A method and apparatus for exactly compensating for a track zero position when copying a reference servo pattern in a disc drive adopting a reference servo track copying method. The method of compensating for a track zero position in a reference servo track copy system for copying a reference servo pattern in a head disc assembly into which a reference disc, on which the reference servo pattern is recorded, produced offline and at least one blank disc are assembled, includes: searching for a collision position of an actuator arm against a stopper for limiting the displacement of the actuator arm on the reference servo pattern; calculating an optimal track zero position based on the searched collision position; and copying the reference servo pattern on all disc surfaces from the calculated optimal track zero position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a servo information recording method and apparatus for a disc drive, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for exactly compensating for a track zero position when copying a reference servo pattern in a disc drive adopting a reference servo track copying method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commonly, hard disc drives (HDDs), a kind of data storage device, reproduce data recorded on a disc or write data on a disc using a magnetic head. According to the trend for high capacity, high density, and compactness of the HDDs, the number of bits per inch (BPI), which denotes the recording density in a disc rotating direction, and the number of tracks per inch (TPI), which denotes the recording density in a disc diameter direction, has been increased. Accordingly, a more elaborate operation mechanism is required for the HDDs.
An HDD includes a head disk assembly (HDA) and a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, which is involved in writing and reading of information by electrically controlling the HDA. As shown in FIG. 1, the HDA includes a head 16 for writing or reading information, a disc 12 having recorded thereon information from the head 16, a spindle motor (not shown) for rotating the disc 12, an actuator arm 24 for moving the head 16, a voice coil motor (VCM) 30, and an inner crash stop (ICS) 36 and an outer crash stop (OCS) 38 for limiting the displacement of the actuator arm 24. Here, the ICS 36 and the OCS 38 are bumpers for preventing the head 16 from moving to locations at which servo information of the disc 12 is not recorded.
The servo information is necessary to perform position control of the head 16 on the disc 12 so that data can be read/written from/on a desired position of the disc 12. Writing the servo information on the disc 12 is called a servo track write (STW) operation.
An increase of recording density of HDDs results in an increase of the number of tracks, and a ratio of the time for the STW operation to the time for the entire operation is gradually higher.
To improve this problem, a method of not writing servo information of discs after the discs are assembled with HDDs but directly assembling discs on which servo information is recorded with HDDs is developed, and this STW method is called an offline STW method.
However, in the offline STW method, since a rotational axis of a disc is not equal to the center of servo tracks, since a track center of a disc is not equal to a track center of another disc, or since centers of tracks on a disc surface are not the same, the servo control performance is decreased.
An STW technology developed to solve this problem is called a reference servo track copying method. As shown in FIG. 2, in this method, after one reference disc on which servo information is recorded and blank discs on which the servo information is not recorded are assembled with an HDD, an offline servo track writer writes the same reference servo pattern on all disc surfaces operated at the same time along with tracing servo tracks written on the reference disc.
Accordingly, in a reference servo track copying method according to the conventional technology, a reference servo pattern is copied by harmonizing a reference track zero position with a copy track zero position as shown in FIG. 5A.
As one of problems generated due to the reference servo track copying method, beginning positions of reference servo tracks are irregular due to disarrangement of heads of the offline servo track writer or occurrence of concentricity, and thus the head 16 may collide against the ICS 36 or the OCS 38 after assembly.
According to the conventional technology, after track zero compensation information is sought in a separate operation after servo pattern writing and is stored in a specific position on a memory or a disc, the track zero compensation information is read and loaded in random access memory (RAM) when an HDD is initialized, and thus an actual track zero position should be adjusted in every track seek procedure using the track zero compensation information. Accordingly, an access time is longer.
In addition, in a case where the track zero compensation information is stored in flash memory, if a PCB assembly is replaced, the track zero compensation information cannot be recognized. Also, in a case where the track zero compensation information is stored at a specific position of a disc, if a reading characteristic is unstable when an HDD is initialized, the track zero compensation information cannot be read, or a drive warming-up time is longer.

Method of compensating for track zero position in reference servo track copying system and disc drive using the same


An object of the present invention is to provide a polymerizable composition capable of providing antimicrobial properties to ophthalmic and medical devices relatively inexpensively with ease, and an antimicrobial composition obtained by polymerizing the polymerizable composition.

Epsilon-polylysine is widely used as a food additive. Epsilon-polylysine exhibits extensive antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), fungi (e.g., Candida albicans (C. albicans)), Fusarium solani (F. solani) and the like, is safe to living organisms and less expensive than other antimicrobial peptides.
Use of such an inexpensive epsilon-polylysine having extensive antimicrobial activity is proposed in various technical fields.
Patent Document 1 (Nippon Paint Co., Ltd.) relates to an antifouling coating composition characterized in that it comprises a polymer containing water-insolubilized polylysine. This document describes using as a binder resin a polylysine-containing water-insolubilized polymer obtained by introducing an unsaturated bond into polylysine and then copolymerizing it with an unsaturated monomer to graft the polylysine to a water-insoluble polymer.
Patent Document 2 (Chisso Corporation) relates to an antimicrobial resin composition and a molded article using the antimicrobial resin composition. This document discloses an antimicrobial resin composition characterized in that it comprises an epsilon-polylysine- or epsilon-polylysine salt-supported filler, and a molded article thereof (e.g., medical and hygienic goods, tableware, products related to daily life, automotive interior materials, household electric appliances, films, sheets, fiber products).

Polymerizable composition for ophthalmic and medical use and antimicrobial composition obtained by polymerizing the polymerizable composition

Abstract: A polymerizable composition for ophthalmic or medical use comprising an epsilon-polylysine having (meth)acryloyl group is provided. The content of the epsilon-polylysine having (meth)acryloyl group in the polymerizable composition is preferably about 0.1 to 99% by weight, based on the whole amount of the composition. A coating agent for ophthalmic or medical use comprising the above polymerizable composition, an antimicrobial composition for ophthalmic or medical use obtained by polymerizing the above polymerizable composition, an ophthalmic or medical device comprising the antimicrobial composition, and a contact lens comprising the antimicrobial composition are also provided.


An image forming apparatus, comprising: an attachment unit to which a load for image formation is attached; an applying circuit configured to apply an applying voltage to the load; a voltage detection circuit configured to detect the applying voltage; a current detection unit configured to detect a load current; and a control device, wherein the control device is configured to: subject the applying circuit to constant current control in accordance with a detected value of the current detection unit so that the load current becomes a target current; and switch to a constant voltage control by which the applying voltage is controlled to become a target voltage when an absolute value of the load current is smaller than a determination value and an absolute value of the applying voltage is larger than or equal to a threshold during execution of the constant current control.

1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus, and in particular to technology for suppressing increase of an applying voltage in a state where no load is attached.
2. Related Art
In general, in an image forming apparatus an output of a charge voltage applying circuit is controlled to keep a grid current constant so that a charge amount for a photosensitive drum becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined value (constant current control). During the constant current control, an output voltage of the charge voltage applying circuit is monitored, and when the output voltage gets larger than the upper limit, control for the charge voltage applying circuit is switched from the constant current control to constant voltage control so as to suppress abnormal discharge of a charger.


