Described herein, amongst other things, are electronically available interactive reference materials that can preferably be accessed by using a network, such as the World Wide Web or Internet, to eliminate the need to create and transport paper. There are further described systems, methods, and means for generating, storing, and providing to a user these interactive reference materials. There are also disclosed, system, methods, and means for generating, storing, and providing to a user interactive electronic systems for use with the interactive reference materials.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to the field of systems and methods for generating interactive electronic reference materials from non-interactive hard copy or soft copy reference materials, systems and methods for providing the interactive reference materials to a user, and systems and methods for combining interactive documents with other interactive services into interactive electronic reference systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reference materials, such as, but not limited to, technical manuals, operator's guides, maintenance guides, parts lists, instruction sheets and the like are used in almost every sector of the economy and are almost universally confined to paper. These reference materials provide for information pertaining to a device to which they refer. Therefore, those who are working with, maintaining, repairing, or servicing those devices using those reference materials need to have the device, themselves, and the reference materials in the same place at the same time so that the actions can be performed.
Throughout the years, many different ways have been attempted to make sure that the three pieces meet up at the same place. Many reference materials are printed to be attached to or carried with the device so when the serviceman arrives, the reference material is waiting there. While this solution provides for a high degree of likelihood of the three meeting, the problem lies in the cost of printing, transporting, and updating materials. Keeping reference materials with the device provides that there is usually a copy at the device when the serviceman arrives, but if a single serviceman services 100 similar objects, that results in there being printed 99 extra copies of the materials as the serviceman could have carried a single copy. This both wastes resources of paper and ink as well as storage and transportation resources devoted to storing and moving all that paper. However, if each serviceman was given a copy of the materials above, and 10 servicemen service the same device, resources are also wasted.
The need to change or modify written reference materials is also common. A problem exists in creating a change to a paper publication, delivering the change to every piece of equipment effected by the change, and ultimately posting or attaching the change to the written documentation which is often of fixed form. The gap between completing a change and finally getting it to the existing materials can often be as long as a year due to delays in printing, shipping, and posting. Further, even when the update arrives, it often is placed with the original reference material, not incorporated within it.
Nowhere are the above problems more acute than in the military. When a country is at war in a distant theatre it is imperative that up-to-date maintenance, operation, training and repair information (or other military reference material) be available at the fingertips of those who have to repair, maintain, service and use the systems fighting the battle. As war gets more sophisticated, the problems get larger as more complex systems require more and more documentation to support.
Currently, the United States military relies on paper manuals to operate, repair, and order parts for its machinery, both in peace-time and in war. Unfortunately, these reference manuals are growing more massive by the day. Further, so as to always make sure that anyone who might need a manual has access to the manual, there is a huge amount of repetition and redundancy of documents provided in the military. These manuals can cover everything from how to inflate tires, to how to identify and repair a non-functioning targeting computer. Every C-17 cargo aircraft carries more than 750 pounds of technical manuals, basically the equivalent of 4 additional passengers. Every tank carries technical manuals covering everything from its main gun, to its radios, power plant, turret, electronic data bus, and so on. Support units must carry manuals for everything they support. Further, a general or direct support maintenance unit will carry literally hundreds of manuals covering the myriad of products and systems found in a combat organization. The technical manuals required to support the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) number in excess of 25,000 pages. Further, there are more than 30,000 of these vehicles in the U.S. Army in hundreds of different units deployed around the world. Every one of these units has to carry, maintain, store, and protect these manuals.
It should be apparent that logistically the transport of all these reference materials results in a gargantuan amount of wasted transport space, wasted fuel in hauling paper, and wasted space within military systems as many of these manuals will simply be unneeded as that device does not require maintenance, or, when it does, it is located somewhere where there is another copy of the reference. Hollywood has previously poked fun at exactly this problem with individuals throwing manuals out of airplanes so they can take off, or similar situations where the space and weight of manuals is simply seen as pointless because the manuals are not needed.
The reason for all these reference materials, however, is clear. It is unknown which particular copy of which reference document will be needed by what particular person at what time. Therefore, the only solution to allow for universal access was to provide all the reference materials to everyone who might need them and with all the devices to which they are associated, so when the need is determined, the material is available.
In addition to the space that these reference materials take up, printed reference materials often have the problem of being self-contained while still requiring internal and external reference. That is, the material is in a fixed format which can not be altered. The paper reference document is defined by what is between the covers, and updates made to the material therein require the use of separate reference documents, each of which must be posted to one of the originals, and that require cross-referencing therebetween. Even within a document, referencing to other pages and/or sections is regularly necessary to make the document as a whole vaguely useful as the single order layout mandated by paper publication is rarely entirely sufficient. This cross-referencing, however, requires a user to stop what they are doing and spend time searching the document for what they need next. While this process is simplified through indexing such as tables of contents, page numbers, footnotes, and indexes, the process is still less than ideal and just about everyone has had a reference book held open with pens, papers, fingers, wrenches or other items stuck in pages so that the disclosure of those pages can be located quickly as work progresses and the material is needed. This fixed presentation of the resource material is because the document is not interactive. That is, the document cannot know what the user wants to look at next, and therefore the chosen format of the author may be completely wrong. Again, this problem becomes even more acute in the military as different components of the same device may have been built by different contractors so an operation may be described in one document and continued into another, or the explanation of a part may be in a different document than the one which tells you how to remove the part, which is in a still different document to the one which tells you when to know that the part might have failed.
Yet another problem with paper reference materials in the military is making sure they are secured. Many of these materials include classified information related to the operation and limitations of these devices and the reference materials may be carried to the front lines (as that is where the device they relate to is going) where they can potentially be captured by enemy forces. Therefore, it is often necessary for the crew of a plane, tank, or truck, to have the time to destroy the materials they carry before they are captured, something which is often not possible and further often requires the inclusion of incinerators or other machines in the vehicle, taking up yet more space and more weight.
Even as documents have become electronic, many of the problems still remain. Computer form documents are still slaved to the layout they had in paper form. Some documents may include rudimentary linking (such as indexes or tables of contents) but these are generally confined to a single reference document and further do not provide for interlinking between multiple sections, much less multiple documents as exists in an interactive system. Further systems with rudimentary linking generally require massive numbers of man-hours to produce and there are no systems which allow for the rapid conversion of paper or plain-text documents into interactive electronic documents.

Systems and methods for generating interactive electronic reference materials


At each booth there is, at an elevated position, an infra-red transmitter. The infra-red serves as a carrier for multiple audio messages. The audio messages are in various languages, and each language has a supplementary message of greater detail. The attendee carries an infra-red receiver, from which he selects whatever language he desires. He also has a button which, when he chooses, brings in a supplementary message in the same language. The attendee points his receiver towards the booth of interest. Thus he chooses the booth and generally neighboring booths do not interfere, as they would with radio frequency transmission. The receiver may be hand held, held next to the ear, badge level mounted, or head mounted. To reduce the time an attendee has to wait before his message starts, identical broadcasts are made cyclically at differing time intervals, and the system automatically picks the time slot most suitable for starting a message at the beginning, so only minimum time is consumed waiting for the start. The transmitting beam width, and the receiver capture angles, are adjustable to reject cross-talk between neighboring transmitting and receiving stations.

At conventions multiple suppliers provide multiple selections of products to multiple attendees and prospective users. Problems occur which interfere with efficient display and communications. One of these is the language barrier, particularly at international trade shows. Not all speak English and not all are fluent. Signs can be posted in several languages, but this is not as effective as a verbal message in the attendees native language. Another problem arises when the convention is heavily attended, and the attendee cannot get close to the booth to read or to converse. Another difficulty is that some attendees want only superficial information and others wish to get information in depth. A method of presorting and pre-selection of the audience is desirable, as provided in this invention. Short range radio transmission to local attendees has the disadvantage that neighboring booths or booths on parallel aisles will interact and interfere with one another. Museum display and automatic warehousing have similar problems. Interfering signals and noise interference are minimized by use of digital information transmission and modulation techniques.

Multi-channel system with multiple information sources


A coupler comprised of a coupler housing having a first opening formed therein. The opening has a concave cavity. A cylindrical socket is formed within the housing. A second opening in the housing communicates with the cylindrical socket. A lock ring is provided, the lock ring having a cylindrical portion and an arm portion extending therefrom. The cylindrical portion of the lock ring is disposed within the cylindrical socket in the housing with the arm portion extending from the housing through the second opening. An opening is formed through the cylindrical portion of the lock ring. The cylindrical portion of the lock ring is rotatable in the cylindrical socket wherein the lock ring is movable between a first position wherein the opening in the lock ring is aligned with the concave cavity to allow a tow ball to be inserted into the concave cavity through the opening in the lock ring and a second position wherein the opening is not in alignment with the concave cavity.

