A satellite sensor assembly includes a plastic sensor housing that is mounted to a vehicle structure comprised of sheet metal. The sensor housing includes a transversely extending tab that is received within an opening formed in the sheet metal. The tab includes a pair of crush ribs that extend along the length of the tab. The ribs deform as the tab is inserted through the opening to achieve an interference fit. The inference fit serves to hold the housing in place until the housing can be separately fastened to the sheet metal with a fastener.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for installing a satellite sensor within a vehicle.
Vehicles include various different sensors that measure a variety of vehicle characteristics during vehicle operation. For example, sensors are used to measure vertical acceleration, lateral acceleration, roll-over angular rate, etc. These sensors are mounted at various different locations throughout the vehicle. A vehicle control unit uses information from the various sensors to determine whether conditions are appropriate for deploying a safety restraint device, such as an airbag.
Typically, a main or center tunnel sensor assembly is mounted to a vehicle structure at a central location within the vehicle. This center tunnel sensor assembly is used to measure various vehicle characteristics that occur near the center of the vehicle. Satellite sensor assemblies are used to measure vehicle characteristics that occur at satellite vehicle locations, i.e., vehicle locations remotely positioned relative to the center of the vehicle.
The satellite sensors are typically mounted to vehicle structures at locations remote from a center vehicle position. For example, satellite sensors can be mounted at the front or rear of the vehicle, or can be mounted along the sides of the vehicle near the vehicle doors. These sensor assemblies include printed circuit boards and associated electronics that are enclosed within a housing.
During sensor installation, the housing is attached to a vehicle structural component with fasteners. Due to the small size of the satellite sensor housing and the limited packaging space available within the vehicle, it is often difficult to mount the housing to the vehicle. Two hands are required to properly position the sensor housing, hold the sensor housing in place, and fasten the housing to the vehicle structure.
Further, during assembly the sensor assembly can be jostled or bumped against adjacent vehicle components. This can loosen sensor and electronic components mounted within the housing, leading to inaccurate vehicle characteristic measurements.
Thus, there is a need for a satellite sensor assembly that can be quickly and easily installed without introducing unwanted vibrations to the sensor components during assembly, as well as overcoming the other above-mentioned deficiencies with the prior art.


A liquid crystal display device including two substrates, with a pixel electrode formed on one substrate and an opposite electrode formed on the other substrate. The device also includes an alignment film formed on the opposite electrode, a protrusion formed between the opposite electrode and the alignment film, spherical spacers, liquid crystal, and an alignment film protrusion formed by the alignment film in an area corresponding to the protrusion, such that the protrusion causes the alignment film protrusion to protrude toward the liquid crystal. The alignment film protrusion is recessed on a side opposite one of the substrates and regulates an alignment direction of the liquid crystal contacting it. Further, the alignment film protrusion includes a recessed portion, within an outer surface thereof, within which at least one spherical spacer is seated, whereby the recessed portion reduces compressive stress exerted on the substrates by the spherical spacer seated therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device used for a display part of an electronic equipment, and particularly to a liquid crystal display device including a vertical alignment type liquid crystal having a negative dielectric anisotropy.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vertical alignment (VA) mode liquid crystal display device has features of a high contrast ratio and a high speed response characteristic, and in recent years, the VA mode liquid crystal display device has been actively developed. Especially, an MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) mode liquid crystal display device has features of a wide viewing angle, a high contrast ratio and a high speed response characteristic, and receives attention as a display system most suitable for a flat panel display for a TV receiver. FIG. 7 shows a sectional structure of one pixel of the MVA mode liquid crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 7, the MVA mode liquid crystal display device includes a glass substrate 103 of a TFT substrate 102, an opposite side glass substrate 105 of an opposite substrate 104 disposed to be opposite to the TFT substrate 102, and a liquid crystal 112 sealed between both the substrates 102 and 104.
An insulating layer 106 is formed on the glass substrate 103. Plural gate bus lines and plural drain bus lines (neither of them are shown) intersecting each other through the insulating layer 106 are formed on the glass substrate 103. A not-shown thin film transistor (TFT) is formed at each of intersection parts of the gate bus lines and the drain bus lines. The gate bus lines and the drain bus lines are insulated from each other through the insulating layer 106. Besides, the insulating film 106 functions as a gate insulating film of the TFT. A pixel electrode 110 made of indium tin oxide (ITO) and patterned into a specified shape is formed on a final protection film 108. The pixel electrode 110 is connected to a source electrode of the TFT through a not-shown contact hole formed in the final protection film 108. A pixel electrode slit 116 as an alignment regulating structure for regulating an alignment direction of a liquid crystal molecule 120 is formed in the pixel electrode 110. A vertical alignment film 114 for vertically aligning the liquid crystal molecule 120 is formed on the whole surface of the pixel electrode 110 and the pixel electrode slit 116.
On the other hand, a not-shown color filter (CF) layer is formed on the opposite side glass substrate 105. An opposite electrode 124 made of ITO is formed on the CF layer and the whole surface of the substrate. A linear protrusion 118 as an alignment regulating structure protruding on the opposite electrode 124 is formed on the opposite side glass substrate 105. Similarly to the pixel electrode slit 116, the linear protrusion 118 is formed in order to regulate the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecule 120. A vertical alignment film 122 is formed on the whole surface of the opposite electrode 124 and covers the linear protrusion 118. In the MVA mode liquid crystal display device, the linear protrusion 118 and the pixel electrode slit 116 are provided in the pixel, so that the alignment control of the liquid crystal 112 and multi-domain formation are realized.
[Patent document 1] JP-A-2001-183637
[Patent document 2] JP-A-8-122753
As a method of keeping the thickness (cell gap) of the layer of the liquid crystal 112 at a desired length, there is used a method of scattering spherical ball spacers 136 each having a diameter equal to the desired cell gap into the layer of the liquid crystal 112. The ball spacers 136 are made of plastic material or glass material. The ball spacers 136 are scattered on the TFT substrate 102 or the opposite substrate 104, and the TFT substrate 102 and the opposite substrate 104 are attached to each other through a seal material formed into a frame shape, so that the liquid crystal 112 is sealed between both the substrates 102 and 104.
For example, when the ball spacers 136 are scattered on the opposite substrate 104, there is a case where the ball spacer 136 is disposed on the linear protrusion 118. The cell gap at the position where the linear protrusion 118 is formed is narrow as compared with the other position. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the cell gap at the linear protrusion 118 is narrower than the diameter of the ball spacer 136. Since the ball spacer 136 is made of relatively hard material as compared with the vertical alignment films 114 and 122, when the opposite substrate 104 and the TFT substrate 102 are attached to each other, there is a case where the vertical alignment films 114 and 122 on the linear protrusion 118 and on the opposite side thereof are damaged by the pressure of the ball spacer 136.
At this state, the alignment control of the liquid crystal molecule 120 at the position becomes impossible, light leak occurs at the linear protrusion 118 and in the vicinity thereof, and a poor display occurs in the MVA mode liquid crystal display device. In general, in order to realize excellent alignment of the liquid crystal molecule 120, it is necessary that the width of the linear protrusion 118 is about 10 μm. This corresponds to several percents of the area of the pixel region. For example, in a 15-inch MVA mode liquid crystal display device with a resolution of XGA (extended Graphics Array), in the case where the linear protrusion 118 is formed to have a width of 15 μm, and 100 ball spacers per 1 mm2 are scattered, there is a case where about 7 ball spacers per 1 mm2 are scattered on the linear protrusion 118. When the vertical alignment films 114 and 122 are damaged by the ball spacer 136, the light leak occurring on the display screen becomes very noticeable.

Liquid crystal display device including protrusion with recessed portion for accepting spherical spacer


Disclosed is an invention in the field of food preparation. The present disclosure describes a holster apparatus for holding one or more food preparation utensils capable of being worn by a person for use during food preparation. The holster configuration is capable of maintaining health standards required for a food preparation environment and may be patterned or configured to house various types of food preparation utensils. The holster of the present disclosure is capable of adjustment for individual fit and may include further holsters or receptacles for holding utensils.

Food preparation requires the use of specialized tools and utensils. Often the various utensils are stored or positioned around food preparation areas, such as counters and tables. These utensils are typically stored in drawers or along shelves. Other times, these utensils may be placed within containers, such as pots or other receptacles, for use and re-use during food preparation.
Individuals and the food industry have always sought ways to efficiently prepare food without contamination of the food, containers, or any associated preparation utensils. Contamination problems can arise when food preparation and serving utensils are separated from their container. For example, a serving spoon or fork can lay on a dirty surface where the container rests. Other instances of contamination include use of a food preparation utensil by someone having a cold or illness, after which the utensil is placed into the container and contaminates the contents of the container. In other instances, it is desirable to keep the food preparation utensils from containers which might become contaminated with grease, residues, and food particles. Additionally food items and ingredients tend to become attached to the utensils making it difficult or messy to grip, re-use or place down for future use. Other instances involve simple convenience in placing utensils down for other activities, only to need the utensil shortly thereafter. It is desirable to keep the utensil or utensils as part of food preparation environment while maintaining the ability to (i) keep the utensils off of food preparation surfaces, and (ii) maintaining food preparation safety standards.
While some technological advances have allowed for enhanced productivity and safety in food preparation, there remains a need in the art for the improved utensil handling capabilities, particularly with in-use utensils.


