A high frequency switch, has a transmitting terminal, a receiving terminal, an antenna terminal, a first diode having an anode electrically connected to the transmitting terminal and a cathode electrically connected to the antenna terminal, a second diode having an anode connected through a transmission line of ¼ wavelength to the antenna terminal which is electrically connected to the receiving terminal, and having the side of a cathode grounded, and a control terminal provided to a node between the transmitting terminal and the first anode. The first and second diodes have a tradeoff relationship between ON resistance thereof and capacitance between the anode and the cathode, and the ON resistance of the first diode is lower than the ON resistance of the second diode, and the capacitance of the second diode in the OFF state is smaller than the capacitance of the first diode in the OFF state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high frequency switch or the like, of which main object is to switch a high frequency signal in a radio circuit of radio communication equipment such as a portable telephone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High frequency switch circuits are often used to switch transmit/receive signals in radio circuits of radio communication equipment such as a portable telephone using TDMA systems.
Hereinafter, an example of conventional high frequency switch circuits described above will be described with reference to a drawing.
FIG. 13 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of an example of conventional high frequency switch circuits.
In FIG. 13, the anode of a first diode D1301 is coupled to a transmitting terminal 1301 through a first capacitor element C1301. Further, a control terminal 1302 is coupled to the anode side of the first diode D1301 through an inductor element L1301 and a resistor element R1301. Also, the anode of a second diode D1302 is coupled to a receiving terminal 1303 through a second capacitor element C1302, and the cathode of the second diode is connected to ground. Further, one end of a first transmission line TL1301, which has an electrical length of ¼ wavelength at the operating frequency, is connected also to the anode side of the second diode D1302. The other end of the first transmission line is connected to the cathode of the first diode D1301, and also coupled to an antenna terminal 1304 through a third capacitor element C1303. Here, in order to decrease the variety of components to be used and thereby to reduce cost, usually, diodes having the same characteristics are used for the first diode D1301 and the second diode D1302.
The operation of the high frequency circuit configured as described above will be described.
In transmitting, when a positive voltage is applied to the control terminal 1302, the first diode D1301 and the second diode D1302 are turned on. At this time, the capacitor elements C1301, C1302, and C1303 block components of direct current. A transmit signal passes through the capacitor C1301 from the transmitting terminal 1301 and is transmitted to the antenna terminal 1304 through the first diode D1301 and the capacitor element C1303. Herein, the transmission line TL1301 operates as a ¼ wavelength resonator having one end grounded, because the second diode D1302 is turned on. Therefore, the impedance of lines in the side of the antenna terminal 1304 becomes infinite and therefore no transmit signal is transmitted to the receiving side.
In receiving, no voltage is applied to the control terminal 1302, and therefore both the first diode D1301 and the second diode D1302 are in the OFF state. Thus, a receive signal is transmitted to the receiving terminal 1303 from the antenna terminal 1304 through the capacitor element C1303, the transmission line TL1301, and the capacitor element C1302.
PIN diodes are mainly used for the first diode D1301 and the second diode D1302, which are used for switching. However, generally, diodes have a tradeoff relationship that a diode of low ON resistance has a large capacitance between the cathode and anode terminals and a diode having a small inter-terminal capacitance in the OFF state has a high ON resistance.
Therefore, if importance is attached on isolation during receiving and therefore a diode having a small inter-terminal capacitance is selected to achieve high isolation, the signal path produces a large loss during transmitting because of the large ON resistance of the diode.
On the other hand, when importance is attached on insertion loss during transmitting and therefore a diode of a low ON resistance is selected, then there is a problem that the increased inter-terminal capacitance reduces isolation to result in a large loss produced by the signal path during receiving.

High frequency switch, two-band type high frequency switch, three-band type high frequency switch, and mobile communication equipment

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A new cultivar of Agapanthus plant named ‘Northern Star’ that is characterized by green leaves with a violet base and a large number of violet flowers.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Agapanthus plant botanically known as Agapanthus hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Northern Star'.
'Northern Star' originated from a chance open pollination of a group of unnamed Agapanthus cultivars (not patented). 'Northern Star' was discovered and selected as a single plant within the progeny of the chance open pollination in an outdoor garden in Fourways, Eggesford, Devon, United Kingdom in the Summer of 1998.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'Northern Star' first occurred by tissue culture in 2002 in Fourways, Eggesford, Devon, United Kingdom. Since that time, under careful observation, the unique characteristics of the new cultivar have been uniform, stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


In a second-order or third-order organic nonlinear optical material, one of compounds represented by the following formulas (1) and (2) is bonded to a polymer: ##STR1## wherein each of .pi..sub.1 to .pi..sub.n independently represents a cyclic compound of a .pi. electron conjugate system, at least one of R.sub.11 to R.sub.n4 represents an alkyl substituting group derivative and others represent hydrogen, each of X.sub.1 to X.sub.n-1 and Y.sub.1 to Y.sub.n-1 represents one member selected from the group consisting of CH, N, and N.fwdarw.O, A represents an electron acceptor group, D represents an electron donor group, and n is an integer of 3 or more.

The present invention relates to an organic nonlinear optical material and an optical nonlinear device using the same and, more particularly, to a polymer material having a large second-order or third-order optical nonlinear effect and an optical nonlinear device using the same.
Recently, a technique of manufacturing an optical nonlinear device such as an optical modulator or an optical bistable device by using a transparent polymer containing a dye material having a large second-order or third-order optical nonlinearity has been studied. A material used in the technique is generally formed by chemically bonding a dye having a large second-order or third-order nonlinear molecular susceptibility to the main chain of a transparent polymer. An example of the dye material is a conjugate .pi. electron system having a donor or an acceptor. More specifically, it is reported that a second-order or third-order optical nonlinearity was measured by bonding an azo dye (K. D. Singer et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 53, 1800, (1988)) or a stilbene dye compound R is the copolymer of p-hydroxystyrene and methylmethacrylate to the main chain of polymethylmethacrylate. It is also known that an optical nonlinear coefficient can be increased by increasing the content of an optical nonlinear dye. As a device forming method, there is proposed a method of forming a waveguide optical nonlinear device using a polymer film as an optical waveguide by ion or plasma etching or radiation of visible or ultraviolet rays. When the polymer material is used as a third-order optical nonlinear material, no special treatment need be performed after device formation. However, when the material is used as a second-order optical nonlinear material, poling alignment must be performed to uniformize directions of dipoles in an optical nonlinear dye portion. For this purpose, a poling treatment is performed in a DC electric field.
A waveguide optical nonlinear device for use in optical communications or optical information processing systems is practically designed to be connected to a single-mode optical fiber (P. Kaczmarski et al., IEEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 136, No. 3, 1989, pp. 152-158), and a waveguide itself is required to function as a single-mode waveguide (R. Lytel et al., SPIE VOL. 1216, 1990, pp. 30-40). The above references disclose that the thickness of an optical nonlinear waveguide must be 3 to 5 .mu.m or more for this purpose. However, in the manufacture of a waveguide optical nonlinear device, no polymer film satisfactory as a practical optical waveguide can be obtained at a high dye content at which a large second-order or third-order optical nonlinear effect can be obtained. Actually, it is impossible to manufacture an optical nonlinear device which can be incorporated in an optical communication system. More specifically, it is difficult to manufacture an optically uniform film having a uniform thickness corresponding to an optical waveguide size. As a result, only an optical waveguide having a large transmission loss can be manufactured.
A polymer film containing a second-order or third-order optical nonlinear component at a high content and satisfactory as a practical optical waveguide cannot be manufactured as described above mainly for the following reasons. That is, since the polymer film is very hard to dissolve in a polymer solvent, it is impossible to perform manufacture of an optical waveguide film according to a spin coating method or a dipping method which is the most general method in the manufacture of a polymer film in a single step. As a result, the spin coating or dipping method must be repeated a plurality of times to obtain a film thickness required for an optical waveguide. Therefore, a film becomes optically nonuniform on film boundary surfaces formed in the respective steps, and a dimensional precision of a film thickness is very poor.
As described above, a polymer material containing a second-order or third-order nonlinear component at a high content cannot be used as a practical optical nonlinear device material regardless of its large second-order or third-order optical nonlinear coefficient.

