A method to maintain isocapnia for a subject. A fresh gas is provided to the subject when the subject breathes at a rate less than or equal to the fresh gas flowing to the subject. The fresh gas flow equal to a baseline minute ventilation minus a dead space gas ventilation of the subject contains a physiological insignificant amount of CO2. An additional reserve gas is provided to the subject when the subject breathes at a rate more than the fresh gas flowing to the subject. The reserve gas has a partial pressure of carbon dioxide equal to an arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide of the subject. A breathing circuit is applied to the method to maintain isocapnia for a subject. The breathing circuit has an exit port, a non-rebreathing valve, a source of fresh gas, a fresh gas reservoir and a reserve gas supply.

The present invention relates to a method to maintain isocapnia when breathing exceeds baseline breathing and a circuit therefor. Preferably, the circuit includes a non-rebreathing valve, a source of fresh gas, a fresh gas reservoir and a source of gas to be inhaled when minute ventilation exceeds fresh gas flow. Preferably the flow of the fresh gas is equal to minute ventilation minus anatomic dead space. Any additional inhaled gas exceeding fresh gas flow has a partial pressure of CO2 equal to the partial pressure of CO2 of arterial blood.
Venous blood returns to the heart from the muscles and organs partially depleted of oxygen (O2) and a full complement of carbon dioxide (CO2). Blood from various parts of the body is mixed in the heart (mixed venous blood) and pumped into the lungs via the pulmonary artery. In the lungs, the blood vessels break up into a net of small vessels surrounding tiny lung sacs (alveoli). The vessels surrounding the alveoli provide a large surface area for the exchange of gases by diffusion along their concentration gradients. After a breath of air is inhaled into the lungs, it dilutes the CO2 that remains in the alveoli at the end of exhalation. A concentration gradient is then established between the partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2) in the mixed venous blood (PvCO2) arriving at the alveoli and the alveolar PCO2. The CO2 diffuses into the alveoli from the mixed venous blood from the beginning of inspiration (at which time the concentration gradient for CO2 is established) until an equilibrium is reached between the PCO2 in blood from the pulmonary artery and the PCO2 in the alveolae at some time during breath. The blood then returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins and is pumped into the arterial system by the left ventricle of the heart. The PCO2 in the arterial blood, termed arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) is then the same as was in equilibrium with the alveoli. When the subject exhales, the end of his exhalation is considered to have come from the alveoli and thus reflects the equilibrium CO2 concentration between the capillaries and the alveoli. The PCO2 in this gas is the end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2). The arterial blood also has a PCO2 equal to the PCO2 at equilibrium between the capillaries and alveoli.
With each exhaled breath some CO2 is eliminated and with each inhalation, fresh air containing no CO2 is inhaled and dilutes the residual equilibrated alveolar PCO2, establishing a new gradient for CO2 to diffuse out of the mixed venous blood into the alveoli. The rate of breathing, or ventilation (VE), usually expressed in L/min, is exactly that required to eliminate the CO2 brought to the lungs and establish an equilibrium PETCO2 and PaCO2 of approximately 40 mmHg (in normal humans). When one produces more CO2 (e.g. as a result of fever or exercise), more CO2 is carried to the lungs and one then has to breathe harder to wash out the extra CO2 from the alveoli, and thus maintain the same equilibrium PaCO2. But if the CO2 production stays normal, and one hyperventilates, then excess CO2 is washed out of the alveoli and the PaCO2 falls.
It is important to note that not all VE contributes to elimination of CO2. The explanation for this is with reference to the schematic in the lung depicted in FIG. 10. The lung contains two regions that do not participate in gas equilibration with the blood. The first comprises the set of conducting airways (trachea and bronchi) 100 that act as pipes directing the gas to gas exchanging areas. As these conducting airways do not participate in gas exchange they are termed anatomic dead space 102 and the portion of VE ventilating the anatomic dead space is termed anatomic dead space ventilation (VDan). The same volume of inhaled gas resides in the anatomic dead space on each breath. The first gas that is exhaled comes from the anatomic dead space and thus did not undergo gas exchange and therefore will have a gas composition similar to the inhaled gas. The second area where there is no equilibration with the blood comprises the set of alveoli 103 that have lost their blood supply; they are termed alveolar dead space 104. The portion of VE ventilating the alveolar dead space is termed alveolar dead space ventilation (VDalv). Gas is distributed to alveolar dead space in proportion to their number relative to that of normal alveoli (normal alveoli being those that have blood vessels and participate in gas exchange with blood). That portion of VE that goes to well perfused alveoli and participates in gas exchange is called the alveolar ventilation (VA). In FIG. 10, the numeral references 105 and 106 indicate the pulmonary capillary and the red blood cell, respectively.
Prior art circuits used to prevent decrease in PCO2 resulting from increased ventilation, by means of rebreathing of previously exhaled gas are described according to the location of the fresh gas inlet, reservoir and pressure relief valve with respect to the patient. They have been classified by Mapleson and are described in Dorsch and Dorsch pg 168.
Mapleson A
The circuit comprises a pressure relief valve nearest to the patient, a tubular reservoir and fresh inlet distal to the patient. In this circuit, on expiration, dead space gas is retained in the circuit, and after the reservoir becomes full, alveolar gas is lost through the relief valve. Dead space gas is therefore preferentially rebreathed. Dead space gas has a PCO2 much less than PaCO2. This is less effective in maintaining PCO2 than rebreathing alveolar gas, as occurs with the circuit of the present invention.
Mapleson B and C
The circuit includes a relief valve nearest the patient, and a reservoir with a fresh gas inlet at the near patient port. As with Mapleson A dead space gas is preferentially rebreathed when minute ventilation exceeds fresh gas flow. In addition, if minute ventilation is temporarily less than fresh gas flow, fresh gas is lost from the circuit due to the proximity of the fresh gas inlet to the relief valve. Under these conditions, when ventilation once again increases, there is no compensation for transient decrease in ventilation as the loss of fresh gas will prevent a compensatory decrease in PCO2.
Mapleson D and E
Mapleson D consists of a circuit where fresh gas flow enters near the patient port, and gas exits from a pressure relief valve separated from the patient port by a length of reservoir tubing. Mapleson E is similar except it has no pressure relief valve allowing the gas to simply exit from an opening in the reservoir tubing. In both circuits, fresh gas is lost without being first breathed. The volume of gas lost without being breathed at a given fresh flow is dependent on the pattern of breathing and the total minute ventilation. Thus the alveolar ventilation and the PCO2 level are also dependent on the pattern of breathing and minute ventilation. Fresh gas is lost because during expiration, fresh gas mixes with expired gas and escapes with it from the exit port of the circuit. With the present invention, all of the fresh gas is breathed by the subject.
There are many different possible configurations of fresh gas inlet, relief valve, reservoir bag and CO2 absorber (see Dorsch and Dorsch, pg. 205–207). In all configurations, a mixture of expired gases enters the reservoir bag, and therefore rebreathed gas consists of combined dead space gas and alveolar gas. This is less efficient in maintaining PCO2 constant than rebreathing alveolar gas preferentially as occurs with our circuit, especially at small increments of V above the fresh gas flow.

Method of maintaining constant arterial PCO


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element, an internal electrode connected to the semiconductor element, a sealing resin covering the semiconductor element and a portion of the internal electrode, and an external electrode exposed from the sealing resin and connected to the internal electrode. The internal electrode includes a wiring layer and a columnar portion, where the wiring layer has a wiring layer front surface facing the back surface of the semiconductor element and a wiring layer back surface facing opposite from the wiring layer front surface in the thickness direction. The columnar portion protrudes in the thickness direction from the wiring layer front surface. The columnar portion has an exposed side surface facing in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction. The external electrode includes a first cover portion covering the exposed side surface.

In recent years, there have been leadless package semiconductor devices such as a small outline non-leaded package (SON package) and a quad flat non-leaded package (QFN package). Leadless package semiconductor devices have terminals for external connection, which do not protrude from the sealing resin that seals semiconductor elements. For this reason, the semiconductor devices of this type are advantageous in reducing the size and thickness of the semiconductor devices. Such a leadless package semiconductor device is disclosed in JP-A-2016-18846, for example.
The semiconductor device disclosed in JP-A-2016-18846 includes a semiconductor element, a lead frame, a plurality of wires, and a sealing resin. The lead frame is made of copper, for example. The lead frame includes a die pad and a plurality of leads. The die pad supports the semiconductor element. The plurality of leads are electrically connected to the semiconductor element via the plurality of wires. The plurality of leads are terminals for external connection when the semiconductor device is mounted on the circuit board of an electronic device or the like. The sealing resin covers the semiconductor element.