A telescopic sunvisor is disclosed which includes a support arm and a panel which is telescopically mounted on the panel. The support arm has a deployment flat and preferably a stow flat peripherally spaced from the deployment flat. The panel has a core, a retainer or channel which supports the core, and a detent spring assembly or clamp which engages the support arm. The detent spring assembly has a pair of opposing legs which clamp about the support arm. Ideally, the detent spring assembly is made of two opposing U-shaped clips which interlock with one another about the support arm. The detent spring assembly and panel may be selectively rotated about the support arm between stowed and deployed positions. In the deployed position, the detent spring assembly clamps about the deployment flat while allowing sliding movement therebetween such that the panel may be telescopic moved relative to the support arm.

Sunvisors for vehicles which have panels or visors slidably or telescopically mounted on support arms are known. An early example of such a sunvisor is found in Schoenheit, U.S. Pat. No. 2,201,377. This particular sunvisor uses a simply supported leaf spring on a panel to engage a support arm thus positioning the panel relative to the support arm. When the leaf spring engages an intermediate flat on the support arm, the panel is easily slid longitudinally along the support arm. However, when the panel is rotated such that the leaf spring engages a cylindrical rather than flat portion of the support arm, sufficient frictional engagement is created between the leaf spring and the support arm to prevent sliding movement therebetween and consequently between the panel and the support arm.
Another example is found in Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,233, which requires a pair of longitudinally spaced apart pivot blocks which interact with a support arm and a pair of guide rods. The pivot blocks have apertures therein which frictionally engage the guide rods to limit the sliding of a panel upon the support arm.
However, both sunvisors are relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture. Further, both sunvisors fail to provide provisions for stably biasing the sunvisor to both stowed and deployed positions using a relative simply design.


A close loop control system includes a controlled system having a controlled variable and a control variable, a first detecting unit, a second detecting unit, and a feedback control unit. The first and the second detecting units detect the controlled system to output a first and a second feedback values corresponding to the control variable. The feedback control unit controls the controlled system according to the differential value of the first or the second feedback value and a predetermined value to stabilize the controlled variable to the predetermined value. The absolute differential value of the first and the second feedback values determines if detecting units are regular. When the absolute differential value is smaller than an error value, the controlled variable is controlled according to the first feedback value. When the absolute differential value is not smaller than the error value, the controlled variable is fixed to a fixed value.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a close loop control system and method of the same, and more particularly to a close loop control system, which uses two detecting units to generate two feedback signals and accordingly determines if the feedback signals are regular, and method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The close loop control system is an essential structure of a variety of automatic control systems, such as water pressure control of the cold water, warm water, and hot water supply systems, the temperature, humidity and static pressure control of the clean room, the static pressure control of the exhausting system, and the acidity, alkalinity or conductivity control of the air conditioning system. The close loop control system uses the detecting unit to feed back signals relative to the control variable for reference of the control unit in program calculating, comparing, and output correction in order that the control variable can be stabilized to the predetermined target value.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a conventional close loop control system is shown. The close loop control system 100 includes a controlled system 110, such as a hot water supply system, a detecting unit 120, and a control unit 130. The controlled system 110 has a controlled variable, such as the rotating velocity of the pump motor in the hot water supply system. The detecting unit 120 is a feedback device for detecting the controlled system 110 and outputting a feedback signal A, such as the water pressure, relative to the control variable. The control unit 130 performs a proportional integrated differential (PID) operation, in which the controlled variable of the controlled system 110 is adjusted so that the control variable can reach the expected value according to the comparison between the feedback signal A and a predetermined target value Ao.
When the feedback signal A is larger than the target value Ao, it means that the water pressure (the control variable) supplied by the hot water supply system (the controlled system 110) is too high. Accordingly, the control unit 130 lowers the rotating velocity of the pump motor (the controlled variable) in order to reduce the water pressure. When the feedback signal A is smaller than the target value Ao, it means that the water pressure supplied by the hot water supply system is too low. Accordingly, the control unit 130 increases the rotating velocity of the pump motor to heighten the water pressure.
However, due to the lifetime, quality, and exterior damage issues of the detecting unit 120, its sensing device will be broken down, its pressure guiding tube or connectors will be leaking, and even its transmission device, wires and input module would be irregular. For this reason, the feedback signal A output by the detecting unit 120 will be irregular and thus cannot reflect the real state of the controlled system 110. For example, the present rotating velocity of the pump motor is 1100 rps, and the corresponding water pressure is 20.5 kg/cm2, while the predetermined target value Ao is 20 kg/cm2, and the corresponding rotating velocity of the pump motor is 1050 rps. For the feedback signal A is irregular, the feedback signal A received by the control unit 130 will be fixed to 19 kg/cm2. Therefore, the control unit 130 will determine that the motor rotates too slowly and then increase the rotating velocity until the motor is out of control and the whole hot water supply system is damaged.
Ordinarily, the close loop control system cannot determine if the feedback signal is irregular. Therefore, the above-mentioned system out-of-control issue will occur easily which influences the production and increases the risk of system damage. In addition, when the system sends out the error alarm, mechanics should go to the work field, stop and repair the system by hand, and restart the system after the repair. The system cannot operate continuously as the feedback signal is irregular, thereby influencing the subsequent controlling procedures.

Close loop control system and method of the same


In machines having a bucket that is capable of carrying a load of material, it is well known that when the machine encounters a bump or other obstacle that the effects thereof may result in a shock or jolt being subjected to the machine due to the sudden change in forces acting on the actuator of the lift mechanism. In the subject invention, an accumulator arrangement is connected through a first valve mechanism to the loaded end of an actuator to provide a cushion or damping of the sudden changes in the forces. The first valve mechanism controls the magnitude of the damping in response to the rate of flow between the actuator and the accumulator arrangement. This is accomplished by sensing the pressure drop across a flow restriction mechanism located upstream of the first valve mechanism and controlling the degree of fluid communication between the actuator and the accumulator arrangement in response thereto.

It is well known that when a machine, such as, for example, a wheel loader, is being driven for a distance with a loaded bucket there is always the possibility that the machine will be subjected to shocks due to the weight of the loaded bucket reacting to the machine encountering bumps or other obstacles in its pathway. In order to help reduce or eliminate shocks, it is known to use accumulators that are selectively connected to the lift cylinder actuator. These accumulators, when connected to the loaded end of the actuators, serve to absorb the pressure fluctuations in the actuators thus offsetting the changing forces that would otherwise be acting on the various components of the machine. It is these changing forces acting on the machine that produces the shocks. In order to maintain a pre-charge in the accumulator equal to the pressure in the loaded end of the actuators, it is known to connect the accumulator, during normal use, to the loaded end of the lift cylinder actuator. This is normally accomplished by connecting a conduit therebetween. The conduit normally has an orifice therein that is selectively disposed in the conduit when the machine is not operating in the ride control mode. When the ride control system is active, the load supporting end of the cylinder is in free communication with the accumulator in order to absorb the changing forces. It has been found in at least some situations that the degree of damping during ride control should be varied based on the magnitude of the shock to the machine.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.


Disclosed are a type of catalyst which can catalyze the ring-addition reaction of CO2 and an alkylene oxide at 0˜180° C. under 0.1˜8.0 MPa to produce a corresponding cyclic carbonate, and the preparation thereof. The catalyst is a conjugated microporous macromolecule polymer complexed with cobalt, chromium, zinc, copper or aluminum, and by using the macromolecule catalysts complexed with different metals to catalyze the reaction of CO2 and alkylene oxide at normal temperature and normal pressure, a yield of the corresponding cyclic carbonate of 35%˜90% can be obtained. The catalyst is easy to recover and the re-use of the catalyst has no influence on the yield; additionally, the yield can reach over 90% by controlling the reaction conditions.

Carbon dioxide is one of the main greenhouse gases, but it is safe, nontoxic, inexpensive, and abundant. Since the industrial revolution, the carbon dioxide level in the atmospheric layer was rising year by year, enhancing the greenhouse effect, which leads to the globe warming and the frequent occurrence of the disastrous weather. Therefore, how to dispose and use CO2 has attracted the attention of the whole world. Recently, through the efforts of scientists around the world, it is the main strategy to conceive efficient carbon capture or conversion via chemical technologies. One of the most promising reactions in this area is the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 and epoxides to cyclic carbonates (CCs). However, numerous reported catalyst systems suffered from the harsh operation conditions and their catalytic activities were limited by the requirement of high pressure and temperature, together with the separation difficulties, which lead to the low efficiency to utilize them. Thus, the development of new effective catalytic systems for catalytic conversion with CO2 under mild conditions is desired, especially in real world applications.