Organic optical nonlinear material and optical nonlinear device

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


Methods and circuits to measure the speed of silicon test structures using direct current test equipment. Each test structure comprises an oscillator and a detector. Oscillations started by a direct current input signal are rectified by the detector into a direct current output signal. Start of oscillations cause a jump in the output signal and that point is correlated with the input signal strength which in turn is correlated to the speed of the test circuits. By knowing the speed of the test circuits the quality of the manufacturing process can be checked. Direct current greatly simplifies measurement so that 100% testing can be performed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the testing of high frequency test structures as incorporated in semiconductor device fabrication.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,312 (Takeuchi) deals with testing of an integrated circuit (IC) mounted in an IC socket, where the IC tester sends test patterns to the IC and receives responses from the IC to be checked for their logic levels.

Tritech Microelectric International, Ltd.


A fingerprint recognizing display system including fingerprint recognizing means in a panel of a display apparatus and an operating method thereof, wherein a fingerprint of an user is read and a program supported by a computer is allowed to be operated only if the read fingerprint is registered in fingerprint data of the computer. A display apparatus recognizes a fingerprint of the user through a fingerprint recognizing module included in the display apparatus and outputs recognized fingerprint data by using a communication device included in the fingerprint recognizing module. A computer main body includes a fingerprint data base having data of more than one fingerprint and a fingerprint verifying unit, and operates a program after deciding whether fingerprint data input from the display apparatus is an approved fingerprint through the fingerprint data base and the fingerprint verifying unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display system, more particularly, to a fingerprint recognizing display system including fingerprint recognizing means in a panel of a display apparatus and an operating method thereof, wherein a fingerprint of an user is read and a program supported by a computer is allowed to be operated only if the read fingerprint is registered in a fingerprint data base of the computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the environment related to the Internet and the personal computer (PC) rapidly changes, there is an increasing problem that a hacker, i.e., an unauthorized user, can gain access to files, personal or company information on the computer which in turn can be damaged, downloaded or deleted. Additionally all the information in a computer can disappear because of a virus. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to be able to increase the security of the computer or other hosts, such as a terminal unit, network or network-based system to prevent the above problems.
To resolve the above problems, a computer connected to a network includes features such as required password access in order to protect the information therein. However, sometimes a password is chosen as a word easily guessed or a common word easily searched by a search program using dictionary data base. Therefore, an unauthorized user can discover the password and gain access to the data on the computer.
To resolve the problem regarding password protection, a fingerprint recognizing module has been applied to a computer system, wherein a fingerprint data base is established after obtaining the fingerprint of authorized users. Thus, when one desires to gain access to the data on the computer system, or operate a program therein, their fingerprint is compared to the data in the fingerprint data base before they are permitted to use the computer.
For example, such systems were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,306 to Clint O'Conner et al. and entitled Mouse With Security Feature and U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,936 to Greg P. Fitzpatrick et al. and entitled Method And Apparatus For Accessing Touch Screen Desktop Objects Via Fingerprint Recognition.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,936 provides touch-sensitive fields on a computer display for user selection. Upon selecting one of the fields with a fingertip, a fingerprint therefrom is analyzed and compared to a list of authorized fingerprints. Once the fingerprint passes inspection, the user is granted access to the underlying program. It is difficult, however, to apply this invention to a general monitor since a touch screen is required.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,306 utilizes a computer mouse as an input peripheral device which includes a window area integrally constructed within the mouse and positioned at an area on the mouse upon which a user normally places a finger in operating the mouse. The mouse further includes an illuminating device and a light sensitive detection device for providing a user signature signal representative of the characteristics of the ridge and valley pattern of the fingerprint of a finger placed upon the window area. The signature signal is transmitted to a BIOS within the computer system in which the mouse is operating and compared with one or more stored patterns which have previously been authorized for access to the computer system. When the users signature signal is compared with and matches one of the stored and approved signature signals, the system is enabled and the user is granted access. However, if a fingerprint recognizing module is included into a mouse, it is inconvenient to use the mouse because the weight and size of the mouse are increased.
Also, users often pick up the mouse to move it and in so doing they may drop the it. Thus, a fingerprint recognizing module or a fingerprint recognizing unit within the mouse may be damaged due to the shock caused by its being dropped, and a user's fingerprint may not be correctly recognized. In addition, some computer systems may not need a mouse, but in order to incorporate the fingerprint recognition disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,306 patent, one must buy the mouse having the features disclosed therein. Also, a fingerprint recognizing module is automatically changed at the time of changing a mouse according to the prior art, and the user is charged an unreasonable cost.

Fingerprint recognizing display and operating method thereof


A subscriber antenna for use in a super high frequency multipoint fixed-access wireless system is provided which has several individually selectable directional antenna facets. The antenna is deployed in a cellular environment. The performances of the signals received by the antenna facets are prioritized, and the best performing facet is selected as a default facet. The antenna is particularly suited for use in a cellular system employing basestations sectorized by polarization to provide basestation diversity.

In multipoint fixed-access wireless communications systems it is common to have a series of basestations distributed across a service area. Each subscriber to such a system has a directional antenna which is focussed on the basestation nearest to it to provide a radio link between the subscriber equipment and the system. The radio links are high frequency links designed through sophisticated link engineering to compensate for RF signal attenuation due to precipitation, attenuation due to foliage, as well as other sources. A disadvantage of such systems is that when a new subscriber is to be connected to the system, a technician is required to visit the subscriber site and manually adjust the directional antenna in order to achieve an acceptable link. Buildings or trees which appear subsequent to an initial manual adjustment of the directional antenna may require subsequent visits by the technician to make further adjustments. This is a very costly approach to establishing and maintaining a link.
Another disadvantage of existing systems is that when a large number of subscribers are located close to a specific basestation, it is possible that the traffic to that basestation will be much larger than the traffic to an adjacent basestation, possibly resulting in congestion.
A further disadvantage of existing systems is that to utilize the full available frequency spectrum at a given basestation, among other complications, entails the use of a combination of frequency hopping, under-provisioning (utilizing less than 100% of the spectrum for simultaneous traffic) and voice activity detection.

Extremely high frequency multipoint fixed-access wireless communication system


Systems, devices, and methods are provided for aligning acetabular implants. A patient-matched acetabular alignment tool is used to orient tools and implants intraoperatively. The patient-matched acetabular alignment tool includes a mounting member and leg members which are configured based on the particular patient's anatomic landmark sites (e.g., acetabular bony landmarks). The leg members are attached to the mounting member and configured to connect with a respective anatomic landmark site to achieve a desired implant angle and axis. For example, the leg members may form a tripod support base through which an acetabular shell may be inserted into the patient's acetabulum at desired angles of version and inclination. In some embodiments, the leg members may be retractable and expandable with respect to the mounting member, thereby providing a tool with reduced profile for inserting the device in the patient's soft tissue.

Joints often undergo degenerative changes due to a variety of reasons. When joint degeneration becomes advanced or irreversible, it may become necessary to replace the natural joint with a prosthetic joint. Artificial implants, including hip joints, shoulder joints, and knee joints are widely used in orthopedic surgery. Specifically, hip joint prostheses are common. The human hip joint acts mechanically as a ball and socket joint, in which the ball-shaped head of the femur is positioned within the socket-shaped acetabulum of the pelvis. Various degenerative diseases and injuries may require replacement of all or a portion of a hip using synthetic materials, typically metals, ceramics, or plastics.
A standard hip replacement includes two bearing surfaces that form an interface between the femoral head and the acetabulum. The first bearing surface is typically part of a prosthesis shell or acetabular cup, which may be formed of metal, ceramic material. A liner (conventionally formed of a polymer such as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, a ceramic material, or in some cases, a metal liner) is then fit tightly within the shell to provide an inner bearing surface that receives and cooperates with an artificial femoral head in an articulating relationship to accommodate the relative movement between the femur and the acetabulum.
The cup, or a cup and liner assembly, is typically fixed either by placing screws through apertures in the cup or by securing the cup with cement. In some cases, only a liner is cemented in a patient due to poor bone stock. In other cases, a cup having a porous surface may be press fit into an acetabular surface after the surface is prepared with a reaming tool.
Restoration of a patient's natural anatomy (e.g., restoring the normal center of hip rotation) is accomplished by acetabular preparation. Preoperative templating (e.g., preoperative X-rays including an anteroposterior (AP) view of the pelvis and hips, an AP view of the affected hip and femur, and a lateral view of the affected hip) is often used to properly reconstruct the hip joint.
Using the existing anatomy as the reamer guide, the patient's acetabulum is expanded concentrically using acetabular reamers of increasing diameter (e.g., in 1 mm to 2 mm increments) until a desired acetabular diameter is achieved, for example, when a subchondral bone is reached. Acetabular reaming is directed in approximately 45 degrees of abduction and 20 degrees of anteversion relative to the acetabulum for final position of the acetabular component. Once the patient's acetabulum has been reamed, the appropriate acetabular shell is selected, attached to the acetabular cup positioner/impactor, and inserted into the acetabulum.
With current systems, the acetabular shell is typically aligned to the patient's acetabulum using an external X-bar located above the operating table on which the patient is positioned. The X-bar is positioned so that the vertical bar of the X-bar is perpendicular to the long axis of the patient's body and the appropriate crossbar (e.g., left or right) aligns with the long axis of the patient's body. Vertical orientation of the X-bar and alignment of the appropriate cross bar with the body axis provides 45 degrees of abduction and 20 degrees of anteversion. The inserter is then firmly tapped with a mallet until the acetabular cup is fully seated.
With current systems, the use of a generalized X-bar positioning system is often insufficient to properly align the acetabular implant as a result of anatomical differences between patients or differences in patient position during surgery. Misalignment of the acetabular implant can result in leg length discrepancies, inadvertent lateralization of the hip center of rotation, or both. The surgeon will often have to perform a second or subsequent surgery (e.g., an acetabular revision surgery) to correct the misalignment. This can be time consuming and expensive, and may subject the patient to additional health risks.

