian tube access and method


An interface system includes separate optical and mechanical interfaces between opto-electronic devices and fibers. This allows each of these components to be optimized for there particular function. This also allows two surfaces to be provided for the optical interface, allowing the opto-electronic elements to be spaced further apart than the fibers. The interface system can be integrated together, used in conjunction with a conventional fiber housing, and can be surface mounted with an electrical interface.

The present invention is directed to interfacing opto-electronic devices with fibers, particularly using separate elements for an optical interface and a mechanical interface.
There are numerous ways to couple light to and from opto-electronic devices and fibers. One typical manner in which this is achieved is to butt couple the opto-electronic devices right up against the end faces of the fiber. Such butt-coupling requires active alignment to achieve desired levels of coupling efficiency. Further, butt-coupling does not allow the light beam to be modified. Finally, such butt-coupling typically requires close positioning of the opto-electronic devices in accordance with the spacing of the fibers, increasing crosstalk.
Another manner of achieving coupling between fibers and opto-electronic devices is to use short fibers, which in turn are coupled to the fibers. This allows surface emitting opto-electronic devices to be coupled with fibers, but still requires active alignment.
One passive alignment scheme proposed involves providing holes in all of the components to be aligned, e.g., a ferrule housing the fibers, a light coupling device including optics and a substrate including the opto-electronic devices. Pins are then inserted into the holes to realize alignment of all the elements. Such single shot alignment may not be accurate enough for all applications. Further, the materials which can be used for the light coupling device are limited when the holes need to be provided therein. Finally, such alignment requires that there be a linear relationship among all of the components.
The present invention is therefore directed to an interface which substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
The above and other objects can be realized by providing an interface system between an opto-electronic device and a fiber in a housing including an optics block having at least one optical element formed therein for coupling light between the fiber and the opto-electronic device and a mechanical interface, separate from the optics block, at least part of the mechanical interface being disposed between the optics block and the housing, which aligns and mates the housing and the optics block.
The opto-electronic device may include at least two opto-electronic devices including an optical emitter and an optical detector. The opto-electronic device may include an array of identical opto-electronic devices. The mechanical interface may surround the optics block. The mechanical interface may be mounted on the optics block. The housing may include holes there through for receiving corresponding pins therein and the mechanical interface further includes holes for receiving the pins. A spacer block may be provided between the optics block and the opto-electronic device. An alignment plane of the mechanical interface may be at an angle to a top surface of the optics block. A reflective surface may direct light between the optics block and the mechanical interface. The mechanical interface may include an indentation which receives the optics block and an extension in the indentation to provide vertical spacing between the optics block and the fiber. The at least one optical element on the optics block may homogenize light.
The optics block and the mechanical interface may be made of different material. The optics block may be made from one of silicon and glass. The mechanical interface may be opaque at the wavelengths being transferred between the fiber and the optics block. The optics block may include visual alignment features for aligning the optics block with the mechanical interface. There may be mechanical mating features on the optics block and corresponding mechanical mating features on the mechanical interface for aligning the optics block and the mechanical interface.
The above and other objects may be realized by providing a system including a housing having a fiber, an opto-electronic device, an optics block having two surfaces, the optics block coupling light between the opto-electronic device and the fiber, and a mechanical interface, separate from the optics block, at least part of the mechanical interface being disposed between the optics block and the housing which aligns and mates the housing and the optics block.
The opto-electronic device may include at least two opto-electronic devices and the fiber may include at least two fibers. The at least two opto-electronic devices may be a light source and a light detector. The at least two opto-electronic devices may include an array of identical opto-electronic devices. The at least two opto-electronic devices may be separated from each other in at least one direction by more than the at least two fibers are separated from one another. The at least two opto-electronic devices are separated from each other in at least two directions by more than the at least two fibers are separated from one another in each respective direction. The system may be surface mounted to an electrical interface.
A spacer between the optics block and the opto-electronic device may surround the opto-electronic device. A substrate may be provided with both a bottom of the opto-electronic device and the spacer being bonded to the substrate. The top surface of the opto-electronic device may be bonded to the spacer and the spacer further includes interconnection tracks.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Interface between opto-electronic devices and fibers


Small silicon spheres, less than 200 um in diameter, are desirable for use in forming solar panels. To make such small spheres, a large-area glass substrate has etched in its surface millions of identical indentations, such as having diameters less than 200 um. A silicon ink, formed of a fluid containing nanoparticles of milled silicon, is then deposited over the substrate to completely fill the indentations, and the excess ink is removed. The ink is heated to evaporate the fluid and melt the silicon nanoparticles. A photonic system is used to rapidly melt the silicon. The melted silicon forms a sphere in each indentation by surface tension. Since the density of the silicon in the ink and the volume of each indentation are well defined, the volume of each sphere is well defined. The substrates are reusable. Hundreds of millions of spheres may be produced per minute using the process.

It is a known technique to form a solar panel by depositing an array of silicon spheres over a metal substrate, then processing the silicon spheres to form diodes that convert sunlight to electricity, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,133,768.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,791 describes a process for forming such silicon spheres by first forming a fine powder of silicon, such as by grinding bulk silicon. This dry powder is referred to as feedstock. Next, a template (a stencil) having small holes formed through it is positioned on a conveyor belt. The holes are then completely filled with the feedstock. The template is then lifted to form uniform piles of the feedstock on the conveyor belt. The piles are then heated by an optical furnace which melts the silicon powder in each pile, and the melted silicon generally forms spheres by surface tension. The spheres are then cooled. The silicon spheres are then further processed and deposited on a substrate to form a solar panel. The silicon spheres have diameters of about 30 mils (762 um).
By using smaller spheres, such as less than 200 um, as a monolayer in a solar panel, there is a very high surface area to volume ratio, making the solar panel more cost effective. It is also beneficial during processing for the spheres to have the same size and electrical characteristics.
It would be extremely difficult to form uniform silicon spheres with diameters less than 200 um using the above-described process. For example, completely and uniformly filling 200 um or smaller holes in a stencil with dry silicon powder would be very difficult due to the frictional forces involved and the variable air gaps between the particles. Although laser drilling of holes less than 200 um to form a stencil is possible, creating a stencil with a sufficiently large number of laser drilled holes in close proximity (e.g., over a million) to make the sphere fabrication cost-effective would be impractical.
A known method for forming silicon spheres less than 200 um in diameter uses sieves to select milled silicon particles within a desired range of sizes, and then a high temperature plasma is used to melt the individual particles in a reducing atmosphere to spherodize the silicon (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,219). This process wastes silicon, the extreme heat of the plasma (>2000 C) creates relatively defective spheres, the silicon dioxide spheres are created as a byproduct, and the process is highly energy intensive.
Another known method, described in EP2182555A1, forms silicon spheres of about 1 mm in diameter for solar cells. This process requires sieving roughly shaped silicon powder to obtain particles within a desired range, using a binder to form larger silicon granules generally the size and shape of the desired spheres by means of a tumbling granulator, and placing each individual granule in its own recess of a heating substrate. Conventional heating furnaces, such as resistive or inductive furnaces, are then used to melt the silicon powder in each granule, and the granules form spheres. This process is energy intensive, requires time for a quartz substrate to react with molten silicon, requires a time-consuming process of placing individual granules in recesses, has a limited throughput of about 20,000 granules per substrate, and reduces the longevity of the substrate.
What is needed is a cost-effective method for forming precision silicon spheres having diameters less than 200 um using a heating process that does not compromise the substrate.


