A method for increasing cache concurrency in a multiprocessor system. In a multiprocessor system having a plurality of processors each having a local cache in order to increase concurrency the directory entry for a line in local cache will be assigned an LCH bit for locally changed status. If the last cache to hold the line had made a change to it this bit will be set on. If not, the bit will be off and thereby allow the receiving or requesting cache to make change to the line without requiring a main storage castout.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to caches in a multiprocessor system and more particularly to the use of an additional change bit in a cache directory to indicate whether a changed line in the cache was changed by that cache or another.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern high performance stored program digital computers conventionally fetch instructions and data from main memory and store the fetched instructions and data in a cache memory. A cache is a local memory that is typically much smaller and much faster than the main memory of the computer. Virtually all high performance digital computers use a cache and even some commercially available microprocessors have local caches.
Caches have been developed because it has not been possible to build extremely large memories at a reasonable cost that operate having an access time commensurate with modern day pipelined processors. It is however possible to build inexpensive, small memories that can keep up with the processor. Since an instruction in the cache can be immediately accessed by the processor, caches have been used to speed up computer performance.
It has been observed that items (either instruction or data) once referred tend to be referred to again in the near future. This property is known as the "Temporal Locality of Reference" and it is a rationale for keeping the most recently referenced items in the cache. It has also been observed that if an item is referenced, then other items that are physically close to the reference item are also likely to be referenced. This second property is known as "Spatial Locality of Reference" and it is a rationale for keeping cache lines that are blocks of continuous items.
Caches can be used in both multiprocessor and uniprocessor systems. In the type of multiprocessor (MP) system known as the tightly coupled multiprocessor system in which several processors (CP) have their own caches that share a common operating system and memory, there are additional problems since it is necessary for each cache to know what has happened to lines which may be in several caches simultaneously. In a multiprocessor system where there are many CPs sharing the same main storage, each CP is required to obtain the most recently updated version of data according to architecture specifications when access is issued. This requirement necessitates constant monitoring of possible data consistencies among caches, often known as the cache coherence problem.
There are various types of caches in prior art multiprocessor systems. One type of cache is the store through (ST) cache which does not interfere with the CP storing data directly to the main storage (or second level cache) in order to always update changes of data to main storage. Upon the update of a store through to main storage appropriate cross interrogate (XI) actions may take place to invalidate the copies of a cache line located in caches other than the one at the CP that initiated the store. Usually store through cache designs require substantial main storage bandwidths to incorporate the data stores.
Another type of cache design is the store-in cache (SIC). SICs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,735, 360 to Anderson et al. and 3,771,137 to Warner et al A SIC cache directory is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,731 to Flusche et al. in which each line in a store-in cache has its multiprocessor shareability controlled by an exclusive/read only (EX/RO) flag bit. The main difference between ST and SIC caches is that, all stores in SIC are directed to the cache itself (which may cause a cache miss if the stored line is not in the SIC cache). In a store-in cache design data transfers upon a misfetch can take place through a cache to cache transfer bus (CTC) if a copy is in the remote cache. A storage control element is used which contains copies of the directories in each cache. This permits cross interrogate (XI) decisions to be resolved fairly efficiently. Usually cache line modifications are updated to main storage only when the lines are replaced from the cache.
Lines in a cache are typically replaced in accordance with a replacement algorithm which usually ages out a least recently used line. In a store-in cache design, when such a modified/changed cache line ages out it is also written to memory. As a result in the store-in cache design main storage bandwidth is reduced at the expense of more complex coherence control and the penalties arising from cross interrogate castouts. Cross interrogate castouts occur when a data access from one CP finds a line modified in the cache of another CP.
The cache directory contains information as to whether the line is read only (RO). exclusive (EX). changed (CH) or invalid (INV).
A cache line that is RO is valid only in a read only state. The processor can only fetch from the line. Stores into the line are prohibited. The cache line may be shared simultaneously among different caches.
A cache line that is EX is valid but only appears in the cache of one processor. It is not resident in any other (remote) cache. The one (owning) processor is allowed to store into the line. A cache line that is CH indicates that not only is the line valid and EX but that it has been stored into. That is the copy in main storage may not be up to date. When a CH line is replaced a copy is sent to main storage via a castout action.
An INV cache line is a line that is invalid.
In a typical computer system a first CP, P.sub.1, may request an instruction or data from a line in a cache. Its own cache will be checked and if the particular line requested is read only (RO) it may make a store request, and via the storage control element (SCE). make that line exclusive (EX). Once the line is made exclusive, the storage control element (SCE) will indicate to the other caches that the line is invalid and the first cache will be free to write into that line. Once that line has been written, a CH-bit, indicating that the line has been changed, is set. Thereafter, if a second processor P.sub.2 requests that line the change bit remains set and even if P.sub.2 does not store into that line the change bit remains set. This occurs because the cache-to-cache bus is used to transfer the line. The reason the CH-bit stays on is that the line never goes through the main storage (i.e. the CH-bit on indicates that the storage is not up to date). As long as the change bit remains set, however, the line must be exclusive to only one cache at any time.
With the above approach concurrency may be lost unnecessarily since a line which could be shared by fetches from different CPUs simultaneously may now be forced to reside in a single cache most of the time. For instance, consider a line L that is more frequently accessed and is modified only relatively occasionally during certain time intervals. Once L is modified by a processor it will mostly stay CH among different caches until it is actually replaced from a cache through LRU replacement. Every time a processor issues a data fetch on line L. a cross interrogate (XI) will be necessary, if L is in a remote cache.
The above anomaly results due to the fact that the CH bit in a directory entry cannot tell whether such a changed line is no longer likely to be modified soon. Such problems often occur, for example, at power on when initial changes are made to the cache, and thereafter all that is usually required is read only (RO) status for the line. The change bit will not be reset until the line ages out and is dumped to main memory.
As caches grow larger and the number of CPU's in a multiprocessor system increase, this problem becomes even greater. With bigger caches lines do not age out as quickly, and as the number of CPU's increases a line tends to be passed around among the CPU's more before getting the chance to age out.
There are a variety of cache management techniques known in the art. There is however no known art which is directed to minimizing the loss of cache concurrency due to limitations of the use of the change bit. The following is representative art in cache control mechanisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,712 to Fletcher deals with certain strategies of level 2 cache replacements in a two level cache hierarchy (L1/L2). The L1 are the processors private (local) cache and the L2 is shared by all processors at a second level. An R bit and a L2 block entry are used as indicators of whether the block should be subject to replacement priority. Fletcher proposes some methods for manipulating the R bits on DLAT hits/misses. The present invention is independent of the second level cache (L2) hierarchy and is only concerned about the concurrency of data lines in a first level processor local caches.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,174 to Fletcher a performance benefit is claimed on the basis of using a common cache and reducing sharing overhead. The common cache is not used as a second level but rather as a first level cache on top of the processor's private caches. Fletcher '174 proposes deciding whether a line should be moved to the shared cache primarily based upon whether XI is observed and access to the line finds it is CH'd in another processor's private cache. Damaging sharing is detected via a remote CH conditions and the line is then put into a shared cache which is assumed to be fast for all processors. Concurrency in the present invention is achieved by allowing a line in different caches in a read only state when a damaging sharing characteristic disappears.
In U.S. pat. No. 4,181,937 to Hattori et al. an Mp cache replacement scheme in a two level cache hierarchy is taught. Upon the decision of replacement of a block from L2 shared by all processors, blocks with fewer numbers of copies in the first level processor caches are given higher preference. This is supposed to increase concurrency at L1 with better L2 replacement strategies. The present invention is not concerned with L2 replacements.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,497 to Krygowski et al. a cache to cache transfer multiprocessor design is discussed wherein when a CH'd line is accessed by a remote processor, the line is transferred over as CH'd and exclusive copy without accessing main storage. The present invention improves on this design and requires an alteration to the CH bit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,731 to Flusche et al. in cross interrogate situations (that is a line is remotely EX or CH'd ) the line is fetched as EX (not CH) only when it is found CH'd in the remote cache. The cache to cache transfer environment is not discussed in Flusche et al. The present invention provides a capability to do this kind of EX (but also CH) fetch upon remote CH situations for a cache to cache transfer environment. This has several advantages since when using a cache to cache transfer facility the CH line may be transferred to another cache as EX and CH'directly so that main storage update (castout) traffic is eliminated. Further in this system the condition of the CH line cannot be determined (that is whether the changes due to recent stores or whether the changes was pingponged back and forth with unnecessary loss of concurrency).
Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a cache coherency mechanism that accounts for how recently a cache line was changed.
It is another object of the invention to avoid unnecessary restriction on concurrency of a cache line due to its being modified as a remote past event.
It is still another object of the invention to allow cache lines to be read only and be available to all processors if it has not been changed recently.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be more apparent upon reference to the specification and drawings.