A terminal-protective card connector composed of a housing including a base having a rear sidewall, a left sidewall, a right sidewall, and a rear platform; a group of first terminals and a group of second terminals, each of which includes a root portion and a contact portion, the root portions of the first and second terminals being fixedly inserted above and below the rear platform respectively, each of the left and right sidewalls having a slide groove; and a pivoting device pivotably mounted between the left and right sidewalls and having a plate member having a plurality of pushing portions, a left plate located, a right plate, and two slide channels corresponding to the slide grooves respectively. The contact portions of the second terminals are mounted on a top surface of the plate member. The second terminals lie on the pushing portions to enable the contact portions of the second terminals to be lower than the rear platform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to card connectors, and more particularly, to a terminal-protective card connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the design of the conventional all-in-one card connector, when an electronic card is inserted for electrical connection with the terminals located at the innermost of the card connector, the card passes through the terminals located close to the entrance of the card connector to contact and squeeze them and may accordingly twist and deform them to affect the access to the data in the card. Further, the twisted and deformed terminals are much subject to greater deformation resulted from the impingement of other cards and the worst, may malfunction to affect the use of the cards and the terminals located close to the entrance of the card connector.
As disclosed in China Patent Application No. 200320103938.3, a card connector includes a base and a frame. The base has numerous groups of terminals mounted therein. The frame is slidably mounted in the base for receiving a variety of cards. The terminals of each group have contact portions extending into the base for corresponding contact with the electrical contacts of the cards. The frame can accurately position the card and then slidably accommodate the card in the base to enable more smooth and secure electric connection between the card and the terminals. However, the frame tends to impinge and then damage the terminals very much, during the slidable movement, to further affect the access to the card.


A method and a device for automatic capturing of a static image. The automatic static image-capturing device is a scanner. The method includes the following steps. Any changes on a scanning platform are monitored. If a change in the static image on the scanning platform is detected, the change is gauged for a preset time interval to check for any further change during this time interval. If no further change is detected within this time interval, a preset operation is triggered.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous static image capturing device and a method of operating the device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a continuous monitoring device capable of capturing a series of static images automatically.
2. Description of Related Art
In an office or at home, the image of a document is usually captured by a scanner and then stored inside a computer as an electronic file. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional platform type scanner. FIG. 2 is a listing of the steps required to operate a conventional platform scanner. As shown in FIG. 2, a user must switch on the power source in step s200 and then place a scan document on a scanning platform in step s202.
However, in step s200, the user normally has to wait for a warm-up period before initiating an actual scanning. During this waiting period, the scanning head 10 is normally hidden behind the scanning platform 40 as shown in FIG. 1. In fact, the scanning head 10 may not be seen from above when a platform cover is raised. The scanning head 10 can be seen only when a driving program that drives the driving component inside the scanner in step 204 is initiated and subsequent pre-scanning step s206 and scanning step 208 is executed in sequence.
The scanning steps depicted in FIG. 2 present no problem. However, in an office environment, a peripheral device such as a scanner is often positioned in a central location and shared by a number of users. Users need to shuttle from their working desks to the scanner. Hence, it is always desirable to save time in the actual scanning operation.
A type of device that can replace a conventional camera in capturing images from a scene is the digital camera. However, a common drawback of both conventional and digital cameras is that a photographer must be present to initiate the image capture. In actual fact, the image of a static scene such as a flower can be captured automatically without having to have a photographer on standby. Hence, a device capable of capturing a static scene in the absence of a photographer is a great convenience to users.

Automatic static image capturing device and method


In a method of manufacturing a wide metal thin strip, molten metal is ejected onto the surface of a rotating cooling roll. The nozzle shape permits manufacture of wide metal thin strips having a uniform thickness in the width direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wide metal thin strip through rapid cooling of a molten metal on the surface of a cooling roll which rotates at high speeds, causing solidification of the molten metal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods have been proposed for manufacturing a metal thin strip (hereinafter "thin strip") from molten metal. Particularly for the manufacture of a wide thin strip, a method known as the planar-flow-casting process is believed to be advantageous. More specifically, as showing in FIG. 1, this method comprises arranging a nozzle having a slit-shaped opening, provided on the bottom of a molten metal vessel 2 in the vicinity of a cooling roll 1 which rotates at high speeds. Molten metal is ejected from an opening 3 of the nozzle onto the surface of the cooling roll 1. The molten metal rapidly cools on the cooling roll, causing it to solidify and form a thin strip 4. Important operational factors in this technique include the distance between the nozzle and the roll, the peripheral speed of the roll, the ejecting pressure of the molten metal and the gap of the slit-shaped opening of the nozzle.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-53525 discloses a similar method of continuously manufacturing a metal strip, which comprises providing a slotted nozzle having a rectangular opening in a position opposite to a moving cooling plate with a distance of from 0.03 to 1 mm in between. Molten metal is fed onto the cooling plate which moves at a prescribed speed, within a range of 100 to 2,000 m/minute, in a state in which an orifice of the nozzle is arranged substantially vertical to the surface of the cooling plate. The molten metal is rapidly cooled by bringing the molten metal into thermal contact to cause solidification. By this method, the shape of the rectangular opening of the nozzle can be made longer in a direction at right angles to the moving direction of the cooling plate, and hence, the width of the thin strip can be made larger, because, in theory, there is no restriction on the width of the thin strip.
However, in actual practice, as the width of the thin strip to be manufactured becomes larger, i.e., as the length of the rectangular opening becomes longer, deformation of the nozzle opening caused by thermal stress or ejecting pressure becomes problematic. It becomes difficult to maintain the parallelism of the nozzle opening gap during casting.
In view of this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-132357 discloses prevention of nozzle deformation by providing a weir in the interior of the nozzle slit. The disclosure suggests that it is possible to manufacture a thin strip with a width of 150 mm, having a uniform thickness in the width direction.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-220950 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-170554 disclose a method of manufacturing a thin strip by means of a nozzle having a discontinuous opening in the width direction of the strip, in place of a rectangularly slotted nozzle. By this method, it is possible to manufacture a thin strip having a uniform thickness in the width direction by specifying the shape and arrangement of the opening. In theory, it is possible to increase the width of the thin strip without limitation.
This method poses problems in industrial applications because the nozzle has a complicated shape, which results in high processing costs. Furthermore, a deviation of the thin strip thickness in the width direction is caused by not only the slit deformation but by disturbance of the molten metal flow or non-uniform solidification under the effect of: (1) thermal deformation of the roll and the nozzle; (2) temperature of the roll, molten metal and the nozzle; (3) the puddle length due to surface tension of the molten metal; and (4) non-uniformity of the air flow produced by the roll rotation in the width direction of the thin strip. Therefore, thickness deviations in the width direction cannot be completely prevented by prevention of slit deformation alone.
Under these circumstances, the present inventors carried out a casting experiment using a nozzle having an opening as shown in FIG. 2, with the goal of achieving uniform thin strip thickness by preventing deformation of the nozzle opening. The resultant thin strip displayed a thickness profile, as shown in FIG. 3, similar to that available when using a conventional nozzle having a rectangular opening. More specifically, the results illustrate the difficulty of achieving uniform thickness in the width direction through only preventing slit deformation. The results also illustrate the necessity of taking comprehensive measures to prevent slit deformation.
In contrast, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 57-103761, 57-103763 and 62-166056 disclose methods and apparatuses for eliminating the deviation of the molten steel flow rate through either varying the slit gap in the longitudinal direction or by longitudinally varying the bore diameter at the opening comprising a row of small holes.
These known techniques only relate to the casting of a thin strip having a maximum width of 20 mm. It is difficult to apply such techniques to the casting of a wide metal thin strip. The known techniques do suggest the possibility of eliminating deviations in the molten steel flow rate by imparting a thickness (or bore diameter) distribution in the width direction of the nozzle. Those disclosures, however, fail to describe a method of controlling the thickness distribution of the thin strip. Therefore, the problem of how to set a longitudinal distribution of the slit gap, when casting a wide metal thin strip with a thickness uniform in the width direction, is left unsolved.
Practical difficulties arise when the thin strip thickness is non-uniform in the width direction. For example, quality problems arise when non-uniform metal strips are utilized as laminates or for coil processing for magnetic materials in transformers. This results in an unstable coiling for transfer during manufacture.

