A self-tapping screw fastener includes a shank having first and second ends and a head disposed at the second end of the shank. The shank has a tapered portion of a predetermined axial length adjacent the first end, and the tapered portion terminates at the first end in a substantially circular end surface having a first diameter. The shank also has a substantially cylindrical portion having a second diameter extending from the second end to the tapered portion. A thread extends helically along a circumferential outer surface of the shank from a location near the head substantially to the first end such that the thread at least partially covers the cylindrical and tapered portions of the shank. The ratio of the axial length of the tapered portion to the diameter of the end surface exceeds substantially 1.5, and the diameter of the end surface is less than but substantially equal to the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the shank.

Self-tapping floor screws are typically employed to securely fasten parts together in high-stress environments. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a portion of a flat-bed trailer 10 including a pair of generally steel cross-members 12, 14 and a plurality of generally wooden trailer floor decking planks 16 secured to the cross-members 12, 14 by a plurality of self-tapping floor screws 18. In constructing the trailer 10, screw holes 20 are pre-drilled in the cross-members 12, 14, and in the planks 16, but the holes 20 are not tapped (i.e., pre-threaded) to receive the screws 18. Instead, the screw holes 20 are tapped when the self-tapping screws 18 are first screwed into the originally untapped screw holes 20.
Because, as shown in FIG. 1, a sizeable number of screws 18 is used in a typical application of such screws 18, the aggregate time required to seat all of the screws 18 (i.e., to screw them completely into the corresponding holes 20) can be quite significant. The time required to insert a screw 18 in an untapped hole 20 (referred to hereinafter as the "total time") is further augmented by the inherent difficulty of locating the screws 18 in the untapped holes 20 to initiate the thread tapping process and by the substantial torque that must be generated to tap the screws 18 into the holes 20 in the steel cross-members 12, 14. To reduce the total time, prior-art self-tapping screws have been provided with slightly tapered ends to facilitate locating the tapered ends of the screws 18 in untapped holes 20 and to ease the tapping of the holes 20 by the screws 18. In addition, notches or flutes (described in more detail below) have been cut into the tapered ends of the screws 18 to aid the screws 18 in cutting or tapping threads into the holes 20 in the steel cross-members 12, 14. However, the total time for inserting these prior-art screws 18 into untapped holes 20 remains undesirably high. One prior-art self-tapping screw has five such flutes equally spaced around the circumference of the tapered end thereof.


Articles of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys such as a golf club face insert with improved durability and fatigue resistance, and more specifically articles of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys subjected to a surface treatment, such as shot-peening, which creates deformations in the exterior surface, and methods of improving the durability and fatigue resistance of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys using a surface treatment, such as shot-peening.

Amorphous alloys (or metallic glasses) have no discernable pattern existing in their atomic structure in contrast to ordinary crystalline metals and alloys. This unique atomic structure results in very high yield strengths and high hardnesses for amorphous alloys. These superior properties are generally attributed to the lack of the dislocations typically found in crystalline atomic structures. In addition, amorphous alloys generally have high elastic strain limits approaching, up to 2.0%, much higher than any other metallic alloys. For example, the yield strength of Ti-base amorphous alloys is about 2 GPa or more, values exceeding the current state of crystalline titanium alloys. Finally, amorphous alloys can be formed by a variety of methods among which quenching from the liquid state is the most common and widely used method.
However, amorphous alloys in bulk forms (alloys capable of being formed with a minimum dimension of at least 0.5 mm, which are also referred to as bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys or bulk amorphous alloys) have some shortcomings which result in reduced utilization of the high yield strength and high elastic strain limit properties of these materials in load bearing structural applications. First, the sensitivity of amorphous alloys to defects and their low resistance to crack propagation from defects are primary causes of premature failure. For example, the fatigue endurance limit of amorphous alloys can be quite low, and values as low as 10% of its ultimate strength have been reported. In the case of high stress-low cycle cases, amorphous alloys generally fail around 50% of their ultimate strength after several thousands cycles. This is generally attributed to the "micro-structureless" nature of the amorphous phase and the lack of any of the work-hardening mechanisms typically found in crystalline alloys.
Accordingly, the conventional work hardening and strengthening methods generally used for crystalline alloys have been deemed to be non-applicable to amorphous alloys. Therefore, some composite forms of amorphous alloys have been developed to remedy the shortcomings of toughness and fatigue resistance. Although these composites show improvement in the toughness and durability (or fatigue resistance) it can only be done at the expense of the high yield strengths and the high elastic strain limits of the pure amorphous alloy materials, and as such defeat the principal benefits of using these materials. Accordingly, there is a need for amorphous alloys with improved durability and fatigue resistance that are capable of maintaining relatively high yield strengths and high elastic limits in loading bearing structural applications.

High durability structures of amorphous alloy and a method of forming


A square is disclosed which is especially adapted for the marking of angular dimensions on, or the transfer of angular dimensions from, rafters or other building materials and the like in that only one adjustment is needed to vary the angle being marked or measured. The disclosed square has a first elongate arm, a second elongate arm, and an elongate base having a distal and a proximal end, and a first elongate slot extending longitudinally intermediate its distal and proximal ends. The first elongate arm has a proximal end and a distal end which is pivotally attached to the proximal end of the base. The second has a proximal end, a distal end which is pivotally attached to the proximal end of the first elongate arm, and a second elongate slot extending intermediate its distal and proximal ends for intersection with the first slot. The second elongate arm is slideably moveable along the first slot for its positioning at a select angle with respect to the first elongate arm, and is slideably moveable along the second slot for positioning the first elongate arm at a select angle with respect to the base. An assembly is provided to maintain the second elongate arm at a select position along the first and the second slot.

The present invention relates broadly to a measuring square and more particularly to a collapsible rafter square adapted for the facile marking of angular dimensions on, or the transfer of angular dimensions from, rafters or other building materials and the like.
Spurred largely by developments in the science of building materials, the construction trades have undergone somewhat of a renaissance. Indeed, advanced building materials, often composites, laminates or the like, afford a rich opportunity for the design and fabrication of structures which heretofore could only have been imagined. For example, the production of laminated beams has resulted in the availability of longer, wider, and stronger load bearing members for use in spans as floor joists, roof rafters, and the like. Thus, the architect or civil engineer now need not be limited by the confines of conventional building materials.
However, with the advent of advanced building materials and the design opportunities afforded thereby has come the concomitant dilemma of the framer and other tradesmen who must make the dreams of the designer a reality. Unfortunately, advances in construction tools have not been as forthcoming as those associated with the materials of construction. In this regard, construction tools and techniques which were suited to the materials of the day now are inefficient and cumbersome.
In particular, framers are now presented with the prospect of constructing roofs of varying pitches or having spans longer than those once common, often with laminated rafters wider than what was once considered standard. In marking the plumb, level, and seat cuts for common or hip and valley rafters, framers heretofore typically have utilized a common builder or carpenter square. By positioning his or her thumbs along the legs of the square to correspond to the slope or pitch, i.e., rise over run, of the roof to be framed, the framer then could abut the square against the rafter and mark it for cutting. However, such a method, in addition to being cumbersome, was prone to error as the square had a tendency to slip from its intended position when the framer removed one hand therefrom to mark the rafter. This error would often be multiplicative in that one rafter was marked and then used as a template to mark the other rafters. In winter, the square was especially prone to slip on the frost layer which may coat the rafters. Moreover, the width of the rafter which could be marked by the foregoing method was limited by the length of the carpenter square.
In view of the foregoing, it may be seen that there has existed and remains a need for improvements in the marking of angular dimensions onto building materials such as rafters and the like. Such improvements would be well-received by the construction industries, especially framers, roofers, and siders who are now faced with the problem of building increasingly complex structures with unconventional materials.


An array substrate includes multiple pattern layers disposed in a display region and a test unit disposed in a non-display region, the test unit includes at least one of a test component and a test transistor. The test component includes a test block pattern and a test line pattern; the test block pattern is disposed in the same layer as one layer of the multiple pattern layers, the test line pattern is disposed in the same layer as one layer of the multiple pattern layers, and the test block pattern and the test line pattern are disposed in different layers; the orthographic projection of the test line pattern on the array substrate surrounds the periphery of the orthographic projection of the test block pattern on the array substrate; and the test block pattern or the test line pattern is connected to the test transistor.

