The media heating device of the magnetic head includes an optical resonant cavity produces a high intensity near-field optical beam of subwavelength dimension adjacent to the write pole. A suitable resonant cavity may be a spherical cavity, disk shaped cavity, ring shaped cavity, racetrack shaped cavity, micropillar cavity, photonic crystal cavity and Fabry-Perot cavity. The cavity is fabricated as a planar thin film structure in layers that are generally parallel to the magnetic pole thin film layers of the magnetic head, such that the principal axis of the resonant cavity is parallel to the air bearing surface (ABS). Optical energy is coupled into the resonant cavity through a waveguide that is placed proximate the cavity, and optical energy is coupled out of the cavity through an aperture that is placed within the cavity. A preferred embodiment may include a nano-aperture disposed between the resonant cavity and the ABS.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to magnetic heads that are utilized with thin film hard disk data storage devices, and more particularly to the design and fabrication of a magnetic head having an optical energy resonant cavity storage media heating device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hard disk drives generally include one or more rotatable data storage disks having a magnetic data storage layer formed thereon. Data in the form of small magnetized areas, termed magnetic data bits, are written onto the magnetic layers of the disks by a magnetic head that includes magnetic poles through which magnetic flux is caused to flow. Magnetic flux flowing from a pole tip portion of the magnetic poles in close proximity to the magnetic layer on the disk, causes the formation of the magnetic bits within the magnetic layer.
The continual quest for higher data recording densities of the magnetic media demands smaller magnetic data bit cells, in which the volume of recording material (grains) in the cells is decreased and/or the coercivity (Hc) is increased. When the bit cell size is sufficiently reduced, the problem of the superparamagnetic limit will provide a physical limit of the magnetic recording areal density. Present methods to delay the onset of this limit in storage media include the use of higher magnetic moment materials, and using thermally assisted recording (TAR) heads. The present invention relates to such thermally assisted recording heads in which a heating device is disposed within the magnetic head. Heat from the heating device temporarily reduces the localized coercivity of the magnetic media, such that the magnetic head is able to record data bits within the media. Once the disk returns to ambient temperature, the very high coercivity of the magnetic media provides the bit stability necessary for the recorded data disk.
In using optical energy for the heating of the magnetic medium, one needs to consider the applicability of the optics in near field, e.g., 1 to 20 nm from the source which resides in the magnetic head slider, and the heating of an area in the medium of very small dimensions, e.g., in the 20 to 30 nm range. Conventional diffraction limited optics is not applicable for such a small area. Recently, descriptions of several TAR methods for near-field heating of media have been published. In published U.S. patent applications US2003/0184903 A1 and US2004/0008591 A1 special ridged waveguides are used as high transmission apertures disposed within the magnetic head are taught for applications in perpendicular recording. In general the size of the heated spot depends on the optical wavelength and the dimensions and the composition of the materials for the waveguide/ridged waveguide. For instance, the transmittance of sub-wavelength circular apertures decreases as r4 where r is the radius of the waveguide aperture. Thus the transmittance efficiency of sub-wavelength apertures is very poor and high power lasers would be required to heat the medium.
The present invention utilizes an optical resonant cavity to amplify the light intensity and thus increase overall efficiency of transmitting light from the laser source to the medium. Such resonant cavities include spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities. Such cavities are known to those skilled in the art and are described in articles such as "Optical Microcavities" by Kerry J. Vahala, Nature, vol. 34, 14 Aug. 2003, page 839-846. The coupling of power into the optical resonant cavity may be by way of evanescent-wave coupling from an optical fiber or integrated waveguide. As a prior art example of this, R. W. Boyd et al., in Journal of Modern Optics, 2003, Vol. 50, No.15-17, 2543-2550, "Nanofabrication of optical structures and devices for photonics and biophotonics" teaches a system consisting of a waveguide coupled to a resonant whispering gallery mode (WGM) cavity. In this technique a tapered planar waveguide is placed within a gap that is a fraction of a wavelength from a resonant microcavity.
Much of the difficulty in applying near field optical devices for TAR lies in their incompatibility with the space-limited mechanical structure of the write poles within a magnetic head, the difficulty in bringing photons to such devices, and meeting the requirements for producing a near field high intensity optical beam that is within about 10 nm from the bit area that is being written. The heated spot is preferably at or a short distance uptrack of the write pole. Furthermore, many structures suggested for TAR heads are not readily compatible with current manufacturing processes, which rely on building planar structures perpendicular to the ABS with thin film deposition and etching techniques. The present invention facilitates the fabrication of the resonant cavity within the magnetic head structure at the wafer level of magnetic head fabrication.

Thermally assisted recording of magnetic media using an optical resonant cavity

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


Disclosed are an acetal copolymer composed of polyacetal units and particulate crosslinked polymer units which has a viscosity of 0.1-10 dl/g and comprises a polyacetal and a particulate crosslinked polymer other than a polyacetal which has a functional group selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, an amino group, an amide group, an alkoxy group, an acid anhydride group, and an epoxy group and has an average particle size of 0.01-10 .mu.m, said polyacetal and particulate crosslinked polymer being reaction bonded to each other through the functional group and a process for producing an acetal copolymer composed of polyacetal units and polymer units other than polyacetals which comprises a polyacetal and a polymer other than a polyacetal which are reaction bonded to each other through a functional group mentioned below and which has a viscosity of 0.1-10 dl/g, said process comprising homopolymerizing formaldehyde or trioxane or copolymerizing formaldehyde or trioxane with a cyclic ether in the presence of a polymer other than a polyacetal which has a functional group selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, an amino group, an amide group, an alkoxy group, an acid anhydride group, and an epoxy group and which has an average dispersion particle size of 0.01-2000 .mu.m.

Recently, there has been a great demand for polyacetals as engineering plastics because of their superior mechanical characteristics, fatigue characteristics and frictional wear characteristics. However, with diversification of uses and demand for enhancement of functions of polyacetals, properties possessed by polyacetals cannot satisfy all of the requirements.
In order to improve this point, extensive research has been conducted on modification of polyacetals, for example, a polymer alloying technique where a polyacetal and a resin other than a polyacetal are blended or a technique to modify the skeleton by introducing a component other than a polyacetal into the main chain of a polyacetal.
For example, as an example of the polymer alloying technique, EP-A-115373 discloses that a composition obtained by adding to a polyacetal an acrylic multi-phase interpolymer having a two-phase structure and having a particle size of 10-100 .mu.m is excellent in impact resistance.
However, the acrylic multi-phase interpolymer disclosed in the above patent publication has a rigid thermoplastic phase as the outermost phase and since affinity of this outermost phase to a polyacetal is insufficient, the composition cannot be said to be sufficient in high impact resistance required for engineering plastics. Further, the composition has the defect that impact resistance in a specific direction decreases significantly depending on processing conditions.
Specifically, impact resistance in a specific direction decreases when processing is conducted under conditions which apply orientation to the multi-phase interpolymer dispersed in the polyacetal in processing such as injection molding, extrusion molding, and blow molding. For example, in a weld portion which is formed by joining molten resins to each other in a mold for injection molded products, impact resistance in a specific direction of the molded product, namely, weld strength greatly decreases. This phenomenon occurs due to the fact that the multi-phase interpolymer dispersed in the polyacetal is not uniformly dispersed in all portions of the molded product, but non-uniform un-uniform dispersion such as agglomeration or orientation occurs in the molded product.
Therefore, impact resistance of the composition disclosed in the above patent publication is non-uniform and compositions having mechanical properties excellent in isotropy cannot be obtained.
The mechanical properties excellent in isotropy in the present invention mean mechanical properties which show no reduction in tensile characteristics and impact resistance in a specific direction in any portion, especially a weld portion, of molded products and having uniformity.
Examples of the technique to modify the skeleton for solving the above problems are as shown below.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,127 discloses that graft copolymers having a structure where a polyacetal is grafted on elastomers such as modified ethylene-propylene copolymer and modified styrene-butadiene copolymer have high impact resistance.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,127 discloses that A-B-A triblock copolymers comprising polyacetal units (A) and elastomer units (B) have excellent impact resistance.
However, in these processes, normally, copolymerization is carried out in a system where the elastomer is completely dissolved in polymerization solvents or the like. Therefore, the resulting acetal copolymer just after being copolymerized is in a viscous slurry state and there is the problem that filtration and drying of the acetal copolymer are difficult and when the processes are industrially carried out, it is very difficult in the manufacturing technique to stably mass-produce acetal copolymers. Besides, since this problem becomes conspicuous with an increase in the amount of elastomer introduced into the acetal copolymer, acetal copolymers having a large introduction amount of elastomer cannot be produced and this is a serious obstacle in improving the impact resistance of acetal copolymers.
Furthermore, according to the processes of the above patent, acetal copolymers just after copolymerization are a viscous slurry state and hence, in a short time, the polymers stick to the wall of the polymerization tank and smooth operation cannot be conducted. This is a serious disadvantage.

