A portable overhead projector includes a projection unit having a light source and a projection lens, a stage having a Fresnel lens which has a reflecting surface facing the projection unit, and an arm part for connecting the projection unit with the stage. The arm is sized to accommodate the projection unit and the stage when these are folded thereinto. The size of the projector when the projection unit and the stage are folded into the arm part is not substantially larger than approximately a length of 184 mm, a width of 135 mm, and a thickness of 58 mm. Since each member can be folded, it is possible to make the portable overhead projector compact so that users can conveniently carry such an overhead projector in their bags.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable overhead projector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An overhead projector generally has a structure in which an image projection sheet on which an image for projection is formed is placed on a stage, the image on the image projection sheet is enlargedly projected on a screen through a projection lens by the light emanating from a light source illuminating the image projection sheet. The image projection sheet used in the overhead projector is a transparent sheet on which an image for projection is formed. The image projection sheet having an A4 size in JIS (the Japanese Industrial Standards) is generally used, in order to print out an information such as a document, an image or the like which were formed by using a personal computer, a word processor or the like, by a printer conveniently.
In order to strongly assist, for example, sales by a salesman, a good portability is required for such an overhead projector. In response to this requirement, although various types of overhead projectors have been developed and produced, there is a problem of further miniaturization being difficult because these overhead projectors have a structure in which image projection sheets having a size up to A4 can be used, so that it is impossible to make the stage smaller than the image projection sheets having an A4 size. Therefore, in the present condition, it is hardly for user, e.g., salesmen or the like, to conveniently carry such an overhead projector in their bags or the like.
In order to solve the problems in the present condition, the present inventors have aimed at the size of the image projection sheets and have made it smaller, and thus the present inventors have studied miniaturization, making light weight, and portability, of the whole device of the overhead projector. Accordingly, it has been found that there are following various problems. For example, if the image projection sheets are simply formed in a small size similar to that of a pocket notebook, because the sheets cannot be transferred by a feed roller of a printer, a copying machine or the like, it is not possible to print out an information such as a document, an image or the like which were formed by using a personal computer, a word processor or the like, by a printer conveniently. Therefore, a specific device, for example, of a photographic system or the like, is required. If the smaller image projection sheet can be used, it is possible to make the whole device small-sized by making the stage small. However, even if a small-sized overhead projector can be obtained, it is not necessarily possible to obtain one which has a good portability for salesmen to conveniently carry it in their bags. Even if the device has a good portability, it is impossible to obtain a clear good projection image when the optical path length from the light source to the projection lens cannot be ensured.


A toothbrush for cleansing the teeth, including a unitary body having a handle with a grip portion having concave indentations formed on a surface thereof, and a neck portion formed with the grip portion and positioned at an obtuse angle thereto. A cross-shaped head is formed with one end of the neck portion and includes a first head member positioned in axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the handle. A second head member is formed with the first, and has a longitudinal axis positioned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof. Each of the head members includes a preselected transaxial width, and rounded corners defined by respective curves having combined radii of at least seventy-five percent of the transaxial width of the head member. A multiplicity of bristles are attached to both head members and define an enlarged cleaning surface area sufficient to simultaneously engage the upper and lower teeth during brushing.

This invention relates to a toothbrush for cleansing not only the surfaces of the teeth, but also any orthodontic appliances that are positioned thereon. In particular, the application discloses a toothbrush having an enlarged head and bristle surface with a unique shape that is specifically intended to allow a user to easily and thoroughly cleanse all of the surfaces of the upper and lower teeth, while simultaneously massaging and cleansing the gum line.
Effectively cleansing the teeth can be a difficult undertaking, particularly for those individuals who are undergoing orthodontic treatment. An individual who wears orthodontic appliances must not only strive to brush and floss the teeth, but is also faced with the added challenge of cleaning the additional wire, plastic or other orthodontic appliances which have been affixed to the surfaces of the teeth. Many prior art toothbrushes are not adequately shaped to allow users to quickly and effectively accomplish this task. For example, many conventional xe2x80x9cI-shapedxe2x80x9d toothbrushes, which have a narrow, rectangularly-shaped brush head, do not have a head or bristle surface having a surface area or shape that is large enough to allow an individual to easily and thoroughly brush the upper and lower teeth and gum line simultaneously. Over time, such inadequate brushing can lead not only to bacteria growth, but also to tartar and plaque buildup, which may ultimately cause a number of conditions, including but not limited to gingivitis and tooth decay.
The invention of the present application addresses these and other problems present in prior art toothbrushes by providing a toothbrush having a unique head and bristle structure. The invention provides a toothbrush having a handle to which a head is attached that has a least one bristle surface and corresponding head segment having longitudinal axes which are in alignment with the handle. At least one bristle surface and corresponding head segment has a longitudinal axis positioned either perpendicular to, or at an angle from, the handle. This configuration results in a toothbrush having an enlarged head and corresponding bristle surface area having a unique shape which allows the user to easily approach and thoroughly brush the lingual and buccal surfaces of the teeth. Although the toothbrush is designed with orthodontic patients in mind, it is also suitable for use by individuals who do not wear orthodontic appliances, but wish to cleanse their teeth in a faster, more efficient manner.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a toothbrush for use by orthodontic or dental patients which has an increased bristle surface area and corresponding head shape for permitting quicker and more effective cleansing of the teeth.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush that effectively removes food particles and other detritus while stimulating the gums for better health.
It is another object of the invention to provide a toothbrush that includes a brush head with at least one head segment and corresponding bristle surface shaped to permit a user to simultaneously brush the upper and lower surfaces of the teeth while simultaneously massaging the gum line.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in the preferred embodiments disclosed below by providing a toothbrush for cleansing the surfaces of the teeth and any orthodontic appliances positioned thereon. The toothbrush includes a unitary body and an elongate handle having a grip portion with concave indentations formed on a surface thereof for permitting a user to grasp the handle. A neck portion is integrally formed with the grip portion and is positioned at an obtuse angle thereto. A cross-shaped head is integrally formed with one end of the neck portion and includes a first head member positioned in axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the handle. A second head member is integrally formed with the first head member and has a longitudinal axis positioned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof. Each of the head members includes a preselected transaxial width, and rounded corners defined by respective curves having combined radii of at least seventy-five percent of the transaxial width of the head member for permitting ease of movement of the head member past the irregularities of the user""s mouth and the outwardly-extending orthodontic appliances. A multiplicity of upright bristles are attached to both head members and extend outwardly therefrom for defining an enlarged cleaning surface area sufficient to simultaneously engage the upper and lower teeth during brushing.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the neck and grip portions each include a preselected width transaxial to the longitudinal axis of the handle, and the transaxial width of the neck portion is less than the transaxial width of the grip portion.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members define at least three distinct and diverging head segments. Two of the head segments are positioned opposite each other and extend along a common axis, and another of the head segments is positioned perpendicular thereto.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members define four head segments. Two of the head segments are positioned opposite each other and extend along a common axis, and the other two head segments are positioned perpendicular thereto.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members are positioned perpendicular to each other and are carried by the handle at point at which any two of the head segments diverge.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members collectively define a first planar face to which the bristles are attached.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the bristles are grouped to form a multiplicity of tufts positioned in spaced-apart relation to one another and staked to the head segments.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members collectively define a first planar face to which the tufts are attached.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members collectively define a second planar face positioned in spaced-apart, opposing relation to the first planar face and interconnected therewith by a sidewall, thereby forming the cross-shaped head.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the head is positioned at an obtuse angle to the neck portion.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, another toothbrush for cleansing the surfaces of the teeth and any orthodontic appliances positioned thereon is provided. The toothbrush includes an elongate handle. A head is carried on one end of the handle and includes first and second intersecting head members carrying cleaning elements thereon. The head members define at least three distinct and diverging head segments for providing an enlarged cleaning surface area sufficient to simultaneously engage the upper and lower teeth during brushing. The first and second head members are positioned perpendicular to each other and are carried by the handle at a point at which any two of the head segments diverge.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the head and the handle are integrally formed with each other.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second head members are integrally formed with each other.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, first and second head members are integrally formed with the handle.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one head segment is in longitudinal alignment with a longitudinal axis of the handle.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the cleaning elements are made of coarse felt.


A method of communication in a communication apparatus includes steps of suppressing communication with a first communication device, which has been connected to a first communication interface, in accordance with data from the first communication device; establishing communication with a second communication device by a second communication interface; removing suppression of communication with the first communication device after communication with the second communication device has been established; and communicating data between the first and second communication devices via the first communication and second communication interfaces.