Semiconductor device with internal and external electrode and method of manufacturing


System and method to detect battery cell malfunctions through redundant offset battery cell monitoring. Redundant battery monitoring may be implemented in a battery monitoring system to process battery cell voltages at offset times. A processor may compare offset voltage samples for a particular battery cell. If the samples vary outside a predetermined range, the processor may indicate a battery cell malfunction.

Battery monitors are devices that monitor and report battery cell diagnostic information. A system for monitoring battery cell voltage levels may include battery monitors that may process and report voltage levels for a particular battery cell. Successive reported voltages may be compared to validate operation of a particular battery cell. Although battery monitors provide an efficient mechanism for monitoring battery cell voltage levels, their electrical characteristics may make them susceptible to electrical operating malfunctions that may be caused by induced electromagnetic field voltages, system glitches, voltage spikes, or any number of voltage nonlinearities. In a battery monitoring system, such a nonlinearity may be induced by a battery cell being monitored and may indicate a battery malfunction. When such a malfunction occurs, however, it may interfere with battery monitor operation in a manner such that a battery monitoring system may not properly detect the malfunction. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a battery monitoring system that may properly detect a battery cell malfunction.

Diagnostic method to monitor battery cells of safety-critical systems


An AV device is provided that can automatically perform OSD display setting of other AV devices at a time based on local ODS display setting even when a plurality of AV devices are connected. The AV device (depicted as TV 1) includes a connection means (depicted as an HDMI connector 21 and an HDMI connector 22) for making connection with external AV devices 3 and 4 capable of performing OSD display, an OSD processing portion 23 for performing OSD display on a display 17, and a system controller 20 for controlling the entire system. The OSD processing portion 23 generates ODS display setting data 23a from the display setting such as a character color and size in OSD display received from a user using a TV remote controller 2 or the like and stores it. The system controller 20 transmits the OSD display setting data 23a for the TV 1 stored here to the external AV devices 3 and 4 via the HDMI connectors 21 and 22.

As a technology of video/audio transmission, there are a video/audio transmission system using MPEG compressed data based on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard, a component video transmission system of Y (luminance signal)/Pb (blue color difference signal)/Pr (red color difference signal) using a component terminal and a D video terminal, an optical digital audio transmission system in a digital audio format based on the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60958 standard and the IEC 61397 standard, and the like.
Furthermore, as an interface for high-speed transmission of digitized video signal between a computer main body and a display, the DVI (Digital Visual Interface) standard has been known.
The HDMI standard is a digital connection standard, which is a further improved version of the DVI standard, and an object thereof is to perform digital connection between an output device such as an STB and a display at home to meet the changes such as digitization of TV broadcast and a shift in a display device to a flat panel. The video/audio transmission in accordance with the HDMI standard is disclosed, for example, in the Patent Document 1.
In the HDMI, a function of transmitting audio signal and control signal is added to meet the requirement for TV uses. In the conventional connection between devices, a plurality of cables have been used for each signal of video, audio and control, however, since the HDMI standard needs only a single HDMI cable and the control signal is applicable to two-way transmission, it is also possible to operate the entire AV system (such as a home theater) with one remote controller by relaying the control signal to an output device such as an STB and a DVD player connected by the HDMI from a monitor.
Furthermore, in addition to the HDMI standard, there are the Display Port standard and the UDI (Unified Display Interface) standard as the improved version of the DVI standard. The UDI standard is different from the HDMI standard in terms of the fact that the UDI standard does not deal with audio signal, and the Display Port standard and the UDI standard are different from the HDMI standard in terms of the fact that the Display Port standard and the UDI standard are considered to perform the connections not only between devices but also within devices.
Meanwhile, a user often wants to perform not only display setting such as a character color and a font in the OSD (On Screen Display) display of a TV but also display setting such as a character color and a font in the OSD display of an AV device connected to the TV. Such display setting is suitable for preventing such a situation that a user can not know for which AV device the OSD operation is currently performed during setting.
In such a case, in the conventional technology for video/audio transmission as described above display setting is performed, by switching input to the TV to a target AV device, displaying a display setting screen of the AV device on a screen, and carrying out the operation using a remote controller (r/c) attached to the AV device.
Note that, the Patent Document 2 describes a technology of copying data regarding channel selection uniformly into a device to communicate with, and the Patent Document 3 describes a technology of copying various kinds of adjustment values uniformly between projectors.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-51547
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 2758174
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No. 3707433


The invention relates to the soybean variety designated XR48C15X. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety XR48C15X. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety XR48C15X and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety XR48C15X with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of soybean breeding. In particular, the invention relates to the novel soybean variety XR48C15X.
2. Description of Related Art
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, better agronomic quality, resistance to herbicides, and improvements in compositional traits.
Soybean, Glycine max (L.), is a valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to develop stable, high yielding soybean varieties that are agronomically sound. The reasons for this goal are to maximize the amount of grain produced on the land used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplish this goal, the soybean breeder must select and develop soybean plants that have the traits that result in superior varieties.
The oil extracted from soybeans is widely used in food products, such as margarine, cooking oil, and salad dressings. Soybean oil is composed of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with a typical composition of 11% palmitic, 4% stearic, 25% oleic, 50% linoleic, and 9% linolenic fatty acid content ("Economic implications of Modified Soybean Traits Summary Report," Iowa Soybean Promotion Board & American Soybean Association Special Report 92S, May 1990). regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps, and plant cells that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such as pollen, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves, stems, and the like.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a composition comprising a seed of soybean variety XR48C15X comprised in plant seed growth media. In certain embodiments, the plant seed growth media is a soil or synthetic cultivation medium. In specific embodiments, the growth medium may be comprised in a container or may, for example, be soil in afield. Plant seed growth media are well known to those of skill in the art and include, but are in no way limited to, soil or synthetic cultivation medium. Advantageously, plant seed growth media can provide adequate physical support for seeds and can retain moisture and/or nutritional components. Examples of characteristics for soils that may be desirable in certain embodiments can be found, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,932,166 and 4,707,176. Synthetic plant cultivation media are also well known in the art and may, in certain embodiments, comprise polymers or hydrogels. Examples of such compositions are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,537.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a tissue culture of regenerable cells of the soybean variety XR48C15X, as well as plants regenerated therefrom, wherein the regenerated soybean plant is capable of expressing all the morphological and physiological characteristics of a plant grown from the soybean seed designated XR48C15X.
Yet another aspect of the current invention is a soybean plant further comprising a single locus conversion. In one embodiment, the soybean plant is defined as comprising the single locus conversion and otherwise capable of expressing all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of the soybean variety XR48C15X. In particular embodiments of the invention, the single locus conversion may comprise a transgenic gene which has been introduced by genetic transformation into the soybean variety XR48C15X or a progenitor thereof. In still other embodiments of the invention, the single locus conversion may comprise a dominant or recessive allele. The locus conversion may confer potentially any trait upon the single locus converted plant, including herbicide resistance, insect resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, male fertility or sterility, and improved nutritional quality.
Still yet another aspect of the invention relates to a first generation (F1) hybrid soybean seed produced by crossing a plant of the soybean variety XR48C15X to a second soybean plant. Also included in the invention are the F1 hybrid soybean plants grown from the hybrid seed produced by crossing the soybean variety XR48C15X to a second soybean plant. Still further included in the invention are the seeds of an F1 hybrid plant produced with the soybean variety XR48C15X as one parent, the second generation (F2) hybrid soybean plant grown from the seed of the F1 hybrid plant, and the seeds of the F2 hybrid plant.
Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producing soybean seeds comprising crossing a plant of the soybean variety XR48C15X to any second soybean plant, including itself or another plant of the variety XR48C15X. In particular embodiments of the invention, the method of crossing comprises the steps of a) planting seeds of the soybean variety XR48C15X; b) cultivating soybean plants resulting from said seeds until said plants bear flowers; c) allowing fertilization of the flowers of said plants; and d) harvesting seeds produced from said plants.
Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producing hybrid soybean seeds comprising crossing the soybean variety XR48C15X to a second, distinct soybean plant which is nonisogenic to the soybean variety XR48C15X. In particular embodiments of the invention, the crossing comprises the steps of a) planting seeds of soybean variety XR48C15X and a second, distinct soybean plant, b) cultivating the soybean plants grown from the seeds until the plants bear flowers; c) cross pollinating a flower on one of the two plants with the pollen of the other plant, and d) harvesting the seeds resulting from the cross pollinating.
Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method for developing a soybean plant in a soybean breeding program comprising: obtaining a soybean plant, or its parts, of the variety XR48C15X; and b) employing said plant or parts as a source of breeding material using plant breeding techniques. In the method; the plant breeding techniques may be selected from the group consisting of recurrent selection, mass selection; bulk selection; backcrossing, pedigree breeding, genetic marker-assisted selection and genetic transformation. In certain embodiments of the invention, the soybean plant of variety XR48C15X is used as the male or female parent.
Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producing a soybean plant derived from the soybean variety XR48C15X, the method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from soybean variety XR48C15X by crossing a plant of the soybean variety XR48C15X with a second soybean plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce a progeny plant of a subsequent generation which is derived from a plant of the soybean variety XR48C15X. In one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises: (c) crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself or a second plant; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for, in some embodiments, at least 2; 3, 4 or more additional generations to produce an inbred soybean plant derived from the soybean variety XR48C15X. Also provided by the invention is a plant produced by this and the other methods of the invention.
In another embodiment of the invention, the method of producing a soybean plant derived from the soybean variety XR48C15X further comprises: (a) crossing the soybean variety XR48C15X-derived soybean plant with itself or another soybean plant to yield additional soybean variety XR48C15X-derived progeny soybean seed; (b) growing the progeny soybean seed of step (a) under plant growth conditions to yield additional soybean variety XR48C15X-derived soybean plants; and (c) repeating the crossing and growing steps of (a) and (b) to generate further soybean variety XR48C15X-derived soybean plants. In specific embodiments, steps (a) and (h) may be repeated at least 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or more times as desired. The invention still further provides a soybean plant produced by this and the foregoing methods.


