An opacified latex paint comprising acrylic film-forming latex binders in combination with minor amounts of opacifying pigment and substantial amounts of non-film-forming polymeric particles (plastic pigment) provides a latex paint composition having desirable film integrity properties. The plastic pigment latex paint is compounded at a substantially high pigment-volume-content (PVC) greater than 75% PVC and yet produces a continuous crack-free paint film even though the dried paint film is highly loaded with non-film-forming components. The opacified paint films maintain excellent physical properties such as scrub resistance, burnish resistance, mar resistance, stain resistance, and other desirable paint film integrity properties.

This application relates to the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186 pertaining to latex paint containing solid plastic pigment particles, and the disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference.
Prior to plastic pigment latex paints as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186, conventional high quality latex paint compositions contained opacifying pigments such as TiO.sub.2 and non-opacifying pigments such as inerts or extenders to produce high quality paint films which can be easily washed or scrubbed without ruining the paint film surface. The quality of prior art paint films ordinarily is inversely related to the surface porosity of the dried or cured paint film wherein non-porous film surfaces are desirable and porous film surfaces are avoided so as to maintain a continuous integral paint film surface substantially free of surface porosity and quite resistant to permanent surface deterioration. A standard parameter for identifying and formulating conventional latex paints is the pigment-volume-content (PVC) of the paint wherein PVC indicates the percent by volume of dry pigment non-film-forming solids present in the dried paint film. High quality prior art paints are compounded below critical PVC which is a maximum PVC before paint film integrity properties quickly diminish.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186 discloses an improved latex paint composition utilizing solid non-film-forming plastic particles in combination with opacifying pigments to provide a latex paint composition having a pigment-volume-content (PVC) greater than the critical-PVC to provide substantially improved opacified paint films at a wide range of PVC levels above the critical-PVC. The dried paint films have excellent high opacity coincident with high enamel holdout and low surface porosity to produce paint films that maintain excellent film integrity and remain resistant to surface deterioration as well as being easy to scrub.
It now has been found that very desirable paint films can be obtained from plastic pigment latex paint compositions having substantially high PVC's beyond 75% PVC and broadly between 75% and 85% PVC. The dried paint films are continuous non-cracking film which surprisingly maintain substantial film integrity properties such as dirt resistance, grime resistance, mar resistance, stain resistance, abrasion resistance, scrub resistance, and like film integrity properties. The high PVC plastic pigment paints are highly loaded with non-film-forming polymeric particles (plastic pigment) but do not contain non-opacifying extender or filler pigments whereby cracking and non-continuous film formation are avoided. Small particle acrylic binders appear to properly coalesce at a rate sufficiently slow as to avoid internal stresses and resulting cracking in the film. The particular coalescent and higher boiling point glycols control the binder coalescence and is speculated to sinter or otherwise promote a surface effect with plastic pigment to obtain continuous films at extraordinary high PVC's above 75% PVC. Accordingly, it has been found that a good quality plastic pigment latex paint can be compounded containing substantial levels of non-film-forming polymeric particles in combination with opacifying pigments and acrylic binders. The resulting dried paint film produces resilient continuous and crack-free paint film surfaces which surprisingly resist film surface deterioration in a manner comparable to conventional high quality latex paint films.
These and other advantages of this invention will become more apparent by referring to the Detailed Description of the Invention.


Rapid assays for analytes of interest in a fluid sample utilize a first conjugate of a labelled reactant that specifically binds to the analyte, and a second conjugate that binds to the analyte coupled to a polymer that has an affinity for a selected solid phase. The reaction components are incubated briefly, then contacted with the selected solid phase and the labelled components determined. Optional wash steps provide for enhanced sensitivity and specificity. When the analyte of interest is an antibody to HIV, the first reactant may be a synthetic, recombinant or native HIV antigen, and the second reactant may be protein A or an anti-immunoglobulin.

Immunoassays have found widespread application in the field of clinical diagnostics for the detection and measurement of antigens, antibodies, drugs, vitamins, hormones, metabolites and other substances of interest in biological and non-biological fluids. Typically, these analytes occur in micromolar (20.sup.-6 M) or less concentration.
With the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its role as the cause of AIDS well established, much effort has focused on the development of immunoassays for antibodies to HIV viral components in biological fluids. Other assays have been designed to detect HIV viral antigens. The most commonly employed antibody screening assay is an enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) using whole virus lysates adsorbed to a solid phase, such as a microtiter well or bead. These assays typically involve long incubation periods and thus require as much as 3-4 hours to perform. More rapid tests have been developed based on agglutination of microparticles coated with viral proteins, but these assays are sometimes difficult to interpret and present problems of sensitivity and specificity.
Immunoassays such as ELISAs are referred to as heterogeneous because the signal emitted by a bound labelled reactant is indistinguishable from the signal emitted by free labelled reactant and thus a separation step is required to distinguish between the two. These assays typically employ at least one reactant immobilized on a solid phase to effect such separation. Solids used to immobilize reactants in immunoassays have included controlled pore glass and preformed polymers, such as polyvinyls, polyacrylamides, polydextrans, and polystyrenes. Numerous separation methods are known in the art and have been used in heterogeneous immunoassays. These include centrifugation, microfiltration, affinity chromatography, and gel-permeation chromatography. Since the kinetics of reaction between an immobilized antibody (or antigen) and its binding site tend to be slower than the kinetics of the same reaction occurring in solution, long incubation times are frequently required. When the multiple wash steps often needed are considered, it can be appreciated that heterogeneous assays tend to be time-consuming and labor-intensive.
There is a need in the art, then, for an HIV immunoassay which is highly sensitive, has fast-reaction kinetics, and which is readily amenable for use in efficiently detecting the presence of a variety of HIV analytes within a home or clinical setting. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides other related advantages.

Rapid membrane affinity concentration assays


A conductive plastic touch switch includes a plastic substrate having a first side surface including at least two channels formed within the first side surface and a second side surface including a manual activation region opposite of the at least two channels. At least two conductive traces are formed within the at least two channels, respectively. A printed circuit board is electrically attached to the at least two conductive traces. The plastic substrate is formed during a first mold process and said at least two conductive traces are in-molded during a second mold process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a touch sensitive switch, and more specifically, to a conductive plastic sensitive touch switch integrated with the surface of a control panel by a multi-shot mold process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle accessory input controls typically consist of devices which require rotating a control knob, depressing a control button, or sliding a mechanical or electro-mechanical control switch to operate or adjust a vehicle accessory device. An exterior casing or oversize buttons and knobs are typically used to dress up and conceal the gaps between the bezel and the movable components of the input control devices. Despite the addition of these facial coverings to make the appearance presentable and visually appealing, the plurality of interlocking components leaves way for dirt and debris to lodge in the gaps and crevices between these interlocking components. Devices such as appliances have been known to use switches under the surface of a fascia of the appliance to create a sealed environment, however, these devices have been limited to a physical press and release operation.
Capacitance sensors have also been for switch actuation. A capacitance sensor disposed under a surface fascia creates an electric field above the surface fascia. If an object is displaced within the electric field, a change of capacitance indicates a request by an operator to actuate a switch. Because the capacitance sensor and the fascia unit are separate components, both units are assembled together at some point during an assembly process. As a result, a misalignment condition due to assembly errors or component stack-up tolerancing can occur between the capacitance sensor mounted below the surface fascia and the expected manual activation region identified by an exterior marking on the surface fascia. This ultimately can lead to non-activation of the switch if the object is not properly placed within the generated electric field and dissatisfaction of an operator in attempting to actuate the switch.


In one exemplary embodiment, a method includes: configuring a common resource space having a plurality of time-frequency resources and code resources, where the common resource space includes a first portion for a first type of signaling and a second portion for a second type of signaling, where the first type of signaling includes at least one of persistent acknowledgement signaling and scheduling request signaling, where the second type of signaling includes dynamic acknowledgement signaling; and allocating, based on the configured common resource space, resources of the common resource space for the at least one of persistent acknowledgement signaling and scheduling request signaling.

