A device for retaining a boot on a gliding board, the device including a base for receiving the boot, at least one tightening arrangement to bias the base toward the board. The device according to the invention includes at least one mechanism for positioning the base with respect to the board both translationally in any direction substantially parallel to the board, and rotationally along any angle with respect to an axis substantially perpendicular to the board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of devices for retaining a boot on a gliding board adapted for snowboarding, and relates more particularly to the positioning of the devices on the board.
2. Background and Material Information
Snowboarding is undertaken with needs that vary from one user to the next, especially with respect to the feet position on the board.
It is necessary for the user to be able to adjust the position of each boot retaining device, so as to steer the board precisely and under proper safety conditions.
The prior art has proposed devices for retaining a boot on a board.
For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,216 describes a device including a plate that is tightened on a board by means of a disc and screws. Each screw cooperates with an insert affixed to the board, such that the tightening of the screws biases the disc toward the plate which, in turn, is immobilized by friction upon contact with the board. This device enables a rotational adjustment of a boot affixed to the plate because the plate is rotationally guided by the disc. This device also enables an adjustment in a translational direction of the boot, by means of oblong holes in the disc.
However, the device according to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,216 has disadvantages. Initially, the device enables translational adjustments in a single direction substantially parallel to the board, which prevents the user from adapting the positions of the boots along both the length and the width of the board.
Furthermore, the large number of disc retaining screws renders the adjustment quite time-consuming and tedious.
Moreover, the inserts which receive the disc retaining screws are worn quite quickly because they are biased with every adjustment. When they are worn, the inserts no longer make it possible to affix the device. As a result, the board is unusable.

Device for retaining a boot on a gliding board


An implantable cardiac rhythm management system includes a user interface, such as an external programmer, for performing therapy energy threshold tests. The threshold tests allow the caregiver to determine the threshold energy at which paces capture the heart, i.e., cause a resulting contraction of the heart chamber to which the paces are delivered. The programmer provides recorded indications of the energy corresponding to each paced event, so that the caregiver can easily determine the point at which capture was lost. This recorded representation of pacing energy makes it easy for the caregiver to determine proper pacing thresholds to be used to ensure adequate pacing, while minimizing energy drain to prolong the useful life of the implanted device.

When functioning properly, the human heart maintains its own intrinsic rhythm, and is capable of pumping adequate blood throughout the body's circulatory system. However, some people have irregular cardiac rhythms, referred to as cardiac arrhythmias. Such arrhythmias result in diminished blood circulation. One mode of treating cardiac arrhythmias uses drug therapy. Anti-arrhythmic drugs are often effective at restoring normal heart rhythms. However, drug therapy is not always effective for treating arrhythmias of certain patients. For such patients, an alternative mode of treatment is needed. One such alternative mode of treatment includes the use of a cardiac rhythm management system. Such systems often include portions that are implanted in the patient and deliver therapy to the heart.
Cardiac rhythm management systems include, among other things, pacemakers, also referred to as pacers. Pacers deliver timed sequences of low energy electrical stimuli, called pace pulses, to the heart, such as via an intravascular leadwire or catheter (referred to as a "lead") having one or more electrodes disposed in or about the heart. Heart contractions are initiated in response to such pace pulses (this is referred to as "capturing" the heart). By properly timing the delivery of pace pulses, the heart can be induced to contract in proper rhythm, greatly improving its efficiency as a pump. Pacers are often used to treat patients with bradyarrhythmias, that is, hearts that beat too slowly, or irregularly.
Cardiac rhythm management systems also include cardioverters or defibrillators that are capable of delivering higher energy electrical stimuli to the heart. Defibrillators are often used to treat patients with tachyarrhythmias, that is, hearts that beat too quickly. Such too-fast heart rhythms also cause diminished blood circulation because the heart isn't allowed sufficient time to fill with blood before contracting to expel the blood. Such pumping by the heart is inefficient. A defibrillator is capable of delivering a high energy electrical stimulus that is sometimes referred to as a defibrillation countershock. The countershock interrupts the tachyarrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish a normal rhythm for the efficient pumping of blood. In addition to pacers, cardiac rhythm management systems also include, among other things, pacer/defibrillators that combine the functions of pacers and defibrillators, and any other implantable or external systems or devices for diagnosing or treating cardiac arrhythmias.
One problem faced by cardiac rhythm management systems is determining whether the therapy delivered has had its desired effect. For example, after implanting a pacer in a patient, a physician or other caregiver would like to know if the pace pulses being delivered are effective at "capturing the heart," i.e., evoking a contraction of the heart chamber to which the pace pulse was delivered. If the paces are not succeeding at capturing the heart, the physician will likely program a higher energy pace pulse to obtain capture. In order to save energy, prolonging the useful life of the implanted device before replacement is required, lower energy paces are preferable provided that the physician is assured that the lower energy pace pulses will capture the heart. Replacement of the implanted device carries significant expense as well as some risk of discomfort and/or complications.
In order to determine the appropriate energy of pacing therapy, the physician typically programs several different therapy energy levels (i.e., pacing voltage amplitude, pacing pulsewidth, or combination of amplitude and pulsewidth) to see what energy levels appropriately obtain capture. Because proper therapy energy levels are critical in providing effective cardiac rhythm management therapy and extending the useful life of the implanted device, there is a need for techniques that assist the physician or other caregiver in determining threshold energies for cardiac rhythm management therapy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cardiac rhythm management system with user interface for threshold test


A heat pump is provided that uses multiple stages of MCMs to cause heat transfer between a heat receiving end and a heat transmitting end. Thermal blocks are placed along the direction of heat transfer at locations in the heat pump that preclude the transfer of heat in a direction from the heat transmitting end towards the heat receiving end. The heat pump can be, for example, part of a refrigeration loop or can be connected directly with the object for which heating or cooling is desired. An appliance incorporating such a heat pump is also provided.

Conventional refrigeration technology typically utilizes a heat pump that relies on compression and expansion of a fluid refrigerant to receive and reject heat in a cyclic manner so as to effect a desired temperature change or i.e. transfer heat energy from one location to another. This cycle can be used to provide e.g., for the receiving of heat from a refrigeration compartment and the rejecting of such heat to the environment or a location that is external to the compartment. Other applications include air conditioning of residential or commercial structures. A variety of different fluid refrigerants have been developed that can be used with the heat pump in such systems.
While improvements have been made to such heat pump systems that rely on the compression of fluid refrigerant, at best such can still only operate at about 45 percent or less of the maximum theoretical Carnot cycle efficiency. Also, some fluid refrigerants have been discontinued due to environmental concerns. The range of ambient temperatures over which certain refrigerant—based systems can operate may be impractical for certain locations. Other challenges with heat pumps that use a fluid refrigerant exist as well.
Magneto caloric materials (MCMs)—i.e. materials that exhibit the magneto caloric effect—provide a potential alternative to fluid refrigerants for heat pump applications. In general, and as used herein, the magnetic moments of a "normal" MCM will become more ordered under an increasing, externally applied magnetic field and cause the MCM to generate heat. Conversely, decreasing the externally applied magnetic field will allow the magnetic moments of the normal MCM to become more disordered and allow the normal MCM to absorb heat. Some MCMs exhibit the opposite behavior—i.e. generating heat when the magnetic field is removed—and such MCMs are referred to herein as para-magneto caloric or inverse MCMs. The theoretical Carnot cycle efficiency of a refrigeration cycle based on an MCM can be significantly higher than for a comparable refrigeration cycle based on a fluid refrigerant. As such, a heat pump system that can effectively use an MCM would be useful.
Challenges exist to the practical and cost competitive use of an MCM, however. In addition to the development of suitable MCMs, equipment that can attractively utilize an MCM is still needed. Provision should be made for the transfer or heat to and from the MCM, preferably in a continuous manner so that the equipment does not operate in a start and stop fashion that can be inefficient. Currently proposed equipment may require relatively large and expensive magnets, may be impractical for use in e.g., appliance refrigeration, and may not otherwise operate with enough efficiency to justify capital cost.
Additionally, as stated above, the ambient conditions under which a heat pump may be needed can vary substantially. For example, for a refrigerator appliance placed in a garage or located in a non-air conditioned space, ambient temperatures can range from below freezing to over 90° F. Some MCMs are capable of accepting and generating heat only within a much narrower temperature range than presented by such ambient conditions.
Accordingly, a heat pump or heat pump system that can address certain challenges such as those identified above would be useful. More particularly, such a heat pump that can effectively use MCMs would be particularly beneficial. Such a heat pump system that can also be used in e.g., a refrigerator appliance would also be useful.

