An optical disk for a sampled servo system is provided with a servo area having a synchronization pit serving as a synchronization reference of reproduction; and a data area having a plurality of data pits which records the digital data and a tracking pit which serves as a tracking reference of the reproduction. The data pits are provided with first data pits and second data pits; and the tracking pit is located between the first and the second data pits. The tracking pit is located at a predetermined position in the data area. A pit row of the plurality of data pits and the tracking pit has the identical pit period. A pit row of the plurality of data pits and the tracking pit has a reverse phase between adjoining two tracks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical art of an optical disk, in which the digital data is recorded. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technical art of an optical disk, in which the digital data is recorded in high density by using a sampled servo system, and an optical disk reproducing apparatus for decoding the digital data from the present optical disk to reproduce it.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as a system to record and reproduce the digital data in high density in an optical disk, a pit edge multilevel recording system is well known, which records multilevel digital data by modulating a position of a pit edge on an optical disk in multi steps. A system is suggested such that this pit edge multilevel recording system and RPR (Radial Direction Partial Response) reproduction, which is a reproduction signal processing technique employing a partial response method, are combined (for example, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-74322).
An example of a pit arrangement of an optical disk adopting such a system is shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, on the tracks formed on the optical disk (in FIG. 10, they are denoted by T1 to T8), a synchronization pit Psync, a tracking pit Ptrk, a guard pit Pg and a data pit Pdat are arranged in a line. An area in which the synchronization pit Psync, the tracking pit Ptrk and the guard pit Pg are arranged constitutes a servo area, and an area in which the data pit Pdat is arranged constitutes a data area. In the case of adopting a RPR reproduction system, as shown in FIG. 10, a beam spot BS of a reproduction laser beam to be irradiated on the optical disk traces a centerline of two tracks.
According to the above described constitution, the synchronization pit Psync serves as a synchronization reference in reproduction. A pit length of the synchronization pit Psync is larger than the pit length of the other pits and the synchronization pits Psync are aligned in a disk radial direction so that the optical disk reproducing apparatus can easily detect the synchronization pit Psync. The synchronization pit Psync is also used as a clock phase reference in reproduction.
The tracking pit Ptrk serves as a tracking reference in reproduction. As shown in FIG. 10, the tracking pit Ptrk is provided in an area following the synchronization pit Psync, and the pit position has been changed by four-track period. For tracking servo control by the optical disk reproducing apparatus, reproduction signals of two tracking pits Ptrk located on the adjoining two tracks are used as a reference.
The guard pit Pg prevents the reproduction signals of the servo area and the data area from interfering each other and it is provided on a border between the servo area and the data area.
The data pit Pdat records the digital data by the pit edge multilevel recording system and constitutes a pit row with a given period on the track. Respective data pits Pdat are capable of recording the digital data with three values by changing a position of the pit edge in three steps. In FIG. 10, three positions of the pit edge are shown to be overlapped, but each actual pit edge takes one of three positions.
Next, waveforms of a reproduction signal when the servo area, its preceding area, and its succeeding area are reproduced from the optical disk having a pit position shown in FIG. 10 will be explained. FIG. 11 shows waveforms of a reproduction signal when the reproduction operation has been normally performed. In FIG. 11, waveforms of a reproduction signal are shown when the beam spot BS traces a centerline of a track T4 and a track T5 in FIG. 10. In FIG. 11, a horizontal axis denotes time and a scale in the horizontal axis represents sampling timing of the reproduction signal by a reproduction clock. A vertical direction denotes a reproduction signal level and the horizontal axis represents a center level of the reproduction signal. Additionally, when the beam spot BS reproduces a pit, the reflection light intensity is assumed to be decreased and its reproduction signal level is assumed to be lowered.
As shown in FIG. 11, if the beam spot BS reaches to the servo area to reproduce the synchronization pit Psync, a large negative peak p1 is obtained. Then, the beam spot BS proceeds to reproduce the tracking pit Ptrk of the track T5, a small negative peak p2 is obtained. Then, the beam spot BS proceeds to reproduce the tracking pit Ptrk of the track T4, a small negative peak p3 is obtained. As shown in FIG. 11, the negative peak p2 and the negative peak p3 are in an equal level.
In the tracking servo control in the optical disk reproducing apparatus, the reproduction signal level in accordance with two tracking pits Ptrk, which are located on the adjoining two tracks, is detected and the difference between two levels is detected as a tracking error. Accordingly, a tracking error TE in FIG. 11 is represented as TE=p2−p3=0. Therefore, when the optical disk reproducing apparatus assures normal reproduction operation, the beam spot BS can trace a centerline of two tracks accurately since tracking servo control performs so that the tracking error TE becomes 0.
However, the optical disk reproducing apparatus does not always assure the normal reproduction operation. At first, the inter-symbol interference occurring in the reproduction operation becomes a problem. This inter-symbol interference is signal waveform distortion due to interference among adjoining pits on the track. The inter-symbol interference occurs when an optical property of the optical disk changes in reproduction, a disk surface is blurred or distorted, and a servo error or an electrical property of the optical disk reproducing apparatus changes. Secondly, the sag occurring in the reproduction operation becomes a problem. A HPF (High Pass Filter) is generally provided in an amplifier circuit of a reproduction signal in order to attenuate a low frequency component of the reproduction signal. However, if the reproduction signal from the optical disk has a low frequency component, the HPF distorts the signal waveform, namely, the sag occurs.
FIG. 12 shows waveforms of a reproduction signal when the same area as that shown in FIG. 11 is reproduced. These are waveforms of a reproduction signal in the case that the inter-symbol interference described above occurs in the reproduction operation. The tracking pit Ptrk of the track T5 in FIG. 10 is arranged in the vicinity of the synchronization pit Psync, so that the interference of the synchronization pit Psync becomes stronger. Hereby, the reflection light intensity is decreased on a position of the tracking pit Ptrk, so that the level of the negative peak p2 is lowered. On the other hand, the tracking pit Ptrk of the track T4 in FIG. 10 is located far from the synchronization pit Psync, so that the interference of the synchronization pit Psync becomes weak. Hereby, the reflection light intensity on a position of the tracking pit Ptrk is not influenced, so that the level of the negative peak p3 is not changed. Accordingly, a tracking error TE in FIG. 12 is represented as TE=p2−p3<0.
Next, FIG. 13 shows waveforms of a reproduction signal when the same area as that shown in FIG. 11 is reproduced. These are waveforms of a reproduction signal in the case that the sag is generated in the reproduction operation. Since the pits in the servo area of the optical disk in FIG. 10 are sparser compared to the pits in the data area, an average level of the reproduction signal becomes higher. Therefore, the reproduction signal has a low frequency component equal to the frequency of the servo area, so that the sag is subjected to occur.
In the case that the sag occurs in the reproduction signal, as described above, the waveform is changed with time so that the average level approaches to zero. Accordingly, while the levels of the preceding negative peak p1 and the negative peak p2 are not changed, a level of the negative peak p3 that appears after certain time has passed is lowered. Namely, a tracking error TE in FIG. 13 is represented as TE=p2−p3>0.
As described above, when the waveform of a reproduction signal is distorted by the inter-symbol interference or the sag in the reproduction of the optical disk, the tracking error TE does not become 0 even if the beam spot BS traces a centerline of two tracks. In other words, as described above, if the inter-symbol interference is generated, TE becomes lower than 0, and if the sag is generated, TE becomes higher than 0. If the tracking servo is performed on the basis of the inaccurate tracking error TE in the optical disk reproducing apparatus, the beam spot BS is displaced from the centerline to be traced and so called tracking offset is generated. In this way, according to a conventional system, there is a problem that the tracking servo control becomes inaccurate as a result of the inter-symbol interference and the sag occurring in the reproduction.

Optical disk and information reproducing apparatus


An apparatus and a method of determining a status of a cover of a display terminal are provided. The apparatus includes a terminal comprising a display screen, and a Hall sensor comprising a magnetic field sensing surface and a plurality of Hall elements disposed substantially parallel with the magnetic field sensing surface, the magnetic field sensing surface being substantially perpendicular to the display screen.

