An universal adapter for adapting a sponge mop head assembly to a wide variety of conventional mop handles and includes a hollow body which slidably receives the sponge mop head assembly. The adapter has four different attachment mechanisms located on top of the hollow body for removably attaching four different types of mop handles. The first attachment mechanism of the adapter has two opposing bendable walls, wherein each bendable wall has an aperture for securely receiving a tongue and groove type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The second attachment mechanism of the adapter further has a central hook catch section for securely receiving a hook type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The third attachment mechanism of the adapter has a plurality of opposing engagement means for slidably receiving a slidable type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The fourth attachment mechanism of the adapter has a central threaded opening for securely receiving a threadable type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cleaning devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of adapters for adapting a cleaning head assembly such as a sponge mop head assembly to a wide variety of handles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Specifically, cleaning devices such as brooms, squeegees, dust mop, sweepers, swifters etc. are well known in the art. These cleaning devices are usually manufactured with handles on them. The problem with prior art cleaning devices is that when the handle breaks, the cleaning device is usually thrown away. Another problem with prior art cleaning devices is that when the cleaning head is worn out, the entire cleaning device is thrown away. A further problem with prior art cleaning devices is that the cleaning head is not universal, which means that the cleaning head is not adaptable to other types of handles.
It is desirable to provide a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of a sponge mop head assembly having a universal adapter for adapting to a wide variety of conventional handles. It is also desirable to provide a sponge mop head assembly having a universal adapter with the capability of rapidly changing to different type handles.
The present invention is a universal adapter for adapting a sponge mop head assembly to a wide variety of conventional mop handles.
The universal adapter includes a hollow body which slidably receives the sponge mop head assembly. The adapter has four different attachment mechanisms located on top of the hollow body for removably attaching four different types of mop handles. The first attachment mechanism of the adapter has two opposing bendable walls, wherein each bendable wall has an aperture for securely receiving a tongue and groove type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The second attachment mechanism of the adapter further has a central hook catch section for securely receiving a hook type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The third attachment mechanism of the adapter has a plurality of opposing engagement means for slidably receiving a slidable type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles. The fourth attachment mechanism of the adapter has a central threaded opening for securely receiving a threadable type mechanism of one of the plurality of mop handles.
The universal adapter along with the sponge mop head assembly can accommodate a plurality of mop handles to form a complete cleaning apparatus which includes a sponge mop head and one of the plurality of mop handles.
The sponge mop head assembly includes a plastic brace which retains a sponge mop head for cleaning a surface. The plastic brace has an attachment means for operative attachment in a simple manner to the universal adapter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a universal adapter for adapting a sponge mop head assembly to a wide variety of conventional mop handles.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a universal adapter to be used in conjunction with a sponge mop head assembly with the capability of changing to different types of conventional mop handles.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a universal adapter that can be attached to a wide variety of surfaces.
It is a further object of the preset invention to provide a universal adapter that is easily detachable or attachable.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a universal adapter which is not easily dislodged, but can be easily removable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a universal adapter that is easily manufactured.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings.

Sponge mop head assembly having a universal adapter for adapting to a wide variety of handles


A computer system is provided with microprocessor clocking control by providing a clock having output timing signals which vary based on input signals to the clock, setting timing parameters for the clock using a service processor which sends the input signals to the clock, and controlling the primary processor using the output timing signals from the clock. The service processor can be used to modify a pulse width of at least one of the output timing signals, and to delaying a first one of the output timing signals with respect to a second one of the output timing signals. Separate clock signals can be provided for the primary processor and other system components, such as a cache connected to the primary processor, a memory device of the computer system, or an input/output device of the computer system. The clock has a programmable duty-cycle control circuit. The duty-cycle control circuit may use delay chains having a plurality of individually selectable delay elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer systems and, more particularly, to clocking circuitry used to control the timing of computer components, such as processors, input/output devices, and memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The basic structure of a conventional computer system 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The heart of computer system 10 is a central processing unit (CPU) or processor 12 which is connected to several peripheral devices, including input/output (I/O) devices 14 (such as a display monitor and keyboard) for the user interface, a permanent memory device 16 (such as a hard disk or floppy diskette) for storing the computer's operating system and user programs, and a temporary memory device 18 (such as random-access memory or RAM) that is used by processor 12 to carry out program instructions. Processor 12 communicates with the peripheral devices by various means, including a bus 20 or a direct channel 22. Computer system 10 may have many additional components which are not shown, such as serial and parallel ports for connection to, e.g., modems or printers. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that there are other components that might be used in conjunction with those shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1; for example, a display adapter connected to processor 12 might be used to control a video-display monitor. Various types of device drivers (software programs) are used to control the hardware devices. Computer system 10 also includes firmware 24, whose primary purpose is to seek out and load an operating system from one of the peripherals (usually permanent memory device 16) whenever the computer is first turned on.
Conventional microprocessor systems have dramatically grown in complexity and capability to be the equivalent of the mainframe computer of yesterday. The clocking system has grown in complexity to match the function and high performance now provided by CMOS technology. The clocking system provides a multiplicity of timing signals to the CPU and associated elements such as memory and I/O devices. The clocks define the timing cycle of the data flow of the machine. Some clocks are non-overlapping and serve to isolate one cycle of operation from the next. Some clocks overlap so as to gain a performance advantage by stealing time from the next cycle. The positioning in time of these clocks is very critical for high performance, particularly for superscalar computers that issue multiple instructions simultaneously. For example, many processors have execution units which are "pipelined," or divided into separate stages, such that a single execution unit can actually be performing multiple tasks for different instructions during a single clock cycle, but this requires precise timing. Memory performance considerations (caching, snooping, etc.) also require fairly exact timing signals.
If clock circuitry, which provides the timing signals for a computer, has a latent defect, it can be difficult to detect. Conventional computers do not have the ability to adjust the timing of these clocks for testing the microprocessor system. This ability is essential to achieving high-performance system designs. It would, therefore, be desirable and advantageous to devise a method of adjusting timing margins and eliminating failing conditions should the clock circuity contain a timing defect.

International Business Machines Corporation


An electronic system includes a storage interface configured to access a kinematic model for representing one or more motions of a carrier; a control unit, coupled to the storage interface, configured to determine an attachment location of an attachable device based on the kinematic model; and generate a device setting based on the attachment location for provisioning the attachable device.

Modern portable client and industrial electronics, especially client devices such as electronic watches, wristbands, portable health monitors, smartphones, tablets, and combination devices are providing increasing levels of functionality to support modem life including facilitating interactions with other portable devices and users of such devices. Research and development in the existing technologies can take a myriad of different directions.
As users become more empowered with the growth of portable devices, new and old paradigms begin to take advantage of this new device space. There are many technological solutions to take advantage of this new device capability to monitor the user and provide features according to the monitored result. However, such devices are often designed for operations surrounding one placement or attachment site on a body or object.
Thus, a need still remains for an electronic system with a dynamic localization mechanism appropriate for today's portable devices. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing client expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems. Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Electronic system with dynamic localization mechanism and method of operation thereof


An apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises: an optical resonator including a surface; wherein a Bragg grating is formed at least part of the surface of the optical resonator; and wherein the Bragg grating has a Bragg frequency substantially equal to a center frequency of an Nth order Brillouin gain region capable of generating an Nth order Stokes signal.

Optical resonators are widely used in optical systems, such as ring laser gyroscopes. Optical resonators are made, e.g. from optical fiber using silica and in integrated circuits using silicon nitride. When an optical pump signal of sufficiently high power is supplied to the resonator, non-linearities in the resonator material generate Stokes signals (or Stokes lines) at one or more frequencies. There can be a first order Stokes signal, a second order Stokes signal, etc. at progressively lower frequencies. Each Stokes signal gives rise to a next higher order Stokes signal as the power of the optical pump signal is progressively increased.
The Stokes signals may be altogether undesirable, e.g. because they diminish power, i.e. of the pump signal, or generate interference. However, because they have low phase noise, a sub-set of Stokes signal(s), e.g. the first order Stokes signal, may be desirable. Therefore, there is a need for suppressing Stokes signals of a particular order, and subsequent higher order Stokes signals.

Apparatus and method for an optical resonator with an integrated Bragg grating


A rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit according to an embodiment comprises: a sawtooth-wave output circuit; a first detector; a second detector; and a first PWM-signal output circuit. The sawtooth-wave output circuit is configured to generate and output a sawtooth-wave signal synchronized with a clock signal. The first detector is configured to detect a first timing at which a potential of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a bottom potential. The second detector is configured to detect a second timing at which a potential of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a potential of a first pulse-width instruction voltage signal. The first PWM-signal output circuit is configured to generate a first PWM signal based on a time difference between the first timing and the second timing.