Acetal copolymer and process for producing same


A subsea well has a an outer wellhead housing with a tree on an upper end and a tubing hanger landed in the bore of the tree. A tree cap lands on and is secured to the tree. The tree cap has a plurality of production and annulus valves and a dual-bore control pod assembly. The tree has annulus bypass passages which communicate with a tubing annulus on a lower end and upper ports in the tubing hanger on an upper end. Production fluids flow up the tubing hanger bore to the tree cap and circulates through a flowline in the control pod. Access to the tubing annulus is through the annulus passages and tree cap annulus passage to a separate flowline.

A conventional subsea wellhead assembly includes a wellhead housing which supports one or more casing hangers located at upper ends of strings of casing extending into the well. A tubing hanger lands in the wellhead housing above the casing hanger and supports a string of production tubing that extends through the smallest diameter casing. The tubing hanger has a production bore which is offset slightly from the longitudinal axis. An annulus bore also extends through the tubing hanger, parallel to and offset from the axis, for communicating the tubing annulus to above the tubing hanger. The annulus bore is needed during installation of the tubing hanger and tubing to establish circulation down the tubing and back up the annulus. After the well has been completed, a removable plug is installed in the annulus bore, then a production tree is mounted to the wellhead housing. Access through the production tree to the tubing may be made for various workover operations that are needed.
In the last few years, operators have begun installing a different type of wellhead assembly, referred to generally as a horizontal tree. In a horizontal tree, the tubing hanger lands in the tree, not in the wellhead housing located below the tree. The tubing hanger has a lateral flow passage extending from its vertical flow passage. The lateral flow passage registers with a lateral flow passage extending through a sidewall of the tree. With the horizontal tree, a tubing hanger can be pulled through the horizontal tree without removing the tree. This cannot be done with a conventional tree.
With both conventional and horizontal trees, external chokes and production wing valves are used to control the flow. If the valves or chock are in need of service, retrieval is difficult and may require the use of a remotely operated vehicle.


A vehicle with a positional tracking unit traverses a specific route while collecting actual route data that includes position data indicative of the actual route followed. The actual route data (including the position data) is stored as optimal route data for that specific route. Once the optimal route is defined and stored, future positional data (i.e., actual route data) collected during subsequent vehicle traversal of that specific route can be compared to the optimal route data. Whenever subsequently collected actual route data represents an improvement, as determined by one or more predefined criteria, the actual route data replaces the previously obtained optimal route data. Exception reports can be automatically generated by comparing the optimal route data to subsequently collected actual route data to determine when a deviation has occurred.

As the cost of sensors, communications systems and navigational systems has dropped, operators of commercial and fleet vehicles now have the ability to collect a tremendous amount of data about the vehicles that they operate, including geographical position data collected during the operation of the vehicle.
Vehicle fleet operators often operate vehicles along predefined and generally invariant routes. For example, buses frequently operate on predefined routes, according to a predefined time schedule (for example, along a route that is geographically, as well as temporally defined). Preparing a predefined route can be a tedious task. Route planning software is available from a plurality of different vendors. As with any software application, a learning curve is involved. Furthermore, over time such predefined routes must be modified, to take into account changes in local traffic patterns, due to factors such as changes in traffic volumes on certain roads, road closures, and congestion due to road repairs and construction, requiring further use of route planning software to update an optimal route. The task of comparing actual driver performance using data (such as Global Positioning System (GPS) data) collected from vehicles traversing a predefined route with the optimal route can require one or more additional programs be used to perform the comparison.
It would be desirable to provide such fleet operators with additional means for developing optimal routes, to compare actual driver performance with the optimal route, and to update the optimal route in response to changes in traffic patterns.

Method and apparatus to utilize GPS data to replace route planning software


A media print system includes a first print unit, a second print unit, at least one actuator configured to move the first unit and the second unit relative to one another and a controller configured to generate control signals. The at least one actuator positions the first unit and the second unit at the first and second positions, respectively, during a first longitudinal pass of a medium and positions the first unit at a third position during a second longitudinal pass of the medium in response to the control signals.

Page-wide array printers include an array of ink-dispensing nozzles fixed to a support. To clear paper jams or to service the printheads, the printheads may need to be removed or separated from the support. Such removal of the printheads from the support can be time consuming and tedious. Moreover, it may be difficult to precisely and accurately align and reattach the array of printheads to the support.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Exemplary apparatus and/or method can be provided using which, it is possible to provide information associated with at least one portion of a sample. For example, at least one electro-magnetic radiation received from the at least one portion of the sample can be separated into a plurality of first radiations, one of the first radiations having a phase delay that is different from a phase delay of another of the first radiations. In addition, at least one of the first radiations can be received and separated into second radiations according to wavelengths of the received at least one of the first radiations. Further, it is possible to detect the second radiations and generate information regarding a position of the at least one portion of the sample as a function of at least one characteristic of at least one interference of the first radiations. According to another exemplary embodiment, it is possible to provide system, method and computer accessible medium, in which data associated with first radiations can be obtained, and the information regarding a position of the at least one portion of the sample may be generated. Such information can be generated based on the data by separating second radiations associated with the portion(s) of the sample according to wavelengths of at least one of the second radiations. For example, one of the second radiations can have a phase delay that is different from a phase delay of another one of the second radiations, and the second radiations may be interfering.

A number of optical methods have demonstrated microscopic resolutions beyond the diffraction limit. These methods, which all requiring fluorescent labeling, include Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) (see I. Horsh et al. "A stand-alone scanning near-field optical microscope," Photons and Local Probes, NATO ASI Series E:300:139 (1995)), Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) (see S. Hell et al. "Breaking the diffraction resolution limit by stimulated-emission—stimulated-emission-depletion fluorescence microscopy," Optics Letters. 19:495 (1995)) and Ground State Depletion (GSD) (see S. Hell et al. "Ground-State-Depletion fluorescence microscopy—a concept for breaking the diffraction resolution limit," Applied Physics B. 60:780 (1994)) fluorescence microscopy, photo-activated localization microscopy (PALM) (see E. Betzig et al. "Imaging intracellular fluorescent proteins at nanometer resolution," Science 313:1642 (2006)), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) (see M. Rust et al. "Sub-diffraction-limited imaging by stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM)," Nature Methods 3:783 (2006)), and structured illumination microscopy (SIM) (see B. Bailey et al. "Enhancement of Axial Resolution in Fluorescence Microscopy by Standing-Wave Excitation," Nature 366:44 (1993); see M. Gustafsson "Surpassing the lateral resolution limit by a factor of two using structured illumination microscopy," Journal of Microscopy 198:82 (2000); and see M. Gustafsson "Nonlinear structured illumination microscopy: Wide-field fluorescence imaging with theoretically unlimited resolution," PNAS 102:13081 (2005)). In addition, it is possible to improve the position accuracy beyond the diffraction limit in linear fluorescence microscopy and two-photon microscopy (see W. Denk et al. "2-Photon Laser Scanning Fluorscence Microscopy," Science 248:73 (1990)) by fitting the point spread function (see R. Thompson et al. "Precise nanometer localization analysis for individual fluorescent probes," Biophysical Journal 82:2775 (2002)).
Optical coherence tomography, Spectral Domain OCT and Optical Frequency Domain Imaging include certain imaging techniques that measure the interference between a reference beam of light and a detected beam reflected back from a sample. A detailed system description of traditional time-domain OCT has been described in D. Huang et al., "Optical Coherence Tomography," Science 254: 1178 (1991). Exemplary detailed descriptions for spectral-domain OCT and optical frequency domain interferometry systems are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/501,276 and 10/577,562, respectively.
Another exemplary technique that can achieve resolution beyond the diffraction limit can be called self-interference fluorescence microscopy (SIFM). This exemplary technique is related to the work described in K. Drabe et al. "Localization of Spontaneous Emission in front of a mirror," Optics Communications 73:91 (1989) and Swan et al. "Toward nanometer-scale resolution in fluorescence microscopy using spectral self-interference," IEEE Quantum Electronics 9:294 (2003). It has been demonstrated that the position of a fluorophore located in front of a reflecting surface can be determined with nanometer resolution by analyzing the self-interference of the emitted fluorescence light with the reflection from the surface. The exemplary technique is related to Optical Coherence Phase Microscopy (OCPM), another technique derived from OCT (see C. Joo, et al. "Spectral-domain optical coherence phase microscopy for quantitative phase-contrast imaging," Optics Letters 30:2131 (2005); and see C. Joo, et al. "Spectral Domain optical coherence phase and multiphoton microscopy," Optics Letters 32:623 (2007)), where the phase of the interference between a sample and a reference arm is used to determine motion on a (sub) nanometer length scale.
In OCPM, an external light source is used, and the light is scattered by structures in tissue or within a cell. OCPM has demonstrated a phase sensitivity corresponding to 25 picometers. In SIFM, the light source is the fluorophore itself, which is excited by an excitation source. Fluorescent light emitted in different directions is captured and made to interfere with itself after passing through a spatial phase retarding optical element. The interference can be spectrally resolved in a spectrometer, generating an interference pattern with a periodicity corresponding to the path length differences experienced by the light traversing the phase retarding element. A Fourier transform of the spectrally resolved interference may generate a profile as in Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT), with a point spread function determined by the fluorescence bandwidth. By using the phase term of the transform, the fluorophore can be localized with a resolution far better than the diffraction limit. This exemplary approach generally makes use of a single microscope objective and a specially designed wave plate that collect the emitted light the epi-direction with a high numerical aperture and dividing the beam in 4 sections, each with different delays, for three-dimensional triangulation.
There may be a need to overcome certain deficiencies associated with the conventional arrangements and methods described above.