The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:
3GPP third generation partnership project
ACK acknowledge
BS base station
BW bandwidth
CAZAC constant amplitude zero autocorrelation
CCE control channel element
CP cyclic prefix
CQI channel quality indicator
DL downlink (eNB towards UE)
eNB E-UTRAN Node B (evolved Node B)
EPC evolved packet core
E-UTRAN evolved UTRAN (LTE)
FDD frequency division duplex
FDMA frequency division multiple access
HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request
LTE long term evolution of UTRAN (E-UTRAN)
MAC medium access control (layer 2, L2)
MM/MME mobility management/mobility management entity
NACK negative acknowledge
Node B base station
OFDMA orthogonal frequency division multiple access
O&M operations and maintenance
PCFICH physical control format indicator channel
PDCCH physical downlink control channel
PDCP packet data convergence protocol
PDU protocol data unit
PHY physical (layer 1, L1)
PRB physical resource block
PUCCH physical uplink control channel
RLC radio link control
RRC radio resource control
RRM radio resource management
S-GW serving gateway
SC-FDMA single carrier, frequency division multiple access
SR scheduling request
UIE user equipment, such as a mobile station or mobile terminal
UL uplink (UE towards eNB)
UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network
ZAC zero autocorrelation
A proposed communication system known as evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN, also referred to as UTRAN-LTE or as E-UTRA) is currently under development within the 3GPP. The current working assumption is that the DL access technique will be OFDMA, and the UL access technique will be SC-FDMA.
One specification of interest is 3GPP TS 36.300, V8.3.0 (2007-12), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8), incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIG. 1 reproduces FIG. 4 of 3GPP TS 36.300, and shows the overall architecture of the E-UTRAN system 2. The E-UTRAN system 2 includes eNBs 3, providing the E-UTRAN user plane (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towards the UE (not shown). The eNBs 3 are interconnected with each other by means of an X2 interface. The eNBs 3 are also connected by means of an S1 interface to an EPC, more specifically to a MME by means of a SI MME interface and to a S-GW by means of a S1-U interface (MME/S-GW 4). The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relationship between MMEs/S-GWs and eNBs.
The eNB hosts the following functions:                functions for RRM: RRC, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, Dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both UL and DL (scheduling);        IP header compression and encryption of the user data stream;        selection of a MME at UE attachment;        routing of User Plane data towards the EPC (MME/S-GW);        scheduling and transmission of paging messages (originated from the MME);        scheduling and transmission of broadcast information (originated from the MME or O&M); and        a measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling.
From a PUCCH resource allocation point of view, four basic types of control signals can be transmitted:                ACK/NACKs of dynamically scheduled DL data (PUCCH format 1a and 1b);        periodic CQIs (PUCCH format 2, 2a, and 2b);        SR indicators (PUCCH format 1); and        ACK/NACKs of persistently scheduled DL data (PUCCH format 1a and 1b).
Reference with regard to various PUCCH formats can be made to subclauses 5.4.1, 5.4.2 and 5.4.3 of 3GPP TS 36.211 V8.1.0 (2007-11) Technical Specification 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 8), incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
For dynamic ACK/NACKs, it has been agreed that the PUCCH resource to be used is implicitly derived from the PDCCH CCE index. Due to the implicit mapping, the ACK/NACK channel on the PUCCH should be pre-configured by higher layer signaling. This pre-configuration is typically referred to as ACK/NACK channelization. The details for implicit mapping of dynamic ACK/NACKs have been agreed to in 3GPP.
The basic principle of implicit channelization of dynamic ACK/NACKs is to have a one-to-one mapping to the lowest CCE index. The total number of CCEs depends on the system bandwidth and on the number of OFDM symbols allocated for control signaling in a DL subframe, which is signaled in each subframe using the PCFICH (1, 2, or 3 OFDM symbols/subframe). This means that, for example, with a 20 MHz system bandwidth the number of CCEs can be as many as 80 if three OFDM symbols are allocated for control signaling in a subframe. However, if the PCFICH=1 there is a significantly smaller number of CCEs. This implies that the required amount of UL resources for the dynamic (implicit) ACK/NACKs can vary dynamically from one subframe to another.
It has also been agreed that the PUCCH resources used for periodic CQI transmission (e.g., the cyclic shift), the SR indicator and the persistent ACK/NACK are explicitly configured. Furthermore, it has been agreed that the PUCCH PRBs with CQI are to be placed on the outermost PRBs next to band edges, followed by the dynamic ACK/NACKs.
Although there is a general agreement concerning the resource allocation of each of these types of PUCCH signals, the specific details of how to allocate the PUCCH resources for SR and persistent ACK/NACK have not yet been worked out.
As noted above, the current agreement in 3GPP is to allocate resources for CQI to the outermost PRBs next to band edges, and to allocate the dynamic ACK/NACKs next to the CQI resources. The principle is shown in FIG. 3. The number of CQI PRBs is signaled via higher layer using a parameter NRB(2) (NRB(2)=7 in the example of FIG. 3). Further, the CQI PRB having a largest index can be split to accommodate both CQIs and dynamic ACK/NACKs with parameter Ncs(1). The resources for the dynamic ACK/NACKs are placed next to the CQI resources. An ACK/NACK index of a certain UE can be directly derived from its lowest CCE index, the number of PDCCH CCEs, and hence the number of implicitly allocated dynamic ACK/NACK resources scales, according to the system bandwidth and the value of PCFICH.
The SR and persistent ACK/NACK configuration have not been discussed in detail in the 3GPP. The basic assumption has been, however, that a separate resource pool (e.g. one or more PRBs) is semi-statically assigned for the SR and persistent ACK/NACK (see FIG. 3). However, one significant drawback of this approach is that due to the dynamically varying PCFICH and hence the (possibly constantly) changing number of dynamic (implicit) ACK/NACK resources/channels, there will exist an unused gap between the dynamic ACK/NACK channels and the SR and persistent ACK/NACK channels when PCFICH<3. This leads to increased UL overhead and/or spectrum fragmentation. Changes in the parameters NRB(2) (number of PRBs reserved for CQI) and/or Ncs(1) will make the PUCCH space even more dynamic. The alternative, that is keeping Ncs(1) and NRB(2) essentially constant, has the disadvantage of causing over-dimensioning of the periodic CQI resources, which is also wasteful of the spectrum.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Channelization procedure for implementing persistent ACK/NACK and scheduling request


A clock buffer circuit can include a low voltage drive circuit that receives a clock signal and provides a low voltage drive at a first power supply potential to a load. A boost drive circuit can provide a high voltage drive at a second power supply potential greater than the first power supply potential to the load. The boost drive circuit can provide the high voltage drive in response to a pulse signal generated in response to a transition of a clock input signal. A pulse generator circuit may generate the pulse signal to have a predetermined width to enable the high voltage drive until the load is charged essentially to the first power supply potential.

Many semiconductor devices operate using a clock signal. This clock signal must be distributed throughout the device with as little skew as possible. One way to reduce skew is through a clock tree.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional clock tree is set forth in a schematic diagram and designated by the general reference character 100. Clock tree 100 has a clock input at beginning point 140. The clock signal may be buffered by buffer circuits 110 at each T-junction 120 before being provided to circuitry at the tree ends 150. To avoid unduly cluttering the figure, buffer circuits 110 are only shown at various T-junctions 120 to illustrate a complete propagation path of a clock signal to an endpoint 150. However, it is understood that buffer circuits 110 are provided on each side of a T-junction 120. Clock tree 100 is designed such that the propagation path of a clock signal from beginning point 140 to each endpoint 150 are essentially matching. Furthermore, the delay of each buffer circuit 110 must be small to minimize the clock insertion delay from beginning point 140 to each endpoint 150.
Each buffer circuit 110 can essentially be a pair of inverters. Referring now to FIG. 2, a conventional buffer circuit is set forth in a circuit schematic diagram and designated by the general reference character 200. Conventional buffer circuit may receive a clock signal CLKIN at terminal 210 and may provide a clock signal CLKOUT at terminal 220. Buffer circuit 200 may be used as buffer circuit 110 in clock tree 100 of FIG. 1.
Buffer circuit 200 may include inverters (INV202 and INV204). Load network L202 is shown to essentially model the load of the conductive branches in the tree network of FIG. 1.
Inverter INV202 receives clock signal CLKIN at input terminal 210 and provides an output at node N212. Inverter INV204 has an input connected to node N212 and provides an output at node N214. Load L202 is connected between node N214 and output terminal 220. Input terminal 210 can be a T-junction 120 in clock tree 100 of FIG. 1 where a buffer circuit 110 and output terminal 220 can be a subsequent T-junction 120 where the next buffer circuit 110 is located.
Inverter INV202 is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter including an n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) N202 and p-channel MOSFET P202. N-channel MOSFET N202 has a gate terminal connected to input terminal 210, a source terminal connected to ground VSS, a drain terminal connected to node N212, and a body terminal connected to receive a back bias potential Vbn. P-channel MOSFET P202 has a gate terminal connected to input terminal 210, a source terminal connected to a power supply potential VDD, a drain terminal connected to node N212, and a body terminal connected to receive a back bias potential Vbp.
Inverter INV204 is a CMOS inverter including an n-channel MOSFET N204 and p-channel MOSFET P204. N-channel MOSFET N204 has a gate terminal connected to node N212, a source terminal connected to ground VSS, a drain terminal connected to node N214, and a body terminal connected to receive a back bias potential Vbn. P-channel MOSFET P204 has a gate terminal connected to node N212, a source terminal connected to a power supply potential VDD, a drain terminal connected to node N214, and a body terminal connected to receive a back bias potential Vbp.
Load L202 includes resistors (R202, R204, and R206) and capacitors (C202 and C204). Resistor R202 has a first terminal connected to node N212 and a second terminal commonly connected to a first terminal of resistor R204 and a second terminal of capacitor C202. Resistor R204 has a second terminal commonly connected to a first terminal of resistor R206 and a second terminal of capacitor C204. Resistor R206 has a second terminal connected to output terminal 220. Capacitors (C202 and C204) each have a first terminal connected to ground potential VSS.
A drawback to the conventional buffer circuit 200 is that as voltages decrease, for example, from 1 volt to 0.6 volt, the propagation delay of the clock signal can increase by a factor of 3.
Referring now to FIG. 6, a waveform diagram of simulation results is set forth. The waveform diagram of FIG. 6 illustrates the conventional buffer circuits as well as an embodiment of the present invention. In the waveform diagram of FIG. 6, signal 614 represents the clock signal CLKOUT for three series connected conventional buffer circuits 200 operating at 1.0 volts and signal 618 represents the clock signal CLKOUT for three series connected conventional buffer circuits 200 operating at 0.6 volts. As illustrated in FIG. 6, at midpoints (i.e. the trip points of a hypothetical following stage) in transitions of signal 614 and signal 618, conventional buffer circuit 200 is about 3 times slower at 0.6 volts as compared to 1.0 volts.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a buffer circuit that can provide a lower signal swing voltage without substantial propagation delays. In this way, power may be reduced without the penalty of substantial propagation delays.


Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for item classification using customer-visible attributes are disclosed. A plurality of terms are determined that describe a plurality of items in a marketplace. Individual ones of the items are classified in a hierarchical taxonomy comprising a plurality of classifications, and individual ones of the terms correspond to individual ones of the classifications. A description of a new item is received. The description of the new item comprises a plurality of customer-visible terms. One or more of the plurality of classifications in the hierarchical taxonomy are selected for the new item. The one or more classifications are selected for the new item based at least in part on automated matching of individual ones of the customer-visible terms to individual ones of the terms that correspond to individual ones of the classifications.

Large-scale computing systems, such as those associated with network-based production services, have become widely available in recent years. Examples of such systems include online merchants, internet service providers, online businesses such as photo processing services, corporate networks, cloud computing services, web-based hosting services, etc. These entities may maintain large numbers of computing devices (e.g., thousands of hosts) which are hosted in geographically separate locations and which are configured to process large quantities (e.g., millions) of client requests daily or even hourly. Complex systems may include many services that interact with one another in varied ways.
For example, web servers backed by distributed systems may provide online marketplaces that offer goods and/or services for sale to consumers. Consumers may visit a marketplace website to view and/or purchase goods and services offered for sale by the merchant operating the website (and/or third-party merchants). Some online marketplaces include large online catalogs of items offered for sale. For an item offered for sale, an online marketplace typically include a product detail page (e.g., a web page) that specifies various information about the item, such as a description of the item, one or more pictures of the item, as well as specifications (e.g., weight, dimensions, capabilities) of the item. Additionally, an online marketplace may offer other types of pages to potential customers, such as a home page that introduces a customer to the marketplace and a search page that lists products relevant to one or more search terms.
The catalog of items may be organized using a hierarchical classification system, otherwise referred to as a "hierarchical taxonomy" or simply "taxonomy." Generally speaking, a hierarchical classification system is a classification system in which items are arranged based on some hierarchical structure. If the hierarchical structure is a tree, each node of the tree may represent a different classification. An individual item may be classified by placing the item in one of the various leaves of the tree, in one of the branches, or even in the root. From the root through the branches to the leaves, the nodes may represent increasing degrees of specificity in the classification scheme. A well-known example of a hierarchical classification system is the taxonomic system used in modern biology, where the major taxonomic ranks include: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Another example of a hierarchical classification system is a product classification scheme used by an online merchant. For a system maintained by an online merchant, the classification of products into a hierarchy of classifications may permit customers to find desired categories of products by navigating up or down the hierarchy.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning "having the potential to"), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning "must"). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean "including, but not limited to."

Item classification using visible attributes


Disclosed is a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material having at least one silver halide emulsion layer on a support, which comprises a two-equivalent yellow coupler represented by the following formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each represent an alkyl group or a cycloalkyl group; L represents an alkylene group; X represents a divalent linking group; R.sup.3 represents an unsubstituted alkyl group or cycloalkyl group; n represents 0 or 1; and Z represents >C(R.sup.4)R.sup.5 or >NR.sup.4 where R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 each represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent,. being contained in at least one of the above silver halide emulsion layers.

This invention relates to a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material, more specifically to a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material using a novel two-equivalent yellow coupler which can be produced inexpensively and has excellent activity and also excellent image storability in a silver halide emulsion layer.
In recent years, in a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "a light-sensitive color material"), a two-equivalent coupler in which only two atoms of silver for forming one molecule of a dye are required by introducing a suitable substituent to coupling positions (active points) of a coupler which reacts with an oxidized product of a developing agent has been employed frequently in place of a conventional four-equivalent coupler which requires four atoms of silver for forming one molecule of a dye.
However, requirements of a coupler have become more strict with the progress of a light-sensitive color material. Not only improvement of activity but also further improvements of color reproducibility, image storability, solubility in low-boiling point and high-boiling point solvents and dispersion stability have been demanded.
As techniques for improving color reproducibility and activity, there has been known a yellow coupler having a heterocyclic compound with a cyclic imide structure as an eliminatable group and having an alkoxy group introduced to 2-position of an anilide portion. For example, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 115219/1977, there is described a yellow coupler having an alkoxy group at 2-position of an anilide portion and having a hydantoin group or an urazol group as an eliminatable group. However, this coupler involves a drawback that light resistance is extremely poor due to a sulfamoyl group existing as a ballast group.
As techniques for improving light resistance while maintaining good color reproducibility, there have been known, for example, yellow couplers having an alkoxy group at 2-position and an acylamino group at 5-position of an anilide portion and having a hydantoin group or an urazol group as an eliminatable group as described in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 6341/1975, No. 123047/1988, No. 125140/1991, No. 125141/1991 and No. 124661/1992. However, in these couplers, activity is slightly poor, so that they cannot satisfy the recent demand for heightening activity sufficiently.
As one means for further improving activity, there has been known a technique of increasing hydrophilicity of an eliminatable group. For example, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 132926/1975, there is described a yellow coupler in which 2-position and 5-position of an anilide portion are substituted by an alkoxy group and an aryloxy group-substituted alkylacylamino group, respectively, and an unsubstituted urazol group is present at a nitrogen atom as an eliminatable group. Also, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 209241/1991, No. 209242/1991, No. 209243/1991, No. 209244/1991, No. 209460/1991, No. 209461/1991, No. 209462/1991, No. 209463/1991, No. 209464/1991, No. 209265/1991, No. 209466/1991, No. 209467/1991, No. 209470/1991, No. 211548/1991, No. 211549/1991 and No. 229248/1991, there are described yellow couplers in which 2-position and 5-position of an anilide portion are substituted by an aryloxy group and an unsubstituted alkylacylamino group, respectively, and an unsubstituted hydantoin group is present at a nitrogen atom as an eliminatable group. However, in these couplers, hydrophilicity of the eliminatable group is offset by the aryloxy group existing as a substituent so that activity has not yet reached a sufficiently satisfactory level.

Light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material


Disclosed is an information viewing apparatus, which makes it possible for the user to conduct operations for inputting information and establishing various kinds of functions only by conducting consecutive simplified operations from a multi-touchable touch panel. The apparatus includes a display section provided with a multi-touchable touch panel having first and second touch panels, and a control section that controls the display section. In a state that the display section is displaying a document, when detecting a predetermined dragging action, the control section makes the display section displays an inputting screen, which allows the user to conduct an inputting operation from the second touch panel, during a time when a touching status is maintained in such a manner that the inputting screen overlaps the document. When the touching status is released, the control section controls the display section so as to make the inputting screen evacuate from the document.