With increase of the speed of a computer and improvement of the accuracy of an electronic control motor, the demand for stability of an output power-supply voltage of a constant-voltage stabilized power supply is becoming severe. At the same time, an output current to be required is increased, and the demand for high efficiency is also increased. For example, in a recent computer, there is required a stabilized power supply that outputs a power of 1 V (volt) and a maximum current of 60 A (ampere) from a power supply of 24 V. Further, in applications of an electronic control motor, there is required a power supply that converts a wide range of input voltages from 10 to 40 V into a power of 20 V and a maximum current of 3 A, for example, and stably outputs it.
A high-efficiency switching power supply is commonly used as a power supply for handling such relatively large power. However, in general, it has been difficult to stably operate a switching power supply capable of performing a buck operation with a high step-down ratio of one tenth or less, or a switching power supply capable of performing a buck-boost operation that allows a wide input power-supply voltage range, for example.

Rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit and switching power supply

TOSHIBA ELECTRONIC DEVICES & STORAGE CORPORATION


The device (10) comprises an energy-storage transformer (14) having magnetically coupled primary and secondary windings (P and L1, L2, L3); a primary circuit (20) connecting the power supply source to a ground (M), and comprising the primary winding (P) and a static main switch (22) connected in series; a secondary winding (S1, S2, S3) designed to be connected to a load, and including the secondary winding (L1, L2, L3); and voltage control means (34) for controlling the static main switch (22) and comprising a first static control switch (36) connecting a control terminal (22A) of the static main switch (22) to ground (M). More particularly, the voltage control means (34) of the static main switch (22) include a second static control switch (38) connecting the control terminal (22A) of the static main switch (22) to ground (M), closure of the first control switch (36) triggering closure of the second control switch (38), and opening of the second control switch (38) being delayed relative to opening of the first control switch (36).

In general, the voltage delivered by the battery of a motor vehicle is liable to vary, and runs the risk of damaging the electric members of the power supply network. It is then necessary to provide a device for generating a regulated voltage from the voltage of the source.
A known device comprises a "chopper" or switch mode power supply (SMPS) of the type having a "flyback" converter.
In conventional manner, such a device comprises:                an energy-storage transformer having magnetically coupled primary and secondary windings;        a primary circuit connecting the power supply source to a ground, and comprising the primary winding and a static main switch connected in series; and        a secondary winding designed to be connected to a load, and including the secondary winding.
In general, such a device operates cyclically at a predetermined frequency referred to as the switching frequency. In particular, each cycle comprises two stages: a stage of storing magnetic energy, also referred to as the "inlet" stage, during which the main switch is in the closed state; and a state of delivering magnetic energy, also referred to as the "outlet" stage, during which the main switch is in the open state.
The secondary circuit generally comprises a rectifier element connected in series with the secondary winding, and a capacitor element connected in parallel with the secondary winding and the rectifier element, and designed to deliver the regulated output voltage across its terminals.
During the input stage, closure of the main switch allows the input voltage to be applied to the primary winding, thereby causing a primary current to appear and thus storing magnetic energy in the transformer. The rectifier element is in the off state and then prevents current from flowing through the secondary winding, and the capacitor element discharges through the load.
During the output stage, opening the main switch prevents the primary current from flowing in the primary circuit. Conservation of the magnetic energy stored in the transformer then causes a secondary current to appear that flows in the flow direction of the rectifier element in the secondary circuit, thereby enabling the capacitor element to be charged. The magnitude of the current flowing in the secondary circuit decreases until there is no more magnetic energy in the transformer.
In order to control the opening and closing of the main switch in cyclical manner, the device includes voltage control means for the static main switch.
Such control means generally comprise a static control switch connecting the control terminal of the static main switch to ground and a feedback circuit connecting the control terminal of the main static switch to the secondary circuit, the feedback circuit then being activated on opening of the main switch. The feedback circuit serves in particular to guarantee that the main switch opens fully.
When the magnitude of the primary current reaches a predetermined threshold value, the static control switch switches from the open state to the closed state, thereby causing the control terminal of the main switch to be connected to ground. This causes the main switch to open and activates the feedback circuit. The main switch then remains open until the magnitude of the secondary current becomes zero as a result of the magnetic energy stored in the transformer being used up, thereby causing the main switch to close immediately.

System for generating a regulated tension supplying an electric organ


An adhesive product which has excellent glue cutting performance and provides an excellent finish to the pasted portion while effectively maintaining security is provided. An adhesive layer 10 is formed through pattern application, where an adhesive 100 is intermittently placed on the surface of a film 12, so that a broken paper phenomenon, such that the surface layer portion of a flap F1 or the vicinity of opening F2 adheres to the surface of the adhesive layer 10, and a white envelope F is ripped in the direction of the thickness, can be caused when a peeling movement for peeling the flap F1 from a state where the white envelope F is sealed via the adhesive layer 10.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adhesive product for sealing paper articles such as envelopes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of conventional adhesive products where an adhesive layer is provided on a base are used in many applications in office work. Such adhesive products are roughly categorized into two types. One is adhesive products that work in such a manner that a base is pasted to paper articles as a support in a state where the base and an adhesive layer have been stuck together in advance. As concrete examples of such products, adhesive tapes and stickers can be cited. The other is adhesive products which are formed in such a manner that abase is provided so as to be removable from an adhesive layer, and thus, two objects to be stuck together can be stuck together via the adhesive layer. As concrete examples of such products, pressure sensitive transferring type adhesive tapes (hereinafter referred to as pressure sensitive transferring tapes) which are commercially available as so-called "tape glue" can be cited. Such pressure sensitive transferring tapes are generally mounted in a transferring instrument in a state of being wound into a roll, and are handled in such a manner that the glue can be appropriately transferred for only a desired length.
For both of the above described adhesive products, it is the glue cutting performance at the time of handling that is considered to be the most important factor, together with adhesiveness. As an effective technique for improving this glue cutting performance, a technique for intermittently applying an adhesive layer to a base, so-called pattern application, is widely used, particularly for pressure sensitive transferring tapes. In addition, the fact that air escapes from gaps between the adhesive when an adhesive layer is transferred, and thus, air that is trapped between the adhesive layer and the object to be pasted can be effectively prevented from causing bubbles and wrinkles, and thereby causing poor appearance, can be cited as an additional advantage of pattern application.
However, the fact that the ratio of the area of the adhesive to the area where it is applied and the amount of application are small, thereby deteriorating a sealing property, in comparison with those when an adhesive is applied to the entire surface of a base can be cited as a disadvantage of such pattern application.
Therefore, a method for improving the glue cutting performance while an adhesive is applied to the entire surface of a base has been developed. A configuration where an adhesive layer that has been applied to the entire surface of a base is embossed, and thereby, glue can be easily cut in portions having a small thickness in the adhesive layer can be cited as an example (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2001-271041 (see, for example, Tables 1 and 2)).
Meanwhile, the performance required for an adhesive product greatly differs depending on the application of the adhesive product. Many adhesive products which satisfy the performance requirements of an adhesive being removable without damaging an object to be pasted and without remaining on the object to be pasted have been developed so far (see, for example, "Kokuyo 2005, Office Supplies Edition," Kokuyo Co., Ltd. December 2004, p. 674).

Adhesive product and transferring instrument


The invention provides a method for multiple cytokine detection from single cells for the purpose of generating immunological profiles of diseases.

It is well known that individual cells, even those identical in appearance, differ in numerous characteristics, such as variability in the expression of a particular gene, concentration of a critical metabolite or ion, or pattern of response to a given stimulus. Living cells possess very low copy numbers of many components, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and important regulatory molecules. Both stochastic events inherent in the biochemical process of gene expression (intrinsic noise) and fluctuations in other cellular components (extrinsic noise) contribute substantially to overall variation among cells. Cell types, mutations, and fluctuations all contribute to the diversity of cells in the body.
However, most clinical or cell-based assays analyze cells in bulk, using serum or cell culture media. These assays often average the information over the whole cell population and do not provide detailed information that is critical to evaluate the state of biological system, such as 1) whether two or more genes are co-expressed in the same cell or in different sub-populations of the cells; 2) whether a small increase in expression measured in the ensemble results from a small, homogeneous increase across all cells or a large increase in a subset of cells.

Method for diagnosing allergic reactions


A method of using an adjustable attenuation fiber optic wrap plug (“AAFOWP”) includes receiving initial data into a wireless module of the AAFOWP, wherein the initial data corresponds to an initial desired attenuation level that the first AAFOWP is to achieve. The method also includes moving, in response to receiving the initial data, an arm by an actuator to change a bend radius of an optical fiber wrap in the AAFOWP, thus adjusting an attenuation through the AAFOWP to the initial desired attenuation level.

This disclosure relates generally to adjustable attenuation wrap plugs, and in particular, to a wrap plug with electronically adjustable attenuation.
A wrap plug (i.e., loopback plug) is commonly utilized to test fiber optic transceivers, where transmitted data (output) is looped back as received data (input) simulating a complete communications link utilizing a single device. The wrap plug is designed to provide a specific attenuation for signals that would have to travel a desired distance when implemented in an end product (e.g., server equipment). For testing a fiber optic link at the end product to ensure proper communication at multiple distances requires multiple wrap plugs of different attenuation levels, where a user has to physically swap out the multiple wrap plugs of different attenuation levels.