Embodiments are directed to a computing device having execution hardware including at least one processor core, and non-volatile memory that stores verification module and a private symmetric key unique to the computing device. The verification module, when executed on the execution hardware, causes the execution hardware to perform pre-execution local authenticity verification of externally-supplied code in response to a command to launch that code. The local authenticity verification includes computation of a cryptographic message authentication code (MAC) of the externally-supplied code based on the private symmetric key, and verification of the MAC against a stored local authenticity verification value previously written to the non-volatile memory. In response to a positive verification of the of the MAC, execution of the externally-supplied code is permitted.

Processor-based computing platforms are employed in a wide variety of applications, from personal computers (PCs), smartphones, and other information-oriented devices, to industrial controls, vehicles, appliances, consumer electronic articles, and wearable devices, just to name a few. In virtually every application, reliable operation and information security are paramount.
Processors generally execute foundational code, such as firmware that coordinates basic operations of the processor, launches programs, and the like. Examples of foundational code include microcode, basic input/output system (BIOS) code, Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) code, and the like. In systems where the foundational code may be replaced or updated, changes to the foundational code have been recognized as presenting a potential attack vector for compromising the computer system.
To provide assurance of the authenticity of foundational code, as well as other system or application programs, a system for code authentication is used. Typically, a piece of code (e.g., microcode update, new BIOS version, etc.) is digitally signed using an private key belonging to the trusted creator or distributor of the code. A public-key-based verification algorithm is executed by the processor on system startup, or whenever each applicable piece of code is called to be executed. One drawback of this approach is that the use of asymmetric keys for code authentication is a computationally intensive operation, which tends to introduce some nontrivial delay during startup or execution of code to be authenticated. Another drawback is the risk that asymmetric key-based cryptographic techniques may someday be defeated using emerging technology such as quantum computing. Accordingly, there is a need for a practical solution that addresses one or more of these challenges.

Local verification of code authentication


The present invention lies in the field of visualization and quantification of immobilized targets in samples using immunochemical means. In particular, the invention relates to a method and reagents for detection, visualization and quantification of a molecular target in immunostained histological samples using particular compositions of the target specific binding agent. Methods and compositions of the invention are suitable for any assay that uses a target visualization system in histological samples based on detection of the target by the target specific binding agent. The methods and compositions are useful for evaluation of targets that are biomarkers of diseases in medical diagnostic.

In the field of immunohistochemistry, IHC, biological targets of interest are typically stained with enzymatically generated dyes. However, most of today's IHC enzymatic systems have a limited usability of for target visualization due to restricted sensitivity: if a target is of very low abundance, the amount of deposited dye remains undetectable. Likewise, there is an upper detection limit above which a further dye deposition does not lead to detectably more intense stains. Using lower concentration of reagents, the upper detection limit may be compromised to allow differentiation between high and very high abundance targets; however this also leads to an increase of the lower detection limit, i.e. the loss in sensitivity of detection. Thus, most of the today's systems have a limited dynamic range of detection. Further, differences in sensitivity between different visualization systems from same or different vendors makes comparison the staining results difficult.
A further challenge is quantification of immunochemically stained targets due to the dye deposition is not a linear function of target concentration. Around the baseline of detection limit the intensity increases rapidly as a direct function of target concentration (as the going from no detectable signal to a signal, even of a low strength, represents an infinite increase. Conversely, close to the upper detection limit, even a large increase in target concentration will lead to virtually no perceptible increase in the already intense signal.
A further complication arises from the fact that no internationally recognized standards exist, and invariable reference samples are difficult to prepare. Even serial sections of the same tissue sample usually exhibit biological variation. Immortal cell lines might in principle provide the infinite reference material, however differences in cultivation conditions, cell cycle circles and biological variation will also in this case lead to some batch to batch variation in target expression. Glass slides chemically modified with peptides or proteins may be used as surrogate targets, however comparison to tissue samples is not straight forwards.
Thus there is a need for standardized quantitative detection of immobilized targets in biological samples.
Recently described methods of immunochemical staining of immobilized targets in biological samples, including histological samples, (WO2010094284, WO2010094283, WO201047680, WO2012143010) provide a visualization system characterized by an extreme sensitivity, such as single units of the target can be visualized and detected, which also allows a precise quantification of the target (as described in WO2012075028 WO2012062318), as the amount of deposited dye is in a linear correlation with the target expression. However, the latter visualization methods due to their extreme sensitivity, may in some cases have disadvantages, e.g. the methods are best applicable for visualization of a sub-fraction of a target in the sample, but not the whole expression range. This disadvantage may be an obstacle for broad use of the methods for visualization of targets in histological samples, especially when robustness of the procedure and reproducibility of the results are concerned. Further, the precise quantification of a target according to the methods may be laborious. The present invention solves the latter mentioned problems.

Method for evaluation of target in histological sample


The instant disclosure provides a scanning light-guiding encoder by forward focusing including a light-guiding grating wheel, a light-emitting module and an optical sensing module. The light-emitting module is surrounded by the light-guiding grating wheel. The optical sensing module includes a plurality of sensor elements adjacent to the light-guiding grating wheel, and a plurality of exposed sensor areas of the plurality of sensor elements are offset in the transverse direction and are arranged along a plurality of different horizontal lines parallel to each other.