As demands for displays with high-resolution are increasingly high, requirements on process capacity of a high-resolution display product are also getting higher and higher. Therefore, requirements on time effectiveness of testing the process capability in the process of manufacturing displays are increased.
Especially for a polysilicon display device, such as a top gate type polysilicon display, the process is complicated due to multiple times of exposure in the process of manufacturing displays. If a defective of process cannot be immediately detected in the manufacturing process, it may cause a great waste in the cost and time of manufacturing. Thus, monitoring for the stability and accuracy of the process needs to be performed in the process or after the end of the process.
Currently, during the monitoring for the stability and accuracy of process in the process of manufacturing a display product, a test unit is typically fabricated in a non-display region of the display product. A width of a signal line and an overlapping between a upper conducting film and a lower conducting film in the test unit are detected, to detect the stability and accuracy of the process of manufacturing each of film layers in a display region. Moreover, the performance of a transistor in the display region can be detected by testing characteristics of a long channel transistor and a short channel transistor in the test unit, so that the defective in the process can be found timely by the test unit to reduce the waste in the manufacturing cost.
In the existing test unit, multiple test elements are disposed in different layers of the non-display region. Among these test elements, the test element for testing the width of the signal line, the test element for testing the overlapping between a upper conducting film and a lower conducting film, and the element for testing the characteristic of a long channel transistor and a short channel transistor are provided independently. These test elements are dispersedly distributed in the non-display region. Therefore, a large space in the non-display region is occupied by the test elements. It is disadvantageous for saving the manufacturing cost. Moreover, it needs to move testing equipment (such as optical testing equipment and electrical testing equipment) frequently to test different process parameters. The test efficiency is reduced greatly while the test cost is also increased.
It should be noted that, information disclosed in the above background portion is provided only for better understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and thus it may contain information that does not form the prior art known by those ordinary skilled in the art.

Array substrate and method for manufacturing the same and display device


A non-contact IC card communication in which power consumption of a driver of a reader/writer is reduced and the size of a power supply circuit for operating the driver is made small. The driver has a low output impedance. A current detecting circuit including a detecting coil magnetically coupled with a transceiver coil of the reader/writer through a magnetic coiling element and a resistor detects a current which flows through the transceiver coil. A voltage drop to be detected is small and is approximately constant for a variation of the transceiver coil current. When data is read from an IC card, a load of the driver is changed. The driver drives the transceiver coil in a constant voltage fashion even if a current flowing through the transceiver coil changes due to the change in load. Input voltages of a rectifying/smoothing circuit and a regulator in the IC card become approximately constant. As a result, the amplitude of a high frequency output voltage of the driver can be made small. Also, a high frequency signal current sent from a reader/writer is subjected to double modulation including amplitude modulation by card data and modulation by second information, such as information indicative of the abnormality of an IC card, in synchronism with a timing at which data transmission between the reader/writer and the card is made, and the second information is extracted by the reader/writer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium reader/writer system for writing and reading data in and from a recording medium such as a non-contact IC card and a non-contact IC card system utilizing the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Though the conventional IC card is of a contact type in which the card has an electrical contact and the card is brought into connection to an IC card reader/writer system (hereinafter simply referred to as reader/writer) by bringing the electrical contact of the card into contact with an electrical contact of the reader/writer, a non-contact IC card has been proposed in which coils are used in lieu of the electrical contacts and the card is magnetically coupled to a reader/writer by the coils in a non-contact fashion, as disclosed by, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,184 issued May 12, 1992 (or its corresponding European Patent Application No. 88308709.0 filed Sep. 26, 1988).
The following explanation will be made of a non-contact IC card. Therefore, a non-contact IC card will merely be referred to as an IC card. In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,184, the IC card has a coil made of a metal loop and electronic switching means for making short-circuit/open-circuit between opposite ends of the coil and the reader/writer has a transmitter coil and a receiver coil which are coaxially provided at a predetermined interval. The reader/writer and the IC card are connected to each other by inserting the coil of the IC card between the transmitter and receiver coils of the reader/writer so that the coils are magnetically coupled.
In the case where data is to be read from the IC card, a sinusoidal or rectangular high frequency signal is supplied from an oscillator circuit to the transmitter coil and the electronic switching means of the IC card is turned on and off in accordance with "1" and "0" bits of data. Thereby, the amplitude of a high frequency signal induced in the receiver coil by magnetic fluxes generated from the transmitter coil by the high frequency signal from the oscillator circuit makes a change. The reader/writer reads data from the IC card by amplifying, rectifying and amplitude-detecting the high frequency signal having such a change.
IC cards need a supply voltage for driving a microcomputer incorporated therein, an external memory or the like. In a contact IC card, an electrical contact for the exclusive use for power supply is provided and a DC supply voltage is supplied from a reader/writer through this electrical contact. In a non-contact IC card, a high frequency signal is sent from a reader/writer through coils and a predetermined supply voltage is obtained by processing the high frequency signal by a rectifying/smoothing circuit and a regulator.
In the case where data is to be transmitted from a reader/writer to an IC card, a driver circuit drives a coil by a high frequency signal the amplitude, frequency or phase of which is modulated in accordance with the data. On the other hand, in the case where the reader/writer reads data from the IC card, the reader/writer reads the data in the above-mentioned manner, that is, in such a manner that the driver circuit drives a coil by a high frequency signal having a fixed amplitude and a change in amplitude of a high frequency current of the coil caused by the turn-on and turn-off of electronic switching means in the IC card is detected.
In the prior art reader/writer, however, since a general driver circuit using the existing linear amplifier or the like is used as the above-mentioned driver circuit, there is a problem that a power consumption of the driver circuit becomes too large. On the other hand, means for detecting the high frequency current of the coil includes current to voltage conversion means, for example, a resistor having a large resistance value, by which the detection is made from a voltage drop corresponding to the amplitude of the high frequency current. Therefore, in reading data from the IC card, the amplitude of a high frequency voltage supplied to the coil may vary in accordance with the turn-on and turn-off of the electronic switching means in the IC card.
On the IC card side, a predetermined supply voltage is necessary even when the reader/writer reads data from the IC card. This supply voltage is obtained from the high frequency voltage supplied from the reader/writer, as mentioned above. However, if the high frequency voltage does not have a large amplitude, a predetermined or stable supply voltage becomes unobtainable on the IC card side when the amplitude of the high frequency voltage varies in accordance with the turn-on and turn-off of the electronic switching means corresponding to data to be transmitted from the IC card to the reader/writer. Accordingly, it is required to obtain a predetermined supply voltage even at the minimum amplitude of the high frequency voltage. Namely, it is required that the amplitude of the high frequency voltage to drive the coil is made sufficiently large. This is attended with an excess power consumption.
On the other hand, if the amplitude of the high frequency voltage is small, there is a problem that the S/N ratio upon data detection becomes insufficient and sure data detection is therefore impossible. Accordingly, in the conventional system, it is required that the driver circuit in the reader/writer outputs a high frequency voltage having a large amplitude enough for compensation for a large voltage drop in the current detecting means. Thus, it is also required that a supply voltage for operating the driver circuit is sufficiently high. As a result, there is a problem that a power consumption of the reader/writer becomes large and a power supply circuit and hence the reader/writer becomes large in size.
In the conventional non-contact IC card, when an abnormal condition occurs, a CPU of the IC card detects the abnormal condition and sends the result of detection to a reader/writer. On the reader/writer side, a host computer judges the abnormal condition of the IC card (and further the kind of abnormality) from the result of detection sent from the IC card side.
In such an IC card, there may be the case where a transceiver circuit falls into an abnormal condition and the IC card is operated in a state in which the transceiver circuit is in the abnormal condition. In the worst case, there may be a fear that the IC card is destroyed.
On the other hand, the assignee of the present application has proposed, in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-205693 filed Jul. 23, 1991, a system in which means for detecting an abnormal condition is provided in an IC card and information detected by the detecting means is transmitted to a reader/writer in a manner similar to a data.

Non-contact, electromagnetically coupled transmission and receiving system for IC cards

NII Data Communications Systems Corporation


There is provided a molecularity measurement instrument capable of working out the number of molecules in a sample by comparing a measured value of a light quantity with a theoretical light quantity per a single molecule, and a molecularity measurement method using the same. The molecularity of the sample is quantitatively estimated on the basis of a light quantity having correlation with the molecularity. The molecularity measurement method comprises the step of working out a theoretical light quantity per a single molecule, the step of measuring a light quantity of the sample by use of an image detector, and the step of working out the molecularity of the sample on the basis of a ratio of the light quantity of the sample to the theoretical light quantity as worked out.

A micro-array scanner is well known as an apparatus for reading DNA micro-array. By capturing an image of DNA micro-array while scanning the image with the use of a micro-array scanner, it is possible to measure fluorescent light quantity distribution of a target molecule, in the form of a two-dimensional image.
[Patent Document 1] JP 2004-191232 A

Molecularity measurement instrument and molecularity measurement method


An electrically wiring arrangement mounted on the upper portion of a gasoline engine in an automobile or the like in which the current receiving connectors can be readily engaged with the current supplying connectors of a wire harness. Mounting parts, namely, ignition coils, are mounted above the cylinders, respectively, forming the upper portion of an engine body with screws. Each ignition coil has a current receiving connector on top which has contact terminals extending upright. An igniter having an external current receiving connector is mounted on the inner surface of one end portion of the cylinder head cover, and current supplying terminals, each of which has a connector housing in which female metal terminals are disposed, are mounted on the same inner surface of the cylinder head cover in such a manner that they are in alignment with the contact terminals of the ignition coils. The female metal terminals are connected to the igniter through conductors arranged in a predetermined circuit pattern.