Many types of coupling devices have been developed for providing connection between a towing vehicle and a towed vehicle. Such connections often include a shaft-mounted, ball-type hitch, conventionally referred to as a tow ball that is generally attached to the towing vehicle. A coupler attached to the towing vehicle cooperates with the tow ball to complete the connection.
One known type of towing hitch uses a long, vertical sheathing having a coupler attached to the lower end thereof. This type of hitch is sometimes known as a "gooseneck" or "neck over" coupler.
The present invention relates to an improved coupler device for connecting a gooseneck trailer hitch to a ball-type hitch on a towing vehicle.


A center-of-gravity detecting system includes a motion detector for detecting a vertical motion of a travelling object and a horizontal motion of the travelling object, and an arithmetic unit that calculates a center-of-gravity location of the travelling object using the frequency of a vertical motion of the travelling object, a frequency of the horizontal motion of the travelling object, a central angle of the horizontal motion of the travelling object, and the width of the traveling object. The arithmetic unit calculates a center-of-gravity location, using the frequency of the vertical motion, a frequency of the horizontal motion, the center-of-gravity location, and the length of the travelling object in the travel direction.

Highly accurate estimation of a three-dimensional center-of-gravity location of a traveling object during travel is advantageous in operation of the traveling object. For example, regarding a container transportation vehicle which transports container cargos imported and exported in international commercial trading, a three-dimensional center-of-gravity location of a container cargo vehicle provides valuable data that directly reflects biased loading of cargos in a container. Therefore, the accurate estimation of the three-dimensional center-of-gravity location can effectively prevent collapse/falling of cargo piles that may take place when a door of the container is opened and unstable traveling of the container transportation vehicle (e.g., unstable traveling on a curved road).
As used herein, the term "biased loading" of the cargos in the container means a deviation of a load point determined by the center-of-gravity of the container cargo in a space depending on a disposition state of the container cargo, and does not mean a deviation of a load point on a flat plane of a bottom surface of the container as generally understood in container transportation business.
There have been proposed a technique for measuring a loaded state of cargos in a vehicle such as a four-wheel truck or a loading abnormality of cargos (see e.g., Patent Literatures 1 to 7). However, in the Patent Literatures 1 to 7, importance of the three-dimensional center-of-gravity location of the traveling object during travel is not recognized. Therefore, consideration should not be given to the Patent Literatures 1 to 7 regarding deriving of the three-dimensional center-of-gravity location.
As a solution to this, the present inventors derived the three-dimensional center-of-gravity location of a vehicle which can be loaded with the cargos and is towed by a towing vehicle, based on a logical dynamic theory and reported this technique (see Patent Literature 8). This can address various social issues caused by the container transportation vehicle.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Systems, methods, and devices are provided for compressing a variety of signals, such as measured signals from a hydrocarbon operation, that may be stored and/or transmitted in compressed form. Segmentation tools and techniques are used to compress the signals. Segmentation techniques include breaking a signal into segments and representing the data samples of the signal as segment boundary points, which may reflect where changes occur in the signal, and segment parameters, which may be utilized to model the segmented data. Embodiments can be used in real-time or in batch modes. New data samples can influence previous segment boundary points and/or segment parameters in some cases. Systems may modify what has already been stored or displayed as a result in revising segmentation information based on analysis utilizing the new data samples. Embodiments may utilize different Bayesian analysis techniques including the use of prior probability distributions and maximum a posteriori analyses.

Many industries, such as the hydrocarbon industry, gather and utilize a wide variety of data collected from different signals from different sensors. The data often needs to be stored and/or transmitted efficiently. Breaking data into smaller, homogeneous segments has been used extensively to compress a variety of data. These techniques, however, generally compress the entire dataset as a block. Those that claim to be real-time generally work by buffering a large amount of data. This data is then compressed as a block, before it is transmitted or stored.
In many industries, there are more and better sensors providing more detailed information that must be transmitted, processed, acted upon and/or the like. In information technology, cloud computing, satellite transmissions and/or the like, it is often bandwidth that is the limiting factor on data transmission and/or processing. Merely by way of example, in the hydrocarbon industry, there are ever more and better sensors for sensing data related to the exploration, extraction, production and/or transportation of the hydrocarbons. To better handle the storage and transmission of data gathered from sensors—such as in the hydrocarbon industry the sensors related to the exploration, extraction, production and/or transportation of the hydrocarbons—the sensed data associated with the processes needs to be effectively and efficiently handled.

Real time data compression and transmission


A mechanism and method for conveying a cassette or similar like article from a support surface into an adjacent apparatus. The mechanism comprising: a first pinch roller having a central axis about which the first pinch roller rotates; a second pinch roller having a central axis about which the second pinch roller rotates; a mechanism for moving the first and second pinch rollers toward each other so as to engage a cassette therebetween with a predetermined amount of biasing force; and a motor for rotating the first and second pinch rollers manner about their respective axis so as to move the cassette from and/or on to the support surface.

The present invention pertains to equipment used in processing photosensitive material, and more particularly to an autoloader for feeding cassettes and/or pallets containing cassettes to and receiving them from a computed radiographic reader.
It is convenient to handle storage phosphorous film/plates within cassettes that protect the film from extraneous light and damage. Storage phosphorous film is read by photoelectrically detecting an image formed by scanning with stimulating radiation. An example of such a scanner/reader is disclosed in U.S. application No. 4,789,782 to O'Hara. It is desirable to retain the x-ray film within a cassette except during actual processing. Such a cassette is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 800,799, filed Nov. 27, 1991, entitled "X-ray Cassette Having Removable Photographic Element" by Jeffrey C. Robertson, which is incorporated herein by reference. A hook extractor can be used with the x-ray cassette to move a photographic element to and from an x-ray reader for processing. It is desirable to provide an apparatus to automate the presentation of such x-ray cassettes or similar cassettes to such an extractor so that a number of x-ray cassettes could be processed in succession without attention from an operator. It is also desirable that such an apparatus be able to accurately position x-ray cassettes and/or pallets containing cassettes sequentially to simplify removal and reinsertion of the photographic elements and that the presentation apparatus be separate from the x-ray reader to permit interchange of units and reduce repair time. An example of a suitable device for presenting cassettes is disclosed in copending application U.S. Ser. No. 902,214 filed Jun. 22, 1992, entitled "X-ray Cassette Positioner" of John C. Boutet et al which is also hereby incorporated by reference. In this reference there is disclosed a positioner/autoloader for use with a plurality of x-ray cassettes and/or pallets containing cassettes which comprise first and second cog belts spaced apart so as to provide a plurality of cassette retaining sites one of which defines a cassette read site for presenting of the cassette to the reader. The belts are driven such that the cassettes are each individually positioned at the load site for removal of the photosensitive film therein for reading by the reader after which it is returned to the cassette. The positioner allows a plurality of individual cassettes to be placed thereon for automatic supplying to the reader thus freeing the operator to accomplish other duties. With such positioners it is important to provide a mechanism for properly locating a cassette with respect to the reader so that the reader can unlock the cassette and withdraw the photographic element therefrom. Likewise, the mechanism must be able to remove the cassette from the reader and return it to the cog belt and its appropriate storage position. It is important that the mechanism be designed to operate in such a manner so as to minimize any transfer of vibrations from the autoloader to the reader which can adversely affect the reader reading the information stored on the photo stimulable phosphorous film. It is also important that the cassette be properly positioned each time so that the mechanism for opening the cassette and removing the photo stimulable film is properly oriented so that misalignment of the unlatching mechanism does not occur.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a mechanism for transferring of cassettes from the autoloader to the reader and back to the autoloader in a reliable manner while also precisely positioning of the cassette within the reader to allow proper clamping of the cassette and permit removal of the storage phosphorous film therein. The mechanism is also designed to minimize transfer of vibration to the reader which can adversely affect the reading of the photographic element.


Systems and methods are provided that enable direct response to user input, e.g., in accordance with storyboards. For instance, applications can predefine storyboards which describe output in terms of received input. The predefined storyboards can be used externally and independently from the applications to process user input on behalf of the applications.

Computer software typically responds to user input within a wide range of potential responses. For instance, one reaction to user input, for example, mouse input, or other input from a pointing device, can be to update a location of a cursor on a display screen. Other responses to user input can involve more extensive tasks, such as retrieval or generation of new content to be displayed on the display screen. In yet another example, an application can respond to user input with complex manipulations and/or transforms on displayed content which has been previously generated.
With the rapid proliferation of touch input technology, e.g., touch screens, multi-touch displays, etc., computer software is exposed to ever increasing variance in user input type. By way of example, touch input can involve various finger and hand manipulations such as swipes, pinches, taps, persistent contacts, etc. Such touch input can generate an influx of complex input for applications to respond to at a given time.
Typically, user input is processed, from user action to application response, according to the following procedure. User actions are captured as user input via input devices, e.g., keyboards, mice, styluses, touch screens, etc. The input devices, and associated hardware, transform the user actions into signals received by an operating system. The operating system can process the signals, identify an application or applications associated with the user input, and send one or more messages to the application(s) via system application program interfaces (APIs), system libraries, application frameworks, or the like. The application(s) apply application logic to generate an appropriate response, which traverse back through the operating system to output hardware that expresses the response to the user. The aforementioned process can introduce additional processing time, which can negatively impact application responsiveness, particularly with increasingly complex input types like touch input. Further, the additional processing time introduces visible effects, particularly with touch input. For instance, with touch input, a user can directly relate a finger position with a response on a screen.
The above-described deficiencies of today's input processing and response systems are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.

