A container lid apparatus having a plurality of support brackets which are pivotally mounted in a base. A rod is pivotally mounted to ends of the support brackets, and a plurality of rollers are rotatably mounted on the rod. A container lid is provided which includes a plurality of runners which engage the plurality of rollers. The support brackets pivot from a closed position to an open position wherein the container lid is slightly raised from the container opening. While in the open position, the container lid is rolled on the rollers away from the container opening to provide access to the container.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to lids and covers for containers, and more particularly to a container lid apparatus for sub-ground or subsurface containers or tanks.
2. Description of the Background Art
Tanks, drainage systems, storage containers, and like structures are frequently placed below ground or beneath floors for convenience and to economize space. Access to such containers is usually provided by a lid mounted in the top of the container at the ground or floor level. Lids for such containers must generally be made of durable, heavy construction to support the weight of persons or vehicles when the lid is in place on the container.
A common problem with container lids for subsurface containers and tanks is that the heavy construction of the lids makes it difficult to remove or open the lids to gain access to the containers. Additionally, the weight of the lids creates a risk of injury to persons handling them. Currently known hinge mechanisms for heavy, ground or floor-mounted lids experience frequent failure and do not effectively facilitate the opening and closing of the lids.
Accordingly, there is a need for a container lid suitable for use with sub-ground or sub-floor containers which provides for quick and easy opening and closing of the lid, which eliminates the risk of injury associated with moving heavy lids, and which includes a hinge assembly that is not prone to fatigue and failure. The present invention satisfies these needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies found in the background art.

Slidable sealing lid apparatus for subsurface storage containers


A container for use in dispensing a substance contained therein. The container includes a body section and closure cap. The body section includes a top side having a recess extending therethrough and a pouring spout connected to and extending from the top side so as to cover the recess. The pouring spout includes a body section having a crease spiraling therearound. The closure cap includes a top side, a skirt depending from the top side having an inner side and a thread spiraling around the inner side of the skirt. The pouring spout is movable between a first compressed position and a second expanded position. In the first compressed position the crease forms a thread extending around the pouring spout for engaging the thread spiraling around the inner side of the skirt to seal the container closed. In the second expanded position the pouring spout is in an extended state reaching a distance above the top side eliminating the thread spiraling therearound formed by the compression and preventing connection with the closure cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to receptacles for retaining a substance therein and, more specifically, to a disposable container having an extendable and adjustable accordion like pouring spout.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous receptacles adapted to hold various substances have been provided in prior art For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,492,324 and 4,696,328 are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
A container is disclosed which is suitable for liquids having a flexible neck integral with the container which can be flexed to a flexed position and retained in that position. This allows the container to be used for filling inaccessible filler holes on motor vehicles and the like. The flexible neck portion has a smaller cross sectional area than the container. The neck comprises a plurality of specially shaped accordion ribs extending for at least a part of the length of the neck portion such that an integral pouring spout at the end of the neck portion can be flexed to a flexed position from an upright position to accommodate pouring and generally retain the flexed position, the spout having cap supporting means thereon.
A bottle that can be used for preventing spillage when the bottle is tilted for positioning the bottle so that all of the liquid therein is received by an intended receptacle for the liquid. The bottle is made of a flexible material that may be squeezed to decrease the interior volume of the bottle, and has an elongated neck terminating in an opening that is wide enough to enable viscous liquid to pour freely therethrough from the bottle when the bottle is tilted. An airtight seal is secured to the perimeter of the neck and closes the opening for preventing liquid from being poured from the opening when the bottle is tilted; and the seal is rupturable upon pressure being exerted thereon by the contents of the bottle when the container is squeezed. In order to prevent the seal from being ruptured during handling of the bottle prior to such time as it is desired to pour the liquid from the bottle, a cap is fitted over the opening of the bottle and contacts the seal to counteract any pressure applied against the seal as a result of the squeezing the bottle and thereby prevents the seal from being ruptured.

Container including an accordion like pouring spout


An integrally formed dental floss and leader which lends itself to oral prophylaxis especially for implants and bridges. The floss is captured by the leader through a hinged door which swings from an open to a closed position during fabrication to provide an integral unit for use by a floss user when closed. A leading portion of the door fits flush within a complementally formed support channel within a tethered end of the leader. A trailing portion of the door projects with an extension of a floor of the support channel, defining a tongue, to provide a floss support. A hinge defines a transition between the floor extension and the door. The hinge allows the door to pivot about the floss and enter the support channel with the floss interposed between the door and the tongue. Shoulders border the support channel providing reinforcement to the tethered end.

Since the mid-1960's plaque has been identified as playing at least a major role in causing dental problems both with respect to caries and periodontal disease. However, the actual mechanism by which plaque operates is still subject to conjecture. Plaque, a film of mucus which is produced in the mouth, is a known medium which can harbor bacteria both on the tooth and adjacent gum tissue. It is now generally recognized that removal of plaque is essential for promulgating oral hygiene.
Although substantial research and product engineering has occurred over the last 25 years with a view towards effectively removing plaque, certain difficulties still exist. The following prior art describes the on going efforts of others attempting to solve this long standing problem which has yet evaded solution, and these prior art citations are included to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose prior art with which he is familiar:
______________________________________ INVENTOR PAT. NO. ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ Cowardin, C. M. 119,745 October 10, 1871 Ripper 1,801,691 April 21, 1931 Stonehill 2,381,142 August 7, 1945 Footer, J. 2,612,177 September 30, 1952 Graham 2,620,104 December 2, 1952 Allen 2,721,014 October 18, 1955 Petitta, M. 2,931,371 April 5, 1960 Chisman 3,160,157 December 8, 1964 Hendy 3,525,460 August 25, 1970 Doiron 3,531,030 September 29, 1970 Haagedoorn 3,650,392 March 21, 1972 Wells, R. L. 3,744,499 July 10, 1973 Thronton 3,837,351 September 14, 1974 Standish et al. 3,838,702 October 1, 1974 Hardwick 3,880,167 April 29, 1975 Thornton 3,896,824 July 29, 1975 Messer, et al. 3,910,282 October 7, 1975 Tarrson, et. al. 3,929,144 December, 1975 Wells, R. L. 3,930,059 December 30, 1975 Ace 3,949,756 April 13, 1976 Pace 3,987,839 October 26, 1976 Herzstein 4,008,836 Februray 22, 1977 Tarrson et al. 4,011,658 March 15, 1977 Guyton, W. C. 4,029,113 June 14, 1977 Oldham, G. R. 4,064,883 December 27, 1977 Negishi, et al 4,070,815 January 31, 1978 Griset, Jr. 4,080,777 March 28, 1978 Naslund 4,133,339 January, 9, 1979 Griset, Jr. 4,155,216 May 22, 1979 Griset, Jr. 4,159,619 July 3, 1979 Perri, S. 4,182,341 January 8, 1980 Griset, Jr. 4,184,316 January 22, 1980 Thomas et al 4,215,478 August 5, 1980 Eaton, II 4,265,258 May 5, 1981 Russell 4,274,565 June 23, 1981 Lubow 4,296,877 October 27, 1981 Weber 4,385,575 May 31, 1983 Paudler 4,441,497 April 10, 1984 Fukuhara 4,512,164 April 23, 1985 Donovan, M. 4,523,600 June 18, 1985 Finkelstein et al 4,583,564 April 22, 1986 Noiles 4,602,636 July 29, 1986 Feuerman 4,667,860 May 26, 1987 Vornholt 4,790,254 December 13, 1988 Noguchi 4,805,292 February 21, 1989 Sos, et. al. 4,817,398 April 4, 1989 Smole, F. T. 4,832,063 May 23, 1989 Dalbo 4,832,240 May 23, 1989 Noguchi 4,901,722 February 20, 1990 Korthoff 5,035,707 July 30, 1991 Caramaschi 5,038,836 August 13, 1991 Siekmann 5,050,625 September 24, 1991 Prou 5,089,012 February 18, 1992 Feuerman 5,129,558 July 14, 1992 Korthoff, et al. 5,133,738 July 28, 1992 ______________________________________
Generally, the techniques for plaque removal are predicated on two principles. The first involves plaque removal through "washing" the plaque from the mouth area by means of liquids. Second, plaque removal has been attempted by mechanical brushing.
With respect to washing, certain mouthwashes are commercially marketed without prescription which purport to be effective in plaque control. These however are not registered with the Food and Drug Administration, and are listed merely as cosmetics. Available research data suggests that these mouthwashes are less than completely effective. A second known liquid, Peridex, is available under prescription and is a known plaque-removing liquid, but is objectionable to the extent that side effects are exhibited in some individuals. These side effects include adverse teeth staining and affection of one's taste perception. Even with an effective liquid, the film-like quality of plaque thwarts highly efficient removal through mere mouthwashing, and is singularly ineffective when trying to remove plaque in the sulcus area of one's mouth, i.e., the narrow trough-like gap between one's tooth and the gum tissue. This is also critical interproximally (in between the teeth) since this is where most periodontal disease and caries occur. When a patient, already afflicted by periodontal disease or for other reasons, uses dental implants, bridges or has had subgingival curettage or surgery performed, interproximal spaces greater than 4 mm exist between teeth and or adjacent the sulcus. This provides greater opportunity for further plaque formation and gum disease.
To a certain extent, plaque formation is not a problem on tooth surfaces that can receive direct mechanical contact with an instrument such as a brush which effectively breaks up the plaque film and therefore allows the plaque and its associated entrained bacteria to be carried away. Many brush manufacturers claim their bristles will go below the gum (in the sulcus) on the buccal and lingual--but not interproximally. Thus, along those areas where direct brush contact is possible, plaque buildup is less of a problem. However, brushes still are quite ineffective in removing plaque both along the area immediately below the gum line, i.e., the sulcus and interproximally. The problem is exacerbated when patients have had periodontal related dental procedures performed.
As knowledge with respect to the role that plaque plays in dental disease has grown, so too has the change in the design of various types of dental floss. While dental floss was once used substantially as a toothpick for the removal of entrained matter caught between teeth, various changes in dental floss appearance, particularly in the last few years reflect the belief that dental floss can be used to remove plaque in areas normally inaccessible by any other means particularly especially when the floss is used daily. Most designs involve contouring the external configuration of nylon or polyethylene to form an abrasive surface which can break up the plaque film under the gum line and between teeth to solve the problem. Earlier attempts have included the use of fibers formed from silk, cotton, nylon or blends thereof.
All of these known prior art flossing structures are less than desirable in that they are either too abrasive which adversely effects the enamel on the tooth, are too sharp which can cause damage to the gum tissue by cutting the gums, or are ineffective in removing the plaque. Moreover, taking this floss under the gum actually causes pain and the patient, therefore, will not take floss under the gum to remove plaque in the normal 3 mm sulci.
Another problem involves the geometry of prior art leaders themselves. Commercially available threaders for use with bridges, implants, etc. must first be threaded with the floss because they do not come pre-threaded. This can be inconvenient and discouraging to a prospective user. Further the geometry of many threaders make their use further frustrating. Among other things, saliva makes the threader too slippery to use.
Another problem is that extremely small threaders may impose a point load on the floss which makes fracture of the floss likely. When this occurs, the floss is entrained in the person's mouth and can be difficult to remove.
Another problem is that small threaders--typically formed by injection molding--are difficult to make without inducing zones of weakness in the threader. Plastic, such as nylon when unstressed or ideally formed, exhibits long molecular chains for greatest tensile strength. "Hairpin" turns (such as adjacent a threaded eyelet) tend to shorten the molecular chain inducing failure of the threader itself upon tensile loading by the floss.
Other threaders exhibit a "knit-line" caused by the flow of the plastic resin around two sides of a core and re-joining downstream from the core. This knit-line is a natural area of weakness and therefore failure.