Multiple caches using state information indicating if cache line was previously modified and type of access rights granted to assign access rights to cache line

International Business Machines Corporation


A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, including: an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; a cleaning member for removing developer adhering to the photosensitive drum; a removed developer containing portion for containing the developer removed by the cleaning member; a filter member mounted to the removed developer containing portion for allowing ventilation between the interior and exterior of the removed developer containing portion; a recess provided on the removed developer containing portion and covered with the filter member; and a communicating portion provided on the removed developer containing portion for communicating between the interior of the removed developer containing portion and the recess to ventilate therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, and to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge is detachably mountable.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using electrophotographic image forming process adopts a process cartridge system in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and processing means acting thereon, such as a charging device, a developing device, and a cleaning device, are integrated into a cartridge, which is detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus main body. In the process cartridge system, the user can perform maintenance on the apparatus without relying on a serviceman. Thus, it is possible to achieve a substantial improvement in terms of operability. In view of this, the process cartridge system has come to be widely adopted in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses.
The above-mentioned cleaning device removes developer remaining on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member after developer image transfer by a cleaning member. The removed developer is contained in a removed developer containing portion. With the recent increase in the service life of image forming apparatuses (process cartridges), the amount of removed developer to be contained in the removed developer containing portion has been increased. Thus, in some cases, there is provided a mechanism for carrying developer accumulated on the upper portion of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to a vacant space at the rear of the removed developer containing portion.
Apart from this, there is a demand in the market for an inexpensive, small-sized image forming apparatus for personal use. To realize this, a reduction in the size of the cartridge is necessary. Thus, when a removed developer carrying mechanism as mentioned above is adopted, an increase in the number of components, including a carrying member and a driving member, is involved, resulting in an increase in cost and size.
Thus, in making the present invention, there has been considered a construction in which an airflow is generated inside the removed developer containing portion, moving the developer with this airflow.
In this regard, there exists a known process cartridge in which an airflow is generated inside the removed developer containing portion (JP H11-184352A).

Process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus


An electrodeposited copper foil having a texture coefficient of a plane (200) from 50 to 80%, based on the sum of the texture coefficients of a plane (111), the plane (200), a plane (220) and a plane (200) of the electrodeposited copper foil is provided. The electrodeposited copper foil is particularly suitable for use in the applications in printed circuit boards and lithium ion secondary batteries.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrodeposited copper foils, and more particularly, to an electrodeposited copper foil suitable for use in a printed circuit board and rechargeable and discharge batteries.
2. Description of Related Art
A printed circuit boards (PCB), used as a critical equipment for various types of electrical devices and products, is capable of carrying an electronic element and being connected to an electrical circuit, such that a stable operating environment is provided. PCBs have a broad range of applications, including in the consumer, industry and national defense sectors. Moreover, the fabrication of a PCB involves the assembly of the industries of materials, electricity, mechanics, chemistry, and optics, and thereby sufficiently demonstrating the importance of PCBs to the economical development.
However, in the fabrication of a PCB, a copper foil is adhered onto a substrate, and then made into a circuit pattern. Nodules are usually formed on a surface of a copper foil, In the past, the ratio of line width/line interval is larger. However, as the manufacturing of lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller electronic products gradually become a trend, the requirement for the line width/line interval ratio gets stricter, i.e., the ratio has reached 2 mil/2 mil (i.e., 50 μm/50 μm), or even 1 mil/1 mil (i.e., 25 μm/25 μm). Therefore, even a very small nodule would cause short circuit in a PCB substrate, such that the nodules on a surface of a copper foil need to be removed.
Moreover, the need for lithium ion secondary batteries in the modern society is also increasing. A lithium ion secondary battery must have safety in use and a long battery life, in addition to having a good discharging property. Hence, the process of fabrication of a lithium ion secondary cell must be more rigorous and delicate.
The structure of a lithium ion secondary cell is obtained by reeling a positive electrode pole piece, a separator, and a negative electrode pole piece together, placing them into a container, injecting an electrolyte, and sealing to form a battery, wherein the negative electrode pole piece is composed of a negative electrode collector made of copper foil and a negative electrode active substance made of a carbon material and the like coating on a surface thereof. However, when the amount of copper nodules on the copper foil is excessive, the negative electrode active substance would be unevenly coated, or even the copper nodules would sometimes be stuck in the gaps of the coating die, causing the copper foil to break during coating, and thereby lowering the yield. The above issues are the current issues to be urgently resolved.
A copper foil may be divided into a rolled annealed copper foil or an electro deposited copper foil. The electrodeposited copper foil uses an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid and copper sulfate as an electrolyte, a titanium plate overlaid with an iridium element or an oxide thereof as a dimensionally stable anode (DSA), a titanium-made roller as a cathodic drum. A direct current is applied between the two poles, to electrically deposit the copper ions, which are in the electrolyte on the titanium-made roller, and then the deposited electrodeposited copper is peeled off from the surface of the titanium-made roller and continuously rolled up for producing the electrodeposited copper foil, wherein the surface of the electrodeposited copper foil in contact with the surface of the titanium-made roller is called "shiny surface (S surface)," and the reversed side is called "matte surface (M surface)." Usually, the roughness of the S surface of the electrodeposited copper foil depends upon the roughness of the surface of the titanium-made roller. Therefore, the roughness of the S surface is more constant, and the roughness of the M surface may be adjusted by controlling the conditions of the copper sulfate electrolyte.
Conventionally, an organic additive (for example, a low-molecular-weight gel (such as gelatin), hydroxymethyl cellulose (HEC) or polyethylene glycol (PEG)) or a sulfur-containing compound having a grain-refining effect (for example, sodium 3-mercaptopropane sulphonate (MPS), bis-(3-soldiumsulfopropyl disulfide) (SPS)) is added to a copper sulfate electrolyte to alter the crystalline phase of the electrodeposited copper foil.
Methods for reducing nodules are generally based on the approach of lowering the current density during electroplating to reduce the effect of point discharge. However, the decrease in the current density would bring about a reduction in the yield. Alternatively, the increase in the circulating quantity of the electrolyte, which allows the additive contained in the electrolyte to be more completely absorbed by activated carbon, would bring about an increase in the energy consumed during the production.
Accordingly, the development of an electrodeposited copper foil with reduced generation of nodules on a surface thereof, without compromising the production efficiency, is a current issue to be urgently resolved.


Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided to stimulate multiple sites in a heart. A controller senses electrical activity associated with sinus rhythm of the heart. A signal generator is configured to generate an electrical signal for stimulating the heart. Based on the electrical signal, a distributor circuit then distributes the stimulating signals, such as pacing pulses, to a heart. The distributor circuit may vary the delay time between stimulating signals, inhibit a stimulating signal, trigger application of a stimulating signal, or vary the characteristics, such as the pulse width and amplitude, of a stimulating signal.

During a normal heartbeat, the heart contracts in a coordinated fashion to pump blood. In particular, the heart contracts based on rhythmic electrical impulses, which are spread over the heart using specialized fibers. These rhythmic electrical pulses are initiated by the heart's natural pacemaker called the sinoatrial node ("SA node"). The SA node initiates electrical impulses to cause the right and left atrium to contract. As the atria contract, the electrical impulses from the SA node propagate to the atrial-ventricular node ("AV node"). After an inherent delay in the AV node, the AV node then transmits the electrical impulses, which eventually causes contraction in the right and left ventricles. The inherent delay of the AV node is known as the A-V delay and allows the atria to fully contract and fill the ventricles with blood. Blood from the ventricles then flows out of the heart and to the rest of the body. Therefore, the heart relies upon a rhythmic cycle of electrical impulses to pump blood efficiently.
A heart may suffer from one or more cardiac defects that interfere with the rhythmic cycle or conduction of electrical impulses. For example, one known heart condition is an AV nodal block. An AV nodal block inhibits transfer of impulses from the SA node to the AV node, and thus, inhibits or prevents contraction of the right and left ventricles. Other conditions, such as myocardial scarring and bundle branch block, may slow conduction of impulses, and thus, cause the heart to beat in an uncoordinated fashion.
In diseased hearts having conduction defects and in congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiac depolarizations that naturally occur in one upper or lower heart chamber are not conducted in a timely fashion either within the heart chamber or to the other upper or lower heart chamber. In such cases, the right and left heart chambers do not contract in optimum synchrony with one another, and cardiac output suffers.
Typically, an artificial pacemaker is installed to treat these and other various cardiac deficiencies. For example, in the case of loss of A-V synchrony, a single chamber, demand pacemaker may sense impulses from the SA node and then supply stimulating electrical pulses to the ventricles to cause contraction in the right and left ventricles. In this manner, an artificial pacemaker may compensate for blocked or slowed conduction of electrical impulses from the atrium to the ventricles in the heart.
Dual chamber, demand pacemakers typically supply pacing pulses when required to one upper heart chamber and to one lower heart chamber, usually the right atrium and the right ventricle. In a dual chamber, demand pacemaker operating in DDD pacing mode, an atrial pacing pulse is delivered to the atrium if an atrial contraction is not sensed within an atrial escape interval (A—A interval) and a ventricular pacing pulse is delivered to the ventricle if a ventricular contraction is not sensed within a ventricular escape interval (V—V interval).
Patients suffering from congestive heart failure and other conduction defects may require bi-ventricular and/or bi-atrial pacing. For example, in a dual chamber bi-atrial pacemaker, the right atrium may be paced at the expiration of an A—A escape interval, and the left atrium is synchronously paced or paced after a short delay. In a dual chamber bi-ventricular pacemaker, the right ventricle may be paced at the expiration of a V—V escape interval, and the left ventricle is synchronously paced or paced after a short delay time. In a single chamber pacemaker with bi-chamber pacing, a pacing pulse delivered at the end of an AV delay may trigger the simultaneous or slightly delayed delivery of the pacing pulse to the other heart chamber.
In order to provide stimulating electrical pulses, known artificial pacemakers may include multiple stimulators. Furthermore, an artificial pacemaker may include multiple stimulators that are triggered at different times to provide dual chamber and/or bi-chamber pacing. Unfortunately, providing and controlling multiple stimulators increases the number of components that may fail within an artificial pacemaker.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide methods, apparatus, and systems, which can avoid using multiple stimulators and overcome other deficiencies in the prior art.