A method in which a digital camera and printer are connected directly by wire to perform printing has been proposed. Control information and print data are exchanged between the printer and the digital camera by an operating flow described in, e.g., Patent Document 1 (Patent Registration No. 03530847).
Further, a technique in which a signal is switched between networks of different physical layers is disclosed in, e.g., Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-257119).
In the description that follows, a printer in the present invention refers to one that is connected to a digital camera physically or logically and is capable of receiving data directly from the digital camera.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wired connection between a digital camera 100 and a printer 101. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 and the printer 101 are connected directly by a cable 102 such as a USB cable. If image data is to be printed, it is required that the user plug and unplug the cable 102 before and after printing. A wireless system has been considered as a replacement for cables for the purpose of mitigating such a troublesome operation on the part of the user.
It is of course possible to simply adopt a wireless system for a wireless-capable digital camera and wireless-capable printer. However, there is also a need to allow a user who utilizes an existing wire-capable printer to enjoy wireless service by connecting a wireless communication device to the existing wire-capable printer.
However, operation of an existing wire-capable printer is such that when the printer is connected by cable, an operating sequence runs and connects the printer to the digital camera automatically, as set forth in Patent Document 1.
Consequently, when the printer has been connected to a wireless communication device, the connection of the printer to the digital camera will fail if the wireless connection between the wireless-capable digital camera and the wireless communication device has not yet been completed. The result is that the desired printing cannot be performed.
Further, the connection between the wireless communication device and the printer is by USB. In such case the USB device of the wireless communication device is connected to the USB host of the printer. However, there are instances where the USB device of the wireless communication device is connected to a personal computer and network and security information necessary for wireless communication are set in the wireless communication device from the personal computer.
That is, the wireless communication device operates differently depending upon whether the communicating party connected to its USB device is the printer or the personal computer. A problem with the wireless communication device as a consequence is that control suited to a plurality of operation modes must be performed.


An active shield type gradient coil apparatus comprises main coils for generating a gradient magnetic field and shield coils for generating a magnetic field to reduce the leak magnetic field from the main coils. In the active shield type gradient coil apparatus, a stimulation output section for outputting stimulation to a subject is incorporated. In this incorporation, the main coils are arranged at the outside of an area sandwiched between the stimulation output section and the subject such that the simulation can be transmitted to the subject from the stimulation output section without being blocked by the main coils. By this arrangement, both the use of the active shield type as the gradient coil apparatus and good transmission of stimulation to the subject can be realized.

The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, more specifically, a gradient coil apparatus for producing a gradient magnetic field whose intensity of the magnetic field spatially changes.
A magnetic resonance imaging method is a method in which internal data of a subject can be obtained from an outer section. This magnetic resonance imaging method is known well. More specifically, a high frequency magnetic field, which rotates at a specific frequency, is applied to an atomic unclear, which is positioned in an even static magnetic field, that is, a magnetizing spin. As a result, the magnetizing spin absorbs energy. If the high frequency magnetic field is turned off, the magnetizing spin discharges the absorbed energy. Such absorbing and discharging phenomenon is a magnetic resonance phenomenon.
In such a magnetic resonance imaging method, the tissue structure of the interpolation of the subject can be imaged with high contrast. Moreover, the flow of the blood and the brain function can be imaged.
The brain imaging is a method in which a visual sense and an auditory sense are stimulated by flush light and sound so that the reaction of the brain to the stimulation can be obtained. For example, there is a BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) method. According to the BOLD method, only an active area, which reacts to the stimulation, can be extracted by differentiating images, one is obtained in giving stimulation to the brain, and the other is obtained in giving no stimulation to the brain.
Moreover, in the brain function imaging method, an EPI (Echo Planar Imaging) method is useful. According to the EPI method, data, which is necessary for reconstructing one image, can be collected for an extremely short period of time such as 20 msec. The short time collection of data is repeated. Thereby, it is possible to capture the state that the brain is gradually activated by stimulation, and gradually calmed down. Moreover, in EPI, since the number of signal errors, which is caused by the blood flow, is small, there is an advantage in which the reaction of the brain to the stimulation can be provided with high accuracy.
However, in EPI, it is needed that the gradient magnetic field having high intensity of 20mT/m! or more be alternated at high speed for a short period of time such as 0.1msec!. Such a high speed alternation causes occurrence of an eddy current in the magnetic member such as a radiant shield of superconductive magnet and a helium container. An eddy magnetic field, which is caused by the eddy current, is generated in a direction opposite to the gradient magnetic field. Due to this, since the waveform of the gradient magnetic field is distorted, a phase error occurs in an MR signal, and an artifact is generated on the image, which is finally reconstructed.
To solve the above problem, an active shield type gradient coil (ASGC) is needed in EPI. The active shield type gradient coil is used to cancel the magnetic field leaked from the main coil for generating the gradient magnetic field in the magnetic field generated from the shield coil. As a result, the eddy magnetic field is prevented from being generated.
As mentioned above, since the gradient magnetic field having high intensity of 20 mT/m! must be alternated for the short period of time such as 0.1 mT/m!, the load of the power supply is extremely large. To make the inductance of the coil smaller to reduce the load, an apparatus having a gradient coil whose size is reduced has been developed to be dedicated to the local portion such as a head.
In the conventional brain function imaging, the subject was simply stimulated by flush light. However, in the near future, it can be considered that an optical image is mainly shown to the subject to observe the complicated reaction. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, an optical image from a display generator (not shown) of an outer portion was reflected by a mirror 81 to be transmitted to a subject 106 through a window 95 formed on a gradient coil apparatus 91.
However, in ASGC, the above-mentioned image transmitting method cannot be used. Specifically, the window must be formed on not only the main coil but also a shield coil to use the conventional image transmitting method in ASGC. Due to this, the magnetic field is leaked from the window of the shield coil, and an original shield effect of the magnetic field of ASGC is considerably reduced. This problem may be solved by arranging an optical path and a mirror between the main coil and the shield coil. However, if such an arrangement is provided, the gradient coil apparatus is enlarged.
As mentioned above, in the conventional case, it was impossible to stimulate the brain of the subject by the optical image as using ASGC in the gradient coil apparatus.

Gradient coil apparatus and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus


An electric circuit device (101) comprises an electric element (100) and a substrate (200). The electric element (100) comprises a conductive plate (11, 12), a conductive plate (21 to 23), a side anode electrode (10A, 10B) connected to the conductive plate (11, 12), and a side cathode electrode (20A, 20B, 20C, 20D) connected to the conductive plate (21-23). The conductive plate (11, 12) is alternately laminated with the conductive plate (21-23). The substrate (200) includes a dielectric (201) and a conductive plate (202-205). The conductive plate (202) is connected to the side anode electrode (10A). The conductive plate (203) is connected to the side anode electrode (10B). The conductive plate (204) is connected to the side cathode electrode (20A, 20B). The conductive plate (205) is connected to the side cathode electrode (20C, 20D).

In recent years, digital circuit technologies such as the LSI (Large Scale Integrated) circuit are used not only for computers or communication-related equipment, but also for home appliances or in-vehicle equipment.
A high-frequency current generated in, for example, an LSI does not stay in the vicinity of the LSI. The high-frequency current widely spreads in the mount circuit board such as a printed-circuit board, inductively couples to the signal wirings and ground wirings, and then leaks from, for example, the signal cables as an electromagnetic wave.
In mixed-signal circuits having both of an analog circuit and a digital circuit, such as a conventional analog circuit a part of which is replaced with a digital circuit or a digital circuit having an analog input/output, one of the serious problems is electromagnetic interference from the digital circuit to the analog circuit.
An effective solution for this problem is to separate the LSI, which is a source of the high-frequency current, from the power sourcing system with respect to the high-frequency current, that is to say, a power-source decoupling technique. A well known noise filter using this power source decoupling technique is a transmission-line type noise filter (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-80773).
This transmission-line type noise filter comprises first and second electric conductors, a dielectric layer, and first and second anodes. Each of the first and second electric conductors is in the shape of a plate. The dielectric layer is disposed between the first and second electric conductors.
The first anode is connected to one end of the first electric conductor in the longitudinal direction, while the second anode is connected to the other end of the first electric conductor in the longitudinal direction. The second electric conductor functions as a cathode for connection to the reference potential. The first electric conductor, the dielectric layer and the second electric conductor constitute a capacitor. The thickness of the first electric conductor is set so as to substantially prevent temperature rise caused by the direct component of the current that flows across the first electric conductor.
The transmission-line type noise filter is connected between a power source and the LSI so as to feed a current from the power source to the LSI through a route formed of the first anode, the first electric conductor and the second anode while attenuating the alternating current generated in the LSI.
As described above, the transmission-line type noise filter constitutes a capacitor and utilizes the first and second electric conductors, which are two electrodes in the capacitor, as transmission lines.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-80773

Electric circuit device enabling impedance reduction


The present invention relates to assay techniques for detection of ligands in solution and to means for putting such techniques into effect. In particular it relates to an improved assay technique which provides a liquid calibrator for use in standard assays in circumstances where the ligand itself is rare, expensive, or difficult to prepare in a sufficiently pure or quantifiable form.