The present invention is directed to new and useful methods and apparatus for isolating and immobilizing tissue for improved presentation in a surgical site, preferably in coronary bypass on a beating heart. At the same time, the present invention also helps avert ischemic damage to tissues downstream. A surgical stabilizer in accordance with the present invention offers physical manipulation of a surgical site, which improves the surgeon's sewing, grasping, and visualizing abilities at the site, and in turn, may increase the confidence and patency of the graft. The stabilizer is used to compress or to suction a region of the heart just below a stenotic coronary artery. The surgeon may selectively articulate the tissue by spreading it apart or pushing it together, as per his or her preference, or per the requirements of the surgical situation. The surgeon may lock in place the handle via a ratchet mechanism to hold the specific open or closed articulation of the surgical stabilizer. With the tissue thus isolated and immobilized, the surgeon may then graft the bypass vessel distal to the stenosis in the coronary artery.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to methods and apparatus for stabilizing a surgical site and more specifically to methods and apparatus for isolating and immobilizing a surgical site during cardiac surgical procedures.
2. Related Application
Benefit of the earlier filing date of Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 60/034,888, filed Jan. 31, 1997, is claimed for this application under Section 119(e) of Title 35 of the United States Code.
3. The Relevant Technology
Throughout many surgical procedures, and especially surgical procedures involving the heart, anatomical and physiological constraints often impede the surgical process. For example, in cardiac surgical procedures, the requisite surgical site is often difficult to access and manage. Anatomically, the heart is well protected by the sternum, the rib cage, and multiple layers of connective tissues, and thus often necessitates arduous dissection. Physiologically, a beating heart presents anything but a stable surgical field. As a result, procedures such as coronary artery bypass on a beating heart demonstrate distinct surgical barriers.
Coronary artery bypass surgery is commonly required when coronary arteries narrowed by cholesterol-rich fatty deposits or plaque are unable to supply the heart muscle with a sufficient amount of blood, and as a result, the heart becomes starved for oxygen. Left untreated, coronary artery disease ultimately leads to acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. In coronary artery bypass surgery, a surgeon grafts a section of a healthy vessel to bypass a stenotic or partially blocked portion of a coronary artery in order to ameliorate the oxygen supply to the heart muscle.
In many cases, coronary bypass surgery may be performed on a beating heart. This eliminates some of the risks, such as ischemic damage to the heart or peripheral tissues, and exposure of the blood to extracorporeal circulation, tubing, filters and oxygenators associated with procedures wherein the heart is stopped. However, in coronary bypass on a beating heart, surgeons have traditionally encountered difficulty isolating and immobilizing the diseased coronary arteries. Essentially, every beat of the heart results in movement at the site of the bypass which disrupts the surgery and may even damage the bypass graft.
In order to secure the surgical site, surgeons have conventionally performed tamponade, or compression of the heart, by utilizing devices that press down on the tissue at the surgical site. Yet such an approach lacks precise isolation of the coronary artery and diminishes access thereto. Alternatively, surgeons have utilized a pair of suction devices to pull the tissue surrounding and including a coronary artery slightly away from the heart. This approach offers tenuous stability and isolation of the surgical site at best.

Surgical stabilizer and method for isolating and immobilizing cardiac tissue


A slide fastener slider with an automatic lock mechanism comprises a body including a support lug standing on a guide post, a guide lug standing at a rear opening side of the body, a recessed portion defined between the support lug and the guide lug, a pair of projections project from opposite sides of the recessed portion. A spring is mounted to the body with its V-shaped bent portion of the spring fitted into the recessed portion. The bent portion is then fixed by caulking the projections. A pintle of a pull tab is disposed on the spring. A pawl member, which has an pressing portion to be brought into resilient contact with the spring on its one end, the locking paws on the other end, and a support shaft at opposite sides of an intermediate portion thereof, is disposed on the pintle. The support shaft is axially supported on the support lug, the locking pawl side at a rear end of the pawl member is guided by the guide pawl, and the locking pawl is allowed to pivotally move for being fitted into and detached from the fastener elements by operating the pull tab. In the slider with the automatic lock mechanism, therefore, the pawl member and the spring can be easily disposed and assembled, and the pivotal movement of the pawl member can be guided on the locking pawl side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide fastener slider having an automatic lock mechanism, wherein the slider comprises a body, a pawl member, a spring and a pull tab. The pawl member has a locking pawl at an end thereof. The spring has an intermediate portion to be fixed in a recessed portion inscribed on an upper face of the body, and has one end thereof to be brought into resilient contact with a front end portion of the pawl member. A rear end portion of the pawl member is formed so as to be pivotally movable along a guide lug standing on the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional slider having an automatic lock mechanism of this type, which comprises a body, a pawl member, a spring, and a pull tab, is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,745. In the known slider, as shown in FIG. 15, a recessed groove 21' for accommodating a plate spring 3' is inscribed in a guide post 7' of a body 1' of the slider, so that the plate spring 3' can be accommodated in the recessed groove 21' and is fixed by caulking a fixing member 40' thereof mounted in an inner portion of the recessed groove 21'. A tip end of the plate spring 3' is brought into resilient contact with an end of a pawl member 2'. The pawl member 2' has at one end portion thereof a locking pawl 26' to be retractably fitted and inserted into a pawl hole 14'. The pawl member 2' further has a support shaft 27' projecting at opposite sides on the other end side portion thereof, which is axially supported on a support lug 10' standing on the body 1'. A pintle 35' of a pull tab 4' is disposed between a projection 11' and the support lug 10' standing on the body 1' so as to make the pawl member 2' move pivotally.
In the above-described slide fastener slider with the automatic lock mechanism shown in FIG. 15, it is the plate spring 3' that activates the pawl member 2' having the locking pawl 26' in the automatic lock mechanism. Because the plate spring 3' is mounted to the body 1' by only caulking the fixing member 40' projecting on an upper face of the body 1', a fixed portion of the spring 3' may be loosened and the spring 3' may fall off if the slider is used for a long time. Or, the spring 3' may not be activated appropriately because of its displacement.
Furthermore, such a slider is not suitable particularly for a slider having the automatic lock mechanism and equipped with a wire spring made of spring steel, because a mounting operation of the spring 3' and an assembling operation of the slider are difficult. Moreover, because a portion for guiding the pivotal movement of the pawl member 2' is the projection 11' disposed inside the locking pawl 26', activation of the locking pawl 26' may go wrong.

Slide fastener slider with automatic lock mechanism


A computer-implemented method includes receiving a structure signal strength for a signal generated by a tag on a structure and receiving a product signal strength for a signal generated by a tag on a product. An indication that the product is positioned near the structure based on the received structure signal strength and the received product signal strength is then stored in memory.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) utilizes small tags, each containing electronics and an antenna that are capable of broadcasting a radio signal that identifies the tag. Such RFID tags can be active or passive. An active RFID tag includes a battery that allows the tag to periodically generate the radio signal. A passive RFID tag does not include an internal battery but instead is powered by an interrogator signal received by the tag's antenna. The power provided by the interrogator signal can be used immediately by the tag to provide a response signal or can be stored in a capacitor in the tag to be used later.
The radio signals generated by RFID tags are received and decoded by RFID readers. The RFID reader decodes the signal it receives to produce an identifier of the RFID tag found in the signal. Some RFID readers are also able to determine the strength of the radio signal received from the RFID tag. In such readers, the strength of the signal can be provided as an output known as a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.