Electronically adjustable attenuation wrap plug

International Business Machines Corporation


A sensor temperature control apparatus (1) includes switching device (51); energization control means S1 and S2 for controlling duty ratio DT to maintain sensor element section (3) at a target temperature; storage means (75) for storing a first duty ratio DT1 in advance; element temperature judgment means S3 for determining whether the temperature of the sensor element section falls within a first temperature range including the target temperature; and semi-shorted state detection means S4 to S6 for comparing a present duty ratio DT2 with the first duty ratio in a state in which the temperature of the sensor element section falls within the first temperature range, to thereby determine whether a semi-shorted first temperature range state has arisen in which only a portion of the current flowing through switching device flows through heater section (4) and the temperature of the sensor element section falls within the first temperature range.

A conventionally known example of a sensor having a sensor element section and a heater section is a gas sensor which detects the concentration of a specific gas contained in exhaust gas, such as an oxygen sensor or a nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensor. These gas sensors include a sensor element section which is formed of a solid electrolyte body whose main component is zirconia, and a heater section which heats the sensor element section so as to bring it into an activated state. In order to bring the sensor element section into an activated state, a sensor temperature control apparatus controls the pulse energization of the heater section to thereby control the temperature of the sensor element section.
The sensor temperature control apparatus includes a switching device for on-off controlling the supply of electricity to the heater section, and feedback-controls the duty ratio of energization control pulses input to the switching device such that the sensor element section is heated to a target temperature.
Notably, switching devices used for the sensor temperature control apparatus are categorized into a high-side-type switching device which is interposed between a power supply (power supply potential) and the heater section, and a low-side-type switching device which is interposed between the heater section and a ground potential. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a gas concentration detection apparatus which uses a gas concentration sensor and whose heater control circuit includes a high-side-type switching device (switch) (FIG. 10) or a low-side-type switching device (switch) (FIG. 11).


Method for determining an environment map comprising, server-side receiving of motion data of a mobile device, server-side receiving of orientation data of a camera of the mobile device and server-side receiving of the respective image of the camera associated with the received motion data and orientation data, server-side evaluation of the received image together with the motion data and the orientation data for creating a server-side point cloud, the server-side point cloud forming at least in parts the environment map.

The measurement and evaluation of an environment of a mobile device is possible due to the good quality of camera images of mobile devices as well as good sensor values. It is possible to detect features in the image based on orientation data (pose) of a camera of a mobile device as well as a respective image (frame) of a camera of the mobile device and to assign points of a point cloud to these features.
Features in an image have a relative position in the image and, depending on a position and an orientation of a camera (pose transform), a position of the feature in a global coordinate system can be determined from this. In particular, it is possible to determine a coordinate system for respective fixed reference points, in which the point coordinates of the points of the point cloud are determined.
The determination of characteristic features and the calculation of point clouds therefrom is sufficiently known and is used, for example, in so-called augmented reality (AR) applications. Well-known examples of such augmented reality applications are ARKit from Apple® and ARCore from Google®. Both are application-specific programming interfaces that make it possible to create and use point clouds for augmented reality applications through the mobile device.
A disadvantage of determining the point cloud in the mobile device is that, on the one hand, the computing power is limited and, on the other hand, a drift in the point coordinates in the global coordinate system can occur due to erroneous sensor data. Thus, it is known that the drift is 1% to 10%, which may be due in particular to insufficient evaluation of the available sensor data.

Method and device for determining an environment map by a server using motion and orientation data


In one embodiment, a method for managing virtual link aggregation (vLAG) includes coupling a first networking switch with a second networking switch using an interswitch link (ISL), wherein the first networking switch is positioned at a boundary between Layer-2 (L2) and Layer-3 (L3), and wherein the second networking switch is positioned at the boundary between L2 and L3; creating a virtual link aggregation (vLAG) comprising connections between the first and second networking switches and an access switch in L2, wherein each networking switch comprises a virtual router redundancy protocol (VRRP) module; and interacting and modifying a VRRP state machine to perform active internet protocol (IP) forwarding when a connection between one of the networking switches and the access switch fails or one of the networking switches does not function properly.

The present invention relates to data center infrastructure and operation, and more particularly, this invention relates to active IP forwarding in an event driven virtual Link Aggregation (vLAG) system.
Generally, link aggregation allows a networking system backbone speed to grow incrementally as demand on the network increases by aggregating multiple physical networking ports or links within a single switch into a single logical link. Any traffic which is bound for this single logical link may be distributed across the multiple physical ports. Many standards exist to dictate how these aggregated ports are treated, set up, etc. Some examples of existing standards are 802.3ad port aggregation with link aggregation control protocol (LACP), 802.1AX, etc. All physical ports in the link aggregation group must reside on the same physical switch, which in most scenarios will result in a single point of failure when the physical switch to which the physical links are connected goes offline. Link aggregation operates transparently to end-devices while providing redundancy and link resiliency for various networking protocols and speeds, e.g., Ethernet (10 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s, 1,000 Mbit/s, and/or 10 Gbit/s).
Therefore, there is a need for the ability to provide a quick and reliable method and system to prevent networking loops for the aggregation of multiple physical links spanning across at least two physical networking systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Active IP forwarding in an event driven virtual link aggregation (vLAG) system


A method of reducing mosquito noise in a digital image. As mosquito noise is often most plainly visible in the “background” of an image (e.g., the sky or some other backdrop to objects within an image), the luminance value of the background of the image is first determined. Then, the luminances of the pixels of the image are compared against this “background luminance” to determine which should be considered as part of this background. The luminances of these background pixels are then averaged so as to smooth out the representation of the background, and reduce mosquito noise.

Image compression is often performed in order to reduce the size of digital image files. However, the various compression techniques often have associated drawbacks. For example, images compressed according to various MPEG formats are known to suffer from "mosquito noise," or the blurring of the outlines of objects within these images. Named for its resemblance to the look of mosquitoes flying about the objects of the images, mosquito noise detracts from the visual effect of an MPEG-compressed picture. Accordingly, continuing efforts exist to reduce the appearance and effect of mosquito noise in compressed images.


A radio receiver includes a channel estimation unit, phase difference vector generation unit, correction coefficient setting unit, and noise estimation unit. The channel estimation unit obtains a channel estimated value from a received signal at a predetermined period by using a known pilot signal. The phase difference vector generation unit obtains a phase difference vector between the preceding channel estimated value and the current channel estimated value. The correction coefficient setting unit sets a correction coefficient corresponding to the phase difference vector. The noise estimation unit obtains a corrected noise estimated value by correcting a noise estimated value on the basis of the received signal and the correction coefficient. A noise estimated value correction method is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a radio receiver that uses channel estimation in receiving and demodulating a signal under a fading environment and, more particularly, to a radio receiver and noise estimated value correction method of correcting a noise estimated value.
In recent mobile communication, packet data traffic is becoming faster and increasing the capacity. Transportation is also speeding up simultaneously. Hence, when a radio device with a high transmission rate moves at a high speed, fading occurs, resulting in a large degradation in the characteristics.
To reduce the influence of fading, reference 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-7793) proposes a demodulation apparatus which obtains a channel estimated value by assigning weights to pilot signals contained in a received signal and averaging them and demodulates the received data by using the channel estimated value in mobile wireless communication such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).
Reference 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-78104) proposes a CDMA synchronous detection channel estimation apparatus that accurately estimates a channel by adaptively controlling weighting coefficients in pilot signal averaging.
Reference 3 (Kawamura, Kishiyama, Higuchi, and Sawahashi, "Comparison Between Multipath Interference Canceller and Chip Equalizer with Other-Cell Interference Suppression in HSDPA in Multipath Channel", Technical Report of IEICE, RCS2002-38, IEICE, pp. 123-128, 2002) and reference 4 (D. Falconer et al., "Frequency Domain Equalization for Single-Carrier Broadband Wireless System", IEEE Communications Magazine, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 58-66, 2002) propose a method of suppressing characteristic degradation due to multipath fading by using a chip equalizer or frequency equalizer.
Reference 5 ("3G PP TS 25.214 V6.6.0", 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical layer procedures (FDD) (Release 6), Chapter 5, pp. 13-30, 2005) proposes a method of controlling power by using the S/R ratio estimated value of a received signal.
A noise estimated value V calculated by using a channel estimated value is given by
                    V        =                              E            chip                    -                                    Ior              Ec                                                                  ∑                L                                                                            (                                      h                    1                                    )                                2                                                                        (        1        )            where Echip is the received signal power, h1 is the channel estimated value of the first path, L is the total number of paths, Ec/Ior is the ratio of pilot power Ec to total transmission power Ior.
When a mobile unit moves at a high speed, phase swinging occurs due to fading. If phase swinging occurs upon obtaining a channel estimated value by averaging a plurality of pilot symbols estimated from pilot signals, the received power is underestimated. Hence, the noise estimated value V calculated by using the channel estimated value becomes large, degrading the estimation accuracy of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the channel estimated value.
As a result, in a radio receiver that uses a noise estimated value and a channel estimated value to equalize a received signal, the equalization characteristic of the equalizer degrades. In a radio receiver that uses a noise estimated value and a channel estimated value for path search, the path assignment characteristic degrades. In a radio receiver that uses a noise estimated value and a channel estimated value to control power, the control characteristic degrades. For example, in a radio receiver including an MMSE equalizer, since a weight value obtained by using a noise estimated value and a channel estimated value is incorrect, the equalization characteristic degrades.
Reference 2 discloses a method of accurately estimating a channel, though no method of correcting a noise estimated value has been implemented yet.