1. Field
The following description relates to a sensing system using a Hall sensor and to a Hall sensor arrangement procedure in a terminal including a display screen.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,166 relates to a switch that detects an open or closed state of a flip-type or folder-type radio terminal that has first and second structures joined to each other to have an open or closed state. The switch includes a Hall sensor that generates voltage according to the strength of an input magnetic field and inversely proportional to the distance to a magnet, a variable amplifier that variably amplifies the voltage from the hall sensor to output a variably amplified voltage signal in response to a control signal, and a comparator that compares the signal from the variable amplifier with a reference voltage to output a signal that indicates whether the terminal is in an open state or a closed state. The sensing value of the switch may be adjusted to sense the opening or closing of a folder of a terminal.
While the use of a Hall sensor to detect whether the flip cover opens or closes is discussed, a mechanism of preventing inaccurate detection when an angle of opening of a flip cover reaches about 360 degrees is not discussed in the patent.
In the event that the angle of opening of a flip cover is 0 degree, a magnet is close to the Hall sensor and the Hall sensor may detect a strong magnetic field. In response to the detection of the strong magnetic field, the Hall sensor may be used to determine that the flip cover is in a closed state.
However, in the event that the angle of opening of the flip cover reaches 360 degrees, a magnet is also located close to the Hall sensor. Thus, a strong magnetic field may be detected by the Hall sensor. A shielding sheet may be used to block the magnetic field from the Hall sensor.
The shielding sheet may be produced through a metallic material blocking a magnetic field flow. In response to the angle of opening of the flip cover being about 360 degrees, the shielding sheet may block the magnetic field generated from the magnet 210 so that the full strength of the magnetic field may not be detected by the Hall sensor. When the Hall sensor does not sense the strong magnetic field due to the blocking of the magnetic filed by the shielding sheet, the flip cover 200 may be continuously determined to be in an open state.
However, the procedure of determining the state of the flip cover using the shielding sheet additionally requires the use of a shielding sheet and may result in inaccurately determining an open state of the flip cover according to a position of the shielding sheet. Furthermore, a production of a display terminal requires an additional procedure of including the shielding sheet, which results in an increase in production cost.


The present invention provides microfluidic devices that comprise a body structure comprising at least a first microscale channel network disposed therein. The body structure has a plurality of ports disposed in the body structure, where each port is in fluid communication with one or more channels in the first channel network. The devices also include a cover layer comprising a plurality of apertures disposed through the cover layer. The cover layer is mated with the body structure whereby each of the apertures is aligned with a separate one of the plurality of ports.

As has been the case in the electronics and computer industries, trends in analytical chemical and biochemical instrumentation have been toward miniaturization. In chemical and biochemical analyses, such miniaturization as achieved in e.g., microfluidic systems, provides numerous advantages, including significantly smaller reagent requirements, faster throughput, ready automatability, and in many cases, improved data.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,498,392 and 5,587,128 describe the performance of amplification reactions in microfabricated devices including microscale flow systems and/or reaction chambers. Such systems substantially reduce the requirements for expensive reagents utilized in amplification reactions. Further, the small scale of these devices also provides for enhanced thermal transfer between heating sources and the reagents in the device.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,469 describes the use of devices having extremely small internal dimensions for detecting an analyte in a sample via a binding assay. Again, the small scale of such devices provides advantages in terms of small reagent volumes.
Commonly owned Published International Application No. WO 98/00231 describes the use of microfluidic devices and systems in the performance of high-throughput screening assays. Again, these systems reduce the required volumes of potentially very expensive test compounds, e.g., drug candidates, library compounds, etc.
Despite the numerous advantages realized by the miniaturization of analytical systems, such miniaturization can provide difficulties in the use of such systems, including user handling and system interfacing of such devices.
It would therefore be desirable to provide microfluidic devices that capture the advantages associated with extremely small volumes and dimensions, without the problems associated with such small-scale devices. The present invention meets these and a variety of other needs.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide microfluidic devices that combine the advantages of microfluidics with improved material handling characteristics and reduced costs for manufacturing. The present invention accomplishes this in a first aspect, by providing microfluidic devices that incorporate a body structure comprising at least a first microscale channel network disposed therein. The body structure has a plurality of ports disposed in it, where each port is in fluid communication with one or more channels in the first channel network. The devices also include a cover layer comprising a plurality of apertures disposed therethrough. The cover layer is mated with the body structure whereby each of the apertures is aligned with a separate one of the plurality of ports.
In preferred aspects, each of the body structure and the cover layer separately comprises at least a first surface. The plurality of ports in the body structure are disposed in the first surface of the body structure, and the plurality of apertures in the cover layer are disposed in the first surface of the cover layer. The first surface of the cover layer is mated to the first surface of the body structure such that the apertures align with and are in fluid communication with the ports. In further preferred aspects, the cover layer is fabricated from a polymeric material, and is preferably an injection molded polymeric part.
In a related aspect, the present invention provides a microfluidic system that includes a microfluidic device in accordance with the present invention, where the device is further mounted on a controller/detector apparatus that is configured to receive the microfluidic device. The controller/detector apparatus comprises an optical detection system and a material transport system, where the detection system and transport system are operably interfaced with the microfluidic device when the device is mounted on the controller/detector.

Microfluidic devices and systems incorporating cover layers


A kit for setting turbine probe depth. The kit may include a male measurement fixture having an extended leg and an alignment barrel and a female measurement fixture having a depth rod.

As part of the monitoring controls and diagnostic tools for a combustion system in a gas turbine, it is desired to measure and acquire data on the combustion dynamics. This combustion dynamics data can be used to determine the operational health of the combustion system as a whole and also may be used to tune the combustion system such that it is operating within an appropriate balance between combustion dynamics and emissions.
A combustion dynamics monitoring system is currently in use for certain types of gas turbines. Accurate and repeatable installation of the measurement tip of the probe of the combustion dynamics monitoring system is required for dependable measurements. Improperly installed dynamics probes can lead to inaccurate readings and possibly result in hardware damage and increased outages. The combustion dynamics monitoring system thus uses a depth setting tool that allows for accurate and repeatable installation depths of the measurement tip of the probe. An example of such a depth setting tool is shown in commonly owed U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,832 to Gleeson, entitled "Kit and Method for Setting Probe Depth". U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,832 is incorporated herein by reference.
These know depth setting tools, however, cannot be used with other known turbines. For example, known depth setting tools cannot work with E-class turbines sold by General Electric Company of Schenectady, N.Y. Specifically, the E-class turbines have a larger hole through the liner than through the casing and flow sleeve as compared to other types of turbines. As such, the known depth setting tools will not work with the E-class turbines.
Thus, there is a desire for a depth setting tool that can accommodate the geometry of E-class turbines and similar types of devices not currently served by known depth setting tools. The depth setting tool should provide accurate and repeatable installation of a combustion dynamics monitoring system probe and similar types of probes.

Depth setting tool for combustion dynamics monitoring system


A method for heat treating a powder part preform including a titanium alloy, includes heat treating the preform in a furnace at a predefined temperature, wherein the preform is on a holder during the heat treatment. The holder includes a titanium alloy having a mass titanium content no lower than 45%, or a zirconium alloy having a mass zirconium content no lower than 95%, wherein the material making up the holder has a melting temperature higher than the predefined heat treatment temperature, and an antidiffusion barrier is arranged between the preform and the holder to prevent the preform from becoming welded to the holder.

The present invention relates to the general field of heat treatment of powder preforms. The invention applies more particularly, but not exclusively, to the sintering of preforms of three-dimensional parts obtained by shaping a titanium-based alloy powder.
It is now common to use methods for manufacturing three-dimensional parts made of metal (or metal alloy) or ceramic by implementing a step of shaping a powder in order to obtain a preform (for example using a powder injection molding technique (PIM or MIM) by means of a binder, hot isostatic pressing, or "tape casting"), followed by a step of sintering the preform.
The sintering of the preform consists of a heat treatment at high temperature (typically the sintering temperature is between 70% and 99% of the melting temperature of the material forming the powder of the preform, or even higher than this melting temperature in the case of liquid phase sintering), which is intended to densify the powder in order to obtain a consolidated one-piece part.
For titanium-based alloys (e.g. TiAl6V4, TiAl-48-2-2, etc.), which are particularly sensitive to oxidation, the sintering conditions must be carefully controlled in order to minimize contamination of the finished part by oxygen. In fact, the presence of oxygen in the finished part significantly deteriorates its properties and mechanical strength.
In the sintering conditions generally used for these titanium-based alloys, especially in the case of a sintering temperature higher than 1100° C., the contamination of the finished parts is relatively significant following the sintering. Oxygen sources potentially contaminating the part during sintering have been identified as being among the following:                traces of oxygen contained in the atmosphere of the furnace enclosure,        the humidity of the furnace, and        the oxygen present in the sintering tools (such as the plate supporting the preform or the furnace itself).
It is known to use oxygen getters or oxygen traps, for example in the form of metal chips arranged around the preform, which absorb oxygen by oxidizing.
However, these oxygen traps do not allow a satisfactory level of oxygen contamination to be obtained on the aforementioned alloys, which results in insufficient mechanical strength of the final part.

Method for heat treating a preform made of titanium alloy powder


A battery (10) includes at least one cell (71) which is contained in a housing (16). Mating mechanisms, located on the housing, selectively attaches the battery to the radio. The mating mechanisms include a protrusion (36) selectively receivable (64) by the radio. At least one electrical contact (18) is located on the protrusion (36).

Electronic portable products typically have battery packs having both supply contacts and charger contacts. In addition, the battery packs have a means of attaching themselves to the portable electronic products. Conventionally, contacts to the portable electronic product and the attachment means to the electronic product have been two separate and distinct mechanisms having two separate purposes. Having separate supply or battery contacts and attachment means (on the battery) to the portable product or charger, respectively, requires additional parts and tooling to manufacture the battery pack. Furthermore, in manufacturing different capacities or sizes of battery packs, separate designs and tooling would be required for the supply contacts and the charger contacts. Thus, having separate battery contacts that are either for charging or supply and separate battery mating mechanisms on a battery for a portable electronic product creates a redundancy in parts, tooling, and a decrease in manufacturing efficiency. In other words, an increased number of parts and tooling processes raise the cost of the battery. Finally, separate battery contacts and attachment mechanisms increase the concern of wear, fatigue and corrosion in each of those parts.