Conduction based magneto caloric heat pump


A portable ultrasound palpation device for measuring the Young""s modulus and the thickness of a soft tissue layer includes a hand-holdable palpation probe having an ultrasonic transceiver connected in series with a load cell. During a test, the probe is placed on the tissue surface with a bony substratum. As the operator manually loads and unloads the probe on the tissue surface, a program embedded in a microprocessor module continuously causes the ultrasound emitter to emit ultrasound pulses into the soft tissue. The ultrasound echo signal reflected from the bony interface is received and its flight time is used by the program to calculate the original thickness and the deformation of the soft tissue. The corresponding load applied to the tissue is continuously recorded by the load cell, its driver, and amplifier module, and the data collection module. After collecting the data for a preset number of loading-unloading cycles, the program computes the Young""s modulus of the soft tissue from the load-indentation response using an analytical solution of indentation on a layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of indentation and ultrasound techniques to quantitatively assess the mechanical properties of soft tissues, and in particular of a soft tissues covering a musculoskeletal system of a body.
2. Description of Prior Art
The human musculoskeletal system is entirely covered by layers of soft tissues. At the body support interfaces, such as buttock tissues interfacing with a seat, residual limb tissues interacting with a prosthetic socket, and plantar tissues of a foot interacting with an in-sole/ground, significant loads are transmitted via skin to underlying tissues. Biomechanical assessment of skin and underlying soft tissues is relevant to the designs of respective body support interfaces. These issues are relevant to many clinical rehabilitation problems, such as the design of special cushions for a spinal cord injury, special orthotics for diabetic feet, and custom prosthetic sockets for amputees. Traditionally, biomechanical properties of limb soft tissues are evaluated by palpation. Such a subjective assessment requires substantial experience acquired through trial and error. The qualitative nature makes knowledge accumulation difficult and makes teaching-learning imprecise.
Among the various biomechanical testing protocols, indentation test is an effective and relatively simple way to make biomechanical assessment of the skin and subcutaneous tissues under compression. Tests themselves very much resemble that of palpation. However, existing indentation apparatuses that have been proposed are not feasible for extensive clinical application. In most cases, indentors are driven by electromechanical or pneumatic devices. This makes testing systems difficult to handle, and difficult to operate, with potential hazards to the soft tissues. One of the latest example of electromechanical driving indentation apparatus was introduced in A. P. Pathak, et al., A rate-controlled indentor for in vivo analysis of residual limb tissues, IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering; Vol. 6, 12-20 (1998). The application of this device in clinical field is still difficult due to the large dimension of the indentation device. A hand-held indentation apparatus with a laser distance sensor to monitor the indentor displacement is disclosed in M. Horikawa, et al., Non-invasive measurement method for hardness in muscular tissues, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing; Vol. 31, 623-627 (1993). The measurement of the displacement by laser has the drawback that the result is significantly influenced by the misalignment, the indented area if the laser beam is too close to the indentor, and the curvature of the limb if the laser beam is too far from the indentor. Furthermore, the existing indentation apparatuses have the drawback that the deformation of the soft tissue is commonly determined by the movement of the indentor, so the soft tissue thickness can not be suitably measured in the test. The stiffness measured in this manner would reflect not only the material properties of the tissues but also some geometric factors. To extract accurate material parameter, the tissue thickness might be obtained using other approaches, such as MRI, X-ray and ultrasound techniques.
Conventional ultrasonic imaging techniques have been used to study the elastic properties of a soft tissue by measuring the strain in the tissue subjected to a given stress. An approach has been attempted to determine the tissue elasticity, by applying a low frequency vibration to the tissue surface while measuring the amplitude and phase of the internal tissue vibration using ultrasound Doppler technique. See e.g. T. A. Krouskop, et al., A pulsed doppler ultrasonic system for making non-invasive measurement of mechanical properties of soft tissue, J. Rehab. Res. Dev. Vol. 24, 1-8 (1987); see also R. M. Lerner, et al., xe2x80x9cSonoelasticityxe2x80x9d images derived from ultrasound signals in mechanically vibrated tissues, Ultrasound in Med. and Biol. Vol. 16, No. 3, 231-239 (1990), K. J. Parker, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,848 (1992), and Y. Yamakoshi, et al., Ultrasonic imaging of internal vibration of soft tissue under forced vibration, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, Vol. 7, No. 2, 45-53 (1990).
Another method for imaging the tissue elasticity is disclosed in J. Ophir, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,837 (1992), J. Ophir, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,870 (1994), and M. O""Donnell, et al., Internal displacement and strain imaging using ultrasonic speckle tracking, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, Vol. 41, 314-325 (1994). This method included emitting ultrasonic waves along a path into the soft tissue and recording an echo train resulting from an ultrasonic wave pulse. Another echo train was recorded resulting from a second ultrasonic wave emitting along the path after the tissue was compressed. A selected echo segment of the echo sequence corresponded to a particular echo source within the tissue along the beam axis of the transceiver. Time shifts in the echo segment are examined using cross-correlation technique to measure compressibilities of the tissue regions. The use of MRI for detection of shear waves in soft tissue induced by a mechanical actuator attached to the surface of the tissue is described in R. Muthupillai, et al., Magnetic resonance elastography by direct visualization of propagating acoustic strain waves, Science, Vol. 269, 1854-1857 (1995).
The above methods using ultrasound and MRI techniques are needed to generate the elasticity imaging of soft tissues. Their significance was the detection of tissue abnormalities, such as those caused by cancer or other lesions, and their output is the local mechanical property of internal regions of a soft tissue, not the bulk property of an entire tissue layer. For those applications, the deformation of the soft tissue was generally less than 5%, which was much smaller than those of the soft tissues interacting with supporting interfaces, such as residual limb tissue, for which 30% deformation is not uncommon in many cases. Since measurement of relative change of a material property is sufficient for many imaging purposes, these methods are usually not calibrated against any absolute values of the material parameters. This is a drawback when more accurate material parameters are needed.
It is an object of the invention to overcome these drawbacks.
According to the invention there is provided a portable ultrasonic palpation device for measuring Young""s modulus of a soft tissue layer comprising a hand holdable pressure applying probe having an ultrasonic transceiver for transmitting and receiving ultrasound at an outer surface of the tissue layer, an applied pressure sensor for the probe, and a programmed computer arranged to receive signals from the transceiver and from the pressure sensor and to compute the Young""s modulus of the tissue layer based on applications of manually applied different pressures to the outer surface.
The probe preferably comprises a cylindrical body having a forward tip containing the ultrasonic transceiver, and a like second cylindrical body attached end-to-end to the first cylindrical and containing the pressure sensor. The cylindrical bodies are preferably approximately 10 mm in diameter.
The computer may be programmed to provide output signals corresponding to an effective depth of the tissue layer.
The computer may be programmed to compute according to the equation:                     E        =                                            (                              1                -                                  v                  2                                            )                                      2                                            xe2x80x83                                          a                                            xe2x80x83                                          κ                                            xe2x80x83                                                          (                                  v                  ,                                      a                    /                    h                                                  )                                                                    P            w                                              (        1        )
where E is the Young""s modulus, P the applied load, w the indentation depth, h the tissue thickness, a the radius of indentor, and K a scaling factor.


It is intended to provide a multicolor image forming material for recording an image by irradiation with laser light comprising an image receiving sheet having an image receiving layer and at least four heat transfer sheets having a light-heat conversion layer and an image forming layer, wherein the light-heat conversion layer contains a polyamide-imide of a specific structure and a cyanine colorant of a specific structure. It is further intended to provide a multiple color image forming material wherein the difference in the visible light range between the reflectance of the image forming layer of each heat transfer sheet before the irradiation with laser light and recording of an image and the reflectance of the image forming layer transferred to the image receiving layer of the image receiving sheet due to the irradiation with laser light is 10% or less, and a multiple color image forming material wherein the color difference between the color hue of the image forming layer of each heat transfer sheet immediately after the transfer to the image forming layer of the image forming sheet due to the irradiation with laser light and before exposure and the color hue thereof after exposure does not exceed 2.