Radio receiver and noise estimated value correction method


This invention relates to a system that continuously monitors pressure and force on the foot, analyzes and visualizes the pressure and force exerted on said foot in real-time. The invention measures pressure and force applied to a plurality of sensors placed in various points of an orthotic, shoe, shoe lining, insert, sock or sock type device. If the sensors detect pressure or force, the sensors send a signal to a microcomputer processor located in the shoe that subsequently analyzes and sends the data wireless to either a handheld electronic device, a personal computer, an electronic data capture system or a software program. The handheld electronic device or the personal computer then displays the data to an operator of the device or computer instantaneously; while the data capture system or program forwards the information to a handheld device and/or personal computer.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to a system for sensing and alerting a user to pressure and force on his foot.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diabetics and other afflicted people with medical problems can have failures in the nervous system. This could be detrimental to their health since they often do not recognize pain, discomfort, irritation, changes in pressure, swelling, changes in temperature or have an inability to recognize pain, discomfort, irritation, changes in pressure, swelling, or changes in temperature to a sufficient degree to prevent injury, or illness to themselves. This is especially prevalent in the feet of the afflicted person with failure(s) in their nervous system since their feet are susceptible to increased pressure, irritation, changes in pressure, swelling, or changes in temperature while standing, sitting or lying down. Thus, an afflicted person may place too much pressure on a foot or a portion of a foot by physical activity, by standing or even while sitting or lying down. This is problematic because too much pressure on the foot or a portion of the foot could cause increased nerve damage to the foot, destruction of the skin creating an open wound, or a host of other ailments. Thus, there is a need for a low-cost system to alert the user to problematic pressure, and other physiologic and biomechanical changes to their foot or feet along with continuous active monitoring of the changes in pressure and other physiologic and biomechanical changes being applied to their foot or feet.

The Regents of The University of California


An electrical terminal block has a heat-meltable fusible link establishing a closed electrical circuit between a conductor and an actuator responsive to a control signal transmitted by conductor for controlling the state of an emergency process control device, such as a shut-off valve. The heat-meltable fusible link melts in response to ambient heat exceeding a predetermined temperature to establish an open electrical circuit between the electrical conductor and the actuator thereby causing the actuator to move the emergency process control device to a safe position or state.

When devices are installed as part of safety instrumented systems (SIS), the signal from the safety programmable logic circuit (PLC) causes the device to change its position or state in such a way that will bring the process to a safe state or condition. Typically, the signals are energized during normal plant operations. Therefore, should a wire come loose, a wire break or the circuit be otherwise interrupted, the device in the field functions to move the valve to a fail-safe position. This type of design is known as a "normally energized" or "fail safe" system.
When industrial control instrumentation, such as emergency isolation valve controllers, are installed in fire hazard zones, special apparatus and methods must be utilized to ensure that the necessary safety control functions will be activated, even under the worst-case fire conditions.
Emergency isolation or shut-off valves ("EIV") are installed in a wide variety of manufacturing and processing facilities, including petroleum refineries, hydrocarbon processing plants, and in pipelines and tank farms for the purpose of isolating a potential source of fuel or other hazardous materials in the event of a fire. Industrial fire safety standards require fireproofing of emergency safety valve actuators and their critical control components so they can withstand the effects of a hydrocarbon fire for at least 20 minutes and remain functional. One type of EIV is fitted with a pneumatically pressurized actuator having an internal spring that moves the valve to the fail safe position when the pressure is vented from the actuator.
In lieu of, or as a supplement to an externally installed fireproof or fire and heat resistant housing, shielding, or the like, it has been known to incorporate fusible fittings or links in the pneumatic supply lines to such actuator. The fusible link in the pneumatic supply line provides this protection by venting or discharging the air supply at a predetermined temperature, thereby allowing the actuator to move the valve to the fail-safe position.
When the isolation valve is so large as to preclude the use of an actuator having an internal biasing spring to move the valve to the desired safe or emergency position, double-acting actuators are utilized. In this case, the actuator and all associated controls must be made fail-safe in the event of fire. The fireproofing process increases the cost of valve actuators and controls and, in some cases, requires bulky external blankets or boxes that are both cumbersome and costly.

Fire safety fusible link electrical terminal block


Stainless steel sheets including a Ni and O-containing coating on the surface that has excellent weld penetration characteristics and excellent crevice corrosion resistance, and a method for producing such stainless steel sheets. A stainless steel sheet includes a Ni and O-containing coating on a surface of the stainless steel sheet. The Ni and O-containing coating has a coating weight of greater than or equal to 0.1 g/m2 and less than or equal to 20 g/m2. The Ni and O-containing coating has a composition including, in at. %, Ni: greater than or equal to 25% and less than or equal to 60%, and O: greater than or equal to 40% and less than or equal to 70%.

In general, when arc welding, such as TIG welding (tungsten inert gas welding) or MIG welding (metal inert gas welding), is performed on a stainless steel sheet, the stainless steel sheet exhibits low weld penetration characteristics compared with common steel sheets, such as SPCC (steel plate cold commercial). That is, when arc welding is performed on a stainless steel sheet, there is a problem in that the depth of penetration in the steel sheet thickness direction is shallow compared with common steel sheets even when the welding conditions are the same.
Examples of known techniques for improving the weld penetration characteristics include a technique of applying a metal oxide to the portion to be welded in the stainless steel sheet by using a brush or another tool, and a technique of adding a metal oxide to a welding rod or a welding wire. Oxygen, which is present in metal oxides, is a surface-activating element. In welding, with an increase in oxygen in the weld pool, the surface tension of the weld pool changes. This can cause the convection of the weld pool to be directed toward the inside, in other words, cause the molten metal in the high-temperature zone near the center of the arc to be convected from the steel sheet front side toward the steel sheet back side in the steel sheet thickness direction. This results in a greater depth of penetration. For example, Patent Literature 1, listed below, discloses a flux including a Ti oxide, a Si oxide, and a Cr oxide. The flux is applied in advance to a stainless steel sheet prior to TIG welding.
In stainless steel sheets, crevice corrosion is a form of corrosion to which particular attention should be paid and is known to sometimes lead to serious problems. As countermeasures for crevice corrosion, efforts for inhibiting crevice corrosion have been made. Examples of such efforts include adding an appropriate amount of one or more elements that improve corrosion resistance, such as Cr, Ni, Mo, Cu, etc. to a stainless steel sheet.    PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-326091

Stainless steel sheet including Ni and O-containing coating on surface and method for producing stainless steel sheet


A straddle-seat vehicle has a frame, and connected thereto, a pair of front wheels, at least one rear wheel, a pair of footrests, an engine, a radiator connected to the engine for cooling the engine, and a cowling. The cowling encloses at least a portion of the radiator and includes an inlet in fluid communication with the portion of the radiator, a lateral outlet on a first side, and a downward outlet on a lower surface, both outlets rearward of the inlet. The inlet is adapted to direct air to enter through the portion of the radiator into the cowling. A cowling wall disposed between the inlet and one of the pair of footrests deflects air away from the pair of footrests. The lateral and downward outlets, each in fluid communication with the inlet, are adapted to direct air exiting the cowling away from the pair of footrests.

Many kinds of straddle-seat vehicles, designed for road-use and/or off-road trail use, are commonly used for recreational purposes. The engine of these vehicles typically generate a lot of heat during operation. A radiator assembly, including either a single radiator or a pair of radiators, is sometimes provided for cooling the engine. The radiators are generally disposed in the front of the vehicle, so that they can be cooled by the oncoming air as the vehicle is being driven. The radiators are typically configured to permit the oncoming air to pass through the radiator and flow rearward along either side of the vehicle, sometimes making contact with the riders. As this air has been heated by the radiators, it would be desirable to direct the air away from any part of the riders' bodies.
There is thus a need for a ventilation system for straddle seat vehicles that allows for efficient cooling of the engine and other internal components of the vehicle while limiting discomfort of the riders caused by the associated air flows.