1. Technical Field
The instant disclosure relates to an encoder, and in particular, to a scanning light-guiding encoder by forward focusing.
2. Description of Related Art
The monitors in the existing art use mice to move the location of the data intended for processing. A mouse generally includes two sets of X and Y axes encoders for outputting sequential logic signals (such as 11, 10, 00, 01). The sequential logic signals are generated by abutting the mouse against the table surface or other surfaces and moving the mouse toward specific directions, thereby moving a data location of the monitor to a different location. The principle of the use of a mouse is to generate a movement of a point on a plane by the operation of the X and Y axis encoder. In other words, the operation of only one of the X axis encoder and the Y axis encoder only allows the movement of a point on a line. The encoder generally includes a light-emitting module (such as a light-emitting diode), a grating wheel (including blades) and an optical sensing module. The grating wheel has a structure similar to a mechanical gear which, when rotating, either shields the light generated by the light-emitting module or allows the light to pass through. When the light is shielded by the grating wheel, the optical sensing module generates an OFF (0) signal; and when the light passes through the grating wheel and is received by the optical sensing module, the optical sensing module generates an ON (1) signal. The OFF (0) and ON (1) signals are sequentially generated and form a sequential signal. For example, when the grating wheel rotates clockwisely, the sequential signal generated by the optical sensing module can be a continuous and repeated signal including 11, 10, 00, 01, 11, 10, 00, 01 . . . , and when the grating wheel rotates counter-clockwisely, the signals generated can be 01, 00, 10, 11, 01, 00, 10, 11, 10 . . . . These signals can be used in circuit cording.
Generally, the resolution (CPR, count per round) of the encoder increases when the number of the blades increases and the distance between two sensors decreases. However, when the included angle between two blades decreases, i.e., when the number of the blades increases, the outer diameter of the grating wheel increases. If the outer diameter of the grating wheel is fixed, when the number of the blades increases, the width of each of the blades decreases. However, due to the diffraction of the light, the extent that the width of the blades can be decreased is also limited. Specifically, when the light passing the blades diffracts and is not shielded by the blades, the signals generated by the two sensors of the optical sensing module will invariably be ON (1) signals, regardless of the rotating direction of the grating wheel. Therefore, the mouse is unable to generate different sequential signals according to the movement thereof.
FIG. 1A is the schematic view of the arrangement of a light-guiding encoder of the existing art. FIG. 1B shows a partial view of the blades of the light-guiding grating wheel 1a and the optical sensing module 3a of the light-guiding encoder of the existing art. The light-guiding encoder of the existing art includes the light-guiding grating 1a, a light-emitting module 2a and the optical sensing module 3a. In order to overcome the problem related to the diffraction of light, the encoder employs a light-guiding grating wheel 1a having a plurality of spherical surfaces S arranged continuously as a light-emitting surface for focusing the light emitted by the light-emitting module 3a. As shown in FIG. 1B, the optical sensing module 3a includes the optical sensing chips S1, S2 arranged on the same vertical axis. The light emitted from the light-guiding grating wheel 1a is focused at the optical sensing chips S1, S2 of the optical sensing module 3a. Specifically, the light-guiding grating wheel 1a of the light-guiding encoder in the existing art can generate the signals of [1, 1], [0, 1], [1,0] and [0,0] upon rotating to the first position (1), the second position (2), the third position (3) and the fourth position (4) respectively. However, as shown in FIG. 1B, the light-guiding grating wheel 1a in the existing art has to employ two blades for generating a set of coding sequence including four signals.
In sum, since the width of the light beam decreases after passing the spherical surfaces due to the focusing principle, the distance between the optical sensing module 3a and the light-guiding grating wheel 1a needs to be controlled to ensure that the light is received by the optical sensing module 3a, thereby generating the signal. In addition, in the existing art, the optical sensing chips S1, S2 of the optical sensing module 3a are arranged along a same vertical axis, and hence, the light-guiding grating wheel 1a employs two blades to complete a coding sequence [1,1], [0, 1], [1, 0] and [0, 0]. Therefore, the resolution of the light-guiding encoder cannot be significantly improved.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for improving the resolution of the light-guiding encoder while not increasing the dimension of the grating wheel and the number of the blades.


A process is disclosed for use in a micro-processor managed brake control system that utilizes wheel speed sensors and a brake off/on switch when the system requires information as to whether the vehicle is experiencing hard braking. In accordance with the process, the average deceleration of the undriven wheels is estimated and the slip of each undriven wheel is estimated and the results are compared with predetermined values for these parameters over a suitable test period. At the conclusion of these tests, the data may be used in place of data from a brake pedal position sensor or to confirm the data from such a sensor.

Automotive vehicles have been produced with computer-controlled brake systems that modulate brake force during stops to provide anti-lock brake (ABS) control and/or that modulate brake force during vehicle acceleration to provide positive acceleration traction control (TCS). Recently, more comprehensive computer-based vehicle brake control systems have been developed that provide additional chassis control under braking or positive acceleration conditions. Such systems are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,720,533 and 5,746,486, both entitled "Brake Control System" and assigned to the assignee of this invention. These systems seek to control, among other parameters, the yaw rate of the vehicle.
The computer in the chassis control systems described in these patents uses signals from a variety of sensors such as wheel speed sensors, steering wheel angle sensor, brake switch sensor, brake pedal extended travel sensor, master brake cylinder pressure sensor, yaw rate sensor and a lateral accelerometer. For further development of such control systems, it is desirable and/or necessary to provide algorithms or computer-controlled processes for eliminating some of such sensors or for detecting faults in their operation.
For example, a process has been developed that permits vehicle yaw control based on an estimated yaw rate rather than the output of a yaw rate sensor. This practice is described in U.S. Ser. No. 09/080,372, entitled "Vehicle Yaw Control Based on Yaw Rate Estimate" and assigned to the assignee of this invention. While this yaw rate estimate practice can eliminate the use of a yaw rate sensor, it does use the output of a brake pedal travel sensor to measure the extent of driver braking. Such a sensor is expensive compared to a marginal increase in on-board computer processing capacity and, furthermore, the sensor is subject to failure.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a process for determining whether a brake pedal travel sensor is faulty or for eliminating the need for input from such a sensor, especially in making computer-based estimates of vehicle yaw rate.

Extended brake switch software for vehicle stability enhancement system


This invention relates generally to the field of light emitting diodes (LEDs). More particularly, this invention relates to organic light emitting diodes which employ an electron-injecting cathode comprising a thin layer of an oxide of a low work function metal. More specifically, the present invention relates to LEDs which comprise: (a) a hole-injecting anode layer; (b) an electron-injecting cathode layer; and, (c) an emissive layer; wherein: (i) said emissive layer is interposed between said anode layer and said cathode layer; (ii) said emissive layer comprises an electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material; (iii) said cathode layer comprises a layer of metal oxide having a thickness of from about 15 to about 200 xc3x85; and, (iv) said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, lanthanide metal oxides, and mixtures thereof.