In the field of graphic arts, a printing plate is produced using a set of color separations of a color original which are prepared using lithographic films. In general, color proofs are prepared from color separations in order to inspect for errors in color separation and to check the need for color correction and the like before final printing (practical printing operation). Color proofs are required to realize high resolution enabling accurate half tone reproduction and high processing stability. To obtain color proofs close to actual prints, it is desirable for the materials of color proofs to be the same as those used on press, i.e., the same paper as the base material and the same pigments as the coloring materials. There is a higher demand for a dry process involving no processing solutions for the preparation of color proofs.
With the recent spread of computerized systems in prepress work, recording systems for preparing color proofs directly from digital signals have been developed. Such computerized systems, particularly contemplated for preparing high quality color proofs, are generally capable of reproducing dot images at 150 lines or more per inch. In order to obtain high quality proofs from digital signals, a laser beam is used as a recording head, which is capable of modulation according to digital signals and focusing into a small spot diameter. Hence it is demanded to develop image forming materials that exhibit high sensitivity to laser light and high resolution enabling reproduction of highly precise dot images.
Image forming materials known useful in image transfer methods using laser light include a thermal melt transfer sheet, which comprises a support, a light-heat conversion layer capable of absorbing laser light to generate heat, and an image forming layer having a pigment dispersed in a heat fusible matrix (e.g., a wax or a binder) in the order described (JP-A-5-58045). In the image forming method with the use of such a thermal transfer sheet of this type, the laser-irradiated area of the light-heat conversion layer generates heat to melt the image forming layer, and the molten part of the image forming layer is transferred to the image receiving sheet laminated on the transfer sheet, thereby forming an image on the image receiving sheet.
JP-A-6-219052 teaches a heat transfer sheet comprising a support, a light-heat conversion layer containing a light-heat converting substance, a heat release layer as thin as 0.03 to 0.3 μm, and an image forming layer containing a colorant in this order. In the case of this heat transfer sheet, the heat release layer reduces its bonding strength between the image forming layer and the light-heat conversion layer upon being irradiated with laser light. As a result, a high precision transfer image is formed on the image receiving sheet provided on the heat transfer sheet. This image formation method using the above-described heat transfer sheet utilizes so-called "ablation". That is, a laser-irradiated area of the heat release layer decomposes and vaporizes, resulting in reduction of the strength bonding the image forming layer and the light-heat conversion layer in that area. As a result, the image forming layer of that area is transferred to the image receiving sheet laminated thereon.
These imaging methods are advantageous in that images can be formed on printing paper having an image receiving layer (adhesive layer) and that a multicolor image can easily be obtained by successively transferring images of different colors onto the same image receiving sheet. The method utilizing ablation is particularly advantageous for ease of forming a highly precise image and is useful to prepare color proofs (direct digital color proofs: DDCPs) or precise mask images.
With the spread of desk-top publishing (DPT) work, printing companies adopting a computer-to-plate (CTP) system have a strong demand for a DDCP system, which eliminates the need of intermediate film or plate output as has been involved in traditional analog proofing. In recent years, DDCPs with higher quality, higher stability, and larger sizes have been demanded as good approximations to the final prints.
Laser thermal transfer systems are capable of image formation at high resolution. Options include (1) laser sublimation, (2) laser ablation, and (3) laser melt.
Using any of the above-described systems, it is required that a multicolor image forming material comprising a heat transfer sheet and an image receiving sheet shows a high sensitivity of a recorded image and little change in color hue before and after exposure. It is also required to improve the stability with time of a liquid coating composition for the light-heat conversion layer.
In recent years, multibeams of laser light using a plurality of laser beams are employed for shorten recording time in image recording with laser-irradiation. In the case of recording with multibeam laser light by using an existing heat transfer sheet, it is sometimes observed that the transfer image formed on the image receiving sheet shows an only insufficient image density. A serious lowering in the image density arises observed particularly in high-energy laser recording. As the results of studies by the present inventors, it is found out that a lowering in image density is caused by uneven transfer occurring in high-energy laser irradiation.
In the case of recording an image by laser irradiation, there arises another problem that a light-heat converting substance contained in the light-heat conversion layer or its decomposition product migrates into the image forming layer and then is transferred together with the image forming layer, thereby worsening the color hue of the transfer image thus formed.
It is also required to solve these problems.


Embodiments provide a machine learning framework that enables developers to author and deploy machine learning pipelines into their applications regardless of the programming language in which the applications are structured. The framework may provide a programming language-specific API that enables the application to call a plurality of operators provided by the framework. The framework provides any number of APIs, each for a different programming language. The pipeline generated via the application is represented as an execution graph comprising node(s), where each node represents a particular operator. When a pipeline is submitted for execution, calls to the operators are detected, and nodes corresponding to the operators are generated for the execution graph. Once the execution graph is complete, the execution graph is provided to an execution engine, which reconstructs a corresponding execution graph that is structured in accordance with the operators' programming language and executes the reconstructed execution graph.

Machine learning is transitioning from an art and science into a technology available to every developer. In the near feature, every application on every platform will incorporate trained models to encode data-based decisions that would be impossible for developers to author. This presents a significant engineering challenge, since, currently, data science and modeling are largely decoupled from standard software development processes. This separation makes incorporating machine learning capabilities inside applications unnecessarily costly and difficult, and furthermore, discourages developers from embracing machine learning.

Optimized machine learning pipeline execution based on execution graphs


A display device and a method of controlling the display device are provided. The display device includes: a display unit for displaying visual information to a user on an overall screen region, and being configured to bend with respect to a bending portion between screen regions of the overall screen region that display the visual information; a pressure sensor a location corresponding to the bending portion, and being configured to sense a first pressure applied to the bending portion when the display unit is bent with respect to the bending portion; and a control unit for controlling the visual information provided through the display unit based on sensing information transferred from the pressure sensor.

1. Field
Aspects of embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device and a method of controlling the display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobility based electronic devices are widely used. Recent examples of mobile electronic devices include tablet PCs, in addition to small electronic devices such as mobile phones.
Such mobile electronic devices include a display unit to provide users with visual information such as images in order to assist various functions. As the equipment for driving the display unit has become smaller, the proportion of space occupied by the display unit to that of the mobile electronic device has gradually increased.

Display device and method of controlling the same


An electric pencil sharpener includes a motor, a transmission subassembly and a cutter subassembly driven by the motor, a feeding subassembly and at least one resilient adjusting means. The feeding subassembly includes a feeding gear set coupled to the transmission subassembly and two feeding rollers adapted to sandwich a pencil to be sharpened, at least one feeding roller is driven by the feeding gear set. The pair of brackets is arranged in parallel, respectively defining slide ways to movablely support the feeding rollers. A feeding space is defined between the two brackets. The at least one resilient adjusting means connects the two feeding rollers outside or inside the feeding space, adapted for keeping the feeding rollers nipping the pencil and engendering a pencil feeding friction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an office product, electric pencil sharpener, more particularly the present invention relates to an improved electric pencil sharpener provided with a feeding subassembly with a pair of feeding rollers, which space between the two feeding rollers is automatically adjustable. A further novel element of the invention is the provision for an electric pencil sharpener capable of automatic sharpening and feeding different pencils with different sizes.
2. Background of the Invention
Pencil sharpener is a necessary tool in the modern office. Electric pencil sharpeners are in widespread use largely due to their modest price and outstanding reliability. A typical electric pencil sharpeners comprises an electric motor, a gear train, a cutter assembly, and a receptacle receiving a pencil or a pencil alignment subassembly, and a switch for activating the motor, e.g. upon insertion of a pencil. When the pencil is positioned in the receptacle, the motor exports its power to the cutter assembly through the gear train. The pencil is sharpened by a blade of the cutter assembly. Numerous innovations for pencil sharpeners have been provided in the prior art that will be described.
A typical pencil sharpener is presented, in cross reference to applicant's related application, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/602,252, filed on the date Nov. 21, 2006, which teaches an improved electric pencil sharpener. The aforementioned improved electric pencil sharpener includes a motor, a transmission subassembly engaged with the motor, a cutter subassembly and a feeding subassembly and an enclosure holding all the components. The cutter assembly and the feeding subassembly are driven by the transmission subassembly. Said feeding subassembly includes a feeding gear set and a pair of feeding rollers driven by the feeding gear set. The interval between the two feeding rollers is adjusted under an adjusting subassembly with complicated structure. The adjusting subassembly includes a cage forming an inner path thereinside, a cap covering one end portion of the cage, a pair of bracket standing on the enclosure defining an interior space, and two adjusting block arranged on respective brackets. The cage encompasses the brackets and the interior space. Each of the feeding rollers is fixed a shaft supported between the two brackets and getting through slide ways defined in each of the brackets. The adjusting blocks are respectively attached to the two axes carrying feeding rollers at the point where the axes sticking out the interior space from the brackets. Each of the adjusting blocks combines an adjusting rod. A spring is squeezed between the cap and the adjusting rods so as to urge the adjusting rods to ride along the path inside the cage in close proximity. When sharpening pencils with different diameter, rotate the cap, the adjusting rods ride along the path to push the axes carrying feeding rollers moving back or forth, thereby changing the interval between the two feeding rollers under restriction of the slide ways in the pair of brackets. However, the adjusting assembly in the conventional electric pencil sharpener is so sophisticated, that results in high manufacturing cost. Moreover, the interval adjustment between the two feeding rollers is under manual operation, which is inconvenient for people to operate such electric pencil sharpener.
In light of the foregoing, there is a very desirable need to improve the typical electric pencil sharpener.