A battery connector includes a dielectric housing having a plurality of terminal passages. A plurality of terminals are received in the terminal passages. Each terminal includes a supporting portion, a press portion twisted up in the front portion of the supporting portion, a first bending portion extending from the rear portion of the supporting portion, an elastic portion formed on the end of the first bending portion, a plug portion extending from the end of the elastic portion, a second bending portion formed on the upper portion of the plug portion, a guidable portion extending from the second bending portion. The supporting portion and the press portion extending out of a bottom surface of the dielectric housing to contact a printed circuit board elastically so that the signal between the battery connector and a electronic device transmits stably and the assembly height of the battery connector is adjustable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery connector, and in particular to a battery connector which ensures that the signal between the battery connector and a electronic device is transmitted stably and the assembly height of the battery connector is adjustable.
2. The Related Art
Electronic appliances are widely used more and more with the development of the technology of the electrons. The electronic appliances usually utilize rechargeable batteries as power sources. Accordingly, a battery connector adapted to connect batteries to the electronic appliances is used widely. However, life-time of the battery connector is influenced by the frequently loading and unloading of the power sources. Therefore, the battery connector which has a long life-time is needed urgently.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a conventional battery connector 100′ includes a dielectric housing 10′ and a plurality of terminals 20′ fixed thereto. The dielectric housing 10′ includes a rear wall 11′, two side walls 12′ and a plurality of terminal passages 13′. The terminal 20′ includes a soldering portion 21′, a plug portion 22′ extending from the soldering portion 21′, a bending portion 23′ extending from the plug portion 22′, and a contacting portion 24′ extending from the bending portion 23′. The bending portion 23′ includes a first curved surface 231′ and a second curved surface 232′. The contacting portion 24′ includes a third curved surface 241′.
The plug portion 22′ plugs into the terminal passage 13′. The inner side of the plug portion 22′ contacts the inner surface of the rear wall 11′. The soldering portion 21′ welds with a printed circuit board. When the third curved surface 241′ of the contacting portion 24′ is pressed, the first curved surface 231′ and the second curved surface 232′ share the stress with the third curved surface 241′ in order to make the terminal 20′ have a longer life-time.
However, in the progress of assembling, the battery connector 100′ utilizes the soldering portion 21′ welding with the printed circuit board so that the soldering portion 21′ is easy to fall off from the printed circuit board because the soldering portion 21′ is under pressure frequently. For that reason, the signal between the battery connector 100′ and a electronic device will be influenced. Furthermore, the assembly height of the battery connector 100′ couldn't be adapted effectively so that it is not convenient for the assembly procedure.
Hence, the conventional battery connector can not ensure the signal between the battery connector and the electronic device transmitting stably, further, the height of the battery connector is not adjustable.


A vehicle control device is configured to determine whether or not a living body is left behind in a vehicle. The vehicle control device includes an operation information acquisition unit that acquires first operation information indicating whether a first type of opening/closing unit related to getting-on/off of an occupant is operated and second operation information indicating whether a second type of opening/closing unit other than the first opening/closing unit is operated; a leaving determination unit that determines whether the living body is left behind with reference to the first operation information, and determines execution of a leaving alarm in a case where it is determined that the living body is left behind; and an execution holding unit which holds the execution of the leaving alarm in a case where the second operation information indicates that the second type of opening/closing unit is operated.

In the related art, a situation where a guardian goes out of the vehicle while leaving a child in the vehicle interior and forgets that the child is present in the vehicle interior, and the child is left behind in the vehicle interior has become a major problem.
In order to solve this problem, various measures and studies have been carried out. For example, in JP-A-2001-160192, an abnormal situation reporting system automatically detects an abnormal situation in the vehicle interior, and notifies a store or the like where there is a high possibility that a driver who is away from the vehicle is present of the detected abnormal situation. Specifically, the occurrence of an abnormal situation in the vehicle interior is detected using a temperature sensor for detecting that the temperature in the vehicle interior rapidly rises, a human body sensor for determining whether or not a person remains in the vehicle interior, and the like.
Further, in JP-A-2007-77652, in a state where an occupant is present in the vehicle interior, the control device of the vehicle door inputs an opening command of the vehicle door into control means by an operation outside the vehicle, and accordingly, without opening the vehicle door, an alarm for prompting the occupant to open the vehicle door is issued from alarm means.
In JP-A-2005-200895, a vehicle-side transmitter transmits a request signal in accordance with detection by a detection sensor. When the vehicle-side receiver does not receive an answer signal including a normal ID code from the portable transceiver within the predetermined period of time, the control unit stops the transmission operation of the request signal of the vehicle-side transmitter.
Furthermore, in JP-A-2016-16819, in a case where an operation detecting unit detects a predetermined operation, a transmission processing unit transmits a request signal. Then, a target detecting unit detects that the detection target is positioned in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the reception processing unit receiving the response signal returned from the portable device in response to the request signal transmitted by the transmission processing unit in a case where the operation detecting unit detects a predetermined operation.

Vehicle control device and vehicle control method


A magenta dyestuff for sublimation heat transfer recording is here disclosed which is represented by the formula (I) ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is an alkyl group or alkoxy group, R.sup.2 is an alkyl group, aryl group or halogenoalkyl group, R.sup.3 is an alkyl group, aryl group, alkoxyalkyl group, cyanoalkyl group, alkylcarboxyalkyl group or halogenoalkyl group, X is a hydrogen atom or alkoxy group, and Y is a hydrogen atom, alkoxy group, alkylcarbonylamino group or alkyl-sulfonylamino group, and this dyestuff is excellent in solubility, ribbon shelf stability, dye-fixing properties, durability and light resistance.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magenta dyestuff for sublimation transfer recording.
A heat transfer system using a sublimable dyestuff is a printing system in which a thin condenser paper having a thickness of several microns or a PET film is coated with the sublimable dyestuff in the state of an ink, and this dyestuff is then selectively heated with a heat-sensitive head to transfer an image to the recording paper. In these days, this heat transfer system has been used as a means for recording (hardcopying) various information images.
The sublimable dyestuff used herein is characterized by being rich in colors, excellent in color-mixing properties, and having strong dye-fixing power and relatively high stability. Accordingly, the above-mentioned heat transfer system using this kind of sublimable dyestuff has an important feature that the amount of the dyestuff to be sublimed depends upon heat energy and the density of the fixed dyestuff can be analogically controlled. This feature is not present in other image-recording systems.
Most of azo dyestuffs which have been heretofore suggested (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-227092) usually have high molar extinction coefficients and latently possess transfer power necessary to obtain the sufficient density of transferred images. However, on the other hand, they have insufficient solubility and poor compatibility with ribbon binders, and thus these dyestuffs tend to crystallize on ribbons, so that the heat transfer efficiency of the dyestuffs is noticeably impaired. Furthermore, after the transfer, when brought into contact with the dyestuffs, matters are soiled therewith and the quality of the images themselves deteriorates because of the poor dye-fixing power of the dyestuffs. In addition, since most of these dyestuffs are poor in durability, particularly light resistance which is most important, they cannot withstand a long-term storage. Hence, the dyestuffs which can solve all of these problems are extremely limited.

Transfer sheet for sublimation recording


An imaging device includes at least one printhead including an aperture plate defining a plurality of apertures, an ink plate and a controller. The at least one printhead is configured to eject liquid ink through the plurality of apertures of the aperture plate. The ink plate is positioned with reference to the aperture plate to enable an ink layer to form between the ink plate and the aperture plate by ink ejected by the printhead. The controller operatively connected to the printhead and configured to operate the printhead to eject the liquid ink to the ink plate to form the link layer.

A typical inkjet printer typically uses a printhead assembly that includes one or more printheads. Each printhead has a plurality of inkjets from which drops of ink are ejected towards a recording medium. The inkjets of a printhead receive the ink from an ink manifold in the printhead that is supplied ink from a source, such as an ink reservoir or an ink cartridge. Each inkjet also includes an actuator positioned opposite an orifice, or nozzle, through which drops of ink are ejected. The nozzles of the inkjets may be formed in an aperture, or nozzle, plate that has openings corresponding to the nozzles of the inkjets. During operation, drop ejecting signals activate the actuators in the inkjets to expel drops of fluid through the inkjet nozzles onto the recording medium. By selectively activating the actuators of the inkjets to eject drops as the recording medium and printhead assembly move relative to each other, the deposited drops can be precisely patterned to form particular text and graphic images on the recording medium.
One difficulty faced by inkjet systems is the risk of sucking air or other contaminants, such as dust and paper fibers, into the printhead through the inkjet nozzles. These contaminants disrupt the fluidic path for the ink through the printhead. Such disruption from the air or contaminants can result in missing, undersized or misdirected drops on the recording media that degrade the print quality during printer operation, and even render one or more inkjets in the printhead completely inoperable. Air and other contaminants may enter the printhead nozzles in many situations. For example, negative pressures may develop within the printhead resulting in air being drawn in through the nozzles when the printhead is subjected to a sudden external impact or jolt, or when a hose is disconnected upstream of the printhead. In another example, negative pressure develops due to changing pressures in the external environment, such as when the printer is shipped in a shipping container. Consequently, printer improvements that help prevent air and other contaminants from entering a printhead are desirable.