Integrated battery contact and retentive protrusion


An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging unit configured to charge the image carrier, an exposing unit configured to form an electrostatic latent image on the charged image carrier, a developing unit configured to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier with a development material for forming a development image, an intermediate transfer member that includes a multilayer structure having a conductive layer;

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile or a copying machine to form an image by using an electrophotographic technique, and an image forming method.
An image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic technique includes an image carrier having a photosensitive layer on an outer peripheral surface, a charging unit for uniformly charging the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier, an exposing unit for selectively exposing the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier charged uniformly by the charging unit to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing unit for giving a toner to the electrostatic latent image formed by the exposing unit to form a toner image, and a transfer unit for transferring the toner image developed by the developing unit to a transfer medium such as a paper. There has been known an image forming apparatus for primarily transferring the toner image on the image carrier to an intermediate transfer belt and secondarily transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt to a transfer medium in order to transfer the toner image developed on the image carrier to the transfer medium.
Some intermediate transfer belts have a single layer structure formed of a dielectric. The intermediate transfer belt of this type is pressed in contact with an image carrier formed by two transfer rollers having a conductiveness, and furthermore, a voltage having a reverse polarity to the polarity of a toner on the image carrier is applied. In the intermediate transfer belt having the single layer structure formed of the dielectric, a great potential difference is made between the two transfer rollers and a pressure contact portion (a transfer portion) with the image carrier to be an intermediate portion. For this reason, if an electric field from which a sufficient transfer efficiency is obtained is to be formed in the pressure contact portion (transfer portion) with the image carrier, the potential difference between a contact portion with the two transfer rollers in the intermediate transfer belt and the image carrier is excessively increased so that a discharge in this portion is generated. Consequently, there is a problem in that toner scattering is generated due to the discharge and the quality of an image is thus influenced. Moreover, some distance is made between the two transfer rollers constituting an electrode portion and the pressure contact portion (transfer portion) with the image carrier, and an unevenness is easily generated on the electric field in the transfer portion by the influence of the unevenness of the surface resistance of the intermediate transfer belt itself. As a result, there is a problem in that a transfer unevenness is easily generated.
For a countermeasure, there has been developed an intermediate transfer belt having a multilayer structure which is constituted by a conductive layer and a resistive layer formed on the conductive layer and serves to press the resistive layer in contact with an image carrier. The intermediate transfer belt having the multilayer structure including the conductive layer and the resistive layer can apply a uniform electric potential over the whole region of the pressure contact portion of the image carrier with the intermediate transfer belt. Therefore, it is possible to suppress toner scattering caused by a discharge and the generation of a transfer unevenness due to the unevenness of a surface resistance which are the problems of an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt having a single layer structure which is formed of a dielectric.
Moreover, it has been known that the image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic technique has a process control unit for properly regulating image density control factors (an exposure energy, a non-image portion potential, an image portion potential and a developing bias potential) in such a manner that the image density is optimized also in various use environments (a temperature and a humidity). In an actual image forming process, however, a toner image is formed with these factors related mutually. For this reason, these factors cannot be always controlled independently and optionally. In the factors, the absolute value of a potential difference between a developing bias potential Vb and a non-image portion potential Vd on an image carrier will be referred to as a reverse contrast potential Vr. In the case in which Vr=|Vb−Vd| is set, toner scattering is increased and a fog is also increased when Vr is small. On the other hand, when Vr is great, both the amount of the toner scattering and that of the fog are decreased and a toner is stuck, with difficulty, to an image portion in a narrow region interposed between non-image portions, particularly, in an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier. As a result, there has been known a deterioration in the quality of a low density image having a comparatively low area ratio of a dot, for example, a blur is generated on an isolated dot or a fine line and the uniformity of a line width is damaged. As a countermeasure, there has been proposed an image forming method of holding the reverse contrast potential Vr to be the absolute value of the potential difference between the developing bias potential Vb to be applied to a developing unit and the non-image portion potential Vd on the image carrier to be constant, and furthermore, forming a halftone toner image while setting and changing the image density control factor to influence the image density of a toner image in a multistage, and optimizing the image density control factor based on the result of the detection of the image density of the toner image, thereby optimizing the image density of the toner image. According to the image forming method, it is possible to cause the image density to be proper while preventing toner scattering into the image forming apparatus by holding the reverse contrast potential Vr to be the absolute value of the potential difference between the developing bias potential Vb and the non-image portion potential Vd on the image carrier to be a proper value (see for example, JP-A-11-153910 and JP-A-2003-215862).
Moreover, a corona charger is generally used as a charger unit for charging an image carrier. There has generally been known a corona charger having a discharge electrode provided in a back plate to be a metal casing and having a grid electrode provided between the image carrier and the discharge electrode to apply a grid bias potential Vg to a grid electrode in order to apply a high voltage Va to the discharge electrode to generate a corona discharge and to uniformly charge the surface of the image carrier. The grid bias potential Vg and the non-image portion potential Vd in the transfer portion of the image carrier have a functional relation (see, for example, JP-B-7-21671).
Furthermore, there has been developed a corona charger for increasing a charge current stepwise based on information about a lifetime such as the number of times of use in order to prevent a deterioration in an image due to the contamination or aging caused by a toner in a discharge electrode, a grid electrode or a back plate.
In the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt having the multilayer structure including the conductive layer and the resistive layer, however, in some cases in which Vdt=|Vd−Vt1| is increased, an abnormal image which is not transferred partially or wholly is generated in a primary transfer portion, wherein a potential difference between a non-image portion potential Vd on the image carrier and a primary transfer bias potential Vt1 is represented by Vdt. In particular, this phenomenon is remarkably presented over a half image.
This phenomenon is presented for the following reason. More specifically, when the potential difference Vdt between the non-image portion potential Vd and the primary transfer bias potential Vt1 is equal to or greater than a threshold Vth, an abnormal discharge is generated locally and instantaneously between an image carrier provided before a transfer nip and the intermediate transfer belt having the multilayer structure including the conductive layer and the resistive layer so that a necessary transfer potential cannot be obtained. This can be confirmed from the fact that a toner to be moved onto the intermediate transfer belt from the surface of the image carrier is rarely transferred to a primary transfer nip portion at time of the generation of an abnormal image but remains on the image carrier.
Furthermore, the phenomenon in which the abnormal image is generated due to the abnormal discharge is not confirmed in the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt having the single layer structure formed of a dielectric at all, and therefore, is peculiar to the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt having the multilayer structure including the conductive layer and the resistive layer. For this reason, the abnormal discharge according to the invention is completely different from a discharge before the transfer nip which causes the toner scattering in the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt having the single layer structure formed of a dielectric, and an influence on the quality of an image is greater than a deterioration in the quality of an image which is caused by the toner scattering due to the discharge generated in the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt having the single layer structure formed of the dielectric beyond comparison.
Referring to the abnormal discharging phenomenon; it has been found that the threshold Vth of the potential difference Vdt at which an abnormal image is started to be generated by an abnormal discharge between the non-image portion potential Vd and the primary transfer bias potential Vt1 is changed depending on a variation in the thickness of the photosensitive layer of the image carrier, and the threshold Vth is decreased when the thickness is reduced. For example, if the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge in 25 μm of the thickness of the photosensitive layer in the image carrier is 1000V, the threshold Vth is reduced to 950V if the thickness of the photosensitive layer in the image carrier is decreased to 20 μm.
Referring to the phenomenon of the generation of the abnormal image due to the abnormal discharge, moreover, it has been found that the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge is changed depending on a variation in an air pressure, and the threshold Vth is decreased when the air pressure is dropped. For example, if the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge with an air pressure of 760 mmHg (corresponding to an altitude of 0 m) is 1000V, the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge with an air pressure of 560 mmHg (corresponding to an altitude of 2500 m) is reduced to 950V.
Referring to the phenomenon of the generation of the abnormal image due to the abnormal discharge, moreover, it has been found that the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge is changed depending on a variation in a temperature and humidity, and the threshold Vth is decreased at a high temperature and a high humidity. For example, if the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge at a temperature of 15° C. and a humidity of 35% is 1000V, the threshold Vth of Vdt at which the abnormal image is started to be generated due to the abnormal discharge at a temperature of 30° C. and a humidity of 85% is reduced to 950V.
Also, there is a problem in that the non-image portion potential Vd on the surface of the image carrier having the functional relation with the grid bias potential Vg is also increased and the threshold Vth of Vdt at which an abnormal image is started to be generated due to an abnormal discharge is thus exceeded, resulting in the generation of the abnormal discharge if a charge current is increased stepwise based on the number of times of use in order to prevent a deterioration in an image due to a contamination after the endurance of a discharge electrode, a grid electrode and a back plate in a corona charger.