A printing group of a printing press includes at least one form cylinder that has at least one axially extending opening on the external surface of the cylinder. That at least one axially extending opening forms a channel in the cylinder and in which channel several printing form end retaining assemblies are provided. These retaining assemblies are provided in the channel on both sides of a center plane which bisects the form cylinder perpendicularly to its axis of rotation. A first one of these retaining assemblies that adjoins the center plane cooperates with a second retaining assembly, located on the other side of the center plane, to both engage the same printing form, in a first mode of operation. In a second mode of operation, the first retaining assembly cooperates with a third retaining assembly, that is located further away from the center plane, and on the same side thereof as the first retaining assembly, to engage a second printing form.

DE 10 2005 034 331 A1 discloses a printing press which, in one mode of operation, prints a web with five printed pages of a first format side by side. In other modes of operation, this printing press prints that web with three or four pages of other formats.
DE 102 44 574 A1 discloses individually actuable actuating assemblies for use in operating retaining elements which are arranged side by side. The number of these actuating assemblies corresponds to the number of possible printed image sections. The actuating assemblies receive pressure medium via a first shared section of a supply line and via controllable valves which are assigned to the respective actuating assemblies and separate second sections of supply line. The valves and the second line sections are assigned to the cylinder and can be controlled from outside the cylinder.
DE 10 2004 021 606 A1 discloses an embodiment of a forme cylinder with four printing formes arranged side by side and on the outer surface of the forme cylinder and in the axial direction of the forme cylinder. In other embodiments of the forme cylinder, two, three, five, six, seven or eight printing plates can also be arranged side by side. Each printing plate is provided with a clamp and also with an individually controllable delivery hose segment.
In the flexible printing plate clamping device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,525 A, retaining elements for plate ends are provided in a channel of the forme cylinder. These elements work together with printing plates of different widths and arrangements in different operating modes. In this case, the leading ends of the printing plates are inserted between support plates for the respective retaining element and to which leaf springs are attached. The plate ends are thereby held in place by clamping force, without being clamped there expressly via an actuating assembly. The retaining elements are arranged on shafts, which are capable of pivoting slightly in the circumferential direction in order to adjust the circumferential register. In this case, a shaft piece, which is arranged adjoining the cylinder center, and to one side thereof, can alternatively be non-rotatably connected to the left or the right shaft piece, which are actuable by the use of a right or a left actuating mechanism, respectively.

Printing couple, printing press, and methods for operating a printing couple


The present disclosure concerns a fishing rod which reduces resistance between a fishline and a tubular member of the fishing, thereby allowing the fishline to be transported through the tubular member smoothly. The tubular member incorporates a diffusion property on its interior surface for spreading waterdrops into a thin film of water.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a fishing rod, in particular, an intra-line fishing rod which is structured such that a fishline can extend through a rod main body. The present invention also relates to a fishline.
A conventional intra-line fishing rod includes a fishing rod main body formed of a tubular member through which a fishline extends. On the other hand, an ordinary fishing rod includes fishline guides on the outside of a fishing rod main body through which a fishline passes. The intra-line fishing rod eliminates the possibility that the fishline can become tangled in the fishline guides, consequently operation of the intra-line fishing rod is improved over that of the ordinary fishing rod.
Conventional intra-line fishing rods have the disadvantage when winding a fishline out of the water the fishline brings drops of water inside the tubular member of the fishing rod main body. The waterdrops become attached to the interior surface of the fishing rod main body, consequently the fishline cannot be moved smoothly through the fishing rod main body due to the resistance of the waterdrops. Clearly, this impairs the operation of conventional intra-line fishing rods.
b) Description of Related Art
In order to address this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-268858 discloses an intra-line fishing rod in which the interior surface of a tubular fishing rod main body includes thereon a resin layer containing fluoro-resin particles. Such an intra-line fishing rod improves the ability to repel water off the interior surface of the fishing rod main body by easing movement of waterdrops.
An intra-line fishing rod having the aforementioned resin layer facilitates movement of the waterdrops attached thereto, but cannot remove the waterdrops completely. Therefore, some of the waterdrops remain scattered on the interior surface. In this case, a "contact" angle .theta. between the interior surface and a line tangent to the exterior of a waterdrop (at the junction of the surface and the waterdrop) is in the range of 90.degree. to 110.degree.. Resistance to passage of the fishline through a fishing rod main body with waterdrops scattered on an interior surface having a resin layer is not always small when compared with a fishing rod that does not include the resin layer. Therefore, in conventional intra-line fishing rods, the fishline cannot be passed through the fishing rod main body to a satisfactory degree.

Fishing rod having a water dispersion surface to reduce drag on fishline


A vehicle brake booster comprises: a body having an input port, an output port, and a flow path through which the input port is communicated with the output port; a first piston which is arranged in the flow path, and on which the hydraulic pressure in the flow path acts; a control valve which is abutted against the first piston, and defines a control chamber which is able to introduce or block the hydraulic pressure of an accumulator; a second piston which is arranged downstream of the first piston in the flow path, the second piston being in the form of a stepped piston having a large diameter portion and a small-diameter portion to the end of which the hydraulic pressure in the flow path is applied, and being able to produce a wheel cylinder pressure; a hydraulic pressure chamber formed in the large-diameter portion of the second piston; and a cut valve arranged downstream of the second piston in the flow path.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle brake booster, and more particularly to a hydraulic type vehicle brake booster which can be installed at a desired point of a pipe which connecting a master cylinder to a wheel cylinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hydraulic vehicle brake booster system has been well known in the conventional art, as a mechanism for increasing the force of depression applied to a brake pedal.
The conventional vehicle brake booster system comprises; an accumulator which stores a brake fluid discharged from a pump; a hydraulic booster which performs a boosting action with the hydraulic pressure supplied from the accumulator in response to an operation of the brake pedal; a master cylinder to which the pressurized fluid which has been boosted by the hydraulic booster is transmitted; and a wheel cylinder (wheel cylinders) to which the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder is transmitted to perform a braking action. An electro-magnetic control valve which is opened and closed by an operation of the ignition switch, is provided between the accumulator and the hydraulic booster. That is, when the ignition switch is turned on, the electromagnetic control valve is opened so that the accumulator is communicated with the hydraulic booster; and when the ignition switched is turned off, the electromagnetic control valve is closed so that the accumulator is disconnected from the hydraulic booster. Hence, even in the case where the vehicle is held stopped for a long period of time although internal leakage occurs with the control valve provided in the hydraulic booster, the hydraulic pressure of the accumulator will never drop, being held at a predetermined value. That is, the risk is eliminated that the hydraulic booster cannot perform the boosting action.
However, presently used vehicle brake booster system including the above-described hydraulic vehicle brake booster suffer from the following risk: That is, the vehicle brake booster is coupled directly to the master cylinder, and therefore the distance between the vehicle brake booster mounting surface and the end of the master cylinder is long. Hence, the vehicle brake booster is low in the degree of freedom of installation.


A beater holder mounting structure includes a holder base fixedly fastened to a polygonal shaft of a pedal unit of a base drum, and a retainer block hooked up with the holder base to secure the stem of a beater to the holder base, the holder base and the retainer block each have a multiple-face through hole nto which the stem of the beater is inserted and fixed by tightening up screws.

The present invention relates to a beater holder mounting structure used in a base drum to hold a beater, and more particularly to such a beater holder mounting structure which positively secures the beater to the polygonal shaft of the pedal unit of the base drum.
A pedal unit for a base drum, as shown in FIG. 1, is comprised of a base frame, a polygonal shaft revolvably supported between two upright supports raised from the base frame, a beater holder fastened to the polygonal shaft to hold a beater, spring means coupled between one end of the polygonal shaft and the base frame, and a pedal having a rear end hinged to the base frame and a front end coupled to the beater holder by a chain transmission. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 1, the beater holder has a circular axle hole which receives the stem of the beater, and a screw hole perpendicularly extended from the axle hole to the periphery into which a tightening up screw is threaded and stopped against the periphery of the stem of the beater to fix the beater to the beater holder. When installed, the stem of the beater provide two friction resisting surfaces, one at the end of the tightening up screw and the other at the periphery of the circular axle hole opposite to the tightening up screw. Because the two friction resisting surfaces are spaced at about 180.degree., they are not insufficient to positively secure the stem of the beater to the beater holder. When beating, the beater is vibrated, and may be forced by the vibration force out of position. If the beater is not positively secured in position, the face of the drum may be damaged by the beater.