A method and system for providing adaptive coded modulation in LEO satellite communication system is provided. The received power signal at the receiver is predicted by the LEO satellite transmitter without using channel feedback from the receiver. The receiver rapidly detects changes in transmission rate and changes its demodulation rate in tandem with the LEO satellite. Certain conditions that vary slowly, such as local weather and ground moisture level, are provided to the transmitter from the receiver at a much slower rate than that used in normal data communications.

Satellite systems are used for many reasons, including observation, communication, navigation, weather monitoring and research. Satellites and their orbits can vary widely, depending on their function. One common classification system for satellites is based on their orbit, for example, low earth orbit (LEO), polar orbit or geostationary orbit.
A LEO satellite system is commonly defined as having an orbit between 160 kilometers and 2000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. It has many purposes, particularly for communication systems, since a less powerful amplifier is required for transmission than for satellites with higher orbits. LEO satellites travel at a high velocity in order to maintain their orbit, and typically make one complete revolution around the Earth in about 90 minutes. Since they are not geostationary, LEO satellites are used in a network, or constellation, of several linked satellites to provide continuous transmission coverage. Receivers are positioned at various places around the Earth and communicate with any given LEO satellite only when it is within range. By the same token, the satellite communicates with any given receiver for only a portion of its orbit.
Satellite systems are costly, operate in widely varying link conditions, and generally have long transmission delays. Transmissions between satellites and ground-based receivers can also be heavily impacted by the background noise. These transmissions are characterized by a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) which is the ratio of the signal power to the noise power. The channel capacity of a LEO satellite communication, CLEO, is typically given byCLEO=BW×log2(1+SNR)
where BW denotes available bandwidth for communication and SNR denotes Signal-to-Noise ratio. This formula is known as the Shannon limit or Shannon capacity and is the theoretical maximum information transfer rate of the channel, for a particular noise level.
Initially, prior art satellite communication systems used a fixed rate transmission. This required no feedback but was highly sub-optimal when used in a system with widely varying received SNR. An improvement on fixed transmission is adaptive coded modulation (ACM) that measures SNR in real-time and provides feedback to govern the ACM transmission rate.
It is well-known that adaptive coded modulation (ACM) will maximize the throughput of a channel based on the current channel conditions. Traditional satellite communication systems (i.e. either LEO or GEO) require a feedback channel (i.e. from the ground receiver (Rx) to satellite transmitter (Tx)) so they can adaptively change coding rate and modulation format at the transmitter in response to conditions at the receiver. A conventional ACM method relies on obtaining current channel state information (CSI) from the feedback channel. Thus, it is essentially a "closed-loop" communication system as depicted in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an ACM module 102 in a LEO satellite provides ACM data to transmitter 104 which is sent over a communication channel 106 to receiver 108. Receiver 108 provides the received data to ACM module 110 which demodulates the data and provides feedback to ACM module 102 about received SNR using feedback channel 112. However, long transmission delays in a satellite system can make near real-time feedback difficult to accomplish.
Thus, a need exists to provide ACM in a LEO satellite system without requiring real-time feedback of received SNR.

Adaptive coded modulation in low earth orbit satellite communication system


A control unit 40 acquires acceleration α sensed by an acceleration sensor 31, and if the control unit 40 determines that acceleration α does not equal zero, the control unit 40 again acquires acceleration α. In the event that the control unit 40 decides that acceleration α equals zero, the control unit 40 acquires the weight M sensed by the weight sensor 30. The control unit 40 continues sampling of weight M until a predetermined sampling period has elapsed. Once the sampling period has elapsed, the control unit 40 calculates the average of weight M obtained through sampling, and uses the calculated average and a map to determine hydrogen amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amount measuring apparatus and an amount measuring method for measuring the remaining fuel amount in a fuel container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Where a fuel container is carried on board a vehicle, the sensed fuel amount may include error due to shifting occurring with vibration or acceleration and deceleration associated with motion of the vehicle, or with change in attitude of the vehicle. To solve this problem, there has been proposed a technique of waiting until the effects of vibration or the like associated with vehicle motion disappear (i.e. until the amount stabilizes) before reflecting a fuel amount value on the fuel gauge.


A contact for use in a test set which can be mounted to a load board of a tester apparatus. The contact, which serves to electrically connect at least one lead of a device being tested with a corresponding metallic trace on the load board, has a first end defining multiple contact points. As the test pin is rotated about an axis generally perpendicular to a plane defined by the contact, successive contact points are sequentially engaged by a lead of the device being tested. The test pin has a hard stop edge which engages a hard stop wall which limits its rotation movement. The bottom of the pin has a shallow convex curvature preferably with a flat region and the tip of the test pin has a chisel edge.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,639,026, and its priority document, to Shell et al issued 29 Dec. 2009 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and provide background to this invention.
The testing of integrated circuit devices is performed to ensure that such devices, when sold to a customer, are of as high a degree of quality as possible. Various types of test apparatus have been utilized over the years to accomplish testing. Typically, a tester includes a printed circuit board which has defined thereon a plurality of conductive traces. These traces on the circuit board, or load board, are associated with corresponding functions of the test apparatus.
In order to accomplish testing, it is necessary to interconnect a lead, in the case of a leaded device under test, or a pad, of a nonleaded device under test, to a corresponding trace on the load board. A test set or test socket having a plurality of contacts is interposed between the device under test and the load board in order to effectuate interconnection. A contact is engaged, at an upper end thereof, by the lead or pad of the DUT, depending upon the type of DUT being tested, with its corresponding trace on the load board. A lower end of the contact is in engagement with a trace on the load board.
As technology has progressed, the size, shape and electronic properties of contacts have evolved in response to the construction of test sets and load boards and the architecture of devices to be tested. At one time, it was considered necessary to have a wiping action at the various locations of engagement of the contact ends by the lead or pad of the DUT and the pad on the load board.
Such wiping action was deemed to facilitate a good transmission path through the contact because of a good connection at either end thereof. It has become more apparent, however, that the measure of wiping action formerly considered necessary to maintain a good transmission path need not be of a degree as was formerly believed. Further, it has been recognized that excessive wiping action can damage component parts at the various points of engagement of the contact, and thereby significantly decrease the life of the test socket and tester load board. Consequently, various attempts have been made to minimize abrading of one surface relative to another. Various elastomeric mounting means have been devised in an effort to minimize abrasion and consequent deterioration of components.
Another problem which has been discovered is the diminishment of effectiveness of testing as a result of the employment of matte tin on leads and pads of various types of DUTs. Such a material is applied to DUT components which facilitate soldering to an ultimate host circuit board. Because of its softness, however, it easily can progressively become adhered to the contact which the DUT engages as rubbing across engaged surfaces occurs during the testing function. Eventually, matte tin can build up to the point where signal integrity through the contact can become diminished.
In addition, it has been determined, that the tip of prior art contacts has drawbacks. First, wiping action of such tips may cause it to miss its target contact point through all or part of its rocking action. Second, the rocking action may cause significant wear on the contact tip. Third, the wiping action can release debris which is electrically conductive and thus result in test failure, either from shorting across contacts, or by changing the high frequency response of the text fixture due to build up of metallic debris.
It is to these dictates and shortcomings of the prior art that the present disclosure is directed. The present invention is a contact having a structure which minimizes tin buildup on the contact.