Response to user input based on declarative mappings


For mounting a machine element having a bore coaxially on a shaft for rotation with the shaft, there are provided a first member having internal threads, and a split sleeve having external threads adapted to be mounted around the shaft and inside the bore. The threads of the split sleeve have apexes at a uniform diameter when unstressed. The first member is threaded on the external threads of the split sleeve. Also, a second member is spaced from the first member by an amount sufficient to allow the first and second members to embrace opposite sides of the machine element. The threads of the first member and the split sleeve are shaped to cause contraction of the sleeve into fast, gripping engagement with the shaft, as the first and second members frictionally clamp the machine element between these first and second members.

The present invention relates to mounting devices and, in particular, to devices for mounting a machine element with a bore coaxially onto a shaft, for common movement with the shaft.
A common mechanical objective is to mount a gear, wheel or pulley onto a shaft for rotation with the shaft. One approach is to closely machine the tolerances so that the element on the shaft is centered. The more accurately the bore is machined the better the concentricity, but the higher the cost.
One known system for mounting a gear to a shaft (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,851) employs two coaxial, nested sleeves that are threaded together. The inner sleeve has a frustro-conical exterior that mates with the frustro-conical interior of the outer sleeve. The inner sleeve is slit and split so that threading the two sleeves together compresses and shrinks the inner sleeve. The outer sleeve has circumferentially spaced segments that are pressed outwardly as the sleeves are threaded together. Thus the nested sleeves may be placed around a sleeve and inside a gear so that when tightened, the sleeves engage and center the gear on the shaft, and hold it securely thereon for rotation therewith.
See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 602,149; 1,380,708; 2,269,132; 3,957,381 4,824,281 4,848,953, and the Application prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,846, which disclose alternative mounting arrangements.
A disadvantage with some of these known mounting devices is the relatively large number of parts required and the relative difficulty of manufacturing them, for instance, the expensive and complicated task of forming frustro-conical surfaces as in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,851.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mounting device which is relatively simple to make for securely mounting a machine element to a shaft coaxially, for movement with the shaft, and a device requiring few and easily manufactured components.
It is an object of this invention to meet the aforesaid need by setting forth a mounting device, for mounting an element having a central bore, on a shaft, via said bore, for movement of said element in common with said shaft, comprising a split sleeve dimensioned to be receivable within said bore; and means for (a) envelopment of at least a portion of said sleeve, (b) entering said bore, (c) clamping said sleeve into fast, radial-gripping engagement with said shaft, (d) expanding into fast, radial-gripping engagement with said bore, and (e) impressing an axial force against the element.


This disclosure describes, in part, a progress gauge used to indicate a user's location in a digital work and to associate locations within the digital work with corresponding locations on the progress gauge. For instance, a progress gauge as described herein may comprise a progress bar having numerous segments corresponding to different sections (e.g., chapters, acts, scenes, etc.) within a digital work. Each segment of the progress bar may include a unique visual indicator, while each page within the corresponding section of the digital work may also include the same unique visual indicator or another type of indicator that maps to the visual indicator on the progress bar.

The continued proliferation of digital works has led to an increase in the availability of such digital works, as well as an increase in the availability of electronic devices used for consuming these items. For instance, users now consume electronic books, videos, songs, and the like on an assortment of stationary and/or portable electronic devices.
Typically, digital works are structured as virtual frames presented on a computing device, and a user may turn or change from one virtual frame or "page" of electronic content to another. The term "page" as used herein refers to a collection of content presented at one time on a display. Thus, "pages" as described herein are not fixed permanently, and may be redefined or repaginated based on variances in display conditions, such as screen size, font type or size, margins, line spacing, resolution, or the like. Due in part to the variable nature of such "pages," users may find it difficult to gauge their progress through the digital work and recall a location in the digital work at which they read a particular passage. This problem is compounded by the fact that digital works may be displayed and read on a variety of different computing devices (e.g., eBook reader devices, mobile telephones, portable digital assistants (PDAs), etc.), under a variety of different display conditions (e.g., screen size and resolution, font type and size, margins, line spacing, etc.).
Accordingly, there remains a need to improve a reader's ability to navigate within a digital work and to better identify his or her location within the content of the digital work, such that the user is able to navigate back to this location at a later time.


To provide an organic semiconductor composition that can exhibit a high carrier transport property and give uniform characteristics. An organic semiconductor composition characterized by containing a high molecular weight compound having a carrier transport property and a low molecular weight compound, in which the low molecular weight compound has a structure represented by Formula (1) and a content ratio of the low molecular weight compound is from 5 to 95 parts by mass relative to a total of 100 parts by mass of the high molecular weight compound and the low molecular weight compound,

As a semiconductor device having a semiconductor thin film, an organic thin film device having an organic thin film composed of an organic semiconductor material attracts attention. In the manufacture of organic thin film devices, since an organic thin film may be formed easily by coating an organic semiconductor material, there is such an advantage that large area devices can be produced at a low cost.
Characteristics of an organic thin film device depend largely on a carrier transport property of the organic thin film. A higher carrier transport property enables the organic thin film device to exhibit excellent characteristics as an organic thin film device. For example, in the case of an organic field-effect transistor having a carrier transport layer composed of an organic thin film, a higher carrier transport property of the organic thin film enables more current to flow, and the adjustable amount of current can be broadened. As the result, excellent characteristics can be obtained as a transistor.
From this viewpoint, recently, organic semiconductor materials having high carrier transport properties are extensively examined. Examples of coatable organic semiconductor materials having high carrier transport properties include pentacene derivatives, polyalkylthiophene etc. However, a field-effect mobility (mobility) that is an indicator of carrier transport property of these organic semiconductor materials has not reached the level of mobility that is usually obtained for conventional amorphous silicon.
Accordingly, Patent Literature 1 proposes a chalcogen-containing polycyclic condensed-ring compound. It is shown that the compound is an organic semiconductor material that is soluble in various solvents and has a high field-effect mobility.

Organic semiconductor composition, organic thin film, and organic thin film transistor having same

Abstract: [where, E represents a sulfur atom or a selenium atom, three E's may be the same or may be different from one another, and an aromatic ring in Formula may have substituents].


Method and device for providing dough products with a topping material, comprising a dough product conveyor, for transporting the dough products, a topping dispenser for dispensing topping material onto the dough product conveyor, comprising a topping conveyor, for conveying the topping towards a dispensing location above the dough product conveyor, a collector for superfluous topping material from the dough product conveyor, a supply system, for supplying the topping conveyor with topping material from the collector or from a reservoir with fresh topping material, characterized by a topping material sensor for measuring the amount of topping material on the topping conveyor, a controller, for controlling the amount of topping material to be dispensed by adjusting the speed of the topping conveyor; and the ratio of topping material from the reservoir and the collected superfluous topping material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for providing dough products with a topping material.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices for arranging toppings on a dough product are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,794 discloses a pizza topping device to apply ingredients to a pastry shell. Pastry shells are covered with a sauce and toppings are applied to the sauced pastry shell from above. The pizza toppings are mixed and arranged to be applied in a layer with a pre-selected depth.
In general, these systems run continuously, even when there is no pastry shell to be covered with toppings and sprinkled toppings on an empty factory line are lost. When excess toppings are fed back to the system they tend to clog up the supply of toppings, resulting in dense balls of toppings that cannot be spread evenly over the dough products. All in all the fresh toppings are not applied effectively and evenly to the dough product which results in unnecessary deterioration of these products.
It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide a device for providing dough products with a topping material, that takes away the above disadvantages, and/or to provide a useful alternative to the state of the art.