Conjugated microporous macromolecule catalyst complexed with cobalt, preparation and use thereof

DALIAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A stowable, load-bearing apparatus is disclosed having at least two bi-stable strips. Each of the bi-stable strips is alternatable between a stable, extended conformation having longitudinal linearity and lateral curvature and a coiled conformation having longitudinal curvature and lateral linearity. The two bi-stable strips are intercoiled when in the coiled conformation, have opposing lateral curvature relative to one another when in the extended conformation, and when extended are directed into a load-bearing alignment by a structural alignment member.

Bi-stable materials, and structures or devices derived therefrom, can be present in either of two stable conformations, but are structurally instable any other conformations. In an example, bi-stable strips which are deployable in either a coiled conformation having longitudinal curvature and lateral linearity, or an extended conformation having longitudinal linearity and lateral curvature, are known in the art.
Structural support members based on bi-stable materials utilize this property to enable convenient reversibility between a retracted, stowable form and an extended, column-like, load-bearing form. The design of such structures however typically leads to formation in the extended form of a column which is either incomplete, having a gap, or otherwise not cross-sectionally affixed. This in turn leads to less than optimal load bearing strength.

Bi-stable material to develop stowable high strength column

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A positioning device for a cylindrical lock includes two first upper protrusions and two first lower protrusions respectively extending from an inside hub of the lock, two second upper protrusions and two second lower protrusions respectively extending from an outside hub. A chassis receiving a retractor therein has two first plates extending from a top surface thereof and two second plates extending from a bottom surface thereof. The two first plates of the chassis are received between the two first upper protrusions and two second upper protrusions, and the two second plates are received between the two first lower protrusions and two second lower protrusions such that the chassis is stationed between the inside and outside hub so as to let a pair of screws extend through these easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positioning device and, more particularly, to an improved positioning device used in a cylindrical lock so that when a retractor between an inside and an outside sleeve-hub assembly is assembled using a pair of screws, the two sleeve-hub assemblies anchor the retractor so as to facilitate an assembler to manipulate the screws.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a commonly used positioning device for a cylindrical lock, wherein a retractor 100 is received in a C-shaped chassis 11 and an inside sleeve-hub assembly 20 includes an inside hub 21 into which an inside sleeve 22 is partially inserted, a tail piece 23 and an inside turn button 24 respectively disposed to the inside sleeve-hub assembly 20. An outside sleeve-hub assembly 30 includes an outside hub 31 and an outside sleeve 32 partially inserted into the outside hub 31. The chassis 11 together with the retractor 100 engaged with a latch bolt (not shown) connected between the inside sleeve-hub assembly 20 and the outside sleeve-hub assembly 30 by a pair of screws 40, and all of these will be disposed in a door (not shown). An inside escutcheon assembly with an inside handle and an outside escutcheon assembly with an outside handle are then respectively disposed to the door, as known in the art. The inside hub 21 and the outside hub 31 respectively have a flange 210/310 extending radially and outwardly therefrom, each of the flanges 210, 310 having two holes 211/311 defined diametrically opposite to each other therethrough. Two ribs 110 extend from each of an upper side and a lower side of the chassis 11, each of the ribs 110 having an aperture 111 defined therethrough so that each one of the two screws 40 extends sequentially through the hole 211, the two apertures 111 and the hole 311 to engage with the outside escutcheon assembly. However, when inserting the pair of screws 40 through the inside hub 21, the chassis 11 and the outside hub 31, there is lacks of a proper positioning device to position the three members 21, 11, 31 so that an assembler has to adjust the holes 211, 311 and the apertures 111 to become in alignment with each other. This will increase assembling time of the lock.
The present invention intends to provide an improved positioning device for a cylindrical lock to mitigate and/or obviate the above-mentioned problems.

Positioning device for a cylindrical lock


Systems and methods for rendering vector data in conjunction with a three-dimensional model are provided. An initial vector map providing a two dimensional representation of vector data, including one or more vector elements (roads, road names, borders, transit lines, etc.), can be texture mapped so that it appears to be located on a surface of the three-dimensional polygon mesh. The initial vector map can be updated or adjusted to an updated vector map. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a blended vector map can be rendered during a blend period to provide for a transition to the updated vector map. The transition can include fading in of vector elements in the updated vector map and/or fading out of vector elements in the initial vector map.

Improvements in computer processing power and broadband technology have led to the development of interactive three-dimensional models. For instance, interactive geographic information systems can provide for the navigating and displaying of three-dimensional representations of geographic areas. A user can navigate the three-dimensional representation by controlling a virtual camera that specifies what portion of the three-dimensional representation is rendered and presented to a user.
The three-dimensional model can include geometry and texture that is texture mapped to the geometry. For instance, a three dimensional model of a geographic area can include a three-dimensional polygon mesh that models the terrain in addition to buildings, bridges, and other objects. Geographic imagery, such as aerial or satellite imagery, and other imagery can be texture mapped to the three-dimensional mesh to provide a more realistic model of the geographic area.

Rendering vector maps in a geographic information system


A method and apparatus for suppressing a duplicated alarm in a communications network are described. In one embodiment, at least one alarm message associated with at least one event is received. A determination of whether the at least one event exists in a database is subsequently made. The at least one event is recorded in the database if the at least one event does not exist in the database. Conversely, the at least one alarm message is suppressed if the at least one event exists in the database.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to anomaly detection systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for suppressing duplicate alarms in a communications network, such as an enterprise environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, the volume of detected security events within an enterprise environment network can produce an overwhelming quantity of alarms. However, a significant portion of these alarms are recurring duplicates. Therefore, these duplicate alarm messages need to be intelligently suppressed from being processed and/or displayed at a central management console. Failure to do so may create a denial of service condition against a cyber security team, or alternatively overwhelm a network operator viewing a monitoring display. For example, during the outbreak of a cyber security event such as a virus or worm, the number of alarms may be excessive and can overwhelm a cyber security team. Similarly, many commercial system vendors often provide scrolling windows to receive and view the flow of alarm messages. Some vendors provide "freeze" and "continue" buttons to halt the scrolling alarms so they can be examined. However, these solutions are not completely effective because the duplicated alarms make it difficult for other alarm messages to be discerned.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for suppressing duplicate alarms.

Method and apparatus for suppressing duplicate alarms


A recording medium from which recorded information is reproduced by irradiating a read-out light, including an information recording surface and a plurality of information pits formed on the information recording surface. The information pits are formed by fine diffraction gratings having a grating constant (d) less than one half of the wavelength (.lambda.) of the read-out light. The fine diffraction gratings have a plurality of grating directions, each of the plurality of grating directions corresponding to the information to be recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording medium for optically recording signals of various information such as video information and apparatus for optically recording and reproducing information thereon and therefrom. And more particularly to a recording medium on which information can be recorded at high density, and recording/reproducing apparatuses therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a recording medium is formed as a recording disc which includes a center hole at its central portion, and information are recorded as a single track in a spiral form surrounding the outer periphery of the center hole. Such a recording disc includes, as shown in FIG. 1A, information pit portion 10 formed on a transparent disc substrate or base 15 such as Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), an aluminum film 12 of a high reflection factor laminated on the disc substrate 15 which is provided with the information pit portion 10 thereon, and a protective layer 11 such as plastic formed on the aluminum film 12.
In the case of reproducing information from the recording disc, a light beam LB such as laser beam is irradiated from the transparent disc substrate 15 side onto information pit portion 10 of a track section to be reproduced. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1B, rays of reflected light LB.sub.R reflected at mirror-finished surface portions between pits where no information pit portion 10 exists are detected as a "bright" light, and rays of reflected light LB.sub.R reflected at the portion of information pit portion 10 are detected as a "dark" light. In this way, information corresponding to respective recording pits 20a, 20b, 21, . . . of the information pit portions 10 will be reproduced by rays of reflected light of "bright" or "dark" light.
According to the recording disc and the reproducing method as described above, rays of reflected light are detected as a signal light optically amplitude-modulated by a change in the reflection factor of a light beam of a read-out light emitted onto the information pit portions. As a result, binary signals are recorded and reproduced in correspondence with the obtained signal light of"bright" or"dark". Since information is merely recorded as a binary signal of one bit in a manner of the presence or absence of information pits as described above, there is a limit in the information integration density per unit area of the disc. For this reason, there was the problem that it is difficult to increase the information integration density to be high. Further, even if information is recorded at high density by using any other recording method such as reducing the track pitch, etc., it was difficult to precisely reproduce the recorded information because the light beam is simultaneously irradiated on the adjacent information pits as shown in FIG. 1C.
As a technology to solve the above-mentioned problem, there is a recording carrier (recording medium) disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 119517/1975. In this recording medium, at least two kinds of diffraction gratings are provided in areas arranged in a track form so that directions of the grating lines are different for every kinds of diffraction gratings. That is, if the two kinds of diffraction gratings are alternately formed on every adjacent tracks, adjacent tracks positioned on both the sizes of the target track are formed by the diffraction grating of other kind than that of the target track and serves as an intermediate zone at the time of reading the target track. Therefore, information recording density becomes substantially twice greater than that of an ordinary recording medium.
However, in the case of the above-mentioned recording carrier, since the content of information is recorded by means of plural kinds of diffraction gratings, the diffraction directions are different for every kinds of the diffraction gratings at the time of reproduction. For this reason, there is the problem that it is necessary to provide a plurality of signal light detection units for each kind of diffraction directions.