System and method for self-interference fluorescence microscopy, and computer-accessible medium associated therewith


A storage medium including a first transmittal module and a control module. The first transmittal module includes a plurality of first transmittal pads. The control module determines whether a level state of the first transmittal module is equal to a pre-determined state. When the level state is equal to the pre-determined state, the control module operates in a secure digital (SD) mode. When the level state is not equal to the pre-determined state, the control module operates in an embedded multimedia card (eMMC) mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
NAND flash memories are widely used for storing data and applied in many electronic products. The NAND flash memories are manufactured into a memory card or a USB flash drive. For the specifications of the flash memories, the flash memories comprise a compact flash (CF), a multi media card (MMC), a smart media (SM) and a secured digital (SD). An embedded multimedia card (eMMC) is extended from the MMC and one of the embedded memories.

Storage medium, transmittal system and control method thereof


A thin film magnetic head that includes an improved P2 pole tip/yoke interface. The process for forming the P2 pole tip/yoke interface includes a CMP polishing step that is performed on the surface of the wafer subsequent to the plating of the P2 pole tip. This CMP step utilizes a relatively soft polishing pad and an acidic polishing slurry which preferentially attacks the P2 pole tip material, such that the CMP step results in the recession of the upper surface of the P2 pole tip relative to the dielectric layer surrounding it, as well as the significant rounding of the upper edges of the dielectric trench in which the P2 pole tip is formed. Thereafter, when the yoke is plated onto the P2 pole tip the rounded upper edges of the dielectric trench result in a concave curved interface between the yoke and the P2 pole tip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to thin film magnetic heads and methods for manufacturing such heads, and more particularly to the features of the P2 pole tip/yoke interface of thin film magnetic write head elements and methods for manufacturing the P2 pole tip/yoke interface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The well known basic components of thin film magnetic write heads include a first pole (P1), a write gap layer, a narrow P2 pole tip, a yoke that is electromagnetically engaged with the P2 pole tip, and electromagnetic coils that generate a magnetic flux that flows between the P1 pole and the P2 pole tip. The width of the P2 pole tip generally defines the track width of the data bits written by the write head. The yoke is generally significantly wider and thicker than the P2 pole tip and it serves to control and focus the flow of magnetic flux generated by the electromagnetic coils of the write head into the P2 pole tip. The flow of magnetic flux between the P1 pole and the P2 pole tip across the write gap influences the magnetic media disposed proximate the write head to record flux changes therein as data bits. Thus, a significant performance characteristic of write heads is the proper controlled flow of magnetic flux from the yoke into the P2 pole tip and across the write gap. Where the magnetic flux flow control is faulty, the magnetic flux can flow directly from the yoke to the P1 pole without passing through the P2 pole tip. This undesirable effect is termed "side writing" as it creates an undesirable noise band on each side of the data track that is written by the P2 pole tip, and the existence and width of the undesirable side band affects the spacing between the data tracks. Where side writing is minimized, such that the width of the side bands is minimized, data tracks can be written closer together such that more tracks per inch (TPI) can be written and the areal data storage of the magnetic media can be increased.
In prior art pole tips of various designs, the P2 pole tip/yoke interface is characterized as a "T" interface. That is, the P2 pole tip is the downward leg of the "T" and the yoke is formed flatly and squarely on top of the P2 pole tip leg. Thus the inner angle between the P2 pole tip and the yoke is approximately a right angle. This right angle P2 pole tip/yoke interface results in less than optimum magnetic flux flow control between the yoke and the P2 pole tip. That is, flow of magnetic flux is somewhat inhibited at the right angle interface, and this can result in side writing when the magnetic flux flows directly from the yoke to the P1 pole, rather than flowing through the P2 pole tip. It is therefore possible to improve the flow of magnetic flux through the P2 pole tip/yoke interface and thus reduce side writing by shaping the interface to remove the right angle joinder of the yoke to the P2 pole tip. The present invention is a write head that includes such an improved P2 pole tip/yoke interface, together with a process for manufacturing it.

Method for shaping pole pieces of magnetic heads by chemical mechanical polishing

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands, B.V.


An AC PDP incorporating the invention includes a first substrate having plural elongated address electrode structures, which include sets of color phosphors. A second substrate is opposed to the first substrate and encloses a dischargeable gas therebetween. The second substrate supports a plurality of scan loops and sustain loops that are interdigitated with the scan electrode loops. Gas discharges occur at intersections between address electrodes and both traces of a scan loop to which a scan voltage is applied and a single side of each adjacent sustain loop to which a sustain voltage is applied. This action creates wall charges at each of two subpixel sites for each color subpixel. Thereafter, sustain signals applied to sustain and scan electrode loops causes discharges at each of the dual subpixel sites at which wall charges exist. Electrically isolated contrast enhancement bars are placed within scan and sustain electrode loops and act to block ambient light from reflecting off the phosphor layer. Accordingly, ambient room contrast ratio of the PDP is enhanced due to the reduced reflection of the room light off the phosphor. Brightness reduction is minimized by the contrast bars being placed in the center of the loops where light is not produced.

Color plasma display panels (PDPs) are well known in the art. FIG. 1 illustrates a first prior art embodiment of an AC color PDP wherein narrow electrodes are employed on the front panel. More particularly, the AC PDP of FIG. 1 includes a front plate with horizontal plural sustain electrodes 10 that are coupled to a sustain bus 12. A plurality of scan electrodes 14 are juxtaposed to sustain electrodes 10, and both electrode sets are covered by a dielectric layer (not shown). A back plate supports vertical barrier ribs 16 and plural vertical column conductors 18 (shown in phantom). The individual column conductors are covered with red, green or blue phosphors, as the case may be, to enable a full color display to be achieved. The front and rear plates are sealed together and the space therebetween is filled with a dischargeable gas.
Pixels are defined by the intersections of (i) an electrode pair comprising a sustain electrode 10 and a juxtaposed scan electrode 14 on the front plate and (ii) three back plate column electrodes 18 for red, green and blue, respectively. Subpixels correspond to individual red, green and blue column electrodes that intersect with the front plate electrode pair.
Subpixels are addressed by applying a combination of pulses to both the front sustain electrodes 10 and scan electrodes 14 and one or more selected column electrodes 18. Each addressed subpixel is then discharged continuously (i.e., sustained) by applying pulses only to the front plate electrode pair. A PDP utilizing a similar front plate electrode structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,864 to Dick.
Some PDPs have used wider transparent electrodes that are connected to a high conductivity feed electrode. Such an electrode structure is shown in FIG. 2 and includes transparent electrodes 20, which are connected to sustain electrodes 10 and scan electrodes 14, respectively. In the configurations of both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the gap between the electrodes defines the electrical breakdown characteristic for the PDP. The width of the electrodes affects the pixel capacitance and, therefore, the discharge power requirements. The wider transparent electrodes 20 provide a means to input greater power levels to the PDP for increased brightness. However, the manufacturing cost of transparent electrodes 20 is much greater, due to the increased number of required processing steps.
Optically, the narrow electrode topology of FIG. 1 produces a significant amount of light on the outside of the electrodes, virtually eliminating any dark areas between pixel sites. By contrast, sustain electrodes 10 and scan electrodes 14 at the edges of transparent electrodes 20 create a shading of the light between the pixel sites, resulting in dark horizontal lines between pixel rows.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,884 to Weber et al. illustrates a further PDP design wherein plasma spreading or "coupling" is employed to couple the plasma at an address cell to one of a plurality of pixels that are adjacent to the addressed cell. In such a PDP structure, loop-configured address electrodes and sustain electrodes are employed to enable selective control of plasma coupling. A description of other color PDP structures and modes of operation can be found in "Development of Technologies for Large-Area Color AC Plasma Displays", Shinoda et al., SID 93 Digest, pages 161-164.
When a PDP is placed in a well lit room, the ambient room contrast ratio is the ratio of the peak white brightness divided by the display's dark level. The intensity of the dark level is a function of the display's background glow plus the ambient light reflecting off the display. For the viewer, a display with a poor ambient room contrast ratio will appear washed out, whereas, in a dark room, the same display will exhibit vibrant colors.
Ambient room contrast has traditionally been enhanced by placing a filter in front of the display. Room light is filtered as it comes into the display and is filtered again after it is reflected off the front panel. The panel's active light is likewise filtered, however it only passes through the filter once. The transmissivity of commonly used filters is 50 to 75%. A 50% filter reduces the reflected room light by a factor of 4, but also reduces the display's brightness in half.
Several factors contribute to the reflectivity of a display. The front filter typically has an anti-reflective coating to minimize its reflectance. The panel's reflectance is a combination of the reflectivity of the front plate surface, the electrode material's reflectivity, and the phosphor's reflectivity. Of these, the phosphor's reflectivity contributes heavily to the reflectance due to its light color.
There is a continuing need to improve the contrast of color PDPs without reducing brightness.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a color PDP that exhibits enhanced contrast.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved color PDP which wherein reflectance from a phosphor layer is reduced.