Patient-matched acetabular alignment tool


This disclosure relates generally to application development, and more particularly to systems and methods for fixing software defects in a binary or executable file. In one embodiment, a software defect management system is disclosed, comprising: a processor; and a memory disposed in communication with the processor and storing processor-executable instructions comprising instructions for: obtaining an application programming interface call for a black-box software application; determining whether the black-box software application is configured in a defective manner to process the application programming interface call; identifying a call processing application to process the application programming interface call, based on determining whether the black-box software application is configured in a defective manner to process the application programming interface call; and providing the application programming interface call for the identified call processing application.

A software product typically goes through a software development life-cycle (SDLC), including, among other things, software programming or coding followed by software testing. The reliability and quality of a software impacts customer satisfaction and sales in a competitive business environment. Features like reliability, security and quality are attributed to a software when it does not have any defects or bugs. Such defects or bugs can cause feature lapse or accrue undesired deficiency.
Typically, in scenarios where a user commercially exploits software and experiences undesired functionality or defects in it, the user has to live with it or wait for the original vendor to fix it. If the defect or bug is detected before the software is deployed then the creator of the software may fix it, but if the defects are detected post-deployment (especially to a large number of users), then fixing the defects in the "already-deployed" version is challenging. When the Defects or bugs are fixed using software patches, plug-ins, or wrapper solutions. Each of these is appropriate to specific scenarios. Patches correct the defects replacing the defective portion with a corrected code. Patches are typically authored by the same source as the original software development team. Effective and efficient patches do not come from a third party, since third parties have little to no knowledge about the internal workings of the original defective software.
Wrapper solutions push the correct code into defective software, and deactivate or encapsulate the defective portion. Plug-ins tend to introduce enhancements into a software rather than actually fixing a defect in the software. Plug-ins are usually from third parties, but they do not fix software defects. Developing wrappers and plug-ins both require knowledge of the internal structure of the defective software.

Systems and methods for fixing software defects in a binary or executable file


A prefabricated insulated building panel features a sheet of rigid thermally insulating material, an inner structural layer connected to one face of the insulating material, and an outer layer of cured composite cementitious material connected to an opposite second face of the rigid insulating material with a thickness allowing the cured composite cementitious layer to be supported at the insulating material by bonding action therewith. The panel also features channels at the interface between the composite cementitious outer layer and the insulating material formed by grooves in the second face of the insulating material extending to a periphery of the panel. These channels afford pressure equalization and moisture drainage capabilities to the panel. Additionally, the inner structural layer comprises a layer of cured composite cementitious material bonded to the insulating material, which has a thickened edge portion along the periphery of the panel compared to strengthen the panel.

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) have a well-established place in the building industry. This type of prefabricated, plant-built panel typically comprises a thick closed cell insulating material such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) and a structural skin bonded thereto. Presently, two types of structural skin are commonly used, being bonded to the EPS with adhesive, for example, oriented strand board (OSB) wood sheeting or magnesium oxide board also known in industry as concrete board.
A shortcoming of a building system employing SIPs is the size of the panels, which is generally limited to the size of the wood or concrete board sheets that are mass produced. This results in a wall, floor or roof being made of a plurality of SIP panels with a plurality of joints. Additionally, the prior art panels typically require an additional exterior layer to be affixed to the SIP for weather proofing and ornamentation, that is, at what is otherwise an exterior face of the wooden or concrete sheet. Furthermore, an interior of a SIP-formed building is typically required to receive a layer of gypsum sheetrock and paint to finish its interior. To date, the load bearing capacity of OSB SIPs is limited to two stories.
Precast concrete sandwich panels address limitations of SIPs, having a suitable exterior finish, greater load bearing capacity and typically being sized larger so as to use fewer joints when assembled with other like panels as compared to SIPs. A shortcoming of this type of panel, however, is the excessive weight compared to a SIP. Despite the drawbacks which are associated with the increased weight, precast sandwich concrete panels provide improved loadbearing and fire-related performance in comparison to SIPs.

Prefabricated insulated building panel with cured cementitious layer bonded to insulation


The invention relates to a body structure, in particular a floor structure, for a motor vehicle, comprising support components that form defined load paths for crash situations. According to the invention, at least some of the support components located in the region of at least one defined load path, in particular a head-on collision load path and/or a side collision load path and/or a rear collision load path, are formed by high-strength support components, preferably by fully through-hardened or at least partially through-hardened high-strength support components which are made of a hot-formed or shape-hardened sheet steel and which are directly or indirectly, preferably directly, connected to each other, in particular connected to one another non-positively and/or positively and/or by bonding.

In the realm of automotive construction, continuous efforts are being made to lower the weight of vehicles or, while improving the features available, to prevent the vehicle weight from increasing. However, this can only be achieved by reducing the weight of certain vehicle components. Here, an effort is especially being made to greatly reduce the weight of the body-in-white in comparison to earlier car body designs. At the same time, however, more and more requirements are being made in terms of safety, especially passenger safety, in the vehicle as well as in terms of the behavior of the car body structure in case of a collision. Thus, in particular, the requirement exists that the body-in-white should weigh less while continuing to have a high or even greater strength and stiffness along with defined deformation behavior. In order to meet these requirements, car bodies are used in modern automotive construction employing components made of light metal as well as car body components made of sheet steel.
In this context, it is also a generally known procedure to make certain car body sheet steel components out of hot-worked metal sheets that exhibit a higher strength than cold-worked sheet metal components. The use of such hot-worked, high-strength or ultra-high-strength components can yield a greater strength for certain car body sections. Such hot-worked metal sheets are also referred to in automotive construction as press-hardened sheet metal components. Consequently, the expressions "press hardening" and "hot working" will be used synonymously below to refer in broad terms to sheet metal components that have greater strength in comparison to cold-worked metal sheets.
For example, the use of such hot-worked or press-hardened sheet metal components is already known from German patent DE 10 2004 037 789 B3, in which an underbody for the body of a motor vehicle has a floorpan with a foot well, a tunnel running in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle, as well as joining sections for the front and rear longitudinal chassis beams. The floorpan here is made of a one-piece, shaped sheet metal blank, whereby certain areas having a greater strength in comparison to other areas of the floorpan are provided in order to define the deformation behavior. For this purpose, the areas of greater strength are partially hot-worked as well as quenched and tempered. The areas of greater strength can be arranged in the foot well or on the tunnel. If side skirts have been are shaped onto the floorpan, these can also be hot-worked as well as quenched and tempered. The same applies to seat cross beams that are shaped in the floorpan. Those areas of the one-piece sheet metal blank onto which front or rear longitudinal chassis beams are to be attached can also be hot-worked with a rolling technique so as to acquire a higher strength. A structure similar to that of German patent DE 10 2004 037 789 B3 is also known from German patent DE 10 2004 044 925 B3.
The use of hot-worked metal sheets is also known from German patent application DE 10 2004 021 553 A1 in which a hollow longitudinal chassis beam is made up of two individual profiles, whereby the individual profiles have different strength values.
Furthermore, European patent application EP 1 382 514 A1 discloses a substructure for vehicles in which each seat cross beam of the substructure consists of a center beam profile that is arranged crosswise to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and that, at its ends, has hat-shaped seat mounts facing in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle, whereby each seat mount that is arranged on the tunnel side is configured as a reinforcement element for the transmission tunnel and extends into the outer contour of the transmission tunnel.

