An image-reading apparatus includes a case constituted to shut off ambient light and including an opening on a bottom surface thereof, an image capturing unit capturing an image of a medium in the case through the opening, a plurality of light sources disposed in the case to emit light to the opening, and an image-processing unit performing image capturing by the image capturing unit, and performing composition process on plural image data captured by the image capturing unit. The light sources emit light in a direction to form shadowed areas outside of different edges of the medium when the medium is smaller than an area of the opening, and the image-processing unit extracts the edges based on the shadowed areas in the image data and crops the medium from the image data based on the extracted edges.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image-reading apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a desire to convert some media, such as a single photograph including a film photograph generated by photographing using a film camera, or a printed photograph obtained by printing based on a piece of image data, or a photograph album (album) including a plurality of photographs, into image data and store the converted image data in a hard disk or other recording media, or in a cloud computing environment. Image data is typically generated by reading media with an image-reading apparatus (e.g., a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder (ADF) scanner, an overhead scanner, a hand-held scanner, and a digital camera).
With a flatbed scanner, a user places one or more sheets of a single photograph, or an area of a photograph album including at least a photograph that one wishes to scan on a glass plate of the scanner. An image capturing unit of the scanner captures an image of a reading surface on the glass plate through the glass plate. With an ADF scanner, the image capturing unit can consecutively capture an image of a plurality of photographs. With an overhead scanner (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-268323) or a digital camera, a user places one or more sheets of a single photograph, or an area of a photograph album including at least a photograph that one wishes to scan within an image-capturing area of an image capturing unit. The image capturing unit captures an image of a reading surface facing the image capturing unit. With a hand-held scanner (refer to the publication of US Patent Application No. 2011/0142371), a user holds the hand-held scanner and moves the scanner while the scanner is in contact with the single photograph or the photograph album to enable an image capturing unit of the scanner to capture an image of the whole area of the photograph.
With an image-reading apparatus that reads a medium one by one such as an ADF scanner, an image of the medium is read by an image capturing unit that captures the image of the medium on a back pad in a monotone color. The back pad in a monotone color is used to obtain an image of the medium having a background in a uniform monotone color such as white or black. Subsequently, image processing is performed on an image of the medium being read, thereby generating final image data. In the image processing, an edge detection is performed in which the borderline between the medium and the background is detected in the read image of the medium from both top to bottom, and left to right. After that, the linearity of the detected edge is obtained, thereby locating the medium. Then, the image including only the medium without the background is cropped (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-88654).
As for an edge detection of image processing, a technique has been reported, in which an image-reading apparatus reads an image of a medium using a line sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD). The image-reading apparatus detects a shadowed area generated due to irradiation of the medium having an unevenness in a thickness direction with light emitted from a light source, through detecting the asymmetry of the inclination of an edge. When the image-reading apparatus determines the shadowed area, image processing is performed to eliminate the determined shadowed area, or the shadowed area and some pixels at or near the shadowed area (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-285377).
It is also desired to prevent the medium from being damaged, readily convert the medium into image data, thereby generating high-quality image data. Actually, with a flatbed scanner, an ADF scanner, or an overhead scanner, a user has to bring the medium to the position where the scanner is installed and dispose the medium so as to be captured by the image capturing unit. With an ADF scanner, for example, before converting a photograph from a photograph album into image data, the user first has to take out the photograph from the photograph album. When using a photograph album in which a photograph is fixed with an adhesive, the photograph is damaged when being separated from the album. In addition, once a photograph is separated from the album, the adhesive force of the adhesive decreases, resulting in the difficulty of re-attaching the photograph to the photograph album.
With an ADF scanner, a photograph is conveyed by a carriage roller to the image capturing unit, resulting in damaging the photograph. In the same manner, with a hand-held scanner, the medium comes into contact with the scanner, and the medium is likely to be damaged.
In addition, when converting a single photograph into image data using a hand-held scanner, the user has to hold the photograph by hand, for example, to fix the photograph. Furthermore, the user has to move the hand-held scanner, resulting in the user to perform more work, which bothers the user. Since the user moves the hand-held scanner on the medium, a relative velocity between the medium and the hand-held scanner becomes variable, which makes it difficult to maintain the quality of the generated image data at a high level.
When using an overhead scanner or a digital camera, the photograph or the photograph album is exposed to the outside during image-capturing, and thus effected by the external environment. A photographic paper used for film photograph or a glossy paper used for a printed photograph has a higher reflection factor in comparison with plain paper. Ambient light emitted from the outside to the medium is therefore reflected on the reading surface of the medium and then is incident on the image capturing unit. This results in an inconvenience caused by an increase of the reflected ambient light which may be incident on the image capturing unit, i.e. reflections of the ambient light are generated, which makes it difficult to maintain an image level of the image data generated at high level.