This invention relates to an electrically wiring parts which are mounted on the upper portion of an gasoline engine, for instance, in an automobile.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for a description of a first conventional electrically wiring parts mounted on an engine.
As shown in FIG. 9, ignition coils a are mounted on cylinders, respectively, which are formed in a cylinder head c which forms the upper portion of an engine body b. The lower ends of the ignition coils a are connected to ignition plugs d mounted on the cylinders, respectively. The ignition coils a have connectors al on top, respectively, which are faced laterally. The connectors a.sub.1 are engaged with connectors el which are connected to an igniter e through a wire harness f.
The wire harness f connecting the connectors el to the igniter e is protected by a cylinder head cover g which is fixedly mounted on the cylinder head c with screws gl.
The conventional method is designed as described above. That is, first, the laterally faced connectors al of the ignition coils a mounted on the cylinder head c are connected to the respective connectors el of the wire harness f, and then the cylinder head cover g is secured to the cylinder head c with the screws gl, so that the wire harness is protected by the cylinder head cover g.
In other words, in the conventional method, the connectors el of the wire harness f must be connected to the laterally faced connectors al of the ignition coils a one at a time. This connecting work takes time and labor.
The part (A) of FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view for a description of a second conventional electrically wiring parts mounted on an engine.
As shown in the part (A) of FIG. 10, injectors h are mounted on an intake manifold j provided on the side of cylinders, which are provided in a cylinder head c' forming the upper portion of an engine body b'. The injectors h have connectors hl on top through which current are supplied thereto. Those connectors hl are connected to connectors kl of a wire harness k, respectively, which is laid through a protector m (cf. the part (B) of FIG. 10).
The second conventional method is designed as described above. That is, first, the wire harness k is laid through the protector m, and then the connectors kl of the wire harness k are engaged with the connector hl of the injectors h which are mounted on the intake manifold j provided on the side of the cylinders, which are provided in the cylinder head c' forming the upper portion of the engine body b'.
Hence, in the second conventional method, too, it takes a lot of time and labor to lay the wire harness k through the protector m, and to connect the connectors hl of the injectors h to the connectors kl of the wire harness k thus laid.

Electrically wiring parts mounted on an engine


To provide an economical storehouse of liquor with little temperature change if possible at a low price.

The invention relates to a storehouse of liquor for storing liquor included in the bottle and the like, and specifically, a storehouse of liquor in which the temperature suitable for storage of a bottle can be maintained economically.
In recent years, according to the gourmet boom, those who drink wine in Japan have been increasing rapidly. Along with this, those who show a prejudice to the taste and aroma of wine also increase rapidly, and the perfect time to drink of wine is also a matter of concern. Generally, quality changes with the harvest ground of a grape, which is a material of wine, and harvest years. It is said that there is time of xe2x80x9cthe perfect time to drinkxe2x80x9d in wine, respectively. Many of the wine made from the grape blessed with conditions, such as the weather, demonstrate the true delicacy, after making it ripe for a long period of time. Conversely, for the wine which was not blessed with above conditions xe2x80x9cthe perfect time to drinkxe2x80x9d of wine comes early while comparatively early growth. Therefore, quality comes to deteriorate after that.
Thus, true delicacy of wine can be tasted by making it ripe to some extent according to the wine. For maturity, wine has to be kept under the condition of fixed temperature, humidity, etc, which is the environment suitable for wine. For this reason, the wine cellar is used as an equipment which keeps wine.
Generally, it is especially supposed temperature is most critical among four factors for preservation of wine, which are temperature, humidity, light, and vibration. Referring to the temperature for preservation, it is said that to lessen temperature change is rather important than at what degree temperature is set. Hence, if the temperature changes exceeding two to three degrees in a day, problem is involved therein.
Therefore, a wine cellar can be uniformly maintained to a favorite temperature. There are various types of wine cellars used by an individual, a restaurant, wine manufactures/selling contractors, etc. However, in order for an individual especially to keep wine, the wine cellar of the following types is used.
As the first conventional wine cellar, there is a small refrigerator type currently manufactured and sold for an individual and homes. However, there arises a problem that a refrigerator type is a large sum for purchasing individually and electric cost also starts highly. Moreover, for maturity of wine, exposure to a continuous vibration is not desirable. Therefore, a problem is involved in a refrigerator type where a continuous vibration by the compressor is generated.
As the second conventional wine cellar, there is a rental wine cellar of the special contractor who keeps individual wine. Although temperature and humidity are ideally set up since a special contractor keeps it, it also becomes a burden for an individual to pay the charge of a rental periodically. Further, there was also posed a problem that the desire of keeping wine at hand is not satisfied.
Then, the present invention is provided to solve the above-mentioned problem. That is, an economical storehouse of liquor with little temperature change is provided at a low price.
To solve above problem, the invention of claim 1 provides a storehouse of liquor having a heat insulation housing of polystyrene foam, the heat insulation housing comprising:
A cold-preserving agent accommodation part for storing the cold-preserving agent, a liquor storage part for storing bottles of liquor, and an air hole for communicating the cold-preserving agent storage part to the liquor storage part.
According to claim 1, a cold-preserving agent generates a cold air. The cold air goes into a liquor storage part via an air hole. Then, a bottle of liquor is cooled. Therefore, the bottle of liquor does not touch the cold-preserving agent directly, and since it is cooled through cold air, the bottle of a liquor storage part can be cooled at a comparatively uniform temperature. Then, suitable mature liquor without problems such as continuous vibration is achieved by no use of a compressor. Further, simple constitution permits cost to be reduced for manufacturing at a low price.
The invention of claim 2 according to the constitution described in claim 1 is characterized in that:
a liquor storage part consists of a bottle storage part with plurality of layers, and the bottle storage part of respective adjoining layer is communicated through an air hole.
According to claim 2, in addition to the manner of claim 1, since a bottle storage part having plurality of layers is communicated through an air hole, cold air by a cold-preserving agent spreads round the bottle storage part of each layer through this air hole. Therefore, the whole area in the heat insulation housing can be maintained at a fixed temperature. Thereby, each layer can accommodate a bottle of liquor. This contributes to having as many bottles as possible kept therein.
The invention of claim 3, according to the constitution described in claim 2, is characterized in that:
heat insulation housings are separable at the bottle storage part of each layer, wherein the heat insulation housings are formed in the same profile such that one heat insulation housing is fittingly engageable with another heat insulation housing.
According to claim 3, in addition to the manner described in claim 2, heat insulation parts are separable at a bottle storage part of each layer. With this arrangement, respective layer in agreement with a number of a bottle to be stored can be combined to form a storehouse having the required number of layers. Therefore, a storage space and the like can be made into necessary minimum.
The invention of claim 4, according to claim 1, is characterized in that:
a cold-preserving agent accommodation part is located above a liquor storage part.
According to claim 4, in addition to the manner described in claim 1, since a cold-preserving agent part is located above a heat insulation housing, the cold-preserving agent can be renewed easily. Also, since the cold-preserving agent accommodation part is located above a liquor storage part, cold air by the cold-preserving agent gets down to the liquor storage part via an air hole to allow the cold air to spread round the whole storage part.
The invention of claim 5, according to claim 1, is characterized in that:
a liquor storage part has an inner surface formed substantially corresponding to a bottle to be stored.
According to claim 5, in addition to the manner described in claim 1, inner surface of a liquor storage part is formed substantially corresponding to a bottle to be stored. Therefore, a bottle placed in the liquor storage part is hard to roll and can be held stably. Thus, unexpected rolling of a bottle resulting in breakage can be prevented.
The invention of claim 6, according to claim 5, is characterized in that:
inner surface of a liquor storage part is provided with a projection which allows a bottle to be placed in a predetermined spaced relationship to the inner surface thereof.
According to claim 6, in addition to the manner described in claim 5, since inner surface of the liquor storage part is provided with a projection, complete adhesion to the part in which a bottle is placed is obviated. Therefore, when air passes through the circumference of a bottle, the whole bottle can be maintained at a fixed temperature while cold air flows the surroundings of the bottle.
The invention of claim 7 provides a storehouse of liquor, wherein, heat insulation housings according to claim 1 are accommodated in a carton box.
According to claim 7, in addition to the manner described in claim 1, heat insulation housings are accommodated in a carton box having a heat insulation effect. Therefore, the heat insulation effect can be heightened. Further, even when a bottle storage part consists of plurality of layers, they can be collected into one and is convenient to carry.

Abstract: A storehouse 1 of liquor having heat insulation housings which consist of polystyrene foam is provided, comprising;

Abstract: a cold-preserving agent accommodation part 10a capable of having cold-preserving agents 15 which can be exchanged, liquor storage parts 11a, 12a, 13a, and 14a capable of accommodating a bottle of liquor, and an air hole for communicating said cold-preserving agents accommodation part 10a to said liquor storage parts 11a, 12a, 13a, and 14a.


A meter system for indicating a plurality of variables with a single meter comprises a first switch for selectively supplying one variable to the meter, a plurality of dial plates which are arranged such that one of the dial plates is selectively displayed in correspondence with the selected variable by means of a second switch arranged to be operated together with the first switch.