Body structure, in particular floor structure, for a motor vehicle


A developer supply container detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus includes a developer containing portion; a developer discharge opening disposed at the developer containing portion; a container side engaging portion engageable with a main assembly side engaging portion; an operation member; and a transmitting portion in the operation member for transmitting a driving force to a relay portion in the main assembly for opening and closing the developer discharge opening. In a container mounted state, the operation member is capable of opening and closing a main assembly shutter member for opening and closing the developer discharge opening through the relay portion. The container side engaging portion engages with the main assembly side engaging portion when the operation member is moved in a opening direction for opening the main assembly shutter member and releases the engagement when moved in a closing direction for closing the main assembly shutter member.

The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium in accordance with an electrophotographic image forming method. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus may include an electrophotographic copying machine, electrophotographic printers (such as a laser beam printer and an LED printer), a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, etc.
In the image forming apparatus such as the electrophotographic copying machine, the laser beam printer, etc., a latent image is formed by selectively exposing an electrically uniformly charged surface of a photosensitive drum to light and is developed with a developer to form a developer image. Then, the developer image is transferred onto a recording medium to effect image recording. In such an image forming apparatus, the developer is required to be supplied every time the developer is used up. Here, a developer supply container for supplying the developer to the image forming apparatus is roughly classified into a so-called simultaneous supply-type developer supply container which supply the whole amount of developer contained in the developer supply container to a developer receiving container of a main assembly of the image forming apparatus at the same time and a stationary-type developer supply container which is mounted into the image forming apparatus main assembly, left standing as it is, and gradually supplies the developer to a developing apparatus until the developer is used up.
Particularly, in recent years, from the viewpoints of contamination during supply of the developer and operability, many proposals for the latter stationary-type developer supply container have been made. In the case where a developer in an image forming apparatus is consumed, a developer supply container (hereinafter also referred to as a "toner cartridge") is replaced by demounting it from the image forming apparatus and mounting a new one into the image forming apparatus, so that (fresh) toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus.
The toner as the developer is very fine powder, so that there has arisen such a problem that the toner scatters from a minute spacing between constitutional parts due to operational vibrations or the like during a toner supply operation, thus contaminating a user or surrounding parts with the toner. For this reason, such a method that a developer supply container is mounted inside a main assembly of image forming apparatus and toner is discharged little by little from a small opening has been proposed and put into practical use. In such a method, it is difficult to discharge the toner naturally by the action of gravity or the like, so that the image forming apparatus is generally provided with any toner stirring conveyance means.
Further, below the toner cartridge (developer supply container), the image forming apparatus is provided with a buffer portion, as a toner containing portion, for temporarily storing the toner. Inside the buffer portion, a metering screw for stirring the toner and feeding a predetermined amount of toner corresponding to a degree of rotation and a conveyance screw, disposed downstream from the metering screw, for conveying the toner by being rotated always during recording (image formation) are disposed so as to supply a necessary amount of toner to a process cartridge.
In the case where all the amounts of toner in the toner cartridge are discharged into the buffer portion to empty the toner cartridge in the above described image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus detects the empty of the toner cartridge and provides notification, to a user, that the developer supply container should be replaced with new one. In accordance with this notification, the user removes the (old) empty developer supply container from the image forming apparatus and inserts a new developer supply container into the image forming apparatus in place of the empty developer supply container, so that the image forming apparatus is capable of further continuing an image forming operation.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-162861 has disclosed, as an example of a conventional developer supply container, such a constitution that a shutter of a developer supply container is opened and closed through a rotational force transmission member provided in a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.
Referring to FIG. 13, an image forming apparatus is provided with an open/close portion 501 at a side surface of an main assembly 500 of the image forming apparatus, so that a developer supply container (toner cartridge) 600 is mounted and demounted from the side surface of the image forming, apparatus. The toner cartridge 600 has, as shown in FIG. 14(a), a developer discharge opening 601 (FIG. 15) sealed or covered with a container shutter 602. The container shutter 602 is constituted so that it is not readily opened even when a user rotationally moves it in a simple one direction outside the main assembly, thus preventing toner from contaminating surrounding parts or portions due to erroneous leakage.
Further, as shown in FIG. 14(b), when the toner cartridge 600 is mounted into the main assembly 500 of the image forming apparatus, a driving force is transmitted from a driving force transmission portion 603a of a knob 603 provided to the toner cartridge 600 to a driving force receiving portion 602a of the container shutter 602 through a driving force relay portion 502 provided in the apparatus main assembly by rotationally driving the knob 603 of the toner cartridge 600, so that the container shutter 602 is moved apart from a toner discharge opening. Incidentally, in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the toner cartridge 600 is depicted upside down for convenience of explanation. Accordingly, during actual mounting of the toner cartridge 600, an upper surface of the toner cartridge 600 shown in these figures is located at a lower surface thereof in the actual mounted state.
Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a buffer portion 503 of the apparatus main assembly 500 is provided with a developer receiving opening 504 opposite an apparatus shutter 505 for preventing contamination when the toner cartridge 600 is not mounted. The container shutter 602 and the apparatus shutter 505 are engaged with each other by mounting the toner cartridge 600 into the main assembly 500 to perform an open/close operation in an integrated state. Accordingly, by rotating the knob 603, the container shutter 602 and the main assembly shutter 505 can be opened simultaneously to cause the toner container 600 and the buffer portion 503 to communicate with each other to create a toner suppliable state. Further, when the toner container 600 is demounted from the apparatus main assembly 500, the toner container 600 is pulled out after the container shutter 602 and the main assembly shutter 505 are closed by rotating the knob 603. When the toner container 600 is capable of being demounted in such a state that the main assembly shutter 505 is not completely closed, the developer receiving opening 504 is placed in an incomplete closing state, so that contaminant or the like enters the buffer portion. As a result, there is a possibility that a photosensitive drum is damaged, to adversely affecting an image.
In the constitution as described above, as a driving force transmission mechanism, gears are ordinarily used. For this reason, an idling period is generated by the time rotation members start to transmit a driving force to each other when the container shutter is rotated by the knob from the opened state toward a closing direction. This is because there is backlash between the gears. More specifically, with reference to FIGS. 16(a) to 16(c), when the knob 603 is rotated, a gear of the driving force transmission receiving portion 603a (having teeth K, L) is rotated in a direction of an arrow E to rotate a gear of the driving force relay portion 502 (having teeth M, N) in a direction of an arrow G. As a result, when the container shutter 602 is opened, as shown in FIG. 16(a), tooth K and tooth M are stopped in a contact state due to sliding resistance such a reaction force from a seal in contact with the container shutter 602 under pressure. This contact state is retained during recording (image formation) but when the knob 603 is rotated in an opposite direction in order to close the container shutter 602 to rotate a gear of the driving force transmitting portion 603a in a direction of an arrow F, only the gear of the driving force transmitting portion is rotated to start separation of the teeth K and M from each other as shown in FIG. 16(b). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16(c), tooth L and tooth M come in contact with each other. During this period, the driving force cannot be transmitted from the driving force transmitting portion 603a to the driving force relay portion 502. By further rotating the driving force transmitting portion 603a in the direction of the arrow F, the driving force transmitting portion 603a starts to rotate the gear of the driving force relay portion 502 in a direction of an arrow H.
With respect to the above constituted toner container 600, as shown in FIG. 14(b), three or four drive gears are ordinarily provided. At an engaging portion between respective gears, loss by the backlash is caused to occur to lead to a non-negligible deviation as a whole. As a result, even when the knob 603 is returned to the original position, such a phenomenon that the container shutter 602 and the main assembly shutter 505 are not returned to their original positions is caused to occur. For this reason, the knob 603 provided to the toner container 600 has been conventionally constituted so that the container shutter 602 and the main assembly shutter 505 can be restored to their original positions by providing the knob 603 with such a structure that it can be much rotated in a shutter close direction compared with a shutter open direction.
Incidentally, demands for a further reduction in mounting space of the main assembly of image forming apparatus and an improvement in operability have been still increased, so that arrangement of consumable articles such as the developer supply container (toner cartridge) and a removal direction of the developer supply container are of increasing importance. For the reduction in mounting space, it is effective to set the removal direction of the consumable article and an access direction into the main assembly such as a housing open/close direction during clearance of paper jam as uniform as possible. As a result, the apparatus main assembly is provided with a side surface free from an open/close door, so that there is no need to ensure a space for opening and closing the door at the side surface at the time of mounting the image forming apparatus, thus being very effective for space saving. Further, a single function printer having no image reading mechanism is improved in operability by setting the consumable article removal direction as an upward direction of the main assembly since the image reading mechanism covering an upper portion of the image forming apparatus is not employed.
In view of this point, e.g., as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), it can be considered that an image forming apparatus is provided with a toner cartridge cover 23 at an upper surface thereof and a toner cartridge 31 is mounted from above the image forming apparatus. With respect to the toner cartridge 31, it can be considered that an unshown container shutter and an unshown apparatus shutter are opened and closed by rotationally driving a handle 36 in place of the knob 603.
Even in the case where such a constitution is employed, similarly as in the case of the conventional toner container 600 inserted from a side surface of the apparatus main assembly, there arises the backlash problem. For this reason, it is necessary to adopt such a constitution that the toner container 31 cannot be removed until the main assembly shutter and the container shutter are closed with reliability. Particularly, with respect to the main assembly shutter, there is a possibility that the deviation of the shutter resulting from the backlash is accumulated when the shutter is closed plural times in repetitive use even when the deviation by one closing operation is within an allowance. For this reason, during repetition of replacement of the toner container 31, there are possibilities that the developer receiving opening cannot be finally closed and that the container shutter and the main assembly shutter cannot be engaged with each other in order to ensure conjunction of the container shutter with the main assembly shutter. Accordingly, return of the main assembly shutter to the original position should be observed carefully.
Further, in order to realize size reduction of the image forming apparatus as a whole, when the respective toner containers 31 are disposed closely, a size of the handle 36 is restricted, so that an amount of rotational movement of the toner container is also restricted. For this reason, in order to ensure the same amount of rotational movement for each mounting of the toner container 31, it is necessary to engage the toner container 31 with the gear drive mechanism of the apparatus main assembly while retaining an initial position of the handle 36. Accordingly, it is necessary to dispose an axial direction of the handle 36 to be perpendicular to the insertion direction of the toner container 31 and dispose the drive mechanism of the apparatus main assembly to be substantially under the toner container 31 (downstream in the insertion direction of the developer supply container). In that case, a force is exerted on the gar drive mechanism in such a direction that the gears are separated from each other, i.e., that the toner container 31 is pulled out. Thus, it is necessary to provide such a constitution that the toner container 31 can be held simply with reliability. Incidentally, the conventional toner container 600 had the insertion direction, thereof into the apparatus main assembly, identical to the rotational axis direction of the knob 603, so that it was possible to easily hold the toner container 600 with respect to a force for separating the gears from each other, i.e., a force exerted in a vertical direction of the rotational axis of the rotation member by holding a guide rail 604 of the toner container 600 with a main assembly guide 506.
When the above described opening and closing mechanism of the shutters and the holding mechanism of the toner container 31 are intended to be realized as an automatic control mechanism, an increase in production cost is caused to occur. Further, when the respective operations for opening and closing the shutters and for holding the developer supply container are intended to be performed manually, the number of steps for performing replacement operation of the developer supply container is increased, so that there is a possibility that the increased steps lead to a poor operability.