Low resistance low wear test pin for test contactor


Providing TCP/IP control commands to a storage system includes intercepting TCP/IP data provided on a TCP/IP network, determining if the TCP/IP data corresponds to a control command directed to the storage system, and converting the TCP/IP data to a Fibre Channel control command that is forwarded to the storage system if the TCP/IP data is a control command directed to the storage system. A host may intercept the TCP/IP data. The host may be coupled to the storage system. The storage system may have only Fibre Channel connectivity. A PC having only TCP/IP connectivity may provide the control commands via the TCP/IP network. At least two hosts may be coupled to the TCP/IP network. Software on one of the hosts may provide the control commands for the storage system. The storage system may be coupled to an other one of the hosts.

Host processor systems may store and retrieve data using a storage system containing a plurality of host interface units (I/O modules), disk drives, and disk interface units (disk adapters). The host systems access the storage systems through a plurality of channels provided therewith. Host systems provide data and access control information through the channels to the storage system and the storage system provides data to the host systems also through the channels. The host systems do not address the disk drives of the storage system directly, but rather, access what appears to the host systems as a plurality of logical disk units or logical devices. The logical devices may or may not correspond to any one of the actual disk drives. Allowing multiple host systems to access the single storage system allows the host systems to share data stored therein among different host processor systems.
Communication between storage systems and host systems may be provided by a Fibre Channel connection using an appropriate communication protocol, such as the ANSI FC-SB-3 Single-Byte Command Code Sets-3 Mapping Protocol for Fibre Channel, commonly known as the FICON® communication protocol. The Fibre Channel connection may be used to transmit both control commands and data being accessed by a host system at the storage system. Information is transmitted serially in frames, each having a frame header indicating whether a particular frame contains data, a control command, status information, etc.
In some cases, communication between host systems and storage systems may be supplemented by a separate TCP/IP connection at a storage system. The TCP/IP connection may be used to send and receive control commands and status information between the host systems and the storage systems in addition to using the Fibre Channel connections. Moreover, providing TCP/IP connectivity to storage systems allows communication by devices that do not have Fibre Channel connectivity. For example, the IBM Copy Services Manager software product runs on a conventional PC that does not have Fibre Channel connectivity. The PC communicates with a storage systems using TCP/IP using both a graphical interface and command line for configuring and managing copy services across storage systems.
A drawback to using TCP/IP connectivity is that some storage systems have only Fibre Channel connectivity and thus cannot be accessed using TCP/IP. Thus, for example, a storage system with no TCP/IP capabilities cannot participate in a Copy Services Manager operation initiated by a PC with no Fibre Channel capabilities. In some instances, it may be possible to retrofit a storage system with a TCP/IP connection, but this is an added expense and may require significant hardware and software changes at the storage system that are not necessarily reliable.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mechanism to allow storage systems that do not have TCP/IP connectivity to be able to communicate with devices that use TCP/IP.

Singular control path for mainframe storage


A photomask includes a focus metrology mark region that includes a plurality of focus monitor patterns. To measure a focal variation of a feature pattern formed on a substrate, a substrate target for lithography metrology including a focus metrology mark formed on the same level as the feature pattern is used. A lithography metrology apparatus includes a projection device including a polarizer; a detection device detecting the powers of ±n-order diffracted light beams from among output beams diffracted by the focus metrology mark of a to-be-measured substrate; and a determination device which determines, from a power deviation between the ±n-order diffracted light beams, defocus experienced by the feature pattern.

The inventive concepts relate to metrology of lithography, and more particularly, to a photomask including a focus metrology mark that is used in measuring variations in lithography, a substrate target including a focus monitor pattern, a lithography metrology method, and a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit (IC) device.
With increasing integration densities of semiconductor devices, various lithography techniques for forming fine patterns are being developed. Various metrology techniques have also been proposed to monitor a lithographic process for manufacturing highly-integrated devices. As integration densities of semiconductor devices increase, a critical dimension (CD) of a photoresist pattern typically decreases. Accordingly, to improve the CD uniformity of the photoresist pattern having a minute CD, a lithographic process may need to be precisely and reliably monitored.

Photomask including focus metrology mark, substrate target including focus monitor pattern, metrology method for lithography process, and method of manufacturing integrated circuit device


A high molecular humidity sensor in which polypyrrole being of conductive high molecule is electrochemically polymerized and then reduced whereby ionic conductive property is given go that humidity sensibility becomes excellent. The sensor is a structure in which polypyrrole doped with dodecylsulfate anion DS.sup.- is stuck in film form on the surface of a fine electrode, and cations Na.sup.+, K.sup.+ are permeated to said polypyrrole whereby salt is formed and humidity sensibility is exhibited in the region of 10.sup.4 -10.sup.6 .OMEGA., and humidity sensing speed becomes within several tens of seconds to several minutes.

The present invention relates to a high molecular sensor and manufacturing method thereof in which polypyrrole which is a conductive high molecule is electrochemically polymerized and then reduced and thereby ionic conductivity is given so that humidity sensibility is made to be excellent.
High molecules having conjugated structures exhibit an electric conductivity essentially by doping and include polyacetylene, polyparaphenylene, polyaniline, polyacene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and polyfuran. These conductive high molecules are used for pH sensors, pressure sensors, sulphuric acid concentration sensors, oxygen and bionic sensors, and glucose sensors and the like. Examples of such sensors are alcohol and gas sensors as well as humidity sensors. High molecules used for humidity sensors (Japanese laid-open patent publication nos. 88-133050, 88-122758, 85-201244) are polyfuran, polythiophene, polyphyrrole, heterocyclic and compounds of their derivatives. In those publications, a simple structure of glass coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) was used for an electrode of the sensor, and a separate reducing process for improving ionic conductivity was not executed. In those examples, since there is a limitation in humidity sensing speed and humidity measuring range, post-processing was required for improving the precisely-made sensor structure and ionic conductivity.
Polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyfuran and the like which are a kind of heterocyclic compound are electrochemically polymerized, and at the same time, a doping occurs to thereby produce electric conductivity. Therefore, the electric conduction operated in complex. Since the ionic conductivity produced by a non-crystalloid within the high molecule is weaker than electronic conductivity, the conductivity is substantially electronic conductivity.

High molecular humidity sensor and manufacturing method thereof by electrochemical method


A method and apparatus for the non-toxic control of whitefly and other small bodied infestation insects on growing and cropping plants is provided. The apparatus comprises a vehicle element, the vehicle element being capable of being towed by a second vehicle through a field, at least one fan attached to the vehicle for pulling air and insects flying within the air from above the growing and cropping plants towards the vehicle, at least one heated grid element for heating the air that was pulled towards the vehicle by the fans, the heating element being attached to the vehicle, wherein the air is heated to a certain temperature such that substantially all of the insects flying above the growing and cropping plants are destroyed, but the cropping and growing plants are not destroyed. The method effectively eliminates all of the insect infestation in the treated areas without harming the growing and cropping plants.