In an automotive vehicle, a plurality of meters is disposed on the instrument panel of the vehicle for indicating various engine parameters and other information respectively. Since each meter can indicate only a single variable, it is necessary to use a plurality of meters the number of which corresponds to the number of variables to be displayed. These meters are usually disposed on the instrument panel of the vehicle so that the vehicle driver can easily see the meters. Recent vehicles have a tendency to be equipped with a number of meters to supply the vehicle driver with more information. However, the space on the instrument panel is limited and therefore, it is required to use small meters when a number of meters are disposed thereon. Furthermore, stereophonic systems and air conditioning systems are widely used in the vehicle compartment and these systems occupy a relatively large space on and around the instrument panel. For the above reasons, it is desired to use a meter which can indicate a plurality of variables. It is possible to utilize a single meter for indicating two or more variables by switching the input signals where the dial plate of the meter has a plurality of scales corresponding to the variables. However, such a meter having more than two scales on the dial plate has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to ascertain the amount or value indicated by the pointer of the meter since each of the scales as well as numerals and/or symbols written adjacent to each scale is too small. Furthermore, since a plurality of scales is provided, misinterpretation of the displayed value is apt to occur, unless the user of the meter is careful about the item indicated.

Meter system for indicating a plurality of variables with a single meter


A pressure detection structure and a touch device are disclosed. The structure is mounted on a middle frame of the touch device and includes a cover, a display device and a pressure sensor. The display device is arranged below the cover, and includes a display module. The pressure sensor is arranged in the display device; any electrically conductive member in the display device or the middle frame which is electrically conductive is used as a reference electrode; and a variable gap is present between the pressure sensor and the reference electrode, and the pressure sensor outputs a pressure signal according to variation of capacitance between a sensing electrode thereof and the reference electrode. According to the present application, pressure detection may be carried out accurately, and thus reliability of products is enhanced.

At present, touch devices (for example, touch mobile phones) generally detect pressure caused by touches of users' hands by using a pressure sensor. The pressure detection structure of a touch device is mounted on a middle frame of the touch device, and includes a cover, a display device and a pressure sensor. When the display device is an LCD display device (that is, a display screen), the display module is a liquid crystal module. The display device further includes optical members and a housing bearing the liquid crystal module and the optical members. When the display device is an LED display device, the display module is an LED module, and the display device further includes a flexible foam layer for use in light shading and cushioning.
As illustrated in FIG. 1.1, when the display device is an LCD display device (that is, a display screen), the pressure detection structure of the touch device includes a cover 1, a middle frame 4, a display screen 2 and a pressure sensor 3. The pressure sensor 3, the display screen 2 and the cover 1 are sequentially stacked in the middle frame from bottom to top, and a gap 5 is present between the pressure sensor 3 and the display screen 2. Generally, the pressure sensor 3 is a capacitive sensor, and as illustrated in FIG. 1.2, includes a substrate 6 and detection electrodes 7 arranged in a matrix form on the substrate 6. The detection electrodes 7 of the pressure sensor 3 and an external reference electrode form the capacitance as illustrated in FIG. 1.3. Each of the detection electrodes 7 on the substrate 6 forms a capacitance C with a reference electrode 9. In the pressure detection structure as illustrated in FIG. 1.1, the reference electrode is an electrically conductive layer in the display screen, the capacitance structure thereof is as illustrated in FIG. 1.4. Pressure detection is practiced as follows: when a force is applied to the cover 1, the cover 1 deforms, such that the spacing between the pressure sensor 3 and the display screen 2 is changed, and thus the capacitance between the pressure sensor 3 and an electrically conductive layer of the display screen 2 is changed. Accordingly, the pressure is identified according to the variation quantity of the capacitance.
As seen from the implementation principle, a detection spacing between the display screen 2 and the pressure sensor 3 needs to be well controlled, wherein the detection spacing is the gap 5 as illustrated in FIG. 1.1. However, the gap 5 is subject to complicated and more working processes and masses of parts to be assembled during the mass production, and thus the assembling is subject to a great tolerance. In addition, the tolerance of the spacing between the display screen 2 and the pressure sensor 3 of different machines may affect consistency of the machines, and thus the user experience is different between the different machines. Moreover, falloff and extrusion-caused deformation of the entire product may simply change the gap, thereby lowering reliability of the products.
Therefore, it is a technical problem to be solved urgently in the related art on how to perform pressure detection.

Pressure detection structure and touch device


A pressure gauge reset mechanism including a cylinder having a pressure measuring head at one end, a piston forced by a first spring toward the pressure measuring head, a toothed pressure rod extending out of the cylinder, an actuating rod member having one end stopped at the piston and an opposite end fixedly connected to the toothed pressure rod, a second spring fixedly connected to the actuating rod member to push it upwards against the piston, and a pressure gauge coupled to the cylinder, the pressure gauge having an index shaft with a gear meshed with the toothed pressure rod, and a torsional spring mounted on the inside to hold down the index shaft and having one end stopped at the inside of the pressure gauge and an opposite end extending out of the pressure gauge and fixedly connected with a button, wherein the second spring member is compressed and the index shaft is turned by the toothed pressure rod to move the index of the pressure gauge when the piston is forced by the pressure being applied to the pressure measuring head to move the actuating rod member; when the button is depressed after each measurement, the torsional spring is released from the index shaft, and the second spring member is released to push the actuating rod member and the pressure rod back to their former positions, and therefore the index of the pressure gauge is returned to the zero reading position.

The present invention relates to pressure gauges, and relates more particularly to a pressure gauge reset mechanism which accurately zeroes the reading of the pressure gauge after each measurement.
FIG. 1 shows a pressure gauge reset mechanism according to the prior art which is generally comprised of a cylinder (1) having a pressure measuring head (10) at one end, and a pressure gauge (2) coupled to the cylinder (1). The pressure gauge (2) comprises an index shaft with a gear (20), and a torsional spring (21) mounted on the inside to hold down the index shaft with a gear (20). The torsional spring (21) has one end stopped at the inside of the pressure gauge (2), and an opposite end extending out of the pressure gauge (2) and fixedly connected with a button (22). The cylinder (1) comprises a piston (11) having a head (110) and a rod (111) perpendicularly extending from the head (110) at one side, a first spring member (12) mounted on the inside to force the piston (11) upwards toward the pressure measuring head (10), a pressure rod (14) having a toothed portion 140 extending out of the cylinder (1) and meshed with the gear of the index shaft (20), and a second spring member (13) having a bottom end stopped at the top end of the pressure rod (14) and a top end coupled to the rod (111) of the piston (11) (see also FIG. 2). When the pressure measuring head 10 of the cylinder 1 is attached to the air valve of the tire to be measured, the piston (11) is forced downwards by the pressure of the tire, causing the second spring member (13) to force the pressure rod (14) out of the cylinder (1), therefore the index shaft (20) is turned by the pressure rod (14) to move the index. When the button (22) is depressed after each measurement, the torsional spring (21) releases the index shaft (20) and therefore the pressure rod is forced by the second spring (13) to return to its initial position. When the pressure rod (14) is pulled upwards to its former position, the index shaft (20) is turned to zero the reading of the index. This structure of pressure gauge reset mechanism is functional, however it is not durable in use because the second spring member (13) tends to wear with use. If the second spring member (13) wears, the pressure rod (14) cannot be accurately returned to its former position, causing the index shaft (20) unable to accurately zero the reading of the index.