A new and distinct Prunus hybrid plant used as a rootstock for cherries that induces precosity and flat branching of the grafted plant.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Prunus hybrid used as a rootstock known by the varietal name 'Gi14813'. The new variety was discovered in Giessen, Germany in 1971. The new variety is the result of a planned breeding program between Prunus cerasus 'Schattenmorelle' (unpatented female parent) and an unnamed Prunus canescens variety (unpatented male parent). The new variety differs from its parents in that it has a triploid genome, whereas the female parent has a tetrapoloid genome and the male parent has a diploid genome. The purpose of the breeding program was to produce a series of size-controlling, productive, and precocious rootstocks for sweet cherries. The new variety has been trial and field tested and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics and remain true to type through successive propagations.
The new variety is similar to prunus rootstock 'GI 148/2' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,622) in its rootstock induction of precosity, rootstock induction of flat branching, and the absence of root suckers. The color of the leaves of emerging branches in the Spring is more reddish (anthocyanin coloration) than 'GI 148/2'. Further, the vigor of a grafted tree on the new variety is greater than on 'GI 148/2'.


The invention relates to an installation and a method for treating hydrogen sulphide. In particular, the invention relates to an installation and a method comprising at least one system for oxidizing hydrogen sulfide to sulfur (S) and water (H2O) with a solid reagent and at least one oxidizing system with an agent for oxidizing the solid reagent present in the reduced state, wherein the system of oxidizing the hydrogen sulfide to sulfur and the system for oxidizing the solid reagent, are so arranged that the hydrogen sulfide is not brought into contact with the agent oxidizing the solid reagent.

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a by-product of industrial methods, particularly fossil hydrocarbon desulphurization methods such as refining and biogas production. It is toxic to humans and the environment and is a poison for most catalytic methods. Current methods for treating H2S involve prior separation of the other constituents of the effluents to be treated by adsorption or washing, and subsequent oxidation to sulfur (S) via a multi-stage method (the so-called "Claus" method). The selective oxidation of H2S to S by oxygen (H2S+½ O2→S+H2O) is an interesting alternative. These methods lead to the production of sulfur which is then upgraded, for example, to sulfuric acid or fertilizer. The drawbacks of these methods, however, are (i) the production of by-products such as SO2 or SO3 if the catalyst is not selective, (ii) to require H2S—O2 mixtures, which induce a loss of selectivity as well as limitations in concentration of the reagents due to their flammability or explosiveness. All existing methods involve operating conditions that are limited by the explosiveness of H2S—O2 mixtures. The reaction in excess of H2S is more favorable from the point of view of the selectivity but limited by the supply of oxygen, whereas the excess of oxygen leads to total oxidation.
The catalysts proposed for this reaction experience strong deactivations related to the deposition of sulfur on the surface of the catalysts or to their sulfurization.
The current methods all include a first phase of separation of hydrogen sulfide from the other components of the gas to be treated, either by the use of physical adsorbers or by washing in alkaline solutions. In a second step, the H2S is recovered by desorption or separation of the washing solutions. The H2S thus separated is then oxidized to produce solid sulfur (S) by the Claus method, which itself comprises several steps. The first, thermal, consists in partially oxidizing H2S to SO2 at high temperature (>1000° C.), the second, catalytic, involves the reaction of SO2 formed with H2S to produce S and H2O.
At present the removal of the H2S from gaseous effluents requires prior separation by adsorption or washing and subsequent treatment via the Claus method.
In addition, the use of renewable energies is necessary to reduce greenhouse emissions, but hydrogen sulphide is produced in large quantities during the methanisation of biomass for biogas production. The development of these alternative resources therefore requires the development of efficient and inexpensive methods of elimination or even recovery of hydrogen sulphide.
To the inventors' knowledge, there has not yet been a proposal for a periodic type method with a solid oxygen vector for the selective and preferable oxidation of H2S (to S) (in the presence of other reagents like methane).
On the other hand, there have been several studies concerning the partial oxidation of hydrogen sulphide under close temperature and pressure conditions, but by co-feeding oxygen to oxidize the H2S.
For example, the work of Palma et al. (Palma, D. Barba, H2S purification from biogas by direct selective oxidation to sulfur on V2O5—CeO2 structured catalysts, Fuel 135 (2014) 99-104, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fue1.2014.06 V. Palma, D. Barba, Low temperature catalytic oxidation of H2S over V2O5/CeO2 catalysts, Int J Hydrogen Energ 39 (2014), 21524-21530 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.09.120) propose a system employing a solid with vanadium as the active phase and cerium oxide as a support that also obtains about 100% conversion to H2S and with selectivity. Although they propose the use of their catalysts for the treatment of biogas with typical H2S concentrations (200 ppm), they do not mix reagents (H2S and O2) with CH4 and CO2. Thus they do not check the reactivity of methane and carbon dioxide.
Soriano et al, (M. D. Soriano, J. M. Lopez Nieto, F. Ivars, P. Concepcion, E. Rodriguez-Castellon, Alkali-promoted V2O5 catalysts for the partial oxidation of H2S to sulfur, Catal Today 192 (2012) 28-35, doi: 10.1016/j.cattod.2012.02.016; A. Reyes-Carmona, M. D. Soriano, J. M. Lopez Nieto, D. J. Jones, J. Jimenez-Jimenez, A. Jimenez-Lopez, E. Rodriguez-Castellon, Iron-containing SBA-15 as catalyst for partial oxidation of hydrogen sulfide, Catal Today 210 (2013) 117-123, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2012.11.016) propose a similar study with, this time, higher initial H2S concentrations (1200 ppm) and a higher reaction temperature (200° C.). These studies use a mixture with a specific ratio of hydrogen sulphide and oxygen but can not overcome the explosive limits of the hydrogen sulphide/oxygen mixture. It is difficult to obtain both a conversion and a selectivity around 100%.

Plant and process for treating a stream comprising hydrogen sulfide

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE


A method of operating dual-clutch transmission for a vehicle which has two partial transmissions, each partial transmission having an input shaft arranged on an input shaft axis. An output shaft is arranged on the input shaft axis or a parallel countershaft axis. An intermediate gear system on the countershaft axis. At least one input shaft can be connected to the drive output shaft, as a direct drive, and only one countershaft is arranged on the countershaft axis and supports only fixed gears. One of the gears is a direct gear so that, when the direct gear is engaged, all the shifting elements, for coupling the intermediate gear system via the gear planes into the force flow, can be disengaged. Each gear plane can be coupled by a shifting element arranged on the input shaft axis to a shaft, and the gear next-lower than the direct gear is a coupling gear.

Such transmissions for a motor vehicle are configured inter alia as so-termed dual-clutch transmissions, in which the input shafts of the two partial transmissions can be connected by an associated powershift element to a drive input such as an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, wherein the two powershift elements are then combined by means of a dual clutch. The gear steps that can be obtained with such a transmission are distributed in alternation between the two partial transmissions, so that for example one partial transmission produces the odd-numbered gears and the corresponding other partial transmission produces the even-numbered gears. It is also known to obtain the individual gears by means of one or more gear steps or planes each of which have different transmission ratios. By means of corresponding shifting elements these can be connected into the force flow between the drive input and the drive output, so that a corresponding desired transmission ratio between the drive input and the drive output is obtained in each case.
By alternately allocating the gears between the two partial transmissions it is possible, when driving in a gear associated with one of the partial transmissions, to preselect a subsequent gear in the respective other partial transmission by appropriate actuation of the shifting devices, so that an eventual change to the subsequent gear is enabled by opening the powershift element of the one partial transmission and shortly thereafter closing the powershift element of the other partial transmission. In this way the gears or gear steps of the transmission can be powershifted, which improves the acceleration ability of the motor vehicle since the gearshift takes place essentially without traction force interruption and also makes the shifting process more comfortable for the driver.
Such dual-clutch transmissions can also be made with a drive input and drive output intermediate gear system arranged additionally, so that in the axial direction a more compact structure is produced.
From DE 10 2006 054 281 A1 a transmission of that type for a motor vehicle, in the form of a dual-clutch transmission, is known. In this case the dual-clutch transmission comprises two partial transmissions, each with an input shaft. By connecting the respective input shaft by means of an associated powershift element, the two partial transmissions can in each case be connected in alternation into a force or torque flow from a drive input to a drive output, the input shaft of the first partial transmission being designed as a central shaft of the transmission whereas the input shaft of the second partial transmission is designed as a hollow transmission shaft. Furthermore a drive output shaft is provided, which is designed as the drive output of the two partial transmissions, so that rotation of the drive input can be transmitted by way of a plurality of transmission ratio stages to the drive output, in which transmission the force and torque flow passes via an intermediate gear system. In this case at least two wheel planes are engaged in the force and torque flow by actuating associated shifting elements, and by combining shifting element actuation and the force and torque flow a plurality of gear steps can be obtained by way of corresponding wheel planes. Likewise, non-geared transmission of the rotational movement of the drive input to an output shaft of the drive output can be obtained by actuating appropriate shifting elements.
Further, DE 10 2005 033 027 A1 shows a powershifting dual-clutch transmission for commercial vehicles.
In addition, DE 10 2012 217 503 describes a dual-clutch transmission with twelve gears, including an overdrive gear, the transmission being fully powershiftable. In this case only the highest gear, i.e. the eleventh gear, is used as the overdrive gear. The fifth gear, which is a direct gear, and the sixth gear are in the same partial transmission and shifting from gear five to gear six is carried out as a supported gearshift with the seventh gear as the supporting gear.
Moreover, the applicant knows of a dual-clutch transmission with a range group of planetary design. In this case, two partial transmissions are each connected to a respective input shaft and the output side of each partial transmission is connected to the input shaft of the range group. The second partial transmission comprises two gears with the first two gear planes and the first two shifting elements, whereas the first partial transmission has three gears with the third and fourth gear planes and the direct gear and shifting elements Nos. 3 to 5. The fifth and sixth gear planes serve in this case as drive output constants for forward and reverse with the shifting elements Nos. 6 and 7. The direct gear is the fifth gear in the main transmission. In the sixth gear and the twelfth gear (overdrive gear) the two partial transmissions are coupled. In the coupling gear one of the drive input gear planes Nos. 3 or 4 of the first partial transmission is used as the drive output gear plane for the second partial transmission. The drive output leads on via the shifting element for the direct gear, i.e. the fifth shifting element; thus, the first partial transmission is 'forced' in the direct gear. A next-higher gear cannot therefore be powershifted. Furthermore, when changing from the sixth to the seventh gear the traction-force-interrupted range group is shifted and accordingly a shift from the sixth to the seventh gear can only take place with traction force interruption.
This has the disadvantage that the structural complexity of the transmission is relatively great for the number of power-shiftable gears that can be obtained.