The present invention relates to assay techniques and to means for putting such techniques into effect. In particular it relates to an improved assay technique which provides a liquid calibrator for use in standard assays in circumstances where the ligand itself is unstable in solution or is rare, expensive or difficult to prepare in a sufficiently pure and/or quantifiable form.
The conventional multipoint calibration assay methodology facilitates normalisation of unknown sample values with respect to recurring variations in assay conditions. This system requires batch analysis of unknowns run with a replicate calibration or standard curve from which the unknown values are interpolated.
An improvement over this multipoint calibration assay has recently been described by Meyer and Keller in Clinical Chemistry 34 (1), 113-117 (1988) who disclose a one-point recalibration assay utilising a stored standard base curve with no end-user involvement. In practice, each individual unknown sample is assayed in parallel with a calibrator assay and the unknown value is then normalised using the ratio of the observed calibrator signal to that of the expected base curve dose. The normalised unknown sample signal is then read off the stored standard base curve and providing the calibrator, the value and the corresponding signal, for example optical density, which represents that value are selected at a point on the curve which best predicts and minimises deviations across it, due to minor variations in assay conditions, then this "single point calibration" (SPC) assay controls for variation in reagent performance while other assay conditions are controlled by the instrument.
The use of liquid calibrators in such types of assays and in kits designed for such analyses presents immediate advantages of convenience to the end-user. Unfortunately many analytes, for example prolactin, are unstable in liquid form and standard solutions may need to be reconstituted from freeze-dried preparations prior to use. Reconstitution is not only inconvenient for the end-user but, more importantly, introduces considerable room for imprecision which makes the use of freeze-dried standards, particularly with the single point calibration assay described above, potentially inaccurate and thus of very limited use. Thus, the present invention provides a method of assay which incorporates the use of an alternative calibrator which is stable as a liquid preparation.

Method of assay normalized with non-antigen calibrator

Ares-Serono Research & Development Limited Partnership


The present invention is directed to a method of increasing hydrocarbon production in an existing well in a hydrocarbon reservoir. The method includes the steps of forming a substantially horizontal transverse fractured wellbore that intersects the existing well and injecting a fluid remote from the existing well so as to form a fluid front that sweeps the hydrocarbons into the horizontal transverse fractured wellbore. Successive fractures can be sealed to control propagation of the fluid front and delay infiltration of the fluid into the production.

The present invention relates generally to hydrocarbon production, and more particularly to a method of increasing hydrocarbon production in an existing well by forming a substantially horizontal transverse fractured wellbore, which intersects the existing well and injecting a fluid into the reservoir to sweep the hydrocarbons into the substantially horizontal transverse fractured wellbore.
In certain subterranean formations, fluid is injected into the reservoir to displace or sweep the hydrocarbons out of the reservoir. This method of stimulating production is sometimes referred to as a method of "Enhanced Oil Recovery" and may be called waterflooding, gasflooding, steam injection, etc. For the purpose of this specification, the general process will be defined as injecting a fluid (gas or liquid) into a reservoir in order to displace the existing hydrocarbons into a producing well. The primary issue with injecting fluid to enhance oil recovery is how to sweep the reservoir of the hydrocarbon in the most efficient manner possible. Because of geological differences in a reservoir, the permeability may not be homogenous. Because of such permeability differences between the vertical and horizontal directions or the existence of higher permeability streaks, the injecting fluid may bypass some of the reservoir and create a path into the producing well.
The industry has come up with numerous methods to improve the sweep efficiency and the overall reservoir that is swept by individual wells. These methods include fracturing and the use of horizontal wells. The industry currently uses horizontal wells as injectors in an attempt to expose more of the reservoir to the injecting fluid. The goal is to create a movement of injection fluid evenly across the reservoir. This is sometimes referred to as line drive. The industry also uses horizontal wells as producers, again the goal being to evenly produce the reservoir so to form a line drive.
SPE Paper 84077 presents a method referred to as toe-to-heel waterflooding where a horizontal lateral is used to produce the reservoir with a vertical injector located nearer the toe (end) of the lateral. The method referred to in this paper is limited, since the horizontal lateral only covers a limited area in the reservoir. It therefore does not maximize the amount of surface area that can be used to recover the hydrocarbons. This method also suffers from an inability to control the influx of injection fluid at the toe to improve recovery.
Part of the efficiency of the sweep is reducing the production of the injection fluid. The industry has created several techniques from the use of chemicals that block the injection fluid, to injection fluids that improve the matrix flow through the reservoir to reduce channeling. Some injection programs include attempts to plug high permeability streaks and natural fractures in the reservoir. This is done to force the injection fluid out into more of the reservoir to displace hydrocarbons.
When the injection fluid is produced, such as water, it is usually removed from the hydrocarbons at the surface using multi-phase separation devices. These devices operate to agglomerate and coalesce the hydrocarbons, thereby separating them from the water. A drawback of this approach, however, is that no separation process is perfect. As such, some amount of the hydrocarbons always remains in the water. This can create environmental problems when disposing of the water, especially in off-shore applications. Also, the multi-phase separation devices are rather large in size, which is another disadvantage in off-shore applications, as space is limited. Yet another drawback is that these devices can require additional maintenance or repair if solids are part of the produced fluid stream. A further, and perhaps greatest drawback of these solutions, is that they do nothing to increase or maximize the amount of hydrocarbons being produced. Their only focus is removing the water from the production.
Specialized downhole tools have also been developed, which separate the water from the hydrocarbons downhole. These tools are designed to leave the water in the formation as the hydrocarbons are produced. While these devices can remove a significant amount of water from the hydrocarbons, they are also often less than perfect in removing the water from the hydrocarbons. They also suffer from the same drawback of the surface separation devices in that they do nothing to increase or maximize the amount of hydrocarbons being produced.
A solution is therefore desired that not only improves the efficiency and economics of enhanced oil recovery through injection, but that also reduces the amount of injection fluid that infiltrates the hydrocarbon production of an existing well.

Hydrocarbon sweep into horizontal transverse fractured wells


A word processor capable of determining the frequencies of use of the words in an editable text stored in the text memory includes a frequency count memory provided in an unused area of the text memory. The text memory addresses of the words in the text are stored in association with their respective frequencies of use in the frequency count memory. The configuration permits a speedy frequency count operation on the words in the text without providing a separate frequency count memory.

The present invention relates to a word processor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a word processor having a capability of speedily determining the frequency of use of each word in a text without providing a separate memory.
Word processors have been long known which have a capability of counting a frequency of each word in a prepared, editable text. One such word processor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,730, which carries out a word frequency count processing to count the frequencies of use of words once a text has been entered and subsequently presents on the display a frequency table, in which processed words are shown in association with their frequencies of use in the text. This prior-art word frequency count processing prevents a text from reading monotonous and immature by overused words.
Such a conventional word processor having a word frequency count capability generally includes a separate word frequency-of-use data memory (hereinafter a frequency data memory) for storing word data in association with a word frequency-of-use data (hereinafter frequency data) in its control unit. While successively reading out words from the first word stored in the text memory, the word processor searches for identical words to those which have already been stored in the frequency data memory. If it encounters a word identical to a previously encountered word, the word processor counts up the frequency of use of the word. For words that appear only once in the text, the word processor stores those words and their frequency data "1" in the frequency data memory.
Furthermore, if all the area of the frequency data memory is used up during a frequency count processing, the frequency count processing is carried out only on the words already stored in the frequency data memory. When a table showing frequencies of use of words in the text (hereinafter a frequency table) is shown or when the frequency table is turned off and the text is shown again, a message such as "WORD FREQUENCY COUNT INCOMPLETE" is shown. The frequency data memory is separately provided, in which a memory capacity of 20-25 bytes is available for the data of each word and the data for 1,000 different words and their frequencies of use can be stored. In this way, long words can be stored in the frequency data memory.
However, the conventional word processor having the above word frequency count capability has the problem that a large capacity frequency data memory is required. Furthermore, the whole word data must be searched through to count the frequencies of use of the words stored in the frequency data memory because the word data is stored in the frequency data memory in the order in which the words are read out from the text memory. This is a remarkably time consuming operation.
If all the available area in the frequency data memory is used up during a frequency count processing, the frequency table applies only to the words stored in the frequency data memory so that the frequencies of use of the words in the entire text cannot be determined. It is impossible to determine at which word the word frequency count processing has been interrupted.