The present invention relates to an information viewing apparatus, a control program and a controlling method, and specifically relates to such an information viewing apparatus that is provided with a display section, onto a displaying surface of which a touch panel is mounted, a control program that is to be executed in the information viewing apparatus concerned and a controlling method that is to be employed for controlling inputting operations conducted by using the touch panel mounted on the information viewing apparatus concerned.
In recent years, there have been increasing the number of users who employ such an apparatus that is provided with a display section, such as a tablet type terminal device, an Electrophoretic Display, an electronic book, etc., for viewing various kinds of documents, such as a material, a book, etc. The abovementioned apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an information viewing apparatus) is provided with a touch panel mounted onto the display section, so as to make it possible to conduct various kinds of operations therefrom. For instance, since the annotation function is highly demanded for the information viewing apparatus, an operation for inputting a memo message can be achieved by operating the touch panel concerned.
With respect to the touch panel abovementioned, for instance, Tokkai 2003-280812 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication) sets forth such a configuration, in regard to a touch-panel attached display device in which a first touch panel is arranged onto a display screen of a flexible paper display and a second touch panel is arranged below the flexible paper display abovementioned, that is provided with: a first position detecting section to detect a touch position touched by a designation body within the first touch panel, when the designation body designates a predetermined position within the paper display screen concerned; a second position detecting section to detect a touch position touched by the designation body within the second touch panel, when the designation body designates the predetermined position within the paper display screen concerned; and a control section that conducts a first processing corresponding to the detected result of the first position detecting section concerned, so as to establish a display status of the concerned display screen at a first display status corresponding to the touch position touched by the designation body and detected by the first position detecting section within the first touch panel, and conducts a second processing corresponding to the detected result of the second position detecting section concerned, so as to establish a display status of the concerned display screen at a second display status corresponding to the touch position touched by the designation body and detected by the second position detecting section within the second touch panel.
Further, with respect to the memo inputting operation to be conducted by employing the touch panel abovementioned, for instance, Tokkai 2007-279638 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication) sets forth such a navigation apparatus that is provided with: a display monitor to detect a plurality of touched positions; an inputting section to input the plurality of touched positions on the display screen of the display monitor; an implementation section to implement various kinds of operation to be determined depending on the plurality of touched positions inputted through the inputting section; a memo inputting section to input a memo from a memo inputting screen displayed on the display monitor; a memo storage section to store the memo inputted by the memo inputting section while correlating the memo with a facility; a facility selecting section to select the facility displayed on the display monitor; and a memo displaying section to display the memo correlated with the facility and stored in the memo storage section, when the facility concerned is selected by the facility selecting section; wherein, in such a case that two touched positions within a map currently displayed on the display screen are detected, and one of the two touched positions represents the display position of the facility and the other one of the two touched positions is made to move in a lower direction of the display screen concerned, the implementation section abovementioned displays the memo inputting screen, into which a memo, correlated with the facility currently displayed at said one of the two touched positions and stored into the memo storage section, is to be inputted.
When a memo is inputted into a document by using the touch panel as above-mentioned, specifically by using such a touch panel that allows the user to conduct the multi-touch operation, it is desirable that the information viewing apparatus is so constituted that an operation for displaying the memo screen, an operation for inputting the memo into the memo screen, an operation for storing information representing the memo inputted into the memo screen, etc., can be achieved through consecutive and simplified operations.
However, according to the conventional method, it has been impossible not only to make the information viewing apparatus display or evacuate such a memo screen that is easy to input, but also to make the information viewing apparatus store information inputted into the memo screen, by conducting simplified operations. Accordingly, the abovementioned disadvantages have impeded the flow of operations to be conducted by the user, resulting in deterioration of the operability of the information viewing apparatus concerned. Further, as well as the above, the same kinds of problems have been also arisen in such a case that the information viewing apparatus is made to display a screen for setting various kinds of functions therefrom.

Information viewing apparatus, control program and controlling method

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


An assembly for mounting a circuit board between spaced surfaces is disclosed. The assembly includes a housing and a circuit board retainer including a protrusion. The housing is designed and constructed to receive and retain a fully assembled circuit board retainer. The housing includes at least one pair of channel walls defining a channel for receiving an end of the protrusion. The channel walls are constructed to permit movement of the protrusion into and out of the housing when a force in a proper direction above a predetermined threshold is applied to the protrusion.

Electronic equipment often employs printed circuit boards or cards. These cards typically are mounted in a chassis or card rack by stacking the cards in row alignment with one another. Row alignment in the chassis is defined by slotted or spaced surfaces within or on the chassis, with each circuit board placed in a slot or between a pair of spaced surfaces. A retainer may be provided in the chassis slot to captivate a card positioned therein. Many applications for such retainers require high performance that will captivate a printed circuit board under the most extreme shock and vibration conditions such as those encountered by spacecraft or military aircraft.
Exemplary printed circuit board retainers include a cam-type retainer such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,198 and a multi-wedge type retainer such as that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,823,951 and 5,036,428, the contents of which patents are incorporated herein by reference. The multi-wedge type retainers include a partially threaded screw or rod upon which are mounted a plurality of slideable members in an end-to-end relationship. The members disposed on the rod have wedge-shaped end portions which engage one another and serve to move at least one of the members in a transverse direction relative to the rod when the members are moved towards one another along the rod. Such movement may be achieved by providing the rod with screw threads to engage and move the distal-most member when the rod is rotated. Alternatively, the movement may result from the action of a lever assembly used to draw the rod away from the distal-most member, thereby pulling that member toward its companions.
Commonly, the rod in prior art retainers is threaded at one end to engage with mating threads on a nut attached to the end-most sliding member mounted on the rod. The opposite end of the rod includes a portion that may be engaged by a tool to allow the rod to be rotated. In so doing, the members are moved toward one another as the threaded rod is rotated in the tightening direction.
The transverse direction in which the member is moved acts to engage a clamping surface of that member against an edge of the printed circuit board. The opposite edge of the board is thereby forced into contact with, and clamped against, a spaced surface fixedly connected to or integral with the chassis in which the board is to be mounted. Typically, the spaced surface fixedly connected to the chassis is the wall of a housing that is screwed or rivetted to the chassis.
The housings of the prior art are mounted (e.g., rivetted or screwed) to the chassis during the manufacture process, or more commonly, by the end user during the application. If the housing is to be mounted by the end user, the retainers and housings are normally shipped unassembled, although these components can be shipped assembled with instructions to disassemble and remove the retainer from the housing before mounting the housing to the chassis. Disassembly is required because the retainer rod cannot be withdrawn from the housing without removing the slideable members. Following attachment of the housing to the chassis, the end user must re-assemble the retainer in the housing by inserting a first end of the retainer rod through an opening in a housing endwall, positioning the slideably mounted members on the rod, screwing the first rod end into a nut attached to the end-most sliding member mounted on the rod, and passing the first rod end through a second housing endwall opening.
In view of the above, a need exists for a retainer assembly which eliminates or substantially reduces the labor-intensive, time-consuming process for mounting a retainer assembly to a chassis, particularly for field installation by an end user. The improved assembly should be capable of receiving and retaining a fully assembled circuit board retainer and should permit initial installation, replacement, repair and/or inspection of the retainer without requiring retainer disassembly.

Assembly for receiving and retaining a circuit board retainer


An improved dry mix dispensing apparatus and method for controllably dispensing materials from bulk storage bags are disclosed. A support structure is provided for elevating loaded bulk bags over a collector and discharge means that controllably empties the contents of the bag, one batch at a time, as needed, into an underlying batch mixer. The collector only processes that material currently being dispensed, and the bag continues to store the bulk material until actually dispensed through the collector. The dispensing apparatus is rapidly collapsible in the vertical and lateral directions for ease of transport and movement about the construction site.

There have been relatively few innovations in the methods of transporting and handling mortar and mortar/sand mixtures (i.e., dry mix) from the mortar preparation site to the construction site in the last decade. Introduction of the concept of premixing mortar/sand mixtures and packaging such mixtures in large quantities in weatherproof storage bags having lifting handles, has revolutionized the manner in which mortar is mixed and prepared at the construction site. A complete discussion of such process is found in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,821, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The ability to premix and practically handle large quantities of mortar has greatly facilitated batch mixing operations at the construction site. As described in my prior patent, the premixed mortar is transported in large bulk bags of typically 2,000 to 3,000 pound quantities, to the construction site, where the bulk bags are unloaded into waterproof medium sized storage silos having a discharge outlet that can be selectively opened and closed to charge a batch mixer, for mixing batches of mortar, grout, or cement, as needed. In the past, it has been convenient for such medium sized silos to hold from five to seven bags of such premixed mortar at a time.
Such systems represent a vast improvement in the art and have significantly changed the dynamics of mortar preparation and handling at the construction site. In construction projects which extend over relatively long periods of time, it is practical to transport such medium sized storage silos to the construction site and to use them as described above. However, for the smaller construction projects that may require mixing of only one or two bulk bags of mortar at any one location, it may be inconvenient to transport and set up such medium sized silos for handling just several bulk bags of mortar. However, even for such smaller projects it is still desirable to use dry mortar which has been premixed and which is transportable to the site using the large bag technique.
There are other instances, even in larger construction projects wherein it may be more convenient to move the batch mixer and its supply silo between different locations at the construction site, rather than to continuously transport small batches of mixed cement from the mixer to where it is ultimately needed. However, in such cases it may be inconvenient to repetitively move a loaded storage silo around the construction site, to accommodate this need--particularly if it is substantially filled with five to seven tons of material. It would be desirable in such instances for a single bulk storage bag at a time to be elevated above a mixer and to selectively empty the bag into the mixer, for preparing a plurality of batches, until the bag is empty. However, the bulk bag technology has not heretofore accommodated such need.
To continuously elevate a mortar bulk storage bag over a batch mixer generally requires a forklift vehicle or a crane to continuously hold the bag in position. Such equipment is too expensive to inefficiently utilize in such disabling manner for any extended period of time. An alternative would be to use the lift equipment to raise the bag over the mixer to drop a batch from the bag whenever desired, and then to place the bag back into a protective storage area when not being used. However, to go through such labor intensive operations totally negates the purpose and efficiencies for which the bulk bag transport and handling concept was designed. Further, such large storage/transport bags are typically not designed for "selective" emptying since they do not have any controllable metering apparatus at their discharge ports. They usually are designed for emptying of the entire bag contents at a time and do not readily lend themselves to accurate interruption or stopping of a discharge process, with any degree of controllability, once the discharge process has been initiated. Their outlet port closure structure generally consists of a draw cord member fastened around a flexible tubular outlet chute, that once loosened, allows free discharge flow of the mortar through the chute until the entire contents of the bag passes therethrough.
Therefore, while the needs to adopt and to incorporate the advantages of the bulk transport/storage bag concepts to the smaller construction project exist, no practical approach which maintains the economies for which the system was designed has been devised in the art. The present invention provides a dispensing system that addresses these deficiencies and needs of the prior art.