One of the most difficult problems faced by farmers is the control of infestation insects on growing and cropping plants. Although farmers have been able to control such insects through the use of pesticides, the use of pesticides is known to be toxic to other plant and animal species, including humans. Because pesticides often seep into the ground water, they can travel from the crops and harm the entire environment surrounding the crops. Further, pesticides may not be the solution for eliminating all harmful insects. While some insects may be affected by the pesticides, others in the area may not be affected. Beneficial insects may be adversely affected. Insects may mutate and thus become resistant to the pesticides.
A good example of an insect that is not adversely affected by most pesticides is the whitefly. It is estimated that the whitefly caused over $500 million in damage to U.S. agricultural production in 1991 alone. Perring et. al., Evidence For a New Species of Whitefly: UCR Findings and Implications, California Agriculture, January-February 1993, p. 7. The whitefly harms crops by transmitting plant diseases, feeding on crops, and contaminating them with sticky sugars.
The difficulty in controlling the whitefly lies in the strength of their composition and ability to resist pesticides. First, in most cases, the whitefly's predator insects have been eliminated either by man's destruction of wetlands and streambeds that are habitats to beneficial predatory insects or by man's continual use of pesticides and herbicides. Further, the whitefly has shown the ability to produce a waxy enzyme that protects it against the penetration of conventional pesticides. Moreover, the whitefly has the ability to mutate and adjust its internal chemical balance to resist pesticides after a few generations of exposure. Lastly, the whitefly shows great strength in numbers due to their rapid reproduction rate combined with a tendency to accumulate on a host plant rather than voluntarily migrate far distances.
The whitefly does have some weaknesses that could be exploited in attempting to control their populations and eliminate them altogether from crop. For instance, whitefly are surface dwellers, i.e., they do not live below the ground. They have a very small body mass. Their main source of protection is the wax-like covering described above. They are soft-bodied and are a desirable food source for many types of predatory insects. Whiteflys tend to establish their residency, i.e., their life cycle adjusts to the life cycle of their host's ability to create food (field or tree crops). As is common to all living organisms, the whitefly's ability to live is dependent upon its ability to maintain specific body temperature, plus or minus a certain number of degrees.
S. V. Bleshinskii, et. al. of the Institute of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Kirgiz SSR in the Academy of Sciences of the Kirgiz SSR, No. 2, pp. 37-39, 1983, described their discovery that, on a purely experimental basis, the temperature of water at which plants are not damaged upon contact, but insects are killed is 60-65.degree. C., for a time period of 0.2 sec. All but one of their experiments utilized the addition of chemicals to the water, namely household soap. Although Bleshinskii et. al. may have recognized that insects could be eliminated with the use of heated water, Bleshinskii et. al. did not discuss the temperatures, times, apparatus, or other parameters necessary for the economically-feasible, large scale elimination of whitefly and other insects, without causing damage to the crops.
Further, Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,730, has used heated water to control weeds and undergrowth, as well as insects. Although Thompson recognized that heated water can be useful to eliminate insects, Thompson made this recognition in conjunction with his use of heated water to eliminate the plants as well. Thus, Thompson's method and apparatus would be of no use in eliminating insects from crops, because the crops would be destroyed along with the insects.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated from the foregoing that there is a definite need for a method and apparatus for the non-toxic control of whitefly and other small bodied infestation insects on growing and cropping plants. The method should effectively eliminate all of the insect infestation in the treated areas, without harming the growing and cropping plants. The method should avoid all uses of pesticides or other chemicals that could cause harm to the environment, including groundwater. The method should also prevent the insects from being able to avoid the effect of the treatment by mutation in the body chemistry. The method should also not adversely affect the long-term activity of pollinating or beneficial predatory insects. Further, the materials, apparatus, and energy requirements of the method should be of such a cost that the process is economically feasible. The present invention meets these needs.

Method and apparatus for the non-toxic control of insects and weeds


An automatic leg tube locking device including a hollow cylinder shaped guide switch and a circular truncated cone shaped guide post which are mutually matched for use. Through holes are evenly formed in the side surface of the guide switch, the through holes are adapted with locking shafts, a transmission mechanism is arranged between the guide switch and the guide post, so that the guide switch vertically moves along the inclined cylinder surface of the guide post and drives the locking shafts to move along the guide post when the guide switch and the guide post rotate relative to each other. A photography tripod, a unipod and a crutch are further provided. The automatic leg tube locking device, the photography tripod, the unipod and the crutch are capable of pulling the leg tube to any position and lock the leg tube automatically in a locking state.

Jitter is unavoidable for shooting photography or video in daily times, while a photography tripod which can provide a supporting force for the photographer is an indispensable photographic apparatus. The leg tube of the tripod is relatively long generally, which is inconvenient to carry; therefore, there appears more tripods the legs of which can be fastened in a telescopic manner in the market, so that the height of the tripod can be adjusted through adjusting the length of the leg tube according to the demands of the photographer.
It is found that the prior art at least has the following defects: the length of the leg tube needs to be adjusted through an external fastening part, which is inconvenient to adjust the length of the leg, and the locking force is limited, which generally refers to screw thread knob type or buckle extrusion type locking.

Automatic leg tube locking device, photography tripod, unipod and crutch

ZHONGSHAN NIKOW PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.


An arc lamp assembly which includes in combination a reflector and a light source which is surrounded by said reflector. A dichroic coating on the reflector functions to reflect radiation in the range of about 300 to 600 nm. The light source is an arc lamp which contains a metal halide fill component which includes a mixture of scandium iodide, or other suitable lanthanide, indium iodide, sodium iodide and sodium iodide, whereby the lamp assembly emits effective amounts of WV radiation to cure selected chemical compositions.

The present invention relates in general to lamps, and more specifically to a metal halide lamp which maximizes UV radiation in the desired useful range for curing chemical compositions.
It has long been a goal and objective in the field for a low wattage, long life, short arc gap lamp which could be used in a wide range of applications. Changing needs of the marketplace have identified the need for a short arc gap lamp in the range of 50 watts. Such an illumination source in one application could be used to irradiate small, light valves. This source would require a miniature source size, high radiance, good spectral properties, long life and low power. This goal was achieved with the development of a 50 watt arc lamp suitable for use as a projection lamp and is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,850.
When lamps of this type are attempted to be used in applications where UV radiation is required they are unsuitable in that even if operating conditions are modified to favorably promote UV radiation, lamp life or stability is compromised. Lamps of this type, therefore, do not satisfactorily operate to provide for enhanced radiation in the UV range, and as currently designed, are not candidates for applications where high UV response is essential.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the problems of the prior art described above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a high performance UV irradiation or light source which can be used as a curing light to initiate polymeric reactions in plastic and adhesive substrates.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a high performance lamp for use in systems which require high UV radiation.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a compact lamp assembly which exhibits high radiance, long life, and good UV radiation.
The present invention is directed to a high performance miniature arc lamp. The lamp has a preferred use in curing chemical compositions which react to UV radiation. The lamp is used in an assembly that utilizes a dichroic coating on a reflector to concentrate UV light to the desired target or area.
It has been discovered that a unique metal halide mixture of individual compounds selected from the group of cesium iodide, indium iodide, scandium iodide, and sodium iodide provides a fill component which insures high lamp performance, and when used with a reflector having a suitable dichroic coating, is uniquely suited to providing an effective source of UV radiation.
A suitable mixture which accomplishes the objectives of the present invention comprises scandium iodide (or other suitable lanthanide), indium iodide, and alkali halides (sodium iodide and cesium iodide) in total amounts up to about 200 xcexcg. The dichroic coating is selected to reflect UV radiation in a range from about 300 to 600 nm.
For use in the present invention it is essential that the lamp be of an acceptable miniature size, exhibit high radiance, long life and low power.


Arylazo and poly(arylazo) dyes having at least one core radical selected from naphthyl or anthracyl and having at least one 2,3-dihydro-1,3-dialkyl perimidine substituent, a guest-host composition comprising a liquid crystal host solvent and the arylazo or poly(arylazo) dichroic dye, and a liquid crystal display comprising the guest-host composition, are disclosed.