Methods, apparatus, and systems for multiple stimulation from a single stimulator


A spreader for an aircraft comprises a throat assembly operable to couple to a gatebox, the throat assembly comprising an air intake portion operable to direct airflow into the spreader, a material intake portion operable to receive material released from a gatebox, a fan assembly comprising a plurality of vanes that divide the fan assembly into a plurality of compartments, wherein the vanes are comprised of molded material, and a connection mechanism operable to couple the fan assembly to the throat assembly.

Aircraft are often used to spread material over a surface, for example, in agricultural, firefighting, forest seeding, and other applications. In traditional spreading systems, a gatebox stores the flow of material from an aircraft. Spreading systems may include a spreader that connects to a gatebox and controls the spread pattern of material that flows out of the gatebox. In some spreading systems, the spreader is made from sheet metal riveted together. A spreader generally has a narrow front (direction of flight) end that captures airflow and fans out to a wide rear end where the airflow exits the spreader. A spreader may include a number of vanes that divide the spreader into sections. In certain systems, material flows from the gatebox into the spreader at the narrow end. The material is conveyed by the captured airflow through the vanes to the wide rear end where the material exits the spreader in a widened pattern.


A syringe assembly includes a syringe barrel having an inside surface defining a chamber, an open proximal end, a distal end, and an outlet; a plunger assembly disposed at least partially within the syringe barrel, including an elongate plunger rod having a locking flange formed thereon; and a plunger head having a distal sealing surface, the plunger rod being engageable with the plunger head such that the plunger rod is adapted to move the plunger head within the chamber of the syringe barrel through an injection cycle; and a flange lock disposed at the open proximal end of the barrel. The flange lock is integral with the open proximal end of the syringe barrel. During the injection cycle, the flange lock engages the locking flange of the plunger rod so as to prevent removal of the plunger rod from the syringe barrel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a passive reuse prevention syringe that uses a flange lock. More specifically, aspects of the present invention relate to a syringe that includes a flange lock disposed at an open proximal end of a syringe barrel for engaging a locking flange disposed on a plunger rod. The flange lock engages the locking flange so as to prevent removal of the plunger rod from the syringe barrel and disable the syringe.
2. Description of Related Art
Hypodermic syringe products are generally intended for a single use only, in part, to address concerns related to the spread of disease associated with reuse of such products and to deter other misuse. Attempts have been made to provide a solution to these concerns. Some of these attempts have provided injection systems that require a specific, affirmative act to destroy the syringe after the intended injection either by using a separate device for destroying the syringe or providing a syringe assembly with frangible zones so that the syringe could be rendered inoperable by the application of force. Although many of these devices work quite well, they do require the specific intent of the user followed by the affirmative act to destroy or render the syringe inoperable. These devices are not effective with a user having the specific intent to reuse the hypodermic syringe.
Attempts have also been made to provide a syringe assembly that is automatically disabled or rendered inoperable after a single or select number of uses. Such syringe assemblies present specific challenges because they must not prevent filling or use under normal conditions. Moreover, certain automatic locking and disabling devices only allow for a fixed dosage amount to be supplied by the syringe before the syringe is disabled.

Passive reuse prevention syringe that uses a flange lock


According to the present invention, in a manual electric wheelchair equipped with a supplemental drive force system consisting of a man power detect means constituted by a potentiometer (27), etc., a signal transmit means constituted by a rotation transformer (39), a control means constituted by a controller (35), a drive force transmit means constituted by a drive motor and gears (G1-G4), etc., a set consisting of the man power detect means, the signal transmit means, the control means, the drive motor, and the drive force transmit means is arranged about an axle (11) of the hub (2a) and of the stationary plate (31) of each drive wheel (2), the stationary plate (31) being fixed to a frame (3) at a location in the vicinity of the hub (2a) in a manner such that the stationary plate (31) is prohibited from rotating, and each drive wheel (2) is capable of being attached to and detached from the chair body together with the respective stationary plate (31). Therefore, according to the present invention, a compact and rational arrangement of the supplemental drive force system is realized, and a mass producibility is improved through the consequent reduction in number and lengths of the wires as well as simplification of manufacture and assemble work of the manual electric wheelchair.

This manual electric wheelchair is a crossbreed of the conventional manual wheelchair and the electric wheelchair, and is designed to mitigate the physical work of a rider through the following procedure: detecting a man power imparted intermittently to a pair of right and left drive wheels by a man power detect means; transmitting a detection signal to a control means through a signal transmit means; causing a drive motor, which is controlled by the control means, to create a supplemental force of a magnitude corresponding to the man power; and transmitting this supplemental force to the right and left drive wheels through a drive force transmit means.
However, with the conventional manual electric wheelchairs, the design adopted for the arrangement of the man power detect means, the signal transmit means, the control means; the drive motor and the drive force transmit means, which constitute a supplemental drive force system, was not the kind wherein these elements are assembled at one place compactly, so that the wires used were numerous and lengthy and the manufacture and assemble work was not easy and the cost was high.
Also, with the conventional manual electric wheelchairs, such construction was not adopted whereby the supplemental drive force system is provided for each drive wheel independently from the chair body, so that it was not easy to detach the drive wheels from the chair body, and hence lacked portability and easiness of storing.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, with which a cost reduction can be achieved through simplification of manufacture and assemble work on account of reduction in number and lengths of the wires resulting from realization of compact and rational arrangement of the supplemental drive force system, and with which wheelchair it becomes highly portable and storable on account of easy detachability of the drive wheels from the chair body.
Incidentally, in the conventional manual electric wheelchairs, since the supplemental drive force system consisted of two symmetrically arranged units each one provided radially outside the periphery of each drive wheel, the bulk of the wheelchair was so large that it was not only difficult to handle it but also troublesome to fold it up when not in use.
It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, which can be made more compact through effectual utilization of its unoccupied room and which can be made more storable while the effect of mass production is increased.
Now, conventionally, the man power detect means adopted was such as follows: handrims were supported in a manner such that they were freely rotatable relative to the drive wheels, and an elastic means such as a spring is connected between a handrim and a drive wheel, and a relative rotation amount of the handrim, which increases proportionately to the man power imparted to the handrim, is detected with a potentiometer or the like to thereby detect the man power.
However, with the conventional manual electric wheelchairs which adopted the man power detect means as described above, since the handrims were supported freely rotatably by a wheel axle of a small-diameter, so that the rigidity with which the handrim is supported is low and thus it was possible that a rider fails to properly perform the lift-up action (an action performed by a rider to lift his/her body making use of the handrims as the support when mounting and dismounting).
Therefore, it is still another object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, wherein the handrims are supported by drive wheel hubs which can be machined with high precision and have high rigidity, so that the handrims can be supported with higher rigidity and it is also possible for the handrims to rotate smoothly and for the rider to perform the lift-up action by means of the handrims.
Also, when the offset amount in the direction of the axle (widthwise direction of the wheelchair) between an operation portion of the handrims (the portion by which the rider holds the handrims) and a rotation support portion thereof is large, that moment which works upon the handrims in the lateral direction (the moment which works in such a direction as to bend the handrims sideways with respect to the rotation support portion) becomes large with a result that the sideways play of the handrims increases so that the operability is impaired and the durability of the bearing provided in the rotation support portion is lowered.
Therefore, it is still another object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, with which the operability of the handrims can be improved through reduction of the sideways play of the handrims, and in which the durability of the bearing of the rotation support portion of the handrims can be improved.
Incidentally, it is necessary to maintain with stability the precision of the man power detect means, which consists of springs, potentiometer, etc., for example, so that this means is required to be highly waterproof and dustproof.
Therefore, it is a further object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, with which it is possible to maintain the detection precision of the man power detect means at high level stably.
The conventional manual electric wheelchairs still had another problem: since the construction was such that the drive wheels were not easily attached to or detached from the chair body, the wheelchairs were poor in portability and storability.
It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, with which it is possible to detach and attach the drive wheels in a one-click manner so easily that the portability and storability are significantly improved.
Now, a battery is indispensable as the electric power source to a manual electric wheelchair, and electricity is supplied from the battery to the drive motor and the control means; then, if a main switch for connecting and disconnecting the battery is integrally incorporated in a drive wheel and the main switch is made detachable from the chair body together with the drive wheel in which it is incorporated, the electric wire connecting the main switch to the battery can be made shorter and more manageable, and at the same time, the drive wheels are easily detached from and attached to the chair body.
Therefore, it is also an object of the invention to provide a manual electric wheelchair, with which it is possible to simplify the overall construction and ease the operation for detaching the drive wheels from and attaching the same to the chair body through dwarfing of the electric wires and wire accessories.