This invention relates generally to the field of light emitting diodes (LEDs). More particularly, this invention relates to organic light emitting diodes which employ an electron-injecting cathode comprising a thin layer of an oxide of a low work function metal. More specifically, the present invention relates to LEDs which comprise: (a) a hole-injecting anode layer; (b) an electron-injecting cathode layer; and, (c) an emissive layer; wherein: (i) said emissive layer is interposed between said anode layer and said cathode layer; (ii) said emissive layer comprises an electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material; (iii) said cathode layer comprises a layer of metal oxide having a thickness of from about 15 to about 200 xc3x85; and, (iv) said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, lanthanide metal oxides, and mixtures thereof.
Throughout this application, various publications, patents, and published patent applications are referred to by an identifying citation; full citations for these documents may be found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of the publications, patents, and published patent specifications referenced in this application are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
Diodes and particularly light emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated with conjugated organic polymer layers have attracted attention due to their potential for use in display technology (Burroughs et al., 1990, Braun et al., 1991). Among the promising materials for use as active layers in polymer LEDs are poly(phenylene vinylene), PPV, and soluble derivatives of PPV such as poly(2-methoxy-5-(2xe2x80x2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene), MEH-PPV, a semiconducting polymer with an energy gap Eg of xcx9c2.1 eV. This material is described in more detail in Wudl et al., 1993a. Another material described as useful in this application is poly(2,5-bis(cholestanoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene), BCHA-PPV, a semiconducting polymer with an energy gap Eg of xcx9c2.2 eV. This material is described in more detail in Wudl et al., 1993a, 1993b. Other suitable polymers include, for example, the poly(3-alkylthiophenes) as described by Braun et al., 1992 and related derivatives as described by Berggren et al., 1992; poly(para-phenylene) as described by Grem et al., 1992, and its soluble derivatives as described by Yang et al., 1993; and polyquinoline as described by Parker, 1994a. Blends of conjugated semiconducting polymers with non-conjugated host or carrier polymers are also useful as the active layer in polymer LEDs, as described by Zhang et al., 1994b. Also useful are blends comprising two or more conjugated polymers, as described by Yu et al., 1997. Generally, materials for use as active layers in polymer LEDs include semiconducting conjugated polymers, more specifically semiconducting conjugated polymers which exhibit photoluminescence, and still more specifically semiconducting conjugated polymers which exhibit photoluminescence and which are soluble and processible from solution into uniform thin films.
In the field of organic polymer-based LEDs, it is common to employ a relatively high work function metal as the anode, which serves to inject holes into the otherwise filled xcfx80-band of the semiconducting, electroluminescent polymer. Relatively low work function metals are preferred as the cathode material, which serves to inject electrons into the otherwise empty xcfx80*-band of the semiconducting, electroluminescent polymer. The holes which are injected at the anode and the electrons which are injected at the cathode recombine radiatively within the active layer and light is emitted. Proposed criteria for suitable electrodes are described in detail by Parker, 1994b.
Typical relatively high work function materials for use as anode materials include transparent conducting thin films of indium/tin-oxide (see, for example, Burroughs et al., 1990, Braun et al., 1991). Alternatively, thin.films of polyaniline in the conducting emeraldine salt form can be used (see, for example, Cao et al, 1997 Gustafsson et al., 1992., Yang-et al., 1994, 1995, and Yang, 1998). Thin films of indium/tin-oxide and thin films of polyaniline in the conducting emeraldine salt form are preferred because, as transparent electrodes, both permit the emitted light from the LED to radiate from the device in useful levels.
Typical relatively low work function metals which are suitable for use as cathode materials are metals such as calcium, magnesium, and barium. Alkali metals tend to be too mobile and act to dope the emissive layer (e.g. electroluminescent polymer), thereby causing shorts and unacceptably short device lifetimes. Alloys of these low work function metals, such as, for example, alloys of magnesium in silver and alloys of lithium in aluminum, are also known (see, for example, VanSlyke, 1991a, 1991b, Heeger et al., 1995). The thickness of the electron injection cathode layer typically ranges from about 200 to about 5000 xc3x85 (see, for example, VanSlyke, 1992, Friend et al., 1993, Nakano et al., 1994, Kido et al., 1995). A lower limit of about 200 to about 500 xc3x85 is required in order to form a continuous film (full coverage) for a cathode layer (see, for example, Holmes et al., 1996, Utsugi, 1998, Scott et al., 1996; Parker et al., 1994c). In addition to good coverage, thicker cathode layers were believed to provide self-encapsulation to keep oxygen and water vapor away from the active parts of the device.
Unfortunately, although the use of low work function electrodes is required for efficient injection of electrons from the cathode and for satisfactory device performance, low work function metals are typically unstable and readily react with oxygen and/or water vapor at room temperature and even more vigorously at elevated temperatures. Although alloying such low work function metals with more stable metals, such as, for example, aluminum or silver, has been used in attempts to improve environmental stability, the resulting cathodes remain unstable with respect to reaction with oxygen and/or water vapor during device fabrication and processing.
Despite improvements in the construction of polymer LEDs, a persistent problem has been rapid decay of the device efficiency (and light output) during stress, especially at elevated temperature. There is thus a need for low work function cathodes for use as electron-injecting contacts in organic (e.g., polymer) LEDs which have improved stability with respect to reaction with oxygen and water vapor especially at elevated temperature, and hence longer device lifetimes.
The alkali metals, alkaline earth metals and lanthanide metals are low work function metals. Although highly reactive (for example, with respect to oxygen and water vapor), they are utilized as cathodes in polymer or organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) because they function as excellent electron-injecting contacts.
Applicants have discovered that cathodes comprising a thin layer of metal oxide (which metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, lanthanide metal oxides, and mixtures thereof) yield LEDs which offer comparable or better initial performance (e.g., brightness and efficiency), as well as comparable or extended operating lives, as compared to similar LEDs which employ conventional (e.g., metal) cathodes.
One aspect of the present invention pertains to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) comprising: (a) a hole-injecting anode layer; (b) an electron-injecting cathode layer; and, (c) an emissive layer; wherein: (i) said emissive layer is interposed between said anode layer and said cathode layer; (ii) said emissive layer comprises an electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material; (iii) said cathode layer comprises a layer of metal oxide having a thickness of from about 5 to about 200 xc3x85; and, (iv) said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, lanthanide metal oxides, and mixtures thereof.
In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal oxides. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of oxides of lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is lithium oxide. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal oxides. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of oxides of magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of oxides of magnesium and barium. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of lanthanide metal oxides. In one embodiment, said metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of oxides of neodymium, samarium, and ytterbium.
In one embodiment, said layer of metal oxide has a thickness of from about 10 to about 100 xc3x85. In one embodiment, said layer of metal oxide has a thickness of from about 20 to about 60 xc3x85.
In one embodiment, said cathode layer further comprises a capping layer comprising aluminum, silver, or copper.
In one embodiment, said electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material is an electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic polymer. In one embodiment, said electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material is selected from the group consisting of: poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s, poly(arylene vinylene)s, poly(p-phenylene)s, poly(arylene)s, and polyquinolines. In one embodiment, said electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material is poly(2-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-5-methoxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene).
In one embodiment, said electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic material is an electroluminescent, semiconducting, organic non-polymeric material.

Thin metal-oxide layer as stable electron-injecting electrode for light emitting diodes


The apparatus has the capability to detect the distance between an aircraft and the ground and at the same time to the nearest point to the aircraft such as buildings or trees. The apparatus includes an altimeter, determining the nearest point, as well as a device for determining the distance to the second target.

Altimeters measure the altitude of an aircraft. The altimeter actually resides on the aircraft and a block diagram of an altimeter is shown in FIG. 1. In the operation of an altimeter 2, a pulse signal is typically transmitted at a rate of 1 pulse/100 .mu.sec from the aircraft and a return signal is detected by an IF strip 4 in the altimeter 2 upon hitting the nearest point. FIG. 2 shows the return signal and the detection of the nearest point is designated by the leading edge of the return pulse. The return signal is amplified by an amplifier 6 in the altimeter 2 which is then processed by an altimeter processor 8 to determine the distance between the aircraft and the nearest point which is the altitude. The altitude is attained by determining the time between when the signal was sent and when the signal returned and multiplying the difference in time by the speed of light. Once the altitude is determined, the altitude is sent as a signal through a filter 10 to filter out noise and then the output is transmitted from the altimeter 2.
In actuality, the altimeter 2 only measures the distance between the aircraft and the nearest point rather than the actual altitude to the ground. For example, if a plane was flying over a forest, the altimeter would only measure the distance to the trees and not the ground. FIG. 3 shows what a return signal with trees might reveal. The first "edge" would represent the detection of the trees and the second "edge" would represent the ground.
In present radar altimeters, they are only capable of measuring the distance to the nearest point. The present altimeter can only measure the distance to the nearest point due to the processing within the altimeter processor 8. The altimeter processor 8 includes an integrator within a closed loop servo designed to control the position of a moveable radar range gate such that the gate encompasses only the first leading edge which is from the nearest point and not the second edge which is from the ground. Looking at FIG. 3, the shaded portion 12 designates the amount of the signal the gate passes while the rest of the signal is lost. As can be seen, a very small portion 12 of the entire signal is actually processed and the rest of the signal including the second "edge", which designates the ground, is never detected. Servo loops are well known in this area of technology and will not be discussed in any further detail here.
Before, there was only interest in determining the distance to the nearest point for safety issues in order to prevent the aircraft from crashing into the nearest point whether it was trees or the ground. As a result, the rest of the signal was not necessary for processing and the altimeter 2 was adequate for past purposes. However, presently, it is now necessary to determine the actual altitude of the aircraft as well as the nearest point to the aircraft. Therefore, it would be beneficial if an altimeter had the capability to determine the altitude of an aircraft as well as the distance from the aircraft and the nearest point for safety measures.