Transmission for vehicle and method for operation of a transmission


An apparatus for determining cochlear dead region comprising a sound generation unit, an output transducer, and a control unit. The control unit causes the sound generation unit to provide a first electrical sound signal representing a first frequency band adjacent to a frequency region of interest, with a first bandwidth, a first sound pressure level and a first subsequent electrical sound signal representing a first subsequent frequency band comprising the frequency region of interest with a first subsequent bandwidth, a first subsequent sound pressure level, and a first subsequent time delay to the first electrical sound signal. In response, the output transducer generates a first output sound and a first subsequent output sound with the first subsequent time delay. A user compares the first output and first subsequent output sounds and decides, whether he hears a difference between the two sounds and gives a positive or negative decision input.

Hearing or auditory perception is the process of perceiving sounds by detecting mechanical vibrations with a sound vibration input. A human ear has three main components, an outer ear, a middle ear and an inner ear. Each part of the ear serves a specific purpose in the task of detecting and interpreting sound. The outer ear serves to collect and channel sound to the middle ear. The middle ear serves to transform the energy of a sound wave into the internal vibrations of the bone structure of the middle ear and ultimately transform these vibrations into a compressional wave in the inner ear. The inner ear serves to transform the energy of a compressional wave within the inner ear fluid into nerve impulses that can be transmitted to the brain.
The inner ear is the innermost part of the ear, which begins behind an oval window. The oval window, which serves as an intersection between middle ear and inner ear, is a membrane covered opening which receives mechanical vibrations from stapes of the middle ear. The inner ear comprises a bony labyrinth, which is a hollow cavity located in a temporal bone of the skull with two functional parts, a cochlea, and a vestibular system formed by semicircular canals and a vestibule. The bony labyrinth comprises a membranous labyrinth which is in certain locations fixed to a wall of the bony labyrinth and partly separated from the bony labyrinth by the perilymph. The membranous labyrinth contains a liquid, called endolymph. The perilymph is rich in sodium ions and the endolymph is rich in potassium ions, which produces an ionic electrical potential between the perilymph and the endolymph. The unique ionic compositions of the perilymph and the endolymph are adapted for regulating electrochemical impulses of hair cells. Hair cells are cylindrical or flask-shaped cells with a bundle of sensory hairs at their apical end, also called stereocilia. Inner hair cells are arranged on an inner wall and outer hair cells are arranged on an outer wall in specialized areas of the membranous labyrinth. The hair cells are connected to nerve fibres of a vestibulocochlear nerve comprising a vestibular nerve and a cochlear nerve and work as receptor cells of vibratory stimuli of the perilymph and endolymph. The hair cells in the vestibular system serve to sense spatial orientation information and transmit them to a brain via the vestibular nerve generating a sense of balance. One of the specialized areas of the membranous labyrinth is a spiral organ called organ of Corti, which comprises hair cells serving for auditory perception.
The organ of Corti is arranged in the cochlea. The cochlea is a spiral-shaped perilymph filled cavity in the bony labyrinth in contact with the oval window via the vestibule. The spiral of the cochlea typically has 2.5 to 2.75 turns around its axis for a human. The structure of the cochlea includes a scala vestibuli, a scala tympani, a scala media, and a helicotrema. The perilymph filled scala vestibuli joins the perilymph filled scala tympani at the apex of the cochlea, also called helicotrema. On the other end the scala vestibuli is connected to the oval window and the scala tympani is connected to a round window. The round window vibrates with opposite phase to the oval window, e.g. the round window moves out when the stirrup pushes in the oval window and allows movement of the liquid inside of the cochlea. The scala media is located between the scala tympani and the scala vestibuli, separated from the scala tympani by a basilar membrane, and separated from the scala vestibuli by a Reissner's membrane. The scala media contains endolymph. The Reissner's membrane functions as a diffusion barrier for nutrients between perilymph and endolymph. The basilar membrane determines the mechanical vibration propagation properties and is the base of the hair cells containing the steriocilia. The cochlea serves for converting mechanical vibrations received by the ear drum into electrochemical nerve impulses which are then passed to the brain via the cochlear nerve, also called acoustic nerve.
Mechanical vibration stimuli transmitted by the perilymph run through the cochlea and excite the membrane of the membranous labyrinth and the hair cells. Each frequency of the mechanical vibrations received has a specific place of resonance along the basilar membrane of the membranous labyrinth in the cochlea. The movement of the basilar membrane and the mechanical vibrations in the perilymph lead to movement of the stereocilia on the hair cells. The outer hair cells oscillate in cell length with a frequency of an incoming vibration, which serves to amplify incoming mechanical vibrations, called cochlear amplifier. The inner hair cell works as a mechanoreceptor, which produces an electrical signal in response to displacement of the stereocilia of the inner hair cell. The electrical signal originates from a flow of ionic currents across the membrane of the membranous labyrinth through ion channels. The stereocilia of the inner hair cells have a depolarization and a repolarization movement direction. The movement of the stereocilia in depolarization direction leads to increased membrane conductance, allowing more positively charged ions, i.e. potassium and calcium, to pass the membrane and to enter the inner hair cell. Movement in the repolarization direction lowers ionic current. Depolarization of the inner hair cells occurs due to influx of positive ions resulting in a receptor potential, which opens voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC). Calcium ions can enter the cell through the voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) and trigger the release of neuro-transmitters which connect to receptors of the fibres, also called axons, of the cochlear nerve connected to the hair cells resulting in increased firing, i.e. emission of electrochemical nerve impulses. Repolarization of the hair cells occurs due to low concentration of positive ions in the perilymph in the scala tympani, which leads to an electrochemical gradient and a flow of positive ions through ion channels to the perilymph. The electrochemical nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain via the cochlear nerve. The brain processes the nerve impulses received by all hair cells and the spatial-temporal pattern of nerve impulses resulting from the firing of different hair cells in auditory perception.
Healthy human ears are able to hear sounds in a frequency range of 0.012 kHz to 20 kHz and have a sensitivity peak in a range between 1 kHz to 5 kHz. The human ear can resolve frequency differences down to 3.6 Hz, allowing humans to differentiate between two sounds with a difference as small as 3.6 Hz. With age the hearing deteriorates, called Presbycusis or age-related hearing loss, which leads to a lower audible hearing frequency range. Most adults are unable to hear high frequencies above 16 kHz. The cause of age-related hearing loss is typically a sensorineural hearing loss.
The hearing can be considered impaired, if one or more of the functions of one or both ears of a human are impaired. A hearing impairment can be classified as sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss or a combination of the two called mixed hearing loss.
The most common kind of hearing impairment is the sensorineural hearing loss, which results from impairment of the vestibulocochlear nerve, the inner ear, and/or central processing centers of the brain. A majority of sensorineural hearing loss is caused by dysfunction of the hair cells of the organ of Corti in the cochlea leading to decreased hearing sensitivity. The hair cells can be dysfunctional at birth or damaged, e.g., due to noise trauma, infection, long time noise exposure, or genetic predisposition. Often the outer hair cells, which are particularly sensitive to damage from exposure to trauma from overly-loud sounds or ototoxic drugs, are damaged and the amplification effect is lost.
Cochlear hearing loss which is a representative phenomenon of hearing impairment is related to damage to the hair cells of the cochlea, and this damage causes hearing loss in the following two forms.
A first form is damage to the outer hair cells, which is the cause of most sensorineural hearing loss. Due thereto, the active mechanism of the cochlea is damaged, so that the motion of a basilar membrane decreases compared to that of a normal state, with the result that frequency selectivity decreases. A second form is damage of inner hair cells. This may result in a decrease in the efficiency of signals transferred to a primary auditory cortex. In particular, speech recognition ability is greatly decreases, and the ability to discriminate signals from noise is further deteriorated in the presence of noise.
A region in which the inner hair cells are substantially damaged and in some cases completely lost and do not perform their own functions is called a cochlear dead region (DR). The cochlear dead region exhibits characteristics where the inner hair cells and nerves of the inside thereof do not induce nervous activities in response to stimuli falling within the range of relevant characteristic frequencies (CFs), and then relevant acoustic stimulus information is not transferred to a primary auditory cortex.
Some of the hearing impairments can be treated surgically. A major part of humans with a hearing impairment, however, has to rely on devices which improve hearing, so called hearing aid devices. Hearing aid devices are used to stimulate the hearing of a user, e.g., by sound generated by a speaker, by bone conducted vibrations generated by a vibrator of a bone anchored hearing aid, or by electric stimulation impulses generated by electrodes of a cochlear implant. Hearing aids can be worn on one ear, i.e. monaurally, or on both ears, i.e. binaurally. Binaural hearing aid devices comprise two hearing aids, one for a left ear and one for a right ear of the user. The binaural hearing aids can exchange information with each other wirelessly and allow spatial hearing.
Hearing aids typically comprise a microphone, an output transducer, e.g. speaker or vibrator, electric circuitry, and a power source, e.g., a battery. The microphone receives a sound from the environment and generates an electrical sound signal representing the sound. The electrical sound signal is processed, e.g., frequency selectively amplified, noise reduced, adjusted to a listening environment, and/or frequency transposed or the like, by the electric circuitry and a processed sound is generated by the output transducer to stimulate the hearing of the user. Instead of an output transducer the cochlear implant typically comprises an array of electrodes, which are arranged in the cochlea to stimulate the cochlear nerve fibres with electric stimulation impulses. In order to improve the hearing experience of the user a spectral filterbank can be included in the electric circuitry, which, e.g., analyses different frequency bands or processes electrical sound signals in different frequency bands individually and allows improving the signal-to-noise ratio. Spectral filterbanks are typically running online in any hearing aid today.
Typically the microphones of the hearing aid device used to receive the incoming sound are omnidirectional, meaning that they do not differentiate between the directions of the incoming sound. In order to improve the hearing of the user, a beamformer can be included in the electric circuitry. The beamformer improves the spatial hearing by suppressing sound from other directions than a direction defined by beamformer parameters, i.e. a look vector. In this way the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased, as mainly sound from a sound source, e.g., in front of the user is received. Typically a beamformer divides the space in two sub-spaces, one from which sound is received and the rest, where sound is suppressed, which results in spatial hearing.
For certain acoustical environments, a microphone to record direct sound can be insufficient to generate a suitable hearing experience for the hearing aid device user, e.g., in a highly reverberant room like a church, a lecture hall, a concert hall or the like. Therefore hearing aid devices can include a second input for sound information, e.g., a telecoil or a wireless data receiver, such as a Bluetooth receiver or an infrared receiver, or the like. When using telecoil or other wireless technology an undistorted target sound, e.g., a priest's voice in a church, a lecturer's voice in a lecture hall, or the like is available directly in the hearing aid by wireless sound transmission.
One way to characterize hearing aid devices is by the way they are fitted to an ear of the user. Conventional hearing aids include for example ITE (In-The-Ear), ITC (In-The-Canal), CIC (Completely-In-the-Canal) and BTE (Behind-The-Ear) hearing aids. The components of the ITE hearing aids are mainly located in an ear, while ITC and CIC hearing aid components are located in an ear canal. BTE hearing aids typically comprise a Behind-The-Ear unit, which is generally mounted behind or on an ear of the user and which is connected to an air filled tube or a lead that has a distal end that can be fitted in an ear canal of the user. Sound generated by a speaker can be transmitted through the air filled tube to an ear drum of the user's ear canal or an electrical sound signal can be transmitted to an output transducer arranged in the ear canal via the lead.
Nearly all hearing aids have at least one insertion part, which is adapted to be inserted into an ear canal of the user to guide the sound to the ear drum. Inserting the insertion part of a hearing aid device into an ear canal that transmits device generated sound into the ear canal can lead to various acoustic effects, e.g., a comb filter effect, sound oscillations or occlusion. Simultaneous occurrence of device generated and natural sound in an ear canal of the user creates the comb filter effect, as the natural and device generated sounds reach the ear drum with a time delay. Sound oscillations generally occur only for hearing aid devices including a microphone, with the sound oscillations being generated through sound reflections off the ear canal to the microphone of the hearing aid device. A common way to suppress the aforementioned acoustic effects is to close the ear canal, which effectively prevents natural sound to reach the ear drum and device generated sound to leave the ear canal. Closing the ear canal, however, leads to the occlusion effect, which corresponds to an amplification of a user's own voice when the ear canal is closed, as bone-conducted sound vibrations cannot escape through the ear canal and reverberate off the insertion part of the hearing aid device. To reduce the occlusion effect the insertion part of the hearing aid device can be inserted deeper into the ear canal to adhere to the bony portion of the ear canal and to seal the ear canal.
Hearing aid devices can be further improved, when the hearing impairment of the user is exactly known, e.g., by allowing an adjustment of hearing aid parameters to the hearing impairment of the user. Knowing the frequency range, for which a user has a reduced hearing ability allows for example to shift frequencies or amplify certain frequency ranges to allow for a better hearing experience of the user.
During processing of incoming sound in a hearing aid the amplification of frequencies in the frequency range corresponding to dead regions of the user is typically not beneficial and can impair speech intelligibility.
In conventional hearing care the cochlear dead region phenomenon is largely ignored due to the difficulty in establishing the existence and frequency region of the cochlear dead regions.
In B. C. Moore, M. Huss, D. A. Vickers, B. R. Glasberg, and J. I. Alcántara, "A Test for the Diagnosis of Dead Regions in the Cochlea" British Journal of Audiology, 34, 205-224 (2000) a method using a threshold equalizing noise (TEN) test to determine cochlear dead regions is presented. The TEN test stimulates the hearing of a user using a so called "threshold equalizing noise", which is spectrally shaped so that, for normally hearing users, it would give equal masked threshold for pure tone signals over all frequencies within a range of 0.25 kHz to 10 kHz. A level of the threshold equalizing noise is specified as a level in a one-ERB, equivalent rectangular bandwidth, (132 Hz) wide band centred at 1000 Hz. A pure tone is used with the threshold equalizing noise to stimulate the hearing of a user. The threshold equalizing noise reduces the off-frequency listening of the pure tone and therefore allows testing for cochlear dead regions. A frequency region with living inner hair cells leads to a detection of a signal with characteristic frequencies close to the frequency region and the threshold in the TEN is close to that for normal-hearing users. A dead region leads to a detection of characteristic frequencies different from that of the signal frequency and the threshold in the TEN is higher than normal.
WO 2012/081769 A1 presents an apparatus and a method for detecting a cochlear dead region. The apparatus comprises a control unit with a stimulus generation unit and an Acoustic Change Complex (ACC) measurement unit. The stimulus generation unit is configured to generate stimuli, which are provided to a user via a headphone and the Acoustic Change Complex measurement unit is configured to measure Acoustic Change Complexes depending on the stimuli. The Acoustic Change Complex is similar to a P1-N1-P2-complex and represents a cortical response due to change in the acoustic features of the stimuli. The P1-N1-P2-complex is a portion of cortical auditory evoked potential, which is a prior art test method to determine the degree of hearing of a user.
There exists a need for reliably identifying the cochlear dead region, and preferably offering schemes that allow for accounting for the determined dead regions in order to enhance hearing perception for a hearing impaired.