Word processor having a word frequency count unit


In a power-save system for a floppy disk apparatus, a latch circuit which is gate-controlled by a trailing-edge delayed standby signal is introduced, whereby it becomes possible to power off sensor circuits contained in the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floppy disk apparatus, particularly to a floppy disk apparatus having power-save functions.
2. Description of the prior art
Up to the present, various power-save techniques have been developed for a floppy disk apparatus in order to reduce power consumption by the apparatus, for example, effecting a power-off of a read/write circuit when the apparatus is not in a read/write operation mode or effecting an off-control of a motor power source when the apparatus is in a standby mode.
In such prior art techniques, it is possible to reduce power consumption of the apparatus by cut-off of the motor power source or the circuit power source, but it is not possible to cut off a power source for various sensors, particularly a zero-track sensor, a disk-in sensor, etc., since it is essentially necessary for such sensors to retain their output state even during a power-save mode in order to assure their quick and stable response, particularly to avoid any erroneous action of the apparatus owing to any noises which may be generated at on-off operation of their power sources.

Floppy disk apparatus having power-save system during standby mode


System and methods are provided for processing time-division signals and frequency-division signals using a multi-mode transceiver. The example system includes a power amplifier, a switching component, and a duplexer. The power amplifier is configured to receive a first time-division signal from the transceiver and to generate an amplified time-division signal based on the first time-division signal if the transceiver is in a time-division mode. The power amplifier is further configured to receive a first frequency-division signal from the transceiver and to generate an amplified frequency-division signal based on the first frequency-division signal if the transceiver is in a frequency-division mode. The switching component is configured to receive the amplified time-division signal from the power amplifier, and to output the amplified time-division signal for transmission. The duplexer configured to receive the amplified frequency-division signal from the switching component, and to output a transmission signal for transmission.

Various technical standards are used for sending and receiving radio frequency signals, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Enhanced Data for GSM Environment (EDGE), CDMA-2000, Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TDSCDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX).
For example, WCDMA is a widely adopted third-generation (3G) air interface standard. WCDMA supports a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode of operation in which uplink communication (e.g., from a mobile device to a base station) and downlink communication (e.g., from a base station to a mobile device) are carried out on two separate 5 MHz channels. WCDMA includes a number of frequency bands, such as Band 1 which covers 1920 MHz-1980 MHz and 2110 MHz-2170 MHz. The frequency range 1920 MHz-1980 MHz is used for uplink transmission, and the frequency range 2110 MHz-2170 MHz is used for downlink transmission.
TDSCDMA is another 3G air interface standard that implements a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode of operation in which a same channel is used for both uplink and downlink transmission, and a number of timeslots are dynamically assigned for downlink and uplink transmission. TDSCDMA includes a number of frequency bands, such as Band 1 covering 2010 MHz-2025 MHz, and Band 2 covering 1880 MHz-1920 MHz.
Different areas of the world rely on different technical standards for providing radio frequency communication (e.g., cell phones, beepers, computers, etc.). To enable continual operation of consumer devices that use different standards, multi-mode devices may be provided for communication using each of a number of different standards that may be encountered. For example, dual-mode or tri-mode transceivers are available to transmit/receive WCDMA Band 1 signals and TDSCDMA Band 1/2 signals within a single device. However, communication systems constructed based on the dual-mode or tri-mode transceivers usually include multiple power amplifiers, each being designed specifically for a particular frequency band, or an expensive multi-band multi-mode power amplifier. Additionally, the communication system using the dual-mode or tri-mode transceiver usually includes a number of duplexers and filters, each having a particular bandwidth.

Systems and methods for processing time-division signals and frequency-division signals


A magnetic tape cassette recording/reproducing apparatus includes a magnetic tape cassette loader which allows easy insertion and removal of a cassette relative to the apparatus and which positively locks the cassette within the apparatus during recording and reproducing operations. The magnetic tape cassette loader includes a cassette holder that is tiltable and slidable relative to the recorder to permit easy insertion and removal of a cassette therein; a handle and latch assembly for handling and latching the cassette holder in the recorder; and an interlock mechanism for locking and unlocking the latch mechanism in response to actuation by a magnetic tape threading apparatus.

Magnetic tape recording/reproducing systems are widely used to record and reproduce analog and digital audio and video information and digital data information. The magnetic tape is usually stored on a reel or reels which typically are contained in a two reel cassette. The cassette is adapted to be inserted into and removed from a magnetic tape recording/reproducing apparatus, such as a helical scan magnetic tape recorder. In such case, it is desirable that the cassette be easily inserted or removed from the recorder. At the same time it is desirable that the cassette be locked in position during recording and reproducing, since during these operations, magnetic tape is removed from the cassette and transported along a path past rotating magnetic heads of the helical scan recorder. If the tape cassette is not locked during such operations, movement of the cassette can damage or destroy the tape, resulting in loss and destruction of the data recorded on the tape.

Magnetic tape cassette recorder having a slidably and tiltably mounted cassette holder and a latch interlock mechanism


A sound carrier for a sound illustrated book having a spiral shaped sound groove and adjustment perforations arranged outside of the same and symmetrical with its center axis. At least one, but preferably two, of the adjustment perforations are designed in a circular form such that they surround with small clearance aligning feet of a sound reproducing device placed upon the sound carrier which has a rotating sound pickup, whereas other adjacent and opposite adjustment perforations in an upper side of the sound carrier are each surrounded by an upwardly protruding annular bead. This allows at first one or two aligning feet to be inserted into the adjustment perforations, whereupon the sound reproducing device is pivoted so that the two other aligning feet engage the two round adjustment perforations. As a result, it is necessary to monitor one or two adjustment perforations only when placing the sound reproducing device on the sound carrier. The view of adjustment perforations is not impeded by the front side of the sound reproducing device with the arrangement facing the user.