Disclosed herein is a device and method for evacuating patients during medical emergencies. The device is an evacuation blanket comprised of a cover and a carrier. The cover includes a number of inventive elements supporting an improved method of evacuating patients and matching those patients to the blanket used for their evacuation after the patient has been evacuated to a destination and separated from the blanket.

Transporting patients in emergency situations poses a difficult challenge for responders, and no current tools exist for effective transport in ranging situations. Patient transport issues during emergency operations and daily transfers show planning and response deficits, including; 1) providing continuity of care for increased customer satisfaction by ensuring that the patient chart/information/medicines and other items follow the patient; 2) transferring biological material in patient linens during transfers from one facility to another facility, leading to nosocomial and iatrogenic infections; 3) protecting against linen loss by maintaining the proper inventory of linens, which are often lost during transfers causing increased costs to the hospital; and 4) transporting patients in emergency situations and evacuations. The disclosed invention meets these needs and fulfills many regulatory agency requirements.


An apparatus (10) for protecting an electrical device comprises two temperature-dependent switching mechanisms (12, 13) each having at least two temperature-dependent switch conditions, and three external terminals (15, 16, 17). The two switching mechanisms (12, 13) are arranged directly in a common housing (21) in such a way that each switching mechanism (12, 13), as a function of its temperature, connects a first or second external terminal (16, 17), associated with it, directly to a third external terminal, serving as center terminal (15), that is common to both switching mechanisms (12, 13).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an apparatus for protecting an electrical device, having two temperature-dependent switching mechanisms each having at least two temperature-dependent switch conditions and at least two external terminals.
2. Related Prior Art
An apparatus of this kind is known from DE-A-42 05 699.
The known apparatus comprises two independent temperature-dependent switches which each have a separate electrically conductive lower housing part. Each lower housing part receives a bimetallic switching mechanism and serves as a first external terminal. The lower housing part is closed off by a cover on which the second external terminal of the respective switch is provided.
The two switches are arranged next to or above one another, a PTC heating block being provided in each case between or below the lower housing parts, resulting in a series circuit made up of the two switches and the heating resistor located therebetween. The two switches and the heating resistor are insulated externally by means of an insulating tube or an outer housing; only the two external terminals provided on the respective cover, and an external terminal constituted by a lower housing part, are accessible from outside.
The switch arranged between the first and the second external terminal is normally closed. The other switch is normally open, the series circuit made up of this switch and the heating resistor being located between the second and third external terminal. The normally closed and normally open switches each have the same switchover temperature.
The known apparatus is used for overtemperature protection of a load in which, in the event of malfunction, there flows a residual current so small that it is not sufficient for the usual self-hold by means of a heating resistor connected in series with the load. In the case of the known apparatus, the normally closed switch is now placed in series with the load, while the series circuit made up of the normally open switch and heating resistor is parallel to the load. In the event of overtemperature of the load, the normally closed switch decouples the load from the voltage supply, while the normally open switch connects the heating resistor to the voltage supply, so that the heat generated in the heating resistor can be used to hold the normally closed and normally open switches in their respective high-temperature settings.
The known apparatus is thus configured for a very specific purpose, the disadvantage here being that two independent switches are used, so that not only are the total dimensions large, but the overall design outlay is also very high, which is associated with corresponding costs.
DE-AS-1 058 606 discloses a temperature-dependent switch, configured as a true changeover switch, which has a temperature-dependent switching mechanism in the form of a bimetallic snap disk. The switch has an electrically conductive housing in which the bimetallic snap disk is guided peripherally. The housing serves as center terminal of the changeover switch. Depending on the temperature, the bimetallic snap disk is in contact, at its center region, with one of two spring-loaded plungers which are held in a manner insulated with respect to the housing, and each constitute one of the two further external terminals.
Depending on the temperature, the bimetallic snap disk creates an electrically conductive connection between the center terminal and one of the two further external terminals. Because of the insulation required between the housing and the two spring-loaded plungers, the known changeover switch is mechanically very complex and bulky. For a number of applications, moreover, the electrically conductive housing must additionally be insulated externally, which requires assembly time and thus results in costs.
As a result of increasingly strict safety regulations and increasingly demanding safety requirements, two or more temperature-dependent switches are often needed for various switching functions in order to protect, in particular, household devices such as washing machines, coffeemakers, clothes dryer, hair dryers, etc. from overheating and overload current. The individual switches must be designed as normally closed or normally open, depending on the requirement; the various switches often must also have different switching temperatures. The apparatus and the changeover switch described above are not suitable for such universal applications; furthermore, their respective complex configuration and the high costs associated therewith are not in line with today's prevailing cost pressure. The size of the known apparatus also precludes use in today's often very small household appliances.


Methods and systems for network-based or Internet-based software delivery are described. In one embodiment, an application program or software platform resides on a client. The program or platform is configured so that it is extensible based on software extensions that are deliverable over a network such as the Internet. Various extensions can be developed by third party developers for incorporation into the program or platform. In the described embodiment, extension files that comprise a software extension are hosted on an Internet server. Additional files are also hosted on the Internet server and describe aspects of the software extension. These additional files include files that describe a logical attachment of the extension to the program or platform, as well as files that describe the location of the extension files. Extensions are incorporated on a client by navigating to a particular Internet site through which the extensions can be accessed. The files describing the extension files are downloaded on the client. These files tell the client where the particular extension is to be plugged in, as well as where to find the appropriate extension files and how to download them. The extension files are then downloaded and incorporated into the program or platform.

Installation of traditional PC applications requires physical media, such as a disk or CD-ROM that must be physically inserted into a computer in order for software to be loaded onto a user's computer. Typically, this process requires the user to enter settings information that can be confusing to the user. Once the software is installed, it is typically fixed in terms of its location and functionality. When the software is updated, the user must typically purchase additional physical media and repeat the installation process so that they can use the updated software. In this model, the software is fixed in its association with the computer on which it was installed. If a user moves to another computer, they will not be able to use the specific software on their machine without repeating the installation process.
As computing continues to evolve into the environment of computer networks such as the Internet, it has become clear that the traditional software delivery model described above is inadequate to meet the demands of consumers who desire dynamic, flexible, and adaptable software on-demand. Network-based software delivery is becoming the subject of increasing focus by those who develop and deliver software. Unlocking the potential for network-based software delivery will require smart, innovative and streamlined solutions, especially in situations where bandwidth may be limited.
Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns associated with providing new software delivery models that are particularly well-suited for network-based software delivery, e.g. delivery via the Internet.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Architectures for and methods of providing network-based software extensions


The invention relates to a method and system for free-field optical transmission by means of laser signals, including setting a rate for encoding information that is useful for transmission on the basis of variations in a signal receiving characteristic belonging to a single communication session. The encoding rate is preferably dynamically adjusted during the communication session. An optimized compromise is thereby created between a useful rate that is high and a post-decoding bit error rate that is low. The method and the related system enable atmospheric conditions that can disrupt laser signal transmission to be taken into account in real time when said laser signals pass through part of the earth's atmosphere.