Recording medium and information recording and reproducing apparatus therefor


A bending system comprising a series of bending stations, each equipped with a bending head. Workpieces are conveyed from one bending station to the next by grippers suspended from a two-axis gantry, that preferably grasp the workpiece at an intermediate portion. Each bending head grasps the tube at a different intermediate position, and in the preferred embodiment each bending station is capable of rotating to position the bending dye such that the free end of the workpiece being bent can be oriented in the bending plane without interference by an adjacent bending station. These features reduce the space requirements of the system considerably. A multi-level dispensing apparatus may be provided to load the bending heads. The bending system is preferably operated by computer, allowing the bending of long workpieces to precise configurations under the control of a single operator.

Bent components are used in manufacturing many different types of articles and machines. For example, many of the fluid conduits in an automobile are bent to a predetermined shape for installation on an automobile assembly line. In such situations the component must be shaped to exacting tolerances, particularly in the case of for example brake lines which carry brake fluid from the master braking cylinder to the wheel cylinders, in order to ensure that the conduits fit into the space for which they are designed and conduits are stable in motion.
One popular bending method is known as "draw bending", in which the workpiece is held in position and bent by a bending arm around a dye having a set radius of curvature. Where multiple bends are required in different directions, rather than changing the direction of motion of the bending arm and the orientation of the dye, after each bend the workpiece is rotated to the next bending plane so that the bend can be effected by actuating the bending arm in the same direction, to the desired angle. Such a device is known as a "rotary draw bender."
To bend components within very high tolerances, rotary bending heads have been developed that combine different types of actuators, for example a hydraulic gripper for gripping the tube can be combined with an electric motor for rotating the tube to the bending plane and pneumatic or hydraulic actuators for effecting the actual bending of the tube by the bending arm.
A conventional rotary bending head comprises a set of jaws for gripping one end of the tube; a bending arm extending forwardly of the jaws and having a grasping end, for holding the tube during bending and rotation; and a dye having a specific bending radius movable to the bending point on the tube, the dye being sized depending upon the diameter of the tube and the desired radius of curvature of the bend. The arc of motion of bending arm is limited to the bending plane, so the tube is rotated until the desired bend direction falls into the bending plane, at which point the bending arm is actuated to effect the bend to the desired angle. In a typical case this process occurs multiple times on a particular tube, for example in the case of a brake line.
However, such prior art rotary bending heads have significant limitations. The time that it takes to apply multiple bends to a tube depends upon a number of factors, including the rotational speed of the bending jaws. Prior to each bend, the jaws must rotate the tube to an angular orientation in which the desired bend direction lies in the bending plane. This rotation cannot commence until the previous bend is completed, and in order to maintain precise tolerances the rotation must completely cease before the next bend begins. In the case of a tube to which multiple bends are to be applied, the time spent rotating the tube to the bending position for each successive bend can constitute the majority of the time taken to complete the bending process. In industries such as the automobile parts industry, where a typical run through the bending apparatus to fill a single order can involve hundreds of thousands of tubes, this wasted time can have a significant unnecessary overhead cost.
Moreover, the tube bending head so described as capable of bending tubes only up to a certain length, i.e. approximately 1.3 meters (4 feet), at the maximum rotational speed of the jaws. Because of the mechanical disadvantage obtained by grasping the tube at one end, in longer tubes the inertia of the free end of the tube will cause the tube to wobble, to the point where the tube is likely to be out of alignment at the moment the bend occurs, unless the rotational speed of the jaws is reduced. With the jaws rotating at maximum speed, as a long tube is rotated the free end of the tube tends to twist and lag behind the gripped end of the tube, so that the bending point may not have rotated fully into the bending plane at the precise moment that the bending arm is applied to the tube. Also, if the tube is heavy enough inertia can cause the tube to slip in the gripper at full speed. All of these problems result in reduced tolerance and, in many cases, inaccurate bends, which requires that many of the component be discarded. This problem is also wasteful and time consuming over many thousands or hundreds of thousands of workpieces.
It would accordingly be advantageous to provide a bending apparatus that is capable of maintaining high rotational speeds when rotating the tube into the bending plane over successive bends, without reducing the accuracy or tolerances in the finished product, and to be capable of bending tubes longer than 1.3 meters (4 feet) quickly and without reducing the accuracy or tolerances in the finished product.
Further, it would be advantageous to provide a series of bending heads in an apparatus, in order to effect bends of many different radii and complete the entire bending procedure without having to change the bending dye. However, positioning each bending stations far enough away from adjacent bending stations so that the workpiece can be bent without interference by an adjacent bending station would take up considerable floor space.