A focus detecting device includes a condenser lens, an aperture stop with a plurality of openings, a plurality of reimaging lenses, and light receiving element arrays. Focus detection is performed by detecting the phase difference between two output signals derived from the light receiving element arrays. The vertices of the reimaging lenses are situated on a line connecting the centers of the openings, and light beams are conducted through the reimaging lenses corresponding thereto to the light receiving element arrays. Thus, the focus detecting device is capable of extending the focus detecting area and improving the focusing accuracy.

1. Field of tile Invention
This invention relates to a focus detecting device for use in cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, many focus detecting optical systems have been proposed, each of which is such that an image formed by a photographic lens is divided into two, symmetrical with respect to a plane including its optical axis, by a reimaging optical system, which are re-formed on photoelectric converting element arrays (light receiving element arrays), and the positional shift between these two images is detected to thereby perform focus detection. These proposed devices are set forth, for example, in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication Nos. Sho 55-118019, Sho 58-106511, and Sho 60-32012. Any of them is designed so that the amount of light through the reimaging optical system is received by the light receiving element arrays in a line, and their output signals are used for focus detection.
In the focus detecting (optical) system, the light receiving element array is such that light receiving elements are in general arrayed at regular intervals. When the distance between two light receiving elements adjacent to each other is taken as one pitch, focusing accuracy is represented as a relative measure for one pitch. Now, when focusing accuracy is assumed to be 1/M (where M is a constant) of one pitch and the amount of defocus per pitch at the image plane is denoted by .alpha., a focusing accuracy .DELTA. at the image plane is defined as EQU .DELTA.=.+-.(1/M) .alpha.(tm) (1)
Here, focusing accuracy degrades with increasing value .DELTA. and becomes high with decreasing it. In other words, the greater the value of the constant M, the higher the focusing accuracy. The constant M is determined by the coincidence of two images being compared on the light receiving element arrays and the accuracy of calculation for detecting the correlation (the amount of phase shift). The increase of the number of light receiving elements used to detect the correlation (the amount of phase shift) results in improved calculation accuracy. In a camera system requiring the constant M of 10 or more, for example, when the phase difference is detected in correlation with the output corresponding to 20 elements, it is required that the coincidence of the images on the light receiving clement arrays is excellent compared with the case of 0.1 times the pitch on the 20 elements (the length 20 times the pitch), provided the calculation accuracy is sufficient. This is 0.005 times the pitch in terms of one element.
When the number of light receiving elements of the tight receiving element array is taken as N (a constant), a detectable defocus area .SIGMA. (which is hereinafter referred to as a focus detecting area .SIGMA.) at the image plane is expressed by EQU .SIGMA.=.vertline..+-.N .alpha..vertline. (2)
In Eqs. (1) and (2), if the amount of defocus is increased, the focus detecting area .SIGMA. will be large but the focusing accuracy .DELTA. will be poor. Conversely, if the amount of defocus .alpha. is decreased, the focusing accuracy .DELTA. will be improved but the focus detecting area .SIGMA. will be diminished. Thus, the focus detecting area .SIGMA. and the focusing accuracy .DELTA. are affected, opposite to each other, by the amount of defocus .alpha. per pitch at the image plane. It follows from this that the extension of the focus detecting area .SIGMA. and the improvement of the focusing accuracy .DELTA. are incompatible with each other.
In order to solve the above problem, the use of a plurality of focus detecting systems is proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,677 and Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication Nos. Sho 63-264715 and Hei 4-240813. Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 7, the proposal of U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,677 is explained in some detail. FIG. 1 shows the case where a focus detecting device is situated on the bottom of the body of a single-lens reflex camera. FIG. 2 shows focus detecting systems orthogonal to each other. FIG. 3 depicts essential parts of one of the focus detecting systems. FIG. 4 depicts essential parts of the other, which is rotated 90.degree. about the optical axis with respect to FIG. 3.
In these diagrams, reference numeral 1 represents a photographic lens; 2 a preset imaging plane; 3 a condenser lens disposed adjacent to the preset imaging plane 2; and 4 an aperture stop. The aperture stop 4 is located behind the condenser lens 3 and includes openings, four in total, arranged in directions perpendicular to each other, one pair in each, with a space sufficient to ensure focusing accuracy. Reference numeral 5 denotes a separator lens. The separator lens 5 is situated behind the aperture stop 4 with two pairs of openings and includes reimaging lenses, four in total, arranged in directions perpendicular to each other, one pair in each, to correspond to individual openings. Numerals 6 and 7 denote two pairs of light receiving element arrays disposed in directions normal to each other. The light receiving element arrays 6 and 7 are located at the imaging positions of light beams emerging from the separator lens 5.
FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show the aperture stop 4, the separator lens 5, and the light receiving element arrays 6 and 7, respectively, viewed along the direction of the optical axis. The light beams passing through individual openings of the aperture stop 4 are independent of one another. The optical components described above constitute the focus detecting device.
In the focus detecting device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,677, the focus detecting systems perpendicular to each other are respectively taken as a focus detecting system I and a focus detecting system II. The amount of defocus D.sub.1 detected by the focus detecting system I and the amount of defocus D.sub.2 detected by the focus detecting system II are given by EQU D.sub.1 =(F.sub.W1 /.beta.) P.sub.1 ( 3) EQU D.sub.2 =(F.sub.W2 /.beta.) P.sub.2 ( 4)
where P.sub.1 is the amount of phase difference of the images on the light receiving clement arrays of the focus detecting system I, P.sub.2 is the amount of phase difference of the images on the light receiving element arrays of the focus detecting system II, .beta. is the imaging magnification of the focus detecting systems I and II, F.sub.W1 is the F number of the barycentric beam to be detected in the focus detecting system I, and F.sub.W2 is the F number of the barycentric beam to be detected in the focus detecting system II. Here, the term "barycentric beam" means the light beam defined by rays passing through the center of each opening of the aperture stop. Thus, proper settings of the F numbers F.sub.W1 and F.sub.W2 and the magnification .beta. of the focus detecting systems I and II allow the constructions of the focus detecting system I which is somewhat low in focusing accuracy but large in focus detecting area, and the focus detecting system II which is smaller in focus detecting area but higher in focusing accuracy. In this way, the focus detecting device can be derived in which the extension of the focus detecting area and the improvement of the focusing accuracy are compatible with each other.
Using FIG. 8, reference is made to the proposal of Japanese Publication No. Sho 63-264715. FIG. 8 shows the focus detecting device in which two focus detecting systems are juxtaposed which involve a TTL phase difference technique set forth in this publication. There are the condenser lens 3 disposed adjacent to the preset imaging plane 2, and a half mirror 8 and a reflecting mirror 9 which are situated behind the condenser lens 3. On the optical path reflected from the half mirror 8 are arranged an aperture stop 4a having a pair of openings juxtaposed, normal to the plane of the page, at a distance sufficient to ensure focusing accuracy; a pair of separator lenses 5a disposed behind the aperture stop 4a having a pair of openings; and light receiving element arrays 6 placed at imaging positions of light beams emerging from the separator lenses 5a. On the optical path transmitted through the half mirror 8 and reflected from the reflecting mirror 9, on the other hand are arranged an aperture stop 4b having a pair of openings juxtaposed, normal to the plane of the page, at a distance sufficient to ensure focusing accuracy; a pair of separator lenses 5b disposed, normal to the plane of tile page, behind the aperture stop 4b having a pair of openings; and light receiving element arrays 7 placed at imaging positions of light beams emerging from the separator lenses 5b. These optical components constitute the focus detecting device.
In the focus detecting device of Publication No. Sho 63-264715, two juxtaposed focus detecting systems are respectively taken as the focus detecting system I and the focus detecting system II. When the amount of phase difference of the images on the light receiving element arrays is represented by P, the F number of the barycentric beam to be detected is represented by F.sub.w, and the projecting magnification of one focus detecting system is denoted by .beta., the amount of defocus D to be detected is given by D=(F.sub.w /.beta.)P. Consequently, the amounts of defocus detected by the focus detecting systems I and II are expressed by EQU D.sub.1 =(F.sub.W1 /.beta..sub.1) P.sub.1 ( 5) EQU D.sub.2 =(F.sub.W2 /.beta..sub.2) P.sub.2 ( 6)
Even in the case where the light receiving element arrays are arranged on the same plane, this focus detecting device is designed to be able to set arbitrarily the spaces between the condenser lens and the separator lenses, and between the separator lenses and the light receiving element arrays so that the projecting magnifications .beta..sub.1 and .sub.62 .sub.2 of the focus detecting systems are made different from each other. Consequently, the focus detecting device is constructed with the focus detecting system I which is somewhat low in focusing accuracy but large in focus detecting area, and the focus detecting system II which is smaller in focus detecting area but higher in focusing accuracy. The focus detecting device can thus be brought about in which the extension of the focus detecting area and the improvement of the focusing accuracy are compatible with each other.
Also, Japanese Publication No. Hei 4-240813 proposes to increase the amount of light incident on the light receiving element arrays by switching over the optical path to another.
As explained in connection with FIGS. 1 to 8, the focus detecting device can be made to satisfy both the extension of the focus detecting area and the improvement of the focusing accuracy. In the case of the focus detecting device including the aperture stop of configuration shown in FIG. 5, however, its opening section cannot be made larger. This results in the reduction of the amount of light reaching the light receiving element arrays and the deterioration of the focusing accuracy. Specifically, If the opening section of the focus detecting system I is made larger, that of the focus detecting system II must be made smaller. For increasing the amount of light reaching the light receiving element arrays, It is only necessary to construct the aperture stop 4 of configuration shown In FIG. 9. The use of such an aperture stop, however, leads to a small difference between the F number F.sub.W1 of the barycentric beam to be detected in the focus detecting system I and the F number F.sub.W2 of that in the focus detecting system II. This defeats the primary purpose of satisfying both the extension of the focus detecting area and the improvement of the focusing accuracy.
As shown In FIG. 8, even though light is split up by the half mirror to travel along two focus detecting systems, the amount of light reaching the light receiving element arrays will decrease. Further, the arrangement, set forth in Publication No. Hei 4-240813, for increasing the amount of light incident on the light receiving element arrays by switching over the optical path needs moving members and the resultant space and driving power. Moreover, the application of these means to the focus detecting device causes increase of the total area of light receiving element arrays, followed by reduction of the workability of light receiving elements and bulkiness of the entire focus detecting system. Thus, this arrangement affects the compactness of the entire camera. The focus detecting device of the type has many problems such that adjustments are required for the half mirror dividing light to follow the focus detecting systems I and II, the path switching members, and Individual parts of the focus detecting systems I and II; the mechanism is complicated; and the assembly is troublesome.
In the conventional focus detecting device in which a pair of openings (entrance pupils) is disposed to be nearly equidistant from the optical axis of the condenser lens, If the reimaging lenses of identical shape are provided to be nearly equidistant from the optical axis of the condenser lens, particularly significant light beams from an object adjacent to the optical axis will likewise undergo the same refraction. Although the refraction changes progressively In separating from the optical axis if the extent of this change is made symmetrical, the focusing of the images in an in-focus state can easily be improved.
However, some camera systems need an arrangement such that the entrance pupils of the focus detecting systems are asymmetrical with respect to the optical axis of the photographic lens. One of its specific examples will be given below.
In FIGS. 10A and 10B, reference numeral 11 denotes a finder section; 12 a photographic lens section; 13 a focus detecting device section; 14 a screen mat; 15 a mirror box; 16 an imaging plane; 17 a main mirror; and 18 a field stop. Reference symbol BM represents a submirror. Where the entrance pupils of the focus detecting systems are arranged vertically in order to improve the focusing accuracy of an object in a horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. 10A, it is necessary to extend the field stop 18 in a lateral direction of the plane of the figure. Further, in order to provide the sub-mirror BM for introducing a beam of light into the field stop 18, there is the necessity of enlarging the mirror box 15.
On the other hand, FIG. 10B illustrates the case where the entrance pupils are arranged horizontally and the field stop 18 need not be extended. If the mirror box 15 is enlarged, not only does the entire camera body become larger, but the last surface of tile photographic lens must be located farther away from the imaging plane 16. This causes problems such as the oversizing of the photographic lens, the complication of the arrangement, and the degradation of imaging performance. Furthermore, there is a systematic problem of defeating the mounting of the photographic lens in which the distance between the last surface of the photographic lens and the imaging plane 16, although enough for a common camera body, is insufficient for the above camera system. Consequently, in the conventional camera system in which the entrance pupils of the focus detecting systems are arranged vertically, provision has been made to prevent the enlargement of the mirror box 15 in such a way as to diminish the NA of the light beam entering the focus detecting systems through the photographic lens, the focus detecting field, or the amount of detectable defocus. If, however, the entrance pupils of the focus detecting systems are arranged to be asymmetrical about the optical axis of the photographic lens, it will be possible to ensure the NA of the light beam from the photographic lens, the focus detecting field, and the amount of detectable defocus, without enlarging the mirror box 15.
In the optical system Including the condenser lens and the reimaging lens which have the same power, if the decentering relation between these two lenses is different from that between the opening section and the condenser lens, the conditions of incidence and emergence of light beams from the object will change. Thus, the effects of the reimaging system on the light beams vary, with the result that the coincidence between the images becomes incomplete even in the in-focus state. That is, the detecting accuracy of the phase difference degrades. Specifically, the images formed on individual light receiving element arrays in the same plane vary in size. The disagreement between tile images caused by the differences of distortion (aberration) of the images is corrected even in the conventional focus detecting optical system, as described later.
Next, reference is made to the functions of optical elements of the conventional focus detecting optical system and its degree of freedom for correction. The principal functions of the condenser lens in the conventional focus detecting optical system are (1) to perform the pupil transmission in the so-called relay optical system whose focal length is determined by the specification, and (2) to correct the distortion of the images on individual light receiving element arrays. The configuration of the condenser lens is practically determined by these two functions, and the number of degrees of other freedom is highly limited. On the other hand, the function of the reimaging lens in the focus detecting optical system is to determine where the image formed once at the preset imaging plane should be re-formed, and in the case of a simple optical system, the number of degrees of other freedom is highly limited. It is not easy that the above functions is added to individual optical elements so that the function of coincidence of two images is further added, that is, the images on the light receiving element arrays are made to coincide in size with each other. Further, if the number of lens elements is increased to complicate the arrangement, there will be the possibility that the coincidence of two images is improved, but error factors will be increased. This is unfavorable in view of assembly tolerance and adjusting means in particular.