The use of dichroic dyes in solution with various liquid crystal materials and use of these so-called "guest-host" mixtures in liquid crystal devices, e.g., liquid crystal displays, are well known. In liquid crystal displays, the host liquid crystal material has its orientation controlled by the application of electric fields which in turn interacts with the guest dichroic dye to induce a cooperative conforming alignment. The dichroic dyes manifest low or high absorbance of incident light depending upon their molecular orientation with respect to the light wave vector. Generally, when an electric field is applied to the display, the area between the electrodes appears clear, i.e., all the dyes exhibit minimum absorption, and in the absence of an electric field the display appears dye colored, i.e., the dyes are in a high absorbing state.
Dyes suitable for such guest-host mixtures must have high order parameters and proper solubility in the host liquid crystal material, and the guest-host mixtures should provide good viewing characteristics (e.g., high contrast), high extinction, and chemical and photochemical stability.
Several patents describe dichroic azo dyes that have N,N'-unsubstituted dihydroperimidines as end group moieties. For example, Huffman et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,424, describe poly(arylazo) dyes containing a 2,3-dihydro-2,2-disubstituted perimidine moiety; Etzbach et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,020, describe diazo dyes containing a 2,3-dihydro-2,2-disubstituted perimidine moiety; and Cole, Jr. et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,027, describe a trisazo dye containing a 2,3-dihydro-2,2-disubstituted perimidine moiety. In each of these cases the nitrogen atoms at the 1 and 3 positions of the dihydroperimidine are bound to a hydrogen atom.
Azo dyes containing dihydroperimidine moieties unsubstituted at the nitrogen positions exhibit relatively low solubility characteristics in nematic hosts. The N-H bonds in the dyes result in relatively high crystalline melting points and thus solubility is reduced. Shannon, in U.S. patent application No. 07/375,166, filed Jul. 3, 1989, discloses that azo dyes having N,N'-disubstituted-2,3-dihydro perimidine end groups, particularly those with alkyl substitution at the 2-position, are more soluble than the same dyes having N--H bonds, and that guest-host mixtures prepared with such dyes have excellent properties, most notably improved contrast.
It is often desired to provide a liquid crystal display which appears neutral black in the absence of an electric field and clear or non-black in the presence of an electric field. Generally, guest-host compositions used in such displays contain at least three dichroic dyes having their absorption maxima centered at approximately 450, 550 and 650 nm (in order to absorb strongly throughout the region between 400 and 700 nm). When using the dyes described by Shannon, supra, in such a formulation it is often necessary to use a dye having a large number of azo groups (i.e., tetra- or penta-azo dyes) to obtain chromophores with absorption at longer wavelengths. These dyes have lower solubilities in host liquid crystals than their shorter chain (fewer azo group) counterparts, making them unsatisfactory for certain guest-host formulations. The inventors have discovered that the wavelength of dye absorption can be shifted toward longer wavelengths by replacing one or more phenyl core radical of the dyes described by Shannon, supra, with a naphthyl or anthracyl radical. The resultant dyes have an appropriate wavelength for preparing black dye formulations and a higher solubility than their longer chain (larger number of azo groups) counterparts.


An outboard motor can comprise a cowling for covering an engine, a high pressure fuel supply system, and a low pressure fuel supply system. The high pressure fuel supply system can have a vapor separator tank and a high pressure fuel pump. The low pressure fuel supply system can have a low pressure fuel pump. A heat insulating chamber, defined from a space for accommodating the engine, can be formed within the cowling. The heat insulating chamber houses the low pressure fuel pump and the fuel filter.

1. Field of the Inventions
The present inventions relate to an outboard motor equipped with a low pressure fuel pump disposed in the internal space of a cowling for covering the engine of the outboard motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of the known outboard motor designs include a vapor separator tank disposed within the upper cowling of the outboard motor. For example, Japanese Patent Document JP-A-Hei09-144617, in at least FIG. 2 thereof, discloses such an outboard motor. In this outboard motor, both a vapor separator tank and a low pressure fuel pump are positioned on a side of and adjacent to the engine, within the cowling.
The vapor separator tank accumulates fuel to be supplied to the engine, and also has a high pressure fuel pump therein. A high pressure fuel supply conduit is connected to the vapor separator tank to supply the fuel discharged from the high pressure pump to fuel injectors. Also, a high pressure fuel return conduit is connected to the fuel injectors to return the surplus of the fuel to the vapor separator tank.
The low pressure fuel pump is used to supply the fuel to the vapor separator tank from the main fuel tank in the hull of the associated boat. The low pressure fuel pump is positioned on a side of and adjacent to the engine, and is mounted on the engine via a bracket. An upstream side low pressure fuel supply conduit is coupled with a fuel suction port of the low pressure fuel pump and extends to the main fuel tank in the cowling. A downstream side low pressure fuel supply conduit is coupled with a discharge port of the low pressure fuel pump and extends to the vapor separator tank.
A fuel filter is situated midway of the upstream side fuel supply conduit that extends within the cowling. A switching valve is placed at a fuel inlet port of the vapor separator tank, to which the downstream side low pressure fuel supply conduit is connected, to be opened or closed by a float floating in this tank. The switching valve is closed when a surface of the fuel in the vapor separator tank reaches the preset maximum level, and it is opened when the surface of the fuel goes down to a level lower than the maximum level.
In such an outboard motor, the low pressure fuel pump supplies the fuel in the main fuel tank in the hull to the vapor separator tank in the outboard motor. The high pressure fuel pump supplies the fuel in the vapor separator tank to the fuel injectors.

Outboard motor with forward air intake and air-cooled fuel pump


A data transmission apparatus and a camera system for multiplexing serial data into horizontal blanking portions of video data for transmission between a CHU (1) and a CCU (2). On the transmitting side, resampled data is obtained by sampling the serial data using a clock signal of a frequency higher than that of the transmission rate of the serial data. A predetermined number of resampled data items are selected as multiplexing data from the resampled data obtained in each of the horizontal periods of the video data. The multiplexing data is multiplexed into the horizontal blanking portions of the video data for transmission. On the transmitting side, the multiplexing data is separated from the received video data. The separated multiplexing data is decoded so as to extract successively definite data constituting the initial serial data.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for multiplexing serial data into horizontal blanking portions of video data to be transmitted, involving little data delay and doing away with complicated control procedures. More particularly, the invention relates to a video camera system incorporating the same apparatus and method.
When any communication command furnished in serial data is to be multiplexed into horizontal blanking portions of video data (e.g., 8-bit parallel data), the serial communication command is first converted conventionally to parallel data reaching the CPU (central processing unit) or the like. It is in the form of parallel data that the communication command is multiplexed into the horizontal blanking period of video data.
If the transmission rate of serial communication command data is lower than the horizontal blanking rate (about 15 kHz), the conventional method above necessarily entails a delay equivalent to the serial-parallel conversion time for multiplexing.
For example, consider 11-bit serial communication command data composed of a start bit (1 bit), data (8 bits), a parity bit (1 bit) and a stop bit (1 bit). In such a case, to perform the conventional serial-parallel conversion requires waiting for the entire 11-bit data to be received. If the rate of serial communication command data is 9,600 bps, the delay amounts to approximately 17 horizontal periods. Where the data is to be multiplexed into horizontal blanking portions in each of the 17 horizontal periods, complicated control procedures are needed illustratively to determine which blanking portion is to have the data multiplexed therein and which portion is not to.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for multiplexing serial data involving little data delay and without complicated control procedures for multiplexing.
In carrying out the invention and according to a first aspect thereof, there is provided a data transmission apparatus comprising: first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; second data inputting means for inputting video data; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means; and data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a data reception apparatus comprising: data inputting means for inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of video data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; first data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and second data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a data transmission apparatus comprising: first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; second data inputting means for inputting video data; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means as control data; data transmitting means for transmitting the multiplexed data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data transmitted by the data transmitting means; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; first data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and second data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a video camera comprising: signal processing means for outputting video data; data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means; and data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a video camera comprising: data inputting means for inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of video data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; first data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and second data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a video camera comprising: signal processing means for outputting video data; first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means; first data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means; second data inputting means for inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data input via the second data inputting means; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; second data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and third data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a camera control unit comprising: first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; second data inputting means for inputting video data; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means; and data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a camera control unit comprising: data inputting means for inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of video data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; first data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and second data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a camera control unit comprising: first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; second data inputting means for inputting video data; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing into horizontal blanking portions of the video data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means; first data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means; third data inputting means for inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data input via the third data inputting means; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; second data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and third data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a video camera system comprising a video camera, data transmitting means and a camera control unit. The video camera includes: signal processing means for outputting video data; first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing as control data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; and first data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means. The data transmitting means transmits the multiplexed data output by the first data outputting means of the video camera. The camera control unit includes: second data inputting means for inputting the multiplexed data transmitted by the data transmitting means; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data input via the second data inputting means; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; second data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and third data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a video camera system comprising a camera control unit, data transmitting means and a video camera. The camera control unit includes: first data inputting means for inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; second data inputting means for inputting video data; data sampling means for generating resampled data by sampling the serial data input via the first data inputting means, the sampling being performed by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; data extracting means for extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data output by the data sampling means in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; data multiplexing means for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing as control data the predetermined number of resampled data extracted by the data extracting means into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; and first data outputting means for outputting the multiplexed data generated by the data multiplexing means. The data transmitting means transmits the multiplexed data output by the first data outputting means of the camera control unit. The video camera includes: third data inputting means for inputting the multiplexed data transmitted by the data transmitting means; data separating means for separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data input via the third data inputting means; data defining means for defining definite data from the control data separated by the data separating means; second data outputting means for outputting the definite data defined by the data defining means; and third data outputting means for outputting the video data separated by the data separating means.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, there is provided a data transmission method comprising the steps of: inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; inputting video data; generating resampled data by sampling the input serial data by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data generated in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; generating multiplexed data by multiplexing the extracted predetermined number of resampled data into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; and outputting the multiplexed data.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a data reception method comprising the steps of: inputting multiplexed data acquired by multiplexing control data into horizontal blanking portions of video data; separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data; defining definite data from the control data separated from the multiplexed data; outputting the definite data defined by the defining step; and outputting the video data separated from the multiplexed data.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a data transmission method comprising the steps of: inputting serial data transmitted at a first rate; inputting video data; generating resampled data by sampling the input serial data by use of a clock signal at a second rate higher than the first rate; extracting a predetermined number of resampled data from the resampled data generated in each of the horizontal periods of the video data; generating multiplexed data by multiplexing as control data the extracted predetermined number of resampled data into horizontal blanking portions of the video data; outputting the multiplexed data; transmitting the multiplexed data; separating the video data and the control data from the multiplexed data transmitted by the transmitting step; defining definite data from the control data separated from the multiplexed data; outputting the definite data defined by the data defining step; and outputting the video data separated from the multiplexed data.
Serial data is sampled by use of a clock signal having a clock rate higher than the transmission rate of the serial signal. The sampling process provides a plurality of resampled data in each one-bit period of the serial data. Even if the transmission rate of the serial data is lower than the horizontal blanking rate of video data, at least one item of resampled data is made available in each of the horizontal periods of the video data. In this state, a predetermined number of resampled data are selected from the resampled data obtained in each of the horizontal periods of the video data. The selected predetermined number of resampled data are multiplexed into the horizontal blanking portions of the video data when transmitted. Because the inventive method does not involve subjecting the serial data to serial-parallel conversion and multiplexing the converted data into the horizontal blanking portions of the video data, there is a minimum of data delay. With a predetermined number of data constantly multiplexed into each horizontal blanking portion of the video data, the inventive method eliminates the need for complicated control procedures for determining which horizontal blanking portion is to have data multiplexed therein and which portion is not to.