Method of manufacturing a wide metal thin strip


A carbon nanotube field emitter comprises at least two electrodes and at least one graphitized carbon nanotube structure. The at least one graphitized carbon nanotube structure comprises a first end and a field emission end. The first end is opposite to the field emission end. The first end is fixed between the at least two electrodes, and the field emission end is exposed from the at least two electrodes and configured to emit electrons.

In recent years, due to the research and development in carbon nanotubes and nanomaterials, the broad application prospects of the novel materials are constantly emerging. For example, due to the unique electromagnetic, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the carbon nanotubes, a large number of applications have been developed in field emission electron sources, sensors, new optical materials, and soft ferromagnetic materials.
The field emission characteristics of the carbon nanotube have broad application prospects in fields such as field emission planar display devices, electric vacuum devices, and high-power microwave devices. Conventionally, a carbon nanotube film is used as a field emitter. Since the carbon nanotube film has a low density and the carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube film have growth defects, the finishing product of a carbon nanotube field emitter may has poor stability and short life. In addition, the carbon nanotube film is adhered to a surface of the electrode by an adhesive. Thus, the carbon nanotubes can be easily extracted during field emission, and the carbon nanotube field emitter has poor stability and short life.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carbon nanotube field emitter and preparation method thereof


An image processing apparatus displays a menu indicating one or more settings pertaining to image adjustment processing and a unique marker corresponding to a currently selected setting in the menu. A portable terminal detects the marker as depicted in a captured image that has been captured by an image capturing device and displays a screen indicating an effect of performing the image adjustment processing in accordance with a setting corresponding to the marker.

The present disclosure relates to an image processing system and an image processing apparatus.
The following explains a known example of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus displays a menu indicating one or more settings pertaining to image adjustment processing on a user interface screen of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus also displays a sample image which indicates an effect of performing image adjustment processing according to a setting selected by a user from among the one or more settings indicated by the menu.

Image processing system, image processing apparatus and portable terminal configured to display an effect of performing image adjustment processing to image data in the image processing apparatus


An aircraft engine includes an aircraft engine controller configured to detect an actual peak exhaust gas temperature of a cylinder assembly. The aircraft engine controller detects an intersection between a first function representing a relationship between a set of rich exhaust gas temperature signals and a corresponding set of rich fuel-air ratio values and a second function representing a relationship between a set of lean exhaust gas temperature signals and a set of lean fuel-air ratio values. Based upon the intersection between the first and second functions, the engine controller detects an actual peak fuel-air ratio value for the cylinder assembly and can determine if a correction in the fuel-air ratio of a fuel-air mixture provided to the cylinder assembly is required. Accordingly, the engine controller provides each cylinder assembly of the aircraft engine with an accurate fuel-air mixture to allow for operation of the engine with optimal fuel economy.

Conventional aircraft engines, such as piston aircraft engines, typically require adjustment to the ratio of air to fuel, termed the air-fuel mixture, provided to the engines during operation. For example, during takeoff, a piston aircraft engine typically utilizes a rich air-fuel mixture where the air-fuel mixture is stoichiometric. For better fuel economy after takeoff when the aircraft reaches lower-power cruising conditions, the aircraft engine can utilize a leaner air-fuel mixture where the amount of air added to the air-fuel mixture is increased such that the air-fuel mixture is greater than stoichiometric.
In conventional piston aircraft engines, once the aircraft reaches a cruising speed, a pilot manually controls leaning of the air-fuel mixture in an attempt to optimize fuel economy. During operation the pilot visually monitors an exhaust gas temperature (EGT) gauge, maintains the aircraft's throttle in a fixed state, and adjusts a fuel control lever to control the amount of fuel delivered to the engine. Based upon an output from the EGT gauge, the pilot adjusts the fuel control lever to set the air-fuel mixture to a certain amount to allow the engine to operate at an efficient fuel economy. For example, as the pilot reduces the amount of fuel delivered to the engine, the pilot can observe an increase in the EGT as provided by the EGT gauge up to a certain range of EGT values. As the pilot further decreases the amount of fuel delivered to the engine, the pilot will typically observe a decrease in the EGT provided by the EGT gauge. Such a decrease in the EGT value indicates to the pilot that he has reduced the amount of fuel delivered to the engine past an amount that allows the engine to operate at an efficient fuel economy. Therefore, in order to maximize the efficiency of the aircraft engine, the pilot increases the amount of fuel delivered to the engine until the EGT gauge indicates an increase in the EGT up to the previously detected range of EGT values.