Apparatus for determining cochlear dead region


A device for combined optical and nuclear image comprises a nuclear image acquisition module and a reference image acquisition module. The reference image acquisition module has: an optical image sensor; and an optical imaging system for deflecting the optical radiation from a reference field of view to the image sensor, wherein the optical imaging system comprises a mirror for the optical radiation, which mirror is arranged between the reference field of view and the optical image sensor. On the image sensor, a respective image area assigned to at least one of nuclear partial fields of view. The optical imaging system is arranged such that the optical radiation coming from the at least one nuclear partial field of view is deflected substantially exactly to the respectively assigned of the image areas.

1. Field
The invention lies in the field of image acquisition and specifically in particular combined optical and nuclear image acquisition, and relates to a device for such image acquisition.
2. Description of Related Art
Nuclear imaging methods have proved extremely useful in various fields, in particular in nuclear medical fields and in the search for radioactively contaminated material such as nuclear waste. In nuclear imaging methods the nuclear radiation coming from a spatial region is visualized in a two- or three-dimensional image and thus made perceptible for humans. The spatial region in which the spatial distribution of the nuclear radiation can be sufficiently reliably detected is also designated as nuclear field of view. In cases in which the boundaries of this spatial region are fluid, the nuclear field of view can be defined appropriately, for example, by a predefined sensitivity threshold for the radiation intensity and/or for the spatial resolution of the detector: the nuclear field of view is then the spatial region whose radiation can be detected by the detector having a sensitivity exceeding the sensitivity threshold.
Despite their appreciable benefit, the evaluation of the generated nuclear images is difficult. This is also because the structures identifiable in the nuclear image cannot easily be assigned to the structures perceptible with the naked eye. Thus, for example no anatomical structures are visible in a typical medical nuclear image.
This problem can be ameliorated by applying radioactive markers to known anatomical positions. The markers can then be detected in the nuclear image in order to obtain at least coarse reference points. Systems for hybrid SPECT/CT or PET/CT recording are known in order to superpose CT images containing anatomical information with nuclear images. At the present time, methods are also being developed to represent three-dimensional nuclear images in suitable perspective and superpose with a video image in order to jointly detect anatomical and nuclear image information in this way.
Apparatus for the combined detection of x-ray and optical images are also known, possibly from DE 10049103, JP 61057804, US 2007/0019787, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,447,163 and 3,679,901. However, the approaches used there cannot easily be applied to the visualization of nuclear radiation since the x-ray and nuclear imaging methods are based on different basic principles. In US 2007/0019787, the x-ray and optical images must additionally be recorded in a time-offset manner. Moving samples cannot therefore be optimally detected.
EP 0 743 538 describes a device for the remote localization of radioactive sources in an observation zone. The apparatus has a mirror and an optical camera for supplying an image of the observation zone and means for detecting radioactive rays. The means for detecting radioactive rays comprises a collimator having a single collimator opening (pinhole collimator) which allows the recording of a spatially resolved nuclear images. The nuclear image can then be combined with the image of the optical camera, However, the attainable image quality of the nuclear image is restricted by the pinhole collimator in a certain time frame.