A method for aligning toothing in an assembly of two half-ring gears is provided:                an angular positioning pin is provided which is to be received in respective holes of the half-ring gears;        the holes are drilled on the first half-ring gear such that the first hole has a first cross-section that is smaller than the final cross-section thereof;        the angles between the teeth are compared between the two half-ring gears, and an angular difference between said angles of the half-ring gears is deduced therefrom;        the first hole is redrilled to the final cross-section, while the centre of the hole is angularly shifted by the value of the angular difference;        the pin is engaged in the holes, and the half-ring gears are then assembled using an interference fit.

The epicyclic reduction gears are frequently used in reduction units of aircraft turboprop engines, to allow a reduction in speed between the drive line and the propeller.
The teeth are major elements of the reduction gear since they transfer the power from the input shaft to the output shaft.
Typically, an epicyclic reduction gear comprises a combination of coaxial elements, one or more of which are ring gears, planet carriers which rotate around the common axis and which carry one or more planets meshing with one or more sun gears.
And in some cases, it is useful that the ring gear or gears be made in two parts which are assembled.
Thus, in an epicyclic or planetary gear train, on a herringbone toothing, namely a toothing composed of two helical gears set in opposition so as to cancel the axial force as it is necessary that one of these elements, the sun gears, the planet gears, or the ring gears, be in two parts.
For manufacturing reasons, it is preferable that the ring gear be in two parts, that is to say in two half-ring gears, with the understanding that the expression "two half-ring gears" means two annular rings, a priori identical, or essentially identical, but each has, coupled with the common axis of the half-ring gears, a lesser thickness (for example by half) with respect to that of the final ring gear obtained by the coaxial assembly of the two half-ring gears.
Given that the aim here is to ensure a zero radial clearance between the two half-ring gears in question, which imposes a interference fit between them, and that it is possible for a tooth of one of the half-ring gears not to be aligned with the corresponding tooth on the second half-ring gear, a problem therefore arises regarding the offset of the teeth of the half-ring gears in relation to each other: how to assemble these half-ring gears assembled while ensuring the alignment of their teeth?

Ring gear for an epicyclic reduction gear


A ground-loading conveyance for refuse or heavy objects. The frame is tipped with the handle to allow a two wheel carriage on pivoting support legs to swing beneath the frame, so as to support the load for transporting.

Various types of hand operated trucks, barrows, dollys or other wheeled vehicles are known for assistance in moving loads from one place to another. Some of the these vehicles have included special construction features to assist in loading the vehicle from ground level. One reason for doing this is when there is a very heavy load to be transported, effort is required to hoist it to the level of a transport platform or frame. Another reason for ground level loading exists in the case of a trash bin or collector where bulky or heavy material is gathered or swept into one end of a container, which must then be lifted onto a barrow or truck.
One prior art type of conveyance is a sackbarrow which is an L-shaped frame having a pair of wheels at the intersection of the L-shaped frame. One end of the frame terminates in handles. At the other end of the frame is a short loading platform resting at ground level. The load is transported by working the short loading platform beneath the load and then tilting the sackbarrow back on the wheels. Care is required to lift the load on the short loading platform without tipping the sackbarrow back onto the operator.
A variation of the sackbarrow is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 863,275, issued Aug. 13, 1907 to Haffey, wherein a separate wheel carriage is provided, which is supported on legs pivotably connected to the frame. The wheel carriage may thus be swung into a transporting position at the intersection of the L-shaped frame after the load is in position. The arrangement shown does not solve the problem of balancing the load with the possible danger of tipping toward the operator. Also there is no leverage provided for raising the load and hence the loading platform must be kept very short.
Another prior art wheeled vehicle for transport of open trays, boxes or other containers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,374,982, issued May 1, 1945 to Davies. In this device, a modified sackbarrow with a fairly long front loading platform is provided with a supplementary loading platform which hooks to the frame for transporting and assists in loading and unloading. The supplementary platform acts as a load bearing member supported at one end by detachable hooks.
Another wheeled mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,540, issued to Crawford on Jul. 12, 1988, in which a wheel carriage is mounted at one end of a U-shaped frame, with an operating handle connected to the other end. A short ground level loading platform is supported on a pair of legs which are pivotably attached to the U-shaped frame. A cross member allows limited pivoting movement of the loading platform.
Other wheeled vehicles suitable for ground level loading are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 87,939 issued Mar. 16, 1869 to Ingraham, U.S. Pat. No. 2,096,994 issued Oct. 26, 1937 to Millen and U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,424 issued Apr. 5, 1988 to Stelter.
While the foregoing devices known in the prior art have facilitated ground level loading, they still have the problem of providing a simple means for placing the wheel carriage directly under the load for ease of balance and transporting, and in facilitating both the lifting of heavy objects, as well as collecting bulky materials at ground level.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved convertible transport dolly or barrow adapted for loading heavy objects or bulky material at ground level, and then transporting them to another location.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified wheeled vehicle adapted for ground level loading and transporting heavy objects employing wheels located directly beneath the center of gravity of the load.

Convertible barrow for ground level loading


An apparatus for making electronic component assembly comprising:. a first tape feeder for feeding a supporting tape to an assembly stage, PA1 a punching tool for making perforations with a predetermined pitch on said supporting tape, PA1 a feeding way for feeding electronic components near said assembly stage at then consecutively pushes said electronic component onto said supporting tape in said assembly stage, PA1 a rotating drum having around its outer face a number of projections to engage to said perforations and a number of guiding member to define positions of lead-wires of said electronic components when pushed onto said supporting tape, PA1 a second tape feeder for feeding a bonding tape onto said supporting tape at a position after said assembly stage in a manner not to cover said perforations and PA1 a bonding roller for pressing to bond said bonding tape onto said supporting roller with said lead-wires inbetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of electronic components assembly and method of making the same.
2. Prior Art
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an example of electronic components assembly. The conventional electronic components assembly is made by putting lead-wires 2 of electronic components on a supporting tape 3, putting a bonding tape 4 thereon to hold the lead wires on the supporting tape 3, and thereafter forming perforations 5 for feeding and positioning. Such conventional electronic components assembly and method of making the same has such drawbacks that the lead-wires 2 are used as feeding and positioning means in the process of forming the perforations 5, thereby holding of the lead-wires bonded on the supporting tape 3 by the bonding tape 4 being liable to loosening. Such loosening of the lead-wires makes the position of the perforations in relation to those of the electronic components inaccurate, which causes an incorrect insertion of the components on printed circuit board in a later process.