Method and apparatus for providing fuel to an aircraft engine

Lycoming Engines, a division of Avco Corportion


Methods and apparatus for processing of GNSS signals are presented. These include GNSS processing with predicted precise clocks, GNSS processing with mixed-quality data, GNSS processing with time-sequence maintenance, GNSS processing with reduction of position jumps in low-latency solutions, GNSS processing with position blending to bridge reference station changes, and GNSS processing with delta-phase correction for incorrect starting position.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) include the Global Positioning System, the GLONASS system, the proposed Galileo system and the proposed Compass system.
In traditional RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) GNSS positioning, the rover receiver (rover) collects real-time GNSS signal data and receives correction data from a base station, or a network of reference stations. The base station and reference stations receive GNSS signals at the same instant as the rover. Because the correction data arrives at the rover with a finite delay (latency) due to processing and communication, the rover needs to store (buffer) its locally-collected data and time-matches it with the received correction data to form single-difference observations using common satellites. The rover then uses the single-difference GNSS observations to compute a synchronous position for each epoch using the time-matched data. The single-difference process greatly reduces the impact of satellite clock errors. When the reference receiver and rover receiver are closely spaced, satellite orbit errors and atmospheric errors are also reduced by the single-differencing process. Synchronous position solutions yield maximum accuracy.
The need to wait for the correction data means that the synchronous position solution is latent. The solution latency includes:                Reference receiver measurement acquisition time,        Data formatting,        Data link communications,        Correction data decoding and synchronization,        Network processing (for network solutions),        Rover receiver measurement acquisition time,        Rover solution computation.
A prior-art delta phase method used in kinematic survey is aimed at producing low-latency estimates of the rover position without waiting for the matching (synchronous) correction data to be received (see Talbot et. al., Centimeter Accurate Global Positioning System Receiver for On-The-Fly Real-Time Kinematic Measurement and Control, U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,741, 11 Feb. 1997). When synchronous correction data are available for a given epoch, the rover uses them to compute a synchronous position for that epoch. When synchronous correction data are not available for a current epoch, the rover estimates its delta position (the rover position difference) from the last synchronous epoch until the current epoch and adds this delta position to the last synchronous position to obtain a current low-latency position estimate while awaiting correction data for a further synchronous epoch. The cost of this low-latency scheme is an additional error of about 2-4 mm per second of time difference between rover and correction data. The additional error is due mainly to instability of the GNSS satellite clocks.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a scenario using a GNSS rover with correction data for point surveying. A user 100 has a rover receiver (rover) 105 which is mounted on a range pole 110 or in some cases is a hand-held, or machine-mounted unit without a range pole. Rover 105 includes a GNSS antenna 115 and a communications antenna 120. Rover 105 receives at its GNSS antenna 115 the signals from GNSS satellites 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, etc. Rover 105 also receives at its communications antenna 120 correction data from a corrections source 150 via a communications link 155. The communications link is, for example, a radio link or mobile telephone link, or any other suitable means of conveying the correction data to the rover 105. The correction data can be of any suitable type for improving the positioning accuracy of rover 105, such as: differential base station data from a base station serving as corrections source 150, or virtual reference station data from a network of reference stations serving as corrections source 150 (WAAS is one example), or precise orbits and clocks data from a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service such as that described in U.S. Provisional Application for Patent No. 61/277,184 filed 19 Sep. 2009 (TNL A-2585P) and in International Publication Number WO 2011/034616 A2 dated 24 Mar. 2011 (TNL A-2585PCT). In the example of FIG. 1, the phase center of GNSS antenna 115 is determined and reduced for the height and orientation of the range pole 110 to the survey point 160.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a typical integrated receiver system 200 with GNSS antenna 115 and communications antenna 120. Receiver system 200 can serve as rover 105 or as a base station or reference station. Receiver system 200 includes a GNSS receiver 205, a computer system 210 and one or more communications links 215. Computer system 210 includes one or more processors 220, one or more data storage elements 225, program code 230 for controlling the processor(s) 220, and user input/output devices 235 which may include one or more output devices 240 such as a display or speaker or printer and one or more devices 245 for receiving user input such as a keyboard or touch pad or mouse or microphone.
The program code 230 is adapted to perform novel functions in accordance with embodiments of the invention as described below. The integrated receiver system 200 can otherwise be of a conventional type suited for mounting on a range pole or for hand-held operation; some examples include the Trimble R8 GNSS, Trimble R7 GNSS, Trimble R6 GPS and Trimble 5700 surveying systems and the Trimble GPS Pathfinder Pro XRS system.
FIG. 3 illustrates the error in the height component of synchronous RTK position estimates: 300, 301, 302, 303, . . . 308, for epoch times 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, . . . 8.0 seconds respectively. The RTK position fixes: 300, 301, 305, & 306 are considered fixed i.e. have carrier phase ambiguities that are essentially resolved to integer values. The RTK position fixes at: 302, 303, 304, and 308, are considered float solutions, i.e., the carrier phase ambiguities cannot be resolved to integer values. Note that at time 7.0 s, there is no RTK position solution. The precision (uncertainty) of each RTK position fix is represented by a vertical error bar. The fixed heights have better precision (less uncertainty) than the float heights.
Autonomous (point position) solutions are produced by the rover GNSS receiver at say a 10 Hz rate. For clarity, just the 1 Hz autonomous height estimates are shown in FIG. 3, while the intervening autonomous heights are illustrated with a dashed line. The autonomous 1 Hz height estimates are: 310, 311, 312, 313, . . . 318, corresponding to epoch times: 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, . . . 8.0 s respectively. Autonomous position estimates generally have a precision of several decimeters up to several meters.
FIG. 4 illustrates the timing of various events relevant to delta phase processing. Time axis 350 represents actual time, with values shown from 1.0 s through to 3.0 s. The rover GNSS receiver measurements are sampled and made available for processing a short time after the actual time. Hence, the rover measurements for epoch 1.0 s are available at event 361.0; the rover measurements for epoch 1.2 s are available at event 361.2; and so on, as shown on axis 360.
Axis 370 corresponds to the time that correction data is received at the rover. The correction data must first be sampled by a real reference station, or a network of reference stations, before being sent and received by the rover, therefore there is an inherent latency in the received correction data. Event 371 corresponds to the receipt of correction data for epoch 1s; event 372 corresponds to the receipt of correction data for epoch 2s. Once the correction data is received it can be time-synchronized with rover data. Single-difference observations can be then be formed and a synchronous position solution computed.
The rigorous satellite orbit and clock data is normally derived from a network of spatially distributed reference stations (e.g. a regional, or global network). The network GNSS observations must first be concentrated at a central facility, then processed and finally formatted and distributed to one or more rovers. Hence the rigorous satellite orbit and clock data is often old by the time it reaches the rover(s). Event 381, shown on axis 380, corresponds to rigorous satellite and clock data for time 1.0 s. Once the rigorous satellite orbit and clock data is available at the rover, it can be used to update the time sequence of rover position differences.


A process for producing a substituted metallocene compound comprises reacting a first compound with a transfer-agent, wherein the first compound comprises a complex of a transition metal atom selected from Group 3, 4, 5 or 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements, or a lanthanide metal atom, or actinide metal atom and at least one monocyclic or polycyclic ligand that is pi-bonded to M and is substituted with at least one halogen or sulfonate substituent and the transfer-agent comprises a hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halocarbyl, substituted halocarbyl, silylcarbyl, or germylcarbyl radical capable of replacing said at least one halogen or sulfonate substituent of said first compound under reaction conditions.

Various processes and catalysts exist for the homopolymerization or copolymerization of olefins. For many applications, it is desirable for a polyolefin to have a high weight average molecular weight while having a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution. A high weight average molecular weight, when accompanied by a narrow molecular weight distribution, typically provides a polyolefin with high strength properties.
Traditional Ziegler-Natta catalysts systems comprise a transition metal compound co-catalyzed by an aluminum alkyl and are typically capable of producing polyolefins having a high molecular weight, but with a broad molecular weight distribution.
More recently metallocene catalyst systems have been developed wherein the transition metal compound has one or more cyclopentadienyl, indenyl or fluorenyl ring ligands (typically two). Metallocene catalyst systems, when activated with cocatalysts, such as alumoxane, are effective to polymerize monomers to polyolefins having not only a high weight average molecular weight but also a narrow molecular weight distribution.
Certain metallocenes containing substituted, bridged indenyl derivatives are noted for their ability to produce isotactic propylene polymers having high isotacticity and narrow molecular weight distribution. Considerable effort has been made towards obtaining metallocene-produced propylene polymers having ever-higher molecular weight and melting point, while maintaining suitable catalyst activity. Researchers currently theorize that there is a direct relationship between the way in which a metallocene is substituted, and the molecular structure of the resulting polymer. For the substituted, bridged indenyl type metallocenes, it is believed that the type and arrangement of substituents on the indenyl groups, as well as the type of bridge connecting the indenyl groups, determines such polymer attributes as molecular weight and melting point.
There is, therefore, significant interest in producing metallocene compounds with a variety of substituents on the arenyl ligands. However, current methods for producing substituted metallocene compounds, and especially Group 4 metallocene compounds, involve synthesis of each individual ligand family and then reaction with a simple metal derivative, such as MCl4 and M(N(CH3)2)4, where M=Ti, Zr, or Hf, using transmetallation and amine elimination reactions, respectively. This methodology requires preliminary ligand synthesis or modification, and, then, metallocene preparation starting from each ligand synthesized.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,644 describes certain metallocenes containing aryl-substituted indenyl derivatives as ligands, which are said to provide propylene polymers having high isotacticity, narrow molecular weight distribution and very high molecular weight. However, synthesis of these compounds involves initial assembly of each aryl-substituted indene ligand from a substituted diphenyl compound and then reaction of the ligand with MCl4. Thus Example A discloses synthesis of rac-dimethylsilylbis(2-methyl-4-phenyl-indenyl)zirconium dichloride by reaction of 2-phenylbenzyl bromide with diethylmethyl malonate and then KOH to produce 2-(2-phenylbenzyl)propionic acid, followed by cyclization of the 2-(2-phenylbenzyl)propionic acid to produce 2-methyl-4-phenylindan-1-one and reduction of the 2-methyl-4-phenylindan-1-one to produce 2-methyl-7-phenylindene. The 2-methyl-7-phenylindene is then reacted with dimethyldichlorosilane to produce dimethylbis(2-methyl-4-phenylindenyl)silane, which is then reacted with butyllithium and zirconium tetrachloride to produce the desired bridged metallocene.
According to the present invention, a novel method of producing substituted metallocene complexes of early transition metals has been developed in which halogen substituents on existing metallocene compounds are directly replaced with other groups, such as hydrocarbyl groups. In this way, a single base synthesis of a given halogen-substituted metallocene compound can be used to generate a large number of final metallocene products with varying ligand substituents.
Modification of the coordinated ligands of late transition complexes, particularly, ferrocene derivatives, has been described (see Hassan, J.; Sevignon, M.; Gozzi, C.; Schulz, E.; Lemaire, M. Chem. Rev. 2002, 102, 1359, and references therein). However, no similar transformations of early transition metal complexes, which include highly polarized and reactive metal-ligand bonds, have been described so far.
Scarce examples of transformations of the coordinated cyclopentadienyl ligands of Group 4 metal complexes resulting in no modification of the nearest coordination polyhedron have been described, e.g. H/D exchange in η5-cyclopentadienyls (Larsonneur, A.-M.; Choukroun, R.; Jaud, J. Organometallics 1993, 12, 3216); Pd/C or PtO2 catalyzed hydrogenation of η5-indenyls giving η5-tetrahydroindenyls (Wild, F. R. W. P.; Zsolnai, L.; Huttner, G.; Brintzinger, H. H. J. Organomet. Chem. 1982, 232, 233. Schäfer, A.; Karl, E.; Zsolani, L.; Huttner, G.; Brintzinger, H. H. J. Organomet. Chem. 1987, 328, 87. Bandy, J. A.; Green, M. L. H.; Gardiner, I. M.; Prout, K. J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. 1991, 2207. Rheingold, A. L.; Robinson, N. P.; Whelan, J.; Bosnich, B. Organometallics 1992, 11, 1869. Hollis, T. K.; Rheingold, A. L.; Robinson, N. P.; Whelan, J.; Bosnich, B. Organometallics 1992, 11, 2812); hydroboration of allyl- and vinyl-η5-cyclopentadienyl complexes (Erker, G.; Nolfe, R.; Aul, R.; Wilker, S.; Kriiger, C.; Noe, R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 7594. Erker, G.; Aul, R. Chem. Ber. 1991, 124, 1301); intramolecular photochemical [2+2] cycloaddition of vinyl-η5-cyclopentadienyl complexes (Erker, G.; Wilker, S.; Krüger, C.; Nolte, M. Organometallics 1993, 12, 2140); Ru-catalyzed metathesis of bis(allyl-η5-cyclopentadienyl)zirconium and -hafnium dichlorides (Ogasawara, M.; Nagano, T.; Hayashi, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 9068).