Device for providing dough products with a topping material


An ion conductor structural body having a high ion conductivity and an excellent mechanical strength, principally comprising is provided. This ion conductor structural body includes (a) a polymer matrix; (b) a solvent capable of functioning as a plasticizer; and (c) an electrolyte. The polymer matrix (a) includes a polymer chain having at least a segment represented by the following general formula (1), a main chain portion of said polymer chain and a side chain portion of said segment have an orientation property, and said polymer matrix has a crosslinked structure:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ion conductor structural body, a process for producing said ion conductor structural body, a rechargeable battery provided with said ion conductor structural body, and a process for producing said rechargeable battery. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ion conductor structural body having a high ion conductivity, a process for producing said ion conductor structural body, a rechargeable battery provided with said ion conductor structural body and which exhibits an improved charge-and-discharge efficiency, and a process for producing said rechargeable battery.
2. Prior Art
In recent years, the global warming of the earth because of the so-called greenhouse effect to an increase in the content of CO2 gas in the air has been predicted. For instance, in thermal electric power plants, thermal energy obtained by burning a fossil fuel is converted into electric energy, and along with burning of such fossil fuel, a large amount of CO2 gas is exhausted in the air. Accordingly, in order to suppress this situation, there is a tendency of prohibiting to newly establish a thermal electric power plant. Under these circumstances, so-called load leveling practice has been proposed in order to effectively utilize electric powers generated by power generators in thermal electric power plants or the like, wherein a surplus power unused in the night is stored in rechargeable batteries installed at general houses and the power thus stored is used in the daytime when the demand for power is increased, whereby the power consumption is leveled.
Now, for electric vehicles which do not exhaust any air-polluting substances such as CO2, NOx, hydrocarbons and the like, there is an increased demand for developing a high performance rechargeable battery with a high energy density which can be effectively used therein. Besides, there is also an increased demand for developing a miniature, lightweight, high performance rechargeable battery usable as a power source for portable instruments such as small personal computers, word processors, video cameras, and cellular phones.
Since the use of a lithium-graphite intercalation compound as an anode of a rechargeable battery has reported in JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY vol. 117, No. 2, p. 222-224 (1970), as such miniature, lightweight and high performance rechargeable battery, development has been proceeded of rocking chair type lithium ion batteries (which are so-called lithium-ion batteries) in which, for instance, a carbonous material such as graphite is used as an anode active material and an intercalation compound incorporating a lithium ion is used as a cathode active material, wherein lithium is stored in the carbonous material as the anode active material by intercalating said lithium at intercalation sites in the carbonous material in the battery reaction upon charging. Some of these lithium-ion batteries have been put to practical use. In these lithium-ion batteries, by using the carbonous material as a host material capable of intercalating lithium as a guest material at the intercalation sites as the anode, occurrence or growth of a lithium dendrite upon charging is prevented to achieve a desired charge-and-discharge cycle life.
However, in such rechargeable battery in which the battery reaction (the charge-and-discharge reaction) by virtue of lithium ion is used, an organic solvent is usually used as the solvent of the electrolyte solution, wherein when the rechargeable battery is over-charged, there is a tendency in that the organic solvent is decomposed to produce carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, and the like which are never recombined into the original solvent. Because of this, there is a fear that the electrolyte solution is deteriorated to increase the internal impedance of the rechargeable battery. Besides, when the rechargeable battery is over-charged, there will be an occasion in that internal-shorts between the anode and the cathode are occurred to generate heat and along the heat generation, decomposition of the electrolyte solution is rapidly progressed, resulting in a reduction in the performance of the rechargeable battery.
In order to solve the problems relating to the decomposition or the deterioration of the electrolyte solution of the rechargeable battery in which the charge-and-discharge reaction by virtue of lithium ion is used, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,974 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) proposes use of an ion conductor structural body obtained by copolymerizing a diacrylate series monomer, a monoacrylate series monomer and a carbonate group-bearing acrylate series monomer in the presence of an organic solvent and a retaining electrolyte. Besides, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 25353/1993 (hereinafter referred to as Document 2) proposes use of an ion conductor structural body in which a polymer matrix obtained by copolymerizing a diacrylate series monomer, a monoacrylate series monomer and a vinylene carbonate is used, aiming at preventing leakage of the electrolyte solution of the rechargeable battery. However, any of the ion conductor structural bodies disclosed in Document 1 and has a problem such that the ion conductivity thereof is less than ¼ of that of the electrolyte solution and therefore, when used in the rechargeable battery, it is difficult to achieve a desirably high energy density for the rechargeable battery. Separately, the results of experimental studies by the inventors of the present invention have revealed a fact that it is difficult to obtain an ion conductor structural body which has a necessary strength upon the production or use of a rechargeable battery in accordance with the technique described in Document 1 or 2 and the ion conductor structural body has an ion conductivity which is greatly decreased at low temperature which is lower than ordinary temperature, resulting in a sudden reduction in the energy density of the rechargeable battery.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 95403/1995 (hereinafter referred to as Document 3) discloses an ion conductor structural body comprising a polymer matrix which is two-dimensionally crosslinked using a lipid, which is used in the rechargeable battery. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 224105/1995 (hereinafter referred to as Document 4) discloses an ion conductor structural body having a double continuous structure in which a hydrophilic polymer phase and a hydrophobic polymer phase are continued using a surface active agent, which is used in the rechargeable battery. However, in any of the techniques disclosed in Documents 3 and 4, there is a disadvantage in such that the lipid or the surface active agent is difficult to be completely removed in the washing process upon the preparation of the ion conductor structural body and the residual lipid or surface active agent results in deteriorating the charge-and-discharge cycle life of the rechargeable battery. There is also a disadvantage such that because the lipid or the surface active agent that is not connected with the polymer matrix is contained as described above, it is difficult to achieve a necessary mechanical strength for the ion conductor structural body upon the preparation thereof. Further, there is a disadvantage such that the removal of the lipid or the surface active agent in the washing process fonns air gaps in the structure, resulting in a reduction in the mechanical strength of the ion conductor structural body.
In order to improve such shortcomings relating to the mechanical strength of the ion conductor structural body, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 299119/1993 (hereinafter referred to as Document 5) discloses an ion conductor structural body comprising a polymer phase having a high polarity and a polymer phase having a low polarity as a retaining phase. However, the ion conductor structural body disclosed in Document 5 has a disadvantage such that the low polarity polymer phase does not function as an ion conductor phase and because of this, the ion conductivity is insufficient. Besides, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3045120 (hereinafter referred to as Document 6) discloses an ion conductor structural body in which an alkylene oxide derivative having a substituent group comprising a liquid crystalline compound is used. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 303905/1993 (hereinafter referred to as Document 7) discloses an ion conductor structural body in which a polymer matrix obtained by curing a polyether group-bearing monomer is used. However, any one of the ion conductor structural bodies disclosed in Documents 6 and 7 has a disadvantage such that because the polymer matrix structure is irregular, the ion dispersing property is inferior and the ion conductivity is insufficient. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 324114/1997 (hereinafter referred to as Document 8) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 106345/1998 (hereinafter referred to as Document 9) disclose ion conductor structural bodies comprising a polymer matrix in which a polymer whose glass transition temperature is low is used. However, these ion conductor structural bodies disclosed in Documents 8 and 9 have disadvantages as described in the following. That is, the polymer chain of the polymer matrix is likely to be softened and because of this, the mechanical strength of the ion conductor structural body is insufficient. In Documents 8 and 9, it is described that a plasticizer is not necessary to be used. However, in accordance with the techniques described in Documents 8 and 9 except for using a plasticizer, the present inventors prepared a gel-like ion conductor structural body comprising a polymer matrix in which a plasticizer is used and an evaluation was conducted. As a result, it was found that the softening temperature of the polymer matrix is lowered due to the plasticizer. In addition, the rechargeable battery in which such gel ion conductor structural body is used was found to have a disadvantage in that when the battery temperature is increased, the anode and the cathode begin to suffer from internal shorts between them.
Separately, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 302410/1999 (hereinafter referred to as Document 10), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-119420 (hereinafter referred to as Document 11), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-212305 (hereinafter referred to as Document 12) disclose orientation type ion exchange films comprising a specific monomer structure. Any of the orientation type ion exchange films disclosed in Documents 10 to 12 provides effects as desired unless a plasticizer is contained therein. However, any of the techniques disclosed in Documents 10 to 12 is insufficient in order to form a polymer matrix structure having a regularity suitable for use in an ion conductor structural body in which use of a plasticizer such as a solvent is essential. Thus, it is difficult to achieve an ion conductor structural body having a high ion conductivity.
Incidentally, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 345629/1999 discloses a rechargeable battery having a prolonged charge-and-discharge cycle life in which an ion channel is orientated. In order to more improve the characteristics of the rechargeable battery, it is necessary to provide an ion conductor structural body having a high ion conductivity and an excellent mechanical strength.

Ion conductor structural body, process for producing said ion conductor structural body, rechargeable battery provided with said ion conductor structural body and process for producing said rechargeable battery

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are, respectively, H or an alkyl group of 2 or less carbon atoms, A is a group having at least a polyether group, and R3 is a group having at least an alkyl group of more than 6 carbon atoms.