In a storage device having a read buffer for storing datum read out from a storage medium in the form of cache data, datum are sequentially stored in the read buffer, but the read buffer is not partitioned into a plurality of areas. In the event that a plurality of cache data areas, each of which is an assembly of datum continued in an address on the storage medium, exist in the read buffer, a weighting is applied for each cache data area in connection with an importance of a data save. An overwrite is performed on an area of the minimum weight, and at least data on an area of the maximum weight is saved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage device, for example, a magnetic disk unit and an optical disk unit, wherein upon receipt of a read command issued by the exterior, for example, a host system, data is read out from a storage medium, for example, a magnetic disk and an optical disk, and is stored in a read buffer in the form of a cache data, and the cache data, which is stored in the read buffer, is transferred to the exterior (for example, a host system).
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, in a magnetic disk unit for accessing a magnetic disk or an optical disk unit for accessing an optical disk, when such a disk unit receives a read command from a host system, the disk unit not only reads out data of data amount designated by the read command from a read first address designated by the read command, of a storage medium such as the magnetic disk and the optical disk, but also performs a so-called read-ahead in which an idle-time, until the next command is received, is utilized to continue the reading in order of the address. The data read out from the storage medium is stored in the read buffer in the form of cache data, and data requested by the read command, of the cache data stored in the read buffer, but the read-ahead data, is transferred to the host system which is a source of generation of the read command. When such a read-ahead is performed and then the subsequent read command is received, it is determined whether the data, which is requested by the received read command, is already stored in the read buffer. When it is determined that the data is already stored in the read buffer, the cache data stored in the read buffer is read out without accessing the storage medium and is transmitted to the host system. This contributes to shortening the access time.
Hitherto, as a storage scheme of data read out from a storage medium into a read buffer, there are known two schemes as set forth below.
(1) A scheme in which a one read buffer is fixedly partitioned into a plurality of segments each for storing the associated read command.
(2) A scheme in which a one read buffer is not fixedly partitioned into a plurality of segments, but datum (data requested from the host system and read-ahead data) for each read command are sequentially stored in read buffer.
According to the above-mentioned scheme (1), it is possible to simultaneously store on the read buffer a plurality of cache datum in which addresses on the storage medium are discontinuous. But according to the scheme (1), a cache size for each segment is restricted, since the read buffer is partitioned into a plurality of segments. Thus, in the event that a sequential read command (a read command wherein with respect to the final address of a read area on a storage medium, which is designated the past read command, the subsequent address is established as a read first address) is continuously issued, the device will be restricted in performance.
Further, according to the above-mentioned scheme (2), there is a high possibility that cache data stored in the read buffer by the read-ahead, which may be utilized later, is overwritten by data read out from the storage medium in accordance with a read command newly issued and the subsequent read-ahead data. Particularly, in the even that the sequential read command is sequentially issued, there is a high possibility of an overwrite. This is associated with a problem that the cache data, which is read out from the storage medium and is stored in the read buffer, cannot be efficiently utilized.
Further, as a modification of the above-mentioned scheme (1), there is known a scheme that a vacant area of a read buffer is managed in units of address so that only a read-ahead data is accumulated on the read buffer. According to this scheme, however, an address management for controlling this is complicated. Further, when a new read command is issued, it is complicated as to a determination whether data requested by the new read command is stored in the read buffer. Furthermore, according to the modification as mentioned above, there is a need to prepare an especial circuit for accessing data requested by the read command, in the event that the data is stored in the read buffer.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage device capable of effectively holding on a buffer data which is not yet transferred, and thereby shortening an access time.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a storage device wherein data is read out from a storage medium in accordance with a read command entered from an exterior to be stored in a buffer, and the data stored in the buffer is transferred to the exterior, said storage device comprising:
read control means for performing such a read-ahead that when data requested by the present read command is not stored in said buffer, the data designated by the present read command is read out from said storage medium so as to be stored in areas of an address et seq. subsequent to a final address of an area in which data is already stored, and the data designated by the present read command is transferred to the exterior, and datum are read out continuously in turn from said storage medium to be stored in said buffer; and
weighting means for applying weighting to a data area storing datum on which addresses on said storage medium are continued on said storage medium, on said buffer, in accordance with an amount of residual datum not transmitted to the exterior, in the data area.
In the storage device according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is acceptable that said weighting means performs weighting for each data area in accordance with at least one of an access frequency to the data area, an elapsed time since the data area is subjected to the last access, and a number of times of an issuance of an external read command since the data area is subjected to the last access, as well as the amount of residual datum not transmitted to the exterior.
In the storage device according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said read control means provides such a control that when data requested by the present read command is not stored in said buffer, the data designated by the present read command is read out from said storage medium so as to be stored in a data area of the minimum weight applied to said weighting means, of said buffer.
In the storage device according to the present invention, datum read from the storage medium are sequentially stored in the buffer closely. This feature makes it possible to effectively use the buffer in its entirety. Further according to the storage device of the present invention, a weighting is applied for each data area separated in a discontinuous point in address on the storage medium, on the buffer, and an overwrite is performed on an data area of the minimum weight. This feature makes it possible to remain on the buffer much datum which are concerned with high possibility in the later use, and thereby contributing to the effective utilization of the cache data and also improving the access speed.
In the storage device according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said read control means inhibits an overwrite on an data area of the maximum weight applied to said weighting means, of said buffer, and performs an overwrite on areas but the data area of the maximum weight, of said buffer, so that data read out from said storage medium is stored in said buffer.
When no vacant area exist in the buffer, a overwrite is performed on the data area of the minimum weight applied by the weighting means. However, even in a case where a need of the overwrite arises exceeding a size of the data area, a provision of the overwrite as to the data area of the maximum weight applied by the weighting means may contributing to a harmonization between the effective utilization of the cache data on the buffer and a requirement that a wide storage area on the buffer is ensured to store in the buffer data newly read out from the storage medium.
In the storage device according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said weighting means performs weighting in such a manner that when a data area of the maximum weight of said buffer is accessed by said read control means, the maximum weight is applied to any data area of data areas but the accessed data area.
In some case, it happens that data requested by the read command newly issued exists in the data area of the maximum weight in the buffer. In this case, the data area of the maximum weight is accessed. In this case, an establishment of any one of the data areas but the data area of the maximum weight accessed to the maximum weight may contributing to a harmonization between the effective utilization of the cache data on the buffer and a requirement that a wide storage area on the buffer is ensured to store in the buffer data newly read out from the storage medium. When the data area having the maximum weight is accessed, at least part of the datum stored in the associated data area is read out therefrom and transferred. An amount of non-transferred datum of the data area is decreased, and as a result the weight of the data area is lowered.
In the storage device according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that in the event that all datum requested by the present read command are stored in any one of the data areas of said buffer, and a first address of an area storing data requested by the present read command, of the data area is a subsequent address to a final address of an area storing data transferred to the exterior according to the past read command served for formation of the data area, of the data area, said read control means starts in accordance with the present read command a read-ahead from a subsequent address to an address in which data stored in a final address of the data area was stored, on said storage medium.
In the event that all datum requested by the present read command are stored in any one of areas of the buffer (this is referred to a xe2x80x9cfull hitxe2x80x9d), and the present read command is a sequential command to the past read command served for formation of the data area, there is a high possibility that a sequential command to the present read command is further issued, since the present read command is a sequential command. Therefore, in the event that this condition is satisfied, the read-ahead is carried out. To carry out the read-ahead at the time of full hit, a provision of such a condition that the present read command is a sequential command to the past read command may prevent an increment of an overhead by an execution of useless read-ahead, and also prevent useless overwrite onto additional data areas.
In the event that only part of datum requested by the present read command exists in the buffer (this is referred to a xe2x80x9cpartial hitxe2x80x9d), the insufficient datum are read out from the storage medium regardless of the fact that the present read command is a sequential command, and when an idle time exists until an issuance of the next read command, the read-ahead is carried out.
Incidentally, the storage device of the present invention can be understood as follows.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a storage device wherein data is read out from a storage medium in accordance with a read command entered from an exterior to be stored in a buffer, and the data stored in the buffer is transferred to the exterior, said storage device comprising:
determination means for determining whether data requested by the present read command is already stored in the buffer;
read control means for performing such a read-ahead that when data requested by the present read command is already stored in said buffer, the data designated by the present read command is read out from said buffer so as to be transferred to the exterior, and when data requested by the present read command is not stored in said buffer, and a vacant area storing no data exists in said buffer, datum on areas storing datum of an amount of datum designated by the present read command, of the read first address et seq. designated by the present read command, of the storage medium, is read out from said storage medium so as to be stored in areas of an address et seq. subsequent to a final address of an area in which data is already stored, and the data designated by the present read command is transferred to the exterior, and datum are read out continuously in turn from said storage medium so as to be stored in said buffer even after the termination of read out of data designated by the present read command from the storage medium; and
weighting means for applying weighting according to a degree of an importance as to a save of data on the buffer to a data area storing datum on which addresses on said storage medium are continued on said storage medium, on said buffer, in accordance with an amount of residual datum not transmitted to the exterior, in the data area,
wherein said read control means provides such a control that when data requested by the present read command is not stored in said buffer, and when no vacant area exists in said buffer, the datum of the amount of datum designated by the present read command is read out from areas of the read first address et seq. designated by the present read command, of the storage medium, so as to be stored in data areas of the first address et seq. of the data area of the minimum weight applied to said weighting means, of said buffer, and the data requested by the present read command, which is stored in the buffer, is transferred to the exterior, and in addition the read-ahead is carried out.


An automatic, frequency selective microwave tuner, used for load pull transistor testing, is capable of generating independently controllable reflection factors, both in amplitude and phase, at several, harmonic or not, frequencies simultaneously. The tuner employs horizontally and vertically adjustable high Q resonant probes and replaces, when used in harmonic load pull set-ups, otherwise required combinations of wide-band tuners with harmonic rejection tuners or wide-band tuners and frequency discriminators (diplexers or triplexers).

This invention relates to a manual or automatic microwave tuner to be used mainly in harmonic load pull testing of power transistors by being able to synthesize the amplitude and phase of selected impedances at each harmonic frequency independently.
Modern design of high power microwave amplifiers and oscillators, used in various communication systems, requires accurate knowledge of the active device's (microwave transistor's) characteristics. In such circuits, it is inadequate for the transistors operating in their highly non-linear region, close to power saturation, to be described using non-linear analytical or numerical models.
A popular method for testing and characterizing such microwave components (transistors) in the non-linear region of operation is "load pull". Load pull is a measurement technique employing microwave tuners and other microwave test equipment. The microwave tuners are used in order to manipulate the microwave impedance conditions under which the Device Under Test (DUT, or transistor) is tested (FIGS. 1 and 2).
When transistors operate in their non-linear range at high power and close to saturation, signal distortion inside the transistors creates significant harmonic frequency signal components that reduce the efficiency and the signal transmission purity of the communication system. In order to improve and optimize the performance of such transistors under these operating conditions, the tuners used to test these DUT must also provide for independent control of the impedance at the harmonic frequencies, or "harmonic impedances". If such tuners are used, then the load pull system described above becomes a "harmonic load pull system" (FIGS. 1 and 2).
There are essentially two methods that allow generation and manipulation of microwave impedances presented to the DUT:
A. Using electro-mechanical [1] or passive electronic tuners [2], leading to "passive load pull" (FIG. 1); and;
B. Active tuners, leading to "active load pull" [3], (FIG. 2).
Electro-mechanical tuners [1] have a number of advantages compared to active tuners, such as long-term stability, higher handling of microwave power, easier operation and lower cost. Such tuners use adjustable mechanical obstacles (probes) inserted into the transmission media of the tuners in order to reflect part of the power coming out of the DUT and to create a "real" impedance presented to the DUT.
Passive electronic tuners have been used in the past, but they provide limited tuning range and handling power and do not offer any significant benefit within the scope of this invention.
Existing passive electro-mechanical tuners, as used in set-ups shown in FIG. 1, use a tuning mechanism, as shown in cross section in FIG. 5; in this configuration the capacitive coupling between the vertical probe (81) and the central conductor (83) of the slotted airline (slabline, 77, 78) creates a wideband reflection, that can be adjusted by changing the distance between the bottom of the probe (81) and the central conductor (83).
The modifications of both the amplitude and phase of the reflection factors due to the capacitance change are wideband in nature and generate reflection factors at several harmonic frequencies. When the tuner is moving, the impedances at all harmonic frequencies change simultaneously, and since all harmonic reflections are generated by the same wideband RF probe in the tuner, there is a natural and fixed relationship between them.
This makes it impossible to control the impedances at the harmonic frequencies independently. However, independent tuning of the impedances at the harmonic frequencies is a key requirement of a harmonic load pull test system. Therefore, it is impossible to perform harmonic load pull without the use of frequency path separation before the tuners by means of frequency discriminators, such as di- or tri-plexers, which would separate the signals at the various harmonic frequencies of interest, before they reach the tuners.
Active tuners (FIG. 2) are assemblies of microwave circuits and components that include at least one microwave amplifier, a phase shifter and a variable attenuator. These assemblies sample signals coming out of the DUT, using typically a directional coupler, and return them to the DUT after amplifying the signals and modifying their amplitude and phase. This generates a "virtual" reflection factor for the DUT. Active tuners use band-pass filters in their circuits and are, therefore, able to separate the various frequencies coming out of the DUT and thus synthesize harmonic impedances independently. Their disadvantage lies in much higher complexity and price than passive tuners, as well as power limitations and tendency for spurious oscillations.
As mentioned before, in order to manipulate the harmonic impedances, a passive load pull test system needs either some kind of frequency separation, between the tuners and the DUT or frequency selective tuners. In the absence of frequency selective tuners, frequency separation is achieved by using frequency discriminators, like frequency diplexers or triplexers. These components must be connected between the DUT and the actual tuner, introducing insertion loss that reduces the effective reflection factor effectively presented by the tuners to the DUT.
Frequency selective tuners, on the other hand, could be connected directly to the DUT and synthesize harmonic frequencies independently. At this point of time, frequency selective tuners, capable of changing the amplitude and phase of reflection factors at harmonic frequencies and capable of being used in harmonic load pull set-ups, are not known.