The invention relates to a sound carrier, especially for a sound illustrated book or other printed medium which is to be associated with selected pages of the book or the like. The film-type sound carrier may be inserted, bound or glued into the book. As a separate sound carrier, it may also be connected with a printed medium in a form-stable manner. It may also be designed as a double page and bound into catenae of books. Such sound carriers generally comprise at least one spiral shaped sound groove and at least two, but mostly four, adjustment perforations which are arranged outside of the sound groove area and around the same, in particular symmetrically with respect to the center axis thereof, mostly in the form of round holes. They are dimensioned such that they each surround an aligning foot of a sound reproducing device placed in a pre-aligned position upon the sound carrier with little clearance. The sound reproducing device comprises a sound pickup means which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and is lowered onto the spiral. groove to play it.
The sound carrier may, in addition to the adjustment perforations, also comprise switch-on safeguarding elements for a correctly positioned sound reproducing device which, with its switch-on safeguarding elements provided on its lower side, gets to interact with the same to allow switching on in the correct position only (see German Patent No. 31 33 187 C2).
So-called sounding or sound illustrated books for children, especially for learning purposes, e.g. language learning books, travel books, encyclopedias and the like are known.
During lessons, and especially for private study, everything that is illustrated or written can in this manner be supplemented and deepened by the acoustic information of about 1 to 4 minutes duration contained in the sound groove.
With this type of adjustment or alignment it proved in practice that children or also aged people do not always make the correct association immediately when aligning the sound reproducing device, especially where thick books are involved. To overcome the problem of precisely associating the sound groove with the text in the book itself, and of impaired readability, it is known, as disclosed in German Reference No. PS 2358110, to provide the sound grooves separately on semi-rigid book pages one can turn out. However, this is not satisfactory in many arrangements, especially if the book is large and therefore much space at the side of the book is required. Even if with another, initially mentioned sound illustrated, bound book with bound-in sound carrier films the area available for the sound reproducing device is actually sufficient, the size of the sound reproducing device partially impairs the view, especially if the book is a thick one (German Patent No. 31 33 187 C2). Due to the small permissible tolerance of the feet perforations it happens sometimes that the sound reproducing device is pushed past the adjustment perforations by the aligning feet, so that a repeated re-adjustment is necessary until the correct association is achieved. The aligning feet fit with comparatively little clearance into the perforations so that the device is adjusted exactly concentrically with the sound groove. An inexact adjustment results in obvious sound pitch variations during reproduction. This problem is even greater with bound books, especially at the side of the sound carrier facing the binding. Owing to the normally translucent, crystal-clear sound carrier films it is even more difficult to find the adjustment perforations on a white book page.
It is also known, as identified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,976, to provide, for adjustment purposes, a V-shaped depression in the middle of the sound groove of a film-type sound carrier having a thickness of 0.15 to 0.38 mm. The V-base or crown of the sound carrier is engaged by a centering pin of the sound reproducing device. The depth of the depression is 0.127 mm. Additional beads having a height of about 0.127 mm may be provided at the edges of the depressions to make guiding of the centering pin to the base of the V-depression and keeping it in this position easier. This manner of centering did not prove satisfactory because the sound reproducing device had constantly to be held manually in this position which is very difficult especially for children. If it is not held in position, the centering position is left upon a push, a shake or another movement. This is due to the fact that the centering pin is fixed only toward the crown of the V-depression but not in another direction as is the case with the sound carriers mentioned initially where round perforations are provided into which the feet of the sound reproducing device fit with a minor clearance only.
Of similar unreliability is the centering in another known system of a film-type sound carrier with sound reproducing device to be placed upon it as it is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,146. The sound reproducing device comprises two centering pins, spaced apart by e.g. 20 mm. In a first embodiment, they have to be made to abut a side surface of one bead each. The beads are not parallel but are inclined toward each other in funnel-shape. In a second embodiment, two curved oblong holes having a widened section in the middle are provided with which the two centering pins have to be brought into engagement. The two pins that are inserted in the oblong holes get to abut unilaterally a base or crown of the oblong holes by turning the sound reproducing device. There, too, the centering pins have to be held in abutment against the beads or oblong holes as the centering pins are not retained with form-fit by the sound carrier against movement in all directions in the plane of the sound carrier.
The invention is based on the object to make it easier to exactly position the sound reproducing device in the initially mentioned adjustment perforations of a film-type sound carrier having a thickness of about 0.2 to 0.35 mm and to retain the aligning feet of the sound reproducing device in adjustment perforations in such a manner that the sound reproducing device is held safely in all directions after it was centered in the sound carrier plane.
To meet this object, the invention provides that in the sound carrier mentioned initially at least one of the adjustment perforations on the surface of the sound carrier is surrounded by an annular bead which protrudes in upward direction from the surface and has been impressed or deep-drawn, for example. Said annular bead may either be located immediately at the perforation or surround it a small distance of about 1.0 to 1.5 mm, especially 1.2 mm, thus forming a flat shoulder which contributes to defining the perforation. The annular bead should have a height of 0.2 to 0.3 mm, especially of 0.2 mm, and a width of about 1-1.5 mm, especially 1.2 mm.
It is advisable to provide the two perforations in the lower edge of the sound carrier with such an annular bead. Such an annular bead does not only make the perforations better visible, they also render the alignment of the feet of the sound reproducing device easier because they practically fall into the larger annular bead and slip into the precise adjustment perforations automatically. Such a perforation surrounded by an annular bead can actually be compared to a funnel.
Of course, all the perforations in a sound carrier can be provided with beads. They also prevent an unintentional dislocation of the sound reproducing device during possibly desired interruptions of a reproduction while studying educational information. This is important as the sound reproducing device has to be actuated frequently also during reproduction, for example for interruptions or for a repeated reproduction which naturally involves the danger of dislocation.
As an alternative to this solution, the two lower adjustment perforations may be widened and elongated in the direction away from the other adjustment perforations toward the outside or in the direction of the same toward the inside and surround the respective aligning foot to be inserted into them with large clearance by means of the wide region created in this manner, so that said aligning foot is movable to abut the narrow region and the other aligning foot/feet is/are in a position to engage the other adjustment perforation/perforations in this position. A plane guiding funnel is formed in this manner which passes the sound reproducing device placed in position into the round perforations of the sound carrier.
The walls of the enlarged adjustment perforations should have the same configuration on the side facing toward or away from the other adjustment perforations as the aligning feet to be inserted. As a result, when centered, the feet are in each case in the exactly defined positions in which they would also be if all the perforations were, as is known, circular. The adjustment perforations not made larger should have the common diameter, namely one of about 5-6 mm. The enlarged perforations have by nearly their halves the same configuration from where they widen and are extended to reach a larger transverse dimension of about 9-10 mm. The adjustment perforations are open toward the underside of the sound carrier. Actually, two adjustment perforations of which one is circular and the other funnel-shaped are sufficient for the alignment. Nevertheless, mostly four perforations are provided, as has been done previously, of which two are widened to funnel shape.
Where sound carriers have to be bound or glued into books or have otherwise to be arranged close to the binding, it is advisable to arrange the beads or the enlarged adjustment perforations on the side of the sound groove that faces away from the binding of the book because there the view thereto is best and the pages are not so much curved, so that the feet in the perforations can be shifted to the narrower base and the sound reproducing device can then be pivoted out through the other perforations and placed over the sound carrier.
The embodiment with the widening adjustment perforations is of importance where the sound carriers are glued or bound into printed media by automatic machines, so that they do not have a thickened portion either at the top or the bottom side, and a stack of sound carriers is not set up on one side. The editor can decide which type of adjustment perforations is the best for his printed medium.
Insertion of the sound reproducing device in the adjustment perforations is still rendered easier and, moreover, placement onto the front side of the sound carrier guaranteed if, in accordance with another embodiment, the sound carrier has on its rear side a coating partially transparent at most. The coating may be a color coating or a film coating or a coating of a dyed adhesive. Aluminum films rolled on without folds also proved to make good films. Thus the sound carriers look very much like the known compact discs (CDs). Sound carriers coated in this manner which might have different colors have the additional advantage in books that they can easily be noticed and may also be associated with different fields or topics.
For being fastened, the individual sound carriers which may upon the user""s discretion be glued at the places provided in the book have a coating of adhesive, which, in turn is protected by a stripfilm. Some sound carriers are especially used for children""s books or for texts which require explanation. To prevent that a printing company has to print two different books, the sound carriers are supplied along with the respective books the customer has ordered. As a further alternative, the sound carriers may also be issued in the form of postcards for being filed or glued into periodicals and/or in the form of cards with two-sided impression for collecting purposes.
The manner of fastening the films in books or other printed media, including periodicals, depends exclusively on the intended purpose of the printed medium and the sound carriers. Postcard-size sound carriers may be glued all over their size e.g. into children""s books. When they are provided with an adhesive strip at the edge, they may also be glued in periodicals as this is already being done with postcards and brochures.

Sound carrier for a sound illustrated book


A method of machine learning model development includes receiving a plurality of images of a scene, and performing an unsupervised image selection. This includes applying the images to a pre-trained model to extract and embed the images with respective feature vectors, and performing a cluster analysis to group the images in a clusters based on correlations among the respective feature vectors. The unsupervised image selection also includes selecting at least some but not all images in each of the clusters, and any images considered outliers that belong to none of the clusters, for a subset of the images that includes fewer than all of the images. And the method includes receiving user input to label or labeling objects depicted in the subset of the images to produce a training set of images, and building a machine learning model for object detection using the training set of images.

Machine learning is a process to analyze data in which the dataset is used to determine a machine learning model (also called a rule or a function) that maps input data (also called explanatory variables or predictors) to output data (also called dependent variables or response variables) according to a machine learning algorithm. A broad array of machine learning algorithms are available, with new algorithms the subject of active research. One type of machine learning is supervised learning in which a model is trained with a dataset including known output data for a sufficient number of input data. Once a model is trained, it may be deployed, i.e., applied to new input data to predict the expected output.
Machine learning may be applied to a number of different types of problems, such as classification problems in which the output data includes labels, classes, categories and the like. In some particular examples, machine learning may be applied in object detection problems to detect and classify (e.g., label) instances of objects depicted in digital images (including videos). Many successful uses of supervised learning rely on vast quantities of labeled data to perform well. But the generation of labels is a very labor intensive and cost intensive activity.
Therefore it would be desirable to have a system and method that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.

Machine learning model development with unsupervised image selection


A thermal transfer film is provided. The thermal transfer film having a support layer, light absorbing layer and a transfer layer further includes an insulating layer between the support layer and the light absorbing layer. The reverse transmission of heat is minimized, thereby improving the thermal energy transmission efficiency from the light absorbing layer to the transfer layer and performing a transfer process efficiently. Therefore, the quality of an image is enhanced.