Process for producing substituted metallocene compounds for olefin polymerization


A color negative photographic element is disclosed containing yellow, magenta and cyan dye-forming couplers and masking dyes. Visual judging of the negative image obtained following processing is facilitated by choosing the masking dyes to provide, following imagewise exposure and processing, in CIE1976(L.sup.* a.sup.* b.sup.*) color space L.sup.* values of greater than 30 and C.sup.* values of less than 20, where C.sup.* values are derived from the formula: C.sup.* =[(a.sup.*).sup.2 +(b.sup.*).sup.2 ].sup.1/2.

Color photography in its most widely used form employs color negative film that is imagewise exposed in a camera. The color negative film includes a transparent film support and three superimposed layer units, for separately recording exposure within the blue, green and red portions of the visible spectrum. Each layer unit contains radiation-sensitive silver halide grains for selectively capturing exposing radiation in one region of the spectrum and dye-forming coupler. During processing light-struck silver halide grains containing a latent image are reduced to silver using a color developing agent. The blue, green and red recording layer units contain silver halide grains that form a latent image in response to exposure to blue, green or red exposure, respectively, and interact with coupler to form an image dye that has its principal absorption in the blue, green or red, respectively, resulting in a subtractive primary yellow, magenta or cyan dye image. As a result the multicolor image formed by the film is a negative of the scene photographed.
By altering either the silver halide grains (e.g., employing direct-positive emulsions) or the processing procedure (e.g., reversal processing) it is possible to produce dye upon reduction of only the grains that do not contain a latent image. This produces a positive dye image. The first multicolored films forming subtractive primary imaging dyes were produced by reversal processing.
Most positive multicolor images for viewing are produced in photographic elements having a reflective support--e.g., color print elements. The layer units are basically similar to those in the color negative elements described above, though differing in specifics, such as grain selections. Upon exposure of the color print through an image-bearing color negative film, a positive multicolor image (a negative of the exposing negative image) is produced in the color print.
The problem that delayed using color negative film and color print elements in combination to produce viewable multicolor images was that while the couplers produce dyes that have their principal absorption in the intended spectral region, the image dyes also exhibit significant absorption in adjacent spectral regions. When a second exposure occurs through the color negative film image, this color error is carried forward and added to the same inherent color error in the print element. Without correction, the result is unsaturated and "muddy" images, not achieving the degree of color fidelity required to be pleasing to the viewer of the color print image.
A solution to this problem allowed popular acceptance of the color negative and color print imaging system approach, which is now the most widely used approach. The solution resides in masking each dye image portion that lies outside its spectral region of principal absorption. If, for example, a green recording layer unit contains a dye-forming coupler that produces a dye that absorbs principally in the green, but also exhibits significant unwanted absorption in the blue, the incorporation of a yellow (blue absorbing) masking coupler can be used to raise blue absorption to a relatively constant level, independent of exposure. In areas in which the green recording layer unit is not light exposed the blue absorption due to the presence of the masking coupler is maintained after processing. In areas in which the green recording layer unit is exposed, the masking coupler is converted to a magenta dye along with the dye-forming coupler. The loss of blue absorption due to consumption of the masking coupler is chosen to balance the increase in blue absorption attributable to the blue absorption of the primarily magenta dye formed by the dye-forming coupler. Hence, after processing there is little, if any, image discrimination (Dmax-Dmin) in the blue region of the spectrum attributable to the green recording layer unit. Combinations of masking couplers are used to mask imagewise distributions of image dye absorptions that are outside the spectral region of principal (intended) absorption. Hansen U.S. Pat. No. 2,449,966 provides an example of early disclosure of masking couplers and their role. L. Stroebel, J. Compton, I. Current and R. Zakia, Photographic Materials and Processes, Focal Press, Boston/London 1986, Section 16.8 Color-Negative Masking, pp. 525 to 528, also provides a discussion of masking couplers.
Once masking couplers have been introduced to eliminate image patterns of unwanted absorption, blue, green and red characteristic curves produced by step wedge exposure, processing, and blue, green and red transmission through the negative working multicolor film differ in minimum density and usually in gamma To achieve an acceptable positive color print image by exposure through the color negative film, it is conventional practice to construct the color print to compensate exactly for the offsets in the color balance of the color negative film created by the presence of masking couplers. Once the compensating offsets have been built into the color print elements, a standard offset has been established. As a result color negative films sometimes contain uniform distributions of preformed masking dye to adjust color balance offsets to the standard profile for which the color print material is constructed. Stroebel et al, cited above, Section 16.12 Negative Color Films, provides a further description of the color balance in conventional color negative film construction.
With the emergence of computer controlled data processing capabilities, interest has developed in extracting the information contained in an imagewise exposed color negative film instead of proceeding directly to a viewable image. For example, a pattern of use that has emerged among professional photo-graphers, particularly photojournalists, is to take large numbers of pictures on location using color negative film, process the film to produce color negatives, and then select what appear to be the most promising negatives for scanning--i.e., creation of a corresponding digital image that can be transmitted to a remote location and electronically manipulated and used in any number of ways, including forming a color print. The very large number of pictures taken as well as the time and expense limitations of scanning preclude converting more than a very small fraction of the total images obtained to digital form.
Not surprisingly, one of the significant problems that has emerged in digital conversion of color negative film images is judging from visual inspection which image will be most suitable when converted to a color positive for viewing. The photographer has not only to contend with the fact that the image being judged is a negative of the image intended for final viewing, but the photographer also must contend with the color imbalances created by masking dyes. A standard color negative image has a pronounced salmon color, attributable to incorporated masking dyes.