In an electronic cash implementing method, a user makes a bank apply a blind signature to user information Vi produced, by a one-way function, from secret information Si containing identification information, thereby obtaining signed user information. Further, the user makes the bank apply a blind signature to information containing authentication information Xi produced, by a one-way function, from random information Ri, thereby obtaining signed authentication information. The user uses an information group containing the signed user information, the signed authentication information, the user information and the authentication information, as electronic cash for payment to a shop. The shop verifies the validity of the signed user information and the signed authentication information, and produces and sends to the user an inquiry. In response to the inquiry the user produces a response Yi by using secret information and random information and sends it to the shop. Having verified the validity of the response the shop accepts the electronic cash.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for implementing electronic cash through utilization of a telecommunication system.
An electronic funds transfer employing a telecommunication system is now coming into common use. In general, a certificate which is convertible into money at a financial institution (hereinafter referred to simply as a bank), such as a draft or check, has a symbolic function of its own (which guarantees its holder to the rights stated thereon). When handled in the telecommunication system, the certificate is digitized data, which can easily be copied and converted into money many times. This problem is encountered as well in the implementation of electronic cash such as a prepaid card, because the prepaid card can also be copied for illicit use to convert into money or purchase articles again and again.
As a solution to this problem, there has been proposed a scheme which employs a card having a computation facility and checks its double usage by suitably adapting data exchange between a card reader and the card during cashing procedure (Chaum, Fiat and Naor, "Untraceable Electronic Cash", Proc. of CRYPTO, '88, for example).
The above-mentioned Chaum, et al. scheme may be briefly summarized in the following outline. Incidentally, user's identification information (such as his account number, etc.) will hereinafter be represented by ID.
A description will be given first of the procedure for a user to have a bank issue electronic cash of a certain face value.
Step 1: The user creates k random numbers a.sub.i (where i=1, . . . , k) and uses a public one-way function g to obtain x.sub.i and y.sub.i from the following equations: EQU x.sub.i =g(a.sub.i) EQU y.sub.i =g(a.sub.i .sym.ID)
where i=1, . . . , k.
In the above, .sym. represents an Exclusive OR logic operation.
Step 2: The user computes, by the following equation, the product B.sub.i of a valve f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) computed using a public one-way function f and the e-th power of a random number r.sub.i, and then presents the value B.sub.i to the bank. EQU B.sub.i =r.sub.1.sup.e .times.f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) mod n,
where i=1, . . . , k
The calculation of B.sub.i is preprocessing for obtaining a signature of the bank to f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) without allowing the bank to know its contents, and will hereinafter be called blind signature preprocessing. Here, a mod b generally represents the remainder of the division of an integer a by an integer b.
Step 3: The bank makes the user open his ID and k/2 random numbers a.sub.i and r.sub.i to confirm that the user has correctly executed Steps 1 and 2. The following description will be given on the assumption that the random numbers a.sub.i and r.sub.i are not opened for those i=1, . . . , k/2.
Step 4: The bank obtains the product of unopened k/2 values B.sub.i and raises it to the d-th power to compute a signature D as indicated by the following equation. At the same time, the bank withdraws the corresponding amount of money from the user's account. ##EQU1##
Step 5: The user computes, by the following equation, electronic cash C with the influence of the random number r.sub.i removed from the signature D. ##EQU2## At this time, the following equation holds: ##EQU3## The electronic cash obtained by this processing is equivalent to the value f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) directly applied with the signature of the bank. Here, e, d and n are created by the band and satisfy the following equations.
n=P.times.Q PA1 l=LCM{P-1), (Q-1)}, and PA1 e.times.d=1 (mod l) PA1 e.sub.A .times.d.sub.A .tbd.1 (mod l), PA1 l=LCM{(P-1), (Q-1)}, and PA1 n=P.times.Q,
where P and Q are prime numbers and LCM{a, b} generally represents the least common multiple of a and b. The bank publishes the information e corresponding to the face value of the electronic cash C and the key n and keeps the key d strictly confidential.
The procedure for the user to pay with the electronic cash C at a shop is as follows:
Step 6: The user presents the electronic cash C to the shop.
Step 7: The shop creates and transmits a random bit string E.sub.1, . . . , k.sub.k/2 to the user.
Step 8: For an unopened item i in 1.ltoreq.i.ltoreq.k/2, the user presents, to the shop, a.sub.i and y.sub.i when E.sub.i =1, and x.sub.i and (a.sub.i .sym.ID) when E.sub.i =0.
Step 9: The shop checks the validity of the electronic cash C by the following equation, using the user's response and the public information e and n. ##EQU4##
The method of settlement between the shop and the bank is as follows:
Step 10: The shop later presents the electronic cash C, the bit string E.sub.1, . . . , E.sub.k/2 and the user's response (a.sub.i and y.sub.i, or x.sub.i and (a.sub.i .sym.ID)) and receives payment of the amount of money concerned.
Step 11: The bank stores the electronic cash C, the bit string E.sub.1, . . . , E.sub.k/2 and a.sub.i (when E.sub.i =1), or (a.sub.i .sym.ID) (when E.sub.i =0).
The scheme described above has its features in that it maintains user privacy and permits checking double usage of the electronic cash.
Now, a description will be given first of the security for user privacy. Since the information B is obtained by randomizing the value f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) with random numbers, the bank and a third party cannot assume the value f(x.sub.i, y.sub.i) from the information B. Further, even if the bank and the shop should conspire, they could not associate the electronic cash C with the signature D. In other words, it is impossible to know who issued the electronic cash C. Thus, the method proposed by Chaum, et al. does not allow the originator (i.e. the user) to be traced back, and hence ensures the privacy of the user, such as his propensity to consume. The signature scheme used here will hereinafter be referred to as the "blind signature" scheme.
As the blind signature scheme, for instance, Chaum proposes in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,063 the following blind signature scheme utilizing the RSA encryption scheme.
A user randomizes a message M with a one-way function Fe.sub.A expressed by the following equation (1) using a random number r: EQU W=Fe.sub.A (M)=r.sup.e.sbsp.A .times.M mod n (1)
and sends the resulting randomized message W to a bank. This processing by the one-way function Fe.sub.A is the blind signature preprocessing.
The bank signs the randomized message W with a signature function De.sub.A expressed by the following equation (2) to obtain a signed randomized message .OMEGA., which is sent to the user. EQU .OMEGA.=De.sub.A (W)=W.sup.d.sbsp.A mod n (2)
The user processes the signed randomized message .OMEGA. with a blind signature postprocessing function He.sub.A expressed by the following equation (3): EQU He.sub.A (.OMEGA.)=.OMEGA./r mod n (3)
In the above, e.sub.A, d.sub.A and n in Eqs. (1), (2) and (3) are to satisfy the following conditions:
where P and Q are prime numbers, LCM{a, b} is the least common multiple of a and b, d.sub.A is a secret key, and e.sub.A and n are public keys.
Eq. (3) can be modified as follows: EQU He.sub.A (.OMEGA.)=He.sub.A {De.sub.A (Fe.sub.A (M))}.tbd.(r.sup.e.sbsp.A .times.M).sup.d.sbsp.A /r.tbd.r.sup.e.sbsp.A.sup..times.d.sbsp.A .times.M.sup.d.sbsp.A /r.tbd.M.sup.d.sbsp.A (mod n) (4)
The right side of Eq. (4) is evidently the replacement of W in Eq. (2) with M. Accordingly, the following equation holds: EQU He.sub.A (.OMEGA.)=De.sub.A (M) (5)
These equations (1), (2) and (3) are representative of the blind signature procedure, and Eq. (4) proves that the blind signature is possible. That is to say, the influence of the random number r can be removed from the signed randomized message .OMEGA. by processing it with the blind signature postprocessing function He.sub.A. Hence, it is possible to obtain the same signed message De.sub.A (M) as the message M directly signed by the bank using the signature function De.sub.A.
Next, a description will be given of the detection of double usage of the electronic cash C. The bank compares the electronic cash C sent from the shop with all electronic cash already stored in a memory to check whether the same electronic cash C has been used twice. Suppose that the user has invalidly used the electronic cash twice. Then, since a.sub.i for E.sub.i =1 or (a.sub.i .sym.ID) for E.sub.i =0 has been stored in the memory of the bank corresponding to the first electronic cash C, the identification information ID can be obtained by computing a.sub.i .sym. (a.sub.i .sym.ID) if E.sub.i for the first use of the electronic cash C and E.sub.i for the second use differ. Since the bank makes an inquiry of k/2 bits, the probability of coincidence through all bits (i=1 to k/2) between the two E.sub.i 's, that is, the possibility that the user's ID cannot be computed from the electronic cash C used twice invalidly, is 2.sup.-k/2.
In addition to the requirement for the one-way property of the functions f and g, the above-described Chaum, et al. scheme requires the collision-free property of two arguments, that is, difficulty in finding (x, y) and (x', y') which satisfy Z=f(x, y)=f(x', y') for securing safety against double usage of electronic cash. However, no method has been proposed so far which constructs the one-way functions which satisfy the collision-free property of the two arguments.

Method and apparatus for implementing electronic cash

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A preferred embodiment of a transformer includes a core, and a primary and a secondary winding positioned on the core so that the primary and secondary windings are inductively coupled when the primary winding is energized. The transformer also includes a sensor for measuring an operating parameter of the transformer, an audible signaling device, and an actuator for activating the audible signaling device when the operating parameter reaches a predetermined value.

Distribution transformers are often equipped with some type of internal fault detector for providing a visual indication that a fault has occurred in the transformer. For example, one commonly-used type of internal fault detector senses the temperature or pressure at one or more locations within the transformer. (A substantial increase in the operating temperature or pressure of transformer is usually indicative of a fault therein.) The internal fault detector causes some type of mechanical component, such as a pole, to extend upward from the top of the transformer when the monitored temperature or pressure exceeds a predetermined value. The extended pole functions as a visual indication that the transformer has experienced a fault.
A faulty transformer typically results in a power outage or other anomaly in the vicinity of the transformer. A repair crew from the utility company is usually dispatched to the affected area to locate and repair the faulty transformer. The repair crew visually scans the various transformers in the area until the repair crew sights the visual fault indication, i.e., the extended pole, on the faulty transformer. The faulty transformer, having thus been located, can thereafter be repaired.
The use of a visual indication to identify a faulty transformer has certain drawbacks. For example, a repair crew attempting to locate a faulty pole-mounted transformer can experience muscle strain or fatigue from repeatedly looking upward at a relatively steep angle for the fault indication. Moreover, the need to visually scan for a fault indication can distract the driver of the vehicle carrying the repair crew, thereby creating a safety hazard. Also, a visual fault indication sometimes cannot be seen from certain perspectives, especially on pole-mounted transformers.
A visual fault indication also can be difficult or impossible to see at night and under adverse weather conditions, e.g., fog or heavy rain. Furthermore, a visual indication, in general, can only be detected when the repair crew is in relatively close proximity of the transformer, i.e., when the faulty transformer is within sight of the repair crew.