Image forming apparatus and method having an intermediate transfer member with a multilayer structure that prevents abnormal images due to abnormal discharges

Abstract: a transfer unit configured to transfer the development image on the intermediate transfer member, and a control unit that controls a transfer potential and a charging potential so that a potential difference between the transfer potential and a non-image portion potential on the image carrier in a transfer position falls within a predetermined range.


The present invention provides a silver halide photographic material and an image forming method for obtaining a monochrome image using a dye image even if it is treated with a color developer free of benzyl alcohol; a photographic property of the monochrome image is less deteriorated by a toxic gas such as formaldehyde and an increase in sensitization and fog with time is improved.. A silver halide photographic material comprising a support, at least one silver halide emulsion layer on the support and at least one non-photosensitive hydrophilic colloidal layer, in which a silver halide grain of the silver halide emulsion layer includes not less than 95% mol of silver halide and in which the silver halide emulsion layer includes a yellow coupler, a magenta coupler, a cyan coupler and a specific formalin scavenger and the silver halide emulsion layer and/or the non-photosensitive hydrophilic colloidal layer include a specific s-triazine type compound and a method for forming an image by developing the silver halide photographic material with a color developer substantially free of benzyl alcohol.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a silver halide photographic material and a method for forming an image by developing the material, and particularly relates to a monochrome photographic material involving the use of dye images which can be processed with a color developer substantially free from benzyl alcohol, has a photographic property that is less deteriorated by a toxic gas such as formaldehyde, has an improved sensitization and fog with time, and relates to a method for forming an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Monochrome images are developed from conventional silver images using a monochrome developing agent such as hydroquinone. There is a few laboratories and photo studios where such development can be conducted. Color paper is generally developed with a color developer substantially free of benzyl alcohol. A treating machine suitable for the color development is widely used in the laboratories and photo studios. It is desirable that a material for forming the monochrome images is applied to the color development.
It is known that a photographic system of forming the monochrome images utilizing a combination of cyan, magenta and yellow dyes (see, for example, WO 93/12465 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,616 and JP-A No. 6-505580). In the system, dyes are formed from a mixture of cyan, magenta and yellow couplers during the development. When reacting with an oxidized color developing agent, the couplers produce a neutral (black-and-white) image.
Recently, furniture and building materials reformed by formaldehyde, adhesives utilized formaldehyde as a curing agent, formaldehyde resin manufactured products, leather tanned by formaldehyde, clothing used formaldehyde as a bactericide and a bleaching agent are widely used. There are many chances that the photographic materials are contacted with a formaldehyde gas.
The present inventors discovered that a magenta coupler is affected by the formaldehyde gas even in a photographic system where a combination of a cyan dye, a magenta dye and a yellow dye is used to form a monochrome image. For example, if the above-described photographic materials are stored in a cassette made of a formalin resin, photographic properties are degraded by the formalin.
The present inventors discovered that a formalin scavenger is used to improve the degradation. However, the present inventors also found that the formalin scavenger sensitizes a portion of the photographic materials contacted with air, for example, an outermost surface or a side rim of a roll-shaped photographic material. Such phenomenon destroys an image balance upon exposure and development of the photographic material and is therefore not preferable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a silver halide photographic material for obtaining a monochrome image with a dye image where a magenta coupler is less affected by the formaldehyde gas.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a silver halide photographic material preventing sensitizing of a portion contacted with air for a while and decreasing fog.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a monochrome image with a dye image by developing it with a color developer substantially free of benzyl alcohol.

Silver halide photographic material and method for forming image


A negative-type planographic printing plate having, disposed on a support, a recording layer comprising an image recording material which contains an infrared ray absorbing agent and can be recorded by irradiation with an infrared ray, in which, as for the infrared ray absorbing agent comprising a cyanine dye, at least one of substituents on nitrogen atoms at both ends was selected from the group consisting of the following substituents: —C(═X)R1; —C(═X)NR2R3; —CH≡CR4R5; —C≡CR6; —CHR7R8;—CR9R10R11; and —Ar, wherein X represents O, S or Se; R1 to R6 each independently represent H or a hydrocarbon group having 20 or fewer carbon atoms which may have a substituent; R7 to R11 each independently represent a hydrocarbon group having 20 or fewer carbon atoms which may have a substituent; and Ar represents an aromatic group which may have a substituent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to negative-type planographic printing plate. More particularly, the invention relates to a negative-type planographic printing plate having, disposed on a support, at least a recording layer comprising a heat-mode compatible, negative-type image recording material usable for a planographic printing plate precursors which is capable of directly forming a printing plate, that is, capable of direct printing plate production by performing scanning with infrared ray lasers in accordance with digital signals outputted from a computer or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, as for systems for performing such direct printing plate production in accordance with digital data outputted from a computer, systems for direct printing plate production by:
(1) electrophotography;
(2) photopolymerization by exposure with a laser emitting a blue or green light;
(3) a laminate comprising a silver halide superposed on a photosensitive resin;
(4) a silver salt diffusion transfer process; and the like have been proposed.
However, in the system (1) which utilizes the electrophotography, an image forming process comprising charging process, exposure, development and the like is troublesome and complicated and large scaled apparatus is required. In the system (2) which utilizes photopolymerization, a plate sensible to blue or green lights are used. Therefore it becomes difficult to handle the plates in a lighted room. In the systems (3) and (4), the silver halide is used whereby a process comprising development becomes complicated and, further, there is a drawback in that silver is contained in waste water of treatments.
With remarkable developments of lasers in recent years, in particular solid state lasers and semiconductor lasers which emit an infrared ray particularly in a wavelength range from 760 nm to 1200 nm, and which have a high output in power and are compact in size have become readily available. Such lasers are extremely effective as a light source for recording in performing the direct printing plate production in accordance with the digital data outputted from a computer or the like. However, since a multiplicity of practically useful photosensitive recording materials have sensitivity in visible light range which is in a wavelength of 760 nm or less, so, image recording can not be performed by such infrared ray lasers. Accordingly, there has been a demand for a material on which an image can be recorded by the infrared ray lasers.
An image recording material, comprising an onium salt, a phenolic resin, and a spectral sensitizer, on which an image can be recorded by the infrared ray lasers, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,925. This image recording material is a positive-type image recording material that utilizes a inhibition of dissolution in a developer by the onium salt and the phenolic resin So, this positive-type image recording material is different from the negative-type one according to the present invention.
On the other hand, as for negative-type image recording materials, a recording material comprising an infrared ray absorbing agent, an acid generating agent, a resol resin and a novolak resin is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,699. However, such negative-type image recording materials require heat treatment for image forming after a laser exposure is performed whereupon there has been a demand for the negative-type image recording material which does not require the heat treatment after the exposure is performed.
For example, the recording material which can be addtion-polymerized and which does not require the heat treatment after exposure for image formation is performed is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-B) No. 7-103171. This material comprises an addition-polymerizable compound that contains a cyanine dye having a specific structure, a iodonium salt and an ethylenically unsaturated double bond. However, in this image recording material, particularly storability of dyes is decreased and an unexposed area thereof becomes hard to be dissolved in a developer depending on environmental conditions of storage thereof. Hence, there has been a problem in that discrimination between the unexposed area and an exposed area is insufficient, a non-image area is liable to be imparted with a stain and the like.


A synthetic Mill's Cross scanner array is provided for a sonographic system. The array includes orthogonal lines for which projector and hydrophone are respectively provided. During a scan of a target volume, the projector and the hydrophone elements are moved from first paired positions to second paired positions, etc. to n paired positions. Data from the scan is processed to provide three-dimensional data for displaying the target volume.

The present invention relates to sonar systems and more particularly to sonar systems employing two-dimensional scanner arrays to locate targets in three dimensions in a scanned volume.
A sonar which must scan a volume and locate targets in three dimensions requires at least a two dimensional array. Assuming that the two-dimensional array requires at least N elements in each dimension to achieve the desired acoustic beam shape, the total element count is as much as N.sup.2. A conventional Mill's Cross transducer configuration is often used to reduce the array element count to 2N because it only requires two line arrays of N elements each. One Mill's Cross line array is commonly a projector line and the other Mill's Cross line array is a hydrophone line so that the fan beam patterns of each line multiply to provide high resolution in two dimensions.
The fully populated array and the Mill's Cross array both have serious deficiencies when required to be focused to produce very high resolution. The projector can only be focused at one range and angle per ping. Consequently, the sector scan time becomes prohibitive with an increase in resolution. The sector scan problem may be mitigated by adding a second hydrophone line array parallel to the projector line. The projector may be shortened to insonify wide subsectors with adequate depth of field. The parallel hydrophone supplies the resolution with fewer elements. However, this technique is subject to signal masking in reverberant environments and often cannot be used.
A Mill's Cross array can be implemented with two independent orthogonal synthetic arrays thereby resolving the depth of field problem by enabling data to be collected before processing. The element spot count is the same as a real array for the same resolution and beam shape so 2N complex multiplies are required per resolution cell. The signal to reverberation ratio (SRR) in each beam can be low because of the wide beamwidth in one dimension for each array. The SRR problem is the same problem encountered when using wide projector beam and collinear hydrophone array described above. When two such orthogonal beams are combined, the increased beam resolution does not result in SRR increase.
A synthetic Mill's Cross can be implemented by scanning a projector element along a line orthogonal to a real line array of hydrophone elements. Backscatter data from each projector transmission is collected by all hyrdophone elements and combined linearly to give high beam resolution. This method works well in reverberant environments but requires N.sup.2 complex multiplies per resolution cell. It also requires a hydrophone array which may be impossible to implement at very high frequencies and resolutions. The problem is poor acoustic isolation and high noise levels of tiny closely packed hydrophone elements.
Accordingly, prior art, high frequency, high resolution, two dimensional arrays have been deficient in achieving sufficient SRR, fabricability, and data processing load.