Frequency selective load pull tuner and method


A method and apparatus for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium uses a small-diameter insulating substrate. The apparatus includes a carrier for a special size of 3.5 inches for receiving a plurality of small-diameter insulating substrates. Seed layers are deposited on the substrates, then each substrate is rotated to shift the position of the substrate so that the movable claw contacts the deposited seed layer. A bias voltage is applied via the movable claw for subsequent deposition layers.

An external recording device for a computer mostly uses a magnetic disk as a recording medium. A standard magnetic disk has an outer diameter of 2.5 to 3.5 inches. A deposition process on a standard insulating substrate 2.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter for a magnetic disk is typically performed by a single-substrate-processing. The following two methods, for example, are used to apply a bias voltage on the insulating substrate during deposition. In one method, a conductive film (typically a base film) is deposited on the insulating substrate while being supported by a support tool at a particular position. Then, the portion supporting the insulating substrate is shifted to a different position and then a bias voltage is applied on the insulating substrate via the support tool and the conductive film while the supporting tool supports the portion on which the conductive film was deposited. In another method, a bias terminal is made to contact an end face of the insulating substrate after depositing the conductive film, and then the bias voltage is directly applied on the insulating substrate.
While the demand for a magnetic disk having a small diameter of 1.25 inches or less has gradually increased in recent years, the magnetic disk manufacturing apparatus has not changed. Although the same deposition device for the standard substrate 3.5 inches in diameter can be used to deposit layers on a small-diameter insulating substrate, the efficiency of a target to a product suffers, resulting in reduction in productivity.
When multiple-substrate-processing (for example, four-substrate-processing) small-diameter substrates to improve productivity, since the size of an objective product is smaller, the technique for shifting an insulating substrate proposed for example in JP-A-2001-216689 or counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,089 cannot be carried out. Thus, when multiple-substrate-processing is carried out, deposition is performed on an insulating substrate without applying a bias voltage on the substrate, or a base layer is first deposited, then a product is removed from a vacuum apparatus to shift and support the insulating substrate, and then deposition is performed again with the bias voltage applied in the vacuum apparatus.
In the former technique where no bias voltage is applied, an electromagnetic conversion property as a major property of a product is reduced. On the other hand, in the latter method, the insulating substrate needs to be temporarily removed from the vacuum apparatus and shifted to a different position. Consequently, quality of the product can be deteriorated by particles induced when the substrate is placed into or taken out from the vacuum apparatus.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a more efficient multiple-substrate-processing for small-diameter substrates without deteriorating the quality. The present invention addresses this need.

Apparatus and method for manufacturing magnetic recording medium


Umbrella assemblies described herein are configured to retract and extend, tilt side to side, and open and close. In some embodiments, the umbrella assembly can include a cantilevered beam. The umbrella assembly can further include a tilt mechanism operable to rotate the canopy frame. The umbrella assembly can include a clutch mechanism fixed to the cantilevered beam.

1. Field of the Invention
This application is directed to a cantilever umbrella that can retract and extend, and that also can tilt laterally from side to side to provide flexible positioning of the shade provided thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
Umbrellas generally have a support pole centrally located directly beneath the canopy. This construction has several disadvantages. For example, the pole is located at the most sheltered position under the canopy. Also, the pole obstructs the view of persons seated beneath the canopy. Some umbrella designs locate the support pole to the side of the canopy, generally suspending the canopy from above. A disadvantage of these designs is that they are larger, taking up more space than umbrellas supported from below. A few umbrella designs support a canopy from above and are retractable to reduce the amount of space that they require.
Often times, umbrellas provide shade that is optimal during some times of the day when the sun is directly overhead, but less so when the sun is not directly overhead. Therefore, some umbrella designs provide for tilting of the shade providing portion, or canopy. Although this function is very useful, it becomes difficult to keep the umbrella compact while providing all the functions of retractability, tiltability, and the ability to open and close the canopy frame.


Provided is a terrestrial broadcast wave reception-use antenna device having performance that is equivalent to or better than that of a conventional device in frequency bands at or below an FM band even if an antenna element length is shortened to approximately 55 [mm]. An amplifier (12-A) is configured so as to include a compound semiconductor HEMT for amplifying a received wave having a frequency at or below a resonant point of an antenna element (10) among received waves of the antenna element (10), the compound semiconductor HEMT having an equivalent noise resistance of 2 [Ω] or smaller for the received frequency so that a noise figure (NF) is approximately constant over a wide frequency band at or below the FM band.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terrestrial broadcast wave reception-use antenna device for an AM band and an FM band for use in vehicles, for example, and to a component of the antenna device. In particular, the present invention relates to a configuration in which sufficient performance can be obtained even if a very short antenna element is used. Herein, the AM band is 0.522 [MHz] to 1.629 [MHz], and the FM band is 76 [MHz] to 90 [MHz].
Background Art
As an antenna element for receiving terrestrial broadcast waves, a telescopic rod antenna element having a height of approximately 1,000 [mm] has been widely used for a long time. When the telescopic rod antenna element is expanded, the telescopic rod antenna element operates as a resonant monopole antenna for approximately 0.25λ ("λ" is a wavelength of a working frequency. The same holds true hereinafter.) in the FM band. In addition, in the AM band, the telescopic rod antenna element operates as a non-resonant monopole antenna having an output impedance of approximately 10 [kΩ]. Therefore, it is known that the telescopic rod antenna element realizes a low reflection coefficient and operates at a high efficiency near 100 [%] for a receiver. Performance of the telescopic rod antenna element in the AM band and in the FM band has been practically employed as a reference as a terrestrial broadcast wave reception-use antenna for a long time, which is used for vehicles.
When the telescopic rod antenna elements are used for vehicles, there are many incidents of breakage because of their physical heights. Therefore, there is a potential demand for shortening the antenna element in the market. However, if the height of the antenna element is reduced, an accompanying impedance change of the antenna element and a mismatch loss with a cable and a receiver due to the impedance change are increased.
In response to the demand for shortening the antenna element, a rod antenna device was commercialized in the mid-1990s, which uses a rod helical antenna element having a height of approximately 200 [mm] (0.05 of an FM wavelength A). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-215122 proposes an example of the rod antenna device.
In the rod antenna device of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-215122, a monopole antenna element is connected to an amplifier unit including an AM/FM branching circuit, an FM matching circuit, an FM amplifier, an AM amplifier, and an AM/FM combining circuit. This amplifier unit performs an active impedance conversion of an impedance variation of the antenna element and reduces a mismatch loss between the antenna element and the receiver so as to compensate for performance degradation due to the shortening of the antenna element. In this way, because the performance degradation due to the shortening of the antenna element is compensated for by the amplifier unit, this type of antenna device has been widespread worldwide to date.
In the 2000s, without limiting to vehicles, types and the number of the antenna elements for wireless media mounted in mobile terminals were rapidly increased. Along with this, the demands of the market for shortening of each antenna element were further increased. As a result, in the market of the antenna for vehicles, there have been increased demands for reducing the height of the antenna element to approximately 55 [mm] (approximately 0.0125-fold of the FM band wavelength λ, for example).
However, performance degradation of the antenna element is conspicuous when the length of the antenna element is shortened as described above, and the technology of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-215122 cannot sufficiently compensate for the performance degradation by the amplifier unit. In particular, in the conventional technology, a large deterioration of a signal/noise (S/N) ratio occurs in the FM band. Therefore, no antenna device having a height of the antenna element of approximately 55 [mm] is widespread worldwide at present.