Focus detecting device having at least three reimaging lenses


A vehicle lamp comprises a first light source group for forward illumination comprising at least one light emitting element, a second light source group for road surface drawing comprising at least one light emitting element provided separately from the at least one light emitting element, a single projection lens through which lights emitted from the first and second light source groups are to pass, and a light shade arranged between the first and second light source groups and the projection lens so that the light from the first light source group and the light from the second light source group do not intersect with each other before entering the projection lens. The projection lens has a first region through which the light from the first light source group is to pass and a second region through which the light from the second light source group is to pass.

A publication of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-161977 discloses a vehicle travel support device, which includes a locus estimation unit configured to estimate an own vehicle advancing locus and a low-speed moving object detection unit configured to detect a low-speed moving object such as a pedestrian and is configured to draw, on a road surface, a laser light to be emitted from a laser projector so that a predetermined illumination shape (for example, a stop line figure configured by a vertically long line) is made over a predetermined range around an intersection position of the own vehicle advancing locus with a moving locus of the low-speed moving object or a position in the vicinity of the intersection position.
As disclosed in the publication of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-161977, the device configured to draw a predetermined mark on the road surface by using the laser light is mounted separately from a usual lamp for forward illumination. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a space in a lamp unit such as a headlight.

Vehicle lamp and vehicle having the same


A plant control system carrying out a single shot output without adding a program concerning signal transfer between a supervisory control device and a programmable logic controller to the supervisory control device and the programmable logic controller. The plant control system includes a single shot output functioning section which causes a SCADA system connected to a programmable controller for controlling the plant to send a control signal corresponding to control content of a selected plant to the programmable controller, and, thereafter, to send an erasure signal for erasing the control signal held in the programmable controller to the programmable controller. The single shot output functioning section is outside of the SCADA system and outside of the programmable controller.