A label laminate and a method for manufacturing a label laminate. The laminate includes a first label material layer and a second label material. The method includes forming a pattern in which adhesive areas and non-adhesive areas alternate on the face side of the first label material layer and on the face side of the second label material layer. The adhesive areas on the first label material layer are aligned with the non-adhesive areas on the second label material layer and the non-adhesive areas on the first label material layer are aligned with the adhesive areas on the second label material layer. The face sides of two label material layers are attached to each other. The adhesive areas are formed by a screening method. The non-adhesive areas have a surface energy, which is at least 25 dynes.

Publication EP 1229509 discloses a laminate including duplex labels laminated together by patches of adhesive alternating oppositely therebetween. The labels may be removed from each other, with each label having adhesive on the back side thereof. When an adhesive patch is intended to be on the surface of the first label then there is a silicone release layer between the adhesive patch and the surface of the second label.
Publication WO 97/03839 discloses a method and an apparatus for hot-melt printing. The invention can be utilized e.g. for delivering adhesive patterns to a web material. One example is a zone coated label stock.
A problem related to patch-like adhesive patterns is that opposite to the patch there must be a patch-like release layer, which makes the manufacturing process complicated. It is also desirable to get rid of silicone release agents because-of-their high price. On the other hand, the use of the release agents has been compulsory because otherwise there is no possibility to release different layers from each other. A presence of the silicone release agent is detected for example by a surface energy measurement and the obtained value is between 20 and 22 dynes.

Label laminate and a method for manufacturing a label laminate


An IC card includes a main substrate and a plurality of sub-substrates. Each sub-substrate has two surfaces on which electronic components are installed. The sub-substrates are mounted on both surfaces of the main substrate within the IC card. Openings in the main substrate receive electronic components installed on the sub-substrates. Such an arrangement makes it possible to provide four layers of electronic components within an IC card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of an IC card and more particularly, to the structure inside an IC card.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an IC card 1; FIG. 8 is a plan view of a conventional substrate incorporated into the IC card of FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 7. A plurality of electronic components 3 are installed on the obverse and reverse surfaces of a substrate 2. The electronic components 3 are connected to circuit patterns 2b on the obverse surface of the substrate 2. A caulking hole 2a is located at the center of the substrate 2. A connector 6 includes a plurality of external connecting terminals 6a which are separate from the substrate 2. The external connecting terminals 6a, each linked to the circuit patterns 2b on the substrate 2, electrically connect the electronic components 3 on the substrate 2 to the outside of a housing.
The substrate 2 and the connector 6 are supported by the inside of a frame 4. FIG. 9 shows how the substrate 2 is supported by the inside of the frame 4. A support 4a extends through the center of the frame 4 from one end of the inside of the frame 4 to the other and in a direction at right angles with line 9--9 of FIG. 7. The support 4a is provided to a caulking portion 4b at the center thereof. The substrate 2 not only is supported by the support 4a and supporting portions 4c at both ends of the frame 4, but also is fixed to the inside of the frame 4 by caulking with the aid of the caulking hole 2a and the caulking 4b. The connector 6 is also supported by the inside of the frame 4. The portion of the frame 4 to which the connector 6 is attached is shaped so that the connector 6 can fit into it. For example, a sub-frame (not shown) presses the connector 6 in place downwardly, thus fixing it to the inside of the frame 4 in such a way that the sub-frame is mated with the inside. The illustrations of these portions are omitted.
Panels 5a and 5b are bonded by an adhesive or the like to the obverse and reverse surfaces of the frame 4, respectively. The substrate 2, together with the connector 6, is accommodated in a housing composed of the frame 4 and the panels 5a and 5b. The panels 5a and 5b are usually made of metal in order to protect the electronic components from static from outside the IC card, a magnetic field, physical external force, and the like.
Because of the thus-constructed conventional IC card, electronic components can be installed merely on both surfaces of the substrate. Since electronic components can be installed only to the extent that the substrate can accommodate them, the number of electronic components to be installed is limited.

IC card including multiple substrates bearing electronic components


The present invention relates to a process for preparing di- and polyamines of the diphenyl methane series. More specifically, the process comprises reacting aniline and formaldehyde by (1a) mixing aniline with hydrochloric acid to form aniline hydrochloride, and (1b) mixing the aniline hydrochloride with a first portion of aqueous formaldehyde; or (1c) mixing aniline with a first portion of aqueous formaldehyde to form an aminal, and (1d) mixing the aminal with hydrochloric acid; to obtain a first reaction product; (2) converting the first reaction product to a second reaction product comprising di- and polyamines of the diphenyl methane series in a cascade of 4 to 25 reaction zones arranged in series, wherein a second portion of aqueous formaldehyde is added to the second of the reaction zones, in which second reaction zone the temperature is equal to or up to 20° C. higher than the temperature in the first reaction zone, and wherein the temperature consecutively increases from the third to the last of the reaction zones, the temperature in the third of the reaction zones being from 15° C. to 50° C. higher than in the second of the reaction zones, and (3) working-up the second reaction product to obtain the di- and polyamines of the diphenyl methane series.

Diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series (MDA) are understood to be amines and mixtures of amines of the following type:
wherein n stands for a natural number 2.
The term monomeric MDA (MMDA) is used herein for compounds and mixtures of compounds with n=2 (=diamines of the diphenylmethane series) and the term polymeric MDA (PMDA) is used herein for compounds and mixtures of compounds with n>2 (=polyamines of the diphenylmethane series) are also conventional. For the sake of simplicity, mixtures of compounds in which compounds with n=2 and n>2 occur side by side are conventionally grouped together under the term MDA (=diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series). These diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series are important intermediates in the production of diisocyanates and polyisocyanates of the diphenylmethane series (MDI), which are obtained by phosgenation of MDA.
The continuous, discontinuous or semi-continuous preparation of diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series is described in numerous publications and patents. In the processes that are employed in industry, MDA is conventionally prepared by reacting aniline and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalysts, the acid catalyst conventionally being neutralized at the end of the process by addition of a base, the reaction mixture being separated into an organic and an aqueous phase and the organic phase being sent to the final processing stages, such as for example removal of excess aniline by distillation. The initial reaction of aniline and formaldehyde can be carried out by mixing aniline with hydrochloric acid to form aniline hydrochloride, which is then mixed with formaldehyde. It is also possible to mix aniline and formaldehyde in the absence of the acid catalyst followed by mixing the aminal formed thereby with hydrochloric acid. In either case a first reaction product is formed which is converted to the desired MDA in a rearrangement step at elevated temperatures.
Common to all of the processes described in the literature for preparing MDA by reacting aniline and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst is the fact that chromophores or their precursors are formed during the reaction which discolor the MDI that is produced downstream by phosgenation of the obtained MDA. During neutralization of the acid catalyst and removal of the aniline that is used in excess in the reaction, these chromophores or their precursors are not or not adequately reduced or removed, and during the subsequent phosgenation of the MDA to form the corresponding diisocyanates and polyisocyanates and their subsequent processing (separation of the solvent, separation of monomeric MDI (=MMDI)), they commonly lead to darkly colored products which in turn result in polyurethane foams having a yellowish or greyish discoloration or to other discolored polyurethane (PU) materials. Although the natural color of the diisocyanates and polyisocyanates has no negative influence on the mechanical properties of the polyurethanes that are produced therefrom, light-colored products are preferred because of their good variability in the manufacturer's production process, for example in terms of visibility through thin top coats and colored design possibilities.
Another problem encountered in the context of industrial MDA production is the formation of undesirable secondary products, in particular N-methylated compounds. As secondary amines, these cannot be converted into isocyanates; rather, they pose problems in that they form secondary carbamic acid chlorides upon phosgenation and thus contribute to the formation of hydrolyzable chlorine compounds in the desired MDI. It is generally believed that N-methyl-MDA is formed as a result of a side reaction between aniline and formaldehyde that produces N-methylaniline, and this by-product reacts, like aniline, with formaldehyde to become N-methyl-MDA.
There has been no shortage of attempts to reduce the discoloration of MDA and/or the amount of N-methylated secondary products produced:
US 2007/179316 A1 aims at improving the coloration of MDI obtained by phosgenation of the mixtures of diamines and polyamines that are formed by reacting aniline with formalin in the presence of acid catalysts or of the isocyanates and polyurethanes produced from them. To this end, a process is described that uses an aniline containing less than 3 wt. % of diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series, based on the weight of the aniline used, in the preparation of diamines and polyamines.
US 2005/0014975 A1 relates to a process for preparing methylenedianiline by reacting aniline with formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalysts which aims at minimizing the N-methyl-MDA content as an unwanted byproduct. Such an MDA should be used, in particular, in an improved process for preparing methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI), which should make accessible an MDI having improved properties, in particular a low chlorine content and/or a light color, in particular in the crude MDI which, in addition to the monomeric MDI, also comprises polymeric MDI. To this end, a semicontinuous process is disclosed, which encompasses introducing aniline with or without acid catalyst, feeding formaldehyde with or without acid catalyst through a mixing element into a circuit in which aniline with or without acid catalyst and with or without previously added formaldehyde is circulated and, after feeding in at least 50% of the total amount of formaldehyde to be fed in, heating the reaction mixture to a temperature above 75° C.
DD 295 628 A5 relates to a method for the discontinuous production of methylenedianiline/polyamine mixtures used in the manufacture of aromatic isocyanates. In one embodiment, formaldehyde is mixed with a circulated reaction mixture in the proportion of 1:10 to 1:300 with turbulence corresponding to a Reynolds number >10,000, whereby 55% to 85% of the amount of formaldehyde are added at a temperature of ≤40° C. and 45% to 15% of the amount of formaldehyde are added at 60° C. to 80° C. within at least 10 min to 30 min. In another embodiment, 70% to 90% of the total amount of formaldehyde are added under adiabatic reaction conditions within at least 10 min to 30 min and 30% to 10% of the amount of formaldehyde are added in at least 10 min to 30 min to the reaction mixture.
EP 0 451 442 A2 relates to a process for continuously preparing a methylene-crosslinked polyarylamine. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to a process for the continuous preparation of a methylene-crosslinked polyarylamine from aniline and formalin by the use of a multi-stage reactor, the aforesaid process being characterized by reacting aniline with formalin in the presence of hydrochloric acid under conditions that formalin is divided and placed in 3 or more stages. Hydrochloric acid is used in a molar ratio of from 0.1 to 0.5 mole per mole of aniline; aniline is used finally in a molar ratio of from 1.5 to 4.0 moles per mole of formalin. The reaction temperatures in the first stage, the second stage, the third et seq. stages and the final stage are adjusted to 20-50° C., 40-70° C., 50-90° C. and 110° C. or more, respectively; and molar ratios of water to aniline of 1.3-2.5 in the first stage, 1.9-5.0 in the second stage, and 2.4-5.7 in the third et seq. stages are used.
DD 238 042 A1 relates to a process for the production of aromatic isocyanates which are used in rigid foam production by phosgenation of amines of the diphenylmethane series through acidic condensation of aniline and formaldehyde. Methylenedianilines and their higher oligomers, which are characterized by a low content of N-methylation products, are produced such that formaldehyde is added to an aniline hydrochloride stream continuously in 2 installments. After the first addition of formaldehyde, the product stream is cooled to <50° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,760 relates to a process for preparing a reaction product containing methylene di(phenylamine) comprising reacting aniline with formaldehyde, in the presence of a low level of an acid which is sufficient to catalyze the reaction at an initial and/or condensation stage of said reaction and produce methylene di(phenylamine)intermediates; providing a reaction mixture at the condensation stage with an acid content which is at or below the initial acid level at the end of the condensation stage, and holding the reaction mixture at a high temperature which is sufficient to effect a rearrangement of the intermediates to produce a reaction product containing methylene di(phenylamines) and low levels of impurities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,769 describes a process for production of polyamines of the diphenylmethane series through a condensation reaction of aniline with formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst, neutralization of the acid catalyst after reaction completion, and distillation of the resultant polyamine mixture. More specifically, the process comprises the following sequence of steps: a) aniline is reacted with formaldehyde in a mole ratio of 1.5:1 to 10:1 at temperatures between 10 and 150° C., b) an acid catalyst is thereafter added to the reaction mixture at a mole ratio of aniline to acid catalyst of from 2:1 to 100:1 (corresponding to a protonation degree of 1 to 50%) and the temperature is from 10 to 150° C., and wherein the water formed during the condensation reaction is removed either before step b) or after step b), c) the temperature of the mixture obtained from b) is increased by at least 40° C. in no more 15 minutes, and thereafter, if necessary, heating of the mixture is continued to a final temperature between 105 and 200° C., with the proviso that the reaction time is from 10 to 300 minutes after the temperature increase, and d) the reaction mixture from c) is distilled after neutralization of the acid catalyst.
GB 1 365 454 describes a process for the preparation of aromatic polyamines wherein one or more aromatic amines are condensed with formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalysts in which the reaction is carried out in two stages, the first stage being carried out in the presence of a volatile solvent, and under reduced pressure, the vacuum being such that the temperature of the reaction mixture does not rise above 40° C., and the second stage being carried out at a temperature of at least 80° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,443 relates to a process for the preparation of a polyamine wherein an aromatic amine and formaldehyde are condensed in the presence of an acidic catalyst. More specifically, the process comprises boiling the reaction mixture under reflux at a temperature of at least 60° C. whereby vapors from the mixture are condensed and returned to the mixture, adding an aqueous formaldehyde solution to the said condensed vapors and recovering the resulting polyamine.
US 2006/224018 A1 relates to a process for the preparation of MDA which aims at preventing or suppressing the formation of undesirable isomers, homologues or by-products. The process comprises combining a first portion of the aniline to be reacted with acid catalyst and a second portion of the aniline to be reacted with formaldehyde. The first and second portions of aniline are then combined and reacted.
US 2006/287555 A1 relates to a process for the acid-catalyzed preparation of polyamines of the diphenylmethane series. This process comprises a) reacting aniline and formaldehyde in a molar ratio of 1.5:1 to 6:1, at temperatures of 20° C. to 100° C., in which the water content in the acid reaction mixture is <20 wt. % and a degree of protonation of <15% is established, and b) increasing the temperature of the reaction mixture to 110° C. to 250° C. when the ratio of the weight contents of p-aminobenzylaniline to 4,4′-MDA in the acid reaction mixture falls below a value of 1.00.
EP 1 167 343 A1 describes the production of an aromatic polyamine mixture comprising 4,4′-methylenedianiline (4,4′-MDA) and higher homologs, by reacting aniline with formaldehyde, comprising using a split stream of formaldehyde which is mixed with 2,2′-methylenedianiline (2,2′-MDA) and 2,4′-methylenedianiline (2,4′-MDA) by-products and recycled to a rearrangement zone. More specifically, the process is carried out by: (a) reacting aniline with formaldehyde in a plant comprising a mixing zone, a condensation zone, a rearrangement zone and optionally a post-reaction zone, and (b) separating 2,2′-MDA and 2,4′-MDA from the crude product which comprises splitting the formaldehyde feed into at least two parts, with one part being supplied to the condensation zone and one part being mixed with the 2,2′-MDA and 2,4′-MDA and recycled to the rearrangement zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,136 encompasses a process for preparing a reaction product containing methylene diphenylamine, comprising reacting aniline and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst; reducing the acid level of the resulting reaction mixture during digestion of the reaction mixture, followed by completely neutralizing the reaction product after further digestion.
US 2017/107171 A1 relates to a process for preparing diamines and polyamines of the diphenylmethane series (MDA) from aniline and formaldehyde, in which care is taken during the start-up procedure to ensure that there is a sufficient excess of aniline over formaldehyde which is at least 105% of the molar ratio of aniline to formaldehyde wanted for the target formulation of the MDA to be produced. It is disclosed that at low intended molar ratios of aniline to formaldehyde (=A/Ftarget, i.e. the molar ratio of aniline to formaldehyde (CH2O) in the target formulation), there is a risk of deposition of solids ("aminal solids") in the aminal separator. A "formalin split" in which only part of the formalin required for attaining the A/Ftarget value is introduced into the aminal reaction and the remaining formalin is fed into the reaction mixture immediately before, at the same time as or after the introduction of acid makes it possible to work with a sufficiently high molar ratio of aniline to formaldehyde in the aminal section in order to prevent solids formation. US 2017/107171 A1 remains silent regarding any impact of the "formalin split" on MDA and/or MDI quality and regarding the process parameters of the "formalin split".