Developer supply container and image forming apparatus


A female terminal fitting (20) is to be crimped to a wire including a core (12) formed by plural strands (11) and includes a bottom plate (22) on which the core (12) is to be placed, and a pair of crimping pieces (25L, 25R) connected to the bottom plate (22) and to be crimped to the core (12) in such a manner as to embrace the core (12) placed on the bottom plate (22). Butting parts of the respective crimping pieces (25L, 25R) are formed with a thinning portion (27), and a corner portion (30) is formed by deforming the thinning portion (27) when the respective crimping pieces (25L, 25R) are crimped to the core (12). Accordingly, a clearance formed at the butting parts of the respective crimping pieces (25L, 25R) can be made smaller than in the case where the thinning portions (27) are not provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal fitting to be crimped to a wire including a core formed by putting a plurality of strands together.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, aluminum wires have been used for the purpose of weight reduction and the like also in the field of automotive wiring harnesses and the like. An aluminum wire is, for example, structured such that a core formed by twisting a plurality of aluminum strands is covered by an insulation coating, and a terminal fitting is generally connected to an end of the wire when the wire is assembled into a wiring harness. Specifically, an end of the coating of the aluminum wire is removed to expose an end of the core, a wire barrel (wire connecting portion) provided on the terminal fitting is crimped to the exposed end of the core, and an insulation barrel provided behind the wire barrel is crimped and connected to an end of the remaining insulation coating (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-50736). Such a terminal fitting is formed by press-working a metal plate with good electrical conductivity.
However, since the wire barrel is crimped such that the tips thereof are bent inwardly and pushed into between the twisted strands while being butted against each other in the above terminal fitting, contact parts of the wire barrel are rounded and a clearance is easily formed between these. If a waterproofing treatment is performed by covering the wire barrel with a resin material, the resin material enters the clearance to thicken the resin material and the resin material cannot have a uniform thickness as a whole. Even if the waterproofing treatment is applied by covering the wire barrel by a heat shrinkable tube or the like instead of the resin material, the contact parts of the wire barrel cannot be covered without any clearance by the heat shrinkable tube, wherefore waterproofing performance is reduced.
The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to reduce a clearance formed at contact parts of a wire barrel.


An R-T-B based sintered magnet maintains high magnetic properties and decreases usage of heavy rare earth elements. The magnet includes main phase grains and grain boundary phases, the main phase grain containing a core portion and a shell portion. X in the main phase LR(2-x)HRxT14B of the core portion ranges from 0.00 to 0.07; x in the main phase LR(2-x)HRxT14B of the shell portion ranges from 0.02 to 0.40; and the maximum thickness of the shell portion ranges from 7 nm to 100 nm. LR contains Nd and one or more light rare earth elements consisting of Y, La, Ce, Pr and Sm; HR contains Dy or/and Tb and one or more heavy rare earth elements consisting of Gd, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; T contains Fe or/and Co and one or two kinds of Mn and Ni; and B represents boron partly replaced by C (carbon).

The rare earth based permanent magnets, especially R-T-B based sintered magnets, are widely used in various electric equipments because of exhibiting excellent magnetic properties. However, several technical problems to be solved exist in the R-T-B based sintered magnets with excellent magnetic properties. One of the problems is that coercivity significantly decreases accompanied with increase in temperature due to low thermal stability. Therefore, the coercivity at room temperature can be elevated by the addition of heavy rare earth elements with Dy, Tb and Ho as the representative. Thus, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (JP5-10806), even if the coercivity decreases as temperature rises, it will be enough for use. Compared to the R2T14B compound using light rare earth elements such as Nd, Pr and the like, the R2T14B compound with the addition of these heavy rare earth elements has a high magnetic anisotropy field and can obtain a high coercivity.
The R-T-B based sintered magnet consists of the main phase crystal grains and the sintered body, wherein the main phase crystal grain is composed of the R2T14B compound, and the sintered body at least comprises a grain boundary phase containing more amount of R than the main phase. In Patent Document 2 (JP7-122413) and Patent Document 3 (WO2006/098204), the optimal concentration distribution of the heavy rare earth elements in the main phase crystal grains which greatly affects the magnetic properties has been disclosed as well as the control method thereof.
It is said in Patent Document 2 that in the rare earth based permanent magnet with the main phase, which has the R2T14B compound (R represents one or two or more rare earth elements, and T represents one or two or more transition metals) as the main body, and the R-rich phases (R represents one or two or more rare earth elements) as the main constituent phases, the heavy rare earth elements are distributed at a high concentration in at least three sites of the main phase grains. The R-T-B based sintered magnet disclosed in Patent Document 2 was obtained by respectively pulverizing a R-T-B based alloy with the R2T14B compound as the main constituent phase and a R-T based alloy with a area ratio of R-T eutectic crystal being 50% or less which contains at least one kind of heavy rare earth elements, then mixing, molding and sintering the molded body. This R-T-B based alloy preferably has the R2T14B compound as the main constituent phase, and such a composition is recommended as 27 wt % (mass %)≦R≦30 wt % (mass %), 1.0 wt % (mass %)≦B≦1.2 wt % (mass %) and T of the balance.
Patent Document 3 has disclosed that an R-T-B based sintered magnet can be obtained with both a high residual flux density and a high coercivity if the following conditions are satisfied. That is, the crystal grain contains the R2T14B compound as the main body and comprises at least one of Dy and Tb, which are heavy rare earth elements, and at least one of Nd and Pr, which are light rare earth elements; the crystal grain also has a core-shell structure comprising a inner shell portion and a outer shell portion that covers the inner shell portion; in the crystal grain, the concentration of the heavy rare earth elements in the inner shell portion is lower than that in the periphery of the outer shell portion by 10% or more; when the shortest distance between the periphery of the crystal grain and the inner shell portion is set as L and the equivalent circle diameter of the crystal grain is set as r, the average of L/r ranges from 0.03 to 0.40; at the cross-section of the crystal grain, the number of the crystal grains with the core-shell structure accounts for 20% or more based on the number of total crystal grains forming the sintered body.