AC plasma display with dual discharge sites and contrast enhancement bars

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A bone attachment assembly may include an attachment head, a set screw configured to attach to the attachment head, and a rod surface with a first raised portion and a second raised portion that define a lowered portion positioned between the first raised portion and the second raised portion. The first raised portion, the second raised portion, and the set screw may be configured to directly contact a rod in order to retain the rod within the attachment head.

During spinal fusion surgery, bone attachment assemblies can be attached to bones. For example, bone screws, such as vertebral screws, may be fixed to adjacent vertebrae. Hooks or clamps may also be fixed to vertebra or ribs. The bone attachment assemblies that include bone screws, hooks, and/or clamps, may be interconnected to each other by a rod that attaches with multiple bone screws, hooks, and/or clamps in order to stabilize the spine during the healing process. The rods interconnecting the bone attachment assemblies may span one or more vertebral levels (e.g., one to three vertebral levels for a spinal fusion of a degenerative condition, eight to twelve vertebral levels for scoliosis, etc.).
In order to attach with a rod or connector, the bone attachment assemblies may include an attachment head with a slot that is intended to receive the rod. The rod may be at least partially secured within the slot by a cap or set screw.
Bone screws may be classified as monoaxial, polyaxial, or uniplanar based on their adjustability. Monoaxial bone attachment assemblies, such as monoaxial bone screws, are the most simplistic and are not particularly versatile in connection with accommodating screw placement and alignment. The attachment head of a monoaxial bone screw may allow the rod to be adjusted in only one direction, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the screw. When the rod is secured in the slot of the monoaxial bone screw, the longitudinal axis of the rod is substantially perpendicular (i.e., at approximately a 90° angle to) to the longitudinal axis of the monoaxial bone screw.
Polyaxial bone attachment assemblies, such as polyaxial screws, are commonly used to overcome the variations in screw placement and alignment. The relationship between the screw axis and the rod axis in a polyaxial screw may be adjustable but may still be locked in place (e.g., the attachment head of a polyaxial screw (and thus the rod) may be configured to swivel approximately 20° off the screw axis when unlocked). This adjustability may allow rods to be connected to multiple screws that may be placed medial or lateral to one another and may permit lordotic and kyphotic spinal alignments. Conventional polyaxial screws are typically larger and bulkier than monoaxial screws due to, for example, the structures that allow the attachment head of the polyaxial screw to swivel.
Uniplanar bone attachment assemblies, such as uniplanar screws, may have attachment heads that allow the rod be adjusted or moved within one plane relative to the screw axis. Typically, uniplanar screws do not allow the rod to be adjusted to medial or lateral rod positions (unlike polyaxial screws). Uniplanar screws are more commonly used in scoliosis surgery where there may be a degree of cranial or caudal angulation (such as the sagittal plane of the spine), but where there is little medial lateral screw placement deviation and the surgeon additionally needs rigid control of the screw to manipulate it in the coronal and axial plane of the spine. Similar to polyaxial screws, uniplanar screws generally are large and bulky due to the configuration of their single plane swivel mechanism.
The connecting rods that can attach with and connect to multiple bone attachment assemblies, such as bone screws, experience significant loads from the secured bone attachment assemblies attached to the patient for correction. Such loads may cause the connecting rods to slip within the bone attachment assemblies.
Monoaxial bone screws, which are designed to receive and secure a connecting rod at a fixed angle (such as 90 degrees) with respect to the screw shaft, may include a recess formed in the attachment head of the monoaxial bone screw to permit increased loads to be applied to a connecting rods disposed therein. However the rigid structure of such monoaxial bone screws disadvantageously constrains the mobility of a connecting rod held therein, such that movement of the rod away from the fixed angle eliminates contact points between the monoaxial bone screw and the connecting rod, thereby increasing the risk of rod slippage.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The antenna of said transmitter is a microstrip antenna. A rear edge of its patch is provided with a short circuit by means of which a quarter-wave primary resonance can be excited by a coplanar line formed by two coupling slots in an area. Separator slots separate said area from another area in which a secondary resonance can be established at twice the frequency of the primary resonance from a slotted line extending one slot of the coplanar line. The invention applies in particular to the production of a dual-mode mobile telephone to the GSM and DCS standards.