Data transmission and receiving system for multiplexing data with video data


A longitudinally segmented acoustic transducer for a cement bond logging (CBL) tool having a plurality of adjoining PZT ring-like segments driven synchronously in parallel by one or more pulses and caused to vibrate in an anti-resonant mode, substantially below the resonant frequency of an individual segment when used in a transmitting application. When used in a receiving application, each of the plurality of transducer rings are caused to vibrate by acoustic signals detected by the transducer array, also in an anti-resonant mode. High speed digital signal processing enables on-depth, high quality data for all azimuths at each depth to be obtained, processed, normalized and either sent to the surface in real time for each 20 Hz firing cycle, as the CBL tool is pulled toward the surface, or stored in a memory module in digital form for later retrieval. Built-in calibration factors used for normalizing the output signals to the operating conditions of use may be accessed at any time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to instrumentation for logging conditions in down hole formations and, more particularly to transducer design and uses thereof in acoustic logging instrumentation. The acoustic transducer designs disclosed herein may be adapted to a variety of applications, including, for example, cement bond logging.
2. Background of the Invention and Description of the Prior Art
The use of piezoelectric materials such as a polycrystaline form of lead titanate or lead zirconate titanate, sometimes referred to as "PZT" material, has long been known. This material is generally formed as a continuous ceramic element, usually cylindrical in shape and sized to fit within the dimensions of a cement bond logging tool. Such tools are available in various diameters for use with well casings typically used in oil and gas drilling operations. Other shapes may be used in some logging tool instrumentation, depending upon the particular application. As is well known, these piezoelectric, ceramic PZT elements, according to their dimensions, have characteristic resonant frequencies. A given element or crystal may have more than one mode of vibration in which it behaves in accordance with its piezoelectric property. The crystal may vibrate in the presence of an electric field alternating at or near the resonant frequency of the crystal when imposed across the crystal. Or, the crystal may produce an alternating voltage in the presence of sufficient mechanical stress at or near the resonant frequency of the crystal. The ceramic crystal is usually coated on two opposing surfaces with an electrical conductor such as silver to which electrodes may be attached for connection to electronic circuitry. Thus, the crystal may be caused to vibrate at its resonant frequency by application of a suitable excitation signal applied to the two electrodes. Conversely, the crystal may vibrate in the presence of an acoustic disturbance or wave and generate an alternating electric voltage between the two electrodes.
In conventional cement bond logging tools, a cylindrical piezoelectric crystal having dimensions suited to behave in a predictable manner at a chosen frequency of resonance, may be used in both transmitting transducers and receiving transducers. In a transmitter, the crystal is excited by an electrical signal, for example 20 KHz, and caused to vibrate at that frequency, emitting acoustic energy into the surroundings—much as an antenna would. In a receiver, the crystal, tuned according to its dimensions to vibrate at the same 20 KHz frequency, produces an alternating 20 KHz voltage across its terminals when it is in the presence of the acoustic signal generated by the transmitter. The receiver thus acts as a sensor, responding to the acoustic energy that has traveled through the surroundings of the instrument containing the transducers.
The surroundings may include the well casing, the cement in the bore hole that surrounds the well casing, and the nearby rock formation through which the borehole has been drilled. The acoustic energy sensed by the receiving transducer is conveyed by the acoustic waveform as it is modified by attenuation, reflection, refraction and interference that may be encountered by the signal along the particular path between the transmitter and the receiver. Typically, the paths taken by the transmitted acoustic signal may include (a) the body of the logging tool; (b) the fluid in the well casing; (c) the well casing; (d) the cement or any other materials in the well outside of the well casing; and (e) the formation or lithography through which the well is bored. Operators of the surface instrumentation coupled to the logging tool sensor, by observing the received signal, may thus obtain information about the well casing, the cement bond and the surrounding lithography by recording and interpreting the received acoustic signal. The signal obtained from the receiver is typically processed to preserve essential information and formatted for display at the surface.
Operation of the cement bond logging tools must occur in some highly challenging environments. For example, the temperatures in a well may reach 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Further, the pressures in the well at depths on the order of many thousands of feet may reach 20,000 pounds per square inch (psi). These environmental conditions impose severe stresses upon the electronics and the mechanical structures of the instrument. Further, conventional PZT elements typically function most efficiently at or near resonance, to avoid the effects of spurious vibrations that can interfere with the intended signals, thus limiting their usefulness as transducers. For example, the crystals often generate harmonics of the desired frequency, which can result in intermodulation products within the band of interest near the fundamental or desired signal. In addition, operation of the crystal at only one frequency limits the utility of the transducers to the use of only the one frequency.
Other aspects of prior art logging tools that limit their utility and efficiency include the following. The processing of the data signals tends to be relatively slow in comparison to the amount of data that can be provided by the transducer. At the rates the tool is typically pulled toward the surface while taking the data, the data "packet" from each of the usual eight, radially (i.e., circumferentially) arranged sectors of the transducer must be transmitted to the surface with a delay imposed between the data for each sector. Thus, the data provided represents the conditions at a sequence of helically positioned sites along the outside of the well casing. Thus, no two adjoining data "packets" occur at the same depth or azimuth, and no complete sets of data "packets" provide information about the complete circumference, in all eight equally-spaced azimuth directions, of the well casing at a single depth. The result is that the data only represents a small and often insufficient sampling of the cement bond as the tool is pulled upward.
Moreover, because of the need to limit the upward rate, in feet-per-minute, that the tool is pulled toward the surface so that an adequate amount of data is obtained, substantial time is required to produce a complete cement bond log. Additional time is required just in setting up the instrument for operation. Especially time consuming is the time needed to calibrate the instrument for the particular logging operation. As is well known, the wire line used to support the logging tool in the well casing is a very long conductor having a large distributed reactive impedance characteristic in addition to the DC resistance of the conductor in the wire line. When the wire line is used to transmit analog signals to the surface instrumentation, this complex impedance and the length of the wire line must be compensated and usually involves tedious adjustments of the gain of each of the eight or more analog preamplifiers in the logging tool. Further, the particular adjustments are usually applicable only for the conditions existing at the time these adjustments are made because they are subject to being invalid as the logging tool is moved to another location, used with another surface vehicle, the temperature or other conditions in the well casing change, etc. In some logging tools, when a wire known as a "slickline" is used—simply a wire for supporting the tool that is not also used to transmit the data—the data in digital form may be stored in a memory device in or attached to the logging tool and accessed after the tool is returned to the surface.
The foregoing disadvantages and inefficiencies are substantially overcome by the features of the present invention to be described herein below.