Electronic components assembly apparatus and method for making

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A vending machine capable of selecting any one of a first of a fourth mode which make it possible to carry out a commodity and a prize and a fifth mode which makes it possible to carry out only a commodity by a mode selecting device. In a state in which the fifth mode is selected, an ordinary commodity sale in which a selected commodity is executed based on insertion of coins or paper money, and pushing a commodity selecting button 4 is executed. In a state in which any one of the first to the fourth mode is selected, carrying-out of the prize from a prize carrying-out unit is executed in parallel with carrying-out of the commodity or independently.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vending machine for selling a selected commodity based on insertion of coins or a paper money and pushing a commodity selecting button.
(ii) Description of the Related Art
In order to promote the sales of commodities in the vending machine, the methods, for example, as in (a) and (b) described below are carried out.
(a) When a purchaser presses the commodity selecting button of the vending machine, the vending machine sells the selected commodity and draws lots inside. If winning a prize in the lottery, the vending machine provides the purchaser with the commodity for nothing based on pushing the commodity selecting button.
(b) When a special sheet such as a postcard having thereon an attached point seal or winning seal that was attached to the purchased commodity is sent to a manufacturer from the purchaser, the manufacturer provides the applicant with the prize.
However, in the lot drawing method as in the aforesaid (a), the sales profit of the vending machine itself is reduced if the winning probability is made high, because the commodities are provided when winning a prize in the lottery. It is necessary to reduce the winning probability in order to increase the sales profit, but if the winning probability is reduced, the vending machine becomes not more than an ordinary vending machine, and therefore the increase in the ability to pull buying public cannot be expect so much.
On the other hand, in the applying method as in the aforesaid (b), the operation of posting the point seals or the winning seals on the commodities and the operation of checking the applied special sheets or the like are needed, and therefore the cost becomes high. Moreover, the similar commodities are sold at many places other than the vending machines, and therefore this method is not sufficient to increase only the ability to pull the buying public for the vending machine.


An electrophotographic photoreceptor is disclosed, which comprises an electrically conductive substrate having formed thereon at least a charge generating layer and a charge transporting layer, wherein said charge generating layer is formed using a dispersed coating liquid prepared by mechanically grinding a perylene pigment and dispersing the ground perylene pigment in water, an alcohol series solvent, or an acetic acid ester solvent. A process of producing the photoreceptor is also disclosed. The electrophotographic photoreceptor provides a long pot life and stabilized dispersibility and electric characteristics.

Hitherto, as the charge generating material for an electrophotographic photoreceptor having a sensitivity to visible light and near infrared light, many materials such as condensed aromatic pigments, pyrylium dyes, perylene pigments, squarylium pigments, bisazo pigments, trisazo pigments, phthalocyanine pigments, etc., are known and various proposals have been made.
On the perylene pigments, various proposals have been made in JP-A-57-176047 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-A-59-59686, JP-A-63-180956, JP-A-63-291061, JP-A-63-243947, JP-A-63-243946, JP-A-2-37356, JP-A-2-228670, JP-A-2-228671, JP-A-3-24059, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,587,189, 3,992,205, 4,419,427, 5,019,473, etc.
Also, as a method of forming a charge generating layer for an organic photosensitive material, a vapor deposition method and a coating method are generally known but the coating method is more advantageous for the production in the view points of not requiring a complicated evacuating apparatus, etc., and of easily controlling the film thickness.
A perylene pigment is an excellent charge generating material but there is a problem that when a charge generating layer composed of the perylene pigment is formed by a coating method, the sensitivity thereof becomes lower than the case of forming the charge generating layer of the perylene pigment by a vapor deposition method.
For improving this point, U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,473 described above proposes that a perylene pigment is mechanically ground and the finely powdered perylene pigment is used in a coating liquid for forming a charge generating layer. However, the coating liquid prepared by the method can form an electrophotographic photoreceptor initially showing an excellent sensitivity but since the electrophotographic photoreceptor is desensitized with the passage of time, the method is unsuitable for the case of forming the charge generating layer by a coating method.