A radio station tuning system enables a radio receiver installed in a vehicle to be automatically tuned to a radio station offering a desired program. In the system, a controller receives data recognized by a speech recognizing unit and a current position of the vehicle detected by a navigation unit, provides the data to a communication unit, turns a radio receiver on or off, and tunes the radio receiver to a desired radio station. The communication unit sends data to a base station data via a vehicle telephone line. Receiving the data, the base station has access to its data base storing program data (e.g. broadcasting time, frequencies and so on), retrieves desired data, and transmits them to the vehicle. The controller automatically tunes the radio receiver to the desired radio station on the basis of the received data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio station tuning system enabling automatic tuning of a radio receiver to a desired radio station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is known a radio receiver which is installed in a vehicle or the like, includes a memory for storing frequencies of locally receivable radio stations, and which is tuned to a desired radio station on the basis of the stored data.
It is conceivable to automatically tune such a radio receiver to a radio station offering programs of specific genres. However, a driver or listener cannot know of the presence of a local radio station offering programs of a desired kind until the listener has searched for it in an area where the vehicle is running. Thus, the foregoing radio receiver is disadvantageous in this respect.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-112,855 has proposed a radio station identifying apparatus. In this apparatus, when a vehicles travels from one area to another area having a different name, a new area name is entered. Thus, frequencies of radio stations are separately read from a data memory in accordance with kinds of programs. Then, indicators which correspond to respective kinds of programs are selectively operated. This enables the listener to know, at a glance, radio stations offering particular kinds of programs which are present in the area. Further, the radio receiver will be tuned to a desired radio station by inputting an area name.
In many countries, most radio stations usually offer different programs on an hourly basis, and a few radio stations offer programs of specific kinds all day long. Therefore, there is a problem in such countries that listeners sometimes cannot listen to programs of a specific kind via the radio receiver of the prior art.
At present, the radio receiver is essentially unidirectional (i.e. it only receives programs from radio stations). For instance, there may be another problem that the listener may be tired of listening to an ordinary program when they encounter traffic congestion and remain tuned to a particular radio station.


An NMR gyroscope in one example comprises a support structure affixed within an enclosure, an NMR cell affixed to the support structure, a plurality of permanent magnets disposed about the NMR cell to produce a magnetic field within the cell, and a field coil disposed proximate the cell to produce a modulated magnetic field transverse to the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnets.

This application relates generally to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) gyroscopes, and in particular to an exemplary architecture and implementation.
Known implementations of NMR gyroscopes (gyros) have inconveniently large packages and undesirably high power consumption. Additionally, known gyro structures mix technologies, requiring process steps and procedures that are inconsistent with efficient batch processing during manufacture.
Thus, a need exists for an NMR gyro in a relatively small package with reduced power consumption. Further, there is a need for an architecture that allows efficient batch processing during manufacture.


RF PA circuitry includes an amplifier stage, gain compensation circuitry, and an adder. The amplifier stage is configured to receive and amplify an RF input signal to provide an RF output signal. The gain compensation circuitry is coupled in parallel with the amplifier stage and configured to receive the RF input signal and provide a gain compensation signal, wherein the gain compensation signal is configured to linearize at least a portion of the gain response of the amplifier stage or the RF PA circuitry in general. The adder is coupled between an output of the amplifier stage and the gain compensation stage and is configured to receive and add the RF output signal and the gain compensation signal to provide a linearized RF output signal.

Many radio frequency (RF) communications protocols rely upon amplitude modulation (AM) of an RF carrier signal to encode data therein. As RF communications protocols evolve, the required accuracy of this amplitude modulation continues to increase. For RF power amplifiers (PA), the linearity of the RF PA determines its ability to accurately replicate the amplitude of an RF input signal in proportion to the gain of the RF PA. Accordingly, the linearity of an RF PA is determined by the range of RF input signal power over which the gain response of the RF PA remains constant. Generally, the gain response of an RF PA is relatively flat over a range of RF input signal amplitudes, then tapers off at a certain point. One way to increase the range of input signals over which an RF PA produces a flat gain response is to increase a power supply voltage provided thereto. Known in the industry as increasing a voltage "headroom" of an RF PA, increasing the power supply voltage provided to an RF PA effectively extends the range of RF input signal power over which the gain response of the RF PA remains constant. Due to physical limitations of the RF PA, however, increasing the power supply voltage provided to the RF PA will only extend the linearity of the RF PA so far. Further, as the gain of the RF PA is increased, the range of RF input signal power over which the gain response of the RF PA remains constant decreases.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic of conventional RF PA circuitry 10. The conventional RF PA circuitry 10 includes a driver amplifier stage 12, an output amplifier stage 14, a power supply voltage VDD, and a choke inductor L_CH. FIGS. 2 and 3 show various operating conditions of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10. In operation, an RF input signal RF_IN is received at an input of the driver amplifier stage 12, where it is amplified and delivered to the output amplifier stage 14. The output amplifier stage 14 further amplifies the RF signal to provide an amplified RF output signal RF_OUT. The power supply voltage VDD provides power for amplification. As shown in FIG. 2, as the power supply voltage increases from V1 to V3, the range of input signal amplitudes over which the gain of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 remains constant increases as discussed above. However, increasing the power supply voltage beyond a certain point, for example, V3, no longer has an effect on the linearity of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 as discussed above. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, as the gain of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 increases, the range of RF input signal power over which the gain of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 remains constant decreases. Accordingly, in situations in which a high power input signal and/or high gain of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 is required, the linearity of the conventional RF PA circuitry 10 will generally suffer.
In light of the above, there is a present need for RF PA circuitry with further improvements to the linearity thereof.

Power amplifier with self aligned peaking stage


A method for cross connecting an ATM network and a telecommunication switch includes receiving ATM cells from the ATM network at a packet sorter and extracting data packets comprising address data and payload data from the ATM cells. Translated addresses are generated based on the address data, and new data packets are created based on the payload data and the translated addresses to create new ATM cells with the new data packets. The new ATM cells are scheduled to be transmitted from the packet sorter to an ATM switch in compliance with an ATM service contract. The new ATM cells are forwarded from the ATM switch to at least one distributed SAR, which converts the new ATM cells into TDM signals and transmits the TDM signals from to the telecommunication switch via at least one TDM port.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology was initially deployed to provide data-only service as a alternative for slower-speed dialup modems. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), and other telecommunication providers have begun to explore offering Voice over DSL (VoDSL) service to deliver integrated voice and data services.
A typical VoDSL system includes a gateway that interfaces with a telecommunication switch, such as a Class 5 switch on a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and an Integrated Access Device (IAD) at the customer premises. The gateway sends and receives digital signals in a Time-Division Multiplexed (TDM) format to and from the telecommunication switch and communicates with the IAD using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells. The IAD sends and receives telecommunications information, such as analog voice signals, to and from customer equipment, such as a telephone on a subscriber line.
Specifically, when receiving voice signals from a telephone, the IAD converts the voice signals into ATM cells and transmits the ATM cells to the gateway. Typically, the VoDSL system uses the ATM adaptation layer protocol known as AAL2 for the ATM cells, with the ATM cells transported to and from each IAD on an ATM Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC). The gateway converts the ATM cells from the IAD into TDM signals and transmits the TDM signals to the telecommunication switch. Specifically, the TDM signals are typically sent to GR-303 Digital Signal (e.g., DS-0) channels in the telecommunication switch.
Gateways utilize cross-connect functionality to provide distribution paths between the PVCs and the DS-0s. Since the ATM PVCs are typically statically configured by a craft person while DS-0s are typically dynamically assigned by the Class 5 switch, the gateway must be able to dynamically connect any static AAL2 channel to any DS-0 within any GR-303 group.
A typical gateway utilizes a central Segmentation And Reassembly (SAR) module and a TDM switch to provide the cross-connect function. The central SAR module converts the ATM cells into TDM signals. The TDM switch cross-connects the TDM signals from the central SAR module to the appropriate DS-0 of the telecommunication switch via TDM ports. For communications from the telecommunication switch back to the customer equipment, the VoDSL system uses generally the reverse of the operations described above.
Using ATM cells rather than conventional TDM protocols allows for more effective and efficient use of bandwidth between the customer premises and the telecommunication switch. A disadvantage associated with the typical VoDSL system, however, is that it requires a TDM switch to cross-connect the central SAR with the TDM ports. That requirement increases the cost of the system.
Another disadvantage relates to the capacity of conventional central SARs. Providers of telecommunication services desire a VoDSL gateway with the capacity to handle over 3000 simultaneous calls and 10:1 over-subscription. This approximates the bandwidth of two Optical Carrier-3 (OC-3) channels, or approximately 50,000 connections. Current AAL2 central SARs, however, only support 1023 simultaneous calls and connections. Conventional VoDSL systems are therefore incapable of providing the desired capacity.

System and method for cross connecting an ATM network and a telecommunication switch


A method for controlling a gas turbine, wherein measurement signal values are measured at different times, namely at least a first time and a second time, wherein the first time lies before the second time and wherein attenuated signal values are generated from the measurement signal values by smoothing the measured measurement signal values by means of a attenuation factor, wherein a different attenuation factor is used depending on the difference of the measurement signal value at the second time and the attenuated signal value at the first time.