Fault-annuciating system for a transformer


The invention provides a code generating apparatus and an OTP memory block. The code generating apparatus of present disclosure includes a plurality of first one time programming (OTP) memory cells, a reference signal provider and a sense amplifier. The first OTP memory cells are coupled to a first bit line. The reference signal provider provides a reference signal. Wherein, at least one of the first OTP memory cells provides a read current to the first bit line, and the sense amplifier compares the read current and the reference signal to generate an output code. A current value of the reference signal is set within a range, and the range is set by the bit current corresponding to a maximum bit count, such as that the output code is determined by a manufacturing variation of the at least one first OTP memory cell.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a code generating apparatus. Particularly, the invention relates to the code generating apparatus by using a plurality of one time programming (OTP) memory cells.
Description of Related Art
In recently, electronic apparatuses are important tools of people's life. For some purposes, an electronic apparatus needs to provide a specified code, such as an identification code. The identification code must be exactly identical whenever an identification creation is requested, and can be used for encoding and/or decoding operations, like PUF (physical unclonable function) in security disclosure. Sometimes, the electronic apparatus needs one or more random number code(s) for application. That is, how to provide the identification code and/or the random number code(s) by using an efficiency hardware is also an important course for a design in the art.

Code generating apparatus and one time programming block


Devices and methods for organizing a plurality of end effectors and selectively delivering them through surgical trocars are described herein. In one embodiment, a surgical end effector loading device is provided that includes at least one mating element to interface with a surgical trocar, a deployment lumen positioned to align with a working channel of a surgical trocar, an end effector repository having a plurality of end effector lumens formed therein to receive end effectors, the repository being configured to selectively align any of the plurality of end effector lumens with the deployment lumen, and an advancer coupled to the repository and configured to advance an end effector from the repository through the deployment lumen.

Surgical procedures are used to treat and cure a wide range of diseases, conditions, and injuries. Surgery often requires access to internal tissue through open or minimally invasive surgical procedures. The term "minimally invasive" refers to all types of minimally invasive surgical procedures, including endoscopic, laparoscopic, arthroscopic, natural orifice intraluminal, and natural orifice transluminal procedures. Minimally invasive surgery can have numerous advantages compared to traditional open surgical procedures, including reduced trauma, faster recovery, reduced risk of infection, and reduced scarring.
In many minimally invasive procedures, the abdominal cavity is insufflated with carbon dioxide gas to provide adequate space to perform a procedure. The insufflated cavity is generally under pressure and is sometimes referred to as being in a state of pneumoperitoneum. Surgical access devices are often used to facilitate surgical manipulation of internal tissue while maintaining pneumoperitoneum. For example, during a surgical procedure the abdominal wall can be pierced and a cannula or trocar (such as the trocar shown in FIGS. 1A-2) can be inserted into the abdominal cavity. The trocar can provide a port through which other surgical instruments can be passed into a patient's body to perform a variety of procedures.
Development in minimally invasive surgery has resulted in increasingly complex procedures that require multiple instruments and precise manipulations within the body. Because of the limited access space afforded by a trocar and the relatively larger wound size associated therewith, one solution has been the use of percutaneous surgical instruments inserted directly into a body cavity and used to supplement instruments introduced through one or more trocars. For example, procedures have been developed that involve additional percutaneous instruments to aid in retracting organs and structures. In some procedures, one or more percutaneous instruments having removable end effectors are utilized in combination with a trocar that can accommodate the passage of various end effectors for connection with the instrument in vivo. Inserting surgical instruments percutaneously, i.e., passing directly through tissue without an access device, can further reduce trauma and scarring to the patient by reducing the size of the wound created. Additional details on such instruments can be found, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0087267 to Spivey et al., entitled "Method For Exchanging End Effectors In Vivo," which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The increasing use of percutaneously-inserted surgical instruments is not without challenges, however. For example, the use of percutaneously-inserted surgical instruments can require a large operating staff to simultaneously manipulate the percutaneously-inserted instrument, the trocar providing access to pass an end effector, and a loading device used to deliver the end effector through the trocar and attach it to the distal end of the instrument. The complexity of this operation is compounded when several end effectors are used in sequence to accomplish different tasks (e.g., grasping, cutting, etc.). In such a case, a surgeon or other user is forced to juggle the plurality of end effectors along with at least one loading device, trocar, and percutaneous instrument.
In addition, it can be difficult to successfully attach or remove an end effector from a percutaneously-inserted instrument inside a patient's body. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is the confined and remote environment in which the instrument shaft and end effector are being manipulated. Surgeons can struggle to ensure that the straight shaft of the surgical trocar and the straight shaft of the percutaneous instrument are in alignment when coupling or decoupling an end effector. Moreover, it can be difficult in this confined environment to determine when an end effector is completely and successfully coupled to a percutaneous instrument and/or a loading device. Making this determination can be important, however, because prematurely releasing an end effector from one instrument before coupling it to another can drop the end effector within the body cavity, necessitating further time and action to retrieve it.
One attempted solution to these challenges has been to utilize the trocar as a means for passing the distal end of a percutaneously-inserted instrument back out of a patient's body in order to exchange end effectors. Passing the instrument (either with or without an end effector attached) through the trocar in the "wrong" direction (i.e., from its distal end toward its proximal end) can damage the one or more seals present in the trocar that help maintain pneumoperitoneum. This is because trocar seals are often designed with a "duckbill" or other shape that is oriented for proximal-to-distal instrument passage.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved devices and methods that assist users in managing a number of modular surgical end effectors and passing them into a patient's body for attachment to a surgical instrument positioned inside the body. There is also a need for improved devices and methods that provide better feedback to a user regarding the coupling (or lack thereof) between an end effector and another instrument.

Multi-head repository for use with a surgical device


The present invention relates to a pure wireless headphone with a ground reflector, pertaining to the field of communication technology, including an in-ear headphone shell and an RF signal generating device arranged in the in-ear headphone shell. The RF signal generating device includes an antenna, a main RF PCB, a battery and a charging PCB, wherein the helical antenna is used, the top tail end of which is connected with a laterally extending metal tail line. The RF signal generating device further includes a metal frame and a metal ground ring. The main RF PCB is arranged at the top of the metal frame, the metal ground ring is located under the helical antenna, and a gap is reserved between a bottom coil of the helical antenna and the top of the metal ground ring. The metal ground ring can change a radiation ground current, and adjust the angle of the radiation direction. The radiation direction of the antenna inclines about 15 degrees. A change in radiation direction ensures more stable transmission and reception of the wireless signal between the earbuds and between the main device and the audio frequency source, such that the wireless connection is more stable and reliable.

In most common wireless headphones, the communication between the headphone and an audio frequency source (for example, a mobile phone) is maintained by only one radio frequency (RF) receiver. No electric wire is provided between a left earbud and a right earbud of a pair of full wireless headphones, and a stereo effect between a left ear and a right ear may be synchronized by means of a wireless communication channel. In order to realize a full wireless headphone effect, an individual wireless receiver is necessary for each earbud. Most commonly, the full wireless headphone is implemented through two Bluetooth communication lines.
In order to ensure smooth communication between the left earbud and the right earbud, apparently, it is possible to make an antenna away from a human skin as far as possible, to furthest reduce the attenuation caused by a human body. A relatively large antenna may also improve an RF transmission efficiency, and offset the attenuation by the human body. Neither of the two solutions matches a profile of a product with an auricle. The common design method for a full wireless product is to make the headphone not close to the auricles, and place an electronic product in a relatively large product. However, as for a relatively large product, its size goes against an idea of miniaturization, never realizing a product with a light weight and an in-ear-fit application. Another solution for designing the full wireless headphone is an over-ear design where the antenna is placed inside an over-ear headphone. With such a design, the antenna may be easily insulated from the human skin. However, such a structure is too large to be suitable for an in-ear device.
The Chinese invention No. CN105792049A discloses a pure wireless headphone through adoption of an optimum monopole antenna which is configured to build an appropriate RF communication link between an in-ear main receiver and an in-ear auxiliary receiver on head. Meanwhile, the optimum monopole antenna is also able to maintain an appropriate RF communication link between the main receiver and a mobile phone, and is suitable for generating an RF communication link and an RF creeping wave to be coupled with the human skin, so as to ensure the omni-directional radiation of the antenna. However, experiments show that this invention has the following defects that: 1) the monopole antenna cannot ensure the optimum antenna radiation due to a blocking effect by a human face; 2) a connection between a main device and an auxiliary device is not firm; 3) a radiation direction is not parallel with a human face profile, thereby causing a relatively small RF range and relatively poor stability of the wireless connection.

Pure wireless headphone with ground reflector


A tank for a heat exchanger includes a casing including a substantially planar header opening formed therein and a foot disposed around a perimeter of the header opening. The foot forms an outwardly extending flange from which a pair of oppositely arranged walls extend, the oppositely arranged walls forming an arcuate shape including a spine extending along an apex of the arcuate shape. The oppositely arranged walls each have a corrugated profile adjacent the foot due to the presence of outwardly projecting ribs formed in the oppositely arranged walls. Each of the ribs extend lengthwise from the foot toward the spine, wherein a distal end of each of the ribs is formed adjacent a neutral stress portion of the casing which undergoes a minimal stress when the casing is subjected to an internal pressure from a fluid flowing there through.