Electrophotographic photoreceptor and production process thereof


A method for design optimization using logical and physical information is provided. In one embodiment, a method for design optimization using logical and physical information, includes receiving a behavioral description of an integrated circuit or a portion of an integrated circuit, optimizing placement of circuit elements in accordance with a first cost function, and optimizing logic of the circuit elements in accordance with a second cost function, in which the optimizing placement of the circuit elements and the optimizing logic of the circuit elements are performed concurrently. The method can further include optimizing routing in accordance with a third cost function, in which the optimizing routing, the optimizing placement of the circuit elements, and the optimizing logic of the circuit elements are performed concurrently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuit design tools. In particular, the present invention relates to integrated circuit design tools that optimize area performance and signal integrity in integrated circuits.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Existing top-down design methods focus on optimizing transistors and gates, and model interconnect lines as merely xe2x80x9cparasiticxe2x80x9d elements of these transistors and gates. Implicit in this view of interconnect lines is the assumption that wiring delays and congestion in the interconnect lines are secondary to transistors and gates, and therefore can be taken into account as corrections to the timing and density models of the transistor and gates. As feature sizes of integrated circuits continue to shrink, this assumption is clearly no longer valid. In fact, interconnect is expected to dominate both performance and density in the near future.
FIG. 1 shows a typical existing design method 100. As shown in FIG. 1, an integrated circuit design is captured by a design entry step 101. Design entry step 101 is typically facilitated by a design capture system allowing the user to specify the logic design of the integrated circuit graphically, through a hardware description language (e.g., VHDL), or both. Typically, at design entry step 101, the user need not specify all elements of the design at the logic gate level. Many elements can be specified at a higher functional level (e.g., register-transfer level).
Upon completion of design entry step 101, a functional simulation step 102 is typically carried out using a functional simulator to verify functional behavior of the design. Based on a verified functional level description (xe2x80x9cfunctional designxe2x80x9d), the functional design can then be synthesized to the logic gate level in logic synthesis step 104, using a logic synthesis tool. Typically, at logic synthesis step 104, additional circuits for diagnostic and test purposes are included to provide a synthesized logic circuit (xe2x80x9cgate-level designxe2x80x9d). Such additional circuits may include, for example, test circuits for a boundary scan design under the JTAG standard.
Using the gate-level design, an initial circuit partitioning can be performed, i.e., floor planning step 103, to allow a first estimate of circuit size and to group highly connected portions of the design together to facilitate a subsequent layout step. In addition, a logic simulation (simulation step 109) and a static timing analysis (timing analysis step 108) are performed on the gate-level design to verify the gate-level design""s functional behavior, and to extract estimates of timing parameters.
During this time, at formal verification step 107 and test structure verification step 106, the gate-level design is verified against both the functional design and a behavior description of the additional included circuits to ensure both the functional design""s and the test structure""s behaviors are preserved. Further, the gate-level design is also checked, at technology checking step 105, that technology-specific logic design rules are not violated.
The gate-level design, together with timing information from the static timing analysis, are integrated into a pre-layout design database in front-end processing step 110. At this time, a pre-layout signoff step 111 signifies the beginning of the physical realization phase of the integrated circuit design. FIG. 1 shows a layout step 112 in which the physical realization (xe2x80x9clayoutxe2x80x9d) is created by performing a number of tasks (xe2x80x9clayout design tasksxe2x80x9d) iteratively.
Typically, layout design tasks include, generally, the steps of circuit partitioning, placement and routing. As mentioned above, an initial circuit partition based on the gate-level design is already provided at floor-planning step 103. Based on this initial partition, the circuit partitioning step in layout step 112 further refines circuit partitions down to the level of individual xe2x80x9ccellsxe2x80x9d (e.g., logic gates or macro cells). These cells are then placed according to some constraints, which are typically expressed by a cost function. Typical constraints relate to area, power and local timing. The cells so placed are then routed to provide the necessary interconnect. The routing is also typically performed according to certain constraints, such as local timing and power constraints.
In the prior art, a final static timing analysis step 113 is then performed on the routed layout design, incorporating into the timing information delays introduced by the routing step. If final static timing analysis step 113 uncovers timing problems in some signal paths, an optimization cycle is initiated by flagging the gates along the problematic signal paths and returning the gate-level design back to logic synthesis step 104. In logic synthesis step 104, logic synthesis techniques are applied to improve the gate-level design in a revised gate-level design. Steps 105-113 are then repeated on the revised gate-level design. This optimization cycle is repeated until all timing problems are resolved, represented by the post-layout sign-off step 114. Test patterns can then be generated in an automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) step 116, and the final layout design can then be manufactured.
The existing top-down design methods not only suffer from the defective interconnect model mentioned above, but also from the long elapsed time between optimization cycles. With each optimization cycle, the logic synthesis, circuit partitioning, placement and routing are xe2x80x9cpointxe2x80x9d tools, each operating on the entire design. Such loose coupling between tools in this optimization cycle is inefficient, since the steps towards convergence to an optimized layout tend to be small for each optimization cycle. For example, any possible improvement realizable by resynthesis of the logic circuit that arises because of a different placement of cells cannot be taken advantage of until the next optimization cycle. Furthermore, at the current and future circuit densities, the amount of CPU cycles used in each point tool in the optimization cycle is enormous, with many cycles expended in repeating tasks also performed in the previous optimization cycles. Further, since each existing point tool is typically acquired from a different vendor, there is substantial inefficiency in the interface between point tools. Typically, each point tool reads into memory a large data file provided by an upstream point tool, and provides its results in another large data file to be read by a downstream point tool.
The long optimization cycles can be alleviated somewhat by the use of parallel point tools. An example of such a parallel point tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,419 to Rostoker et al., entitled xe2x80x9cINTEGRATED CIRCUIT PHYSICAL DESIGN AUTOMATIC SYSTEM UTILIZING OPTIMIZATION PROCESS DECOMPOSITION AND PARALLEL PROCESSING,xe2x80x9d issued Feb. 27, 1996. In Rostoker et al, a parallel placement algorithm is executed by parallel processors, thereby shortening the time to achieve the placement function.
Thus, a method is desired for optimizing the integrated circuit design process, which both takes advantage of parallel algorithms and closely couples the layout design tasks in the optimization cycle is desired.
The present invention provides a method for optimizing a layout design, which minimizes the optimization cycle by incorporating interconnect wiring delays and performing logic optimization in the placement and routing operations. In one embodiment of the present invention, the method includes the steps of: (a) obtaining a first placement of circuit elements of a gate-level circuit; (b) providing routing between circuit elements; (c) performing a timing analysis to provide estimates of interconnect delay between circuit elements; (d) performing a logic optimization operation to obtain a second gate-level design based on a cost function. The steps (a)-(d) are reiterated until the cost function becomes less than a predetermined threshold. In one embodiment, a clustering of circuit elements allows circuit elements having high connectivity amongst them to be kept together and thus placed in close proximity of each other, while minimizing inter-cluster interconnect wiring delays.
In that embodiment, the method is iterated over an outer-loop in which each iteration divides circuit elements into clusters and applies steps (b) through (e) on the clusters until the cluster includes only primitive circuit elements.
In one embodiment, the logic optimization operation, which is performed concurrently with the placement and routing operations, (i) reassigns circuit elements between clusters, (ii) inserts or deletes signal buffers between circuit elements (iii) synthesizes alternative implementations of logic functions.
The method of the present invention can be implemented in a parallel processing design automation system to achieve high performance. Such a parallel processing system includes (a) multiple central processing units (CPUs) executing independently of each other; (b) a shared memory accessible by each CPU for holding data structures of the integrated circuit design; and (c) a control program managing a task list which specifies tasks for optimizing the integrated design. The control program assigns tasks on the task list to each of the CPUs. The tasks include placement, performance analysis, logic optimization and routing. The control program provides a locking mechanism for locking data structures stored in the shared memory to support concurrent operations by the CPUs each accessing the integrated circuit design represented by the data structures. Further, the parallel processing design automation system supports multithread execution. Parallelism is further enhanced by adopting algorithms for placement, timing analysis, logic optimization and routing suitable for parallel execution by the multiple CPUs each accessing the design data structures stored in the shared memory.
The present invention is better understood upon consideration of the detailed description below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for design optimization using logical and physical information


A process for the production of calcium chloride by the reaction of hydrochloric acid with calcium carbonate in the upper sealed portion of a reactor bordered on one side by a filtration sieve. The process comprises reacting the hydrochloric acid with the calcium carbonate to form carbon dioxide and calcium chloride solution, and pressuring the solution of calcium chloride by means of the carbon dioxide across the sieve and towards an outlet of the reactor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of calcium chloride. More particularly, it relates to a process and apparatus allowing for the production, continuously, of a solution of calcium chloride obtained by action of hydrochloric acid on calcium carbonate.
2. Description of Prior Art
It is known that this reaction may be caused by the discontinuous neutralization, in a reservoir, of an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution with the assistance of mechanical agitation. These methods and the apparatus for carrying them out, have, however, the following disadvantages:
long reaction time: the speed of attack being limited by the considerable volume of foam created by the carbon dioxide;
necessity of providing a recovery system of hydrochloric acid droplets entrained towards the atmosphere by the flow of carbon dioxide;
necessity of employing mechanical means for agitating the reaction site and for transporting the suspension across the filtration bed adapted to purify it of grains of excess calcium carbonate.

Process for the manufacture of calcium chloride


A feeder system for sequentially supplying a plurality of cuvettes or other objects to a conveyor track. The system includes a cassette, an escapement, and an actuator. The cassette retains the objects/cuvettes in at least one substantially vertical stack over the conveyor. The escapement is movable between a first position in which the escapement supports the bottom object in the stack, a second middle position in which the escapement supports both the bottom object and the object above it and a third position in which the escapement continues to support the object in said stack above the bottom object and releases the bottom object to be deposited on the conveyor. The actuator moves the escapement between the first, second and third positions. Novel apparatus for use in the system, including a stick for loading cuvettes into a cassette and a cuvette particularly adapted for stacking, are also provided.