A method for processing an image is provided. The method is to calculate the amount of original gray levels in a frame according to the original gray level difference between each pixel and an adjacent pixel thereof and adjusts the contrast of the frame according to the calculated amount of gray levels and the contrast difference between the current frame and the previous frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a method for processing an image, and more particularly to a method for processing an image in order to enhance the contrast of an image in a frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional method for processing an image in order to enhance the contrast of an image, the contrast of the frame image is adjusted according to the calculated amount of gray levels of each pixel in a frame. However, the above method can only enhance the contrast of the frame image under certain circumstances. Under the circumstances when the contrast of the frame image needs to be enhanced most, for example, when watching a DVD film, the conventional image processing method for enhancing the contrast may display image with very poor quality. Referring to FIG. 1, a frame of a DVD film is shown. When a DVD film is played, the frame 100 is normally displayed in a ratio of 16:9, hence resulting in a black band in both the upper part UP and the lower part DP of the frame 100 (for example, an LCD screen). Thus, when the conventional image processing method for enhancing the contrast enhances the contrast of the frame 100, the gray levels in the black frame of both the upper part UP and the lower part DP are included, causing the contrast-enhanced frame 100 to be unnatural. Besides, when the gray level curve of the current frame widely differs with the gray level curve of the previous frame, the conventional image processing method for enhancing the contrast would result in image glittering.
Therefore, how to enhance the contrast of the image and at the same time maintain the natural characteristics of the image and avoid image glittering has become an imminent challenge to be solved.


A method of producing an inflation film which includes the steps of melting an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin in an extruder, extruding the molten polyolefin from a screw die, and blowing a gas into a molten tubular film formed by extrusion. An apparatus for producing an inflation film which includes an extruder provided with a first screw, and a screw die having an L/D of at least 5 and is provided at the end of the extruder, wherein the screw die includes a second screw which rotates independently of the first screw, a mandrel coupled to the end of the second screw and rotates together with the second screw, an outer tube die in which the mandrel is inserted, and a gas passage extending in the second screw and in the mandrel. An inflation film is composed of an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin having a tensile strength at break of greater than 1660 kg/cm.sup.2 in a machine direction and greater than 1600 kg/cm.sup.2 in a transverse direction, an impact strength of greater than 9500 kg.multidot.cm/cm, a thickness of from 10 to 1000 .mu.m, an R-value of not larger than 10 .mu.m and an intrinsic viscosity (.eta.) of at least 7 dl/g.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing an inflation film, an apparatus therefor, and an inflation film obtained thereby. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of producing an inflation film of which the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, impact strength, etc. and the thickness can be adjusted over wide ranges, to an apparatus therefor, and to an inflation film having excellent properties obtained thereby.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin features superior impact strength, abrasion resistance, resistance against chemicals and tensile strength to those of general-purpose polyolefins, and is finding spreading applications as an engineering resin. However, the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin exhibits a very higher melt-viscosity and poorer fluidity than those of the general-purpose polyolefins. Therefore, the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin alone cannot be molded by using a molding machine for general-purpose polyolefins.
Therefore, the present applicant has previously proposed a method of producing a biaxially drawn film by extrusion-molding the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin to which is mixed large amounts of a plasticizer (Japanese Patent Publication No. 16330 /1992). When this method is employed, however, a plasticizer must be extracted from the obtained polyolefin film depending upon the applications.
The present applicant has further proposed a method of producing an inflation film by using a tube die having a mandrel that rotates accompanying the rotation of a screw of an extruder without using a plasticizer (Japanese Patent Publication No. 55433 /1994).
According to this method, however, the tubular film that is extruded is turned sideways, permitting the upper portion to become thin and lower portion to become thick, causing a difference in the thickness between the upper portion and the lower portion. In order to increase the rate of production, furthermore, the rotating speed of the mandrel must be increased accompanying an increase in the rotating speed of the screw giving rise to the occurrence of a problem in that the resin is deteriorated due to friction. In order to erase flight marks of the resin, furthermore, it is required to employ a mandrel of an increased length. There is also a problem that the apparatus becomes large-sized and its installation space becomes wide.
In order to provide optimum inflation films depending upon the applications, furthermore, it becomes necessary to adjust the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and impact strength as well as the thickness of the obtained inflation films over wide ranges.
In view of the above-mentioned technical assignments, the present inventors have conducted study to solve problems, and have found the fact that the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and impact strength, drawing ratio in machine direction and thickness can be adjusted over wide ranges, and an inflation film can be formed permitting the molecular weight to drop less than those of the conventional film-producing methods, by melting a thermoplastic resin in a extruder, by using a screw die having an L/D of at least 5 and having a mandrel which rotates independently of the screw of the extruder, the mandrel rotating at a speed as low as possible, and have confirmed that the inflation film exhibits excellent properties of an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyolefin, and have thus arrived at the present invention.

Method of producing inflation film, apparatus therefor and molded articles thereof


A clamp assembly secures a first article to a second article. The clamp assembly includes first and second spaced-apart article holders adapted for engaging respective first and second articles. An elongated gear rack interconnects the first and second article holders. A pinion operatively engages the gear rack, and is adapted for moving the first article holder along the gear rack relative to the second article holder. A locking bar has a plurality of spaced teeth adapted for meshing with respective teeth of the gear rack in a locked position. The locking bar is moveable between the locked position and a released position. In the locked position, the meshing teeth of the locking bar and gear rack cooperate to prevent linear movement of the first article holder relative to the second article holder, thereby securing the first article to the second article. In the released position, the teeth of the locking bar and gear rack are sufficiently disengaged to allow free linear movement of the first article holder along the gear rack relative to the second article holder.

This invention relates generally to a clamp assembly, and more specifically to a clamp assembly designed and adapted for securing a ladder or other loose article to a vehicle rack. The invention is quickly and conveniently applied, and offers increased safely and security over existing methods and devices for temporarily mounting ladders on vehicle racks. The invention is especially applicable for use by commercial contractors, such as painters, roofers, and window washers.
For many commercial contractors, ladders are essential implements which must be loaded on a vehicle and transported between multiple job sites during the day. The contractor's vehicle typically includes an overhead or side-mounted ladder rack or canopy rack designed for carrying one or more ladders. Time and convenience are generally the primary concerns when securing the ladder to the vehicle rack. Some contractors use a combination of bungee cords, nylon straps, cables, and/or chains to tie the ladders directly to the rack. While these items are relatively inexpensive and often readily available, they are frequently applied in haste and with little attention paid to the working condition of the straps and cords. The result is that many ladders are transported on busy roads and highways in a generally unsafe condition. In addition, these items provide little if any protection against theft.