The present invention relates generally to radio transmitters, in particular mobile telephones, and more particularly to antennas for inclusion in such transmitters and including a conductive layer.
This kind of antenna includes a patch which is typically obtained by etching a metal layer. It is then called a microstrip patch antenna.
The microstrip technique is a planar technique that is used to make transmission lines for transmitting guided waves, possibly carrying signals, and antennas coupling such lines and radiated waves. It uses conductive patches and/or strips formed on the top surface of a thin dielectric substrate. A conductive layer extends over the bottom surface of the substrate and constitutes an earth layer of the line or the antenna. The patch is typically wider than the strip and its shape and dimensions are important characteristics of the antenna. The substrate is typically a plane rectangular sheet of constant thickness and the patch is also typically rectangular. This is not obligatory, however. In particular, it is known in the art that varying the thickness of the substrate can enlarge the bandwidth of this kind of antenna and that the patch can be various shapes, for example circular. The electric field lines extend between the strip or the patch and the earth layer through the substrate. A transmission line operating in the above manner is referred to hereinafter as a microstrip line.
The above technology differs from coplanar technologies that also use conductive elements on a thin substrate, and in particular the transmission line technology in which the electric field is established on the top surface of the substrate and symmetrically between a central conductive strip and two conductive lands on respective opposite sides of the strip, from which they are separated by respective slots. A transmission line operating in this manner is referred to hereinafter as a coplanar line. In an antenna using this technology, a patch is surrounded by a continuous conductive land from which it is separated by a slot.
In another coplanar technology, a transmission line is formed by a slot in a conductive layer and the electric field of the transmitted wave is established in the plane of that layer between the two edges of the slot.
Antennas using the above technologies typically (although not necessarily) constitute resonant structures in which standing waves are established that provide coupling with waves radiated in space.
Various resonant structures of the above kind can be made, for example using the microstrip technology, and each such structure can support one or more resonant modes, referred to for brevity hereinafter as xe2x80x9cresonancesxe2x80x9d. Broadly speaking, each resonance can be defined as a standing wave formed by the superposition of two travelling waves propagating along the same path in opposite directions and resulting from alternating reflection at the two ends of the path of the same travelling wave, which is an electromagnetic wave propagating along that path in a line consisting of the earth layer, the substrate and the patch, for example. The path is imposed by the components of the antenna. It can be rectilinear or curved. It is referred to hereinafter as the xe2x80x9cresonance pathxe2x80x9d. The resonant frequency is inversely proportional to the time taken by the travelling wave referred to above to travel this path.
In a first type of resonance, which is referred to as xe2x80x9chalf-wavexe2x80x9d resonance, the length of the resonance path is typically substantially equal to one half-wavelength, i.e. to half the wavelength of the travelling wave referred to above. The antenna is then referred to as a xe2x80x9cxe2x80x9chalf-wavexe2x80x9d antenna. This type of resonance can be generally defined by the presence of an electrical current node at each of the two ends of a path of this kind, whose length can therefore also be equal to said half-wavelength multiplied by an integer other than one, and typically an odd number. The two ends of the path are located in regions in which the amplitude of the electrical field that is applied via the substrate, for example, is at a maximum; coupling with the radiated waves occurs at one or both ends of the path.
A second type of resonance that can be obtained using the same technology is referred to as xe2x80x9cquarter-wavexe2x80x9d resonance and differs from half-wave resonance firstly in that the resonance path typically has a length equal to one quarter-wavelength, i.e. one quarter of the wavelength defined above. To this end the resonant structure must include a short circuit at one end of the path, the term xe2x80x9cshort circuitxe2x80x9d referring to a connection between the earth layer and the patch. The short circuit must have a sufficiently low impedance to impose the resonance. This type of resonance can be generally defined by the presence of an electric field node fixed by this kind of short circuit in the vicinity of an edge of the patch and by an electrical current node at the other end of the resonance path. The length of the resonance path can therefore be equal to an integer number of half-wavelengths added to said quarter-wavelength. Coupling with waves radiated in space occurs at an edge of the patch, in a region where the amplitude of the electric field is sufficiently high.
Other types of resonance can be established, each characterized by a distribution of the electric and magnetic fields that oscillate in an area of space including the antenna and its immediate vicinity. They depend in particular on the configuration of the patches, which can incorporate slots, possibly radiating slots. In the case of microstrip antennas, the resonances are also conditioned by the presence and location of any short circuits and by the electrical models representing the short circuits if the latter are imperfect, i.e. if they cannot be considered even approximately equivalent to perfect short circuits of zero impedance.
The presence of an imperfect short circuit in an antenna can cause a resonance having what is referred to as a virtual node, which occurs when the following conditions are met (in what follows, the antenna discussed above is referred to as the xe2x80x9cfirst antennaxe2x80x9d):
The distribution of fields in the first antenna is substantially identical to a distribution that can be induced in an identical area of the patch of a second antenna.
The second antenna is identical to the first antenna, within the limits of the area, except that the second antenna has no short circuit.
The patch of the second antenna extends not only over the area already mentioned, which then constitutes a principal area of the second antenna, but also over an additional area.
Finally, the field distribution in question in the principal area of the second antenna is accompanied by an electric or magnetic field node in the additional area.
In order to describe the resonance occurring in the first antenna, the node occurring in the second antenna can be considered to constitute a node for the resonance of the first antenna also. For an antenna such as the first antenna this kind of node is referred to hereinafter as a xe2x80x9cvirtualxe2x80x9d node, because it is located in an area outside the patch of the antenna and in which there is therefore no electric or magnetic field enabling the presence of the node to be determined directly.
Although these xe2x80x9cvirtual nodesxe2x80x9d are not conventionally taken into account in those terms when describing resonances, they are implied by the distinction that is sometimes made between the physical or geometrical length of the patch and its so-called xe2x80x9celectricalxe2x80x9d length. In the case of the two antennas considered above, the physical or geometrical length of the patch of the first antenna would be that of the patch, but the electrical length of the patch would in fact be the physical or geometrical length of the patch of the second antenna.
An antenna is typically coupled to a signal processor such as a transmitter by a connection system including a connection line which is external to the antenna and terminates in a coupling system integrated into the antenna for coupling the line to one or more resonances that can be established in one or more resonant structures of the antenna. The resonances also depend on the nature and location of the connection system, which enables the antenna to be used at each resonant frequency. In the case of a transmit antenna, the connection system is often referred to as a feed line of the antenna.
The present invention concerns various types of device, such as mobile telephones, base stations for mobile telephones, vehicles, aircraft and missiles. In the case of a mobile telephone, the continuous nature of the bottom earth layer of a microstrip antenna facilitates limiting the amount of radiated power that is intercepted by the user""s body. In the case of vehicles, and above all in the case of aircraft or missiles, whose exterior surface is metallic and has a curved profile to produce a low aerodynamic drag, the antenna can be conformed to that profile so that no unwanted additional aerodynamic drag is produced.
The invention relates more particularly to the situation in which an antenna with a conductive layer must have the following qualities:
it must be able to transmit and/or receive radiated waves efficiently on two separate frequencies with a large difference between them,
it must be possible to connect it to a signal processor by means of a single connecting line for all operating frequencies of a transmission device without causing an unwanted spurious standing wave ratio on the line, and
it must achieve this without using a frequency multiplexer or demultiplexer.
Many prior art microstrip antennas with the above three qualities have been made or proposed. They differ in terms of how they establish and couple a plurality of different resonant frequencies. Several such antennas are examined below.
A first such prior art antenna is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,769 (Gegan). In a first embodiment, the patch of the antenna takes the form of a circular disk 10 enabling the antenna to exhibit two half-wave resonances whose paths are respectively established along a diameter AA of the disk and along a circular arc slot 24 inscribed in the disk. The coupling system takes the form of a line 16 constituting a quarter-wave transformer and connected at an interior point to the area of the patch so that the real part of the input impedance of the antenna has substantially the same value for the two resonances. Impedance-matching slots 26 and 28 are concentrically inscribed in the disk 10 so that the imaginary part of the input impedance also has substantially the same value for the two resonances. The line 16 is a microstrip line. In other words, it is not made using the coplanar line technology described hereinabove. However, the document also states that the line is coplanar, but this merely indicates that the strip of the microstrip line is in the same plane as the patch 10. Two slots are formed in the conductive layer of the patch, one on each side of the strip, to enable a terminal segment of the line to penetrate into the area of the patch without causing unwanted contact of the strip with the patch in that segment. One of the two slots is continued by an extension that constitutes the impedance-matching slot 28, and so the line 16 appears to exhibit asymmetry at the end inside the patch 10. Despite the apparent continuity and asymmetry, the skilled person will realize that in practice no wave propagates over the length of the impedance-matching slot 28.
A second prior art antenna is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,440 (Gegan). The general shape of the patch 10 of this antenna is rectangular, enabling the antenna to exhibit two half-wave resonances whose paths are established along a length and a width of the patch. It also features a U-shaped curved slot which is entirely inside the patch. The slot is a radiating slot and establishes an additional resonance mode along another path. By appropriately choosing its shape and dimensions, the frequencies of the resonance modes can have any required value, which opens up the possibility of transmitting a circular polarization wave by associating two modes having the same frequency and crossed linear polarizations. The coupling system takes the form of a microstrip line, but it is also stated to be coplanar, as in the Gegan U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,769 previously cited. The coupling system is provided with an impedance conversion system for matching it to the different input impedances of the line at the different resonant frequencies used as working frequencies.
A third prior art antenna differs from the previous two antennas in that it uses a single resonance path. It is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,291 (LO et al.). Its patch includes point short circuits and slots extending along straight line segments inside the patch. The slots and short circuits reduce the difference between two frequencies corresponding to two resonances having said path in common but respective different modes, designated (0,1) and (0,3), i.e. the common path is occupied by one half-wave or by three half-waves, according to the mode concerned. The ratio between the two frequencies can therefore be reduced from 3 to 1.8. The point short circuits consist of conductors passing through the substrate. The coupling system is a coaxial line whose central conductor passes through the substrate of the antenna in order to be connected to its patch and whose earth conductor is connected to the earth layer of the antenna.
The above antenna has the particular disadvantage that its fabrication is complicated by the incorporation of point short circuits.
A fourth prior art two-frequency antenna differs from the previous three antennas in that it uses a quarter-wave resonance. It is described in IEEE ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM DIGEST, NEWPORT BEACH, Jun. 18-23, 1995, pages 2124-2127 Boag et al. xe2x80x9cDual Band Cavity-Backed Quarter-wave Patch Antennaxe2x80x9d. A first resonant frequency is defined by the dimensions and characteristics of the substrate and the patch of the antenna. A resonance of substantially the same type is obtained on the same resonance path at a second frequency by using a matching system.
The coupling system appears to be of the coaxial line type, the matching system being placed at the end of the line, whose axial conductor is extended through the substrate of the antenna and connected to its patch.
Other prior antennas include three conductive layers, namely two superposed patches on top of a common earth layer. They then have the particular drawback that the cumulative thickness of the dielectric substrates between the layers makes the total thickness of the antenna excessive.
As a general rule, the above prior art antennas have the drawback that it is difficult, and therefore costly, to obtain the required resonant frequencies at the same time as good coupling of each resonance to a signal processor.
The objects of the present invention include:
providing a simple way of producing a two-frequency antenna with a coupling system whose impedance is easy to match at each of two resonant frequencies, and
limiting the dimensions of the antenna.
With the above objects in view, the invention provides an antenna with a conductive layer and a coupling system which includes a coplanar line formed by two primary coupling slots in a conductive layer of said antenna. According to the invention, said coupling system further includes a slotted line formed by a slot connected to one of said two primary coupling slots and constituting a secondary coupling slot.
The antenna preferably includes a patch and an earth layer co-operating with said patch in the manner of the microstrip technology, and said coupling slots are formed in said patch. However, another possible arrangement is for a coupling system consisting of such slots to be formed in the earth layer of this kind of antenna.
Said patch preferably includes a separator system including at least one separator slot and defining two areas in said patch respectively constituting:
a primary resonance area including said coplanar line, and
a secondary resonance area including said slotted line.

Antenna with a conductive layer and a two-band transmitter including the antenna


A battery module having a battery cell assembly with a heat exchanger is provided. The assembly includes a first battery cell having a first side and a second side, and a second battery cell having a first side and a second side. The first side of the second battery cell contacts the second side of the first battery cell. The assembly further includes a heat exchanger. A first side of the heat exchanger contacts the second side of the second battery cell. The battery cell assembly further includes a third battery cell having a first side and a second side. The first side of the third battery cell contacts a second side of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger removes heat energy from the first, second, and third battery cells to maintain the first, second, and third battery cells at substantially a desired temperature.

Battery packs generate heat during usage. To prevent degradation of the battery packs, the battery packs should be cooled. However, another cooling system may not uniformly cool battery cells in a battery pack. The inventors herein have recognized that if battery cells in a battery pack are not uniformly cooled, the battery cells can undesirably have differing operational characteristics including differing output voltages.
Accordingly, the inventors herein have recognized a need for an improved battery module that minimizes and/or eliminates the above-mentioned deficiency.

Battery module having battery cell assembly with heat exchanger


Systems and methods ingest extensive data regarding real-time transactions to determine correlation between a variety of parameters and possible fraud events. Possible fraud can be predicted, and notifications delivered to a fraud team. Correlations can be discovered using unsupervised machine learning, and particular systems and methods can utilize natural language processing to both receive and provide information concerning fraud risk and countermeasures.