A gas turbine is a turbo machine which generally comprises a compressor, a turbine and a combustor section. Ambient air which has been sucked in is compressed in the compressor and the compressed air is ultimately supplied to the combustor section. Arranged in the combustor section is at least one combustion chamber, mostly having a plurality of burners to which the compressed air is supplied. In addition to the compressed air, a fuel is also supplied to the burners which mixes with the air and is combusted. The resulting hot combustion gases are supplied to the turbine where they expand and cool down, thereby allowing the turbine to rotate. In so doing, the thermal energy from the combustion gases is converted into mechanical activity which on the one hand is used to drive the compressor and on the other hand is used to drive a load, for example of a generator for generating electricity.
It must be ensured that a stable flame is present during combustion in the combustion chamber. Flame instabilities occur in particular due to resonant combustion oscillations in the combustion gas and can lead on the one hand to increased pollutant emissions and on the other hand to oscillations and vibrations of the combustion chamber, which adversely affect the service life of the combustion chamber and shortens intervals between maintenance.
The combustion stability of gas turbines and other combustion plants is usually assessed using measurement signals, the timing of which fluctuates highly. These can be for instance measurement signals resulting from acceleration or pressure amplitude measurement on the combustion chamber. In order to suppress unwanted high-frequency components, the measurement signals are usually attenuated. However, peaks frequently occur at specific intervals over the height course of the measurement. This can also be referred to as a "picket fence" course. Between the peaks, the height drops to a completely non-critical value. A single peak also remains non-critical. Should the peaks repeat however, and if either the height of the peaks increases or the succession of peaks becomes more frequent, this indicates an incipient instability.
Up to now, what are known as peak hold value signals, also known as peak hold signals, have mostly been used for regulation. Here, only the maximum occurring height is relayed as a signal value for a defined time period. However, this signal does not provide any information about the frequency of the peaks. If the time window is large, a critical, high amplitude value is transmitted to the regulator, although under certain circumstances, only an individual, non-hazardous peak was present. If the time window is very small, so that per time period one peak is expected at the most, high and low signals alternate in rapid succession, resulting in an unsettled and often very inefficient regulation.


A method of inking a substrate in a printing press is provided. The printing press includes a plurality of printing units, each printing unit includes a blanket cylinder, a plate cylinder and an inker. The method includes the steps of running the plate cylinder, blanket cylinder and inker at a press speed, driving the inker independently, printing on a substrate with a desired ink film thickness at the press speed and stopping the press for a press stop event. Stopping the press further includes stopping the inker at a maximum stop rate, stopping the plate cylinder and blanket cylinder at a normal stop rate and moving the plate cylinder and blanket cylinder into an off impression position. The method further includes ramping the plate cylinder and blanket cylinder up to a desired press speed, ramping the inker up to press independently so as to match the speed of plate cylinder, returning the plate cylinder and blanket cylinder to an on impression position and printing on the substrate with the desired ink film thickness at the desired press speed.

In the field of lithographic printing, ink is continuously conveyed from an ink source through a series of rollers to a printing plate on a plate cylinder in a printing press. Image portions of the printing plate accept ink from one or more of the last of a series of inking rollers and transfer a portion of that ink to a blanket cylinder as a reverse image from which a portion of the ink is transferred to form a correct-reading image on paper or other materials. It is also important in conventional lithographic printing processes that a dampening solution containing water and proprietary additives be conveyed continuously to the printing plate whereby transferring in part to the non-image areas of the printing plate the water functions to keep those non-image areas free of ink. Finally, in conventional printing press systems, the ink is continuously made available in varying amounts determined by cross-press column input control adjustments to a plurality of ink metering devices, such as ink injectors. Open fountain inker systems, and other systems, may also be used as ink metering devices.
Lithographic printing plate surfaces in the absence of imaging materials have minute interstices and a hydrophilic or water-loving property to enhance retention of water that is the dampening solution, rather than ink on the surface of the plate. Imaging the plate fills these interstices and creates oleophilic or ink-loving areas according to the image that is to be printed. Consequently, when both ink and dampening solution are presented to an imaged plate in appropriate amounts, only the ink tending to reside in non-image areas becomes disbonded from the plate. In general, this action accounts for the continuous ink and dampening solution differentiation on the printing plate surface, which is integral to the lithographic printing process.
During a make-ready or set up process, a printing press is prepared for a new print job. In this regard, a new print job refers to printing different images on the web as compared to an existing print job. This can be accomplished, for example, by changing the printing plate(s) on a printing unit, or by bringing a different set of printing units into contact with the web. Both require make-ready, although in the latter case, sometimes referred to as auto-transfer, the make-ready for the new print job could be performed at any time prior to the job change. In any event, during this make-ready (or set up) process, the press is adjusted and stabilized before it is ready to produce an accurate and acceptable image on the printed material. For example, adjustments are made to the press color and/or registration during start up. Thereafter, the press is run for a period of time needed for the effect of the adjustments to propagate through to the printed substrate, often referred to as the run-in time. During the run in time, the images on the printed substrate are not usable, and are often referred to as "waste." The press may need to be stopped and started a number of times as make-ready adjustments are iteratively made until acceptable print quality is achieved.
One aspect of the make-ready process is ink stabilization. In this regard, during the run-in period noted above, it is generally necessary to operate the press, applying ink and water to the printing plate and transfer the image from the plate to the blanket in order to stabilize the ink transfer process so that the desired ink thickness, typically measured by optical density, is achieved.
Conventionally, inkers and inking rollers are geared to or linked to blanket cylinder, impression cylinder or plate cylinder so the inkers or inking rollers are not controlled independently. As a result the inkers or ink rollers may not be controlled in a manner that optimizes or maintains desired ink film thickness established in the ink roller train. In order to ameliorate this, shorter ink trains and inker forcing functions have been utilized.
It is necessary to control the correct amount of ink supplied from each of the ink injectors during lithographic printing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,706, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes an inking system including controls for controlling supply of ink from an ink rail to a plurality of individual ink outlet orifices corresponding to ink columns or zones.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,978, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a rotary ink valve assembly for controlling ink or printing fluid input in a printing press.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,913 purports to describe a device and method for stabilizing an offset lithographic printing press. A litho start-off device comprises an ink removal cylinder which can be selectively engaged and disengaged with a blanket disposed on the surface of the blanket cylinder. When engaged with the blanket cylinder, the ink removal cylinder removes ink from the blanket of the blanket cylinder. A scraper assembly is also provided to remove the ink from the ink removal cylinder as it rotates.
U.S. 2006/0162597, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes an integrated ink rail assembly which includes a plurality of page packs, each page pack including a corresponding ink outlet orifice corresponding to an ink column or zone.


A series coupled component partially includes a) a load circuit including an inductor and an EL or EL array having capacitive load characteristic, b) a load circuit including an inductor, a bipolar capacitor, and a diode circuit adapted to supply bidirectional current flows across an LED or LD, or c) a load circuit including an inductor, an EL or EL array having capacitive load characteristic, and the diode circuit. An inverter has coupling output terminals coupled to one end or both ends of the load circuit whereby an AC power inverted from a DC power source is supplied to the load circuit to operate at least one member of the EL, EL array, LED and LD. The inverter has a pair of positive and negative switches each comprising a zero-crossing switch mechanism adapted to automatically close its channel when the current becomes zero, the pair of positive and negative switches each being provided with a bypass channel having a reverse current bypass diode for bypassing the zero-crossing switch mechanism. Then every half cycle phase of the alternating current flow toward the load circuit is latched at a secondary zero-crossing phase point which is determined by circuit constants. This arrangement improves the efficacy of operating EL and similar elements, prevents heat release, and enables to operate such loads as EL having a large surface area with a compact operating device.

There are known systems for operating electro-luminescent (EL) elements, light emitting diodes (LED), and laser diodes (LD) by means of an inverter circuit for inverting DC power into AC power.
For example, systems for operating EL panels are widely used as back light of liquid-crystal panels as found in compact size liquid-crystal television receivers and lap-top computers having a liquid-crystal display built therein.
In the prior art, different EL operating devices are individually designed in accordance with the dimensions (surface area) of EL elements to be operated and lighting luminance. There exists no operating device which can accommodate singly for varying EL area and lighting luminance.
For long life (LL) inverters which are most popular in the prior art, there is used a system for operating an EL panel so as to follow a resonance frequency which is determined by the C value (electrostatic capacity) of the EL and the L value (inductance) of an inductor. The system is designed to compensate for a lowering of the EL luminance by, in response to a lowering of the luminance of EL due to a lowering of the C value thereof, increasing the resonance frequency and increasing the EL operating frequency in a follow-up manner to the resonance frequency.
However, this method has many problems in that the luminance of lighted EL is naturally determined by the resonance frequency of L and C, and it is difficult to fabricate a device for operating an EL panel having a large surface area. For example, the EL surface area corresponding to A-4 size (400 to 600 cm.sup.2) is currently regarded the practically permissible maximum surface area.
Since it is necessary to switch a high current flow for operating EL panels having a large surface area, the switching loss associated therewith invites an increase of power loss and results in substantial heat release. Thus a heat sink is required as a heat dissipating measure, resulting in a larger size of the operating device.
Additionally, the electric charge accumulated in the EL can be coupled with the charge of the counter electrode, resulting in a power loss and a substantial loss of operating efficacy. For instance, even green color EL panels which are regarded best in operating efficacy show a luminous existence of at most about 1 lumen per watt.


A process for producing a high critical temperature bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide superconducting material. An intimate mixture is formed of two superconducting materials. The first material is bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide or (bismuth, lead) strontium calcium copper oxide, and has a bulk critical temperature below about 90K. The second material is a seeding powder of bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide or (bismuth, lead) strontium calcium copper oxide, and includes at least 20 volume percent 2223 phase. The amount of seeding material added to the mixture is selected to result in an amount of 2223 phase in the mixture of about 2-50 weight percent. The mixture is annealed in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature of at least about 845.degree. C. and below the melting temperature of the 2223 phase, for a time sufficient to increase the amount of 2223 phase in the mixture. In an alternate embodiment, one or both of the superconducting materials in the mixture are provided by drying, calcining, and annealing a precursor mixture of a Sr(NO.sub.3).sub.2 solution, a Ca(NO.sub.3).sub.2, solution, a Cu(NO.sub.3).sub.2 solution, a Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3 powder, and a PbO powder.

The discovery of new high T.sub.c superconducting materials in the bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O) system represented a step forward in oxide superconducting materials. This system also includes formulations including lead (Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O). The bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide system contains three major phases with different critical temperatures (Tc's): a higher T.sub.c "2223" phase, Tc=110K; a lower T.sub.c "2212" phase, T.sub.c =80K; and a very low T.sub.c "2201" phase, T.sub.c =20K. As used herein, the term "2223 phase" denotes a phase having the nominal formula or (Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x (Bi,Pb).sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x ; the term "2212 phase", a phase having the nominal formula Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.1 Cu.sub.2 O.sub.x ; the term "2201 phase", a phase having the nominal formula Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Cu.sub.1 O.sub.x.
The crystal structures of the phases are characterized by c-axis lattice constants of about 36.8 .ANG., about 30.6 .ANG., and about 24.2 .ANG. respectively. Since the phases differ from one another in the number of Cu-O and Ca layers per unit cell, syntactic intergrowths can occur through faults in the stacking sequences. These intergrowths interfere with efforts to obtain pure superconducting single crystals. Efforts aimed at direct crystal growth of pure 2223 phase from the melt or flux have been unsuccessful.
Formation of the higher T.sub.c 2223 phase, in a volume fraction sufficient to materially affect the bulk T.sub.c, has been achieved in these materials only by conversion of the lower T.sub.c 2212 phase to the 2223 phase by heating samples at high temperatures near the melting temperature for long periods of time, measured in days or weeks. A variety of ceramic processing methods have been used to increase the fraction of the higher T.sub.c phase. These include (a) addition of lead; (b) use of copper- and calcium-rich starting compositions; and (c) prolonged heat treatment close to the melting point. The substitution of lead for bismuth in the bismuth oxide planes of the crystal structure of the 2223 phase has been used to strengthen Bi-O bondings and to facilitate the formation of a relatively pure 2223 phase. Furthermore, the addition of lead oxides into the matrix also can lower the melting point and viscosity of the glassy (amorphous) phase, probably by acting as a fluxing agent. All of these effects suggest that the formation of 2223 phase is a thermodynamically difficult and kinetically sluggish process.
Even when using methods a, b, and c, a long annealing time is usually still required to promote formation of the high T.sub.c phase. For example, method (a) can involve annealing at 845.degree. C. for 200-300 hr to form samples containing 90% of 2223 phase; method (b) can involve a rapidly solidified melting process followed by an annealing at 865.degree. C. for 11 days to produce a mixture of 2212 and 2223 phases; and method (c) can involve annealing at high temperatures for 18-26 days to produce 50-90% of 2223 phase. Such long annealing times severely affect the fabrication of the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors into appropriate shapes, such as wires and tapes, for practical applications.

Formation of the high TC 2223 phase in BI-SR-CA-CU-O by seeding


In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method and apparatus are provided for testing a wafer while the wafer is disposed in a wafer carrier. The test results can be utilized to adjust the manufacturing process and thereby increase processing yield.

The manufacturing of semiconductor wafers is a highly automated process involving many steps and locations where a wafer is processed. In fact, the manufacturing can take place across different manufacturing buildings and different portions of a country or even in multiple countries. A wafer carrier or "wafer boat" has evolved that is often used to carry wafers during the manufacturing process. Such wafer carriers are configured to allow automated handling of the wafers at individual manufacturing locations and to protect the wafer from physical forces as well as electrical damage. A wafer will often be carried by the same wafer carrier between many steps of the manufacturing process, if not between all steps. At each processing step, the wafer is removed from the carrier and processed before being redeposited back in the wafer carrier.
Testing of wafers is now a significant percentage of the cost of semiconductor manufacturing. As circuits have become increasingly more sophisticated, the testing involved for such circuits has also increased. Furthermore, wafers are often manufactured with dense numbers of individual dies on a single wafer. Thus, a single wafer can hold multiple dies which each hold an individual circuit. Thus, multiple circuits are manufactured on a single wafer so that the wafer can later be divided into individual chips.
Due to the significant cost involved in producing semiconductor chips as well as the significant cost of testing such semiconductor chips, it would be beneficial if there were a way to reduce the amount of testing required on a chip when the manufacturing process is completed. Similarly, it would be beneficial if there were a way to identify early in a manufacturing process an effective manufacturing step that could be remedied before a wafer was completed. Moreover, it would be beneficial if there were a way to determine that repairable chips are defective while they are still in the manufacturing process so that the manufacturing yield could be improved for the overall process.


A more efficient portable emission microscope system comprising a cooled CCD camera coupled to microscope optics for detection of photon emissions from integrated circuits. Portability is achieved with a small light tight box and rubber boot combination which are used in conjunction with a probe station or portable stand. The optics are modified to contain an illuminating ring of light emitting diodes for sample illumination prior to or after emission acquisition. Sensitivity is increased by elevating the substrate temperature. In operation, an integrated circuit is enclosed by a rubber boot. An illuminated reference image is then obtained with the LEDs "on," and a background image is obtained with the LEDs "off." The background image represents illumination noise. The temperature of the circuit is then raised while the circuit is biased. Temperature elevation is accomplished by installing small power resistors at the base of an appropriate burn-in socket. This elevation in temperature causes photon emissions from faults in the circuit. An illumination image is then obtained which captures the photon emissions. The background image is then subtracted from the illumination image to filter the image. Finally, the illumination image is superimposed on the reference image to allow a user to determine the exact location of any failures.

In the design of semiconductor devices, analysis of these devices is often desired under certain test conditions. Such analysis is particularly beneficial with respect to integrated circuits (IC) for isolating points of potential failure. It is well known that in IC operation, fault conditions or failures can cause extremely faint photon emissions. These photon emissions can be detected by an emission microscope such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,635 to Khurana.
Khurana describes an invention wherein an IC is placed on a microscope stage with the area to be inspected centered in the axis of the optic system and camera. A light tight chamber is closed around the microscope, the IC is illuminated, and while being viewed through the CRT display by the operator, positioned with the area of interest in the microscope axis. An image is then obtained through the video camera of a reflected light top view of the structural pattern of the IC. The image is digitized and stored in memory. The illumination source is then turned off and without applying any power, background noise light from the inspection area is collected. This background image is then digitized and stored in memory. A failure condition "test vector" of voltages is applied by manual switches to the I/O terminals of the IC causing leakage current conducted through defective dielectric features to emit extremely faint visible and infrared light. This emitted light is collected and amplified to obtain an emitted light image which is digitized and stored.
A user can thereafter subtract the background image from the emitted light image to cancel out any background noise. A further filtering process is performed to separate emitted light points from the random noise bright points. A failure engineer can then take this final image and superimpose it over the original illuminated composite image to locate the exact location of any possible faults.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,874 to Esrig et al. also describes an emission microscope similar to Khurana. The benefit here, however, is the addition of a magnification lens providing for a larger viewing area. This allows a user to view the entire IC at one time and identify dynamic failure condition defects.
A drawback with the above two referenced patents is that they both require a darkbox to shield the IC under test from external light. Darkboxes tend to be large and bulky and by their very nature, are not portable. What is therefore needed is an emission microscope workstation that is portable. What is further needed is a system wherein the camera can be interfaced with existing microscope optics associated with production testers for on-site emission acquisition. This improves portability and decreases costs. What is still further needed is a system that provides for true color emission acquisition imaging which allows multiple emission sites on a die to be spatially resolved and categorized with qualitative spectral emission software.

Portable emission microscope workstation for failure analysis


A method is provided for decoding a data stream representative of an image or of a sequence of images, the stream comprising data representative of at least one portion of one of the images, the method implementing a step of predicting a motion vector of a partition of a current image portion, with respect to a reference causal zone which has been partitioned according to a mode of coding determined for the zone. The prediction step comprises, in relation to said current partition: partitioning anew at least one portion of the reference causal zone into a plurality of reference partitions, determining motion vectors respectively associated with reference partitions obtained subsequent to the new partitioning, determining a predictor motion vector on the basis of said determined motion vectors, and predicting the motion vector of said current partition on the basis of said determined predictor motion vector.

The present invention pertains generally to the field of image processing, and more precisely to the coding and to the decoding by competition of digital images and of sequences of digital images.
Several coding and decoding methods exist for the transmission of images. Mention may be made in particular of major types of coding such as so-called "intra" coding where an image is coded in an autonomous manner, that is to say without reference to other images, or else so-called "inter" coding which consists in coding a current image with respect to past images so as to express and transmit only the difference between these images.
The coding methods of the aforementioned type generally comprise a predictive coding step according to which image portions, called blocks or macroblocks, of a current image are predicted with respect to other reference blocks or macroblocks, that is to say previously coded and then decoded.
In the case for example of the H264/MPEG-4 AVC standard (AVC standing for "Advanced Video Coding"), the predictive coding of a macroblock consists in chopping the macroblocks according to a plurality of partitions generally having the form of blocks of smaller size.
More precisely, during the predictive coding of a macroblock in accordance with the aforementioned standard, with the exception of a macroblock of 16×16 type, the macroblock is generally chopped according to a plurality of partitions generally having the form of blocks of smaller size. The spatial prediction of such a macroblock in an image consists in predicting each block of smaller size forming this macroblock with respect to one or more blocks of another macroblock of this same image having already been coded and then decoded, such a macroblock being called a reference macroblock. This prediction is possible only if the reference macroblock neighbors the macroblock to be predicted and is situated in certain predetermined directions with respect to it, that is to say generally above and to the left, in a so-called "causal" neighborhood.
The drawback of such a type of prediction resides in the fact that for a given transmission rate from the coder to the decoder, it achieves worse video quality than inter coding since it does not exploit the temporal correlations between the images of the sequence.
In the case of inter coding, the current macroblock to be coded may be partitioned according to the 16×16, 8×16, 16×8 and 8×8 modes. If the 8×8 mode is selected, each 8×8 block is again partitioned according to the 8×8, 4×8, 8×4 and 4×4 modes. Each current block is compared with one or more blocks of a reference causal zone, of spatial or temporal type, which comprises macroblocks already decoded at the level of the coder during the coding by the latter of a current macroblock. A temporal predictor is then defined by a vector which describes the motion between the current block and the reference block.
FIG. 1A represents the case of a spatial prediction of a vector MVc of a current block to be inter coded, denoted BCa, which utilizes the spatial correlations between the various macroblocks of one and the same image Ia. Such a block is chopped according to for example 16 smaller partitions P1 . . . P16, each of size 4×4. For the sake of clarity in the figure, only the partition P1 is represented. In accordance with the H264/AVC standard, the partition P1 is predicted with reference to a reference causal zone Cs, which comprises four blocks each of size 16×16, denoted BR1, BR2, BR3 and BR4 in FIG. 1A, these being neighbors of said partition P1. More precisely, the calculation of the motion vector MVc of the partition P1 is undertaken. A prediction procedure consists in calculating for example the motion vectors MV1, MV2 and MV3 corresponding respectively to the reference macroblocks BR1, BR2 and BR3, and then in calculating the median of the vectors MV1, MV2 and MV3 so as to deduce therefrom the motion vector which serves to predict the vector MVc of the partition P1 to be coded.
A drawback of the prediction represented in FIG. 1A resides in the fact that:                the mean spatial distance between the pixels of the current partition P1 to be coded and the pixels of the macroblocks BR1, BR2 and BR3 is relatively high,        and that the vectors MV1, MV2 and MV3 have been calculated in relation to macroblocks of very different size from that of the current partition P1 to be coded.
It follows from this that such a prediction lacks precision.
FIG. 1B now represents the case of a temporal prediction of a current macroblock to be inter coded, denoted MBCN, which belongs to an image N to be coded. Such a prediction utilizes the temporal correlations between, the macroblock MBCN and the macroblock or macroblocks of a plurality of already coded and then decoded reference images, which constitute a temporal reference causal zone. In the example represented, the temporal reference causal zone, denoted Ct, comprises just the previous image N-1. In other examples, the reference causal zone could comprise, not only the image N-1, but also the images N-2, N-3, etc. Such a macroblock MBCN is chopped according to for example three smaller partitions P′1, P′2, P′3, which are, in the example represented, of arbitrary geometric shape. The procedure for utilizing the temporal correlations consists in calculating the three current motion vectors MV′1, MV′2 and MV′3 respectively associated with the three partitions P′1, P′2 and P′3 as a function of the motion vector, denoted MVcol, which belongs to the macroblock, denoted MBCN-1, having the same position as the current macroblock MBCN in the previous image N-1.
A drawback of the prediction represented in FIG. 1B resides in the fact that the partitioning of the current macroblock MBCN is different from that of the macroblock MBCN-1, this considerably hampering the precision of the prediction of the three current motion vectors MV′1, MV′2 and MV′3. Thus, in the case of FIG. 1B, it is clear that by comparing the direction of the vector MVcol with respect to the direction of the vectors MV′1, MV′2 and MV′3, the prediction of the current motion vector MV′3 will be worse than that of the current motion vectors MV′1 and MV′2.

Prediction of images by repartitioning of a portion of reference causal zone, coding and decoding using such a prediction


A cast saw for removing hard orthopaedic bandages, for example formed of plaster is disclosed. The cast saw is a unitary device containing a rechargeable battery pack in a removable filter form collection chamber. A shroud covers at least a portion of the saw blade and such shroud is movable by the cutting operation from the interference of the casting material as the blade is received within the casting material while cutting through such casting material. A dust channel is formed within the housing and dust and debris caused by the cutting operation is pulled through such dust channel by the forces applied by impeller rotated by an electric motor received within the housing. A pressure sensitive switch is supplied which senses an increase in force on the saw blade and increases the current supplied to the motor proportionally in order to provide additional torque to the motor.

This invention relates to surgical instruments and particular to powered saws for the removal of orthopaedic bandages of the hard casting material type.
Portable cast cutters or saws have been known for many years and are formed having a small circular or part circular saw blade that oscillates through a limited angle to cut through a hard cast material such as plaster or a resinous material. The small angle oscillations, however, assure that the soft tissue of the patient wearing the cast will not be damaged. These oscillations are driven by a suitable transmission which may include various types of mechanical interconnections that are well known in the art. The transmission itself is normally driven by a small electric motor. During the cast removal operation there is a significant quantity of dust and debris generated by the operation. In order to remove this dust and debris it is known to connect the hose of a conventional vacuum cleaner to the saw itself. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,929,177. Other examples of fan-type dust and debris removal systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,103,069 and 3,481,036.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,111 discloses a low voltage surgical cast cutter with a vacuum exhaust of debris. This device is described as a surgical cast cutter or other power tool which contains a main tool section and a complimentary hose section releasably secured to the tool section at a rear end thereof. A low voltage electric motor in the tool section drives a transmission which oscillates a cutter mounted forwardly of the tool section. A debris conduit in the tool section communicates with an opening formed in the hose section when the sections are joined together. The hose section carries a flexible vacuum hose communicating with the opening therein, thereby facilitating removal of dust particles generated during operation of the cutter to remove, for example, a plaster cast. This device, however, is bulky and cumbersome to use as the vacuum attachment is separate from the cutter itself and rather large. This requires that a power pack or a vacuum source be attached to the device and positioned near the device.


In a pressure controller for adjusting a pressure in a container connected downstream of the pressure controller and in fluid communication therewith, the pressure controller includes a main fluid duct having a fluid input and a fluid output leading to the container and a control valve for adjusting a fluid pressure at the fluid output, a bypass duct branching off from the main fluid duct downstream of the control valve, configured for venting of the main fluid duct, and a flow cross-section of the bypass duct being smaller than a maximum flow cross-section of the main fluid duct.

The invention relates to a pressure controller for adjusting a pressure in a container connected downstream of the pressure controller and in fluid communication therewith.
Controlling a pressure in a container is of importance, for example, in pressure-time controlled dosing processes.
In pressure-time controlled dosing processes, a defined pressure is applied to a container containing a liquid to be dosed. Utilizing the opening period of a dosing valve, a quantity of liquid is dosed accordingly in a time-dependent manner. A dosing of this type is used, for example, in in-vitro diagnostics or in pipetting robots. Liquids are primarily dosed here, but the dosing of gases is also conceivable.
The accuracy of the quantity dosed from a pressurized container here depends on the pressure prevailing in the container, the temperature or, respectively, the temperature-dependent viscosity of a liquid, and the opening period of the dosing valve.
To ensure a precise pressure control in small containers, it is necessary to react to changes as quickly as possible by a variable outflow from the container filled with liquid. As a rule, reagents used for in-vitro diagnostics are stored in containers made of glass or a plastic material with container volumes of 1.5 ml to 2 ml. The container is usually only filled to a level such that a cushion of air of at least 0.5 ml still exists in the container.
The challenge consists in keeping the pressure in the container constant, for example at 35 mbar. As soon as the dosing valve is opened and liquid flows out of the container, the pressure needs to be readjusted. In the case of small volumes, readjustment quickly leads to overshooting or undershooting, i.e. to pressure fluctuations, in particular in the range of +/− 4 mbar.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pressure controller by means of which a pressure in a container can be controlled particularly precisely.