Device and method for combined optical and nuclear image acquisition


This invention relates to improved replaceable wear shoes for use with the slide guides of rear-loading refuse trucks.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed primarily to truck bodies designed specifically for refuse hauling and, more particularly, to replaceable wear shoes for use with reciprocating mechanisms associated with the packing or ejecting systems of such vehicles.
II. Related Art
Refuse hauling trucks commonly include a truck body specifically designed for receiving, compacting, storing and discharging refuse materials and typically include all of the associated operating mechanisms. Mechanized packer and ejector systems are utilized on such truck bodies in the compacting of the refuse within the truck body and subsequent discharge of stored refuse from the truck body. Successful types of refuse processing vehicles include front or side loading vehicles in which the materials are loaded from the front or side of the vehicle into a charging or receiving hopper behind the cab thereafter processed rearward into a storage body by a rearward moving packer mechanism. Full reservoirs are emptied by or discharged through a rear door, the truck body typically being tilted to empty the contents. When closed, the door serves as the back wall of the storage compartment against which the material is packed. In certain embodiments, the packer mechanism may also aid in pushing the compacted material toward discharge from the rear of the storage compartment.
Rear-loading refuse handling truck bodies typically include a refuse handling reservoir designed for both loading and discharging from the rear of the vehicle. These truck bodies also include a rather large tailgate section that carries the receiving hopper portion and the compacting or packing mechanism. The blade packing mechanism includes a vertically pivoting hydraulic packer which operates to sweep material forward from the tailgate loading area. The packer operates together with and is rotatably attached to the lower end of a sliding storage compartment rear closing door or "slide" system. The compacting or packer system includes a hydraulic cylinder operating the rotating packer blade which operates repeatedly to compact refuse in a forward direction beneath and in front of the sliding door system each time sufficient refuse is loaded by hand or cart tipper into the rear of the tailgate section. After the packing stroke, the packer blade is rotated back to a position substantially parallel to the slide and the slide is retracted to again expose the loading area of the rear portion of the tailgate volume. In this manner, the slide reciprocates carrying the packing mechanism in association with each compaction operation.
The slide system also is supported in the recessed guides by wear shoes which have wear surfaces contacting the top and bottom of the recessed track carrying the slide mechanism and packer. Typically, two spaced shoes are bolted on either side of the slide system and a total of four shoes carry the slide in operation. No access is provided other than from inside the tailgate frame.
The slide system is also operated by a pair of hydraulic slide cylinders as it reciprocates supported along the pair of spaced parallel slide tracks or slide guides in the side walls of the tailgate such that the slide system reciprocates along a path at an acute angle with the plane of the vehicle.
The rear-loader also includes a reciprocating rail mounted blade-type ejector system against which the refuse is compacted and which is also cylinder operated to move forward and aft, on a horizontal plane, in the matter of a plow blade. A hydraulic cylinder, normally of the telescoping variety, mounted on the truck chassis just behind the cab is designed to be connected between the truck chassis and the ejector. The refuse is packed against the ejector incrementally by the hydraulic compacting mechanism cooperating with the slide closer system forcing the ejector forward in the truck body ahead of the compacting refuse until the ejector is fully forward when the storage body is packed to capacity.
In order to discharge the rear-loading truck body, the entire tailgate section of the truck body is unlocked and swung clear of the opening on top-mounted hinges and the ejector operated rearward in a power stroke to expel the entire contents of the refuse storage volume forcibly and without interference. Typically, the bottom portion of the ejector mechanism is supported on a plurality of load bearing sliders or wear shoes that ride in structural guide shapes or rails along which the ejector mechanism slides. These load bearing wear shoes are adapted to support the ejector system just above the truck body floor. With ejectors such as those used in the rear loaders that are supported on load bearing wear shoes, it will be appreciated that the wear shoes undergo a high amount of abrasive wear because of the weight and repeated reciprocal movement of the mechanism and the erosive and corrosive nature of many of the materials processed.
It will be appreciated that the wear shoes carrying both the ejector mechanism and the slide mechanism in a rear-loading packer are subject to a high degree of wear. Shoes of the class that provide bearing surfaces for most ejectors, slides and reciprocating packer systems wear rapidly and must be replaced on a frequent basis as part of normal maintenance. Replacement of the shoes can be a difficult and time consuming project and this is particularly true with respect to the slide wear shoes associated with rear-loading packers. The shoes are typically bolted on to the outside of the slide assembly and, since they are carried in recesses in the side of the tailgate, access to the bolts is extremely difficult from a maintenance standpoint. In addition, the shoe surfaces and, of course, the bolts are exposed to corrosive and oxidizing refuse materials which tend to cause rapid corrosion, thereby increasing the difficulty of removal.
Time consuming maintenance items represent serious drawbacks with respect to the operating costs and desirability of particular refuse collection vehicles and innovations which reduce necessary scheduled maintenance costs represent significant advances in the art. Reducing the frequency and time required to renew wear shoes particularly slide shoes in rear-loading refuse bodies would be a much desired improvement.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a wear shoe system that significantly reduces the frequency and complexity of replacement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a replaceable wear shoe system that reduces corrosion and increases wear shoe life.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a replaceable wear shoe system that eliminates the need for bolting the shoes in place.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively lightweight, less expensive wear shoe in which upper and lower high wearing, low friction slide surfaces are spaced by less expensive, relatively lightweight filler material.
Other objects and advantages become apparent to those skilled in the art upon further familiarization with the specification, drawings and appended claims contained herein.


ROM type RFID chips are produced while data (production numbers) assigned by a user are set in the ROM type RFID chips respectively. A header and an EDC are added and embedded to each data to thereby form an ID format. In the ID format, an application data field may be divided into a user number field and a serial number field in order to verify uniqueness of the data assigned by the user. Or the application data field may be entirely used for the set data assigned by the user in order to verify uniqueness of the numbers assigned by the user. Accordingly, production numbers can be set in chips on the basis of the data assigned by the user. As a result, verification for checking whether each product is genuine can be dispensed with, so that the cost of communication can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for setting product numbers in ROM (Read-Only-Memory) type RFID chips by using a computer, and a method, an apparatus and a system for managing product implementation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless tags have recently come into wide use for various purposes of entrance and exit management, sales management, inventory management, production management, ID verification, etc. The wireless tags have been not standardized yet in terms of names and definitions thereof. That is, various names such as "RFID tag", "RFID chip", "contactless ID tag", "wireless ID tag", "contactless tag", etc. have been given to the wireless tags in accordance with chip makers. In this description, a module including a wireless communication IC and an antenna is referred to as "wireless tag". Incidentally, RFID is an abbreviation for Radio Frequency IDentification.
Incidentally, there is provided a wireless tag structure adapted to a judgment as to whether an article is genuine. A wireless tag having a read-only memory (ROM) is used for checking accurately whether the article is genuine. A wireless tag reader has been proposed (see JP-A-2003-263622). According to JP-A-2003-263622, a service identification code having a value common to a plurality of wireless tags for indicating a common purpose and service data having different values corresponding to wireless tags are provided as tag data. Moreover, the data structure of a wireless tag having an ROM is divided into a service identification code common to articles and continuous data for managing the articles. When the service identification code assigned to an article is checked, a judgment can be made as to whether the article is genuine.
On the other hand, an ID management method and a management system have been proposed (see JP-A-2002-24767). According to JP-A-2002-24767, there is provided a mechanism in which both issuing and circulation of IDs having message authentication codes (MAC) and allowed to be assigned to articles individually are managed so that management of articles can be performed efficiently and reliably by use of the IDs. Incidentally, in the technique according to JP-A-2002-24767, attribute information (which is attribute information for classifying IDs and which is information for indicating the fields of use of IDs or names of client companies) and a message authentication code are written in a wireless ID tag.
IC chips used in wireless tags are classified into IC chips of the type using non-rewritable ROMs as memory portions (hereinafter referred to as "ROM type RFID chips") and IC chips of the type using rewritable RAMs (Random Access Memories) as memory portions (hereinafter referred to as "RAM type RFID chips").
As described in JP-A-2003-263622 and JP-A-2002-24767, data are written in the ROM type RFID chips at the time of production in the factory. For this reason, users cannot change the data when the ROM type RFID chips are supplied to the users. On the other hand, the RAM type RFID chips are configured so that users can write data. For this reason, use of the RAM type RFID chips for anti-counterfeit purposes is risky though the RAM type RFID chips can provide a high degree of freedom.
Identification information for user products is set in the ROM type RFID chips. Because each semiconductor maker generally gives serial numbers to the ROM type RFID chips uniquely, any other person cannot set the numbers. On the other hand, the RAM type RFID chips may make unstable operations in addition to the aforementioned disadvantage. Accordingly, there is some case where the ROM type RFID chips may be absolutely advantageous and essential. It is however necessary to verify sequential data attached to the products by each user (product maker) to check whether the products are genuine because sequential data (serial numbers) are stored in the ROM type RFID chips by the semiconductor maker. Accordingly, it is necessary to inquire of a server about this verification at each time it happens. The ROM type RFID chips have a disadvantage that the cost of communication is high.