Terrestrial broadcast wave reception-use antenna device and component of same


A frontward blade mounting bracket, for connecting the front end of a side blade to a vehicle side adjacent a road surface, includes a spacer and an elongate guide member. The spacer has opposed first and second spacer ends. The first spacer end is pivotally connected to the vehicle side about a substantially vertical pivot axis, and the second spacer end is spaced apart from the first spacer end in a direction leading outwardly away from the vehicle side. The guide member has first and second guide parts connected to the second spacer end and the second guide part respectively. The first and second guide parts longitudinally move relative to one another about a substantially vertical guide axis.

It is well known in the art to use a frontal bracket for mounting a side wing or blade on a vehicle to remove snow or other materials from a pavement or roadside. In particular, wings are usually non-permanently mounted, such as for the winter season, on a motor vehicle, and more specifically on a 2 to 3 tons truck with a low profiled chassis. In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 2,991,566 issued to Sumner et al. on Jul. 11, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,363 issued to Snyder on May 2, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,892 issued to Farrell on Sep. 6, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,652 issued to Raines et al. on Jun. 27, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,766 issued to Croteau et al. on Nov. 9, 1982 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,631 issued to Cordingley on Apr. 2, 2002 show a frontal bracket holding the forward section of a side wing via a vertical axis wing attachment pivot that is often combined with a frontward lifting means. In those cases however, the pivot is adjacent the wing whilst the frontward lifting means is secured on the vehicle via a generally complex mounting arrangement.
Other differences and difficulties with the existing type of frontal mounting bracket are the restrictions given under various circumstances. A first situation is that the actual positioning of the frontward lifting means, which includes a substantially vertical post, often partially obstructs the view of the driver of the vehicle. In another situation which usually cannot be controlled by the driver, the frontward lifting means prevents the full opening of the hood of the vehicle, that is generally overcome with prior disassembly of some parts of the mounting arrangement. In a third situation, when the vehicle is to be used without the side wing, such as during the summer period, the visually obstructing and cumbersome frontward lifting means generally remains mounted on the vehicle.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved frontward mounting bracket for side blade with a simple configuration.


An apparatus for generating an auto-focus measurement value for use in performing an auto-focus operation on the basis of contrast components in a video signal. The apparatus includes a line peak circuit which sequentially receives lines of the video signal and generates therefrom a sequence of maximum values of the contrast components of each of the lines. An averaging circuit calculates a rolling average of the line maximum values to form average values. A peak hold circuit outputs a maximum value of the average values as the auto-focus measurement value. The resulting auto-focus measurement value is not greatly affected either by noise or by moving objects within the image represented by the video signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an auto-focus apparatus of the type in which an auto-focus measurement value is obtained from contrast components of a video signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional auto-focus apparatus that is part of an image processing system, an auto-focus operation is carried out by adjusting a focusing lens so that an auto-focus measurement value obtained from contrast components of a video signal is maximized. This is based on the concept that proper focus is achieved when the high frequency components of the video signal are at a maximum. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 1, the direction and speed of adjustment are controlled on the basis of the sign and magnitude of a change .DELTA.y in the auto-focus measurement value which results when the focusing lens is adjusted by a very small distance .DELTA.x.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional circuit for generating an auto-focus measurement value. As shown in FIG. 2, a digital video signal Y is received at an input terminal 1 and is band-limited by a high-pass filter (HPF) 2. The band-limited signal output from HPF 2 is converted into an absolute value signal representative of contrast components of the video signal by an absolute value (ABS) circuit 3. The signal output from the ABS circuit 3 is supplied to a detecting unit 4 which generates an auto-focus measurement value EST on the basis of the absolute value signal according to one of various conventional approaches which will be described below. The resulting auto-focus measurement value EST is then output from an output terminal 5.
In describing the ways in which the auto-focus measurement value EST may be obtained according to the above-mentioned conventional approaches, S.sub.1,1 - - - S.sub.1,k2 ; S.sub.2,1 - - - S.sub.2,k2 ; . . . ; S.sub.k1,1 - - - S.sub.k1,k2 will represent absolute value (contrast component) signals output from ABS circuit 3 in response to a frame (hereinafter referred to as the "range finder frame") that is part of a field or frame of the video signal from which the auto-focus measurement value EST is to be obtained.
A conventional approach known as an "integration system" will first be described. According to this system, as shown in the following equation (1), all of the signals S.sub.1,1 through S.sub.k1,k2 are added in the detecting unit 4 and the resulting sum is provided as the auto-focus measurement value EST (see FIG. 3A). ##EQU1##
Next a so-called horizontal line (H line) peak hold system will be described. According to this system, as shown in the following equation (2), there is generated a maximum value of each line of signals (S.sub.1,1 - - - S.sub.1,k2), (S.sub.2,1 - - - S.sub.2,k2), . . . , (S.sub.k1,1 - - - S.sub.k1,k2). The line maximum values are summed and the result is provided as the auto-focus measurement value EST (see FIG. 3B). ##EQU2##
A third conventional system, known as the vertical peak (V peak) hold system will next be described. According to this system, as shown in the following equation (3), the maximum of all of the signals S.sub.1,1 - - - S.sub.k1,k2 is detected by detecting unit 4 and provided as the auto-focus measurement value EST (see FIG. 3C). ##EQU3##
All of these conventional systems suffer from disadvantages. An auto-focus measurement value obtained according to the integration or H line peak hold system is not greatly affected by noise but tends to be affected by a moving object within the scene represented by the video signal. Conversely, an auto-focus measurement value obtained according to the V peak hold system is not greatly affected by moving objects within the scene of the video signal, but tends to be affected by noise.
Turning to another aspect of conventional approaches for generating an auto-focus measurement value, reference is again made to the curve shown in FIG. 1, which represents changes in the auto-focus measurement value in response to changes in position of the focusing lens. In order to perform a satisfactory auto-focus operation, the base of this curve must be inclined. For that purpose, HPF 2 (FIG. 2) is required to have a low cut-off frequency so that its output signal contains as many components as possible other than DC.
However, the lower the cut-off frequency of HPF 2, the longer the time period during which a signal change at a certain point in time continues to affect the output of HPF 2. FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show the step response and the frequency characteristic of embodiments of HPF 2 depending on variations in its transfer characteristic (1-D)/(1-kD). It will be seen that as the parameter k is increased, the cut-off frequency is decreased, but the period of response to a signal step increases.
Other problems with conventional auto-focus systems arise when an edge of an object is present near the left side of the range finder frame, or when the leading edge after a horizontal blanking interval (i.e. the black level) affects the output of HPF 2. FIG. 5A shows the input video signal Y and FIG. 5B shows the corresponding output signal from HPF 2. As seen from FIGS. 5A and 5B, the output signal of the HPF 2 during the period corresponding to the range finder frame is affected by the leading edge EDGE which follows the horizontal blanking period.
Another disadvantage of conventional auto-focus systems will be explained with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 6, which illustrates a process according to the prior art for determining whether an auto-focus operation should be performed.
It should be understood that the automatic focus operations described herein are conducted with respect to real-time moving images, not still pictures. Accordingly, when a change occurs in the auto-focus measurement value, it is necessary to distinguish between two different cases: (1) An object within the scene has moved but the scene as a whole is unchanged; and (2) the entire scene has changed. In the second case, a complete auto focus operation must be performed; in the first case only a fine adjustment should be made, for otherwise the picture would become unstable.
At the beginning of the routine shown in FIG. 6, it is determined, at step 31, whether or not the auto-focus measurement value has changed from the value for the preceding field. If so, then the routine proceeds to step 32 in which a field count t is set to an initial value t0 (for example, t0=20).
Following step 32 is step 33, at which it is determined whether the auto-focus measurement value for the next field has changed. If not, the routine returns to step 31. Otherwise, following step 33 is step 34, at which the field counter t is decremented. After step 34 is step 35, at which it is determined whether the field counter t has been decremented to 0. If not, then the routine returns to step 33. Otherwise, i.e. if the auto-focus measurement value has changed for a consecutive number of fields equal to t0, then it is determined that an auto-focus operation should be performed (step 36).
It is a disadvantage of this prior art decision making process that the start of the auto-focus operation does not occur for a relatively long time, e.g., 20 fields, after a change of scene. However, if the number of fields t0 is reduced, then it often occurs that motion of an object within the scene is mistaken for a change of scene, resulting in such problems as an unstable picture.


A data processing system edits a text document stored as at least one alphanumeric string of structured document text and displayed as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) text. Look characteristics are controlled for a child document element of the text located within a parent document element of the text. The method performs the step of constructing a child resolved look data set necessary to specify a WYSIWYG appearance of the child element by first accessing modified look value customized by the user for first look parameters and accessing defined look values standardized for second look parameters. For those look parameters which are not customized by the user or which are not defined as standard values for the child element, the values are inherited by the child element from the parent element. To do this, the method performs the step of augmenting the child resolved look data set by accessing at least one of the plurality of look values in the parent resolved look data set which does not correspond to the first or the second look parameters. The resulting resolved look can completely specify the appearance of the child portion of the text when displayed in WYSIWYG form on a display, or when printed in hard copy.