Heat exchangers typically include a centralized plurality of heat exchanger tubes or passageways connected at each respective end thereof to one of an inlet tank and an outlet tank. The inlet tank and the outlet tank each typically include one substantially planar surface that acts as a header for receiving the heat exchanger tubes therein. The header of each of the tanks is then coupled to a casing of the tanks that aids in distributing or collecting a fluid flowing through the heat exchanger tubes. The casing of each of the inlet tank and the outlet tank often includes a conduit connected to a portion of the casing having an expanding wall geometry used to cover a periphery of the header, wherein the header and the casing cooperate to define a hollow interior chamber through which the fluid passes during use of the heat exchanger.
Internal pressures experienced within either of the inlet tank or the outlet tank may cause a bending moment to form within each of the casings, thereby dividing the casing into portions undergoing compressive stresses and portions undergoing tensile stresses. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a casing 1 according to the prior art. The casing 1 includes a pair of neutral stress lines A extending along a length thereof. The neutral stress lines A may be formed symmetrically on each side of the casing 1, hence only one of the neutral stress lines A is pictured in FIG. 1. Each of the neutral stress lines A corresponds to a portion of the casing 1 wherein stresses caused by such a bending moment are minimized due to a transition from the compressive stresses to the tensile stresses experienced within the casing 1. The portion of the casing 1 disposed between the two neutral stress lines A and corresponding to a spine of the casing 1 undergoes compressive stresses while each portion of the casing 1 formed beneath the neutral stress lines A undergoes tensile stresses.
The prior art casing 1 further includes a plurality of ribs 2 formed on an exterior surface thereof to further strengthen the casing 1 to avoid deformation. The casing 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an outwardly extending foot 3 formed around a periphery thereof having a plurality of substantially semi-circular crimp joints 4 protruding therefrom. The crimp joints 4 are included on the foot 3 of the casing 1 for coupling a ribbon crimp strip 5 of an associated header (not shown) to the casing 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the ribbon crimp strip 5 is a corrugated strip of material including recessed portions 6 configured to be disposed on the foot 3 of the casing 1 and projecting portions 7 configured to extend around and receive the substantially semi-circular crimp joints 4. Accordingly, the header may be coupled to the casing 1 by securing the ribbon crimp strip 5 of the header to the foot 3 of the casing 1 about a perimeter thereof.
Each of the ribs 2 extends from one of the semi-circular crimp joints 4 to an oppositely arranged one of the crimp joints 4, causing each of the ribs 2 to be substantially arcuate in shape. The ribs 2 project away from an exterior surface of the casing with a substantially rectangular cross-section that extends about the entire arcuate shape of each of the ribs 2, as best shown in FIG. 2. The rectangular cross-section of each of the ribs 2 creates several sharp edges and sudden transitions from one portion of the exterior surface of the casing 1 to an adjoining portion.
The ribs 2 illustrated in FIG. 1 are spaced apart from each other equally to cause the ribs 2 to have a constant frequency of occurrence in the longitudinal direction of the casing 1. Such an arrangement ensures that the casing 1 is reinforced along any and all potential problem areas. In contrast, FIG. 3 illustrates a casing 1′ that is identical to the casing 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 except the casing 1′ includes the ribs 2 formed on an exterior surface thereof only along those portions of the casing 1′ undergoing the greatest amount of internal stresses. Accordingly, the casing 1′ of FIG. 3 reduces the amount of material used to form the casing 1′ while also addressing the issue of localized stresses formed therein.
Unfortunately, one issue associated with the use of the ribs 2 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 is the ribs 2 are not formed on the exterior surface of the casings 1, 1′ in a manner that accounts for the variation of the stress encountered along different portions of each of the ribs 2 as they extend in an arcuate shape. Specifically, the ribs 2 tend to extend around an entirety of the exterior surface of the casing 1 wherein portions of the casing 1 experiencing a relatively low stress such as regions adjacent each of the neutral stress lines A are unnecessarily reinforced. Thus, excess material is used in forming each of the casings 1, 1′, thereby adding weight, cost, and complexity to the formation of the casings 1, 1′. Furthermore, if additional reinforcing is desired beyond that illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, each of the ribs 2 used to reinforce the casings 1, 1′ may need an enlarged cross-sectional shape to account for the additional degree of reinforcement. Such an increase in the size of the ribs 2 may undesirably increase a package size of the casings 1, 1′, which in turn may necessitate a rearrangement or modification of other components adjacent the casings 1, 1′ when one of the casings 1, 1′ is installed within a vehicle or other apparatus where a packaging space is limited.
One other issue encountered by the use of the ribs 2 shown in FIGS. 1-3 is the substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape of each of the ribs 2 may lead to local stress raisers within the casings 1, 1′ caused by the sudden change in geometry from the exterior surface of each of the casings 1, 1′ to the perpendicularly projecting ribs 2 formed thereon. The rectangular cross-sectional shape of the ribs 2 may also cause a molding operation used to form the casings 1, 1′ to take longer than would a molding of a casing having a more continuous exterior profile, as the molding material typically takes longer to reach the sharp edges and corners formed between such features during the molding process.
One other prior art solution includes the addition of cross-webbing extending between adjacent ones of the ribs to further reinforce and strengthen the casing at selected regions, and especially adjacent the foot of the casing. The cross-webbing may include one or more raised portions of the exterior surface of the casing similar to the ribs and extending in a direction perpendicular to the ribs. However, the addition of cross-webbing adds additional weight to the casing while also significantly increasing the complexity of the manufacturing process used to form the casing.
It would therefore be desirable to produce a casing for a heat exchanger that reinforces only selected regions of the casing while also minimizing a quantity of material needed to manufacture the casing.

Header tank rib design for a heat exchanger


A low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) driving circuit, coupled to a load resistor via a first output end and a second output end, includes: a voltage generating unit, providing a first reference voltage; a first switch, coupled between the voltage generating unit and a first node; a second switch, coupled between the voltage generating unit and a second node; a third switch, coupled between the first node and a third node, the third node having a second reference voltage; a fourth switch, coupled between the second node and the third node; a first resistor, coupled between the first node and the first output end; and a second resistor, coupled between the second node and the second output end. The first resistor and the second resistor are in a series connection with the load resistor.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) driving circuit, and more particularly to a voltage mode LVDS driving circuit.
Description of the Related Art
Low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), providing good performance as well featuring advantages of low power consumption, low noise, low electromagnetic interference (EMI) and low costs, is extensive applied in high-speed data transmission. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional LVDS transceiving circuit. A transmitter (or referred to as an LVDS driving circuit) and a receiver of the LVDS transceiving circuit are bordered by the dotted line in the drawing, and the part located on the left side of the dotted line is the LVDS driving circuit. The LVDS driving circuit transmits signals to the receiver at the right side of the dotted line via transmission lines 140 and 145. The LVDS driving circuit includes a current source 110, a switch 122, a switch 124, a switch 126, a switch 128, another current source 115 and a resistor 130. The four switches 122, 124, 126 and 128 may be implemented by p-type metal oxide semiconductor transistors (to be referred to as PMOS) and n-type metal oxide semiconductor transistors (to be referred to as NMOS). In this example, the switches 122 and 124 are implemented by PMOS, and have respective sources coupled to the current sources 110, respective gates as control ends, and respective drains coupled to the switches 126 and 128, respectively. The switches 126 and 128 are implemented by NMOS, and have respective gates as control ends, respective sources coupled to the current source 115, and respective drains coupled to the drains of the switches 122 and 124, respectively. A connecting node of the switches 122 and 126 and a connecting node of the switches 124 and 128 serve as two output ends (respectively coupled to the transmission line 140 and the transmission line 145) of the LVDS driving circuit, and a resistor 130 is coupled between the two output ends. Operations of the LVDS driving circuit are divided into two stages. In the first stage, the switches 122 and 128 are turned on, and the switches 124 and 126 are turned off. At this point, the current lout flows towards the direction indicated by the arrow as shown, undergoes alternating-current coupling at the coupling capacitors 150 and 155 at the receiver, and generates a cross voltage VOD at the load resistor 160. In the second stage, the switches 124 and 126 are turned on, and the switches 122 and 128 are turned off. At this point, the current passing the resistor 130 and the load resistor 160 changes from flowing downwards to flowing upwards, hence generating a different cross voltage VOD at the receiver. The receiver may then learn the information transmitted from the transmitter according to the change in the cross voltage VOD.
The resistor 130 is a matching resistor of the LVDS driving circuit. Further, because the driving circuit is driven by the current source 110 and the current source 115, the resistor 130 and the load resistor 160 of the receiver are in a parallel connection and both having a resistance value R. If the resistance value is 100Ω, the equivalent resistance value is 50Ω when the resistor 130 and the load resistor 160 of the receiver are in a parallel connection. Assuming that the cross voltage VOD of the load resistor 160 needs to be 400 mV, the current lout of the LVDS driving circuit needs to be 400 mV/50Ω=8 mA. That is to say, due impedance matching, the LVDS driving circuit is required to output a large current in order to drive the receiver. Further, as the current source 110 and the current source 115 need to be driven by a larger voltage, the LVDS driving circuit requires a higher voltage VDD, e.g., 2.5V or 3.3V. A drawback of using a high voltage VDD not only increases the overall power consumption (VDD×Iout) of the driving circuit, but also causes the switches 122, 124, 126 and 128 to adopt large-sized components for withstanding a higher operating voltage. For example, I/O devices, whose channel length is usually between 450 nm and 550 nm, need to be used. Such large-sized components indirectly cause a front-end circuit (e.g., an inverter) of the LVDS driving circuit to encounter a larger load, such that the current consumption of the front-end circuit and power noise are both increased.