Process for preparing di- and polyamines of the diphenyl methane series


In order to carry out an equidistant data transfer between clock domains having different clock rates, a combination of a counter (1) and a finite state machine (2) is proposed. Said counter (1) continuously counts off the clock cycles of the faster clock (CLK2, while the finite state machine (2) monitors the clock edges of the slower clock (CLK1) and an enabling signal (EN) for the data transfer with the faster clock (CLK2) is produced according to the count of the counter (1).

The present invention relates to a method as well as a circuit for transmitting data from a system, which is operated by means of a first clock, to a system operated by means of a second clock, whereby the clock rate of the second clock is higher than the clock rate of the first clock.
When data is transmitted between systems, which are operated in different clock domains, in particular when data is transmitted from a system with a relatively low clock rate to a system with a relatively high clock rate, generally the problem arises of synchronizing the data transfer as accurately as possible, so that for example as a result of clock jitter no data is lost or duplicated. Furthermore it is important in particular for hardware filters that the data is transmitted equidistantly, that is to say at regular intervals or in the form of regular data packets, from the lower clock domain to the higher clock domain.
FIG. 3 depicts a synchronizing circuit in accordance with the prior art, which can be used for synchronizing the data transfer from a system operated by means of a relatively low clock rate CLK1 to a system operated by means of a relatively high clock rate CLK2.
As shown in FIG. 3, this synchronizing circuit on the input side comprises a shift register chain, in the present case with two registers 5, 6, whereby in the first register 5 the slower clock CLK1 is fed on the data input. The inverted output of the second register 6 is fed to an AND gate 9, which receives the output signal of the first register 5 as a further input signal. The output of the AND gate 9 is connected to the data input of a further register 8, at the output of which an enabling signal EN for a register 7 is picked up, whereby the data DIN to be transmitted lies on the data input of the register 7. All registers 5-8 are clocked with the faster clock rate CLK2. The logic circuit provided at the output of the shift register chain 5, 6 ensures that a rising clock edge of the slower clock CLK1 can be registered, whereby in this case an enabling pulse EN for the register 7 is produced, so that the data DIN lying on the data input of the register 7 are outputted with the faster clock rate CLK2 in the form of the data DOUT.
FIG. 4 depicts the time progression of the individual signals illustrated in FIG. 3, whereby the output signals REG0 or REG1 of the registers 5 or 6 are also represented in particular. As is evident from FIG. 4, the clock rate of the faster clock CLK2 is four times higher than the clock rate of the slower clock CLK1. In FIG. 4 the clock cycles or clock periods of the clock CLK2, which in each case lie within a clock cycle of the clock CLK1, are numbered with 0. . . 3.
As is equally evident from FIG. 4, the clock edges of the clock CLK1 can vary as a result of clock jitter in such a manner that no clock edge can be accurately recognized with the aid of the synchronizing circuit shown in FIG. 3 in a specific clock cycle of the clock CLK2. Due to the clock jitter of the slower clock CLK1 the rising clock edge of the clock CLK1 can for example be registered in the clock cycle No. 0 or however also only in the clock cycle No. 1 of the clock CLK2. In FIG. 4 the respective progression of the signals REG0, REG1, EN and DOUT consequently ensuing is illustrated for both cases, whereby case A represented in FIG. 4 corresponds to a registration of the rising clock edge of the clock CLK1 in the clock cycle No.0, while case B corresponds to a registration of the rising clock edge of the clock CLK1 in the clock cycle No. 1 of the clock CLK2.
In case A the rising clock edge of the slower clock CLK1 is already registered in the clock cycle No. 0 of the faster clock CLK2, which is evident from the progression of the output signal REG0 of the first register 5 in the shift register chain, so that the enabling signal EN is produced in the clock cycle No. 1. In case B however the enabling signal EN is only produced in the clock cycle No. 2 of the clock CLK2, whereby the data output is retarded accordingly.
The illustration in FIG. 4 demonstrates that sometimes as a result of clock jitter of the slower clock CLK1 the data cannot be transmitted equidistantly, since the enabling signal EN can arise in different clock cycles of the faster clock CLK2.
The object of the present invention is to propose a method as well as a device for transmitting data from a system operated by means of a first clock to a system operated by means of a second clock, whereby the clock rate of the second clock is higher than the clock rate of the first clock, as a result of which data can be transmitted equidistantly, that is to say regularly, even with unknown clock jitter and clock time misalignment.

Method and circuit for transmitting data between systems having different clock speeds


A magnetic alloy film suitable for high density recording has a composition of (Fe.sub.x M.sub.y N.sub.z).sub.a L.sub.b, where L is Cu and/or Ag. The provision of Cu and/or Ag in a range from 0.5 to 5 atomic % enhances thermal stability of the soft magnet properties of the alloy.

The present invention relates to a magnetic material, and more particularly to a magnetic alloy film suitable for use in high-density magnetic recording and reproduction, which is required in digital video tape recorders (VTR's) and high-resolution VTR's and to a magnetic head using such a film.
A material for a core of magnetic heads has been required not only to have a high saturation flux density (Bs) but also to excel in hardness, corrosion resistance and thermal stability for soft magnetic properties. Conventionally, the cores of magnetic heads have been made of ferrite, sendust and Co-based amorphous material among others. The Bs levels of these materials, however, are only about 5 kG for ferrite, 10 kG for sendust and 8 kG for Co-based amorphous material and, thus, a material with a higher Bs level has been further called for to realize stable performance of high-density magnetic recording and reproduction.
In this connection, there is a recent report on a favorable soft magnetic film made of an alloy having a composition of FeMC (M:/Zr, Ti, Hf, Ta, Nb), having a Bs level of about 16 kG (Technical Report of the Society of Telecommunications, MR89-12 (1989)). This FeMC-based film, however, involves such problems yet to be solved as (1) susceptibility to rust because of its much carbon content, (2) insufficient hardness and the resultant low wear-resistance and (3) inability to provide a satisfactory soft magnetic alloy film surpassing 17 kG in a Bs level.
With a view to solving these problems, there has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 54-229408 (229408/1989) a magnetic alloy film having the composition of FexMyNz, where M is at least one metal selected from a group of Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta, Mo and Ti, N is nitrogen, x, y, and z represent atomic percentages, 65.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.94, 5.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.25, 3.ltoreq.z.ltoreq.20, and x+y+z=100.
Incidentally, the soft magnetic properties of the FexMyNz film is thermally stable in the range of about 550.degree. to 550.degree. C. Therefore, during glass deposition to process this film into a video head, the temperature cannot be raised beyond this range, leaving the glass still viscous and adversely affecting the product quality and yield. In order to achieve improvements in these respect, the thermal stability of the film should be further raised. In other words, a magnetic alloy film with greater thermal stability should be obtained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a novel magnetic alloy film which has higher thermal stability and, thus, can contribute to raising the yield of head processing and the quality of the resultant heads.
Another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic head for use in VTR's, made of the above mentioned magnetic alloy film.
According to the invention, there is provided a magnetic alloy film having the composition of (FexMyNz)aLb, where M is at least one metal selected from a group of Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta, Mo and Ti, L is Cu and/or Ag, x, y, z, a and b represent atomic percentages, 70.5.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.84, 7.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.14, 9.ltoreq.z.ltoreq.15.5, x+y+z=100, 95.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.99.5, 0.5.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.5, and a +b=100.
Where the composition represented by x, y and z is achieved, there is obtained a superior soft magnetic alloy film whose Bs is 16 to 18 kG, the addition to which of Cu and/or Ag within the above stated range helps to make the crystalline grains even finer and to improve, in particular, the thermal stability of the soft magnetic properties. This result is presumably due to the fact that Cu and Ag have positive parameters of interaction with Fe, are low in solid solubility and tend to separate, so that, upon heating, either Fe atoms or Cu and Ag atoms gather by themselves to invite compositional fluctuation, and at this time the group of Cu and Ag atoms inhibits the growth of microcrystalline grains mainly consisting of Fe. The content b of Cu and/or Ag is within the range of 0.5 to 5 atomic %. If it is below 0.5 atomic %, the addition of Cu and Ag will have no significant effect to make the crystalline grains finer. On the other hand, if it is above 5 atomic %, the Bs and permeability will drop, which is undesirable. The especially desirable range of the content b of Cu and/or Ag is between 0.5 and 5 atomic %, within which a particularly satisfactory soft magnetic alloy film can be obtained, and the thermal stability of its soft magnetic properties is enhanced.