Ever larger amounts of data are available to businesses and their customers. Some may come through deliberate entry or submission and retention. Other can be collected passively through the vast array of networked devices and communication channels available today. Users' locations, activities, purchasing habits, communication, et cetera, can all be aggregated when permissions are granted to access and share data. This information is dramatically more complex and fulsome than information routinely utilized in, e.g., actuarial data sets.
While a great deal of resources are committed to collecting, communicating, and aggregating this data, it is not always useful. It is overwhelming to any human observer. To begin to grasp information therein, computers have been utilized. However, it is not well understood how to best harness the use of computers in this regard.
Fraud detection remains a challenge and results in dramatic losses for financial service companies. As sensors and network connections proliferate, volumes of data are becoming available that could be used to identify new factors or combinations of factors that are suggestive of fraud. It would be beneficial to develop a system that could identify real-time transactions involving fraud risk, particularly relating to previously undiscovered correlations which may be discoverable through machine learning.
One aspect which could be improved is the prediction and reduction of, or adjustment for, fraud in real-time transactions. There is a need for new techniques to utilize data to improve and increase efficiency in fraud avoidance.

Fraud detection using augmented analytics

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)


Provided is a lamp configured to control an irradiation angle. The lamp includes a light emitting unit that is provided with an LED and a reflector having a reflecting surface that reflects light from the LED. The reflecting surface of the reflector is formed to have a parabolic shape in a cross-section perpendicular to an optical axis of the LED. The reflecting surface of the reflector is formed to have an elliptical shape in a cross-section parallel to the optical axis of the LED so as to condense and diffuse reflected light beams in a forward direction.

An aircraft is provided with position lights that indicate a travelling direction and a position so as to prevent a mutual collision. It is provided that an aircraft is equipped with a green position light at the end section of the right wing, a red position light at the end section of the left wing, and a white position light at the tail section thereof. While incandescent lamps have been used as light sources of the conventional position lights, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been used recently. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-513488.
For aircraft position lights, irradiation angles are prescribed. For example, an irradiation angle of 110° toward outside in relation to an axial line in the travelling direction is prescribed for both wing tip position lights and an irradiation angle of 140° is prescribed for a tail section position light. Therefore, in the position lights using LEDs, light beams emitted from the LEDs are required to be properly controlled to satisfy the prescribed irradiation angles.
The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the problems as described above and an object thereof is to provide a lamp which is capable of controlling an irradiation angle properly.
In order to achieve the object, a lamp according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a light emitting unit including a semiconductor light emitting element and a reflector which has a reflecting surface configured to reflect light from the semiconductor light emitting element. The reflecting surface of the reflector is formed to have a parabolic shape in a cross-section perpendicular to an optical axis of the semiconductor light emitting element. In addition, the reflecting surface is formed to have a condensing-diffusing shape in a cross-section parallel to the optical axis of the semiconductor light emitting element to condense and diffuse reflected light beams in a forward direction.
The lamp may be provided with two light emitting units which are disposed in a substantially horizontal direction thereof. The two light emitting units may be arranged such that the reflecting surfaces of the reflectors face each other.
The lamp may be provided with two light emitting units which are disposed in a substantially horizontal direction thereof. The two light emitting units may be arranged such that the reflecting surfaces of the reflectors of the light emitting units are positioned back to back.
The lamp may be provided with a plurality of light emitting units which are disposed in a substantially vertical direction thereof.
The condensing-diffusing shape may be an ellipse shape.
According to the present disclosure, a lamp capable of controlling an irradiation angle properly may be provided.
The above-described summary is illustration purposes only and does not intend to limit in any ways. In addition to the illustrative embodiments, examples, and features described above, additional embodiments, examples, and features will become apparent by referring to the drawings and the following detailed descriptions.


A shaving assembly for simultaneously applying a shaving preparation and removing hair in a single step includes a base having an upper end, a lower end and a hollow space between the upper and lower ends, whereby the hollow space defines an opening at the upper end of the base. The shaving assembly includes a receiver for a razor, such as a cartridge receiver for a razor blade cartridge, that is connected with the base and that is disposed at the opening at the upper end of the base. The cartridge receiver has a perimeter and the opening at the upper end of the base completely surrounds the perimeter of the cartridge receiver. The hollow space of the base is adapted for containing a shaving preparation, such as a soap cake, a liquid soap, shaving cream or a body wash and may be combined with skin beneficial ingredients and/or scent. In one embodiment, the body of the shaving assembly includes an adjusting element so that an adequate supply of the shaving preparation may be supplied completely around the perimeter of the cartridge receiver. In other embodiments, the shaving assembly includes a resilient element for urging the shaving preparation toward the upper end of the body. The cartridge receiver may also be movable for changing the position of the razor blade relative to the shaving preparation. The shaving assembly may also include a razor embedded in a mass of shaving preparation so that the cutting blades of the razor lie in substantially the same plane as the top surface of the shaving preparation.

Shaving body hair typically requires the following five steps: (1) wetting a skin surface, (2) preparing and/or dispensing a shaving preparation (e.g., shaving cream), (3) applying the shaving preparation to the skin surface, (4) shaving the skin surface with a blade, and (5) washing away excess shaving preparation remaining on the skin. In order to save time and simplify the shaving process, there have been many efforts directed to combining two or more of the above steps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,300 discloses a razor blade capable of moisturizing and shaving the skin in a single step. The razor blade holder includes a block of sponge-like material having a razor blade assembly implanted therein, whereby the cutting edges of the blades are arranged at or slightly below the surface of the sponge-like block. When wet, the sponge-like block may be pressed lightly on the skin surface and moved in a direction for shaving the skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,429 discloses a combined assembly for applying lather and moisture to a shaving surface in advance of a razor blade so that the shaving operation can be conducted in a single stroke. This is accomplished by attaching a lathering device, such as a soap cake, immediately in front of the blade of a razor. During a shaving operation, the razor and lathering device are immersed in water and the razor is drawn across a user's skin in an ordinary manner. The position of the lathering device on the razor is such that the soap cake comes into contact with the user's face immediately in advance of the razor blade and thus provides a lubricating composition immediately before shaving. However, the use of the lather-applying assembly requires constant adjustment of the soap cake so that the lubricating substance is properly applied to the shaving surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,644 discloses a lubricant-applying safety razor including a lubricating member provided in front of a cutting edge of a blade when the razor is moved along a user's skin in a shaving, motion. The lubricating member is an elongated cylindrical roll formed of lubricating compounds and extending substantially across the width of the cutting blade. The lubricating member includes a peripheral surface for engaging the skin of the user to apply a thin lubricating film to the skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,437 discloses a shaving assembly including a sponge-like element secured to a razor in a position that immediately precedes the advance of the blade. The sponge-like element is maintained in a saturated condition so that upon contact with shaving preparation on a user's face, the shaving preparation is moisturized by the lubrication provided by the sponge-like element.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,090 discloses a razor including a soluble body carried by a razor head or cartridge having an elongated razor. The soluble body is movable relative to the razor and is biased through an opening in the razor head by a spring. The soluble body disclosed in the '090 patent does not completely surround the elongated razor. As a result, the device is designed for moving in only one axial direction over a shaving surface and is incapable of adequately lubricating the skin when the razor is moved in multiple directions over a shaving surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,349 discloses an apparatus for lubricating the blade of a razor by applying a liquid lubricant and solubilizer mixture via an aerosol system directly to the razor blade immediately prior to shaving so that shaving can be performed without first applying a shaving preparation directly to the area to be shaved.
To some extent, the above-mentioned patents have simplified and/or improved the shaving process. However, the shaving devices disclosed in these patents are incapable of operating effectively in certain unique shaving environments, such as when a user attempts to shave while taking a shower or bath.
There are a number of unique problems associated with shaving in a shower. First, the shaving preparation, such as shaving cream, is frequently washed away from the shaving surface before the razor touches the skin. As a result, there is typically little or no lubricant covering the skin or shaving surface during shaving. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to take advantage of the lubricating properties of a shaving preparation and generally results in an uncomfortable shaving experience. Moreover, individuals who shave while in a shower must often assume awkward and unsafe positions in order to prevent water from washing away the shaving preparation. In addition, shaving in the shower is a rather complex process that requires a shaver to 1) place the razor in a stable location within the shower; 2) apply a shaving preparation to a skin surface; and 3) re-grasp the razor for shaving the skin. The chance that a user will drop the razor during this complex process in significant.
Thus, there is a need for a shaving assembly that allows for efficient and safe shaving in a wet environment, such as a shower or bath. There is also a need for a shaving assembly that incorporates a lubricating shaving preparation with a razor in such a way as to maximize skin lubrication during hair removal. The skin lubrication may contain skin beneficial additives and/or scents. Such a wet razor system should also allow for simultaneous body washing and hair removal, thereby reducing the amount of time spent in the shower or bath.