Sonar system employing synthetic orthogonal array


A terminal for telegraph and telephone systems using as an overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component a positive temperature coefficient thermistor element comprising a plate-shaped ceramic body made of a ceramic material whose Curie temperature is in the range of 60.degree. to 120.degree. C., and having a thickness of 2.5 to 5.0 mm, and electrodes formed on both major surfaces of the ceramic body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a terminal for telegraph and telephone system, and more particularly, to a terminal for telegraph and telephone systems using a positive temperature coefficient thermistor element (hereinafter referred to as a PTC element) as an overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of terminals for telegraph and telephone systems includes a telephone set, a facsimile, a PBX (private branch exchange) and the like used on the subscriber's side. Many of the terminals contain a bell circuit and a speaking circuit. More specifically, a bell circuit 1 and a speaking circuit 2 are connected to subscriber's lines 4a and 4b through hook-switches 3a and 3b, as shown in FIG. 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a surge absorbing element, which is constituted by, for example, a varistor and is connected so as to absorb a surge current.
The hook-switches 3a and 3b are connected to the bell circuit 1, as shown in FIG. 2, at the on-hook time. At the off-hook time, the hook-switches 3a and 3b are switched so as to be connected to the speaking circuit 2. A voltage applied to the circuits in an interface portion 6 is generally 48 volts. When the terminal starts reception in the connected state shown in FIG. 2, that is, the on-hook state, a bell voltage such as an AC voltage of 75 volts (in the case of Japan) or an AC voltage of 150 volts (in the case of U.S.) is applied, so that a bell begins to ring. When a user takes up a receiver to bring the terminal into the off-hook state, the hook-switches 3a and 3b are switched so as to be connected to the speaking circuit 2. Accordingly, the supply of the voltage to the bell circuit 1 is cut off, so that the bell stops ringing. Consequently, the speaking circuit 2 is connected to the subscriber's lines 4a and 4b, so that the terminal enters the speaking state.
However, in the interface portion 6 in the above described terminal, a very large overvoltage may, in some cases, be applied due to a failure, an interconnection error or the like of the terminal. For example, the above described bell voltage may be erroneously applied to the speaking circuit 2 due to a failure, or the interface portion 6 may be erroneously connected to a commercial power supply due to an interconnection error, so that an overvoltage of approximately 200 volts may, in some cases, be applied. In order to provide protection against such an overvoltage, therefore, an overvoltage protecting component as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has conventionally been connected to the interface portion 6.
More specifically, not only the surge absorbing element 5 but also a current fuse 7 serving as an overvoltage protecting component is connected to the interface portion 6 comprising the bell circuit and the speaking circuit, as in the construction shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, a PTC element 8 serving as an overvoltage protecting component is connected to the interface portion 6, as in the construction shown in FIG. 4.
In the construction shown in FIG. 3, when an overvoltage/overcurrent is applied, the current fuse 7 is fused, so that the interface portion 6 in the terminal is protected. Similarly, in the construction shown in FIG. 4, the interface portion 6 is protected by the current limiting function of the PTC element 8.
In recent years, a protecting operation against a very large overvoltage of 600 volts has been required for safety reasons for the terminal for telegraph and telephone systems. The reason for this is to provide protection against a case where a high-voltage line is brought into erroneous contact with a telephone line as a result of a tornado or an earthquake.
In the terminal using the current fuse 7 as an overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component, as shown in FIG. 3, when the terminal is erroneously connected to the commercial power supply or the like due to an interconnection error, the current fuse 7 is fused, to protect the interface portion 6. In addition, when a large overvoltage of 600 volts is applied as described above, the current fuse 7 is also fused, to reliably protect the interface portion 6. Consequently, a requirement of UL1459, which is a standard related to a telegraph and telephone apparatus is satisfied, thereby making it possible to reliably protect the terminal for telegraph and telephone systems.
However, the current fuse 7 used as an overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component has the disadvantage of having no restoring characteristics for the protecting operation. More specifically, every time the current fuse 7 is fused, the current fuse 7 must be replaced with a new current fuse. Consequently, complicated maintenance work must be performed.
On the other hand, in the terminal using the PTC element 8 shown in FIG. 4, the PTC element 8 is an overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component having restoring characteristics for the protecting operation. Accordingly, the above described complicated maintenance work can be omitted. However, the overvoltage/overcurrent protecting component using the conventional PTC element can only protect the interface portion 6 against the erroneous application of the bell voltage and the erroneous connection of the terminal to the commercial power supply of approximately 200 volts. It cannot reliably protect the interface portion 6 against a vary large overvoltage of 600 volts. More specifically, when a very large overvoltage of 600 volts is applied, the PTC element 8 may, in some cases, be short-circuited and destroyed, so that a very large current is applied to the speaking circuit, causing a serious accident such as ignition of the terminal. Consequently, the terminal using the conventional PTC element does not satisfy the requirement of a standard for requiring protection against an overvoltage of 600 volts, for example, a standard of UL1459, CSA or Bellcore.

Terminal for telegraph and telephone systems


The present invention provides an optical fiber cable assembly including an optical fiber and a reinforcement strand including a plurality of sized glass fibers positioned about the optical fiber, the strand having thereon a dried residue of a secondary aqueous coating composition which is essentially free of a urethane-containing material and includes a first polymer prepared by vinyl addition polymerization of a first monomer component including a first vinyl aromatic monomer and an acrylic monomer and a second polymer different from the first polymer, the second polymer being prepared by vinyl addition polymerization of a second monomer component including a curable polymer of a second vinyl aromatic monomer, wherein the surface of the strand wicks water at a rate of less than about 25.4 millimeters (one inch) in about six hours at a temperature of about 25.degree. C. A method of reducing the wicking of water along the surface of a glass fiber strand is also provided.

Typically, the surfaces of glass fiber substrates are coated with a sizing composition during the forming process to protect the glass fibers from interfilament abrasion. Such sizing compositions can include as components film-formers, lubricants, coupling agents, emulsifiers, antioxidants, ultraviolet light stabilizers, colorants, antistatic agents and water, to name a few.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,605 discloses a combined aqueous sizing and coating composition for coating glass fibers shortly after attenuation that includes a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin solution, a styrene-butadiene-vinylpyridine terpolymer latex, an amino functional silane coupling agent, ammonia and an ammonia soluble carboxyl-containing polymer, such as an acrylic interpolymer which can include vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons such as styrene. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,658 discloses an impregnant for glass fibers comprising a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, a terpolymer latex of butadiene-styrene and vinylpyridine, a butadiene latex, a portion of which can be replaced by a styrene-butadiene copolymer latex, and a wax. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,164,485 and 4,239,800 disclose an impregnant comprising neoprene latex, styrene-butadiene-vinylpyridine terpolymer latex, resorcinol formaldehyde resin, resorcinol, formaldehyde, wax and natural rubber. The aforementioned coated strands are disclosed for use as reinforcement for elastomeric products such as natural or synthetic rubber. The use of resorcinol-formaldehyde latex coatings, however, gives rise to a number of environmental and health concerns which limits their use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,231 discloses an impregnant for glass fibers for woven fabric comprising an elastomeric, ethylene-containing interpolymer, a crosslinkable material, and a diene-containing elastomer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,784 discloses an aqueous coating composition for glass fibers consisting essentially of a thermoplastic polyurethane latex, an acrylic latex, and either a second acrylic latex or paraffin wax. This coating reduces water wicking by glass fibers in applications such as optical fiber cable reinforcement.
In optical fiber cable reinforcement applications, water entering the cable assembly can corrode and/or crush the optical fibers by expansion due to freezing temperatures. It is desirable to provide an optical fiber cable assembly in which the reinforcing glass fibers are coated with a simple, economical secondary coating which can withstand the rigorous environment to which such reinforcement is subjected, as well as provide water wicking resistance characteristics to the reinforcement.


A system and method for gathering exhibited behaviors of a .NET executable module in a secure manner is presented. In operation, a .NET behavior evaluation module presents a virtual .NET environment to a Microsoft Corporation .NET code module. The .NET behavior evaluation module implements a sufficient number of aspects of an actual Microsoft Corporation .NET environment that a .NET code module can execute. As the .NET code module executes, the .NET behavior evaluation module records some of the exhibited behaviors, i.e., .NET system supplied libraries/subroutines, that are associated with known malware. The recorded behaviors are placed in a behavior signature for an external determination as to whether the .NET code module is malware, i.e., an unwanted computer attack.