Clamp assembly for securing a ladder to a vehicle rack


Provided is an image forming apparatus equipped with a developing apparatus using a developer containing toner and carrier, in which, by taking into account a change in the toner density of a replenishment agent, the supply of replenishment agent to the developing apparatus is effected with high accuracy, thereby forming a stable image involving no scattering of toner. In the image forming apparatus including a replenishment agent supply device that supplies a replenishment agent containing the toner and the carrier to the developing apparatus, the replenishment agent is gradually supplied to the developing apparatus from the replenishment agent supply device while the developer is gradually discharged in correspondence therewith from a developer discharging port, and the replenishment agent supply device has a first toner density detecting device for detecting the toner density of the replenishment agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with a developing apparatus for use in an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, etc., and in particular, to an image forming apparatus equipped with a developing apparatus using a developer containing toner and carrier.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a developing apparatus effecting development by a two-component developing system using a two-component developer containing a mixture of toner and carrier, is generally widely used. In particular, in the case of color image forming apparatuses, from the viewpoint of image color tint, etc., many developing apparatuses use a two-component developer.
In a developing apparatus using a two-component developer, the toner is consumed by developing operation, and new toner is supplied in an amount corresponding to the consumed amount. In contrast, the carrier is not consumed but remains in a developing container, which is a developer accommodating portion of the developing apparatus. Thus, the carrier, which is agitated together with the toner, is degenerated by being agitated. The degeneration of the carrier occurs as a result of adhesion of toner to the surface of the carrier due to the friction when agitating the developer and to the compression during passage through the gap between a developing roller serving as a developer carrier for carrying developer to the developing position by rotating and a developer regulating member (developer regulating blade) for regulating the thickness of the toner layer on the developing roller. Degeneration of the carrier results in a deterioration in the charging performance of the developer. In view of this, it is general practice to periodically replace the carrier.
To replace the carrier, the developer is discharged through a developer discharging port provided in the developing apparatus, and the developing apparatus is filled with new developer. That is, the replacement of the carrier substantially means the total replacement of the developer in the developing apparatus, and in this process, the toner is naturally also renewed. During the replacement operation, it may occur that the toner, which is in the powder form, is scattered to stain the image forming apparatus and the periphery thereof.
In view of this, there has been proposed a developing apparatus in which the degeneration of the developer is restrained, so there is no need to perform the developer replacement operation (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. H02-21519. The apparatus adopts a system generally referred to as a trickle system, in which a discharge port is provided at a predetermined height on a side wall of a housing constituting the developing container of the developing apparatus, and in which a developer containing toner and carrier is supplied to the developing apparatus, whereby surplus developer in the developing apparatus is successively discharged through the discharge port, thereby keeping the characteristics of the developer fixed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-215903).
The above-mentioned conventional apparatus, however, has a problem in that, when the toner density of the developer to be replenished (replenishment agent) and the T/D ratio, which is the ratio of toner to developer, fluctuate, the toner replenishment accuracy deteriorates, with the result that the toner supply to the developing apparatus becomes deficient or excessive.
When the toner supply becomes deficient or excessive, the toner density of the developer in the developing apparatus fluctuates, which may lead to a fluctuation in the toner image density or scattering of toner from the developing apparatus.
Alternatively, due to a fluctuation in environmental conditions such as humidity, the electric charge of the toner (triboelectricity) fluctuates, which leads to a change in bulk density and a deterioration in the accuracy with which developer is supplied to the developing apparatus, with the result that the toner supply to the developing apparatus becomes deficient or excessive, thus involving the same problem as mentioned above.

Image forming apparatus with replenishment developer device


A structure of a battery storage portion for an electronic equipment has a battery storage chamber which opens in a housing of the electronic equipment to store a battery, a battery cover which closes the opening of the battery storage chamber, and a lock handle means which engages with the battery cover to prevent the battery cover from dropping from the housing. The lock handle means includes a battery push-out piece projecting into the battery storage chamber to push out the battery which is stored toward the opening of the battery storage chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a housing structure for an electronic equipment, e.g., a personal paging receiver, and, more particularly, to the structure of a battery storage portion in the housing of an electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an electronic equipment of this type, a compact cylindrical battery, e.g., AA, AAA, and N batteries, is often used as the power supply. These batteries are expendable supplies. To continuously use the equipment, the dead battery must be removed from the equipment and be exchanged for a new one. For this purpose, an opening portion serving as the battery inlet/outlet port is formed in the outer surface of the equipment housing, and the battery can be loaded in and unloaded from a battery storage chamber in the housing. The battery stored in the battery storage chamber will not drop because of a battery cover closing the opening portion of the housing.
FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing the structure of a general battery storage portion adopted in the conventional electronic equipment. An opening portion 22 having a size matching the size of a battery to be stored is usually formed in part of a housing 21, and a battery storage chamber 23 is formed to oppose this opening portion 22. The opening portion 22 can be closed with a battery cover 24 having a size matching the size of the opening portion 22. The battery cover 24 is formed by combining two thin plates into an L shape, and closes the opening portion of the housing to prevent the stored battery from dropping. A coil-type negative spring terminal 25 which comes into elastic contact with the negative terminal of the battery and a positive terminal 26 which comes into tight contact with the positive terminal of the battery are arranged on the two end portions of the battery storage chamber 23.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1. When a battery X is stored in the battery storage chamber 23, it is held as its positive terminal is urged by a projection 26a projecting from the positive terminal 26b with the negative spring terminal 25.
To remove the battery X, the battery cover 24 is slid in the direction of an arrow G in FIG. 2 to open the opening portion 22, and the battery X is pulled out from the housing 21 by having the positive terminal end portion of the battery X caught on the nail or the like. Then, as indicated by an alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. 2, the positive terminal of the battery X is released from the positive terminal 26, and the battery X is pushed by the negative spring terminal 25, so that it is held such that its positive terminal projects from the battery storage chamber 23. In this state, the projecting portion of the battery X is held again, so that the battery can be removed.
The spring used as the negative terminal of the housing is often a strong one in order to prevent instantaneous disconnection between the chamber terminal and the battery terminal caused by dropping impact of the equipment or a decrease in contact resistance between the chamber terminal and the battery terminal. Therefore, when removing the battery, if the battery is removed from the housing by having the positive terminal portion of the battery caught on the nail or the like, as in the conventional case, an excessive load is applied to the nail or the like, and the battery cannot sometimes be easily removed. In particular, in a small battery, the gap between the positive terminal of the battery and the housing is small, and it is often difficult to insert a nail or the like in this gap.
In order to solve the above problem, the present applicant has proposed the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-38934. In this prior invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a projection 38 for pressing the battery is formed at a position of the inner surface of the housing of a battery cover 34 near the negative terminal of a battery X to project in the direction of thickness of the battery cover 34. A recessed portion 37 is formed in a surface of a battery storage chamber 33 that opposes an opening portion 32 to be near a negative spring terminal 35.
FIGS. 4A to 4C are sectional views taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3. FIG. 4A shows a state wherein the battery cover 34 is closed completely. At this time, the projection 38 does not act on the battery X. As the battery cover 34 is opened, the projection 38 becomes close to the battery X, as shown in FIG. 4B. When the battery cover 34 is further opened, the projection 38 comes into contact with the outer surface of the negative terminal of the battery X, as shown in FIG. 4C, to press this portion in a direction opposite to the opening portion 32. More specifically, the negative terminal portion of the battery X is urged against the recessed portion 37, and the positive terminal of the battery X projects from the housing 31 due to the reaction. As a result, the conventional operation of removing the battery X from the housing by having the positive terminal portion of the battery X caught on a nail or the like becomes unnecessary.
In the prior invention described above, the recessed portion 37 is formed in the battery storage chamber 33. When the negative terminal of the battery is urged against a portion opposite to the opening portion 32, the positive terminal of the battery can project from the housing 31, and the end portion of the battery need not be pulled out from the housing 31. However, the recessed portion 37 may adversely affect the outer appearance of the housing 31. Depending on the structure of the housing 31, the recessed portion 37 cannot be formed.