The present invention relates to a thermal transfer film, and more particularly, to a thermal transfer film in which the image quality is improved by increasing the thermal energy transmitting efficiency to enhance sensitivity.
A laser transfer method is widely used in the fields of printing, typesetting, photography and the like. This method utilizes a principle in which an object material is transferred to a receptor by propelling the object material from a transfer film having a layer made of the object material to be transferred to the receptor.
Since a lot of energy is required in transferring the object material to the receptor, there is a need for a transfer film enabling stable and efficient transfer. A transfer film is generally varied in its structure according to the type of object material, the physical properties of a layer including the object material, and the type of energy source used for transfer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional transfer film has a structure in which a light absorbing layer 12 for providing transfer energy by absorbing light, and a transfer layer 13 including an object material are stacked on a support layer 11.
However, the aforementioned thermal transfer film has a rather low efficiency in transmitting the thermal energy converted from the light energy into the transfer layer. In other words, the thermal energy converted from the light energy is reversely transmitted to a support layer, so that energy loss is unavoidable.


This invention relates to the creation of a software application to: facilitate the creation, representation and publication of digital objects; in particular, methods and apparatus that improve digital resource retrieval on the part of end users and to provide a new system for the web based marketing of digital assets and the online distribution of metadata enriched advertising.

The accurate description of a digital object is vital to its preservation, discovery, management and distribution. Even though a schema, such as, for instance the Dublin Core®, may be used to provide a generally accepted standard for an "accurate description" of an object, the description is (intentionally) limited by the schema itself. Therefore, to adhere to this standard does not provide the possibility of either a very broad or very granular detailed description (metadata) of the object.
Cataloging schema also has inherited limitations. For example, information collected within a schema is limited by the subjective perspective of the cataloger or to the domain in which the cataloger is a recognized expert. Although a domain expert may be a recognized with regard to a particular object or object type, he may not have an extensive knowledge of, for example, a historic perspective of the class to which the object type belongs. Additionally, the cataloging process itself may be strictly limited in scope, perhaps due to limited resources; thus the policy adopted to catalog the objects may also be limiting by design.
Digital object representation is becoming increasingly significant in the distribution of product information. That is to say, the effective dissemination of information related to products (for instance through search engines) has become one of the primary means of its "distribution", with the World Wide Web representing one of the primary channels of distribution of this information and a market of exchange for the information and commerce. This represents what can be called the "semantic market place". So, as objects are now in part distributed through the effectiveness of their digital representations, the construction of these representations is becoming increasingly significant. With the advent of semantic technologies, which permit the extraction of this information and "reasoning" related to the information extracted, the construction of detailed semantic representations of digital objects (semantic digital objects or SDO) represents a significant challenge for ensuring an efficient distribution of the digital objects, for instance utilizing an improved organic search engine indexing for retrieval of the objects by the next generation of semantic and meta—semantic search engines.
The inventive system, FIG. 1, described herein, addresses these issues with an application for a complete value chain for the creation of information enriched Digital Objects referred to here as "Semantic Digital Objects" or SDO. The application implements a multi schematic and multi layered approach to metadata management ontologies, thesauri and controlled vocabularies to create polyhierarchical semantic representations. This multi layered approach refers to a multi-level (multi-level) Digital Object (DO) submission process, creating three "semantic" versions for each object. Also, described herein are two marketing methods referred to as semantic marketing methods, Semantic or Metasemantic Advertising and Quantistic Marketing, which utilizes the polyhierarchical Semantic Digital Objects (SDO) produced by the platform to provide and locate associated detailed product descriptions, such as information relating to a product's brand, company, cultural context, historical context, historic context, among others, or a combination thereof, and enhancing their representation to improve the likelihood of a potential consumer finding the product he wants to purchase or research. This list is not exclusive.                1. Background        2. Brief Summary of the Invention        3. Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawings                    3.1.1. FIG. 1. Inventive System            3.1.2. FIG. 2. User Types            3.1.3. FIG. 3. POLYCAT Authoring            3.1.4. FIG. 4. POLYCATAuthoring-Cataloging SDO into the ADARTS Repository            3.1.5. FIG. 5. ADAMS Authoring-Points of View (POV)            3.1.6. FIG. 6. ADAMS Authoring-Aggregation            3.1.7. FIG. 7. Metadata Format Filter Process (MEFF)            3.1.8. FIG. 8. Publication: MEFF interaction with Publication Digital Object (PDO)            3.1.9. FIG. 9. ERD diagram of the inventive application                        4. Detailed Description of the Invention        5. POLYCAT—A polyhierarchical cataloging tool: Creating multilayered and polyhierarchical representations of digital objects                    5.1. Overview            5.2. Multilayered Versioning                            5.2.1. The Digital Object is submitted to a digital repository (FEDORA) for preservation. This version permits us to distribute the digital object by "exposing" this representation of the document to external harvesters of other federated repositories—such as those owned by universities, museums and digital libraries. We also, "expose" this object to our own "federator" and aggregator of DOs (and CDO) which is part of ADAMS.                ADAMS also has its own harvester to retrieve relevant DOs from our repository and other digital repositories                5.2.2. The topics (or subjects) used to create each Point of View (POV) in the cataloging process are utilized to create a Topic Map of the archive.                Each object cataloged represents an instance which is registered in the Topic Map of the inventive system. This creates a Topic Map of the object instances deposited in the repository                5.2.2. A third "semantic" representation of this DO is also created, with an instance (an RDF graph) of this representation archived in the RDF triple store or also referred to as the Semantic Repository of the inventive system and utilizes "authorities" such as ontologies (foundation or upper level, middle or enterprise, and domain ontologies) thesauri, and controlled vocabularies. This "ontological" cataloging can also be represented as a map or mapping of RDF triples and visualized, representing a second mapping of the archive contents                                    5.3 Interoperability            5.4 Introduction to Components and Modules            5.5 Metadata Schema Management Module            5.6 POV Management Module                            5.6.1 *POV definition                5.6.2 *POV ontology                5.6.3 *POV construction                5.6.4 *POV instance                5.6.5 *POV Type Collection: the Phylogenic POV                5.6.6 *POV Alignment, Mediation and Mapping                                    5.7 Digital Object Management Module            5.9 General Functionality            5.10 POV Structure                            5.10.1 POV Instance                5.10.2 POV Collection metadata                                    5.11 For POV Type Collection            5.12 For POV Type Instance            5.13 Process and History-Ontogenic and Phylogenic                            5.13.1 End user annotation: folksonomies                                    5.14 Cataloger modules            5.15 Technology Utilized            5.16 CATALOGER: System requirements                            5.16.1 Cataloger Administration                5.16.2 Policy Management                5.16.3 Community Management and Collection Management                5.2.3. Schema Management                5.2.4. POV Management: Auditing and Statistics on Objects and Users                                    5.3 Digital Object Management                            5.3.1 Submission Work Flow                5.3.2 Handle and DOI                5.3.3 History and Versioning                5.3.4 Repository Search                5.3.5 Digital Object Mapping                5.3.6 Digital Object Mapping in the Repository                                    5.4 Technology Utilized            5.5 Application Functionality                            5.5.1 LDAP Authentication                5.5.2 User and Authorization Management                5.5.3 Schema Management.                5.5.5 Community and Collections Management.                