Communication by transmitting laser signals in free space (also referred to herein as "free-field") is well known, and is referred to as free-space laser communication. It consists of modulating a laser beam, transmitted by a transmitting terminal towards a receiving terminal, according to the useful or "payload" information to be transmitted. Because of the very small beam width of the laser beam, it is necessary to keep the transmitting terminal accurately pointed in the direction of the receiving terminal during a communication session. This maintaining of the pointing direction is called the tracking phase of the communication session. Actually, both terminals must be accurately and simultaneously pointed towards each other, in particular because each of them regularly sends beacon signals which are necessary to maintain the alignment between the pointing directions, even if one of the two terminals is not sending useful information at that moment.
When a communication laser beam passes through at least part of the Earth's atmosphere, this atmosphere can interfere with the propagation of the laser beam between the two terminals, and can consequently cause transmission errors in the payload information. Difficult atmospheric conditions can even cause a loss of the optical connection between the two terminals. Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,651 describes a method for preventing the loss of the optical link, which is based on the use of a specific sensor for detecting an atmospheric characteristic indicative of some of the weather conditions which could affect the propagation of laser signals.
Also, document US 2006/0024061 discloses a wavefront correction of laser signals received by one of the optical communication terminals, in order to reduce the disruptions caused by atmospheric turbulence. It is known that when an optical communication is established in which one of the terminals is located in the Earth's atmosphere and the other terminal is located in space, for example on board a satellite, the optical transmission from Earth to space has more disruptions than the optical transmission in the opposite direction.

Method and system for free-field optical transmission by means of laser signals


A lifting device for lifting cylindrical tanks of the type used by welders is disclosed. The lifting device comprises an elongated lifting arm having a bracket pivotally secured to a midpoint of the arm. Both ends of a chain are secured to the bracket and the chain is dimensioned so that, with the bracket in abutment against the side of the tank, the chain extends around the tank. An abutment member is secured to a lower first end of the lifting arm so that, as the second upper end of the lifting arm is lifted, the tank is mechanically locked between the chain, bracket and the abutment member. A lifting cart having a hoist assembly for lifting the lifting arm is also disclosed.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lifting devices and, more particularly, to such a device particularly designed for lifting cylindrical tanks.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In the welding industry of the type utilizing a combustible gaseous mixture, the combustible gas or gasses are contained in high pressure cylindrical tanks. These tanks must be frequently moved within the shop in order to accommodate the particular welding operation.
In order to move these tanks within a shop, it has been the previous practice for either workmen to manually lift the tank or roll the tank along its bottom. Such tanks, however, are very heavy in construction which makes moving the tank not only a difficult procedure, but also potentially dangerous.


Determinism is maintained in a synchronous first system although the first system receives behaviorchanging signals from a second system running asynchronously relative to the first system. The second system refrains from sending behavior-changing signals to the first system until the first system stops its clock at a prespecified clock cycle and signals the second system of the event. The second system then downloads the behavior-changing signals into the first system and restarts the first system clock. The first system awakens to discover that the behavior-changing signals have been received during the prespecified clock cycle. This is repeated over multiple runs, and in each run the same behavior-changing signals are transferred at the same prespecified clock cycles of the first system. Deterministic behavior is thereby maintained in the first system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to synchronous digital circuits. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for achieving deterministic behavior in a first synchronous system which is clocked by a first clock generator where the first system responds to input signals from a second system which is not clocked by the first clock generator.
2. Cross Reference to Related Copending Applications
The present application is related to copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/670,289 entitled "SCANNABLE SYSTEM WITH ADDRESSABLE SCAN RESET GROUPS", by Robert Edwards et al, which was filed Mar. 15, 1991 Said copending application is assigned to the assignee of the present application and its disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
3. Cross Reference to Related Patents
U.S. Patents are assigned to the assignee of the present application and are further incorporated herein by reference: (A) U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,019, DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM INCLUDING A PROGRAM-EXECUTING SECONDARY SYSTEM CONTROLLING A PROGRAM-EXECUTING PRIMARY SYSTEM, issued to Anderson et al, Jan. 6, 1981; (B) U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,907, INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SCANNING APPARATUS HAVING SCANNING DATA LINES FOR CONNECTING SELECTED DATA LOCATIONS TO AN I/0 TERMINAL, issued to Si, et al. Jun. 21, 1988; (C) U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,166, MULTI-MODE SCAN APPARATUS, issued to Si et al Apr. 4, 1989; (D) U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,953, ERROR TRACKING APPARATUS IN A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM, issued to Venkatesh et al, Apr. 28, 1987; (E) U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,728 DETERMINISTIC CLOCK CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM, issued to Si, et al., May 30, 1989; and (F) U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,616, APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRONOUSLY SWITCHING FREQUENCY SOURCE, issued to Wang et al., Aug. 8, 1989.
4. Description of the Related Art
A deterministic system is one whose behavior may be exactly replicated one run after the next. Deterministic behavior is desireable in computer systems or other sequential state machines, especially during the debugging of software and/or hardware driven processes.
Each deterministic "run" of a sequential state machine takes that machine from a known initial state to a target state (e.g., the state in which an error condition is first recognized) by following substantially the same sequence of intermediate states as taken by other (previous or future) deterministic runs.
When a system is being debugged, the same software and/or hardware driven process is repeatedly executed while a system monitoring means collects information from a different parts of the system. In each execution, the monitoring means scans through the system looking for logic faults. When a fault is detected, the monitoring means tries to trace backwards both temporally and geographically from the point of detection to a point of origin to thereby discover when, where and how the fault first arose. If the system under test does not exhibit deterministic behavior, it would be difficult if not impossible to isolate the origin of system errors in this manner.
In many circumstances, the system which is to be tested (also referred to hereafter as the "main system") has to respond to input signals supplied from a nonsynchronously running second system.
The response of the main system to such input signals may define a substantial change in the behavior of the main system.
Maintaining deterministic behavior in the main system under such circumstances is difficult because a basic premise of determinism might be violated. The premise is that exactly the same inputs are delivered to the main system at exactly the same clock cycles, one run after the next. When a nonsynchronously running second system supplies behavior changing input signals to the main system, those signals can arrive at arbitrary times relative to the clock cycles of the main system and the behavior of the main system will not be exactly the same in every run.

Method and apparatus for maintaining deterministic behavior in a first synchronous system which responds to inputs from nonsynchronous second system


A pulse radar ranging apparatus and a ranging algorithm thereof are provided. The pulse radar ranging apparatus includes a radio frequency pulse generator, a radio frequency filter, a radio frequency switch and a transceiver aerial. The radio frequency pulse generator generates a pulse signal. The radio frequency filter receives the pulse signal and generates a high-pass filter signal, wherein the high-pass filter signal includes a radio frequency pulse reference signal. The radio frequency switch controls an output of the radio frequency pulse reference signal. The transceiver aerial transmits the radio frequency pulse reference signal. The radio frequency pulse reference signal contacts an object and generates a return signal, and the transceiver aerial receives the return signal. The ranging algorithm processes and analyzes the signals obtained by the pulse radar ranging apparatus, and calculates a distance between pulse radar ranging apparatus and the object by using polynomial interpolation.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a ranging apparatus and a ranging algorithm thereof. Particularly, the disclosure relates to a pulse radar ranging apparatus and a ranging algorithm thereof.
2. Related Art
Along with increase of labor cost and progress of automation technology, Taiwan industries start to use automation systems for manufacturing and assembling, so as to improve human throughput and product quality. In view of a present situation, in a production process of an intelligent automation system, a fast operation speed is mainly considered. Commonly used apparatuses in the automation system include a linear guide way, a robot arm or a carrier, etc. These apparatuses may have a real-time control and response function if the movement balance evaluation is performed by measuring vibration signals. Therefore, it is an important issued in development of the intelligent automation system to accurately measure a vibration amount of the robot arm (or the carrier), so as achieve a function of precise control of the automation system.
A commonly used apparatus for measuring the vibration signal includes an accelerometer and a laser interferometer, etc., and regarding a design of the future linear guide way, the robot arm or the carrier, a feature of light loading is mainly considered. However, the accelerometer belongs to an embedded sensing device, which has more limitations in application of future intelligent automated factories. Regarding the laser interferometer, since the laser interferometer performs range measurement to obtain a vibration amount of an object according to an optical principle, such measurement method is liable to be influenced by a hot and humid environment and light sources of the factory, and affects a range measurement result.

Pulse radar ranging apparatus and ranging algorithm thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The thermal printhead (A1) performs printing on RFID tag (T) as a print target that includes a coil antenna and a memory. The thermal printhead includes a coil antenna (3) as a part of a data transmitter-receiver for the transmitting and receiving of data with respect to the RFID tag (T) by wireless communication.