Ink barrier formed on printhead to prevent air intake


An image forming apparatus for forming a code pattern image, which includes position-dependent information differing at every position and position-independent information in common at various positions, the image forming apparatus includes: a position-dependent code storage section that stores a position-dependent code, in which position-dependent information corresponding to each position is encoded, or a position-dependent code image, in which a position-dependent code is expressed as an image code; a code pattern image generator that generates a code pattern image by combining a position-dependent code image at each position obtained on the basis of information stored in the position-dependent code storage section and a position-independent code image representing position-independent information; and an image forming section that forms, onto a surface of a medium, the pattern code image that is generated by the code pattern image generator.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method for forming a code pattern image, which includes position-dependent information differing at every position and position-independent information in common at various positions, on a medium, such as a paper sheet.
2. Related Art
A technique has been developed for combining digital information and handwritten information, such as on paper, by embedding identification information for a paper sheet and positional information at various points on the paper sheet into a two-dimensional code and superimposing and printing this code with an electronic document. In this technique, a device scans the paper sheet, detects the two-dimensional code, and decodes the code to identify the paper sheet and identify the position on the paper sheet of the handwritten information so that the handwritten information on the paper sheet can be reflected at the appropriate position on the appropriate page within the digital information.
To superimpose a code pattern image on each page of an electronic document to be printed by a printer, it is necessary to generate a code pattern image having the same size as the electronic document to be printed at a terminal, such as a PC, and to transmit this together with the electronic document to a printer. However, when embedding identification information that differs for every document page, it is necessary to transmit the same number of code pattern images as the number of electronic document pages. For example, when printing an electronic document having 100 A4-size pages, it is necessary to transmit 100 A4-size code pattern images to the printer.
Since it is preferable to configure the code pattern image so that it is hard to see with the human eye and desirable to embed more information within the code, it is necessary to print the patterns making up the code pattern image with high detail. Thus, an ordinary code pattern image is printed at a high resolution of 600 dpi or higher. Since this high resolution code pattern image contains a large amount of information, the communication load is high and the transmission to the printer requires time, namely, productivity decreases.
Further, in the case of generating a code pattern image having a size equal to the paper surface size, from encoding to image generation, within the printer, the processing load on the controller built into the printer becomes extremely high. To perform such a high load process without lowering the productivity of the printer, it is necessary to mount an expensive controller within the printer, in which case the printing apparatus becomes expensive. If the above-mentioned operations are performed on an ordinary printing apparatus, the printer productivity decreases.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


An electric brake system is proposed which includes an electric linear motion actuator and can generate the required braking force with high accuracy. A load sensor (30) is provided in a motion converting mechanism of the actuator which converts the rotary motion of a rotary shaft (4) to which the rotation of an electric motor (2) is transmitted to linear motion of an outer ring member (5) as an output member. The load sensor (30) detects the pushing force with which the outer ring member (5) linearly drives a driven member. With this arrangement, if the driven member is a braking member of an electric brake system, it is possible to directly detect the braking force applied by the driven member and thus to accurately generate the required braking force.

A known electric linear motion actuator for converting the rotary motion of an electric motor to linear motion, thereby linearly driving a driven member, includes a motion converter mechanism such as a slide screw mechanism, a ball-screw mechanism or a ball-ramp mechanism for converting the rotary motion of the rotor shaft of an electric motor or of a rotary member to which the rotation of the rotor shaft is transmitted to the linear motion of an output member for linearly driving the driven member. Many of this type of electric linear motion actuators include a gear type speed reducer such as a planetary gear type speed reducer so that a large linear driving force is obtainable with a small-capacity electric motor (see e.g. JP Patent Publication 6-327190A).
The inventors of the present invention proposed electric linear motion actuators which can generate a large linear driving force without using a separate speed reducer and which is suitable for use in an electric brake system, of which the linear stroke of the movable member is relatively short (see e.g. JP Patent Publication 2007-32717A and JP Patent Publication 2007-37305A). These actuators include a rotary shaft member which is one of the rotor shaft of the electric motor and a rotary shaft to which the rotation of the rotor shaft is transmitted, an outer ring member provided around the rotary shaft member and fitted in the radially inner surface of a housing, a plurality of planetary rollers rotatably supported by a carrier so as to be disposed between the rotary shaft member and the outer ring member, the planetary rollers being configured to revolve around the rotary shaft member while rotating about the axes of the individual planetary rollers when the rotary shaft member rotates, wherein a helical rib is formed on the radially inner surface of the outer ring member and each of the planetary rollers has on its radially outer surface circumferential grooves which are equal in pitch to the helical rib or a helical groove which is equal in pitch to, and different in lead angle from, the helical rib, the helical rib being engaged in the circumferential grooves or the helical grooves of the respective planetary rollers, whereby the rotary motion of the rotary shaft member is converted to the linear motion of the carrier as the output member for linearly driving the driven member, thereby linearly moving the outer ring member and the carrier relative to each other.
Most brake systems for vehicles had been of hydraulic types. But due to recent introduction of sophisticated brake control arrangements such as antilock brake systems (ABS), electric brake systems, which can perform such brake control without the need for a complicated hydraulic circuit, are gathering much attention. Electric brake systems include an electric motor and an electric linear motion actuator of the above-described type, which is mounted in the caliper body of the brake system. When the brake pedal is depressed, a signal is produced to activate the electric motor, and the motor drives the braking member through the actuator, thereby pressing the braking member against the braked member (see e.g. JP Patent Publication 2003-343620A).
This type of electric brake systems, which include the above-described electric linear motion actuator, have means for controlling the braking force. One of such means calculates the motor torque based on the current being supplied to the electric motor and adjusts the current to be supplied to the motor to a predetermined value corresponding to the required braking force. Another such means detects the angular position of the electric motor and adjusts the angular position of the motor to a predetermined position corresponding to the required braking force.
With the arrangements in which the required braking force is produced by applying the predetermined current to the motor or rotating the motor to the predetermined angular position, it is difficult to accurately linearly move the output member to the required position due e.g. to manufacturing errors of component parts forming the electric linear motion actuator or slip of the motion converter mechanism, which in turn makes it difficult to produce the required braking force.

Electric linear motion actuator and electric brake system


There is provided a heating medium circulating apparatus which is small and which does not require a very large installation space. In a heating medium circulating apparatus wherein a temperature controlling object being an object to be temperature-controlled, a main heat exchanger 88 for carrying out main heat exchange with a heating medium, and a circulating pump 84 are provided in a heating medium circulating system 78, a sub-heat exchanger 96 using a thermoelectric element 100 is provided in the heating medium circulating system downstream of the main heat exchanger to control the temperature of the heating medium. Thus, the apparatus itself is small, and the installation space is not very large.

In general, various heat treatments, such as deposition, pattern etching, oxidation diffusion and refining, are repeatedly carried out with respect to a semiconductor wafer to produce a desired semiconductor device. With the increase of wafer size, there is a tendency to often use a so-called single wafer processing heat treatment system which can more easily obtain the inplane uniformity of treatment than that in a batch heat treatment system. The single wafer processing heat treatment system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-51294 and 9-219369.
For example, the heat treatment system of this type has a mounting table for supporting thereon a semiconductor wafer, a heating lamp serving as a wafer heating means, a resistance heater and so forth, in an evacuated processing vessel. When a heat treatment is carried out, while a predetermined required gas is supplied from a shower head portion provided on the ceiling portion of the vessel or the like, the pressure in the processing vessel is maintained at a predetermined process pressure, and a wafer is heated and maintained at a predetermined process temperature to carry out deposition and so forth.
In this case, if the shower head portion and the wall face of the processing vessel are excessively heated, e.g. when deposition is carried out, an undesired film and a reaction by-product adhere to the wall face. Therefore, the shower head portion and the wall face of the processing vessel are cooled by a cooling mechanism to prevent the temperature thereof from excessively rising. If a heating lamp is used as a heating means, the temperature of a partition wall of a lamp chamber for housing therein the heating lamp excessively rises, so that a cooling mechanism is provided for cooling this.
By the way, a chiller for producing and circulating a fluid at a constant temperature is generally used as the cooling mechanism. The chiller has a very large heat exchange system for cooling a heating medium to a predetermined temperature and for circulating the medium to a structure to be cooled.
The chiller has the advantage of easily controlling the temperature of the medium. However, since the chiller is very large as described above, there is a problem in that equipment costs do not only rise, but the installation space (foot print) is also too large.