5.5.6 Digital Object Submission                5.5.7 Creating Object Container Types                5.5.8 Multiple Attachment File                5.5.9 Context Schema                5.5.10 Multi language                5.5.11 Administrative Metadata                5.5.12 Technical Metadata                5.5.12 Rights Metadata                5.5.13 Preservation Metadata                5.5.14 Annotations                5.5.15 Bibliographic Citations                5.5.16 Product Description Metadata                5.5.17 E-commerce Metadata                5.5.18 Assigning User Permission                5.5.19 Digital Object Mapping with Topic Maps                5.5.20 Submission Work Flow                5.5.21 URI                5.5.22 Mapping Repository DOs                5.5.23 History and Versioning of DO                5.5.24 Repository Search                5.5.25 Statistics on Objects and Users                                                6. Introduction: ADAMS: A Digital Asset Management System                    6.1a. Data aggregation using SPARQL (SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language)            6.1b. ADAMS (A Digital Asset Management System)                            6.1.1. The Authoring Component:                6.1.2 The aggregation process                6.1.3 Digital Object Aggregation ADARTS                6.1.4 Federated Search Module                6.1.5 Harvest Module                6.1.6 Trusted Federated Semantic Repository                6.1.7 Content authoring of Complex Digital Objects (CDO)                6.1.8 Working with ADAMS: Complex Digital Object Creator: CDOC                6.1.9 The semantic aggregation process                6.1.10 Semantic Digital Object Creator: SDOC                6.1.11 Collecting objects from external source                6.2 Aggregating Digital Objects into the ADAMS Semantic Repository                6.2.1 Complex Digital Object (CDO) Ingestion into the Semantic Repository                6.3. Mapping Digital Objects (DOs) into the ADAMS Topic Map                6.4. The Ad Repository and search                                                7 Metadata Editor and Disseminator (MEFF)                    7.1 The Metadata Editor and Publication: Metadata Format Filter            7.2 Metadata Editor and Publication: Format Filter            7.3 MEFF Implementation: The ADARTS PMS (portal management system)            7.4 A Note On Object Oriented Programming                            7.4.1 Inheritance                7.4.2 Overloading                                    7.5 Levels                            7.5.1 MEFF                                    7.6 Summary View                            7.6.1 Detailed View                                    7.7 Channel Level MEFF                            7.7.1 Category Level MEFF                7.7.2 User Level MEFF                7.7.3 Gallery Level MEFF                7.7.4 Gallery-item Level MEFF                7.7.5 Magazine Level MEFF                7.7.6 Issue Level MEFF                7.7.7 Article Level MEFF                7.7.8 Presentation Digital Object Creation                                    7.8 Metasemantic Digital Object Creation            7.9 Metadata Centric Content Management System            7.10 ADARTS Magazine: an example of MSDO                        8 PUBLISHER                    8.1 Filter Object Information            8.2 Import Digital Object Into Portal Cache            8.3 Digital Object Publication Component MSDO            8.4 PDO—Presentation Digital Object                            8.4.1 Template Creator: PDO Creator                8.4.2 Template Management Module                8.4.3 MSDO Management                8.4.4 MSDO Creator                8.4.5 Metasemantic Digital Object Creation                                    8.5 Metadata Centric Content Management System                            8.5.1 ADARTS Magazine: an example of MSDO                                                9 SEMANTIC MARKETING                    9.1 Introduction: Context, and Usefulness of the Invention            9.2 Smart Ad Construction Process            9.3 The Semantic Marketing Methods                            9.3.1 Metasemantic and Semantic Search Engine Retrieval                9.3.2 The Quantistic Marketing Method (QMM)                                    9.4 The Smart Ad Construction Process                            9.4.1 An analog print based resource is digitized (scanned), cataloged and submitted to the preservation repository (FEDORA). This version can be "exposed" to external harvesters of other federated repositories for distribution. The object is also harvested by the ADAMS component for aggregation process of object enrichment and preparation for publication.                9.4.2 The topics (subjects) used to create each POV utilized during the cataloging process for this instance is registered in the topic map of the system. This creates a Topic Map of the object instances deposited in the repository                9.4.3 A third "semantic" representation of this object is also created, with an instance (an RDF graph) of this representation archived in the RDF triple store or also referred to as the Semantic Repository of the system. This RDF graph is also visualized—this represents a second mapping of the archive contents                                                10 Smart Ad                    10.1 Semantic marketing methods            10.2 Smart Ad cataloging method            10.3 Smart Ad enrichment            10.4 Smart Ad search and distribution            10.5 Market Research                            10.5.1 Marketing Analysis                10.5.2 Marketing Analysis: Phases                                                11. REFERENCES        12. Appendix A [03660]        13. Appendix B [03670)                    13.1 The principle functions of the Publication component                        14. APPENDIX C DATABASE DESIGN: ADARTS                    14.1. USERS            14.2. CATEGORIES            14.3. BRAND            14.4. GALLERY            14.5. GALLERYITEM            14.6. METADATA: DUBLIN CORE (DC)            14.7. MEFF: METADATA FORMAT FILTER            14.8. MAGAZINE            14.9. CONTACT DIRECTORY            14.10 OTHER                            14.10.1. Customer: Data relative to the customers                14.10.2. Data relative to user roles                14.10.3. Data relative to visitors                14.10.4. Data relative to product categories                14.10.5. Data relative to brand                14.10.6. Data relative to brand associated to the category                14.10.7. Data relative to brand associated to the user                14.10.8. Data relative to gallery                14.10.9. Data relative to gallery type                14.10.10. Data relative to the gallery list                14.10.11. Data relative to state of payment for a gallery                14.10.12. Data relative to state of a gallery                14.10.13. Data relative to a multigallery                14.10.14. Data relative to gallery templates                14.10.15. Data relative to template types                14.10.16. Data relative to the visitor gallery: album                14.10.17. Data relative to the galleryitem                14.10.18. Data relative to the versions of the galleryitem                14.10.19. Data relative to the type of version for a galleryitem                14.10.20. Data relative to the state of a galleryitem                14.10.21. Data relative to the galleryitem of a category                14.10.22. Data relative to the metadata of the object                14.10.23. Data related to the MEFF metadata schema                14.10.24. Data related to the MEFF type                14.10.25. Data related to the MEFF channel                14.10.26. Data related to the MEFF filter                14.10.27. Data related to the MEFF filter channel                14.10.28. Data related to the MEFF filter category                14.10.29. Data related to the MEFF filter gallery                14.10.30. Data related to the MEFF filter galleryitem                14.10.31. Data related to the MEFF filter user                14.10.32. Data related to the MEFF filter metadata                14.10.33. Data related to the MEFF filter magazine                14.10.34. Data related to the MEFF filter issue                14.10.35. Data related to the MEFF filter article                14.10.36. Data relative to the magazine                14.10.37. Data relative to the state of a magazine                14.10.38. Data relative to the magazine issue                14.10.39. Data relative to the state of the issue                14.10.40. Data relative to the article                14.10.41. Data relative to the state of the article                14.10.42. Data relative to an article associated to a category                14.10.43. Data relative to contacts associated to the user                14.10.44. Data relative to the types of contacts                14.10.45. Data relative to a country                                                15. APPENDIX D—GLOSSARY        Glossary                    15.1. Harvester            15.2. aDORe: A modular, Standards-based Digital Object Repository            15.3. OAI (Open Archives Initiative)            15.4. Harvesting interface            15.5. Repository            15.6. Resource            15.7. Item            15.8. Record            15.9. Digital Object            15.10. Complex Digital Objects (CDO)            15.11. Federated Repositories            15.12. The complex nature of the assets MPEG-21 (Moving Picture Experts Multimedia framework, standards ISO/IEC 21000)            15.13. Surrogate            15.14. Quantistic            15.15. OpenURL (Uniform Resource Locator format)            15.16. DOI: Unique Universal Digital Object Identifier            15.17. XSLT (EXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations)            15.18. Topic Maps            15.19. Ontology            15.20. The aDORe Architecture