Magnetic alloy consisting of a specified FeTaN Ag or FeTaNCu composition


A braking control system for an automotive vehicle having driven rear wheels which are coupled through a coupling arrangement to the front wheels of the vehicle so as to switch the vehicle between two-wheel drive mode and four-wheel drive mode, comprises an input for receiving a signal indicative of the nature of the terrain on which the vehicle is parked, wherein the nature of the terrain includes the incline of the terrain and one or more additional indicators of the nature of the terrain, and a processor configured to determine, depending on the signal, a braking force to be applied to the front wheels to brake the vehicle securely. The braking system comprises an output for providing a signal to the coupling arrangement to apply the determined braking force to the front wheels. The processor is also configured to receive a further signal indicative of whether the park brake of the vehicle is applied to the rear vehicle wheels, and is configured to disable the output in the event that the park brake is not applied.

When parking a vehicle on an incline it can be difficult to hold it in place using a conventional handbrake. This becomes even more difficult if the vehicle is parked on an uneven incline or an incline with a low coefficient of friction such as on wet grass or ice. In such cases the conventional handbrake acting on a single axle may not be suitable and could result in the vehicle rolling or sliding away.
These situations are particularly applicable to vehicles that are designed for driving off-road where the user is much more likely to meet such terrain. Off-road vehicles have to be capable of driving on many different types of terrain, many of which have very low coefficients of friction, for example mud, wet grass, snow, ice and gravel. Losing control of a vehicle whilst it is parked on such terrain provides a risk to the users of the vehicle. It is therefore desirable to implement measures to improve the braking force distribution applied to a vehicle that is parked on an incline and/or low friction terrain.
Most conventional handbrakes currently lock the rear two wheels of the vehicle using, for example, a drum brake that is operated by the driver via a lever or electronic button. This is sufficient for the majority of situations but when the vehicle is parked facing down an incline the weight of the vehicle may transfer to the unconstrained, front wheels causing the vehicle to move. Equally if the vehicle is parked on an incline with the rear wheels on a low friction surface and the front wheels on a high friction surface then it may also roll or slide.
These problems can be overcome by braking all four wheels of the vehicle. By locking all four wheels the braking force on the vehicle is increased significantly meaning the vehicle can be secured on the majority of inclined surfaces.
In non-permanent 4WD vehicles the vehicle can be driven in either 4WD or 2WD mode. When the vehicle is driven in 2WD mode the handbrake acts by locking the rear two wheels of the vehicle. In 4WD mode, the rear two wheels can be locked using the park brake and the centre driveline clutch mechanism, which transmits the braking force, is applied to transfer braking force to the front wheels. This provides a secure method of parking; however the clutch mechanism can be overstressed by parking in this manner and as a result the life of the clutch mechanism can be significantly reduced. It is therefore desirable to develop a method to lock all four wheels within a vehicle in such a way that the clutch mechanism is not damaged.
It is against this background that the present invention has been devised.


A navigation or motion tracking system includes components associated with particular sensors, which are decoupled from a tracking component that takes advantage of information in the sensor measurements. The architecture of this system enables development of sensor-specific components independently of the tracking component, and enables sensors and their associated components to be added or removed without having to re-implement the tracking component. In a software implementation of the system, sensor-specific software components may be dynamically incorporated into the system and the tracking component is then automatically configured to take advantage of measurements from the corresponding sensors without having to modify the tracking component.

This invention relates to tracking, navigation, pose estimation, localization, auto-calibration, scene modeling, structure-from-motion and/or map-building based on sensor inputs.
Tracking or navigation systems often make use of measurements from sensors to aid in determining a location ("localization") or an orientation (attitude and heading) or a pose (position and orientation) of an object such as a person, a vehicle or a robot as it navigates in an environment, such as within the bounds of a building. A variety of types of sensors are available for such systems, including sensors that measure a relative location between a sensor and a target. An example of such a sensor/target combination is an acoustic emitter (target) and a microphone array (sensor) that can determine a direction of arrival of an acoustic signal broadcast from the emitter. Different types of sensors measure different aspects of the relative pose of a sensor and a target, such as a range, direction, or relative orientation. Different sensors may have different measurement characteristics that affect the mapping between the relative pose of a sensor and a target and the measurement values provided by the sensor. These characteristics can include uncertainty or noise characteristics of the measurement values.
Systems have been developed that use Kalman Filtering techniques to incorporate information in sensor measurements to track the position or orientation of an object, typically also using information about the dynamic characteristics of the object. The implementation of such Kalman Filtering techniques is often complex, and typically requires detailed knowledge of the measurement characteristics of the specific sensors used in tracking the object.
Some navigation systems perform simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), also known in the field of computer vision as structure-from-motion (SfM). The mapping aspect relates to determining the locations of fixed landmarks or beacons in the environment while at the same time using sensor measurements from those fixed landmarks to assist in localization of the object. As an example, when a robot navigates an uncharted territory, such as in a Mars rover mission, or in an underground mining or undersea operation, the robot may determine its location relative to the surrounding environment. If a complete map of the terrain is not available in advance, the robot may observe landmarks, build a map based on the landmark observations, and determine its location on the map that it has constructed so far. The landmarks may be man-made markers or natural features of the terrain.
As another example, an automated factory may use robots to move materials and products among different locations. Beacons, such as ultrasound emitters, or graphic markers having special patterns, may be placed at various locations in the factory. The robots may have sensors, such as ultrasound receivers, laser range finders, cameras, or pattern recognition devices, for determining their positions relative to reference points in the factory environment. The locations of the reference points may not be known in advance, so the robots may update their maps of the factory based on inputs from the sensors, and navigate through the factory based on their updated maps.
It may be desirable to also perform automatic calibration of sensors during the ongoing process of localization of the object. For example, various types of sensors may have different types of calibration parameters, such as measurement biases and scale factors. Examples of calibration parameters are focal lengths or distortion parameters of a camera lens, or alignment of a camera relative to the vehicle carrying it. The Kalman Filter implementation may estimate the sensor calibration parameters using a common infrastructure that is used to determine the location of the vehicle. As with the localization and mapping approaches, the characteristics of the calibration parameters are typically reflected in the implementation of the Kalman Filter techniques. Some systems combine localization, mapping, and auto-calibration.

Tracking, auto-calibration, and map-building system


A semiconductor device includes an insulating substrate having an insulating plate formed of ceramic and a circuit plate fixed on a main face of the insulating plate; a semiconductor element fixed on the circuit plate; a printed circuit board disposed to face the main face of the insulating plate; a ceramic plate disposed to face the main face of the insulating plate, and arranged at a position away from the main face of the insulating plate further than the printed circuit board; a supporting member fixed to the main face of the insulating plate or to the circuit plate, to fix a position of the ceramic plate; and a resin covering the circuit plate, the semiconductor element, the printed circuit board, and the ceramic plate.

In a power semiconductor module of which a semiconductor element is mounted on an insulating substrate, an electrode of the semiconductor element is connected electrically to a circuit plate of the insulating substrate with a bonding wire. Recently, a power semiconductor module employing a conductive post instead of the bonding wire is known as disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2. In the power semiconductor module employing the conductive post, one end of the conductive post is connected to the electrode of the semiconductor element, and one end of another conductive post is also connected to the circuit plate of the insulating substrate. Further, the other ends of these conductive posts are connected to wiring film of a printed circuit board which is set so as to face the insulating substrate on which the semiconductor element is fixed. Then this results in an electrical connection between the semiconductor element and the circuit plate of the insulating substrate. The power semiconductor module having such a structure can be miniaturized in comparison with the power semiconductor module having the bonding wire, and have advantages of reducing the inductance of the wiring and accommodating high speed switching.
Moreover, for the power semiconductor module, a resin case in which the semiconductor element and the insulating substrate are accommodated has been filled and sealed with silicone gel. Furthermore, it is recently known that the semiconductor element and the insulating substrate are sealed with insulating thermosetting resin molded by transfer molding in the power semiconductor module. As described above, when sealed with the transfer molded resin, various members such as the semiconductor element and a printed circuit board located inside can be fixed with the resin. Then this leads the power semiconductor module to attain high reliability against power cycle when it is in use.