Medical laboratories process and analyze hundreds of biological samples each day. Typically, the process and analysis of these samples involves placing a sample in a cuvette with a particular solution and then subjecting the sample to a photometric analysis. Once the testing is completed, the cuvette with the analyzed sample is discarded. To process and analyze more samples each day, laboratories have sought ways to handle cuvettes more quickly (i.e. to handle more cuvettes within a given unit of time).
To increase cuvette throughput, and to decrease labor costs, medical laboratories have become increasingly automated. Thus, cuvettes have been mounted on a conveyor and passed through one or more fill stations and one or more analysis stations before being passed to a disposal station, the entire operation being computer controlled. However, one area of the operation which has proved difficult to automate has been the feeding of cuvettes in the conveyor.
The small size, irregular shape and delicate nature of the cuvettes makes them difficult to handle quickly while still having each cuvette precisely oriented in the conveyor. More particularly, each cuvette comprises one or more small riles or wells, typically formed of plastic or glass, which may be joined together at one end. The inside of each cuvette must be kept clear from contamination and the outside of each cuvette, at least in the area where photometric analysis is to be performed, must be kept clear from scratches. Cuvettes which are contaminated or damaged cannot be used.
The current technique generally employed for feeding cuvettes to a conveyor is an automated hopper system. Such a system has a hopper in which the cuvettes are loaded. Once loaded, the hopper is spun, vibrated or otherwise agitated to jostle the cuvettes into a desired orientation. The hopper has a drop slot located over the conveyor which is shaped to only permit properly oriented cuvettes to pass through. When a cuvette is jostled into a properly oriented position over the slot, the cuvette drops through onto the conveyor belt.
Such hopper systems have a number of problems. First, the feeding of cuvettes is somewhat random, limiting the predictable feed rate of the system. Second, the cuvettes in the hoppers are frequently contaminated by dust and dirt which accumulates in the hopper. Third, the cuvettes in the hopper are frequently scratched from the jostling between cuvettes during agitation. Fourth, such jostling can also cause cuvettes to break, such breaks frequently causing the system to jam. Finally, the cuvettes in a hopper have a tendency to pick up static electricity, which causes the cuvettes to stick to the walls of the system and also causes jams.
Problems such as those described above can also arise in other situations, such as in automated assembly of products, where it is desired to feed small, irregular, and fragile parts or other objects onto a conveyor.
Another technique currently employed for supplying cuvettes to a medical instrument is to mount 20 to 100 in a circular tray which is installed in the instrument by an operator at the beginning of each run. The trays used in this technique add a large amount of biocontaminated plastic to the waste stream, significantly increasing disposal costs. This technique can also waste time and/or cuvettes, particularly in the situation where the operator has only a few unused cuvettes left in the current tray and wants to start a large run. The operator either has to come back to the instrument in a few minutes or discard the unused cuvettes.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a system for more rapidly and reliably feeding objects to a conveyor.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a cuvette feeder system which minimizes the number of cuvettes wasted by among other things minimizing the possible contamination of cuvettes and minimizing possible damage to the cuvettes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a cuvette feeder system which minimizes jams caused by mechanical failures, static electricity buildup, cuvette breakage and random error.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system for feeding objects to a conveyor, which system is easy to load and operate, including improved apparatus for use in such system.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the invention.


Alarming cables, assemblies and systems for displaying and protecting a powered article of merchandise from theft include an alarm unit disposed between a first cable having a first connector for connection to a power source and a second cable having a second connector for connection to the merchandise. An alarm unit connector may connect the second cable to the alarm unit. The alarm unit and the alarm unit connector may each include a connection member to electrically connect the merchandise with the alarm unit and the power source when the alarm unit connector aligns with and engages the alarm unit.

Retailers routinely display handheld electronic merchandise, such as mobile (e.g. cellular) telephones, iPods, game consoles, personal data assistants (PDAs), and the like, for customers to examine before making a purchase. Retailers often desire the handheld electronic merchandise to be powered as well so that a potential purchaser can test the operation and functions of the merchandise. At the same time, the retailer does not want the article of merchandise to be stolen or removed from the display area by an unauthorized person. Accordingly, the article of merchandise being displayed is attached to a merchandise display security device that protects the article of merchandise from theft and unauthorized removal. Such a merchandise display security device typically includes a sensor housing to which the article of merchandise is attached that houses a sensor for monitoring whether the article of merchandise remains attached to the sensor housing. In the event that the article of merchandise is detached from the sensor housing, an audible and/or visible alarm is activated to alert store personnel to the situation.
Oftentimes it is desirable for a retailer to provide power to the merchandise for facilitating operation of the device on display, as well as for charging the internal power supply of the device. For example, a power adaptor cord may be used to power the handheld electronic merchandise, or alternatively, to charge an internal battery that powers the article of merchandise in the absence of an external power source (including a power source of the merchandise display security device). Furthermore, the article of merchandise may be physically secured to the display with a tether. The tether may not only provide physical security, but may also serve to provide power to the sensor and/or to the article of merchandise. However, the existing merchandise displays oftentimes require specialized tethers and power adapter cords that are hardwired to the sensor.
Accordingly, there exists a need for alarming cables, assemblies, and systems for displaying and protecting a powered article of merchandise from theft.

Alarming cables, assemblies, and systems


A hair roller cloth and a hair roller includes a hair roller made of heat-resistant material and having mainly a circular cross-section of the same diameter all along its length or of different diameter regularly changing all along its length so as to set various curlings and waves, and a hair roller cloth directly wound around the hair roller and having ceramics powder coated on an outer surface to be heated up by a heating member provided flatly in the cloth and to produce special function for hot setting hairs.

This invention relates to hair roller cloth and hair rollers for hairdressing, particularly to one possible to handle swiftly, to set hairs into various curlings and waves, to protect hairs from harm, and to be replaced easily in case of breaking.
As to cold setting of hairs according to a conventional method, a hairdresser firstly winds hairs on a hair roller and then surrounds hairs hair roller with a cloth added with a setting chemical, and then baking the hair on the hair roller with heat for a period of time. Then the setting chemical is washed off the hairs and they are coated with another kind of chemical and baked for another period of time, checking always during baking if the hairs are set in good curls or waves or not. Then the hair roller cloth and the hair roller are removed in case of finishing setting. Cold setting generally takes about two hours.
As to heat setting of hairs according to a conventional method, a hairdresser winds hairs on a hair roller, and surrounds them with a hair roller cloth added with setting chemical producing heat for setting hairs. Heat setting generally takes a shorter time than that needed in cold setting.
However, conventional hair roller cloth and hair rollers are not so ideal, not having good practicability and effects, especially in the field of heat supplying. And hairs may be harmed more or less after setting, not to mention of nourishing hairs. Besides, since cold or heat setting cannot be operated fast, it is possible to harm hairs resulting in not so good curling or wave.

Hair roller cloth and hair rollers for hairdressing


A holster for a handgun includes a holster body having a chamber for receiving the handgun. An adjustable and resilient tensioner is mounted on the holster body in a position to be engaged by a handgun in the chamber, the tensioner being operable to apply a resilient biasing force to the handgun in the chamber.

A typical handgun holster includes a body portion defining a chamber having an opening. The handgun is inserted, muzzle first, through the opening into the chamber. The handgun is thereby received and supported in the body portion of the holster.
It is desirable for the handgun to be positioned and retained in the chamber, by means other than a tight fit of the handgun itself in the holster. To that end, some holsters incorporate a tensioning device. The tensioning device engages the handgun body portion inside the chamber, for example engaging the muzzle. The frictional engagement between the tensioning device and the handgun helps to position the handgun in the holster, and also helps to resist inadvertent movement of the handgun out of the holster.
Holsters with adjustable tensioning devices are known; these devices can be adjusted to control the amount of tension that is applied to the handgun. As one example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,694,560 discloses a handgun holster with an adjustable tensioning member that has a flexibly mounted end portion that can be pushed toward or away from the holster chamber by adjusting a set screw. This is a one-time setting of the starting position of the tensioning member. The tensioning member does not resiliently engage the handgun. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,322,612 discloses a handgun holster with an adjustable tensioning member that is elongate and is suspended freely between its ends. The starting position of the tensioning member can be set with a screw. After the starting position is set, the tensioning member engages the handgun when in the chamber, but not resiliently. The tensioning member has a long, unsupported, central portion which may eventually weaken or fracture.