Structure of battery storage portion for electronic equipment


A PWM modulation unit modulates a three-phase voltage instruction, which is input, on the basis of a PWM method, and outputs a gate signal to each phase switching element of an inverter. A high-frequency component arithmetic unit calculates, at each time of switching of the inverter, a high-frequency component of a current occurring due to a voltage which is determined by the PWM modulation unit and is output from the inverter. An index arithmetic unit calculates, as an index R proportional to a rotational phase angle estimation error, from the high-frequency component of the current. A rotational phase angle estimation unit executes an estimation arithmetic operation of the rotational phase angle by using the index R. The invention provides a synchronous motor sensorless control apparatus which enables stable driving with simple adjustment, and does not cause an extreme increase in amount of arithmetic calculations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensorless control apparatus which controls a synchronous motor by a PWM inverter, by estimating a rotational phase angle of a rotor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a control apparatus of a synchronous apparatus having electrical saliency at a rotor thereof, a detector is needed to detect a rotational phase angle of the rotor in order to execute driving control of the synchronous apparatus. However, in the driving apparatus using the detector, there are, for example, the following problems.
First, the presence of the detector increases the volume of the entire driving system. This hinders an increase in output of the synchronous apparatus in a limited installation space. Secondly, the detector itself requires a maintenance/inspection work. This deteriorates the maintenance/inspection efficiency. Thirdly, noise, or the like, is superimposed on a signal line from the detector, leading to disturbance in detection value and degradation in control performance. Fourthly, most of detectors require power supplies for the driving thereof, and it is necessary to install a power supply which is separate from the power supply for the synchronous apparatus driving. This becomes a factor in increase in load in terms of power supply installation space, power supply wiring and cost.
For the above reasons, there has been developed a control method which estimates a rotational phase angle without using a detector, and executes driving control on the basis of the estimated rotational phase angle. This is called "sensorless control".
The following patent document 1, for instance, proposes a method which is particularly effective in a stop/low-speed state in a control apparatus of a synchronous apparatus including such sensorless control means. In this document, in a system which drives the synchronous apparatus by a PWM inverter, a high-frequency voltage instruction, which has a sufficiently high frequency relative to the driving frequency of the synchronous apparatus, is superimposed on a control instruction of a control apparatus which controls the inverter. From a resultant high-frequency current response, a component corresponding to the superimposed high-frequency instruction is detected and processed. Thereby, an error of the rotational phase angle is obtained. The rotational phase angle is estimated by using this error of the rotational phase angle.
The following patent document 2 proposes a method which solves a problem in patent document 1. In this method, a high-frequency component of an electric current, which occurs due to the voltage that is output from a PWM inverter, is calculated, and a rotational phase angle is estimated by using a spatial distribution of inductance.
Patent document 1: Registered Japanese Patent No. 3168967
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-185552.

Sensorless control apparatus of synchronous motor


Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a casino floor service management system and method that integrates with a casino management system of a casino and leverages the knowledge and experience of casino floor service management system users, such as technicians, floor attendants, and hostesses, to efficiently resolve service floor events in a timely manner. Generally, the casino floor service management system of the present disclosure is configured to: (1) receive notifications from the casino management system when floor events occur, (2) automatically distinguish between service floor events and non-service floor events, (3) automatically generate work items representing the service floor events and aggregate the work items into a dynamically-updated backlog, and (4) enable casino floor service management system users to interface with the casino floor service management system to personally choose which particular work items from the backlog the casino floor service management system users will resolve.

A typical casino (or other gaming establishment) includes hundreds or even thousands of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) spread out over the casino floor. Certain events that occur at these EGMs prevent operation of the EGMs and require the assistance of a casino employee to render the EGMs operational. For instance, when a casino patron playing at an EGM wins an award above a designated amount, the EGM prevents further play until a floor attendant travels to the EGM to verify the award and provide the casino patron with a hand payment. In another example, when a ticket printer of an EGM runs out of paper, the EGM prevents further play until a slot technician replaces the paper. In another example, when a component of the EGM fails (e.g., the bill acceptor or the display device stops working), the EGM prevents further play until a slot technician repairs or replaces the broken component. Other events that occur at these EGMs do not prevent operation of the EGMs, but nevertheless demand the assistance of a casino employee. For instance, when a casino patron presses the service button of an EGM, a floor attendant must travel to the EGM to determine what the casino patron desires. Other events that occur at these EGMs do not prevent operation of the EGMs or demand the assistance of a casino employee, but the casino desires employee involvement for other reasons. For example, when a VIP casino patron begins playing a high-denomination EGM, the casino may desire a floor attendant to welcome the VIP casino patron to the casino.
These types of events, referred to herein as service floor events, occur regularly at a casino that is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; that includes hundreds or thousands of EGMs on the casino floor; and that services thousands or even tens of thousands of casino patrons daily. To provide the best possible experience for casino patrons and, in certain instances, to minimize EGM down-time, it is desirable for the casino to implement a casino floor service management system to quickly recognize when a service floor event occurs, to efficiently identify the appropriate casino employee(s) (or contractor(s) or other service provider(s)) to resolve that particular service floor event, and to dispatch the casino employee(s) (or contractor(s) or other service provider(s)) to resolve the service floor event.
One known way of implementing a casino floor service management system includes employing human dispatchers to: (1) monitor for the occurrence of service floor events; (2) when a service floor event occurs, identify the service floor event; (3) identify an available casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) who is able to resolve the service floor event; (4) contact the casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) (such as via radio or telephone), provide the casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) information regarding the service floor event, and instruct the casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to resolve the service floor event; and (5) monitor the status of the casino employee's (or contractor's or other service provider's) progress throughout the resolution process.
This known way of using human dispatchers to implement a casino floor service management system is problematic for a variety of reasons. Using human dispatchers introduces human error into the process. For instance, the dispatcher may overlook a service floor event or instruct an unqualified casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to resolve a service floor event. For example, if the dispatcher overlooks a casino patron winning a jackpot award that requires a hand payment, the casino patron may become frustrated and bored while waiting for a casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to arrive and provide the hand payment, which ruins the casino patron's experience. In another example, if the dispatcher instructs an unqualified casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to replace the paper in a ticket printer, the casino patron must wait for another, qualified casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to arrive and replace the paper to enable the casino patron to continue play, which may also frustrate and bore the casino patron. Using human dispatchers is also labor intensive—the casino must employ enough dispatchers to deal with the hundreds or thousands of service floor events that occur daily in association with hundreds or thousands of EGMs operating around-the-clock. And even if the casino employs enough human dispatchers, it is difficult for the dispatchers to coordinate tens or hundreds of casino employees (or contractors or other service providers) to resolve hundreds or thousands of daily service floor events. Unless there is a constant line of communication between each dispatcher and each casino employee (or contractor or other service provider)—which is practically impossible for all intents and purposes—the dispatchers do not know exactly where in the casino the casino employees are located or what the casino employees (or contractors or other service providers) are doing at any particular point in time.
Another known way of implementing a casino floor service management system includes employing a computerized service floor event assignment system to: (1) monitor for the occurrence of service floor events; (2) when a service floor event occurs, automatically generate a task for that service floor event; (3) using a database of casino employees (or contractors or other service providers) and their predetermined attributes (e.g., type of employee (or contractor or other service provider) (such as hostess, floor attendant, or technician) and specialty (such as bill acceptor repair, display device repair, etc.)), automatically select a casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to whom to assign the task; and (4) automatically assign the task to the selected casino employee (or contractor or other service provider), such as by sending a message to the casino employee's (or contractor's or other service provider's) mobile device.
This known way of using a computerized service floor event assignment system to implement a casino floor service management system is problematic for a variety of reasons. This known computerized service floor event assignment system simply selects a casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) to whom to assign a task based on predetermined rules and/or configurations, and thus lacks flexibility, especially when it comes to requesting and utilizing the knowledge and experience of the casino employees (or contractors or other service providers) themselves. Put differently, in many cases the casino employees (or contractors or other service providers) themselves are in the best position to assign tasks based on their knowledge and experience, the constantly changing context of the casino floor environment, the available resources and casino staff, and the like. The rigid rules of this known computerized service floor event assignment system do not take this into account. Further, this known computerized service floor event assignment system does not track or present casino employee (or contractor or other service provider) and service floor event location-based information in a user-friendly format. Additionally, this known computerized service floor event assignment system does not manage or utilize floor-event-based context information that provides additional information about the service floor events, such as photos, videos, or text-based descriptions. Finally, this known computerized service floor event assignment system typically only services a single casino rather than multiple casinos.
These problems are magnified when contractors or other service providers service multiple casinos in multiple different physical locations that are either commonly-owned or not commonly-owned.
A need exists for new and improved casino floor service management systems and methods that solve the above problems.

Casino floor service management system and method