In the conventional plant control system, a plant is controlled by a programmable logic controller. This programmable logic controller is connected to a supervisory control device via a scan transmission device. The programmable logic controller and the supervisory control device transfer data from one to another.
In this plant control system, a SCADA system is used for the supervisory control device. In this SCADA system, a plurality of monitoring screens are prepared. On each of the monitoring screens, parts such as control operating buttons and indicating lamps are arranged. Also, in the SCADA system, an internal tag is used as an internal signal. Further, in the SCADA system, an I/O (input/output) tag is used as a signal for transferring data to and from the programmable logic controller.
In the plant control system configured as described above, in some cases, the plant is controlled from the supervisory control device. In this case, an operator depresses the control operating button or the like displayed on the SCADA system. Thereby, an I/O tag corresponding to the control operating button or the like is selected. Thereafter, an acknowledge button such as an execution button is depressed. Thereby, the selected I/O tag is turned ON. The ON-state I/O tag is transmitted to the programmable logic controller.
If this ON state is controlled as it is on the scan transmission device, in some cases, the selected I/O tag does not reach the programmable logic controller on account of wire breaking of the scan transmission device or other causes. In this case, the programmable logic controller misjudges that the selected I/O tag has been turned OFF. To prevent this misjudgment, usually, the programmable logic controller detects a change of the selected I/O tag, and holds the ON state of the selected I/O tag.
The I/O tag held in the ON state must be turned OFF before the next operation of the control operating button or the like. One method for turning off the I/O tag is to execute, in the SCADA system, a program for issuing a command to turn OFF the selected I/O tag after certain time has elapsed, and to deliver a command signal to the programmable logic controller. The output of a command signal for turning OFF the I/O tag after the certain time has elapsed from when the I/O tag was turned ON is called a single shot output.
In the above-described configuration, to hold the selected I/O tag in the SCADA system, an internal tag is needed for each of the control operating buttons. Also, an internal tag for a counter that counts the certain time with the depression of the acknowledge button being the basis is needed for each of the control operating buttons. Therefore, as the number of control operating buttons increases, the number of internal tags increases greatly. Accordingly, the number of programs written in the SCADA system also increases. This presents a problem that the preparation of single shot output requires a lot of programs and internal tags. As the result of this problem, there arise problems of deteriorated performance of the SCADA system, decreased reliability caused by program mistakes, increased amount of work at the time of addition/deletion of signals, and the like. Further, because the number of tags is limited, a large-scale plant control system has a problem that the internal tags are exhausted.
To solve the above-described problems, various proposals have been made. For example, there has been proposed a method in which the SCADA system receives a response signal with respect to signal reception from the programmable logic controller, whereby the signal output from the SCADA system is turned OFF. Thereby, the programs written in the SCADA system can be reduced (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).

Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation


A new and distinct variety of Summer Perennial Phlox named xe2x80x98Little Princess.xe2x80x99

Phlox paniculata.
xe2x80x98Little Princessxe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Summer Perennial Phlox (Phlox paniculata), referred to by the varietal named xe2x80x98Little Princess.xe2x80x99
This invention has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. However, the following combination of traits has been repeatedly observed to be firmly fixed in asexually-propagated progeny and is determined to comprise the basic characteristics of this invention. Asexual propagation has been accomplished by division of the original plant, stem cuttings, and root cuttings and has shown that the unique characteristics of this variety are established and transmitted through succeeding asexual propagations. Asexual propagation has been accomplished at a nursery in Zwaanshock, Netherlands and at a greenhouse in Cumming, Ga. Rooting takes about 30 days during the spring season under normal conditions.
The new plant of my invention was obtained by crossing two unreleased nonpatented Phlox paniculata plants having the respective designation 90.44.02 and 90.44.06. I was particularly attracted to this plant because of its unique flower color. Plants of this new variety differ from the parental varieties by being more compact than either parental variety and having a different flower color than the female (seed) parent.
The following characteristics, alone or in combination, distinguish xe2x80x98Little Princessxe2x80x99 from other known Summer Perennial Phlox varieties: very short plant habit; resistance to powdery mildew; thick, leathery, dark green leaves; distinctive pink flowers that do not fade in color; long blooming period continuously from midsummer through the fall; excellent garden performance and good weather tolerance; excellent container plant because of its short habit.

Phlox plant named xe2x80x98Little Princessxe2x80x99


Tools for operating on an object, such as a wire or cable are provided. The tool includes a frame, and a working head assembly. The working head assembly has a movable section and fixed section secured to the frame. The movable section has a first end movably secured to a first end of the fixed section. The movable section has a second end that is releasably secured to a second end of the fixed section using a latch pin. The working head assembly also includes a latch pin stop that is positioned in the second end of the movable section. The latch pin stop is configured to prevent the latch pin from releasably securing the movable section to the fixed section until the movable section is properly aligned with the fixed section.

Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of portable hand tools, and more particularly, to portable hand tools with working head assemblies having one or more parts that can be separated and reconnected to perform the particular operation of the working head.
Description of the Related Art
Most portable power tools are hand held tools that use electric motors to drive a working head used to perform various tasks, such as cutting, crimping, drilling, shaping, fastening, grinding, polishing, heating, etc. There is a segment of the portable tool product market that incorporates a hydraulic pump to enable the working head to apply a relatively large amount of force or pressure for a particular task. Such tools may operate with a hydraulic pump actuated by a battery powered electric motor. Battery powered hydraulic power tools are employed in numerous applications to provide an operator with a desired flexibility and mechanical advantage. For example, operators of cutting tools attempting to cut large conductors, e.g., #8 conductors and larger, benefit greatly when hydraulic power is used enabling the operator to apply greater force to quickly cut such large conductors. When cutting electrical conductors and cables, the working head assembly of the tool is typically separated so that the cutting blades of the cutting tool can surround the conductor, and then the working head assembly is reattached prior to activating the tool to perform the cutting operation. A latch pin can be used to releasably secure the parts of the working head assembly together prior to activating the tool.


Methods of operating a locomotive engine to maintain power and speed under conditions of air starvation, as in high temperature tunnel operation, include varying engine load instead of fuel rate to maintain set engine speed when operating at (1) excessive engine exhaust smoke levels or (2) under conditions where increasing fuel rate fails to increase engine power. Normal speed control by varying fuel rate is maintained under other operating conditions. Application to turbocharged two cycle diesel engines is particularly indicated.

It is known in the art relating to railway locomotives that operation at advanced throttle in long tunnels with multiple locomotive units often results in substantially increased ambient temperatures that cause the engines to lose power and operate with degraded combustion and resulting heavy smoke. To offset the power loss and maintain operator set engine speeds, the traditional speed governor control increases the fuel rate by advancing the governor or injector fuel racks. Sometimes, this further increases the smoke level without any significant increase in the engine power level. The increased ambient temperatures also reduce the cooling effect of the engine cooling system in the locomotive units which may result in engine overheating requiring engine shutdown.

Railway locomotive diesel engine speed/load control during air starvation


A longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle is designed such that, in the event of a collision of the motor vehicle, the longitudinal member arrangement progressively fails, absorbing collision energy, with a first longitudinal member element which is formed from a fiber composite, and with a second longitudinal member element which is formed from a fiber composite and is arranged behind the first longitudinal member element. The first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element are connected to each other by a connecting element. The longitudinal member arrangement is designed such that, in the event of the collision of the motor vehicle, the second longitudinal member element begins to fail after the first longitudinal member element has failed.