A method and apparatus for locating a mobile terminal by use of messages received to the mobile terminal are provided. The mobile terminal locating method may include creating at least one location related candidate for the mobile terminal by use of a message that is received to the mobile terminal, and determining a location of the mobile terminal by matching the created location related candidate to stored place information. The current location of the mobile terminal may be recognized by simply analyzing the received messages without the need for installation of additional device on the mobile terminal.

1. Field
The following description relates to a technology of locating, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for locating a mobile terminal by use of a message received from the mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
The current location of a user possessing a mobile terminal may be recognized using various techniques.
In a first example, the current location of a user may be recognized through a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that is installed on the mobile terminal and which receives location information from a GPS satellite. In this example, however, the mobile terminal further needs to have the GPS receiver, creating an additional cost for installation, leading to implementation complexity, and exhibiting a position error to some degree. In addition, the accuracy of positioning is susceptible to weather, environmental factors (e.g., trees and buildings), and topology. Assisted GPS uses an operator-maintained ground station to correct for GPS errors caused by the atmosphere and/or topography. Assisted GPS positioning typically uses cell-based positioning methods when indoors or when buildings or trees block the GPS reception.
In a second example, the current location of a user may be recognized by use of location information of a base station to which the mobile terminal is connected. This is based on measuring power levels and antenna patterns and assumes that a mobile phone always communicates wirelessly with one of the closest base stations, so if it is known which base station the phone communicates with, it can be determined that the phone is close to that base station. The base station is a stationary entity, and the mobile terminal resides within the coverage of the base station. Accordingly, if a query is performed as to which base station the mobile terminal is connected, the schematic location of the mobile terminal can be estimated. This example does not use an additional apparatus for locating the mobile terminal, but exhibits great position error.
In a third example, the current location of a user may be recognized by use of location information of an access router to which the mobile terminal is connected through a wireless LAN interface. This example needs a wireless LAN access apparatus to be installed, and is available for use only when an access router exists nearby, and creates additional communication cost.

Method and apparatus for locating a mobile terminal using received messages


A light emitting diode includes: a substrate; an n-type semiconductor layer disposed on the substrate; an active layer disposed on the n-type semiconductor layer; a p-type semiconductor layer disposed on the active layer; a first electrode disposed on the p-type semiconductor layer and made of a metal oxide; a second electrode disposed on the first electrode and made of graphene; a p-type electrode disposed on the second electrode; and an n-type electrode disposed on the n-type semiconductor layer, wherein a work function of the first electrode is less than a work function of the p-type semiconductor layer, but is greater than a work function of the second electrode.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (hereinafter, referred to as "LED") and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high luminance LED including a transparent graphene electrode layer.
(b) Description of the Related Art
An LED or a laser diode (hereinafter referred to as "ID") using groups III-V nitride semiconductor materials has been extensively used in a light-emitting device to obtain light having a blue or green wavelength band.
Gallium nitride (GaN) among Group III-V nitride semiconductors is gaining the spotlight as a core material of light emitting devices such as an LED, an LD, etc. due to its excellent physical and chemical properties.
The light emitting device includes a substrate for growing a semiconductor material with GaN, an n-type nitride semiconductor layer, a chemical layer, and a p-type nitride semiconductor layer sequentially laminated on the substrate, and electrodes formed on the n-type nitride semiconductor layer and the p-type nitride semiconductor layer, respectively.
In this case, a transparent electrode is formed by a material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) on a p-type nitride semiconductor layer and then an electrode is formed to increase a current injection area and to form an ohmic contact.

Light emitting diode and manufacturing method thereof

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


Intrusion detection for a multimode fiber optic cable uses a light signal launched into the fiber through the low ratio leg of a tap coupler to establish a narrow spectral width, under-filled non-uniform mode field power distribution in the cable. A small portion of the higher order signal modes at the remote end is monitored for transient changes in the mode field power distribution which are characteristic of fiber intrusion to activate an alarm. The active signal of a multimode optical fiber is monitored for both signal degradation and transient power disturbance patterns that could indicate fiber damage or physical intrusion. A translator can be provided in an existing optical fiber system in which the data signals are translated in wavelength and/or launch conditions to optimize the monitoring signals in an otherwise non-optimized system.

Gigabit Ethernet multimode fiber optic backbone cables are being deployed to connect sections of high-speed networks together. To secure these high-speed networks, software based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) have been introduced. These systems capture and analyze all packets for unusual patterns that point to an intrusion. However, this adds to the complexity of the network. Current IDSs are hampered by a Base-Rate Fallacy limitation, which is the inability to suppress false alarms. Additionally, software-based IDSs do not protect against passive optical fiber tapping, which can go undetected by the network hardware.
It is well known, by those skilled in the technology, that an optical fiber can easily be tapped and the data stream intercepted. One relatively simple non-interruptive tapping method involves placing a bend coupler on the fiber to be tapped. A controlled bend of a critical radius is placed on the fiber. This causes a small spatial distortion in the core/cladding guiding properties and a fraction of the light escapes the fiber. A detector is located at the point of the light leakage and the data steam intercepted. Bend couplers typically introduce a loss of light power of up to 1 dB or more. Power measuring intrusion detection systems are available to detect this loss in optical power and provide warning alarms.
With care and skill, more insidious methods are available to the skilled intruder. With a sufficiently sensitive receiver and care in preparation, a fiber can be successfully tapped without introducing a telltale bend in the optical fiber. A successful tap can be achieved by carefully removing a short length, in the order of a few centimeters or inches of the protective outer coating of the target fiber and polishing the outer cladding down by a few microns to form a flat coupling region. A cladding-to-cladding coupling is then made using a special intercept fiber. This method intercepts a portion of the weak but measurable cladding mode power that propagates in the tapped fiber. In this case, the intercepted light, which may be detected by a sensitive receiver, can easily be 20 or 30 dB down from the power in the fiber core. This results in a loss of received optical power of only 0.04 or 0.004 dBm and is impossible to detect reliably by power measurement methods. The present invention addresses the limitations of current power loss detection methods and can detect intrusion activity before any optical power loss occurs.
Previous systems for detecting intrusions in multi-mode fibers are shown in PCT published applications WO 96/08695 published 21 Mar. 1996, WO 00/37925 published 29 Jun. 2000 and WO 00/67400 published 9 Nov. 2000 all assigned to Future Fibre Technologies of Australia.

Method of high order mode excitation for multimode intrusion detection


A universal serial bus (USB) remote host control driver includes a connection to a local network, a network protocol stack and a memory for storing network addresses of USB device adapters and USB devices on the network. A USB device adapter has one or more USB ports, a network connection, a network address, and a network protocol stack. Together, the USB remote host control driver and the USB device adapter enable interaction between a network computer and peripheral USB devices on the network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networking. More particularly, the invention relates to networking peripheral universal serial bus (USB) devices.
2. Background Art
A personal computer or workstation tends to have a standard set of input devices to allow it to be controlled. These devices include: keyboard, mouse, joystick, game pad and steering wheel. The Universal Serial bus (USB) is available as a single bus that can accommodate these devices.
Computers implement USB as a host. The host is the one master on an instance of USB. All USB devices are slaves. The only device that has any mastering capabilities is a USB hub. USB hubs are allowed to assert master signaling on their downstream ports only in immediate and direct response to signaling on their upstream port.
A computer accesses a USB device via a Host Controller Driver (HCD). The HCD allows the computer to determine what USB devices are attached, characterize them, enable them and use them. For example, a keyboard may be discovered and configured as a system input device.
Network devices are typically not equipped to be USB hosts. Even if they were, cabling requirements and distance limitations would restrict the usefulness of USB as a network peripheral bus. Network devices are typically controlled either by a local serial port running a simple terminal protocol, or a network protocol (e.g. telnet, SNMP) running over an IP network. The network protocols used to interact with a network device are typically device independent and are used for special purpose status and control functions or network services.
In some cases, it is desirable that USB peripheral devices be able to interact with network devices. For example, such functionality would allow a USB device to interface with network devices over a network without the need for a standard terminal or computer. Also, this would allow applications such as remote gaming to be enhanced because raw device input data could be routed to a remote server where the game was running. This would allow users without computers (other than a gateway) to run arbitrarily complex games and applications.

USB encapsulation for network transmission