Method for normalizing signals in a cement bond logging tool


A solid-state imaging device, for reduction of reflection of incident light at a sidewall surface of a light blocking layer of each phase difference detection pixel, includes: a normal pixel for generating a pixel signal; and a phase difference detection pixel for generating a phase difference signal for image plane phase difference AF. In this solid-state imaging device, the normal pixel and the phase difference detection pixel each include a photoelectric conversion layer and a lens for gathering incident light onto the photoelectric conversion layer, the phase difference detection pixel includes a light blocking layer having an apertural portion with an aperture deviating from the optical axis of the lens, and an antireflection portion that prevents reflection of the incident light gathered by the lens unit is formed on the light blocking layer. The present disclosure can be applied to back-illuminated CISs.

Image plane phase difference AF is known as a method of AF (see Patent Document 1, for example). In a solid-state imaging element that realizes image plane phase difference AF, a phase difference detection pixel for subjecting incident light to pupil splitting is provided in a predetermined position, in addition to a normal pixel for obtaining a pixel signal.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional block diagram showing an example conventional structure of a back-illuminated CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) in which a phase difference detection pixel is provided. In this drawing, the left side is a phase difference detection pixel 11, and the right side is a normal pixel 12.
The phase difference detection pixel 11 and the normal pixel 12 each include an on-chip lens 21, an antireflection layer 24, a photoelectric conversion layer 25, and an interconnect layer 26, in this order from the upper layer side (the light incidence surface side).
In the phase difference detection pixel 11, a light blocking layer 22 having an apertural portion 22a that is an aperture deviating from the optical axis of the on-chip lens 21 is formed between the on-chip lens 21 and the antireflection layer 24.
Meanwhile, in the normal pixel 12, a color filter 23 is provided between the on-chip lens 21 and the antireflection layer 24. The color filter 23 may also be provided in the phase difference detection pixel 11.
Ideally, in the phase difference detection pixel 11, incident light that should be blocked is completely blocked by the light blocking layer 22, and incident light that should be received preferably enters the photoelectric conversion layer 25 through the apertural portion 22a, as shown in FIG. 1.

Solid-state imaging device with phase difference detection pixel and electronic apparatus


A method of producing a magnetic head core having a coil-winding groove around which an annular magnetic path is formed, and a magnetic gap intersecting the magnetic path, and a track having a predetermined track width and extending in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic gap, the magnetic gap and track being formed in a medium-sliding surface of the head core. The method includes the steps of: forming a track precursor in a surface of a core body which gives the medium-sliding surface of the head core, the track precursor having a larger width than a predetermined track width, and extending across the magnetic gap in a longitudinal direction of the core body; and pressing a shearing tool against the track precursor, and applying a force to the shearing tool to thereby remove by shearing at least one of widthwise opposite portions of the track precursor adjacent to the magnetic gap, so as to form the track having a predetermined track width in the vicinity of the magnetic gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method of producing a head core for a magnetic head, and more particularly to a technique for easily forming a track in the head core with high dimensional accuracy, to produce a desired magnetic head.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Magnetic heads are conventionally widely used in a video tape recorder (VTR), floppy disk drive (FDD), hard or rigid magnetic disk drive (HDD/RDD) or the like, to effect information recording on and reproduction from a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic tape or magnetic disk. As known in the art, the magnetic head has a head core formed of a magnetic material such as ferrite. The head core has a coil-winding groove around which an annular or closed magnetic path is formed, and a magnetic gap having a suitable minute spacing for writing or reading information on or from a magnetic recording medium. The magnetic gap is formed in a medium-sliding surface (magnetic disc sliding surface) of the head core which is to be opposed to the recording medium and on which the recording medium slides in operation, such that the magnetic gap intersects the annular magnetic path. The head core is also formed at its medium-sliding surface with a track whose width determines the width of the magnetic gap, such that the track extends across the magnetic gap, in a sliding or running direction of the recording medium relative to the head core.
The magnetic head core used for VTR, FDD or the like is conventionally fabricated in the following manner. Referring first to FIG. 1, a pair of ferrite blocks (core bars) 2, 4 are ground by a dicing cutter, for example, using a diamond blade or grinding stone, so that beveled grooves 6 for defining the width of tracks are formed in the ferrite blocks 2, 4. Then, the grooves 6 are filled with glass fillers 8, and the opposed surfaces 10 of the ferrite blocks 2, 4 which cooperate to define magnetic gaps are ground. Thereafter, the ferrite blocks 2, 4 are joined together with a gap spacer interposed therebetween, to provide a ferrite bar having a magnetic gap 12 whose size is determined by the spacer. The ferrite bar is then cut into core chips (16), one of which is shown in FIG. 1. The thus obtained head core 16 has a track 14 defined by the opposite grooves 6, 6, and a coil-winding groove 15 around which an annular or closed magnetic path is formed.
The above-described known method of producing the head core requires cumbersome process steps for forming the track 14. To control the width of the track 14 to about 20 .mu.m with an accuracy of .+-.1 .mu.m, for use with a VTR, for example, the beveled grooves 6 for defining the track width need to be formed by machining with an extremely high accuracy, using expensive precision machine tools. While the two ferrite blocks 2, 4 are to be butted and bonded together to form the track 14 having a target width "Tw", as shown in FIG. 2(a), this target width "Tw" may not be actually achieved due to a slight positional deviation or misalignment of the butted ferrite blocks 2, 4, as shown in FIG. 2(b) wherein the track 14 has a width of "Tw'" which is smaller than the target value "Tw".
To produce a magnetic head core used for HDD, on the other hand, a core slider body 20 having a suitable magnetic gap 18 is first prepared, as shown in FIG. 3, and two grooves 22 are then formed in the slider body 20 by grinding, so that a track portion 24 having beveled side faces and two air bearing portions 26 are formed on the slider body 20. Then, the beveled side faces of the track portion 24 are subjected to a grinding operation using a cup-shaped grinding wheel 28, so as to form a track 30 having a desired track width of "Tw", as shown in FIGS. 4(a)-4(c). The air bearing portions 26 are ground in a similar manner, to form air bearing surfaces 27, 27 on the opposite sides of the track 30. The thus ground slider body 20 is further processed to form a head core portion having the gap 18 and a chamfered leading ramp, so as to provide a core slider 31 (FIG. 3) having the integrally formed head core portion and slider portion with the air bearing surfaces 27.
In the thus produced core slider 31, the accuracy of the width of the track 30 is at its best kept to about .+-.1 .mu.m. Even this accuracy is extremely difficult to be guaranteed in the mass production of this type of core slider. Further, it becomes increasingly difficult to provide a sufficiently narrow track whose width is 10 .mu.m or smaller and has an accuracy of .+-.10%, so as to meet the recent requirement for high-density recording on a magnetic recording medium.
In the magnetic head cores as described above, the relatively narrow track 14, 30 is only required to extend over a length enough to cover the region adjacent to the magnetic gap 12, 18, i.e., the ferrite portions defining the gap 12, 18. According to the above known method, however, the narrow track 14, 18 extends over an unnecessarily large length to cover not only the region adjacent to the magnetic gap 12, 18 but also ferrite portions on the longitudinally opposite sides of the region, whereby magnetic saturation tends to occur upon formation of a magnetic field, rendering the resulting magnetic head unsatisfactory in terms of operating efficiency.

Method of producing magnetic head core having magnetic gap and narrow track