Method for setting product number in ROM type RFID chip and method, apparatus and system for managing product implementation


An IPS mode LCD device includes gate and data lines formed on a first substrate, the gate lines cross the data lines vertically to define pixel regions; thin film transistors formed at each intersection of the gate lines and the data lines; common lines formed in parallel with the gate lines; common electrodes formed extending from the common lines, the common electrodes formed in parallel with the data lines; pixel electrodes having a slant portion and a vertical portion formed in a single body, the slant portion arranged to cross each pixel region in a slant direction, and the vertical portion of the pixel electrode overlaps with the common electrodes; and a second substrate bonded to the first substrate and interposing a liquid crystal layer therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to an in-plane switching (IPS) mode LCD device where an opening region formed in the pixel region is increased and a disclination region is minimized to maximize transmittance of light to the LCD panel.
2. Background of the Related Art
Flat panel displays are available in a variety of types. Among them, the LCD device has become a popular display device because of the advantageous characteristics that the LCD device offers, such as having a high contrast ratio, being thin, being lightweight, having features suitable for displaying gray level or moving pictures, and having low power consumption. Specifically, some of the LCD devices have been identified as the next generation display devices, for example, ultra thin displays for wall TVs and displays for notebook computers. In addition, the LCD device is used for a mobile display since a smaller size panel can be easily manufactured.
Furthermore, the LCD device has various modes depending on characteristics of liquid crystal and electrode structures. Some examples of the LCD devices include a twisted nematic (TN) mode LCD device, a multi-domain mode LCD device, an optically compensated birefringence (OCB) mode LCD device, an IPS mode LCD device, and a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD device. In the TN mode LCD device, liquid crystal directors are arranged in a twisted angle of 90° and voltages are applied to control the liquid crystal directors. In the multi-domain mode LCD device, one pixel is divided into a plurality of domains and main viewing angles of the respective domains vary from one another to obtain a wide viewing angle. In the OCB mode LCD device, a compensation film is attached to an outer surface of a substrate to compensate phase variation of light depending on a progress direction of the light. In the IPS mode LCD device, two electrodes are formed on one substrate and liquid crystal directors are twisted in parallel with an alignment film. In the VA mode LCD device, liquid crystal molecules are vertically arranged on an alignment film using a negative liquid crystal and a vertical alignment film.
The IPS mode LCD device includes a color filter array substrate and a thin film transistor array substrate. The color filter array substrate is provided with a black matrix layer that prevents light leakage and R/G/B color filter layers for representing colors. The thin film transistor array substrate is provided with gate and data lines for defining unit pixels, the thin film transistors (i.e., switching elements) are formed at each intersection of the respective gate and data lines, and common and pixel electrodes are alternately arranged to generate transverse electric fields.
A related art IPS mode LCD device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plane view illustrating a related art IPS mode LCD device, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating transmittance of light in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plane view illustrating another related art IPS mode LCD device, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating transmittance of light in FIG. 3.
As shown in FIG. 1, a thin film transistor array substrate includes gate lines 12, data lines 15, thin film transistors, common lines 25, a plurality of common electrodes 24, and a plurality of pixel electrodes 17. The gate lines 12 vertically cross the data lines 15 to define pixel regions. The gate insulating films are interposed between the gate lines 12 and the data lines 15. Each of the thin film transistors is formed at each intersection of the respective gate and data lines 12 and 15. The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode 12a, a gate insulating film, a semiconductor layer 14 and source and drain electrodes 15a and 15b. The common lines 25 are formed in parallel with the gate lines 12. The common electrodes 24 are formed extending from the common lines 25 and formed in parallel with the data lines 15. Each pixel electrode 17 is connected to a drain electrode 15b and formed in parallel with each common electrode 24. The pixel electrodes 17 are arranged alternating with the common electrodes 24 in the horizontal direction.
In the IPS mode LCD device, the common electrode 24 and the pixel electrode 17 are formed on the same substrate to rotate liquid crystal molecules horizontally. Voltages are applied between the common and pixel electrodes to generate the transverse electric field E, so that the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled. If the distance between the common electrode 24 and the pixel electrode 17 is long, the electric field becomes weak, whereas, if the distance between the common electrode 24 and the pixel electrode 17 is too short, the number of electrodes increases and an opening ratio deteriorates. Therefore, the distance between the two electrodes is important and care should be given while choosing a proper range. As shown FIG. 1, the area enclosed by the common electrode 24 within the pixel region is divided into two blocks 30, in which the each block 30 has a width D obtained by an optimized design rule. However, since the size of the pixel region depends on models of the LCD device, it is difficult to optimally arrange the blocks. For example, when the common electrodes are formed at both edges inside the pixel region and the pixel electrodes 17 are inserted between the common electrodes, then even numbers of blocks are needed in a horizontal direction. For this reason, it is difficult to optimally arrange the blocks.
Moreover, if the number of pixel regions in a high resolution model is relatively more than that of the pixel regions in the other model having the same sized panel, the size of the pixel region is small. Therefore, only two blocks may be formed in the pixel region.
When the pixel region has a width and a length of 28 μm×84 μm, the data line 15, the pixel electrode 17, two common electrodes 24 having a width of 4 μm are arranged in the pixel region. In this case, an opening region within the pixel region has a width of approximately 10 μm. Accordingly, an opening ratio is greatly reduced.
If voltages are applied to the related art IPS mode LCD device, the transmittance of light occurs as shown in FIG. 2. The transverse electric field is not formed at a portion where the common electrode 24 is extended from the common line 25, to promote the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules in a desired direction. As a result, a disclination "region A" where no light transmits is generated.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, the width of the pixel region increases and its length decreases to obtain a pixel region having a width and a length of 42 μm×42 μm. To obtain a super-IPS mode, a pixel electrode 117 and a common electrode 124 may be formed in a bent shape. In FIG. 3, a reference number 112 denotes gate lines, a reference number 115 denotes data lines, and a reference number 125 denotes common lines
The super-IPS mode means that a domain is divided into two sub-domains to arrange the liquid crystal molecules. Such two domains can minimize an inverted domain region. However, as shown in FIG. 4, a domain boundary occurs at portions where the pixel electrode 117 and the common electrode 124 are bent, so that the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules is divided. In this case, module efficiency is reduced, and the vertical electric field and the horizontal electric field (transverse electric field) are affected by each other to cause a wide disclination region (dark portion).
In other words, the disclination region where the liquid crystal molecules are not arranged in a desired direction corresponds to a region where the horizontal electric field is generated between each common electrode 124 and each pixel electrode 117. The generated horizontal electric field interferes with the vertical electric field generated either between adjacent common electrodes 124 or between the pixel electrodes 117 at corners of the pixel region. Since the light is not transmitted to the disclination region, mode efficiency is reduced.

In-plane switching mode LCD device having particular pixel electrodes and particular common electrodes


An apparatus for making polymer fiber optical cable is described. In addition, the present invention provides dyes that can be added to conventional polymers and are capable of shifting the wavelength of light transmitted through the polymer. The polymer can be any shape including, but not limited to sheets, films or cable.

Plastic or polymer optical fibers have been produced in the prior art over the past several decades. However, the prior art methods of producing the optical fibers have produced fibers that are relatively inefficient with regard to transmission efficiencies, especially when compared to glass optical fibers.
For example, for long-range optical communication a single-mode glass optical fiber has been widely used, because of its high transparency and high bandwidth. In contrast, for short-range communication, recently there has been considerable interests in the development of polymer optical fibers. In short-range communications (such as local area network systems, interconnections, the termination area of fiber to the home, and domestic passive optical network concepts), many junctions and connections of two optical fibers are necessary. In a single-mode fiber, the core diameter is approximately 5-10 .mu.m, so when one connects two fibers, a slight amount of displacement, such as a few micrometers, causes a significant coupling loss. The polymer optical fiber is one of the promising possible solutions to this problem, because commercially available polymer optical fiber usually has a large diameter such as 1 mm. Therefore, low transmission loss and high bandwidth has been required for polymer optical fibers to be used as a short-distance communication media.
Most commercially available polymer optical fibers, however, have been of the step-index type. Therefore, even in short-range optical communication, the step-index polymer optical fibers will not be able to cover the whole bandwidth of the order of hundreds of megahertz that will be necessary in fast datalink or local area network systems in the near future, because the bandwidth of the step-index polymer optical fibers is only approximately 5 MHz km.
In contrast, graded-index polymer optical fiber is expected to have a much higher bandwidth than step-index polymer optical fibers, while maintaining a large diameter. Several reports of a graded-index polymer optical fiber have been made by Koike, et al. (e.g., Ishigure, T., "Graded-index polymer optical fiber for high-speed data communication" Applied Optics Vol. 33, No. 19 pgs. 4261-4266(1994)). However, the methods described in the Koike et al. papers are gel diffusion methods of producing graded index fibers and are cumbersome and expensive.
What is needed is a low cost and simple method of producing a graded index polymer optical fiber. The method should produce a low-loss and high-bandwidth graded index polymer optical fiber and should include control of the graded refractive index in the fiber. In addition, the method should be easily adaptable to current manufacturing techniques of extruding polymer optical fiber.

Polymer optical fibers and process for manufacture thereof