Heating medium circulating device and thermal, treatment equipment using the device


An angular velocity sensor device includes a structure having an angular velocity detecting element and a vibration body formed thereon. The structure is mounted on the case and the angular velocity detecting element is isolated from external vibrations without the need for rubber and gel vibration dampening materials. Permanent magnets of the same polarity are mounted opposite one another on the structure and the case. The magnetic repulsion is generated between the structure and the case to cause the structure to be housed within the case in a levitated state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sensors, and more particularly to an angular velocity sensor including a case that houses an angular velocity detecting element including a vibration body.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an angular velocity sensor device such as, for example, that disclosed in JP-A-2001-126462 includes a case having a structure that houses an angular velocity detecting element having a vibration body formed thereon. The vibration body of such an angular velocity sensor device is driven to oscillate, and an angular velocity can be detected based on displacement of the vibration body by the Coriolis effect.
In addition, when such a sensor device is mounted to an automobile, sensor accuracy is adversely affected when external vibrations such as vehicle vibrations are transmitted from the case to the angular velocity detecting element.
To protect against these external vibrations, rubber materials and gel materials are used to support the structure within the case and effectively act as vibration dampeners.
However, because the rubber materials and gel materials deteriorate over time, the output characteristic of the angular velocity detecting element may be adversely affected.


Technologies and implementations for reusing bad blocks in a solid state drive are generally disclosed.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Memory locations within a solid state storage device (SSD) may be grouped into sections, referred to as "pages". In general, a page may be comprised of a number of memory locations, or "blocks". As will be appreciated, some memory blocks within an SSD may not be able to accurately record data. Such blocks may often be referred to as "bad blocks". Conventional SSDs may be able to compensate for a specified number (e.g., 1, 2, or the like) of bad blocks. That is, the SSDs may be able to compensate for a certain number of bit errors (e.g., 1 bit, 2 bits, or the like). However, once a page includes more bad blocks than the SSD can compensate for, the entire page may be unusable. That is, all blocks within the page, including the good blocks, may be unavailable to store and retrieve data.

Bad block compensation for solid state storage devices


Tub grinding apparatus is described for grinding bulk materials (e.g. forage products such as hay) in a manner such that far fewer "fines" are produced. As a result, the ground forage materials are of higher quality and are more palatable for animals than forage materials which are processed with previous apparatus. Also, because there are fewer "fines" produced, there are fewer pollution problems and less wasted feed. The apparatus is able to grind forage material at a significantly lower speed than previously possible. The hammers are spaced closer together near the outer end of the rotor member.

Tub grinders have been widely used for reducing the particle size of bulk materials. This type of apparatus includes a large tub having an open top for receiving bulk material to be processed. A stationary floor in the tub is in a generally-horizontal plane. A rotor member is mounted under the floor, and hammers or blades on the rotor extend into the tub through an opening in the stationary floor. The rotor is rotated at a high rate of speed, and the tub is rotated slowly. The rotor must be precision-built and balanced so as to eliminate vibration problems.
The hammers or blades on the rotor strike the bulk material and grind it into smaller particles. A screen having small apertures in it is positioned in close proximity to the rotor under the floor. The bulk material cannot pass through the screen until the particles are smaller than the apertures.
As the tub is rotated, the bulk material is continually urged against the rapidly-revolving rotor member where the high speed hammers strike the bulk material. The hammers are usually made from a piece of flat steel about 4 to 6 inches long with a hole punched through each end. The hammers are normally heat-treated, and the wear tip is surfaced with a hardened material to reduce the effect of the high-speed wear to which they are subjected, since the corners of the hammers wear off rapidly during high-speed impact with the bulk material. The hammers must be turned end-for-end or replaced often, since they lose their ability to push the material through the screens after the corners are worn down.
The processed bulk material either falls through the screen system and is carried out by conveying or it is carried around the rotor by the hammers and thrown out the back side of the rotor and back into the tub where it is pushed around again by the rotating tub. Then the process is repeated.
The rotor in a conventional tub grinder typically is rotated at a speed of about 1800 to 2500 rpm. Because tub grinders usually are powered by a farm tractor whose power take-off shaft turns at either 540 or 1000 rpm, a gear box or belt drive mechanism is needed to increase the rotor speed to the required rpm. This high rate of speed is necessary to produce sufficient centrifugal force to keep the short lightweight hammer extended and to keep the machine operating properly. When this type of machine is operated at a lower rate of speed, there is insufficient centrifugal force to keep the hammers extended when they contact the bulk material, whereby hammer fly-back occurs which reduces machine performance and can cause damage to the machine itself.
The conventional tub grinder utilizes a hammer tip speed of 780 to 900 feet per second at 1000 rpm PTO speed. Such grinders were originally designed to pulverize grains, bones and other hard brittle substances. When these machines are used to grind forage materials such as hay, they consume a large amount of power and create a significant amount of fine, powdered material. This dust makes the machine very unpleasant to operate. Also, the dust in the atmosphere creates pollution problems and wastes feed.
The leaves of the forage material contain the most nutrients. They are also the most fragile and they are easily pulverized into dust during the grinding process. When this dust is lost the overall quality of the forage is drastically reduced. When the ground forage is handled or exposed to windy conditions this loss continues until the ground forage product is consumed. Large ruminant animals (such as milk cows) need more roughage in their feed. If the feed has too many "fines", i.e., small particles of feed, health problems result for the cows which reduces milk production and animal value.
An improved tub grinder is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,391, incorporated herein by reference, which eliminates the need for a screen in tub grinding apparatus.
There has not heretofore been described tub grinding apparatus having the features and advantages provided by the present invention.


A package decoration having a foldable panel and pop-up decoration affixed to the panel. The panel and the pop-up decoration are foldable into a flat format, the pop-up decoration folding between folded portions of the panel. The pop-up decoration configured and printed, and the panel printed to provide an occasion specific decoration. The panel may include a printed greeting and other package wrappings, such as ribbons may also be included with the panel and pop-up decoration.

The present invention relates to package decoration and package wrapping, and more particularly to a decoration that is collapsed for convenient distribution and handling in a flat format, that opens to be affixed to a package and that expands or pops up when opened to provide a dimensional display.
Packages are decorated when given as gifts, displayed to attract attention, or in other circumstances in which a visually pleasing and/or interesting presentation is desired. Package decorations that are frequently affixed to packages include wrapping material, ribbon, and ornamentation including ribbons, bows, greeting cards, and other displays. Known distinctive package decorations include a dimensional flower-like ornament that is attached to a package by an elasticized cord as described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,601. Another dimensional decoration is a decorative pop out card accessory for attaching cards to a gift package that is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,943.
The time required to decorate a package can limit the extent and complexity of decoration when little time is available, when many packages are to be decorated, and when package decoration requires many steps such as cutting and applying wrapping material, wrapping with ribbon, and affixing cards or ornaments to the package. Various approaches have been used to make package decoration less time consuming. These include decorated gift bags, gift sleeves, gift bands, self-stick bows, and self-stick wrapping paper. Another approach to reducing the time required to wrap a package is attaching pre-cut wrapping paper to a box as disclosed for example by U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,429. These approaches make package decoration and gift wrapping less time consuming but are limited in the sizes of package that can be accommodated, in variety of decoration or wrapping that can be attached to a package, or a combination of these limitations.
Another limitation on package decoration is imposed by the necessity for shipping or otherwise transporting a package. Package decorations that are easily damaged or that occupy an unacceptable volume are unusable for packages that must be transported. A decoration that avoids such problems as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,877 is a dimensional decoration made of an expanding structure that may be folded into a compact configuration and quickly opened and secured to a package. That decoration has two end members that open along a spine or fold from a folded configuration and an accordion-like expansible structure between the end members including spokes that extend from the spine. The expansible structure expands when the end members are opened from the closed configuration to form a dimensional ornament. An elasticized cord is attached at its ends to the end members so that the cord can be wrapped onto the package. Accordion-like expansible decorations of the type disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,877 provide limited forms of decorations.
More complex expanding displays have been used in pop-up books. Pop-up books have collapsed displays that open and expand to create a multi-dimensional and engaging displays that illustrates a book's story. Pop-up displays in books generally include one or more sheets, generally made from paper, that are folded when collapsed and expand when the book is opened at the display to form a three dimensional picture or model. Pop-up books have been known for many years. A pop-up display can form complex and diverse forms and can have movable pieces that add motion to the display. Pop-up displays are generally relatively fragile when opened and expanded. Pop-up displays therefore are distributed, as in books, in a folded or collapsed position often within a durable covering such as the cover of a book or overlying sheets.
In addition to illustrating stories in books, pop-up displays (often referred to simply as pop-ups) have also been used to enhance product displays. U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,124 discloses a paper pop-up that is permanently attached to a package and that creates a game. The pop-up game is formed by panels that fold over each other to collapse to a flat and compact form. One panel is glued to a product package and another panel folds from the attached panel to open the pop-up between the panels and form the game. Pop-up displays have not heretofore been adapted to provide dimensional or complex package decoration that can be quickly mounted to a package and have not been combined with package wrapping and decorating materials.
A need remains for decorations that can be quickly applied to packages and that can be appropriate for diverse themes and occasions. A need also exists for gift wrapping decorations that can be provided for a range of package sizes and shapes and that can be appropriate for many occasions. A need also exists for a package decoration that includes a dimensional decoration that can be transported and efficiently applied to a package.