Color negatives adapted for visual inspection


Methods, systems, and computer program products for using signaling system 7 (SS7) subsystem numbers to route message to session initiation protocol (SIP) nodes. According to one method, an SS7 message can be received. A SIP message can be generated based on the SS7 message. A subsystem number associated with the SS7 message can be identified. A destination SIP node for the SIP message can be identified based on the subsystem number. Further, the SIP message can be forwarded to the SIP node.

Signaling gateways are network components operable to translate signaling messages between different network types. For example, a signaling gateway may be used to translate portions of signaling messages transmitted between an Internet protocol (IP) network domain and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) domain. In one example, an SS7/session initiation protocol (SIP) gateway (SSG) may translate between SS7 transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) messages and SIP messages.
SIP provides a signaling and call setup protocol for IP-based communications, such as communications in an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network environment, that can support call processing functions and features present in PSTN. There is a desire in the telecommunications market to extend the services provided by SIP to the PSTN domain. This involves providing SSGs for enabling SIP nodes in the IP domain to communicate with network elements in the SS7 domain. An SSG enables the transfer of AIN-based service messages to SIP nodes for invoking SIP-based services.
One difficulty with using SSGs for communicating messages from the SS7 domain to SIP nodes in the IP domain is the identification of SIP nodes. In one technique for identifying SIP nodes, the SSG has a one-to-one mapping with a SIP node. For example, when an AIN/IN trigger is detected at a service switching point (SSP), the SSP communicates an SS7 query message to an SSG, which generates a SIP query message corresponding to the SS7 query message and communicates the SIP query message to a mapped SIP node. This technique ties a SIP element to a particular SSG and results in low flexibility and scalability.
In another technique for identifying SIP nodes, an SSG may have provisioned directory number ranges supported by each SIP node. For example, first and second SIP nodes may support directory numbers 212-213-0000 to 212-213-5555 and 212-213-5556 to 212-213-9999, respectively. An SSG may include a database of the directory numbers and corresponding SIP nodes for determining an appropriate SIP node to communicate received SS7 messages. This technique may be disadvantageous because it requires that the SSG maintain a database for the directory numbers. For example, any time directory number provisioning changes occur in either the SS7 domain or the IP domain, changes may be required at the SSG. If a SIP node supports directory number 212-213-0000, and the number is moved to another SIP node, the change must be propagated to the SSG maintaining the directory number.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties described above, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer program products for routing messages to SIP nodes.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for using signaling system 7 (SS7) subsystem numbers to route messages to session initiation protocol (SIP) nodes


A motor vehicle has a crosspiece, which frontally delimits an upper opening of the passenger compartment and is covered, towards the passenger compartment, by a finishing wall; the upper opening is suited to be closed by a removable top; the top has a cloth supported by two side longitudinal members and is provided with a front portion which is arranged above a rear projection of the crosspiece, when the top is mounted, with a sealing element arranged between them; the top is provided with at least one flap having an upper end secured to the cloth and a lower end portion, which faces the finishing wall and is fixed with respect to the crosspiece thanks to the locking exerted by at least one releasable fastener.

Motor vehicles are known wherein the roof of the passenger compartment is defined by a convertible top. In some solutions the top can be collected and folded in a housing space or in a boot behind the passenger compartment. In other solutions, the top is completely removable.
In sport type motor vehicles which can reach relatively high cruising speed, there exists the problem of ensuring of an effective seal along the edges of the top, in particular along the front edge.
GE936485A describes a solution which corresponds to the preamble of claim 1 and which provides a sealing gasket supported by the front transverse edge of the top and resting against a crosspiece, arranged along the upper edge of the windscreen of the motor vehicle. In GB936485A, the top is coupled to the crosspiece by means of a locking device with lever actuation. When the top is locked, the sealing gasket is compressed against the crosspiece.
The known solutions of the type just described do not fully meet the requirement of ensuring a good aero-acoustic performance in case the top is provided with a soft cloth and is completely removable. For said applications, in fact, at high speeds, there is a proven risk of having high noise in the passenger compartment, due to air leakage between the front edge of the cloth and the sealing gasket.
Moreover, the locking device illustrated in GE936485A is relatively complex, since it has a relatively high number of components. In addition, there is the risk that said device does not meet the aesthetic-quality requirements necessary for all components on full display in the passenger compartment.

Motor vehicle provided with a removable top


The object of the present invention is to prevent or suppress occurrences of uneven saponification and blocking, while improving cutting properties and dimensional stability. Specifically disclosed is a hard coat film (130) which comprises a protective film (114) for protecting a polarizer (112), and a hard coat layer (118) that is formed on the protective film (114). The sum of the thickness of the protective film (114) and the thickness of the hard coat layer (118) is less than 40 μm, and the mixed region of the protective film (114) and the hard coat layer (118) is 1-20% of the thickness of the hard coat layer (118).

Over recent years, mobile phones and mobile PCs are mounted with a liquid crystal panel serving as a display device. The liquid crystal panel is provided with a polarizing plate. The constitution of a common polarizing plate is partially described briefly below. As shown in FIG. 7, a polarizing plate is provided with a polarizer and a protective film to protect it, and further on the protective film, a hard coat layer is formed. A hard coat layer is formed by coating a certain coating liquid on a protective film (followed by drying). Then, the protective film is bonded to a polarizer via saponification (alkali treatment using 2N NaOH).
In a polarizing plate provided with such a constitution, commonly, the thickness of a protective film is about 40-80 μm and the thickness of a hard coat layer is about 10-30 μm. In cases in which a protective film and a hard coat layer have such thicknesses, when a polarizing plate is bonded to a liquid crystal cell to form a liquid crystal panel and then the liquid crystal panel is cut as a whole, at the interface of the protective film and the hard coat layer, cracking may occur (refer to Patent Document 1). To prevent this possibility, when both a protective film and a hard coat layer are simply allowed to be thinner, there is produced such a disadvantage that when a polarizing plate is held in the roll state, wrinkles tend to occur (refer to Patent Document 2).

Hard coat film, polarizing plate, method for producing hard coat film, and method for producing liquid crystal panel


A projection device comprising at least one light source, at least one light-modulation panel preceding the light source, and polarization-separating means arranged between said light source and said light-modulation panel for separating light from the light source into first and second light beams having a first and a second direction of polarization, respectively. The projection device also comprises first and second integrator plates comprising lens elements which are arranged between said polarization-separating means and said light-modulation panel, and polarization-converting means arranged opposite the second integrator plate. Each lens element of the second integrator plate includes a first portion on which a first light beam is projected by the first integrator plate, and a juxtaposed, second portion, on which a second light beam is projected. The polarization-converting means are arranged at least opposite said first portions.