Recently, automatic identification systems have been actively introduced for baggage management in airports. In the automatic identification systems, a device incorporating hardware and software automatically performs data reading and data identification with respect to a management target, without human operation. Specifically, some automatic identification systems use RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tags. The RFID tag includes a memory for recording identification data, and a coil antenna for data transmission by wireless communication, and its outer surface is printed with letters or barcodes corresponding to e.g. the identification data. Data transmission and printing to the RFID tag is performed by an RFID tag printer, for example.
FIG. 6 illustrates a conventional RFID tag printer (see Patent document 1, for example). The illustrated RFID tag printer X includes a thermal printhead 91 for printing on RFID tags 99, and two coil antennas 93A, 93B each serving as data transmitting and receiving means with respect to the RFID tags 99. The RFID tag printer X operates in the manner described below.
First, an external computer 94 sends identification data corresponding to each of the RFID tags 99 to a controller 96 via a communication I/F 95. Then, a sheet 98 provided with the RFID tags 99 is fed out of an RFID tag sheet roll 97. When each of the RFID tags 99 arrives at a position above the coil antenna 93A as seen in the figure, the controller 96 issues a command to cause the coil antenna 93A to generate electromagnetic field. When an antenna coil (not shown) of the RFID tag 99 is brought into the electromagnetic field, electrical power supply as well as transmission of identification data to be recorded are simultaneously performed to the RFID tag 99 by electromagnetic induction. In this way, corresponding identification data is recorded in the memory (not shown) of each RFID tag 99. Next, when the RFID tag 99 arrives at a position below the thermal printhead 91, the RFID tag 99 is held between the thermal printhead 91 and a platen roller 92. In this state, letters, marks, and barcodes corresponding to the identification data are printed on the RFID tag 99. When the RFID tag 99 arrives at a position above the antenna coil 93B, the identification data recorded in the memory (not shown) of the RFID tag 99 is sent to the controller 96 via the antenna coil 93B, utilizing electromagnetic induction. Then, the controller 96 checks the validity of the identification data recorded in the RFID tag 99. In this way, the RFID tag printer X performs printing and data transmission relative to the RFID tag 99.
However, such RFID tag printer X has problems as described below.
Firstly, in the RFID tag printer X, the thermal printhead 91 and the antenna coils 93A, 93B are arranged in series in the feeding direction of the RFID tag 99. In order to prevent the antenna coils 93A, 93B and the platen roller 92 from interfering with each other, the thermal printhead 91 needs to be spaced from the antenna coils 93A, 93B. Thus, the thermal printhead 91 and the antenna coils 93A, 93B need a large space for installation, which prevents downsizing of the RFID tag printer X.
Secondly, the intensity of the electromagnetic field generated by the antennal coils 93A, 93B becomes weaker as proceeding further from the antenna coils 93A, 93B. In order to properly perform data transmission with the RFID tag 99, the RFID tag 99 is required to pass through an area in the electromagnetic field having the minimum operating magnetic intensity. By performing data transmission within an area with high magnetic intensity, reliable and high-speed data transmission is performed. Thus, it is preferable that the antenna coils 93A, 93B are positioned as close to the RFID tag 99 as possible. However, the RFID tag printer X has room for improvement in positioning the antenna coils 93A, 93B closer to the RFID tag 99 without contacting each other.
Patent Document: JP-A-2003-132330

Thermal print head and thermal printer provided with wireless communication function using such thermal print head


The focus is moved from a first layer (L0) to a second layer (L1) of a double-layered optical disk by stopping a control loop operation and applying acceleration pulses for an interlayer jump to a two-axis electromagnetic actuator. Here, switching timing between acceleration and deceleration for an interlayer jump is generated based on the rate of change of a SUM signal obtained from a light-sensitive element (27), the SUM signal is distinguished by a specific threshold TH, and an S-shaped error signal is distinguished by thresholds THH and THL with different positive/negative level, thereby performing a pull-in operation of focus control. In addition, at the time of the interlayer jump, a liquid crystal element (23) for correcting the spherical aberration is optimized in advance for the cover layer thickness of the target layer L1.

Hitherto, in optical recording medium handling devices typified by an optical disk recorder/player, the diameter (φ) of a focal spot is generally given according to formula (1):φ=λ/NA   (1)where λ is the wavelength and NA is the numerical aperture of the objective lens.
Therefore, the shorter the wavelength of the light source and the larger the numerical aperture of the objective lens, the smaller the diameter of the focal spot on the recording medium and the higher the possible density of optical recording.
A focusing objective lens used for an optical data recording/playback device is designed generally so that the residual wavefront aberration is minimized for a cover layer (transparent protective layer) which is provided as a protective film on a data-recording layer of a recording medium and which has a specific thickness. For example, a focusing objective lens is designed so as to be the optimum for a cover layer thickness of 1.2 mm in a CD (compact disk) device, and 0.6 mm in a DVD (digital versatile disk) device.
There is provided an optical disk (so-called multi-layer disk) in which a plurality of data-recording layers are laminated. In this multi-layer disk, each data-recording layer is covered by a cover layer, the cover layers having different thicknesses from each other.
In a DVD playback device that plays back a DVD having two data-recording layers, the numerical aperture of an objective lens is 0.6, and a red semiconductor laser with a wavelength of 650 nm is used as a light source.
The tolerance of the objective lens to a difference in thickness between the cover layers are given according to formula (2):
                              W          40                =                              Δ                                                                                t                                            (                                                      n                    2                                    -                  1                                )                                                                NA              4                                            8                                      n              3                                                          (        2        )            where Δt is the difference in thickness between the cover layers, and n is the refractive index of the cover layers (see, for example, S. Kubota, "Aplanatic condition required to reproduce jitter-free signals in optical disk system", Appl. Opt. Vol. 26, pp. 3961–3973 (1987) (hereinafter referred to as the Kubota paper)).
For example, when the permissible spherical aberration (W40) is λ/4, the permissible fluctuation value (Δt) of the cover layer thickness in the above DVD playback device is ±27 μm. As for the double-layered disk used in the DVD playback device, the distance between data-recording layers is restricted to about 40 μm so as to fall in the above tolerance.
Recently, there has been disclosed a technique in which a high-capacity optical disc recording/playback device is achieved by shortening the wavelength of the light source and increasing the numerical aperture of the objective lens.
In this technique, a blue-violet semiconductor laser and an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.85 are used, and a recording capacity over 23 gigabytes is achieved in a DVD-size optical disk. On the other hand, according to formula (2), the accuracy of the cover layer thickness needs to be within ±4 μm.
However, if the same double-layered disk as in the DVD device is used in an optical disk recording/playback device using a high numerical aperture lens, in order to prevent interlayer interference of data signals, it is necessary to secure an interlayer distance of about 20 μm, which does not fall within the tolerance (±4 μm) for the cover layer thickness.
In order to deal with different cover layer thicknesses, there is disclosed a technique in which the spherical aberration is corrected by an expander lens (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-131603).
In addition, a more effective technique using a liquid crystal element is disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-020263 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-331963). The liquid crystal element has, for example, a concentric electrode pattern, and, according to the voltage applied to electrodes, it can generate a wavefront substantially equivalent to the degree of correction of the spherical aberration caused by the thickness error of the cover layers (see, for example, M. Iwasaki, M. Ogasawara, and S. Ohtaki, "A new liquid crystal panel for spherical aberration compensation", Tech. Digest of Optical Data Storage Topical Meeting, SPIE 4342, pp. 103–105 (2001) (hereinafter referred to as the Iwasaki paper)).
When an objective lens with high numerical aperture is applied to recording and playback of a multi-layer disk medium, it is necessary to use a technique in which the focal point of the focal spot is selectively moved and controlled with respect to the target data-recording layer in addition to the above-described correcting technique.
There is disclosed a technique in which the above correcting unit is optimized in advance for the target data-recording layer when the pull-in operation of focus control and the focus movement are performed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100061). In addition to the optimizing technique of the above correcting unit, there is disclosed the application timing of acceleration pulses necessary for the focus movement (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-157750).
In an actual multi-layer optical recording medium, there is a possibility that a manufacturing error concerning the cover layer thickness occurs. Additionally, in the above-described correcting unit itself, there is a deviation of the degree of correction made to the applied voltage. Therefore, after completing the focus control pull-in operation, there needs to be a fine-tuning so that the degree of spherical aberration correction is optimal.
In particular, there are disclosed: a technique in which a playback signal from a data-recording medium is tuned to the optimal signal by using the jitter value represented as a fluctuation of the data edges with respect to a playback clock (normally, a PLL Clock: Phase-Locked Loop Clock), the signal amplitude, or the error rate (see, for example, K. Osato, I. Ichimura, F. Maeda, K. Yamamoto, and Y. Kasami, "Progress in optical disk recording with over 20 GB of capacity", Tech. Digest of Optical Data Storage Topical Meeting, Whistler, pp. 15–17 (2000) (hereinafter referred to as the Osato paper)); and a technique in which there is provided an automatic correcting mechanism based on a spherical aberration error signal generated from the return light intensity from a data-recording medium (see, for example, T. Shimano, M. Umeda, and T. Ariyoshi, "Spherical aberration detection in the optical pickups for high-density digital versatile discs", Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 40, pp. 2292–2295 (2001) (hereinafter referred to as the Shimano paper)).
On the other hand, the wavefront aberration W20 caused by a focus error (Δz) is proportional to the square of the numerical aperture of a lens, and described according to formula (3):
                              W          20                =                              1            2                              Δ                                                              z                                                                          NA            2                                              (        3        )
However, in a multi-layer optical disk device using the above-described high numerical aperture objective lens, since the focal depth of the focusing objective lens is generally shallow, a focus control error signal is discontinuous between data-recording layers. Therefore, there exists a problem in that it is difficult to determine the switching timing between acceleration and deceleration.
Therefore, in comparison with, for example, a known double-layered DVD device, interlayer movement of a light spot cannot be achieved easily.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical recording medium handling device and a focus controlling method for the same that can perform interlayer movement from one data-recording layer to another data-recording layer appropriately and easily with respect to a recording medium having a plurality of data-recording layers.