As more and more computers are interconnected through various networks, such as the Internet, computer security also becomes increasingly more important. In particular, computer security in regard to external attacks from malware has become, and continues to become, increasingly more important. Malware, for purposes of the present discussion, is defined as executable modules representing unwanted computer attacks. As such, malware includes, but is not limited to, computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms, denial of service attacks, abuse/misuse of legitimate computer system functions, and the like. The primary defense against malware is anti-virus software.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are pictorial diagrams illustrating how anti-virus software currently operates. In particular, FIG. 1A illustrates how anti-virus software detects known malware, and prevents the known malware from reaching and infecting a computer. Alternatively, FIG. 1B illustrates a common weakness of anti-virus software, particularly, how anti-virus software is unable to detect and prevent modified malware from reaching and infecting the computer. What is meant by "reaching" the computer is getting past the anti-virus software. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize anti-virus software almost always resides on the computer it is protecting, and operates on incoming data as it physically arrives at the computer. Thus, while incoming data, including malware, may be located at the computer, for purposes of the present invention, the incoming data does not actually "reach" the computer until it gets past the anti-virus software.
As shown in FIG. 1A, malware 102 is directed over a network 106 to the computer 110, as indicated by arrow 108. It will be appreciated that the malware 102 may be directed to the computer 110 as a result of a request initiated by the computer, or directed to the computer from another network device. However, as mentioned above, before the known malware 102 reaches the computer 110, anti-virus software 104 installed on the computer intercepts the malware and examines it. As is known in the art, currently, anti-virus software scans the incoming data as a file, searching for identifiable patterns, also referred to as signatures, associated with known malware. If a malware signature is located in a file, the anti-virus software 104 takes appropriate action, such as deleting the known malware/infected file, or removing the malware-infected portion from the infected file, sometimes referred to as cleaning the file. In this manner, anti-virus software 104 is able to prevent the known malware 102 from infecting the computer 110, as indicated by the arrow 112.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that almost all unknown malware are actually rewrites or reorganizations of previously released malware. Indeed, encountering an absolutely novel malware is relatively rare, as most "new" malware are actually rewrites or rehashes of existing malware. Malware source code is readily available, and it is a simple task for a malicious party to change variable names, reorder lines of code, or somehow superficially modify the malware.
The result of rehashing or rewriting an existing malware is that the static appearance of the malware is altered, even though the functionality of the malware remains the same. As mentioned, current anti-virus software operates only on known malware. Thus "new" malware, while functionally identical to its original/parent malware, is not detectable or stopped by the installed anti-virus software 104 employing the pattern matching system.
FIG. 1B is a pictorial diagram illustrating how current anti-virus software is unable to prevent a modified malware from reaching a computer. As shown in FIG. 1B, known malware 102 undergoes a modification process 114, such as a rehash or rewrite, resulting in modified malware 116. As mentioned above, the modified malware 116 will most likely have a different static appearance, though its functionality will likely be identical. Also mentioned above, because the static appearance is modified, the modified malware 116 is not "known" malware recognized by the anti-virus software 104.
The modified malware 116 is directed through the network 106 to the computer 110, as indicated by arrow 118. The anti-virus software 104 attempts to identify the modified malware 116 to determine whether it is known malware and should be stopped. As the modified malware 116 is, as yet, an unknown modification, and because the signature of the modified malware is not the same as the original malware 102, the anti-virus software 104 fails to identify the modified malware as malware, and permits it to "reach" the computer 110, as indicated by arrow 120. Upon reaching the computer 110, the modified malware 116 will typically perform its intended, destructive purpose.
It is only after an anti-virus software provider identifies a signature pattern for the modified malware 116, and then updates the anti-virus software 104, that the anti-virus software can protect the computer 110 from the modified malware 116. Clearly, this delay leaves anti-virus software users exposed to new malware. Additionally, constantly evaluating unknown malware to determine a static signature and then updating anti-virus software with that signature is a costly process, that users ultimately must pay. It is also inefficient, especially when considering that most malware are only superficially modified from other, known malware. Thus, it would be beneficial if malware could be identified, not just by its static signature, but also by its exhibited behaviors. However, the only way to currently evaluate the exhibited behavior of malware is to somehow permit it to execute on a computer 110. Of course, this would be entirely unacceptable as the malware would perform its ill-intended effects on the computer 110 during its execution.
Recent advances in malware detection address the problem of detecting malware according to its exhibited behaviors. In particular, a system and method for determining whether an executable module is malware according to its exhibited behavior is set forth in co-pending and commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/769,038, filed Jan. 30, 2004, published Aug. 25, 2005, as US-2005/0188272-A1, entitled "System and Method for Determining Whether an Executable Module is Malware According to Its Exhibited Behavior", which is incorporated herein by reference. However, while the above-identified patent application presents a system and method for evaluating whether an executable module is malware according to its exhibited behaviors, the problem remains on how to gather the exhibited behaviors in a secure manner. Additionally, there are many types of executable modules, including, but not limited to compiled executable modules, such as Microsoft Corporation's Windows XP executable modules, and interpreted executable modules, such as Microsoft Corporation's .NET executable modules.
In light of the above-identified problems, and in further light of the co-pending, commonly assigned patent application, what is needed is a system and method for gathering exhibited behaviors of a Microsoft Corporation's .NET executable module. The present invention addresses this and other issues found in the prior art.

System and method for gathering exhibited behaviors on a .NET executable module in a secure manner


A securing base having a round base of three layers to support a pressing disc combined with a supporter, a shaft passing throught the pressing disc to engage the round base by means of threads, a ball at a bottom of a movable rod fitting in a spherical hole in an upper portion of the movable rod, the ball having a plurality of small holes for a pin end of the supporter to selectable in an angle needed.

A conventional securing base for securing a thing such as a sunshade parasol, a drying pole, etc., as shown in FIG. 6, comprises a central rod 6, a fixed ring 7 provided on a lower portion of the rod 6 to pivotally unite with connecting several rods 9, and a movable ring 8 provided to connect several declined rods 10, which have bottom ends fixed on weights 12 and middle points pivotally connected with outer ends of the rods 9 to support the central rod 6.
This kind of conventional securing base is deemed to have drawbacks as follow.
1. Its assemblage is not simple, taking time.
2. It cannot be adjusted to correspond to an angle of the sunshine.
3. The weights it has are not conventient to move because of heavy weight.

Yu Che, Yu Che Li, Ma Tou Chen, Tainan Hsien


A fiber laser processing device includes: an air purge unit having a low-dew-pointizer section for changing compressed air for purging supplied from the exterior into dry air with a low dew point by means of a gas separation membrane module; a fiber laser oscillator having a combiner for combining and emitting the laser lights respectively outputted from the plurality of fiber laser modules to the exterior, and a distributor for distributing and supplying the dry air respectively to the plurality of fiber laser modules; and a laser processing machine for carrying out laser machining on a workpiece by means of the laser lights emitted from the combiner.

A fiber laser oscillator is constituted to have a chassis, an optical engine housed in the chassis substantially in a tightly sealed state, a control device for controlling the oscillation operation, and a cooling device. The optical engine is comprised of a plurality of fiber laser modules each having a semiconductor laser as a laser light source and a combiner for combining the laser lights respectively generated by the fiber laser modules. The laser light combined by the combiner is output to the exterior via a processed fiber.
Efficiency of laser oscillation by a semiconductor laser generally has some temperature dependency. It is thus necessary to retain a temperature of the optical engine that produces heat in accordance with laser light oscillation within a proper temperature range by cooling, so as to assure high oscillation efficiency steadily. The cooling device is provided for the purpose of proper temperature management of the optical engine. This cooling is carried out by inflow and circulation of cooling water of 24 degrees C. for instance through a coolant conduit (cooler pipe) arranged in the chassis.
In the meantime, if the quantity of water vapor contained in the air within the chassis exceeds a saturated water vapor quantity at the temperature of the cooling water (24 degrees C. for instance), condensation will occur on the surface of the cooler pipe, which gives rise to greater possibility for malfunction of electronic devices in the optical engines. It is therefore necessary to postpone injection of the cooling water into the cooler pipe until humidity of the air within the chassis and the air within the fiber laser module is sufficiently reduced by a dehumidifier device.
The Patent Literature 1 proposes a fiber laser oscillator comprised of such a dehumidifier device in a chassis, which is comprised of a dehumidifier device for supplying dried air (dry air with a low dew point) respectively to a plurality of LD modules in the chassis. In more detail, it proposes an example in which dry air with a low dew point obtained by dehumidifying is supplied at a rate of 1 L (1 dm3) per minute by a small pump, while it is also described to use a device for supplying purging air, which had been also installed in laser processing devices or such, which have been used in laser processing machines.