The invention relates to a projection device comprising at least a light source, at least a light-modulation panel preceding the light source, and a polarization-separating means arranged between the light source and the light-modulation panel for separating light from the light source into first and second light beams having a first and a second direction of polarization, respectively.
The invention also relates to an integrator plate suitable for such a projection device.
In such a projection device known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,977, the polarization-separating means comprises a refractive filter which passes light having the first direction of polarization and deflects, at an angle, light having a second direction of polarization perpendicular to the first direction.
In the projection device described in said United States patent, the light beams of different directions of polarization are imaged by a polarization rotation layer on a further polarization-separating means and subsequently directed onto the light-modulation panel. A drawback of such a projection device is that the light source is imaged only once on the light-modulation panel so that the light distribution across the light-modulation panel is not uniform.
It is an object of the invention to provide a projection device in which a uniform light distribution across the light-modulation panel is obtained with a relatively high luminance.
In the projection device according to the invention, this object is achieved in that the projection device further comprises first and second integrator plates comprising lens elements arranged between the polarization-separating means and the light-modulation panel, and polarization-converting means arranged opposite the second integrator plate, each lens element of the second integrator plate having a first portion on which a light beam having the first direction of polarization is imaged by the first integrator plate, and a juxtaposed, second portion on which a second light beam having the second direction of polarization is imaged, the polarization-converting means being arranged at least opposite the first portions.
The light from the light source is split up into two light beams having different directions of polarization by the first integrator plate comprising the polarization-separating means and the lens elements. Subsequently, each lens element of the first integrator plate is imaged on an associated lens element of the second integrator plate. As a result of the different directions at which the light beams having the different directions of polarization reach a lens element of the first integrator plate, the images on the associated lens element of the second integrator plate of the light beams having the different directions of polarization are also different. All light beams imaged on the first portions of the lens elements have, however, the same direction of polarization which is subsequently converted by means of the polarization-converting means into the same direction of polarization as the direction of polarization of the two light beams imaged on the second portions.
The light beam from the light source is imaged one across the other a number of times by the lens elements of the first and second integrator plates, so that a satisfactory light distribution across the light-modulation panel is obtained.
These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Projection device and integrator plate suitable for such a projection device


A method of manufacturing a plurality of left hand control hydrostatic transaxles and a plurality of right hand controlled hydrostatic transaxles. The method includes the steps of: providing a plurality of substantially identical axle modules; providing a plurality of left hand controlled hydrostatic transmission modules adapted to connect to respective axle modules to form left hand controlled hydrostatic transaxles, and a plurality of right hand controlled hydrostatic transmission modules adapted to connect to respective axle modules to form right hand controlled hydrostatic transaxles; attaching the plurality of left hand controlled hydrostatic transmission modules to a first quantity of the plurality of substantially identical axle modules to form a plurality of left hand controlled hydrostatic transaxles; and attaching the plurality of right hand controlled hydrostatic transmission modules to a second quantity of the plurality of substantially identical axle modules to form a plurality of right hand controlled hydrostatic transaxles. In one form of the invention, the transmission module is aligned with the axle module by piloting the output means of the motor of a hydrostatic transmission module to the input drive of a reduction gear train of the transmission module.

The present invention relates to hydrostatic transaxles intended primarily for use in the lawn and garden industry on riding lawnmowers, lawn and garden tractors and the like, but may also be applied to larger implements and vehicles.
Hydrostatic transmissions transmit rotary mechanical motion, typically from an internal combustion engine, to fluid motion, typically oil, and then back to rotary mechanical motion to rotate a pair of drive axles in order to drive the vehicle. The hydrostatic transmission controls the output rotary mechanical motion such that varying output speeds in the forward and reverse directions are possible with a single speed input rotary mechanical motion. Such transmissions have utilized radial piston pumps and motors, axial piston pumps and motors and hybrid transmissions wherein the pump may be of the radial piston design, for example, and motor formed as a gear pump. The speed of the output of the transmission is typically controlled by varying the eccentricity of the pump track ring or swash plate.
In recent years, and particularly for smaller displacement applications, it has been common practice to integrate the hydrostatic transmission within the axle casing that also contains the differential and bearings for the two axles. Such casings are typically split along a horizontal plane containing the axis of the axles, and the casing itself is formed of only two parts. However, it is also known to utilize casings comprising three or more components wherein the casing components are attached to each other along vertical split lines or horizontal and vertical split lines.
Although utilizing a single casing for both the transmission and axle gear components necessitates only two large die castings, there are certain disadvantages inherent in such a design. One such disadvantage is that servicing of the hydrostatic transmission or the gear train/differential requires that the entire casing be opened, the oil drained and the complete mechanism withdrawn in order to perform such service. Furthermore, units wherein the hydrostatic transmission is sized for different displacements, for example, use with larger lawn and garden tractors, will require completely different transaxle casings. Since such casings are quite large and require expensive tooling to manufacture, this represents a significant additional cost. Furthermore, integrated hydrostatic transaxles are often noisy, especially when accelerating.
A typical construction of the hydrostatic transmission component of the transaxle includes a one-piece block common to both the pump and motor units, often referred to as a "center section." The center section facilitates an external mounting surface for a motor barrel and a pump barrel, and additionally, an internal valve body for providing hydraulic communication between the pump and motor barrels. Conventionally, the pump and motor barrel axes of rotation are 90 degrees to one another. Center section machining is difficult because the center section is substantial in size and machined surfaces are substantially perpendicular, often requiring multi-axis machining capabilities. This corresponds to a significant cost associated with this design type.
Moreover, many HSTs heretofore require that the pump and motor mechanism unit be matched to a fixed swash plate prior to mounting the mechanism into the casing. Typically, assembly requires positioning the fixed swash plate in the casing, mounting the pump and motor mechanism into the casing then taking measures to ensure the fixed swash plate is suitably aligned with the pump and motor mechanism. Arranging the fixed swash plate and pump and motor mechanism, in the manner described above, poses a significant step in the assembly process which represents additional cost.


A method and apparatus for efficient deployment of nodes in a network includes obtaining first data that indicates first locations of nodes in a network and terrain data that indicates height of terrain at terrain locations. The method further includes determining an exploration region for a first node and dividing the exploration region into subregions. The method further includes determining a proxy location for each subregion that is a location corresponding to a characteristic of the terrain data in the subregion. The method further includes determining a value of a parameter that indicates a contribution of the first node at each proxy location to network fitness. The method further includes assigning a second location to the first node based on the determined parameter value at each proxy location. The method further includes relocating the first node from the first location to the second location.

Outdoor camera networks, e.g., wireless camera networks for outdoor deployment, have a wide range of applications, including surveillance of outdoor areas, environmental monitoring, and event tracking. Deployment of camera nodes (that is, choosing their positions) on the surface of a two dimensional (2D) plane has been well researched, using line of sight (LOS) between cameras and targets to determine camera/target visibility. Less is known about deployment in three dimensional (3D) regions, where nodes are constrained to the surface of terrain, and landforms might block the cameras' LOS views.

Apparatus and method for efficient deployment of nodes in a network

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


The present invention is to provide a cellular phone capable of detecting counterfeit currency or lighting comprising a counterfeit currency detection bulb, a lamp and a keypad, wherein the keypad includes a first dual key in association with the counterfeit currency detection bulb, a second dual key in association with the lamp and a plurality of third keys, such that in response to pressing the first dual key or the second dual key, the cellular phone activates the counterfeit currency detection bulb for detecting counterfeit currency or activates the lamp for lighting respectively.