Optical recording medium processing device and focal point control method thereof


A folding chair having: a frame consisting of a pair of front crossed legs; a pair of back crossed legs; and two pairs of side crossed legs, each pair of crossed legs pivotally connected together where they cross. The lower ends of the front legs and the lower, front ends of the side legs are pivotally connected to first and second lower, front pads. The lower ends of the back legs and the lower, back ends of the side legs are pivotally connected to first and second lower, back pads. The upper ends of the back legs and the upper, back ends of the side legs are pivotally connected to first and second upper, back pads. The upper ends of the front legs and the upper, front ends of the side legs are pivotally connected to first and second upper, front pads. The upper ends of the front legs slidably pass through the first and second upper front pads, the upper ends bent to form hand rests above the upper front pads. The upper, front, ends of the side legs are pivotally connected to the upper front pads. Flexible seat means are connected to the frame with the corners at the four upper pads.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward folding furniture. The invention is more particularly directed toward a folding chair. The invention is also directed toward a connector pad for use in folding furniture, and particularly in a folding chair.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under CFR .sctn..sctn. 1.97-1.99
Folding chairs are generally of the type where the seat folds relative to the back of the chair. Thus the size of the chair is reduced in depth or in the Y direction. Such a folded chair still takes up a relatively large amount of space however since the width of the chair, in the X direction, has not been reduced.
It is known to provide folding chairs of the type which fold in both the X and Y directions to reduce the space taken up by the chairs. Examples of such chairs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,136,272 and 3,635,520 by way of example. These known chairs are however somewhat complicated in construction, particularly in providing arm rests and back rests. The chairs are also awkward and difficult to fold and unfold when provided with arm rests and back rests. The back rests provided by the known chairs are also not very strong. The known chairs are also not adapted to seat more than one person at a time.


A sulphur cement product comprising sulphur, filler, sand having a surface area of greater than 0.5 m2/g, and an organosilane having at least one amino functional group is disclosed. Further, a process for the preparation of such cement sulphur product is disclosed.

Elemental sulphur or modified sulphur can be used to bind aggregate and filler, thereby providing sulphur cement products such as sulphur mortar and sulphur concrete. Sulphur concrete can be used in a variety of pre-cast concrete applications such as marine defences, paving slabs, road barriers and retaining walls.
Sand is very commonly used as a fine aggregate in sulphur mortar and sulphur concrete. It is desirable to use sand that is available locally for reasons of cost and convenience.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,830 discusses the problem of using aggregates that are contaminated with water-expandable clays. These clays can cause the sulphur mortar or concrete to disintegrate when exposed to water. It is possible to remove the clays by washing procedures, but this is uneconomical. The '830 patent teaches that organosilanes having functional groups such as amino, epoxy and mercapto groups can be incorporated into sulphur mortar or concrete to reduce the water expandability of the water-expandable clay.
The present inventors have found that sulphur mortar and sulphur concrete prepared from porous sand having a high surface area is also liable to disintegrate when exposed to water. This is not due to the presence of expandable clays (washing procedures do not affect the water stability of sulphur mortar and sulphur concrete prepared from the sand). The inventors have sought to improve the water stability of sulphur mortar and sulphur concrete prepared from this high-surface-area sand.


A method of forming a fiber optic device includes securing one or more optical fibers to a support. The support is coupled to a base that includes one or more optoelectronic devices. After one or more of the fibers are secured to the support, and the support is secured to the base, one or more of the fibers are cleaved. A portion of the one or more optical fibers that is in contact with the support may be bent. This method, and fiber optic devices made using this method are more easily aligned and may be produced at lower costs than existing manufacturing processes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to fiber optic devices. More particularly the invention generally relates to optical transceiver components.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
An optical transceiver includes electrical-to-optical signal converters such as lasers, light-emitting diodes and photodiodes. Typically, the components of the optical transceiver are packaged with electronic semiconductor components known as Pre and Post amps and Laser Drivers. The laser driver, pre-amp and post-amp transform the electrical signals further into the necessary shape and size required by other electrical circuitry found in a system. FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a simplified form of this arrangement and how each component is coupled to each other.
FIG. 1 shows a single light source coupling light into an optical fiber and a single fiber coupling light onto a photodetector (the exact light coupling means is not shown in this figure). This arrangement is commonly found in duplex transceiver modules used in a variety of commercial applications.
More dense transceiver modules, known as parallel optical transceivers, are now becoming available. These typically use an array of optical fibers to couple light in and out of an array of light sources and detectors. In general, light sources tend to be packaged separately from detectors to avoid interference caused by either electrical or optical cross-talk, however, a new very low cost transceiver module, being proposed for the next generation of high-speed USB connector technology, houses both the receiver and light source in a low profile package e.g., <2 mm in height.
The combination of a plurality of optical fibers in a small package create additional manufacturing problems. As the size of the optical fibers and the optoelectronic devices is reduced, manufacturing costs and time increase due to the difficulty of precisely aligning multiple components. In order to make such devices economically feasible, it is desirable to design fiber optic devices which have fewer adjustable tolerances to improve the speed and cost of manufacturing.

Fiber optic devices and methods of manufacturing fiber optic devices


A block-out cover is installed in a jack module to prevent entry of undesirable objects. The block-out cover includes at least one window and at least one locking arm. The locking arm secures the cover to the jack module. The window receives a removal tool designed to remove the cover from the jack module. The removal tool includes a body, a lever secured to the body to engage the cover and a prong with a cam surface. The cam surface of the prong deflects the cover from locking engagement with the jack module allowing the removal tool to remove the block-out cover.

Dust covers, also known as block-out covers, are frequently inserted into jack modules to protect the module and prevent entry of undesirable objects. Some covers include multiple parts or special latch connectors that secure the cover to the modules. Other covers have relatively large open areas designed to receive a flat tool that would enable the end user to release the cover from the module so that it could be removed from the module. The covers with the larger open areas, however, may be accidentally removed from the module.
There are also covers that are inserted in the opening of a module and then locked by a rotating key. These covers may only be removed by inserting the key and rotating it to unlock or release the cover from the module. Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved cover and removal tool where the cover would not be accidentally removed from a module but would be easily removed from the module by a simple tool.


An exemplary dual-axis hinge mechanism includes a base seat, a first rotatable assembly and a second rotatable assembly. The first rotatable assembly includes a rotary member rotatably assembled in the base seat, a steady member and an elastic member non-rotatably received in the base seat, and a fastening member. The rotary member includes a rotational shaft configured for extending through the steady member, the elastic member, the base seat, and then engages with the fastening member. Each of the rotary member and the steady member defines an engaging surface. The engaging surfaces movably engage with each other. The fastening member is rotatable along the rotational shaft for adjusting an external force for rotating the rotary member. The second rotatable assembly includes a pivotal shaft fixed to the rotary member, and a bracket pivotally assembled on the pivotal shaft.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally to hinge mechanisms and, more particularly, to a dual-axis hinge mechanism typically used for an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
An electronic device such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, or a PDA (personal digital assistant), generally has a main body and a display cover. In general, the display cover is connected to the main body via a dual-axis hinge mechanism to realize rotating or folding-over functions, so as to facilitate adjustment of the position of the display cover relative to the user.
A typical dual-axis hinge mechanism includes a base seat, a first rotatable assembly, and a second rotatable assembly. The second rotatable assembly is pivotally connected to the base seat. The first rotatable assembly includes a pivotal shaft, a steady member, a rotary member, and an elastic member. The pivotal shaft is passed through the base seat, the steady member, and the rotary member. The base seat and the rotary member are rotatable relative to the pivotal shaft, and the steady member is non-rotatable relative to the pivotal shaft. The elastic member is configured for providing an axial force along the pivotal shaft such that the rotary member and the steady member abut each other. One of the rotary member and the steady member forms a protrusion, and the other one of rotary member and the steady member defines a recess for engaging with the protrusion. When an external force is applied to rotate the base seat and the rotary member around the pivotal shaft, the protrusion slides out of the recess, thus the base seat can be easily rotated to a desired position. Then the elastic force created by the elastic member in compressed state enable the rotary member and the steady member tightly contact each other, so that the base seat can be retained in the desired position by friction.
Because different electronic devices have a variety of display covers with different sizes and weights, different external forces are needed for rotating the display covers relative to the main bodies. However, while the typical dual-axis hinge mechanism may be used in different electronic devices, the external force for rotating the base seat is not adjustable, so the typical dual-axis hinge mechanism cannot meet different requirements. Thus the typical dual-axis hinge mechanism is inconvenient to use.
What is needed, therefore, is a new dual-axis hinge mechanism that overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A data retrieval system provides automatic retrieval of information based on a context-traversal history. A transferable object is identified in a first context while the user is operating in the first context. Information used to retrieve the transferable object is automatically stored without user interaction. The automatically stored information is used to copy the transferable object to an object receptor in a second context while the user operates in the second context. A marker stored in the memory signifies an end of a first historical period associated with the first context and a start of a second historical period associated with the second context, associates the transferable object identified in the first context with the first historical period, and separates the information automatically stored in the memory in the first historical period from information automatically stored in the memory in the second historical period.

Users of computing devices often need to move or copy information from one software context to another. Text is a simple example of the type of transferred information, although modern computing systems allow the transfer of several types of complex objects, including images, entire database records, and calendar entries, between applications. Sometimes the destination of the transferred information is in a different location within an application, e.g., when copying text from one word processor document to another. Other times the destination is in a different application, e.g., when copying information from a word processor document to a spreadsheet document.
The current, widely used mechanism for implementing information transfers is the clipboard. The clipboard is a temporary storage buffer for storing various types of data, for example, text, graphics, sound, and video. The various application programs on a computing device share the clipboard, that is, data cut or copied to the clipboard from one application program can be copied (i.e., pasted) into another application program from the clipboard.
Use of the clipboard mechanism encounters certain disadvantages. For one, the user must initiate the transfer, i.e., highlight the information to be transferred, perform a copy operation, switch to the destination location, and perform a paste operation. Further, the user often desires the transfer after leaving the source context and switching to the destination context, and only then realizes the importance of making the transfer. Consequently, the user needs to return to the source context to perform the copy operation, only to return once more to the destination context with the copied information in order to effect the paste operation. Moreover, although some clipboard implementations support copying and maintaining multiple objects (i.e., candidates for transfer by way of pasting), the user still needs to select and copy objects one at a time. Thus, there is a need for system and method for retrieving information that can avoid the inconvenience and inefficiency of the present practice described above.

System for automatic data retrieval based on context-traversal history

International Business Machines Corporation


A high-rate high-swing drive circuit applied to a silicon photonic modulator is disclosed. The drive circuit is connected to a drive pre-stage circuit and a modulator load. The drive circuit includes at least one output circuit, and the output circuit includes: a first inverter, a first voltage bias module, a second inverter, a second voltage bias module, and an inductor. The drive circuit formed by using such a circuit connection increases an output swing of a drive while ensuring a high rate.

With the development of communications technologies, the demand for information is increasing exponentially in modern society. In short range communication, as a chip size decreases and a speed increases gradually, a conventional electric interconnection technology faces a series of bottlenecks such as an increased parasitic effect and limited transmission bandwidth. Because of advantages such as huge bandwidth and no mutual interference between different signals during transmission, an optical interconnection technology has become an ideal solution instead of metal interconnection. In the field of optical interconnection technologies, a silicon photonic technology is widely regarded as a key technology of a next generation.
Currently, increasingly more optical devices are manufactured by using the silicon photonic technology, and a silicon photonic modulator (the silicon photonic modulator is mainly a modulator made of silicon-based materials) is used as an example. In practice, it is found that a drive voltage that is input to the silicon photonic modulator is an important factor determining whether the silicon photonic modulator can work normally, and the drive voltage is closely related to an output voltage of a drive pre-stage circuit. Specifically, reference may be made to a drive circuit shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a drive pre-stage circuit outputs a pair of differential signals (D1 and D1), separately transfers the pair of differential signals to an inverter, and respectively connects the two differential signals passing through the inverter to two plates of a silicon photonic modulator. As the inverter included in this drive circuit is mainly built by using a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor, a voltage loaded onto the silicon photonic modulator is limited to a maximum working voltage of the CMOS transistor. The maximum working voltage of the CMOS transistor is related to a process node of the CMOS transistor and a rate required by a system. For example, if a drive rate of 25 Gbps needs to be obtained, only an inverter built by using a CMOS core transistor less than 40 nm can meet such a rate requirement. For a process of a CMOS transistor less than 40 nm, a maximum working voltage of the CMOS transistor is only approximately 1 V. That is, an output drive voltage of a single-stage inverter is only approximately 1 V. If the method shown in FIG. 1 is loaded onto a silicon photonic modulator, a drive voltage is only two times a voltage output by an inverter, and is approximately 2 V. Therefore, it may be difficult to drive the silicon photonic modulator to work normally, because the drive voltage is excessively small. In practice, to resolve the foregoing problem that the drive voltage is too small to normally drive the silicon photonic modulator to work normally, some manners in which a quantity of drive plates is increased or multiple modulators are driven by multiple drives are used. However, these manners increase production complexity and costs. If a MOS transistor with a higher working voltage is used, a rate is greatly affected. Therefore, how to maintain a high rate while increasing an output voltage of a drive is an urgent problem to be resolved.

High-rate high-swing drive circuit applied to silicon photonic modulator


An improved compact disc holder is disclosed for the safe and convenient temporary storage of a digital optical compact disc. The disc holder may be adhesive backed for conveniently mounting to a flat surface or alternately the disc holder may be incorporated into a weighted base to be self supporting. Advantageously, the disc holder provides one or more surfaces for the prominent display of an advertisement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of optical disc storage devices and, more particularly, the present invention relates to unique structures for temporary storage and easy access to digital compact discs.
2. Description of the Related Art
The dramatic growth in the use of personal computers and the popularity of audio compact discs has resulted in a tremendous increase in the overall use of digital optical compact discs. While previously digital optical compact discs were primarily dedicated to the storage of audio information for playing back music, these discs are now commonly used with personal computers for accessing and retrieving information and for storing computer programs. Although there has been a significant increase in usage of digital optical compact discs, the storage locations for these devices have not changed at all.
Conventional storage devices for digital optical compact discs include examples such as the folding unit for in which audio discs are typically purchased and stored. Additionally, boxes are now available for storing discs. In such a storage unit, the discs may be located within plastic sleeves for storing the discs adjacent to one another in a row within the box. Other conventional storage devices for compact discs provide for storage of discs which are located within the folding package in which the disc is originally purchased. These devices are designed to store many discs which are located within the folding packages in which the discs are purchased. In such devices, the disc packages are typically stacked or otherwise arranged.
The problem with these existing disc storage devices is that they do not allow the user to readily access the disc. When a person using such a device changes between discs, the person is required to remove the currently used disc from the computer or audio disc player and return the disc to its original disc folder. The user then must open another disc package. This is a very time consuming process and often times users who are in a hurry will simply lay the disc on a flat surface and remove the next disc from its package. The problem with doing this is that the disc may easily be damaged when it is not located within a protective cover. This obviously is very undesirable because a damaged disc must be replaced.
The problem of disc access is even more common now with the increase in use of discs associated with personal computers. It is typical that a computer user will have two to three primary discs which are used in conjunction with the person's personal computer. These primary discs may hold the most commonly used software or reference materials such as a dictionary or thesaurus. In ordinary usage, the person may repeatedly exchange the disc in the disc drive throughout the day. Similarly, a person using an audio CD player in a car may have a limited number of favorite compact discs which are brought along on any given trip.
As noted, because the conventional devices are inconvenient to use, many users simply place the compact disc on an available surface without regard to possible damage to the information storage surface of the disc. This is especially true when the discs are repeatedly exchanged. This often results in a damaged disc which is a significant problem especially in the field of computers because replacement of computer software is not nearly as simple as replacing a damaged audio disc. Thus there remains a need in the art for a novel disc storage device which allows a user to readily access a computer or audio disc in a storage unit. There is also a need for a storage unit which can easily receive a disc for temporary storage in a location which will minimize the risk of damage to the disc.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide unique structures for storing digital compact discs in a manner which provides ready access to the disc while also securing the disc in a position to prevent it from being damaged. Another object of the present invention is to provide a location for easy access to the digital optical compact discs. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a surface upon which companies may advertise their names while providing digital compact disc users with a place for easily retrieving discs which are commonly used. Other objects of the advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when viewed in light of the drawings.