Fiber laser oscillator, fiber laser processing device, and fiber laser oscillator dehumidification method


One or more embodiments are described directed to a method and system for loading and distributing cells in a bioreactor of a cell expansion system. Accordingly, embodiments include methods and systems that may provide for adding a plurality of cells to a fluid within a bioreactor of the cell expansion system. A first percentage of the plurality of cells is allowed to settle in the bioreactor and a second percentage of the plurality of cells is allowed to settle outside of the bioreactor. The first percentage of cells is then expanded in the bioreactor. The second percentage of cells is wasted.

CESs are used to expand and differentiate cells. Cell expansion systems are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,162,225 and 6,001,585 generally describe cell expansion systems designed for cell expansion.
The potential use of stem cells in a variety of treatments and therapies has achieved particular attention. Cell expansion systems can be used to expand, e.g., grow, stem cells, as well as other types of cells, such as bone marrow cells. Stem cells which are expanded from donor cells can be used to repair or replace damaged or defective tissues and have broad clinical applications for a wide range of diseases. Recent advances in the regenerative medicine field demonstrates that stem cells have properties such as proliferation and self-renewal capacity, maintenance of the unspecialized state, and the ability to differentiate into specialized cells under particular conditions.
Cell expansion systems include one or more compartments for expanding the cells, such as a cell growth chamber, also referred to herein as a "bioreactor." In order to expand cells, an initial volume of cells is typically loaded into, and distributed within, the bioreactor. Accordingly, there is a need for a method of loading and distributing cells in a bioreactor associated with a cell expansion system. The present disclosure addresses this and other needs.
Embodiments of the present invention have been made in light of these and other considerations. However, the relatively specific problems discussed above do not limit the applicability of the embodiments of the present invention to solving other problems.

Method of loading and distributing cells in a bioreactor of a cell expansion system


The present invention provides a method for producing a retardation film of a polypropylene resin, the method comprising subjecting a film of a polypropylene resin to longitudinal stretching and transverse stretching which are performed sequentially, wherein the transverse stretching comprises the following steps, and a polypropylene resin retardation film which is obtained by such a method and has both a high axial retardation and a uniform retardation:

Liquid crystal display devices usually have a combination of a liquid crystal and a retardation film. Retardation films obtained by converting a polycarbonate resin, a cyclic olefin-based polymer resin, or the like into a film and further stretching the film are known (see, for example, JP-A 7-256749 and JP-A 5-2108). Regrettably, however, raw material resins of such films are expensive. Therefore, development of retardation films made of inexpensive plastic materials has been demanded.
For example, JP-A 60-24502 discloses a phase retardation plate made of a polyolefin resin. According to this document, this phase retardation plate is produced by drawing a resin extruded through an outlet of a T-die while cooling it so that the resin will be stretched to a certain degree. However, films obtained by such a method comprising stretching uniaxially in the longitudinal direction are not suited as retardation film because they have retardation unevenness due to uneven orientation in the film width direction or have thickness unevenness in the width direction.

Retardation film and method for production thereof

Abstract: a step of preheating the film at a preheating temperature which is equal to or higher than the melting point of the polypropylene resin;

Abstract: a step of stretching the preheated film in the transverse direction at a stretching temperature which is lower than the preheating temperature; and

Abstract: a step of heat setting the film stretched in the transverse direction.


A cable tie is provided with a wedge disposed within a passage extending through a head. The wedge is compressed within the passage when tension is applied to the strap. As a result, the wedge compresses the strap against an inner surface of the passage to restrain the strap.

Cable ties having a strap, a head and a securement mechanism within the head are designed for strength across a range of industrial applications for the bundling or securement of objects. Certain applications require that the strap is prevented from being cut by the securement mechanism such as a barb when the strap is engaged with the head of the cable tie. While cable ties have been provided that do not sever the strap, they may pierce or otherwise compromise the strength of the strap.

Cable tie having a wedge locking mechanism


A management server takes charge of managing information about whether a physical port is provided with means for security protection. Based on such information, the management server automatically determines to which physical port a volume is to be assigned. As such, an assignment process is executed.

The present invention relates to a storage area management method for use in a storage area network (hereinafter, "IP-SAN") for establishing a connection among a plurality of computers and storage systems over the Internet Protocol (IP) network.
For efficient data management in companies and other entities, establishing a Storage Area Network (SAN) is a popular option. A SAN is a network used for establishing a connection among a plurality of storage systems and computers. For data transfer over a SAN, the Fibre Channel Protocol is often used. In the description below, such a SAN is referred to as a FC-SAN.
Another type of SAN, i.e., an IP-SAN, using an iSCSI is recently has received considerable attention. Here, the iSCSI is a protocol used for transmitting and receiving SCSI commands and data over the IP network. The SCSI commands are those conventionally used for communications between computers and storage systems, and data is transferred based on those commands. For details about the iSCSI, refer to "iSCSI" authored by Julian Satran, et al., Jan. 19, 2003, IETF, (www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ips-iscsi-20.txt)>. Compared with a FC-SAN, an IP-SAN has an advantage in that any existing LAN (Local Area Network) equipment that is already in use as an infrastructure can be used therewith, for example.
The issue here is that an IP-SAN requires substantial consideration for security. This is because, unlike a FC-SAN, a network used for an IP-SAN may not always be secure enough, e.g., the Internet and an intracorporate LAN. Further, it is common knowledge that attack methods and attack programs have been developed specifically for the IP network.
For maintaining security with a SAN, a possibility is to provide access control between computers and storage systems, or encryption of the communication path. As a technique for realizing access control between computers and storage systems, zoning for partitioning a communication path using switches or fabric and LUN masking (Logical Unit Number masking) for end-to-end access control between ports, have been considered. The LUN masking technique is found in JP-A-2001-265655, for example.
For an IP-SAN, IPSec may be used to encrypt the communications path between computers and storage systems. For details about IPSec, refer to "Security Architecture for IP" authored by Stephen Kent and Randall Arkinson, November 1998, IETF, (www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2401.txt). IPSec is a technique used for encrypting a communications path using a shared key. With IPSec, the shared key is managed under IKE (Internet Key Exchange), details of which are found in "The Internet Key Exchange (IKE)" authored by Dan Harkins and Dave Carrel, November 1998, IETF, (www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2409.txt).

Computer system for allocating storage area to computer based on security level


An even heating apparatus for converting microwave energy emitted from a magnetron to a plurality of resonant modes in a heating chamber of a microwave oven for thereby evenly heating the food in the heating chamber includes an antenna array plate including a plurality of antennas therein. The apparatus evenly heats food in the heating chamber by fixing the antenna array plate having multiple antennas therein spaced from the ceiling of the heating chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly to an even heating apparatus for a microwave oven capable of evenly applying microwaves emitted from a magnetron to food by providing an antenna array plate inside a heating chamber thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With reference to FIG. 1 illustrating a microwave oven according to the conventional art, the microwave oven includes a box-shaped heating chamber 1 on an internal portion of which is mounted a magnetron 2 which emits microwaves.
Outside a side wall 3 of the heating chamber 1 there is vertically provided a wave guide compartment 4 for guiding microwaves emitted from the magnetron 2. Through the side wall 3 there are formed a plurality of slots 5 for introducing the microwaves therethrough. A table rotating motor 6 is provided below the bottom of the heating chamber 1. A rotation table 7 is mounted extending from the bottom of the heating chamber 1. On the upper surface of the rotation table 7 there is provided a tray 8 for placing food thereon.
An agitation motor 9 is mounted atop the heating chamber 1. An agitation fan 10 is mounted on a shaft of the motor 9 extending downwardly from a ceiling of the heating chamber 1 for thereby agitating the microwaves introduced through the slots 5 into the heating chamber 1.
FIG. 2 illustrates an imaginary perspective view of the chamber 1 and is provided to denote respective dimensions L1, L2, L3 of the heating chamber 1.
The operation of the thusly constituted microwave oven according to the conventional art will now be described.
First, when current is applied to the magnetron 2, microwaves are emitted from the magnetron 2, and at the same time the rotation table motor 6 and the agitation motor 9 are activated.
The microwave energy emitted from the magnetron 2 is guided along the wave guide compartment 4 and introduced through the slots 5 into the heating chamber 1. Then, the microwave energy flowing into the heating chamber 1 is rendered to a variety of resonance mode frequencies in accordance with rotation of the agitation fan 10, for thereby heating the food on the tray 8.
At this time, the food being rotated on the tray 8 shows a different aspect depending on the size or kind of food in terms of a heating degree.
With reference to FIGS. 3A through 3C, the food heating degrees will now be described.
FIG. 3A is a spectrum graph illustrating a case in which respective dimensions L1, L2, L3 of the heating chamber 1 are respectively less than a wave length .lambda..sub.m of an oscillation frequency outputted from the magnetron 2 and it shows that because there do not occur any resonant modes the food in the chamber 1 is not evenly heated.
Further, FIG. 3B is a spectrum graph illustrating a case in which respective dimensions L1, L2, L3 of the heating chamber 1 are respectively nearly equal or equal to a wave length .lambda..sub.m of an oscillation frequency outputted from the magnetron 2, wherein because there exists only a single resonant mode the food in the chamber 1 is heated only in a particular portion thereof.
Still further, FIG. 3C is a spectrum graph illustrating a case in which respective dimensions L1, L2, L3 of the heating chamber 1 are respectively longer than a wave length .lambda..sub.m of an oscillation frequency outputted from the magnetron 2, wherein because there exist a plurality of resonant modes the food in the chamber 1 is heated in a confined portion of the food.
However, in consideration of a relation between respective dimensions and resonant modes, when the respective dimensions of the heating chamber 1 are less than or almost equal to a wave length .lambda..sub.m of an oscillation frequency outputted from the magnetron 2, the food in the chamber 1 is not evenly heated regardless of the rotation of the agitation fan 10 and the table 7.
Further, when the respective dimensions of the heating chamber 1 are longer than a wave length .lambda..sub.m of an oscillation frequency from the magnetron 2, heating of the food in the chamber 1 is confined to a particular portion thereof in terms of an even heating, thereby making it difficult to heat food at a constant heating rate irrespective of the size, weight and the like of the food.