The world we are living in has entered into a new era with both information technology and electronics being progressed rapidly. Thus, various kinds of information and electronic products are commercially available due to the fast progress in computer science and technology. The fast development of such new products brings a lot of convenience. In response to various kinds of new information and electronic products being developed, especially cellular phones, users become more critical with respect to the features and/or quality thereof. Thus, whether cellular phone manufacturers can provide a more convenient, effective, and friendly service to users in their products will be an indicator to decide whether the cellular phone manufacturing technology of one electronic company is more advanced than other competitive ones.
Many people have the experience of receiving counterfeit money. Such is bothersome. Upgrades in the counterfeiter's methods and techniques have also made the problem of cellular phone currency even worse. It is typical for a sales person to use a large counterfeit money detection device or a counterfeit money detection pen to authenticate a received currency bill. It is also typical that a flashlight is needed to light a door in a dark environment prior to correctly inserting a key into the keyhole of the lock on the door. However, carrying a flashlight is not a convenient thing. In this regard, for meeting the needs of the large cellular phone market and therefore hopefully increasing the share of the market, major cellular phone manufacturers spend a lot of time and money to develop quality cellular phones and powerful and multifunctional cellular phones with ergonomic design.
Thus, it is desirable among major cellular phone manufacturers and consumers to provide a cellular phone capable of either detecting counterfeit currency or lighting in addition to its default communication capability in order to overcome the above drawbacks of the prior art.

Cellular phone capable of detecting counterfeit currency or lighting and method of the same


A valve system for use in a subterranean well, the valve having multiple closure devices, or a closure device and a device for protecting the closure device. A valve system includes a valve with a closure assembly. The closure assembly has a closure device and a protective device which alters fluid flow through a flow passage of the valve prior to closure of the closure device to thereby protect the closure device. A safety valve system includes a safety valve with a closure assembly having at least two closure devices arranged in series for controlling flow through a flow passage of the safety valve. Another safety valve system includes a safety valve assembly including multiple safety valves arranged in parallel. One portion of fluid from a fluid source flows through one of the safety valves, while another portion of fluid from the fluid source flows through another safety valve.

The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides a safety valve with multiple closure devices, or a closure device and a device for enhancing performance of the closure device.
Most safety valve failures are due to leakage past a closure device, such as a flapper or ball closure, of the safety valve. One of the main causes of closure device leakage is damage due to slam closure (i.e., an extremely fast closing of the closure device due, for example, to closing the valve during high velocity gas flow through the valve, etc.). Slam closures can also cause damage to a flow tube or opening prong of the safety valve, and to a pivot for the closure device. Another cause of closure device leakage is erosion due to high velocity flow past sealing surfaces on the closure device and its seat.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that it would be beneficial to reduce the damage due to slam closures and high velocity flow through a safety valve. It is accordingly one of the objects of the present invention to provide such damage reduction. Other objects of the invention are described below.


A barrier assembly (58) for sealing an assembly gap (274) between a first assembly (266) and a second assembly (268) includes a first barrier (270) that seals the assembly gap (274) and a second barrier (272) that seals the assembly gap (274). The barriers (270) (272) can be spaced apart. Further, the first barrier(270) provides a flexible pressure barrier that seals the assembly gap (274) and the second barrier (272) provides a flexible barrier that inhibits the first barrier (270) from contaminating a chamber environment within the assemblies (266) (268). Additionally, the barrier assembly (58) includes a barrier source (62) that controls a barrier environment between the barriers (270) (272).

Exposure apparatuses are commonly used to transfer images from a reticle onto a semiconductor wafer during semiconductor processing. A typical exposure apparatus includes an illumination source, a reticle stage assembly that positions a reticle, an optical assembly, a wafer stage assembly that positions a semiconductor wafer, and a measurement system that precisely monitors the position of the reticle and the wafer.
The illumination source generates a beam of light energy that is directed at the reticle. The projection optical assembly directs and/or focuses the light energy from the reticle to the wafer. The reticle stage assembly positions the reticle relative to the projection optical assembly. Similarly, the wafer stage assembly positions the wafer relative to the projection optical assembly.
Depending upon the wavelength of the light energy generated by the illumination source, the type of fluid between the illumination source and the wafer can greatly influence the performance of the exposure apparatus. For example, some types of light energy are absorbed by oxygen and other gases. Absorption of the light energy can lead to losses of intensity and uniformity of the light energy. Accordingly, the performance of the exposure apparatus and the quality of the integrated circuits formed on the wafer can be enhanced by controlling the environment around the reticle and/or wafer.
One way to control the environment includes positioning a reticle chamber assembly around the reticle and a wafer chamber assembly around the wafer. Subsequently, the desired environment can be created within the chamber assemblies. In certain designs, each chamber assembly can include a first assembly, a second assembly, and a relatively stiff and rigid mechanical bellows that seals the first assembly to the second assembly. Unfortunately, with the stiff and rigid bellows, vibration from one of the assemblies is readily transferred to the other one of the assemblies. Further, the stiff and rigid bellows only provide limited range of relative movement between the assemblies.

Barrier assembly for an exposure apparatus


A semiconductor wafer processing system has a carrier including wafer slots. A process robot engages the carrier and installs the carrier into a rotor within a process chamber. The rotor has a tapered or stepped inside surface matching a tapered or stepped outside surface of the carrier. Wafer retainers on the carrier pivot to better secure wafers within the carrier.

Computers, televisions, telephones and other electronic product contain large numbers of essential electronic semiconductor devices. To produce electronic products, hundreds or thousands of semiconductor devices are manufactured in a very small space, using lithography techniques on semiconductor substrates, such as on silicon wafers. Due to the extremely small dimensions involved in manufacturing semiconductor devices, contaminants on the semiconductor substrate material, such as particles of dust, dirt, paint, metal, etc. lead to defects in the end products.
Existing automated semiconductor processing system use robots, carriers, rotors, and other devices, to move and process wafers. These systems are designed to avoid creating particles which may contaminate the wafers. However, even with careful design, material selection, and system operation, particles may still be created by the moving parts of the systems, or by the contacting or abrasion of wafers by components of such systems.
Many automated semiconductor processing systems use centrifugal wafer processors, which spin the wafers at high speed, while spraying or otherwise applying process fluids and/or gases onto the wafers. The rotors typically hold a batch of wafers in a parallel array during the spin/spray process. It is important to have the process liquids contact the wafer surfaces in a substantially uniform way, so that all useable surfaces of the wafers receive substantially consistent processing, and so that all wafers within the batch of wafers in the rotor (as well as subsequent batches) are generally uniformly processed. As a result, it is advantageous for the rotor in the process chamber, as well as any tray or carrier installed into the rotor, to have a structure which allows the process liquids and/or gases to be sprayed through and onto the wafers. On the other hand, the wafers must be adequately supported to avoid excessive stress and wafer breakage. Highly reactive or corrosive chemicals are often used in wafer processing. Consequently, rotors and carriers have often been made of Teflon (fluorine containing resins), a corrosion resistant material. However, Teflon lacks the strength and stiffness of other commonly used materials, such as stainless steel. These factors present design engineering challenges in providing rotors or carriers which are strong and rigid enough to carry and spin wafers, while also minimizing interference with the inflow/inspray of process fluids or gases.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved apparatus and methods for handling and processing wafers.


A configuration package receives user-generated input that configures a decision service to generate decision data. The configuration package includes artifacts and the user-generated input selects the artifacts from an artifact library in a configuration database. A configured decision service is generated, where the generating includes receiving, by a decision service factory, the configuration package. Also, the decision service factory receives a decision template including configurable decision elements and non-configurable decision elements. Further, the decision service factory receives a user configuration specifying a parameter in the corresponding artifact. The artifact from the configuration package, the user configuration and the decision template are combined to generate the configured decision service. The configured decision service receives, from a client computer, input for each of the configurable decision elements. Based on the received input, the decision data is generated by the configured decision service. The generated decision data is transmitted to the client computer.

Software is frequently sold or distributed as pre-compiled computer products that may be restricted by, platform, language, etc. Software shared from user to user and for a wide variety of applications often needs customization to either be of use to the particular user or to be used on a particular machine, often involving the re-writing of code. The re-writing of code can result in variations in functionality or output as well as being difficult or impossible for the end-user.

Configuration packages for software products