1. Technical Field
The invention disclosed broadly relates to electrical computers and data processing systems and more particularly relates to data processing systems and methods for editing structured document text.
2. Background Art
Modern word processing and text editing programs employ structured document architecture to provide greater control and flexibility in the displayed and printed appearance of documents prepared with the programs. Structured document architecture is described, for example, in the below referenced U.S. patent application by Bennett, et al. A structured document can be prepared in accordance with the Standardized General Markup Language, such as is described in the International Standards Organization, Standard 8879-1986. A data stream of text marked up in accordance with the Standardized General Markup Language, will have its text divided into elements consisting of a begin tag and its content and terminated by an end tag, when necessary. Within a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, text is displayed to the user as it will appear when it is printed, even though its structure is defined by the begin tags and end tags for each element of text. Formatting of the elements within a structured document is done when the document is displayed to the user. Those elements which fall into the category of commonly used elements include paragraphs, simple lists, ordered lists, bulleted lists, list items, headings, and document titles. A hierarchical structure can be attributed to these various elements, such as assigning the title element as having the highest level in a hierarchy, assigning a chapter heading as having a next highest level in the hierarchy, and assigning a paragraph element as having a third highest level in an example structured document hierarchy.
The appearance of a structured document text when it is displayed on a display screen or when it is printed in hard copy, should be in its WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) form. In the prior art, editors and word processors have provided some specifications for the appearance of the WYSIWYG presentation of the text, for example the setting of margins, the specification of tabs, and the specification of fonts. Typically, prior art editors and word processors would impose the margin settings for the entire document and the font style for the entire document. Editors and word processors might provide for the insertion of bold face tags for designated portions of the text, however the association of the bold face tag with the text would be immutably fixed with respect to the particular designated text. An underline emphasis in the prior art was conducted in the same way, where a beginning mark and an ending mark for the underlined portion of the text was embedded into the text. If the text were moved or copied to another portion of the document, the bold face or underline emphasis would remain associated with the text, despite any intention on the part of the user to avoid carrying along the particular form of emphasis.
In the prior art there have been some examples of structured document architecture applied to editors and word processors. In such prior art editors and word processors, attempts have been made to control, to a limited degree, the WYSIWYG appearance of the text when it is displayed on a display screen or printed in hard copy. Typically, overall characteristics for a section of the text might have specified the margins, font and perhaps some forms of emphasis such as bold face and italic. If the user writes a sentence which he intends to be all in italic, with a first portion in italic, a middle portion combined bold face and italic, and an end portion being only italic, the prior art editors and word processors would consider this sentence to be composed of three separate alphanumeric strings, with the first string being separately specified as italic, the middle string being separately specified as both bold face and italic, and the third string being separately specified as italic. If the user, at a later stage in the editing session, wants to copy the middle section of the sentence to another portion of the document, when the user copies that section to another part of that document, it will appear in the new portion of the document in both the combined italic and bold face appearance. If the user had intended that the copied middle portion of the sentence no longer have the italicized characteristic but only the bold face characteristic in its copied new location, he would have failed in achieving his intentions since the prior art editor would have continued to provide the combined italicized and bold face appearance for the copied portion, notwithstanding the fact that it occupied a separate, non-italicized portion of the document. This occurred in the prior art because the prior art editors and word processors would not maintain the appearance characteristics of a document element on an individualized hierarchical level. This is just one example of many failings of the prior art in not reflecting the user's intention in editing structured documents.

System and method for editing a structured document to preserve the intended appearance of document elements

International Business Machines Corporation


Evidence profiling, in one aspect, may receive a candidate answer and supporting pieces of evidence. An evidence profile may be generated, the evidence profile communicating a degree to which the evidence supports the candidate answer as being correct. The evidence profile may provide dimensions of evidence, and each dimension may support or refute the candidate answer as being correct.

In systems that produce or evaluate candidate answers, also referred to herein as hypotheses (statements that are posed as true), it is difficult for end users to understand the origin or evaluation of a particular hypothesis. It is also difficult for users to compare multiple hypotheses and understand why the system prefers one hypothesis over another. Current systems fail to organize evidence for a hypothesis into a semantically meaningful, intuitive, and comprehensive view for the user so that the user can easily understand the system's evaluation of a hypothesis.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


The 16 SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) loci of a whole genome of a yak are used in phenotypic character or molecular breeding analysis of yaks. Nucleotide sequences of the 16 SNP loci are shown in SEQ ID NO: 1-16. The 16 SNP loci can be used for providing a support for upstream and downstream processes of breeding, and the application has the advantages of high measurement accuracy, easiness in realization of standardized and automated detection, etc.

Yaks are special cattle, which are distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as a center and adjacent alpine and subalpine regions thereof, can make full use of pasture resources of alpine-cold grassland and have extremely high adaptability to ecological environmental conditions of the alpine-cold grassland. The yaks live freely in severe environmental conditions of thin air, short pasture growing period, cold and long grass withering period, produce offspring, provide producing and living necessities such as milk, meat, hairs, servitude and fuel for local herdsmen, are indispensable in local animal husbandry economy and can be addressed as versatile domestic animals. The yaks are an extremely precious gene pool in genetic resources. However, Chinese yaks are multiple in quantity and variety group and wide in distribution, and all yak varieties are different in phenotypes such as meat production, milk production and body type characters. And, the incompleteness of genome mutation information of Chinese local yak varieties is one of substantial reasons causing the limitation to breeding and related researches of yak varieties in our country.
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mainly means DNA sequence polymorphism caused by the mutation of a single nucleotide in a genome level. The mutation is one of the commonest biological inheritable mutations. The SNP is a publicly-known third-generation genetic marker, and many phenotype differences, disease susceptivity and so on are possibly related to the SNP. Seen from experiment operation, the discovery of phenotype related gene mutations through the SNP is easier than that through genealogy; and some SNP does not directly cause related characters, but can become an important marker as the SNP is adjacent to some related genes. At present, reports on SNP marker loci related to body weight of the yaks are absent.
Therefore, a problem to be urgently solved by those skilled in the art is to provide SNP locus information related to phenotypes of the yaks, and the SNP locus is applied to the phenotypic character or molecular breeding analysis of the yaks.

Application of SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) loci of whole genome of yak, primer group for detection and kit

Inst. of Animal Science and Veterinary, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences


An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit which has a rotating photoconductor, and a transfer unit disposed adjacent the photoconductor which retains an image-formation sheet on its circumferential surface. It further includes a sheet feeding path for feeding a sheet to the transfer unit, a sheet discharging path for discharging a sheet from the transfer unit, a first sensor for detecting a jammed-sheet condition in the sheet feeding path, a second sensor for detecting a jammed-sheet condition in the sheet discharging path, and assume function which assumes a paper jam in the transfer unit in conjunction with the determination of the first detecting sensor and/or the second detecting sensor. Accordingly, the apparatus does not neglect to cope with a sheet remaining on the transfer unit under a halt condition due to the sheet-jam. Thus obstruction to a following copying operation by a sheet remaining on the transfer unit is averted after the jammed-sheet condition is remedied.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, more particularly an image forming apparatus having a transfer unit on which a sheet to be image-processed is circumferentially retained.
One class of full-color copying machines has a transfer drum provided opposite to a photoconductor drum. A printing sheet is wound onto the circumferential surface of the transfer drum, wherein four successive images developed on the photoconductor drum are transferred in turn onto the printing sheet corresponding to four toner colors, i.e. yellow, magenta, cyan and black. A full-color toner image thus formed on the printing sheet is fixed in a fixing unit.
In operation, a sheet contained in a feed cassette in the full-color copying machine is transported to the transfer drum through a feed path, rotated with the transfer drum four times, and then discharged through a discharge path having the fixing unit.
If a sheet jam is detected in the feed path or the discharge path, the sheet jam is indicated on an operation panel and the copying operation is interrupted. Then, an operator removes the jammed sheet and presses on a reset switch, whereupon the copying operation is restarted.
Since high-speed type full-color copying machines handle a plurality of printing sheets concurrently, a printing sheet may exist on the transfer drum in addition to a previous sheet in the discharge path or to a subsequent sheet in the feed path. Under these circumstances, when a sheet jam is detected in the feed path or discharge path, it can happen that a further printing sheet remains on the transfer drum though the sheet jam has been cleared.
There is a sensor for detecting the presence of a sheet on the transfer drum, but in some instances the sheet as positioned on the halted transfer drum is in a region outside of that in which the sensor can detect it. As a result, restart of the copying operation is allowed even if a printing sheet is retained on the transfer drum, such that the printing sheet thus remaining becomes an obstruction to an ensuring operation.

Image forming apparatus with sheet jam detection