The present invention relates to a longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle, and to a body of a motor vehicle having a longitudinal member arrangement of this type. The longitudinal member arrangement forms a load-bearing structural element of the body and, in the case of a collision of the motor vehicle, fails progressively with the absorption of collision energy.
It is known to design a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger motor vehicle which has a front part, a passenger cell and a rear part, to be as safe as possible in a collision for a vehicle occupant. Here, a front part and/or a rear part usually have/has structural elements which, in the case of a collision, are deformed progressively over a defined section with a predetermined load profile, and absorb collision energy in the process as the passenger cell with the vehicle occupant is stopped. It is known to use a ductile material, such as steel or aluminum, which is deformed plastically over the predetermined section for a body structure of this type.
Recently, there have been endeavors to use fiber composite materials instead of metallic materials for a body structure of this type of a motor vehicle. In contrast to a metallic body structural member, a body structural member made from fiber composite material does not fail by way of plastic deformation but substantially by way of progressive brittle failure. Failure of this type or a failure mechanism of this type is called, for example, "crushing". In the case of the "crushing" failure mechanism, more or less complete disintegration (called pulverization, fragmentation or else splintering) of the body structural member takes place primarily by way of brittle fracture. A further form of "crushing" is defined folding over of the material by 180° directly at an impact surface, said folding over also being called peeling open or peeling. In the case of "crushing", a fiber fracture mechanism in conjunction with friction takes effect in order to dissipate the kinetic collision energy. The two stated failure mechanisms function effectively in the case of a frontal impact, in the case of which the force on the body structural member lies perpendicularly with respect to a member cross section. Between the abovementioned failure types of "crushing", there are all possible intermediate forms of failure which differ fundamentally by way of a fiber fracture into larger or smaller parts. The smaller the parts in the failure, the higher the ability to absorb collision energy during failure and/or the higher the load, at which the failure takes place.
A further property of a body structural member made from fiber composite material is that a force profile of a force, with which the body structural member is loaded and with which a failure finally occurs, reaches a peak force at the beginning as a result of an initial very small elastic deformation of the body structural member, until the brittle failure starts and is then set over a further failure force profile at a lower force level which is considerably lower than the initial peak force. It is likewise known that the initial peak force can be reduced by way of what is known as a triggering means, that is to say targeted weakening of the body structural member. As soon as the peak force is overcome, the body structural member fails progressively without a further peak force as at the beginning of the brittle failure.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle and to provide a body of a motor vehicle having a longitudinal member arrangement of this type, the longitudinal member arrangement consisting substantially of fiber composite material and separating a failure of sections of the longitudinal member arrangement from one another reliably.
This and other objects are achieved by way of a longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle, and by way of a body of a motor vehicle having such a longitudinal member arrangement, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
A longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle according to the present invention is configured in such a way that, in the case of a collision, in particular in the case of a frontal collision or a collision load in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal member arrangement, of the motor vehicle, it fails progressively in a manner which absorbs collision energy. The longitudinal member arrangement has a first longitudinal member element which is configured from a fiber composite material, and has a second longitudinal member element which is configured from a fiber composite material. The second longitudinal member element is arranged behind the first longitudinal member element, and is aligned, in particular, with the first longitudinal member element. The first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element are connected to one another by a connecting element. Here, the longitudinal member arrangement is configured in such a way that, in the case of the collision of the motor vehicle, the second longitudinal member element begins to fail after the first longitudinal member element has failed.
Here, the longitudinal member arrangement fails over a predetermined failure section in a brittle manner, that is to say in accordance with the "crushing" failure mechanism which was described at the outset.
The second longitudinal member element begins to fail, in particular, only after the first longitudinal member element or a predetermined failure section of the first longitudinal member element has failed completely and has therefore exhausted its collision energy absorption potential.
By way of a division of the longitudinal member arrangement into a first longitudinal member element and a second longitudinal member element which represent separate elements, it can be ensured by way of simple means that the second longitudinal member element does not begin to fail prematurely, since an initial failure force level has to be overcome first of all in the case of the second longitudinal member element which is higher than a failure force level of said section of the longitudinal member arrangement if the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element were an integral, single-piece longitudinal member element of the longitudinal member arrangement. The connecting element provides a separation of the two longitudinal member elements and therefore also makes a complete separation of the failure of the first longitudinal member element possible from the failure of the second longitudinal member element.
According to one preferred development of the longitudinal member arrangement of the present invention, the first longitudinal member element has a triggering structure which reduces an initial failure force level of the first longitudinal member element, with the result that the initial failure force level of the first longitudinal member element is lower than an initial failure force level of the second longitudinal member element.
A triggering structure is a known term which is used for targeted weakening or structural pre-damaging of fiber composite materials, a triggering structure causes the first longitudinal member element to have a lower initial peak force until a start of a failure of the longitudinal member element. A longitudinal member element having a triggering structure has a lower initial failure force level than a longitudinal member element without a triggering structure.
This can prevent the second longitudinal member element from beginning to fail together with, or before, the first longitudinal member element.
At least one connecting region of the first longitudinal member element and one connecting region of the second longitudinal member element preferably have an identical cross-sectional shape, in particular an identical inner and/or outer cross-sectional shape. As an alternative or in addition, the connecting regions can have an identical wall thickness. Furthermore, as an alternative or in addition, the connecting regions can have an identical material or an identical material composition.
As a result, for example, the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element can be manufactured by, first of all, a single longitudinal member being manufactured. The longitudinal member is thereupon divided into two longitudinal member elements, that is to say into the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element. In other words, it is therefore possible to manufacture a single longitudinal member, from which the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element can be manufactured by way of a simple production step, such as cutting or sawing of the longitudinal member. As a result, the manufacturing of the longitudinal member arrangement is simplified. If, in particular, the first longitudinal member element is additionally provided with a triggering structure, it is possible, despite an identical cross-sectional shape, identical wall thickness and/or identical material composition, to ensure that the first longitudinal member element fails before the second longitudinal member element.
According to one development, a predetermined failure section of the first longitudinal member element and a predetermined failure section of the second longitudinal member element have an identical cross-sectional shape, an identical wall thickness and/or an identical material composition.
As a result, for example, the longitudinal member arrangement can be used by way of a continuously manufactured longitudinal member with a constant cross-sectional shape, constant wall thickness and/or constant material composition, in order to separate it into two parts, namely the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element. In this case, it is necessary that the first longitudinal member element is additionally provided with a triggering structure, with the result that it is ensured that the first longitudinal member element fails before the second longitudinal member element. A longitudinal member which is manufactured in a continuous manufacturing method can be manufactured particularly inexpensively.
According to one preferred development of the longitudinal carrier arrangement of the present invention, the connecting element is configured in such a way that the connecting element is supported on a front end side of the second longitudinal member element. In addition, the rear end side of the first longitudinal member element can be supported on the connecting element.
Here, the front end side of the second longitudinal member element can be supported on a wall which runs in the transverse direction with respect to the longitudinal member arrangement. The rear end side of the first longitudinal member element can likewise be supported on a wall of the connecting element, which wall runs in the transverse direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal member arrangement.
The connecting element preferably has a wall which runs transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal member arrangement and on the front side of which the rear end side of the first longitudinal member element is supported, and on the rear side of which the front end side of the second longitudinal member element is supported.
As a result of the support of the connecting element or the wall of the connecting element on the second longitudinal member element, a transmission of force in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal member arrangement to the second longitudinal member element can take place effectively. As a result of the support of the first longitudinal member element on the connecting element, in particular on a wall of the connecting element, a force can advantageously be transmitted in the longitudinal direction from the first longitudinal member element to the connecting element and from the connecting element to the second longitudinal member element.
As an alternative, the connecting element can also be configured without an end wall, it being possible for the first longitudinal member element and/or the second longitudinal member element to be connected to the connecting element via a connection which can be subjected to a shear load, for example via an adhesive bond and/or via a screw or rivet connection.
The connecting element can be configured from a metallic material. As an alternative, the connecting element can also be configured from a fiber composite material. In the case where the connecting element is configured from a metallic material, a steel or aluminum material is preferred.
According to one preferred development, the connecting element has a first sleeve section which encloses or engages around a rear end of the first longitudinal member element. In other words, the rear end of the first longitudinal member element is received in the first sleeve section or is pushed into the latter. As an alternative or in addition, the connecting element has a first projection section which is enclosed or engaged around by the rear end of the first longitudinal member element. In other words, the projection section is pushed into the rear end of the first longitudinal member element or is received by the rear end of the first longitudinal member element.
A connection or configuration of the connecting element in this way makes secure and fixed connection possible between the connecting element and the first longitudinal member element, said connection also being capable of absorbing transverse forces.
According to one preferred development, the connecting element has a second sleeve section which engages around or encloses a rear end of the second longitudinal member element. In other words, the rear end of the second longitudinal member element is received in the second sleeve section and is pushed into the latter. As an alternative or in addition, the connecting element has a second projection section which is enclosed or engaged around by a rear end of the second longitudinal member element. The second projection section is therefore received in the front end of the second longitudinal member element or is pushed into the latter.
As a result, a fixed connection is provided between the connecting element and the second longitudinal member element, which connection can absorb transverse forces.
Overall, the connecting element can therefore make a secure connection possible between the first longitudinal member element and the second longitudinal member element, which connection can also absorb transverse forces.
The first longitudinal member element preferably has a closed cross section and is therefore configured as a hollow girder. As an alternative or in addition, the second longitudinal member element has a closed cross section and is therefore configured as a hollow girder.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a body of a motor vehicle having a longitudinal member arrangement of this type, the longitudinal member arrangement being provided in a front part or a rear part of the motor vehicle, and a bumper transverse member being fastened indirectly or directly to the longitudinal member arrangement.
The first longitudinal member element and/or the second longitudinal member element preferably consist/consists of a fiber reinforced plastic composite material with carbon fibers. In addition or as an alternative, however, the fiber reinforced plastic composite material can also comprise other fibers, such as glass fibers or aramid fibers. Any fibers which can be used appropriately in body construction are contemplated.
Here, the fibers of the fiber reinforced plastic composite material can preferably be present, in particular, as endless fibers in the fiber reinforced plastic composite material, since endless fibers make a particularly high strength of the fiber reinforced plastic composite material possible.
Developments of the invention which are described in the above text can be combined with one another in any desired manner, if appropriate and possible.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Longitudinal member arrangement of a body of a motor vehicle and body of a motor vehicle with a longitudinal member arrangement of this type

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft