Disclosed herein is a magnetic tape unit having a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and onto a magnetic tape. The magnetic tape is traveled in contact with the magnetic head during a read/write operation of the magnetic head. During a rest period where the read/write operation of the magnetic head is not performed, a reciprocating motion of the magnetic tape by a small distance is performed with a predetermined period. A temperature in the vicinity of the magnetic head is detected by a temperature sensor. The predetermined period is changed according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. Accordingly, the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head can be well prevented irrespective of the temperature inside the tape unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape unit for performing read/write of data on a magnetic tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a magnetic tape unit using a magnetic tape as a storage medium has been developed and put into practical use as an external storage device for a computer. In a read/write operation of the magnetic tape unit, the magnetic tape is traveled in contact with the magnetic head. In waiting for a read/write process, the magnetic tape is kept in contact with the magnetic head. Accordingly, if such a waiting condition continues for a long time, there is a possibility that the magnetic tape may adhere to the magnetic head; so, the measures for solving this problem have been desired. In a particular case that an air escaping groove is formed on a magnetic tape contact surface of the magnetic head, so as to make a good contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head, there is a possibility that the shape of this air escaping groove may be transferred to the magnetic tape to make the surface of the magnetic tape uneven, causing an error in the read/write operation.
One of the conventional methods for preventing the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head or preventing the transfer of the groove shape to the magnetic tape is to provide a gap at a central portion of the magnetic head and blow air against the magnetic tape from this gap with an air pump, thereby avoiding the contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head. Another conventional method is to perform a reciprocating motion of the magnetic tape by a small distance during a rest period where the read/write operation of the magnetic head is not performed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-8533).
In the former method, the air pump, which is expensive and large, is required to avoid the contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head, causing a difficulty of reduction in size and cost of the magnetic tape unit. In the latter method, the short-distance reciprocating motion of the magnetic tape is performed usually with a predetermined period, which is set to a constant value irrespective of temperatures in the magnetic tape unit. Accordingly, the following disadvantage occurs. In general, the higher the temperature, the more the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head tends to occur. However, if the period of the reciprocating motion is set to a unduly short period in spite of low temperatures, the magnetic tape may be damaged by the reciprocating motion, whereas if the period is set to a long period in spite of high temperatures, the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head cannot be prevented.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic tape unit which can be reduced in size and cost and can well prevent the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head irrespective of temperatures in the tape unit.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape unit comprising a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and onto a magnetic tape; driving means for traveling the magnetic tape kept in contact with the magnetic head during a read/write operation of the magnetic head; means for performing a reciprocating motion of the magnetic tape by a small distance with a predetermined period during a rest period where the read/write operation of the magnetic head is not performed; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the vicinity of the magnetic head; and control means for changing the predetermined period of the reciprocating motion according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape unit comprising a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and onto a magnetic tape; driving means for traveling the magnetic tape kept in contact with the magnetic head during a read/write operation of the magnetic head; and control means for changing a tension of the magnetic tape during a rest period where the read/write operation of the magnetic head is not performed.
Preferably, the magnetic tape unit according to the second aspect of the present invention further comprises a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the vicinity of the magnetic head, wherein the control means changes the tension according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape unit comprising a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and onto a magnetic tape; driving means for traveling the magnetic tape kept in contact with the magnetic head during a read/write operation of the magnetic head; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the vicinity of the magnetic head; and means for canceling the contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is higher than or equal to a reference temperature.
According to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the air pump for avoiding the contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head is not required, thereby allowing a reduction in size and cost of the tape unit. Furthermore, since the temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the vicinity of the magnetic head is provided, and various controls are performed according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, the adhesion of the magnetic tape to the magnetic head can be well prevented irrespective of temperatures in the tape unit.
As mentioned previously, in the case where the air escaping groove is formed on the magnetic tape contact surface of the magnetic head to make a good contact between the magnetic tape and the magnetic head, the shape of this groove may be transferred to the magnetic tape to make the surface of the magnetic tape uneven, causing an error in the read/write operation. This problem can be prevented by the present invention.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention and the manner of realizing them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will best be understood from a study of the following description and appended claims with reference to the attached drawings showing some preferred embodiments of the invention.


In a GSM/EDGE Single Antenna Interference Cancellation (SAIC) operation environment, a mobile station is required to operate in a wide range of interference levels. An SAIC linear equalizer that takes advantage of the GMSK signal structure performs better than a conventional Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) equalizer in high interference levels, while it performs worse in low interference levels. A dynamic selection between the SAIC linear equalizer and the MLSE equalizer for each received burst is achieved to provide the optimal performance across the entire required operation environments. The dynamic selection is based on the estimated noise plus interference energy relative to the total received signal energy. The soft information calculated by the two categories of equalizers is properly scaled to generate soft information with balanced magnitude.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to digital communication systems and in particular to mobile radio systems. Still more particularly, the invention relates to a method of reception and a receiver in a mobile radio system operating in a single antenna interference cancellation environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most widespread standard in cellular wireless communications is currently the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). GSM employs a combination of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) for the purpose of sharing the spectrum resource. GSM networks typically operate in the 900 MHz frequency range. Radio spectrum in the 890-915 MHz bands is for the uplink (mobile station to base station) and in the 935-960 MHz bands is for the downlink (base station to mobile station). The spectrum for both uplink and downlink is divided into 200 kHz-wide carrier frequencies using FDMA, and each base station is assigned one or more carrier frequencies. Each carrier frequency is divided into eight time slots using TDMA. Eight consecutive time slots form one TDMA frame, with a duration of 4.615 ms. A physical channel occupies one time slot within a TDMA frame. Each time slot within a frame is also referred to as a burst. TDMA frames of a particular carrier frequency are numbered, and formed in groups of 26 or 51 TDMA frames called multi-frames.
GSM systems typically employ one or more modulation schemes to communicate information such as voice, data, and/or control information. These modulation schemes may include GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying), M-ary QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) or M-ary PSK (Phase Shift Keying), where M=2n, with n being the number of bits encoded within a symbol period for a specified modulation scheme. GMSK is a constant envelope binary modulation scheme allowing raw transmission at a maximum rate of 270.83 kilobits per second (kbps). While GSM is sufficient for standard voice services, high-fidelity audio and data services demand higher data throughput rates.
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a non-voice service that allows information to be sent and received across a mobile telephone network. It supplements Circuit Switched Data (CSD) and Short Message Service (SMS). GPRS employs the same modulation schemes as GSM, but higher data throughput rates are achievable with GPRS since it allows for all eight time slots to be used by a single mobile station at the same time.
The EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) and the associated packet service EGPRS (Enhanced General Packet Radio Service) have been defined as a transitional standard between the GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mobile radio standards. Both GMSK modulation and 8-PSK modulation are used in the EDGE standard, and the modulation type can be changed from burst to burst. GMSK is a non-linear, Gaussian-pulse-shaped frequency modulation, and 8-PSK modulation in EDGE is a linear, 8-level phase modulation with 3π/8 rotation. However, the specific GMSK modulation used in GSM can be approximated with a linear modulation (i.e., 2-level phase modulation with a π/2 rotation). The symbol pulse of the approximated GSMK and the symbol pulse of the 8-PSK are identical.
Wireless communication systems have an ever-increasing demand on capacity to transfer both voice and data services. In GSM communication systems, one way to increase system capacity is to increase the frequency reuse factor, whereby the communications system allocates the same frequency to multiple sites in closer proximity. However, stray signals or signals intentionally introduced by frequency reuse methods can interfere with the proper transmission and reception of voice and data signals and can lower capacity. As a result, a receiver must be capable of processing a signal with interference from other channels and extracting the desired information sent to a user.
It is well known that the major source of noise and interference experienced by GSM communication devices operating in typical cellular system layouts supporting a non-trivial number of users is due to co-channel or adjacent channel interference. Such noise sources arise from nearby devices transmitting on or near the same channel as the desired signal or from adjacent channel interference such as noise arising on the desired channel due to spectral leakage, for example. Additionally, even in the case where no other signal interference is present, the received signal may consist of multiple copies of the transmitted data sequence due to multi-path channel conditions, for example. This effect is sometimes referred to as self-interference.
Traditionally, interference cancellation techniques have had limited success focusing on adjacent channel suppression by using several filtering operations to suppress the frequencies of the received signal that are not also occupied by the desired signal. Correspondingly, co-channel interference techniques have been proposed, such as joint demodulation, which generally require joint channel estimation methods to provide a joint determination of the desired and co-channel interfering signal channel impulse responses. Given known training sequences, all the co-channel interference can be estimated jointly. However, this joint demodulation requires a large amount of processing power, which constrains the number of equalization parameters that can be used efficiently.
A recently proposed standard for advanced communications systems and receiver algorithms called Single Antenna Interference Cancellation (SAIC) is designed for the purpose of improving system capacity through increasing frequency reuse. SAIC performs in the presence of co-channel interference resulting from the increased frequency reuse by enhancing single-antenna receiver performance. Current SAIC receiver algorithms are generally optimized for GMSK modulated signals, since gains of SAIC tend to be smaller for 8-PSK modulated signals. In an SAIC operational environment, GMSK traffic on neighboring cells can reuse common frequencies, thereby significantly increasing network bandwidth, while still tolerating the significantly higher co-channel and multi-channel interference than can be accommodated by conventional GMSK/EDGE environments.
In Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) dominated environments, such as a conventional GSM/EDGE environment, Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) is the optimal solution. However, in co-channel and adjacent channel dominated environments (low carrier/interference (C/I) environments), such as a SAIC operational environment, a linear equalizer technique that takes advantage of the GMSK signal structure provides the superior performance. In actual SAIC operational environments, however, co-channel and adjacent channel interference is not always strong, depending on the traffic and system allocation. For example, to provide different quality of services, the system may allocate different data rates and coding schemes or allocate higher priority channel access by controlling the levels of co-channel and adjacent channel interference from other users. In other words, a particular SAIC enabled mobile station will be expected to operate in a very wide range of co-channel and adjacent channel interference levels. What is needed is an equalization methodology that provides superior performance in both high and low interference levels for mobile stations capable of operating in SAIC operational environments.

Dynamic switching between maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) and linear equalizer for single antenna interference cancellation (SAIC) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system


A test packet generator of an entry device generates a delay test packet including priority information. A test packet transmitter of the entry device transmits the delay test packet to an exit device through a route corresponding to the priority information. A test packet receiver of the exit device receives the delay test packet. A reply packet transmitter of the exit device returns a reply-delay test packet toward the entry device through the same route in the counter direction. A reply packet receiver of the entry device receives the reply-delay test packet. A delay calculator of the entry device calculates a delay time on the basis of the time of transmitting the delay test packet and the time of receiving the reply-delay test packet. A route changer of the entry device changes routing appropriately on the basis of the delay time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system, especially to a route change method based on a delay time for transferring a packet.
2. Description of the Related Art
To realize an economical packet network with little drop in the throughput that effectively uses network resources where routing reflecting an actual traffic state is performed without the need for any revision to relay routers, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-044125 discloses a packet network where an incoming edge side router placed at an input side of a network and an outgoing edge side router installed at an output side transmit/receive a test packet with each other or give a time stamp to an IP (Internet Protocol) packet including user information so as to measure an actual round trip delay time or propagation delay time in each route. A route for transmitting a packet is selected according to the result of the measurement. It also discloses a technique for smoothing and using a plurality of measurement results.
To prevent line congestion by devising load distribution in a data exchange network and effective utilization of bypass lines with respect to the route selection system in the network, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-191322 discloses a data exchange route selection system. Each station of the data exchange network is provided with a delay time measurement means measuring a delay time of each route, a line utilizing rate measurement means measuring a line operating rate for each route and a delay allowable value setting means setting an allowable delay time between each terminal equipment under the control and an opposite terminal equipment. Then a route satisfying an allowable delay time of the terminal equipment among plural routes is selected for each communication and a route with a lower line operating rate is selected among the selected routes to average the line operating rate while keeping the response of the terminal equipment.

Network system, network apparatus, route change method, and program storage medium storing program thereof


An array substrate and display apparatus, the array substrate comprising a base substrate (10) and signal lines (VDD, VSS) provided on the base substrate (10), wherein at least one electrically conductive element (12) corresponding to the signal lines (VDD, VSS) is further provided on the base substrate (10), the signal lines (VDD, VSS) are connected in parallel with corresponding electrically conductive elements (12), and the electrically conductive elements (12) corresponding to different signal lines (VDD, VSS) are insulated from one another. Thus, resistance of the signal lines (VDD, VSS) can be reduced and the display effect can be improved.

In an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display device, an organic light emitting unit and a pixel circuit for supplying a drive current to the organic light emitting unit are provided in each pixel unit. The pixel circuit has a high level signal terminal and a low level signal terminal for receiving a high level signal and a low level signal respectively. The high level signal and the low level signal are supplied from a high level signal line and a low level signal line respectively. At present, due to high resistance values of the high level signal line and the low level signal line, pixel circuits in different regions may receive different signals, so that the organic light emitting units in different regions have different brightness, affecting uniformity of display.

Array substrate with a plurality of different signal lines

CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A transactional distribution infrastructure enables multiple participants to work together to deploy changes to an executing context. Embodiments can prepare new changes to executing applications based on a copy of the running context or domain rather than the actual running domain. Performing the changes on a copy of the running domain rather than on the actual running domain allows the changes to be examined, therefore providing an opportunity to detect errors and prevent the changes from causing failures on the domain.

In a clustered or distributed application server environment, some form of data replication is useful in order to distribute configuration and deployment information from an administration (Admin) server to one or more managed servers within its domain. The typical requirements for such a data replication process is to be able to distribute data items over point-to-point connections, i.e., using TCP for example, that provides for a measure of flow control. Data replication allows managed servers to persistently cache data on local disks, and speeds server startup by reducing the amount of data to be transferred. Storing data locally on each server also allows independent server startup and/or restart when the Admin server is unavailable, unreachable, or in a failed condition.
However, updates and changes to a domain configuration need to be distributed to the servers to which the changes are applicable in a manner that maintains the consistency of configuration of the domain. Some changes need to be consistent across the entire domain while others need to be consistent within clusters. Consistency is also crucial to the application deployment and redeployment process because services like availability, failover, load-balancing and in-memory replication are scoped to a cluster and not the entire domain.

System and method for application deployment service


Methods, systems, and software are provided herein that allow a user to view video and manipulate viewing cells on a multi-view mode. In a first example, a method of merging viewing cells in a video management system is disclosed. The method includes presenting a plurality of viewing cells to a user, where the plurality of viewing cells are capable of displaying video of a plurality of video capture devices. The method also includes receiving an instruction to merge at least two of the plurality of viewing cells into a merged viewing cell, and associating the merged viewing cell with one of the plurality of video capture devices.

Video surveillance and display systems typically include video capture devices, such as video cameras, linked to centralized equipment, such as servers, storage systems, video multiplexers, video processing equipment, or other equipment. The video capture devices could be situated in a location distant from the centralized equipment and be configured to transfer video over various links for collection, viewing, manipulation, and storage by the centralized equipment. After transfer, the video of the video capture devices can be viewed on a display device, such as video monitor or video display system.
Video monitoring systems, along with the associated video storage and handling equipment, may allow a user to view many videos simultaneously on the same display, such as in a split-screen or multi-video display mode. In some video monitoring systems, multi-video display configurations include a large central viewing cell surrounded by many smaller viewing cells, possibly arranged in a grid layout. Each of the viewing cells could display video from different sources. However, these video monitoring systems typically have predetermined viewing modes and fixed multi-video display configurations which can limit a user's ability to effectively view the video.
Overview
Methods, systems, and software are provided herein that allow a user to view video and manipulate viewing cells on a multi-view mode. In a first example, a method of merging viewing cells in a video management system is disclosed. The method includes presenting a plurality of viewing cells to a user, where the plurality of viewing cells are capable of displaying video of a plurality of video capture devices. The method also includes receiving an instruction to merge at least two of the plurality of viewing cells into a merged viewing cell, and associating the merged viewing cell with one of the plurality of video capture devices.
In a second example, a video management system for merging viewing cells is also disclosed. The video management system includes a user interface configured to present a plurality of viewing cells to a user, where the plurality of viewing cells are capable of displaying video of a plurality of video capture devices. The user interface is also configured to receive an instruction to merge at least two of the plurality of viewing cells into a merged viewing cell. The video management system also includes a processing system configured to associate the merged viewing cell with one of the plurality of video capture devices.

Systems, methods, and software for merging video viewing cells


A flame retardant separator for secondary batteries, and more particularly, a flame retardant separator for secondary batteries comprising or coated with a metal hydroxide having a low Gibbs free energy among polymorphs of a metal hydroxide used as an inorganic flame retardant.

With the trends toward reducing the weight and increasing the functionality of portable devices, such as smartphones, laptop computers, tablet PCs, and portable game machines, the demand for a secondary battery serving as a driving power source thereof is increasing. In the past, nickel-cadmium, nickel-hydrogen, and nickel-zinc batteries have been used, but lithium secondary batteries, which have high operating voltage and high energy density per unit weight, are most frequently used at present.
With the growth of markets related to the portable device market, the demand for lithium secondary batteries has increased. Lithium secondary batteries have also come to be used as the power sources for electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and storage of renewable energy.
A lithium secondary battery is configured such that an electrode assembly having a positive electrode/separator/negative electrode structure, which can be charged and discharged, is mounted in a battery case. Each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode is manufactured by applying a slurry including an electrode active material to one surface or both surfaces of a metal current collector, drying the slurry, and rolling the metal current collector having the dried slurry applied thereto.
The separator is one of the most important factors that affect the performance and the lifespan of a secondary battery. It is necessary for the separator to electrically isolate the positive electrode and the negative electrode from each other and to exhibit ion permeability and mechanical strength such that an electrolytic solution can pass smoothly through the separator. In addition, as the applications of high-energy lithium secondary batteries are expanded, safety of the separator at high temperature is also needed.
A hydroxide-based inorganic flame retardant is a flame retardant that absorbs heat at a certain temperature and are used in resins and the like. The hydroxide-based inorganic flame retardant was used in various ways to enhance the flame retardancy of a secondary battery.
Patent Document 1 relates to a lithium secondary battery with enhanced heat-resistance and discloses an electrode whose surface includes an organic/inorganic composite porous coating layer comprising heat-absorbing inorganic particles and a binder polymer. The kind of heat-absorbing inorganic particles is at least one particle selected from the group consisting of antimony-containing compounds, metal hydroxides, guanidine-based compounds, boron-containing compounds and zinc tartrate compounds. The heat-absorbing inorganic particles are used as a component for forming or coating a separator.
Patent Document 2 relates to an electrode assembly with an asymmetrically coated separator and an electrochemical device comprising the same. The electrode assembly of Patent Document 2 is characterized that it is composed by alternatively laminating a plurality of: anode units comprising an anode collector, anode active material layers coated on both sides of the anode collector, and a separator attached to one side of the anode collector; and cathode units comprising an cathode collector, cathode active material layers coated on both sides of the cathode collector, and a separator attached to one side of the cathode collector, and the separator is asymmetrically coated, wherein one side thereof, attached to each active material in the anode unit or the cathode unit, and the other side thereof are asymmetrically coated with an adhesive-power reinforcing member and a heat-resistance reinforcing member, respectively. Patent Document 2 discloses that a hydroxide inorganic flame retardant may be asymmetrically coated only on the anode or the cathode.
Patent Document 3 relates to a separator for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, which comprises a laminate in which at least two layers are laminated, of which, at least one has a shutdown temperature of 140° C. or less, and at least one layer has a heat deformation temperature (JIS K 7207A method) of 100° C. or more, with an oxygen index (JIS K 7201) of a layer facing a positive electrode of 26 or more.
In Patent Document 3, a layer facing a negative electrode is made of a material mainly composed of polyolefin, and the layer facing the positive electrode is made of fluorine-based resin, an inorganic compound and a flame retardant.
As described above, various flame retardants are used in order to enhance the safety of lithium secondary batteries. However, the inventors of the present invention have observed that the flame retardancy properties are non-uniform even though the flame retardants are represented by the same chemical formula. Such non-uniform flame retardant properties have a problem that the flame retardant properties are not exhibited even though the flame retardants are added as a component of the separator. In the related art, it has been found that such non-uniform flame retardant properties are not recognized as a problem, and a solution to this problem has not been suggested.

Flame retardant separator for secondary battery


A method includes performing a first iteration of automated frequency coordination (AFC) using geospatial coordinates of a first access point at a site and a first margin of error to determine a first number of allowed channels for the first access point and performing a second iteration of AFC using the geospatial coordinates of the first access point and a second margin of error to determine a second number of allowed channels for the first access point. The first margin of error is lower than the second margin of error. The method also includes, in response to determining that a difference between the first number and the second number meets a threshold, instructing a second access point at the site to perform AFC using the second margin of error rather than the first margin of error.

Certain network implementations deploy multiple access points across an environment so that the access points provide network coverage for different portions of the environment. For example, the access points may be deployed in different floors of a building or different parts of a large auditorium or conference space. The access points may be required to perform AFC using geospatial coordinates and heights of the access points to determine the number of channels and the power budgets that the access points may use without interfering too much with other access points in the vicinity (e.g., other, existing network deployments). It may be difficult, however, to determine the geospatial coordinates and heights of every access point in the network (e.g., access points installed on tall ceilings or access points that are hidden from view).
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially used in other embodiments without specific recitation.

Iterative automated frequency coordination


A stencil case that makes stencil work efficient, and which allows organization and storage of ink pads and stencil brushes. The stencil case stores ink pads and stencil brushes, and has a base (1) and a lid, the base characterized by providing several ink pad storage slots (3) for storing different colors of ink pads in parallel in the base (1), and several brush storage slots (4) for storing as many stencil brushes as the number of ink pads in parallel and at a position opposite to the ink pad storage slots.

Conventionally, stencils are made as follows: stencils with letters, symbols, figures or designs punched through are fixed onto paper to which the stencil is to be applied. Watercolors, water paints, or stamp pad inks are applied onto a stencil brush. The ink is imprinted onto the paper by slightly tapping the stencil brush on the stencil, to transfer the ink from the brush to the paper. The stencil is then removed, and the letters, symbols, figures, or designs are copied to the paper.
When stamp pads are used for stenciling, it is typical to use commonly sold stamp pads of one color, which use one of various colors. An example of such a stamp pad is illustrated in FIG. 13, which shows a stamp pad having an ink occlusion body (32), such as sponge or felt which absorbs ink, which is placed on a base (31) to absorb pigment ink or dye ink, and having the top covered with a lid (33).
In addition to such monochromatic stamp pads, recently, multicolor stamp pads with several different colors of pads provided in parallel can be used. If such a stamp pad is used, several colors of stencils can be made using one stamp pad. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates an example of a conventional multicolor stamp pad. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the conventional multicolor stamp pad is comprised of several different colors of color pads (43) with pigment ink absorbed in sponge ink occlusion bodies (42) that are disposed on a base (41), and arranged in parallel; the tops of such color pads (43) are covered with a lid (44).
Conventional stencil brushes were made by attaching animal hair, such as pig or horse hair, to the tip of a wood or bamboo handle, or by attaching a sponge ink absorbing part composed of polyurethane, etc., to the tip of a wood, bamboo, or plastic handle. Holding the handle of the brush in the same manner as holding a pencil, the user would color the paper with stamp pad ink by slightly tapping the brush onto the top of the stencil.
When stencils were made using monochromatic stamp pads as described above, only one stamp pad and one stencil brush were needed to stencil monochromatic letters, symbols, figures, or designs. However, to make stencils in two or more colors, there must be as many monochromic stamp pads as the number of colors, and one or more stencil brushes are needed.
When stencils were made in two or more colors using one stencil brush, each time different colors of ink were used, the stencil brush needed to be washed with water to remove the ink before applying another color. Thus, there was a problem that such work was troublesome and the work efficiency was low.
If more than one stencil brush is used to make two or more colors of stencils, the stencil brushes do not need to be washed with water. However, because the several monochromatic stamp pads and several stencil brushes are not arranged at predetermined positions, the stamp pads and the stencil brushes would be moved in the course of the work to different places and get disorganized; thus, the work cannot be performed efficiently.
As with the aforementioned monochromatic stamp pads, when two or more colors of stencils are made using a multicolor stamp pad with several different colors of color pads arranged in parallel, if one stencil brush is used, the stencil brush needs to be washed with water each time another color of ink is used. If several stencil brushes are used, such stencil brushes do not need to be washed with water, but the stencil brushes would be moved to different places during work; thus, the work efficiency will be low. Furthermore, another problem was that with a multicolor stamp pad using water-based ink, the ink tended to be transferred between adjacent color pads, which causes discoloration of color pads due to the ink transfer between them, and would make it impossible to maintain the original color.
Furthermore, when one or more conventional stamp pads and several stencil brushes are used as described, there was another problem that when the stencil work is completed, and such stamp pads and stencil brushes are stored, they tend to be disorganized.
The present invention was made to improve such problems of the prior art. The purpose is to offer a stencil case wherein several ink pads or stamp pads used for stenciling and several stencil brushes are stored in an arrangement that allows for them to be used conveniently to improve the work efficiency of stenciling and allows them to be stored in an organized manner. The present invention also offers a stenciling set in a case.


The time required for a nozzle check is minimized without reducing the accuracy of the nozzle check. An inkjet line printer has a nozzle check control unit that performs a nozzle check to detect ejection problems in the nozzles of plural nozzle rows of the inkjet line head. The nozzle check control unit applies the nozzle check to a portion of the nozzles in the group of nozzles in a specific range where two mutually overlapping nozzle rows overlap.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording device having a recording head with a plurality of nozzle rows, a method of controlling the recording device, and a program for controlling the recording device.
2. Related Art
Recording devices (printers) that can perform a nozzle check to detect ejection problems in the nozzles of the recording head are known from the literature. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2006-198924.
There is a tendency in recording devices that are designed to perform a nozzle check for the time required to perform the nozzle check to become relatively long compared to the time actually spent on recording by the recording head, particularly when the recording head has a large number of nozzles. Shortening the time required for the nozzle check as much as possible without lowering the accuracy of the nozzle check is therefore desirable.

Recording device, method of controlling a recording device, and storage medium storing a program executed by a control unit that controls a recording device


A non-uniform transmission line, including at least a first section with length L1, uniform width W1 and thickness h1, and a second section with length L2, uniform width W2 and thickness h2, joined together to form a composite structure and arranged in any of at least three distinct configurations. The composite structure (first section plus second section) may be periodic or non-periodic. Length and/or width and/or thickness of each of the two sections may be varied to provide desired values for characteristic impedance, cutoff frequency and/or time delay for signal propagation.

One common interconnect mechanism for transporting electronic signals on printed circuit boards, multichip modules and integrated circuits is a uniform width microstrip line or a uniform width stripline, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Such lines include a very low resistance signal transport line or "trace." One or two signal return planes, and an insulating dielectric material separating such lines from the return planes, are illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Two adjacent signal transport lines can be positioned adjacent (but not contiguous) and parallel to each other to provide coupled differential signal pairs, as illustrated in FIGS. 1C and 1D. For a high speed transmission line, having a broad "flat" bandwidth region, control of line impedance within the bandwidth region is crucial. Most signal integrity problems arise from improper impedance matching of signal drivers and receivers to a signal interconnect.
Where a uniform transmission line is used, several groups of parameters are available for controlling the characteristic impedance of the line: (1) thicknesses, h1, h2 and h3, of the dielectric layers; (2) width w of the trace; (3) dielectric permittivity ∈ of the insulating substrate; (4) thickness h(tr) of the trace; and (5) electrical conductivity σ of the trace. Commercial requirements often limit the choices of most. or all of these parameters. For example, most printed circuit boards (PCBs) are made of FR4 material so that one has little control of the dielectric constant of the insulating substrate or of the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant. Further, constraints on PCB packaging may severely limit the board thickness. Further, uniformly spaced traces, and traces spaced too close to each other, lead to signal cross-talk and other signal interference problems that limit bit rate and produce noise.
What is needed is an approach that provides additional parameters that allow control of impedance and/or signal interference of the transmission line. Preferably, this approach should not require that the traces be spaced far apart and should allow some freedom in control of frequency dependence of the trace of the trace impedance.

Non-uniform transmission line for reducing cross-talk from an aggressor transmission line


A damper assembly and washing machine using the same, by which a damper pin configured to facilitate assembly is provided and by which a damper pin is configured to avoid breaking, are disclosed. The damper assembly includes a base having a first connecting portion, a damper having a second connecting portion at one end and attenuating a vibration transferred to the base, and a damper pin penetrating the first and second connecting portions to secure them, the damper pin having a slip-fit connection with the first and second connecting portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a damper assembly and a washing machine using the same, in which a damper pin configured to facilitate assembly is provided.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, in a washing machine, a tub holds water and detergent inside and a laundry is put in a drum installed within the tub. And the drum is rotated to perform washing, rinsing, and dewatering. The washing machine is an apparatus for removing filth or dirt attached to the laundry using the detergent and mechanical energy applied thereto appropriately. Specifically, a drum, which is horizontally installed within a drum type washing machine, holds detergent, water, and laundry therein and is then rotated by a drive force of a motor to remove filth or dirt attached the laundry. Such a drum type washing machine avoids causing damage or ravel to the laundry, consumes less water, and brings about a washing effect of beating and rubbing.
Referring to FIG. 1, a general drum type washing machine consists of a cabinet 10 forming an overall exterior, a tub 20 provided within the cabinet 10 to store water therein, and a cylindrical drum 30 rotatably installed within the tub 20 to hold a laundry therein. In this case, a control panel provided with buttons and switches to input an operational condition of the washing machine and a detergent box connected to a water supply device, which supplies water to the drum, to supply a detergent together with the water are provided to the cabinet. The above-constructed washing machine according to a related art performs washing on a laundry using chemical reaction of the detergent, water current generated from a rotation of the drum, and friction thereof.
Meanwhile, a damper assembly 60 is installed between the tub 20 and a base plate 11 of the cabinet to attenuate vibration appearing on the tub while the drum rotates. The damper assembly 60 consists of a damper 61 attenuating vibration transferred to the cabinet 10 from the tub 20 and a damper connecting part 62 connecting the damper 61 between the tub 20 and the base plate 11 of the cabinet 10. The damper connecting part 62 consists of a pair of first connecting portions 62a built in one body of both ends of the damper 61, respectively, and a pair of second connecting portions 62b built in one body of the tub 20 and the base plate 11 of the cabinet to be connected to the first connecting portions 62a by damper pins 63, respectively.
The first connecting portion 62a is inserted in the second connecting portion 62b so that both sides of the first connecting portion 62a is supported by the second connecting portion 62b. And, a pair of perforated holes is formed at the first and second connecting portions 62a and 62b, respectively, so that the damper pin 63 is fitted in the perforated holes, respectively. The damper pin needs to be easily assembled and should avoid being easily broken. Hence, many efforts are made to develop a damper assembly having the damper pin that is configured to facilitate assembly and avoid being broken.

Damper assembly and washing machine using the same


A pressure dispensing container containing a liquid and closed by a closure having a first aperture offset with respect to the centroid of the closure's base is disclosed. The container is mounted on a dispensing appliance including a first tube to be inserted into the corresponding first, offset aperture of the closure. The closure further having a crenellation in its lower rim mating a crenellation in a structure for receiving the closure of the container. A closure holding structure is located in the holding portion of the appliance and is suitable for receiving in mating relationship the closure of the container such that the first offset aperture of the closure is in direct engaging relationship with the first tube of the appliance.

Many dispensing containers rely for the dispensing of the liquid contained therein, on a dispensing tube and a gas connection. The dispensing tube permits the liquid contained in the container to flow out thereof, driven by a pressure difference between the interior and the exterior of the container. Said pressure difference may be created by gravity if the closure is located below the liquid level, by an overpressure inside the container, or by vacuum at the outlet of the dispensing tube. The gas connection may serve either to inject pressurized gas into the container to drive the dispensing of liquid, or to allow air into the container to fill the volume of dispensed liquid such as to maintain the pressure relatively constant in the container. The container may comprise a single wall (although the wall can be a laminate) or may comprise several detachable layers, such as in bag-in-containers and bladder-in-containers. Bag-in-containers, also referred to as bag-in-bottles or bag-in-boxes depending on the geometry of the outer vessel, all terms considered herein as being comprised within the meaning of the term bag-in-container, are a family of liquid dispensing packaging consisting of an outer container comprising an opening to the atmosphere—the mouth—and which contains a collapsible inner bag joined to said container and opening to the atmosphere at the region of said mouth. The liquid is contained in the inner bag. The system must comprise at least one vent fluidly connecting the atmosphere to the region between the inner bag and the outer container in order to control the pressure in said region to squeeze the inner bag and thus dispense the liquid contained therein (cf. e.g., WO2008/129018 and GB8925324). Alternatively, in bladder-in-containers, the liquid is contained in the outer container and the inner bag, generally called a bladder, is either inflated to drive the flow of liquid out of the container, or simply put in fluid connection with atmospheric, in order to balance the pressure inside the container (cf. WO9015774, EP1647499, WO2010055057, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,758, GB9504284, FR2602222, GB8806378). The advantage of bag-in-containers and bladder-in-containers over single wall containers is that the liquid is never in contact with an external gas. The present invention applies to any type of such containers.
The dispensing tube and gas connections often communicate with the interior of the container through the closure thereof, which is therefore provided with at least two openings. Unless the two openings are concentric, the closure is not axisymmetrical. This is one example among others where the position of at least one aperture of the closure is offset with respect to the centroid of the base plane of the closure, wherein the centroid of a geometrical shape corresponds to the centre of gravity of said shape having a uniform density and thickness (cf. e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centroid).
Some dispensing containers are stand alone, and can be used as such. In some cases, however, the container must be mounted on a dispensing appliance to function properly. The appliance comprises a first portion for holding the container in dispensing position, and a second portion provided with means for creating a fluid communication between the interior of the container and a dispensing tube and a gas connection through the closure of the container. The container may be positioned with the closure located below the level of liquid to drive the flow out of the container by way of gravity, as is the case in many soap dispensers. Soap dispensers, however, rarely require a closure with two openings. Examples of such soap dispensers can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,309 and WO200761967.
US2009/0242562 discloses a closure comprising a seal indicator providing indication when seal has been achieved between the closure and a container upon relative rotational movement over mating threads, GB1438228. This type of closure is not meant to be used with pressurized containers. GB1438228 discloses a closure unit comprising an overcap with a peripheral skirt and two sealing plugs comprising bores with puncturable membranes, the plugs being integrally moulded to each other and to a washer, thereby forming a gasket which becomes compressed against the lip of a pressurized beer barrel when the skirt is crimped under the lip. In particular, two tongues are crimped with a tool under the lip of the container. Neither the closure, nor the container it is coupled to have any orientation requirement to function properly, as the dispensing does not require to couple the container with closure to a dispensing appliance.
An example of an assembly of a container and a dispensing appliance is given in WO90/15774, wherein the container is a bladder-in-container. In WO90/15774, a dispending end section of the housing is provided with a bladder and a dispensing stem, running through a threaded opening in said end suitable for screwing the container's mouth into position. The bladder and dispensing stem provided in the dispensing end of the appliance are therefore first introduced and fixed into the container, and thereafter the dispensing end and container are positioned in the housing of the appliance. A similar system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,787 with a bag-in-container, wherein a dispensing end of the appliance comprises a dispensing stem to be introduced into the bag containing the liquid. Applying a dispensing end of a dispensing appliance with a stem into a container is quite cumbersome and has the great drawback that the container must be opened before mounting on the appliance. This contact of the liquid with ambient may be critical for the quality of some liquids.
For comfort of use, it is preferred that the container may be mounted onto the dispensing appliance in as few moves as possible, and for sensitive liquids, avoiding any contact between the liquid contained in the container with ambient. The latter can be achieved by providing the dispensing tube and gas connection with puncturing means suitable for breaking open a sealed opening. To reduce the number of moves required to mount the container onto the dispensing appliance, one could imagine that the container may be mounted onto the holding portion of an appliance and the dispensing end thereof simply applied on against the closure, with the aim of bringing the interior of the container in fluid communication with a dispensing tube and a gas connection. Now in case the closure is not axisymmetrical because of the presence of at least one offset opening, as is the case with at least two, non concentric openings, the angular position of the container in its axial direction becomes critical, because the dispensing tube and gas connection must be brought in perfect match with the position of the corresponding openings. This is particularly critical when puncturing means are used as forcing the puncturing means against a closure having a wrong angular orientation could damage either the closure or the puncturing means. The user must therefore look carefully that the angular orientation of the container in the holding portion of the appliance is correct before closing the dispensing end of the appliance onto the closure, which is probably more uncomfortable than the solutions proposed in WO90/15774 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,787 discussed above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly considerably simplifying the mounting of a container onto a dispensing appliance comprising at least one duct to be connected in as few moves as possible to an opening provided on the base of a closure, when said opening is offset with respect of the centroid of said closure's base. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such system wherein said mounting does not necessitate contacting the liquid contained in the container with ambient. These and other objects of the invention are presented hereinbelow.

Dispensing appliance provided with means for positioning a container


A stake system for providing a removable support for articles being transported on flatbed vehicles is provided. The stake system has a composite body with a cap on one end and a boot on the opposite end. A cover layer is shrink wrapped over the composite body and may include a heat-activated adhesive. The boot includes a flange that contacts the flatbed vehicle when the stake system is inserted into pockets formed in the flatbed vehicle. A pin is tethered to the boot and may be inserted into a hole in the boot adjacent to the underside of the flatbed vehicle. The pin provides a convenient means for locking the stake system to the vehicle and prevents the stake system from disengaging during operation.

The present invention relates generally to a stake for securing loads on a flatbed vehicle and more particularly to a stake having a composite body.
Vehicles having open, unenclosed areas to accommodate loads of varying types and configurations are quite common Examples of such vehicles are flatbed trucks and flatbed railroad cars. Frequently, such vehicles have a generally rectangular bed that includes a number of stake-receiving pockets positioned about the perimeter and center portions thereof. The stakes are elongated members positioned within the peripherally disposed stake pockets and are provided to restrain the load in the event it shifts, and to prevent it from falling off the bed.
Stakes are typically fabricated out of wood such as oak or hickory, or a metal such as steel or aluminum. A u-shaped metal band may also be wrapped around one end of the stake where the stake is inserted into the vehicle pockets. The metal bands along with the wooden stake typically provide sufficient weight to keep the stake in the vehicle pocket during use. However, under rough road conditions, the stakes occasionally exit the pocket resulting in a loss of the stake.
The stakes often become damaged during use due to shifting loads and impacts from other equipment, such as forklifts for example. The wooden stakes are also subject to damage due to wet conditions and insects. As such, truck stakes often have a limited lifespan and must be replaced on a regular basis to prevent the loads from falling off the bed during operation.
Thus, while existing stakes are suitable for their intended purpose, there remains a need for improvements. In particular, there remains a need for improvements in the life and durability of truck stakes and the reliability in securing the stake to a vehicle body.

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.


An optical system in which arrays of pseudo-corner cube retro reflectors are used to provide optical feedback of the horizontal and vertical positions of a scanning beam. The arrays of reflectors are located above and below the path of the scanning beam near the photoreceptor. The horizontal and vertical position information is then used to correct the alignment of the scanning beam.

This invention relates generally to a raster output scanner of a laser printing device and more particularly concerns a method in which pseudo optical retro reflectors are used for monitoring a scanning laser spot position in both horizontal and vertical axes in real time.
A conventional raster output scanner utilizes a light source, pre-scan optics, a modulator, a multi-faceted rotating polygon mirror as the scanning element, and post scan optics. The light source, which can be a laser source, produces a light beam and sends it to the modulator. The modulator receives electronic pixel information for modulating the light beam. The modulated light beam will be directed onto the rotating polygon. At the strike of the modulated light beam, the rotating polygon reflects the modulated light beam and causes the reflected light beam to revolve about an axis near the center of rotation of the rotating polygon and scan a straight line. This reflected light beam can be utilized to scan a document at the input of an imaging system or can be used to impinge upon a photographic film or a photosensitive medium, such as a xerographic drum at the output of the imaging system.
Laser printers using rotating polygons often include a line start system to accurately position the start of scan of each line in the raster plane. A line start system is necessary to avoid facet-to-facet variations that can cause unevenness in the scan lines. Many line start systems monitor the position of the scanned beam for starting the printing of the line in the raster plane. However, such systems can require multiple beams and synchronization signals to compensate for facet defects which affect the line start signal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,549 discloses such a system. However, such systems are complicated and only monitor the position of the beam in the horizontal plane, and then only at start of scan and/or end of scan.
Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the invention to provide a simplified method of detecting the position of a laser spot in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
Further advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

Real time laser spot tracking in both horizontal and vertical axes


A control unit is stored in an airtight housing constituted by a base, an annular peripheral wall member, a cover, and first and second interior packings, second wiring conductors connected to input/output equipment and first wiring conductors connected to a host controller through a control signal connector are brought into press-contact with input/output control terminals of the control unit by first and second pressing elastic mats, the relative positions of associated components are regulated by positioning pins passing through from the cover to the base, and the cover is opened by loosening blockade screws without causing an assembly dimension error or sliding wear of conductive contact portions due to thermal deformation, whereby the control unit is detached.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvement of an electronic control device including a control unit stored in an airtight housing and wiring conductors connecting input/output control terminals provided in the control unit to input/output equipment outside the airtight housing.
Description of the Background Art
A mechanically and electrically integrated type electronic control device which is directly attached to a storage container of a transmission embedded with an actuator, such as a linear solenoid valve for hydraulic control or other electromagnetic valves, has been widely put into practical use. For example, referring to FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1 entitled "CONTROL MODULE", a control module 100 which is an electronic control device described herein has an ATCU 10 which is a control circuit unit (a control unit described herein), and a wiring unit 20 which connects a terminal of the control circuit unit and a connector 28. The control circuit unit 10 and the wiring unit 20 are stored between a cover 30 and a base 40. The wiring unit 20 has a resin-molded portion 24 in which the vicinity of the central portion of bus bars 22 made of a plurality of conductors is molded with resin. The resin-molded portion serves as a rigid body region and a portion where the bus bars are exposed serves as a flexible region.
The base 40 is shaped to be in contact with the cover 30 in a state where the cover 30 and the base 40 are fitted to each other, protrusions 42 are formed to be arranged between the bus bars 22 in the flexible region, and contact portions between the cover 30 and the protrusions 42 of the base 40 are fixed. In this way, a control module with improved productivity and workability is obtained.
According to FIGS. 1 and 4 of Patent Document 2 entitled "CONTROL DEVICE OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION", a TCU 1 (a control unit described herein) is mounted on a metal plate (dissipation member) 2, a resin first housing 3 constituting a first wiring unit A and a second housing 4 constituting a second wiring unit B are fastened and fixed to the metal plate 2, a lead frame 9 arranged on the left side of the TCU 1 is connected to an external connector unit 16 for an engine control unit through a third terminal 10, and a lead frame 9 arranged on the right side of the TCU 1 is connected to a circuit board 7 of a sensor unit through a first terminal (relay terminal) 11 and a second terminal 12.
The lead frames 9 are connected to circuit patterns of the TCU 1 by bonding wires in advance, and portions exposed from sealing resin become lead terminals 31, the lead terminals 31 are bonded to the first terminal 11 and the third terminal 10 by laser welding, and the first terminal 11 and the second terminal 12 are bonded to each other by laser welding. Bent portions 32 or 34 and 35 for stress absorption are provided in the lead terminals 31 or the first to third terminals 9 to 11, and an insulating material 36 or 46 which is an insulating adhesive material is applied, thereby preventing the terminals from being short-circuited by a conductive foreign substance. With this, it is possible to reduce production cost with a small space, and to reliably insulate adjacent terminals from each other.
[Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2005/050805 (FIG. 1, Abstract)
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2012-002242 (FIGS. 1 and 4, Abstract, Paragraphs 0042 to 0046 and 0054 to 0060)
According to Patent Document 1, when assembling the control module 100 of this embodiment, a plurality of bus bars 22 of the wiring unit 20 are arranged between a plurality of protrusions 42 of the base 40, the ATCU 10 is stored inside a frame body 26 of the wiring unit 20, and one end of a plurality of bus bars 22 and conduction terminals 14 of the ATCU 10 are connected by weldbonding or the like.
The cover 30 is placed on the thus-obtained sub-assembly, the cover 30 and the base 40 are fitted to each other, and contact portions between the upper surfaces of the protrusions 42 of the base 40 and the lower surface of the cover 30 are welded.
Similarly, the upper surface and the lower surface of the frame body 26 are welded to the cover 30 and the base 40 in contact portions between the cover 30 and the base 40.
Accordingly, the input/output control terminals of the control unit and the wiring conductors described herein are welded, and the cover and the base constituting the airtight housing are welded. For this reason, a welding machine is required in the assembly line, and it is difficult to detach the assembled control unit in a nondestructive manner, whereby it is necessary to cut the cover and the base and to cut the welded terminal portion in order to perform maintenance and replacement.
According to Patent Document 2, the insulation materials 36 and 46 which are an insulating adhesive material are applied to conductive portions exposed from a molding resin material while excluding the concept of the airtight housing in which the cover and the base are weldbonded. Meanwhile, since the input/output control terminals of the control unit and the wiring conductors described herein are welded, a welding machine is required in the assembly line, and it is difficult to detach the assembled control unit in a nondestructive manner, whereby it is necessary to cut the cover and the base and to cut the welded terminal portion in order to perform maintenance and replacement.
There is a problem in that the work of applying the insulating adhesive material becomes inefficient, and it becomes difficult to disassemble the metal plate 2, the first housing 3, and the second housing 4.


Compositions and methods for making and using the compositions for maintaining clean surfaces are disclosed herein. A preferred composition for maintaining clean surfaces is an aqueous solution that comprises water, silicon dioxide, stearic acid, nitrous oxide, hydrogen and a hydrophobic substance. A preferred hydrophobic substance for this preferred composition is a water soluble powder of Polysilsesquioxane Steardimonium Chloride. A preferred method of making such a composition includes the steps of mixing the solid ingredients—silicon dioxide, stearic acid, and the hydrophobic substance, and then mixing the solid ingredients with water until the ingredients are preferably evenly distributed in the solution at preferably a PH of 0-5. A preferred method of using such a composition includes the steps of applying an even layer of the composition onto a surface and allowing the surface to dry.

Disinfectants are widely used in contemporary hospitals, laboratories, water treatment facilities, food service facilities and households to destroy microorganisms that might cause diseases or pollute the environment. Many existing sanitizing and disinfecting products, such as wipes or sprays, comprise chemical solutions that are designed to kill infectious microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, mold, yeast, spores, and so forth. These products are generally limited in that they kill germs only when wet, thus proving no protection after the solutions dry, while requiring a long contact time, such as 30 seconds for chlorine-based products, 10 minutes for quats (quaternary ammonium compounds) based products, and 5 minutes for hydrogen peroxide, before the microorganisms are killed. Some of these products even leave residues that build up on the surfaces applied and are hard to clean.
Additionally, most of the chemical disinfecting products are effective only on certain types of surfaces—e.g., chlorine-based disinfecting products may damage unpainted wood, plastic, or metal surfaces, discolor fabrics, and causes skin irritation while alcohol-based disinfecting products can damage rubber and certain plastic equipment after prolonged uses. Furthermore, these products often cause adaptive organisms that eventually become resistant to the disinfectants.
Even the non-chemical sanitizing and disinfecting technologies, such as ultraviolet (UV) germicidal radiation, dry heat, and autoclaving, have their limitations. For instance, similar to the chemical disinfecting products, these technologies do not have any lasting germ-killing effects after the disinfecting process is done. Additionally, UV radiation may kill germs on smooth surfaces but does not work on porous surfaces, such as wood or foam, because of its weak penetrating ability. Dry heat and autoclaving that sterilizes with steam are limited to disinfecting only heat-resistant objects. Additionally, the exposure time needed for these methods is generally long; e.g., at least 10 minutes for UV radiation, an hour for dry heat, and at least 4 minutes for pre-vacuum autoclaving. Furthermore, exposure to these methods are not safe for operators—all can damage skin and eyes.
In order to solve the issue of short effective time of disinfecting products, surface coating technologies are developed for maintaining a clean, disinfected surface. Existing clean surface technologies provide products with antimicrobial agents that are generally either silver-based or triclosan-based and designed to leach out into the surface. When the surface these products applied to is human skin, studies show that these products may release ionic free radicals or organic radicals that could react with, or be metabolized by, cells. Additionally, like many disinfecting products, these surface coatings tend to cause the development of adaptive organisms, and thus their antimicrobial effects reduce over time.
It is thus desirous to have a non-toxic, safe product or method that prepares a germ-inhabitable surface, including the skin, and makes the microorganisms on the surface to be easily removed by cleaning or shaking or effectively killed by disinfecting products.
It is also desirous to have a product or method that keeps a surface clean, germ-free for a sufficiently long time and thus reduces the frequency of the routine cleaning protocols required.
Finally, it is desirous to have a product or method that does not leach into a surface or create or promote any adaptive organisms.

Compositions for maintaining clean surfaces and methods for making and using clean surface technology


One of two data sets, originating from two different radiological methods is processed to generate interim results, yielded by an operation on one of the data sets. The interim results are used to modify the other data set. Different imaging capabilities of the employed radiological methods promote a particular task, e.g. the segmentation of a given type of tissue. When the combined data of both methods is displayed, clinical users benefit from the complementary information. Care is taken, that only relevant information is presented to the user, as to avoid irrelevant data obscuring any data of interest. Therefore, the data to be displayed is filtered based on content, e.g. the type of tissue, and on location. Three-dimensional computer tomography and three-dimensional rotational angiography are particularly applicable radiological methods.

The present application relates to imaging systems, particularly diagnostic imaging systems. It finds particular application in conjunction with an integrated three-dimensional rotational angiographic (3DRA) and computerized tomographic (CT) diagnostic imaging system and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it should be appreciated, that the present application may also find application in conjunction with other types of multi-modality diagnostic imaging systems. The present application-is particularly useful for visualizing blood vessel structures around and inside the skull.
For diagnostical purposes in a clinical environment, the separate visualization of the various represented tissue types when employing a radiological acquisition method can provide useful information about the clinical picture of a patient. With different radialogic methods being specialized on the visualization of one or a few kinds of tissues, the goal of displaying only useful information is normally achieved by choosing the adequate acquisition method. However, some tissue types tend to have similar properties regarding suitable acquisition methods, although their respective function inside the human body is completely different, e.g. blood vessels and bone structure. For the reason of different functions of the tissue concerned, it is desirable to represent them in a distinct manner, either by color coding according to tissue type or by masking all tissue types but the one the operator is interested in. The problem of overlapping property distributions for different types of tissue is particularly present in three-dimensional rotational angiography. In general, in 3DRA no absolute correct density values will be available due to insufficient calibration and reconstruction procedures. In this method, the segmentation of artery/vessel information in the 3DRA volume is hindered by the fact that the artery/vessel densities are in the same range as bone material, due to beam hardening caused by the skull. Furthermore, the high density data of the skull in the CT volume, which is typically used for orientation of the CT slices, prevents a clear view on the arterial structures, when both volumes are combined.
While Computer Tomography (CT) is known to provide high contrast between bony structures and soft tissue (e.g. skull as opposed to brain), the use of three-dimensional rotational angiography (3DRA) for extraction of 3-D vessel information is hindered by the fact, that the intensity distribution of high intensity bone overlaps with the intensity distribution of contrast filled vessels. This effect is especially due to the phenomenon of beam-hardening caused by the skull, in combination with insufficient calibration and reconstruction procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,134 to Avinash and Alyassin discloses a method for removing dominating structures for enhancing visualization of desired structures that circumvents the time consuming human-operator interaction. The basic idea of the application disclosed therein is to distinguish between highly connected regions on the one hand and more weakly connected regions. Regions, that are strongly connected correspond to bony structures, whereas regions, that are less strongly connected correspond to vessels. The introduction of this property makes available a new feature for an improved automatic segmentation of unwanted bone structure from the interesting vessel information. However, the method only interprets the inherently unsuitable data material provided by the three-dimensional rotational angiographic acquisition method in a different manner and does not revert to more suitable information sources. Furthermore, the morphological algorithms described therein, e.g. connectivity analysis, and voxel dilation, depend greatly on an optimal parameterization, which in turn is dependant from geometrical conditions, e.g. acquisition resolution or size of the object.

Flexible 3D rotational angiography and computed tomography fusion


An apparatus and method for selectably including a mass storage device in an expansion card space of a computer system, particularly an expansion card area lacking a space dedicated solely for the mass storage device. An apparatus according to the invention includes a mass storage frame, and an interface board to couple the mass storage device to an expansion card slot on backplane in the computer system. A computer system includes the apparatus. Another computer system includes a removable support frame for supporting a mass storage device, the removal of which allows a larger expansion card or an additional expansion card to be inserted into the backplane.

The invention relates generally to computer systems with FRU""s (field replaceable units), and the ability to selectively use a slot for a removable media device such as a hard disk drive.
Distributed computing systems (or computer networks) are generally known. Computer networks typically comprise a plurality of personal computers, or workstations, or network appliances and other data processing devices connected together for information exchange. At the heart of the computer network is one or more network servers, hereafter generally referred to as xe2x80x9cservers.xe2x80x9d In most computer networks, network servers are responsible for managing the network, running applications, and administering documents or data generated at the attached data processing devices.
Due to the fact that network servers manage and/or store data generated, the network server typically has mass storage capabilities. The mass storage capabilities may be implemented by a disk subsystem or disk array where one or more disk drives are combined. SCSI is one example of an interface standard that permits multiple hard disk drives to be daisy chained to a single interface connector.
Network interface controller (NIC) cards commonly are used to couple the server to one or more computer networks. Both the SCSI hard disk and network interface controller connect to slots or connectors in the network server system board in a space designed and designated to accommodate their size and operational requirements. A server system board includes connectors for receiving external cards, such as the NIC cards. Other expansion slots may be provided on the server system board such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and Compact PCI expansion slots for receiving peripheral devices designed for those particular bus standards.
One or more network servers are typically found in the data center for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Application Service Providers (ASPs). One issue at sites supporting network servers is that space is often at a premium, and the servers are often rack mounted and closely co-located. An additional issue is found in the need for network servers to be scalable, given the disparate size and growth rates of ISPs and ASPs.
As mentioned previously, some rack mounted network servers provide for space to support expansion cards, and adding local mass storage to the chassis, such as a hard disk drive, would be desirable. However, due to size and space constraints network servers may lack a convenient location for a hard disk drive. Real estate is often at a premium at sites supporting server systems, so positioning the hard disk drive outside the chassis may not be viable. Within the server, all available expansion slots may have been assigned for other uses, making it quite difficult to allocate space within the server designated solely for the hard disk drive.
A possible solution is to remove space in an expansion slot within the server which was dedicated to some other peripheral device, and instead assigning the slot to the hard drive. For example, some of the space presently dedicated to expansion cards for insertion into a backplane might be assigned to a hard drive. Correspondingly, the backplane could be redesigned, removing one or more expansion slots for expansion cards and adding a dedicated connector for the hard disk drive. However, this solution is less than ideal. Some customers may prefer the inclusion of a hard disk drive. Other customers may prefer more expansion cards in lieu of the hard disk drive. Trying to accommodate both may result in wasted space in the form of dedicated yet unused expansion slots within the server system.
Therefore, what is needed is a solution which permits the addition of a hard disk drive to a chassis supporting expansion cards. The solution should be flexible, and not force a user into an irreversible choice between a hard disk drive and more expansion cards.
To overcome the limitations described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses an interconnect apparatus for selectively connecting a storage device into a computer server, and a computer server adapted to receive the storage device in an expansion slot. It is one object of the invention to allow a mass storage device to be inserted into an expansion slot within the computer system, for example on a backplane. It is another object of the invention to allow the mass storage device to be located in an area of the computer system chassis that could otherwise be occupied by one or more larger or additional expansion cards in the absence of the mass storage device.
In accordance with these objects, one embodiment comprises a support frame and an interface board. The support frame physically supports a mass storage device such as a hard disk drive within the computer server""s chassis. The interface board connects the mass storage device to a connector in the server""s chassis. Circuitry on the interface board allows the mass storage device to be connected to the backplane connector. Thus, the mass storage device may then be blind-mated into the server.
In another embodiment, a computer system such as a network server includes a backplane within the computer chassis. The support frame allows a mass storage device to be supported within an area of a computer chassis that can accommodate one or more expansion cards. The backplane may include multiple expansion card slots. A space by the expansion card slots may be occupied by one or more expansion cards and/or the mass storage device.
Another embodiment is a computer system including a backplane, a selectable space, and a support frame. Depending on current requirements, the selectable space can be used for different purposes. The support frame can support a mass storage device in the selectable space. In the absence of the support frame, the selectable space allows a larger or an additional expansion card to be added to the backplane.

Apparatus and method for selectably including a mass storage device in a selectable space of a computer system


A contact structure of a battery relay that is capable of reducing damage to relay contacts and a battery relay apparatus including the same are disclosed. The contact structure includes a movable contact unit including at least one first embossed contact formed adjacent to a center of the movable contact unit, the first embossed contact having a predetermined height, and at least one second embossed contact formed outside the first embossed contact, the second embossed contact having a lower height than the first embossed contact, and a stationary contact unit, the first embossed contact and the second embossed contact coming into contact with the stationary contact unit when power is turned on.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A large-sized bus (e.g. an urban bus, an express bus, or a tourist bus) is provided with a large-capacity battery relay in order to drive loads mounted inside or outside the bus without using a start key.
For example, when a battery switch is pushed, irrespective of operation of the start key, contact voltage generated as a result of contact between contacts of the battery relay is applied to loads, such as a starter motor and a roof air conditioner.
When the battery switch is turned off during the operation of the loads, the contacts of the battery relay are separated from each other with the result that no voltage is applied to the loads. When the contacts of the battery relay come into contact with each other and/or are separated from each other, the contacts of the battery relay are frequently damaged (e.g. due to arcing).
Furthermore, in a case in which a large-capacity load is further connected to the battery relay, the quality of the battery relay is reduced due to the increase of the large-capacity load.

Contact structure of battery relay and battery relay apparatus including the same


Embodiments of process kits are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process kit, includes: a deposition ring configured to be disposed on a substrate support, the deposition ring comprising: an annular band having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface including a step between a radially inner portion and a radially outer portion, the step extending downward from the radially inner portion to the radially outer portion; an inner lip extending upwards from the upper surface of the annular band and adjacent an inner surface of the annular band, and wherein an outer surface of the inner lip extends radially outward and downward from an upper surface of the inner lip to the upper surface of the annular band; a channel disposed radially outward of the annular band; and an outer lip extending upwardly and disposed radially outward of the channel.

Process kits may be used in a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber to separate a processing volume from a non-processing volume. Over time, the process kits accumulate deposited material from the deposition processes performed in the PVD chamber. The process kits may include process shields, deposition rings, cover rings, or the like. For high deposition processes, deposition accumulation on the deposition ring builds up significantly to the point where the deposition can build up to the back of the substrate. At that point, the deposition can adhere or stick to the back of the substrate, which can cause substrate handling issues and lead to broken substrates. Although the deposition ring can be removed and replaced with a clean deposition ring, rapid accumulation of material deposited on the deposition ring leads to more frequent downtime to replace the deposition ring. The inventors have also observed that deposition rings may be prone to cracking or breaking over time.
Accordingly, the inventors have provided embodiments of improved deposition rings as disclosed herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process kit having tall deposition ring and smaller diameter electrostatic chuck (ESC) for PVD chamber