Low-voltage differential signaling driving circuit


An interlock assembly is provided for a fusible switch which has a fuse in series with a switch and an operating mechanism for controlling the operation of the switch. The interlock assembly is mechanically coupled to the operating mechanism and includes an indicator member disposed adjacent to the fuse for indicating the status of the fuse and an actuator member mechanically coupled to the operating mechanism for actuating the operating mechanism to open the switch when the fuse is BLOWN. A toggle member is coupled to the indicator member and to the actuator member for mechanically communicating the status of the fuse to the actuator member from the indicator member wherein the toggle member is in one position when the fuse is CONDUCTIVE and the toggle member is in another position when the fuse is BLOWN.

Fusible switches having a fuse and a current carrying blade utilize externally powered devices, such as relays or solenoids, to actuate the opening of the blade when the fuse blows due to an overload or short circuit condition. A problem could arise if the external power became unavailable when it was needed to operate the relay or solenoid for actuating the opening of the switch. Therefore, there is a distinct need to provide an assembly which utilizes only mechanical components to actuate the opening of the switch.
The use of interlocks to prevent closing the blade in a fusible switch after its fuse has blown is shown in German pat. no. DE 31 12295 A1. However, interlocks in the prior art only prevent closure of the phase that the fuse and switch are associated with. A need therefore exists for utilizing an interlock assembly for preventing closure of all three phases in a three phase fusible switch. Additionally, some interlock assemblies in the prior art require electrical power to operate external devices, such as solenoids and relays, for preventing the blade of the switch from being closed after the fuse has blown. Therefore, there is a need to provide an interlock assembly that does not require external power to prevent the switch from closing.
Additionally, when a fuse in a single phase of a multi-phase fusible switch blows and the other phases continue to conduct electrical current, a single phase condition exists that may damage the electrical equipment that is downstream from the switch. Accordingly, in order to prevent a single phase condition, there is a need for providing an interlock assembly for actuating the opening of all of the phases in a multi-phase fusible switch in the event that any one of the fuses blow.

Interlock assembly for a fusible switch having an operating mechanism


A method includes receiving: by a computing device, vehicle identification information for a vehicle that is entering a parking facility; identifying a driver profile and vehicle information based on the vehicle identification information, where the driver profile identifies criteria for scoring and selecting a parking space; determining, by the computing device, attributes of one or more open parking spaces in the parking facility when the vehicle enters the parking facility; scoring, by the computing device, each of the one or more open parking spaces based on the attributes, the driver profile, and the vehicle information; selecting, by the computing device, a particular one of the one or more parking spaces based on the scoring; determining, by the computing device, navigation directions from the vehicle to the selected parking space; and outputting, by the computing device, the navigation directions to a user device or vehicle interface system associated with the driver.

The present invention generally relates to parking space selection systems, and more particularly, to the selection of parking spaces based on parking space attributes, user preferences, and vehicle information.
Finding parking spaces in a parking facility, such as a parking lot or garage, can be a time consuming, frustrating, and also waste fuel. Finding parking spaces is particularly difficult at populated facilities, such as shopping malls, hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Also, vehicle congestion in parking facilities can be relatively higher during peak times, thereby increasing the difficulty and problems associated with finding a parking space. Further, finding parking spaces that meet particular requirements is even more difficult. For example, different individuals may prefer different sizes and types of parking spaces, e.g., handicapped spaces, spaces within a closer proximity to elevators or exits, spaces that accommodate larger types of vehicles, etc.
Existing systems may help to reduce the effort in finding parking spaces, such as proximity sensors connected to color-coded lights that notify passing motorists of open spaces in a particular row or floor of a parking facility. However, while existing systems may help a motorist identify an open or available parking space, such systems do not identify whether an available space meets certain criteria that define an individual's preferred type of parking space. Also, existing systems do not provide specific turn-by-turn directions to an open parking space that meets the criteria.

Automatic selection of parking spaces based on parking space attributes, driver preferences, and vehicle information

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A hammer head assembly installed in an air nailing gun to guide a striking rod to drive a U-nail into a wooden material to fix a cord member to the wooden material is constructed to include a hollow mounting base fastened to the air nailing gun, a sliding sleeve moved in and out of the bottom end of the mounting base, a nail holder coupled to the bottom end of the sliding sleeve by a coupling nut and adapted to hold a U-nail in a flat receiving slot thereof for fastening, magnets mounted in the nail holder for securing the loaded U-nail in position for driving, and a hammer rod supported on a spring inside the sliding sleeve for driving by the striking rod of the air nailing gun to force the loaded U-nail out of the nail holder into the wooden material to fix a cord member to the wooden material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air nailing gun adapted to drive U-nails into a post or the like to fasten a cord member to the post and, more specifically, to a hammer head assembly for use in such an air nailing gun.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ranches or barns, people may set up wooden posts 4 around the boundary, and then fasten steel ropes 5 to the posts 4 with U-nails 2 to build a fence (see FIG. 3). However, it is not easy to drive U-nails 2 into wooden posts 4 accurately. Because there isn""t any tool specifically designed for driving this kind of U-nails into wooden materials, people usually use a hammer to drive this kind of U-nails into wooden materials. However, because the two pointed ends respectively sloping outwards, they tend to be deformed when driving into the workpiece. Further, during hammering, the hammer may strike against the fingers holding the U-nail accidentally, causing an injury.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a hammer head assembly for air nailing gun, which is specifically designed for driving U-nails into wooden materials. It is another object of the present invention to provide a hammer head assembly for air nailing gun, which positively holds the loaded U-nail in position for driving. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the hammer head assembly comprises an externally threaded, stepped, hollow, cylindrical mounting base fastened to the air nailing gun, the mounting base having a center through hole axially extended through top and bottom ends thereof for the passing of the striking rod of the air nailing gun; a sliding sleeve inserted into the center through hole of the mounting base and partially extended out of the bottom end of the mounting base, the sliding sleeve having a center through hole axially extended through top and bottom ends thereof for the passing of the striking rod of the air nailing gun, and an outward stop flange extended from the periphery of the bottom end thereof; a first spring member mounted in the mounting base and adapted to impart a forward pressure to the sliding sleeve; a coupling nut sleeved onto the sliding sleeve and stopped above the outward stop flange of the sliding sleeve outside the mounting base, the coupling nut having an inner thread; a nail holder adapted to hold a U-nail for fastening, the nail holder having an outer thread threaded into the inner thread of the coupling nut, a flat receiving slot extended to a bottom side thereof and adapted to receive a U-nail for fastening, and a top insertion hole disposed in a top side thereof in communication with the flat receiving slot; a hammer rod mounted in the sliding sleeve and aimed at the top insertion hole of the nail holder for driving by the striking rod of the air nailing gun to force a loaded U-nail out of the nail holder into a wooden material; and a second spring member mounted inside the sliding sleeve and adapted to push the hammer rod toward the striking rod of the air nailing gun.

Hammer head assembly used in an air nailing gun for driving U-nails


A performance management engine may be implemented to continuously detecting entity performance issues. The performance management engine may calculate one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure performance of an entity. The performance management engine may further receive one or more additional sources of data regarding the entity via a data management platform that interfaces with multiple data sources. The performance management engine may aggregate the KPIs and the one or more additional sources of data into datasets according to one or more grouping parameters. The data in one or more datasets may be analyzed by the performance management engine to generate one or more comprehensive performance indicators. The comprehensive performance indicators are then provided for display on a user device. Each KPI or comprehensive performance indicator measures performance of a device, a component, a node, or a service of the entity.

Performance management tools are software applications that evaluate the performances of entities to ensure that operational goals are being met in an efficient manner. In some examples, the entities may include networks, such as a wireless carrier network that delivers mobile communication services to end users. In other examples, the entities may include systems, such as a utility system that delivers a utility service to commercial and residential customers. Performance management tools may be used to detect and diagnose entity performance problems so that an expected level of service is maintained. A performance management tool may monitor multiple sets of performance metrics, such as end user metrics and resource metrics. End user metrics may measure the performances experienced by end users of an entity. Resource metrics may measure computational or other resources used by an entity under a work load, in order to identify resource inadequacies and performance bottlenecks. Accordingly, performance management tools may generate key performance indicators (KPIs) based on the monitored performance metrics.
However, conventional performance management tools are designed to generate KPIs upon end user request rather than in a continuous manner. As a result, the generation of critical KPIs may take anywhere from several minutes to many hours. These time lags may hinder the ability of a requesting party to respond in a timely manner to performance problems that affect mission critical entity components and services. Such loss of time in responding to performance problems may result in an inability to provide a guaranteed level of service or a guaranteed level of user experience, which may result in a loss of revenue, customer base, and business reputation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Distributed multi-data source performance management