Heating apparatus in the form of an antenna array plate for a microwave oven


A rope drum gear for a child's toy, for example a toy crane, is constructed such that a child can operate an elevating mechanism and a grab spade by way of ropes via the drum gear. A crank handle for actuating the mechanisms is connected to a split rotating drum by way of crank case wheel. The hub of the crank case is constructed as a sun wheel of a planetary wheel gear, which planetary wheel gear is in turn connected with a first half of the split rope drum. The first half of the split rope drum is connected via a rope to the grab spade operating mechanism. The first half of the drum when rotated engages the second hair by way of a clutch mechanism, the second half of the drum connected by a rope to the elevating mechanism of the crane. In this way, a child can reproduce the operation of a full-scale crane in a manner easy to operate and understand for the child.

The invention refers to a mobile multi-purpose child's toy such a toy crane. The crane has lifting and opening mechanisms which are connected via ropes to a split rope drum driving gear, the two split halves of the drum being connected to each other by a clutch mechanism. In particular, the invention is adapted for easy operation by a child by providing a hand crank actuator which comprises a sun gear and a planetary gear.
A mobile multi-purpose child's toy has become known, the chassis of which is provided with an elevating mechanism from which a grab spade, such as is usually employed with dredgers, is suspended. Operation of said grab spade, therewith, is effected through a split rope drum, onto one half of which , a rope for elevation and, onto the other half of which, a rope for grab spade operation can be wound or unwound therefrom. By rotating a crank which is rigidly connected with said rope drum, the grab spade may be operated, i.e. opened and closed as well as raised and lowered. In order to render the effort required therefor, tolerable also for children, a loose roll is provided on said grab spade, with the aid of which translation of the required effort is ensured. The two halves of said rope drum are interconnected via a single-claw clutch so that there is the possibility of winding up the operating rope of said grab spade rather than that of unwinding same and that the spade jaws close before raising or open before lowering.
The effort required for raising and lowering, i.e. operating said grab spade is determined by the lever arm, which is given by the distance of the crank form the shaft of said rope drum, and halved once again by employing a loose roll on said grab spade (German Utility Model 91 01 046.2).
Due to employment of said loose roll for diminishing the required effort, the length of each of the two ropes is doubled, thereby necessitating a correspondingly large space for said rope drum when the entire rope length is wound onto the halves of said rope drum. Moreover, only a limited force translation ration can be realized by that design.
Given this prior art, it is the object of the invention to develop a mobile multipurpose child's toy, having an elevating mechanisms form which a grab spade is suspended, in such a way that, with a compact design, operation of said grab spade will become possible with an effort favorable to children.

Rope drum driving gear for a mobile multi-purpose child's toy


The present invention relates to a control device having at least one front panel, at least one button panel arranged behind the front panel, and at least one switch responsive to a user's touch of a switchable area on a front side of the front panel in front of said switch. The switch includes at least one light source element arranged at a rear side of the button panel illuminating the rear side of the front panel, and at least one reflector element arranged behind the button panel and the light source element to reflect the light to the rear side of the button panel. The button panel includes at least one cut out that corresponds with the switchable area of the switch or more switchable areas of neighbored switches, so that the light can pass through the cut-out and the front panel to be out of the control device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device, in particular for a domestic appliance. Further, the present invention relates to a button panel for said control device. Moreover, the present invention relates to a method for assembling a control device, in particular for a domestic appliance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An appliance includes often a control device with one or more touch switches. For example, said touch switches may be of a capacitive type, an inductive type, an optical type, an infrared type or a funk type. In other words, the touch switches do not contain any mechanical elements. None of the components of the touch switches is distorted. The touch switches of the control device of an appliance, in particular of a domestic appliance, should be illuminated in order to indicate the corresponding operation and/or a parameter relating to said switch or corresponding operation. Further, the illumination should also be sufficient, if the environmental illumination conditions are disadvantageous. For this purpose, known touch switches are lightened by illumination means.
Furthermore, another problem is that the illumination of a switchable area of the switch is not homogeneous enough. Some parts are intensively illuminated, while other parts are quite dark, since touch switch may include one or more electrical tracks arranged on the printed circuit board. Said electrical tracks are usually made of copper or other opaque materials. In particular, the electrical tracks of the touch switch are provided as sensor for detecting the proximity or touch of a human finger. Further, the electrical track may be provided as antenna for detecting infrared or radio signals. However, the electrical tracks may cross the illuminated area of the touch switch and constrain the illumination. Such a design is even more complex and expensive and results in higher energy consumption, since some light is absorbed by a switchable area.
EP 1 985 930 B1 discloses a control device with a front panel for a domestic appliance. At the rear side of the front panel are one or more switches having at least one illumination element. The front panel is made of transparent glass or plastics with printed icons. The illumination element consists of at least one light source element arranged on the rear side of a printed circuit board and at least one reflector element for indirectly lightning of a rear side of the switch. The reflector element covers the light source element and the illuminated area from behind. The control panel must be of a transparent material in order to allow the light passing through at least a part of the switchable areas. However, it is difficult to find any suitable material for a button panel, which is transparent on the one hand and able to carry electric and/or electronic components. Further, the control device has a complex design, so that the costs for the illumination of the switch are relatively high. In particular, the costs of a transparent material for the button panel and printed circuit board are high.

Control device, in particular for a domestic appliance

ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS CORPORATION N.V.


According to one embodiment, a display and a sensor signal acceptor which accepts detection signals from a sensor are provided. A first display controller displays a first instruction for instructing a first work on the display, based on the detection signal which indicates an end of preparation for the first work. And, a second display controller displays a second instruction for instructing a next second work on the display, based on the detection signal which indicates an end of the first work.

Recently, glasses equipped with a projector capable of projecting an image has been developed as a glasses-type wearable terminal. The glasses-type wearable terminal is often convenient for a worker who performs maintenance of various types of installation and manufacturing devices in a factory. The worker can see the contents of instructions through a projected image with the glasses-type wearable terminal and can execute the work instructed by the projected image with both hands in real time.
In addition, the worker can execute cooking of a meal, etc., with both hands, while looking at the recipe instructed through a projected image with a glasses-type wearable terminal.
The worker using the glasses-type wearable terminal can execute the instructed work with both hands in real time while seeing the contents of instructions given through a projected image with the glasses-type wearable terminal. For this reason, the worker does not need to move to a position different from the current work position to confirm a content of next work direction or confirm the content of instruction on a display of an installed personal computer, in a conventional manner.
Even if the worker considers having worked based on the content of work instruction, however, the worker often does not work actually (or forgets work steps) or, even if the worker works, the content of work often is imperfect. For example, since noise occurs during the work, the worker may forget the work performance of a certain step (or the work may be imperfect) or the worker may forget closing a door (or close a door imperfectly). In such a case, when the device for the work (a manufacturing device, a conveying device or the like) works again, an accident may occur for the reason that the worker forgets the work and the work is imperfect.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Glasses-type wearable terminal and data processing method


Embodiments of the present disclosure may generally relate to methods for processing a response matrix of a communication system. One example method may comprise dividing the response matrix into a plurality of clusters. The number of the clusters is associated with the number of subcarriers of the communication system, and the clusters are indexed in sequence as even-indexed clusters and odd-indexed clusters. The method may further comprise estimating data transmitted by a first set of transmit antennas of the communication system through a first subcarrier and a second subcarrier of the subcarriers associated with a first even-indexed cluster. The method may further comprise modifying a first receive vector of the communication system based on the estimated data transmitted by the first set of transmit antennas as a second receive vector of the communication system.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a method of encoding digital data on multiple subcarrier frequencies. In OFDM, the subcarriers overlap and orthogonal to each other. Synchronizations in frequency and time among subcarriers are important to maintain the orthogonality. With the frequency deviations, the subcarriers may not longer be orthogonal and thus an inter-carrier interference occurs. Some equalization approaches were proposed to address the inter-carrier interference issues, such as linear minimum mean-square-error or minimum mean-square-error. However, those approaches have adoption issues on a multiple-input multiple-output system.

Signal processing in wireless communication system