A building structure which simulates the appearance of a traditional log structure while incorporating modern wood framing construction techniques is disclosed. A number of interlocking log heads form the corner of the structure. Each log head abuts against a stud or post displaced a distance from the corner. Wall boards are affixed to extend horizontally over sheathing attached to studs and abut each log head. Small spaces between the wall boards are filled with a chinking element, which may be a wood strip covered with a suitable surface material to simulate actual chinking.

Typical log structures are constructed of logs stacked vertically to form a wall. The lower and upper surfaces of the logs are planed to abut closely against the adjacent logs. Chinking is applied between the horizontal joints of the logs. At the corners, the logs are notched to receive logs from the adjacent wall, with the ends of each log protruding somewhat beyond the notch. Such log structures have an attractive appearance, but are time consuming and expensive to build in the traditional manner. The logs themselves are extremely heavy and frequently require a crane or other large piece of equipment to lift into place. Also, the availability of full size logs has decreased, particularly in light of increased concern for the growth of large trees and the habitat they provide.

Building structure having the appearance of a log structure


The invention relates to a thermal spraying material (5) for the coating of a surface of a workpiece by means of a thermal spraying method, wherein the spraying material (5) contains zinc. The invention further relates to a thermal spraying method and to a thermally sprayed coating sprayed with the material (5).

The invention relates to a thermal spraying material, to the use of a material for the coating of a surface of a workpiece by means of a thermal spraying method, to a thermally sprayed coating, to a thermal spraying method and also to a thermally coated workpiece.
The coating of surfaces of the most diverse workpieces has an almost incalculable number of uses in industrial technology and a correspondingly high economic significance. In this connection coatings can be advantageously applied to the most diverse substrates for very different reasons. Wear protection coatings on mechanically heavily loaded parts such as, for example, on running surfaces of cylinders or piston rings of combustion engines or compressors, play an important role for example. In addition to wear resistance further demands are made on these parts, such as good sliding characteristics, i.e. good tribological characteristics or also excellent dry operation characteristics. Different thermal spraying methods have in particular proved to be excellent for such requirements and similar ones, above all the known plasma spray methods.
Coatings manufactured by arc vaporization, PVD or CVD processes have been used successfully for the production of hard layers on highly loaded tools, primarily chip-forming tools such as milling cutters, drills, etc. However, precisely the application of the last-named processes is very widespread in completely different fields, for example for the coating of jewelry or clock housings or for the application of protective coatings or simply for the embellishment of basic commodities.
Other methods, such as for example gas nitriding, are well-established methods which are of great significance in corrosion protection, among other things.
In this connection the coating of workpieces with very large surface areas, such as metal sheets for example, which have to be protected against corrosion among other things, is fundamentally problematic. Metal sheets of this kind or other substrates are, for example, provided on rolls of a substantial width of up to a few meters and in a length of up to several hundred meters or even more.
An established technique for the coating of sheets of this kind is galvanic or electrolyte deposition, for example. Thus, it is known, for example, to provide large steel sheets with a corrosion protection layer made of Zn and Mg. In a typical known process a 1 μm to 30 μm thick layer made of pure zinc (Zn) is applied in a first step electrolytically or galvanically onto a metal sheet which can be, for example, made of steel, of aluminum, of another metal or of a metal alloy. The surface of this first layer is then subjected to a cleaning process by means of ultrasound and/or PVD sputtering for example. After this a thin layer approximately 0.1 μm to 0.5 μm thick, made of pure magnesium (Mg), is applied to the first zinc layer by means of a PVD method. Finally, a heat treatment of the workpiece takes place for example for 10 minutes to 3 hours, at 200° C. to 550° C. for example, in very special cases up to 650° C., through which diffusion processes are initiated, so that MgZn2 phases can form on the surface of the originally pure Mg layer, through which an improved protection against corrosion is attained.
The workpieces treated in this way have clearly improved corrosion characteristics in comparison to workpieces with pure zinc layers and can also be worked better because the combination layers as a whole have a reduced thickness. However, the above-described four-stage coating process is extraordinarily time-consuming and above all requires the combination of completely different methods, so that not only the carrying out of the coating process as such but also machinery cost is enormous, so that the costs for the manufacture of these corrosion protection layers are basically unreasonably high.
For these reasons alternatives have been sought for a long time, with thermal spraying in its different variants basically coming into question, primarily because thermal spraying has long been established in the series production of individual parts and industrial series production. The most usual thermal spraying methods, which are also used in particular in series production for the coating of the surfaces of substrates in large numbers, are, for example, flame spraying with a spraying powder or a spraying wire, arc spraying, high velocity flame spraying (HVOF), flame detonation spraying or plasma spraying. The above-named list of thermal spraying methods is certainly not exhaustive. On the contrary the person averagely skilled in the art is familiar with a large number of variations of the listed methods, and also further methods, for example special methods such as flame spraying welding. The so-called "cold gas spraying" also has to be mentioned in this connection. Although, strictly speaking, it is not to be counted as one of the thermal spraying methods, within the context of this application the known "cold gas spraying method" (cold spraying) is also understood to be covered by the term "thermal spraying method" in addition to all known spraying methods.
In this connection thermal spraying has opened up large areas of use. One can certainly state that thermal spraying as a surface coating technique is the coating technique which probably has the largest scope of use. A delimitation of the areas of use of the spraying methods listed above does not appear necessarily sensible in this connection because the areas of use can overlap with each other.
It was a great problem for a long time in this connection to provide large surface areas in sufficient uniformity, in particular with thin layers with thickness in the micrometer range by means of thermal spraying methods. The low pressure thermal method ("LPPS method") suggested in EP 0776 594 B1 has brought about a breakthrough here, which, using a broad/wide plasma beam, allows the manufacture of uniform coatings on large surfaces, on metal sheets for example. On the one hand this is achieved by means of the geometric design of the spray gun, with it moreover being important that a substantial pressure difference prevails between the inside and the outside of the spray gun. The workpiece, or at least the surface area of the workpiece, which is to be coated is located in a coating chamber in this arrangement, in which, in relation to the inside of the spray gun, a sub-atmospheric pressure is produced, for example a sub-atmospheric pressure of less than 100 mbar, while in the spray gun a pressure of approximately 1000 mbar prevails, in other words approximately ambient pressure. A broad coating beam can be produced by setting a pressure gradient of this kind between the inside of the spray gun and the coating chamber, by means of which the surface of the workpiece can be coated with a uniformity never previously attainable.
In this connection this basic principle has in the meantime been developed considerably further. EP 1 479 788 A1 shows for example a hybrid method which builds on the basic method of EP 0776 594 B1.
In this connection these methods are particularly suitable to apply different metallic or non-metallic coatings, in particular also ceramic, carbidic or nitridic layer components, in thin layers.
Modern technical demands however are moving toward the replacement of even the multi-stage galvanic or electrolytic method described above with reference to an exemplary process by thermal spraying methods, since the thermally sprayed layers can be applied principally in one method step and much more efficiently, in other words with clearly higher deposition rates, i.e. in a much shorter time.
In this connection one has hitherto been of the opinion that the classic thermal spraying methods, in particular the LPPS method outlined briefly above and also the cold gas spraying method, are fundamentally not suitable for coating with zinc and zinc compounds. The reason for this view is that zinc has an enormously high vapor pressure even at relatively low temperatures. Thus zinc for example already has a vapor pressure of approximately 1000 mbar at approximately 900° C., while aluminum only reaches roughly the same vapor pressure at approximately 2000° C. and Al2O3 only displays it at about 3000° C.
Thus one has assumed up to now that the LPPS method is not worth considering for the thermal spraying of zinc-containing layers, primarily, but not only, because it was presumed that due to its high vapor pressure the zinc already escapes in the coating beam to such a large extent that no useful zinc-containing layers can be manufactured by means of thermal spraying. In this connection not only is the high vapor pressure of the zinc as such regarded as a fundamental problem, but also the large difference in the vapor pressure from other materials, which can be sprayed at the same time as the zinc. If a different material is sprayed simultaneously together with zinc, which is for example separately sprayed simultaneously with zinc, but at a considerably lower vapor pressure, then it has to be feared that already the ratio of the composition of zinc to further spraying materials will massively alter the coating beam, so that the sprayed layers no longer have the desired composition and thus the necessary corrosion protection cannot be attained.
Accordingly, no suitable zinc-containing spray materials and consequently also no corresponding thermal spraying methods exist in the prior art.

Thermal spraying material, a thermally sprayed coating, a thermal spraying method and also a thermally coated workpiece