Shaving preparation for wet shaving assembly


In a magnetic recording apparatus, a magnetic recording medium has a RAM area on which rewritable information can be recorded. The magnetic recording medium also has a ROM area having a pattern area in which first-type segment sequence of magnetically rewritable magnetic segments and magnetically non-rewritable nonmagnetic segments is fixedly recorded as first-type modulation information. Predetermined segments in the first-type segment sequence are magnetized and changed to magnetized segments. A segment sequence of first and second segments magnetized in one and opposite directions is used to magnetically record second-type modulation information in the pattern area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording apparatus and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, and in particular, a magnetic recording apparatus and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus in which information is recorded on the basis of arrangement of a magnetic material and in which a pattern area in which the magnetic material arrangement cannot be changed even by a read and write head is recorded on a magnetic recording medium, the magnetic recording apparatus and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus being able to execute magnetic additional recording on the magnetic material in the non-rewritable area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Owing to the need to meet requirements for an increase in the storage capacity of magnetic recording apparatuses (also hereinafter referred to as magnetic disk apparatuses or hard disk apparatuses), demands have been made for an increase in the recording density of magnetic recording medium. However, an increase in recording density has disadvantageously caused magnetic information recorded by a read and write head moving relatively on a recording medium to affect recording in an adjacent track. This problem can be avoided by physically separating the parts of the magnetic material in adjacent tracks from one another.
For example, JPA 10-255407 (KOKAI) proposes a magnetic recording medium in which servo or ROM information is non-rewritably recorded on the basis of the presence of a magnetic material by patterning the magnetic material on the magnetic recording medium.
For example, JPA 10-255407 (KOKAI) discloses a scheme of enabling servo or ROM information to be recorded on the basis of the presence of a magnetic material by patterning the magnetic material on the magnetic recording medium.
In a recording portion, ROM information is recorded by patterning a magnetic material. In general, if information is newly recorded in an area in which the ROM information has been recorded, magnetic segments and nonmagnetic segments are inconsecutively arranged in the area; magnetic information can be recorded in the magnetic segments but not in the nonmagnetic segments. Consequently, when a write head provided in a recording and reproducing apparatus is used to overwrite the recording portion in which ROM information has already been written, information is not recorded in the nonmagnetic segments present in the recording portion. Thus, the overwritten information cannot be reproduced. As a result, with a magnetic recording medium with ROM information, an additionally recordable capacity is equal to the recording capacity of the entire medium minus the amount corresponding to the recording portion in which the ROM information has been recorded. This reduces the recording capacity of the entire recording medium. However, demands have been made to provide a sufficient additionally recordable capacity for a magnetic recording medium with a ROM information recording portion to minimize a decrease in additionally recordable capacity.

Magnetic recording apparatus and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus


An apparatus 10 and a method for producing homogeneous charge compression ignition within a cylinder 14 by the controlled introduction of material into the cylinder 14 when the piston 16 reaches a top dead center position. The material may have a relatively high temperature and pressure and may comprise superheated water.

The present invention generally relates to a method and an apparatus for creating homogeneous charge compression ignition and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for creating such homogenous charge compression ignition within a cylinder of an engine.
Homogeneous charge compression ignition typically requires the combustion of a mixture of fuel and air within an engine cylinder by an increase of pressure within the cylinder, thereby obviating the need for a spark plug or similar type of device or assembly. While this approach does allow for a more efficient operation of the engine and a concomitant reduction in undesirable emissions, current implementations have several undesirable drawbacks.
For example, some of these current implementations cause severe knock and engine component damage due to their inability to cause the ignition to occur at a predetermined or controlled time, thereby causing the ignition to occur, by way of example and without limitation, as the piston is beginning to and/or continuing to upwardly move in the cylinder, thereby causing an xe2x80x9cearly ignitionxe2x80x9d (e.g., an ignition occurring far in advance of the piston occupying a xe2x80x9ctop dead centerxe2x80x9d position) and thereby causing the previously delineated knock and component damage. Other of these current implementations require a heating of air which is initially communicated into the cylinder and/or the addition of relatively large amounts of combustion or ignition produced by-products or xe2x80x9cEGRxe2x80x9d to the fuel which is also initially communicated to the cylinder. These approaches reduce power by decreasing or displacing oxygen, do not reliably provide such desired ignition when relatively high engine power is required, and may also provide ignition far in advance of the piston occupying the top dead center position. To overcome these previously delineated drawbacks, other implementations utilize a relatively costly and complicated xe2x80x9cboost pistonxe2x80x9d arrangement.
There is therefore a need for a method and an apparatus for providing such desired ignition and which overcomes at least some of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior methods and apparatuses.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for providing and/or creating homogeneous charge compression ignition in a manner which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior methods, apparatuses, and implementations.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for providing homogeneous charge compression ignition in a cost-effective manner and without increasing the likelihood of undesirable knock and/or damage to the engine.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for providing homogeneous charge compression ignition by the selective introduction of relatively high pressure and high temperature material as a piston reaches a top dead center position.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, an assembly is provided for use with a cylinder containing a piston which is movable from a first position to a top dead center position. The assembly includes a valve assembly which is coupled to material and which injects the material into the cylinder as the piston is moved to the top dead center position.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method is provided. The method is effective to selectively ignite a mixture of fuel and air within a cylinder which movably contains a piston. The method includes the steps of injecting material into the cylinder as the piston moves to a top dead center position, thereby igniting the mixture.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and by reference to the following drawings.

Method and apparatus for creating homogeneous charge compression ignition


Disclosed is to improve corrosion resistance of rare-earth-element (RE)/transition-metal system permanent magnets by means of surface treatment, the magnets containing one or more of RE comprising yttrium, transition metals mainly comprising Fe. A conductive underlayer is formed on the surface of the magnet, on which an electroplated (hereinafter referred to as e-) Cu layer with the average crystal grain size not larger than 0.9 .mu.m is further formed. The underlayer may be any of an e-Ni layer, an electroless-plated Cu layer, an e-Cu layer by a cyanic Cu bath and another e-Cu layer by a bath of an alkaline organic acid salt of Cu containing phosphoric ester as a primary ingredient. A protective layer may be formed on the e-Cu layer, which is any of an e-Ni layer, an electroless-plated Ni-P layer, an e-Ni-alloy layer. The e-Cu layer is formed with a Cu pyrophosphate bath.