Apparatus and methods for web marketing tools for digital archives—web portal advertising arts


A non-refillable valve for a pressure container which includes a housing with a central passageway, which has a lower portion that is narrower than its middle portion which in turn is narrower than its upper portion. A side port is present in the lower region of the middle portion and an outlet nozzle is attached to the side port. The lower end of the housing is adapted to sealingly engage the pressure to provide communication therebetween. The valve stem is rotatably positioned in the upper portion of the central passageway. The internal end of the valve stem extends into the middle portion of the central passageway and has a longitudinal central bore present part way through the body portion. A resilient valve sealing member has a body portion and an upper flange that extends upwardly and outwardly from the body. A vertical post is positioned in the middle of the top surface of the upper flange and slidingly and rotatably engages the central bore on the bottom of the valve stem. A washer-shaped member fits over the vertical post in a slidable and rotatable manner. The washer-shaped member can be free floating on the valve sealing member or can be adhered to the bottom of the valve stem or the top of the valve sealing member. The flange portion of the sealing member is compressingly positioned in the upper portion of the central bore when the valve is inactive or being filled. The valve sealing member is pushed into the middle portion by means of the valve stem when the valve is placed in the active position. The sealing member engages the seating interface when any refill of the container with pressurized fluid is attempted.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to non-refillable or single use valves for pressurized systems.
2. Prior Art
Pressure tanks or other pressure containers are usually filled under carefully controlled conditions at a charging station and then distributed to various places for use. When empty it is intended that the containers be returned to the charging center for appropriate reuse or destruction in the case of single use containers. Unfortunately, the attractive economies of refilling containers at points of use or otherwise repressurizing them under less than carefully supervised conditions has resulted, in the less consequential cases, in the introduction of impurities or inferior refills and, in the more consequential cases, to injurious explosions. The reuse of pressure containers is highly objectionable for many reasons which relate to safety.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,813 discloses a fluid dispensing valve assembly having a body one end of which is formed for securement to a container. The body forms a conduit having only one through passage for filling and discharging fluid. There is a shut-off valve operable for controlling the flow of fluid through the passage. The shut-off valve has an externally accessible control. There is a convertible means in the body comprising an initially inactive check valve initially in condition to accommodate the flow of fluid through the passage in both the filling and discharge directions. The check valve is convertible after an initial filling operation into an active check valve in the passage in series with the shut-off valve. The initially inactive check valve includes a movable valve member, a valve seat, means for biasing the valve member toward the valve seat, and detent means effective initially to prevent the cooperation of the valve member with the valve seat. The detent means is defeatable after an initial filling operation to enable the valve member to engage the seat. The check valve when active is operative to pass fluid only in the discharge direction. The check valve after being rendered active to obstruct the flow of fluid selectively in the filling direction is guarded against access from the exterior of the valve assembly when secured to a container for reopening the passage to the flow of fluid in the filling direction. Thereby a container equipped with the valve assembly can be evacuated and then filled with fluid in the initial condition of the valve assembly but is substantially non-refillable after conversion of the convertible means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,332 discloses a non-refillable safety valve for a pressure container. The valve includes a housing, having a central bore, which provides communication between a port and the pressure container for charging and selective discharging the pressure container. The central bore has a lower portion that is narrower than the upper portion of the central bore. A hollow knob unit, having a central bore, is in threaded engagement with the outer wall of the housing. A core, having a central bore, is slidably mounted in the central bore of the housing. The upper end of the hollow knob unit is mounted on the core in a rotatable manner and in fixed longitudinal relationship with the core. A sealing member is slidably mounted in the lower end portion of the central bore of the core. The core contains end stop means for preventing movement for the sealing member below the lower end of the core. The sealing member engages the interface ledge formed by the lower upper portions of the central bore of the housing when the core is moved the maximum possible distance into the central bore of the core or when refill is attempted after discharge of the pressure container. The core contains at least one passageway located in the core outwards from the sealing member for communication between the central bore of the core and said upper portion of the central core, of the housing. An engagable stop means is positioned between the outer surface of the housing and the inner surface of the hollow knob unit in order to limit retrograde or outward movement of the core to a position whereby the sealing member still engages in interface ledge when refilling the pressure container. The engagable stop means engages after the pressure container has been filled and the sealing member, the core and the knob unit have been moved into sealing position.
U.S. Pat. No. 871,780 discloses a bottle having a neck provided with a passage and having a valve chamber at the inner end of the neck. A valve seat is formed in the chamber. There is a valve operable in the latter and provided with a compressible head adapted to close upon the seat and of greater diameter than the passage. The valve is elastic, and is inserted into the chamber of the bottle of forcing it in deformed shape down the neck of the bottle by means of a mechanism similar to a screw press. The bottle is inserted into the press box and the screw is used to force the deformed valve down the bottle neck. The valve mechanism is used to prevent fraudulent substitution of contents; use with pressurized fluids is not mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,980 discloses a valve for a pressurized container having a blocking element therein which is adapted to occupy an initial location in which fluid can move in and out of the container past the blocking element. The valve and blocking element are further configured such that the blocking element can be irreversibly moved to a position in which the valve permits escape of fluid under pressure exerted from the inside of the container, but which automatically closes in response to exposure to an external pressure greater than the pressure inside the container. The blocking element is formed of at least one flexible, radially extending arm whose lateral radius is reduced upon movement of the blocking element from the initial location to the final location. The at least one arm expands within the final location to prevent return of the blocking element to the initial location.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,611 discloses a non-refillable valve for a pressure container which includes a housing with a central bore, which has a lower portion that is narrower than its middle portion which in turn is narrower than its upper portion. A side port is present in the lower region of the middle portion and an outlet nozzle is attached to the side port. The lower end of the housing is adapted to sealingly engage the pressure to provide communication therebetween. The valve stem is rotatably positioned in the upper portion of the central bore. A tube is mounted on the internal end of the valve stem which extends into the middle portion of the central bore. A resilient valve sealing member has a body portion and an upper flange that extends upwardly and outwardly from the body. A longitudinal passageway is present part way through the body portion. A vertical post is positioned in the middle of the longitudinal passageway and slidingly engaging the tube on the bottom of the valve stem. The flange portion of the sealing member is compressingly positioned in the upper portion of the central bore when the valve is inactive or being filled. The valve sealing member is pushed into the middle portion by means of the valve stem when the valve is placed in the active position. The sealing member engages the seating interface when any refill of the container with pressurized fluid is attempted.
There is a need for a relatively simple and inexpensive valve which will allow normal filling of the pressure container under proper conditions, adequate sealing of the pressure container during nonuse, selective discharge of the pressure container, and effective prevention of improper and unauthorized refilling of the container.


A technique for improving the quality of digital signals in a multi-level signaling system is disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the technique may be realized as a method for improving the quality of transmitted digital signals in a multi-level signaling system wherein digital signals representing more than one bit of information may be transmitted at more than two signal levels on a single transmission medium. The method comprises encoding digital values represented by sets of N bits to provide corresponding sets of P symbols, wherein each set of P symbols is selected to eliminate full-swing transitions between successive digital signal transmissions. The method also comprises transmitting the sets of P symbols.

High-speed serial link channels delivering an effective data rate above 5 Gb/s in a backplane environment are subject to significant signal distortion due to inter-symbol interference (ISI). Transmitters and receivers need to compensate most of the signal distortion using very low complexity schemes in order to obtain a target bit error rate (BER) of less than or equal to 10−17 at Gb/s rates and under severe power and complexity restrictions. This constrained space presents significant challenges to well-known signal processing and coding techniques, and sub-optimal but efficient alternatives are sometimes needed to fulfill the task.
Attenuation caused by conductor and dielectric losses causes dispersion ISI. Another important ISI component is reflections, which are essentially multipath components of a signal and originate from impedance discontinuities such as those caused by connectors of line cards at both transmit and receive ends. In addition to ISI distortion, cross-talk effects from far and near end adjacent channels is becoming increasingly significant.
To counteract channel attenuation at high bit rates, 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (4-PAM) signaling is often used instead of conventional 2-level pulse amplitude modulation (2-PAM) signaling. That is, in a 2-PAM signaling system, each conductor in the system may carry signals at one of two signal levels (i.e., at either a logic zero level or a logic one level). Thus, in a 2-PAM signaling system, each conductor in the system can only transmit one bit of data at a time. However, in a 4-PAM signaling system, each conductor in the system may carry signals at four different signal levels (i.e., four different symbols). Thus, in a 4-PAM signaling system, each conductor in the system can transmit two bits of data simultaneously at half of the symbol rate for an equivalent bandwidth.
In a 4-PAM signaling system that uses current-based output drivers, the four different signal levels are represented by different current values. For example, the four different current levels may be identified as 0i, 1i, 2i, and 3i. Similarly, in a 4-PAM transmission system that uses voltage-based output drivers, the four different signal levels are represented by different voltage values. For example, the four different voltage levels may be identified as 0v, 1v, 2v, and 3v. Both of these types of output drivers are typically connected in a transmission line environment that presents an effective resistance or impedance to the output driver. This transmission line impedance causes the output voltage to change if the output current from the current driver changes, and causes the output current to change if the output voltage from the voltage driver changes.
A 4-PAM signaling system may be used in systems having either differential pairs of signals or single-ended signals referenced to ground. In a 4-PAM signaling system utilizing many single-ended output drivers, it is desirable to maintain the total signal current required to transmit a byte of data (or code word) at a relatively constant current level in comparison to other bytes of data (or code words). If the signal current fluctuates greatly from one byte to the next, current changes flow through power supply connections and cause noise. These current changes occur when using either voltage drivers or current drivers. The noise on the power supply increases in systems that have high data transmission rates and fast edge rate transmitters. This noise on the power supply degrades the voltage margins of the signals.
Understandably, while advantageous in channels with dominant attenuation, 4-PAM signaling systems are more sensitive to reflections and cross-talk than 2-PAM signaling systems due to the reduction in signal margin as a result of carrying more information per symbol. Thus, in cases where high loss and reflections are combined, the advantages of 4-PAM signaling over 2-PAM signaling may be lost.
In order to preserve the advantages of 4-PAM signaling over 2-PAM signaling it would be desirable to eliminate full-swing transitions (FST) between sequential 4-PAM symbols. This could enhance system performance in terms of: 1.) voltage margins (Vm), by reducing peak distortion (PD) via the elimination of one or more worst case sequences; and 2.) timing margins (Tm), especially at outer eyes where FST close eyes the most.
It would also be desirable to secure a minimum density of desirable symbol transitions useful for clock recovery. These clock data recovery (CDR) transitions could prevent continuous phase drifting from an optimum sampling point at the center of an eye in plesiochronous systems with frequency offsets between received data and a local receive clock.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a technique for improving the quality of digital signals in a multi-level signaling system which overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings in an efficient and cost effective manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Technique for improving the quality of digital signals in a multi-level signaling system