The present invention relates to a permanent magnet of R-TM-B system in which an electroplated copper layer having a fine crystal grain size is provided on a magnetic body to remarkably improve corrosion resistance property.
With higher performance and smaller size of electric and electronic equipment, similar demands have become increasingly great for permanent magnets used as parts of those equipment. More specifically, while the permanent magnet which seemed to be strongest in the past was made of rare-earth-element/cobalt (R-Co) system, a stronger permanent magnet of R-TM-B system has been recently put into practice (see JP-A-59-46008). Herein, R is one or more of rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and TM is one or more of transition metals including typical elements of Fe and Co, a part of which may be replaced by any other metal element or nonmetal element. B is boron.
However, such a permanent magnet of R-TM-B system has suffered from the problem that the magnet is very likely to corrode. For this reason, it has been proposed to provide an oxidation-resistant protective layer on the surface of a permanent magnet body for improving corrosion resistance.
The proposed types of protective layer include an electroplated nickel layer, an oxidation-resistant resin layer, an aluminum ion-plated layer, and so forth. Above all, the nickel electroplating has drawn an attention because it is simple treatment and effective in improving corrosion resistance of the permanent magnet of R-TM-B system (see JP-A-60-54406). As compared with the method of using oxidation-resistant resin, the nickel electroplating is advantageous in that the resulting surface protective layer is excellent in mechanical strength and the layer will not in itself appreciably absorb humidity.
The nickel electroplating method, however, has a tendency that since the plating current is liable to concentrate on outer peripheral portions, such as corners, of the magnet body, the film thickness becomes relatively thick in those outer peripheral portions, while since the plating current is hard to pass through an inner hole and inner peripheral portions, the film thickness becomes relatively thin in those inner hole and inner peripheral portions. Accordingly, a sufficient degree of uniformity in the film thickness cannot be achieved by the nickel electroplating alone. For those magnets having a peculiar shape such as cylindrical magnets, in particular, there has arisen a problem that the electroplated nickel layer is hardly coated on the inner peripheral portions.
To solve the above problem of undesired uniformity in the film thickness, a method of providing an electroplated copper layer as an underlayer for the nickel electroplating has been proposed so far (see JP-A62-236345 and JP-A-64-42805, for example).
A plating bath which can be used in practice includes a cyanic copper bath and an alkaline organic acid salt of copper bath containing phosphoric ester as a primary ingredient. These baths are advantageous in that plating can be directly applied onto the surface of the permanent magnet of R-TM-B system, because they have no substitution action of copper.
The term "substitution action" used herein implies that when some metal at a lower-level position in the electrochemical series is immersed in a salt solution of another metal at a higher-level position in the electrochemical series than the above metal, the immersed metal is dissolved and the metal in the solution is instead reduced from an ionized state so that it is deposited to form a coating. For example, those metals which are at higher-level positions than neodymium and iron in the electrochemical series include chromium, 18-8 stainless steel (in activated state), lead tin, nickel (in activated state), brass, copper, bronze, Cu-Ni alloy, nickel (in passive state), 18-8 stainless steel (in passive state), silver, gold, platina, etc. Any appropriate one of those metals has been selected depending on demand.
Also, bright plating has been conventionally used for the reason that pin holes are few and corrosion resistance is superior. The term "bright" used herein means a state that the surface has microscopic smoothness. To obtain a bright surface, it has been conventionally practiced to select an optimum brightener in view of such factors as residual stress and hardness of the coating, or to slowly effect an electrolytic reaction with the so-called bright current density.
Regardless of whether being electrolytic or nonelectrolytic, however, the conventional copper plating has a disadvantage that the plated layer is easy to change color in air and is likely to cause surface oxidation. In other words, the electroplated nickel layer provided on the plated copper layer is a coating which is indispensable in maintaining corrosion resistance. But, the electroplated copper layer resulted from using a cyanic copper bath and the alkaline organic acid salt-of-copper bath containing phosphoric ester as a primary ingredient is formed as a film which has the surface configuration of a cellar structure that includes almost circular cells having the size of 10 to 50 .mu.m as shown in a photograph of FIG. 13, and also has somewhat rough structure with the crystal grain size of 0.5 to 2 .mu.m as shown in a photograph of FIG. 14. Particularly, in FIG. 14, there appears a sharp crack extending laterally from the upper left portion. Note that the photographs were taken at 500 magnifications for FIG. 13 and 10,000 magnifications for FIG. 14.
Thus, since the plated copper layer is formed as a film of cellar structure having such surface roughness, even if the plated nickel layer is coated on the plated copper underlayer, the resulting film is formed to exhibit the surface configuration of cellar structure having the surface roughness of 1 to 5 .mu.m as shown in a photograph of FIG. 15. This has raised the problem that pin holes remain in the plated nickel layer at the boundary portion of cellar structure and corrosion resistance is deteriorated. An attempt of avoiding a detrimental effect of the pin holes in the above case leads to another problem that the film thickness must be increased. In this connection, a laser microscope is to measure unevenness of the surface while scanning a laser beam at a location indicated by the center line in FIG. 15. Referring to FIG. 15, the uneven profile curve is present between an upper broken line, as a base, representing zero .mu.m and a lower broken line representing 5.28 .mu.m. The average depth (DEPTH) is also indicated by an arithmetic unit incorporated in the laser microscope. In the case of FIG. 15, DEPTH is 4.72 .mu.m.
Further, the bright plating has suffered from the problem that an optimum brightener must be selected depending on cases, or that such a range of bright current density as expending an inconvenient amount of time must be selected at the sacrifice of productivity. Additionally, because brighteners contain sulfur (S), there is another problem that if due consideration is not paid to the relationship between a brightener used and an underlying or overlying layer, an electrochemical local battery may be formed to reduce corrosion resistance against the intention.

Permanent magnet of rare-earth-element/transition-metal system having improved corrosion resistance and manufacturing method thereof


A method and apparatus for accessing a memory for processing moving pictures, which loads data from a frame buffer of an external memory, and uses a motion prediction technique. The method includes the steps of: loading, from the frame buffer, pixels of a relevant block of 8×8 size and extra pixel data necessary for an inter prediction while performing the inter prediction of a block of an 8×8 size following division of a macroblock, storing the pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the extra pixel data in an internal cache memory. The stored pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the stored extra pixel data are used; and then the stored pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the stored extra pixel data stored in the cache memory are re-used during an inter prediction of the relevant block size of 8×8 and sub-blocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of image processing of moving pictures, such as H.264 and Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG-4). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for accessing a memory in which images are processed by an apparatus for processing moving pictures, which uses motion estimation techniques and motion compensation techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
H.264 or MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) corresponds to standard technology that has been established by International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) MPEG, wherein ISO/IEC is an international standardization organization, and Joint Video Team (JVT) is a partnership project of the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication standardization sector Video Coding Experts Group (ITU-T VCEG). The H.264 standard has provided improved technologies which distinguish from the existing coding schemes in order to raise the level of coding efficiency. In addition, H.264 permits use of a coding tool, such as an intra prediction using a flexible block size, an in-loop de-blocking filter, a quarter-pixel motion compensation, etc., as typical technology.
In order to design/employ a COder/DECoder (CODEC) in accordance with the above standard in real-time, it is necessary not only to reduce the number of execution cycles, but also to minimize the number of times a memory is accessed. Since frame storage reference buffers of the majority of video CODECs are located at external memories, the frame storage reference buffers require a significant amount of access time relative to other functions performed by the CODECs. The following table (TABLE 1) shows the relative memory access ratio in each function module included in an H.264 decoder.
TABLE 1name of modulemax bytes of memory accessratio [%]reference picture storeW × H + 2 × (W/2) × (h/2)10de-blocking filter(W/16) × (H/16 − 1) × 16 × 4 × 2 ×52display factorW × H + 2 × (W/2) × (H/2)10motion compression(W/16) × (H/16) × 16 × (9 × 9 + 2 ×753 × 3) × 2total~16 × W × H
With regard to the above table, W and H denotes Width and Height, respectively.
As shown in TABLE 1, the greater part of memory accesses are generated by a motion compensation part, which performs the motion compression with the relatively large access requirement ratio. In particular, in a mobile environment, as the rate of an inter prediction increases faster than the rate of an intra prediction, by reducing the number of times memory is accessed in the inter prediction part, there is a greater need to provide a scheme embodying a more efficient decoder than known heretofore.
According to the fact that motion compensation in H.264 has a tree structure, a single macroblock is classified into either 16×16, 16×8, 8×16, or 8×8 groups of pixels, wherein a relevant motion vector is sought in each case, and an image value is predicted at different points in time. The aforementioned is particularly applicable in the instance where a block of 8×8 size is sub-divided into sub-macroblocks of 8×4, 4×8, 4×4 sizes in order to accurately sense detailed motion. At present, when a half-pixel or a quarter-pixel is found, a basic image is enlarged two or four times, respectively, and then the motion prediction can be performed. In order to enlarge the images, in the H.264, pixels are fetched from reference frames by using a six-tap filter, e.g., a six-tap Finite impulse Response (FIR) filter, and then the prediction is performed.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the pixels necessary for a 4×4 luminance inter prediction made during general moving picture processing. With reference to FIG. 1, in the case of a block of 4×4 size (hereinafter, referred to as "4×4 block"), in order to find interpolation pixels, such as the half-pixel or the quarter-pixel, etc., by using the six-tap filter, it is additionally required to include two more columns/rows or three more columns/rows that are adjacent to the upper and lower sides, and the left and right of a relevant block besides pixels of the 4×4 block.
For example, in FIG. 1, finding (vertical interpolation) the half-pixel (i.e., an interpolation pixel A0′) that is to be vertically interpolated between pixels A0 and A1, in the case where the six-tap filter is used, pixels A_2, A_1, A0, A1, A2, and A3 are used in the interpolation. At this time, weights (i.e., tap values of the six-tap filters) are given to the pixels participating in the interpolation. The tap values (weights) are set to 1, −5, 20, 20, −5, and 1, respectively. Undoubtedly, the number of the pixels participating in the interpolation and the tap values given to the pixels participating in the interpolation can be set in various ways. The following EXPRESSION 1 shows a formula for evaluating a value of the half-pixel A0′ by use of a six-tap filter.A0′=(1×A—2−5×A—1+20×A+20×A1−5×A2+1×A3)/32  EXPRESSION 1
As in EXPRESSION 1, the interpolation pixel A0′ corresponds to the weighted mean of A_2, A_1, A0, A1, A2, and A3 to which adequate weights are assigned.
However, since a reference buffer is located at an external memory during an inter prediction operation, in this particular example, a data byte of a necessary pixel should be loaded to memories L1 and L2 corresponding to an internal Central Processing Unit (CPU) cache memory. At this time, because 4×4 blocks of the number of 16 exist in a worst-case scenario when an inter prediction of one 16×16 macroblock is performed, blocks of the total 1296 [bytes] (from 9×9×16=1296) should be fetched to be read.
Also, in the case of vertical interpolation, filtering should be performed on data that has been loaded to the memories L1 and L2, as an array of memories is not continuous, and thus the number of times the memory is accessed increases. Namely, in the case of 4×4 block, one interpolation pixel is generated with loads of six times, and the greater part of the CPU registers has the number of registers greater than twenty, as more bytes than a maximum of 20 [bytes] cannot be loaded. As the total bytes necessary for the vertical interpolation corresponds to 36 [bytes] (from 9×4=36), when 36 [bytes] are loaded to a register so as to perform filtering on 36 [bytes], the memory is access for two reloads, so that the filtering should be accomplished by two loads. As a result, when considering a case where the register is used to fetch another instruction, many more reloads need to be requested to perform the operation. This relatively large number of reloads adversely impacts the time it takes for operation.

Method for accessing memory in apparatus for processing moving pictures