In a conventional image-reading apparatus, although, cropping an image of the medium being read is performed by focusing on an edge component or a color component of an image, it is difficult to crop an image of the medium with high-accuracy according to this method. Therefore, further improvement is required.


Connectable connector fittings for positioning on the terminal ends of flexible conduits include a first member positioned on the exterior surface of the terminal end of a conduit, a second member is positioned on the interior surface of the terminal end of the conduit, and a connector member coupled with either the first or second member. The first and second members are securely affixed by expanding the diameter of the second member outwardly against the first member to achieve a pressure fit whereby to provide a connectable connector fitting on the terminal end of the conduit.

The present invention relates to an end terminating arrangement for plastic and rubber conduit and more particularly to the securement of connectable male or female connector fittings onto the terminal ends o flexible resilient conduit.
As connector fittings become more and more popular in industry, the applications for connector fittings become ever increasing. Connector fittings play an important role in connecting conduits together in compressed air and low pressure hydraulic piping systems and in fluid apparatus. Further, connector fittings may be adapted for other tasks such as where a removable and insertable connection is needed between conduits or the like.
Generally, connectable male and female connector fittings are assembled on flexible conduits by the manufacturer. However, a standard size conduit having factory fittings will not always work in the field. Thus, there is a need in the art to position male or female connector fittings onto flexible conduit out in the field. Prior devices for positioning connectable connector fittings onto the terminal end of flexible conduit out in the field required the use of clamps. Although clamps are adequate for positioning male and female fittings on the terminal ends of conduits, the clamps are easily stripped when tightened by a screwdriver or the like. Heating is used to position male and female fittings onto the terminal ends of conduit. The heating, if not executed properly, has a tendency to melt or deform the plastic and/or rubber conduit, ruining the conduit. Also, self securing connector fittings which cut into the surface of the conduit are used to secure the connector fitting onto the terminal ends of the conduit. However, the self-securing fitting has a tendency to penetrate the conduit surface causing a weak spot in the conduit. Further, adhesives are used to secure connector fittings onto the terminal ends of conduits. However, adhesives are sloppy, require several solvents, and need time to set-up before use. Other disadvantages of the prior connector fitting securements will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of securing prior connector fittings to the terminal ends of flexible conduits out in the field. The present invention provides the user with a connectable fitting which is easily secured with a minimum amount of skill. The present invention provides the art with a new and improved apparatus for positioning a connectable male or female connector fitting onto terminal ends of flexible resilient conduits. The connector apparatus in accordance with the present invention can easily be secured onto the terminal end of a flexible conduit by a pressure fit eliminating the uncertainties involved with clamping, heating, adhesives, and penetration fittings.
The present invention includes a first member positioned about the exterior surface of the terminal end of the flexible conduit. A second member is positioned about the interior surface of the terminal end of the conduit. A mechanism acting as a male or female connector fitting is coupled with either the first o second member. The two members are securely affixed, by a pressure fit, to the terminal end of the conduit forming a connectable connector fitting o the terminal end of the conduit.
The first member may have a projecting member for providing the fitting with a surface for securing the connector fitting into a female connector fitting. Also, a female connector fitting may be continuous with either the first member or second member for providing the terminal end of the conduit with a female fitting. The first and second members may be continuous with one another forming a connector fitting on the terminal end of a conduit. The first and second members may be separate and distinct members forming a two piece connector fitting.
Generally, the first member includes a cylindrical body portion positioned about the exterior surface of the conduit. The body portion has at least one discontinuity in its surface for improving the affixing of the conduit between the first and second member.
Generally, the second member includes a cylindrical body portion positioned on the interior surface of the terminal end of the conduit. The cylindrical body portion has a peripheral bead on its exterior surface for improving the affixment of the conduit between the first and second members.
The method disclosed herein permits the use of the deep drawing progressive stamping manufacturing process which allows generally cylindrical parts to be formed from thin metal strip stock. The exceedingly close and repeatable tolerances and smooth surface finishes that are common to this process allow the manufacturer of conduit attachment components to precisely control dimensions whereby the user can obtain an attachment in the field that is as accurate as the best factory made attachment.
Although attachments to conduit having a thin wall and formed of plastic are known, material imperfections can undesirably lead to failures such that only relatively noncritical applications have been considered for terminating conduit that is larger than about 8 mm. in inside diameter. The cost of the plastic material generally results in the conduit wall thickness being held to a minimum which has the effect of severely limiting the performance of larger diameter conduit attachments, even though the conduit itself is capable of better performance. Nylon and other harder plastics permit the use of non-reinforced tubing but have not reduced user costs because of the reliability of the termination arrangement. The best currently available terminations usually involve wrenching and torquing arrangements which are operator sensitive. Where these attachment arrangements are also combined with a fitting that must be pre-installed on a device being connected by the conduit, space limitations prevent reliable wrenching to secure to the conduit. These prior art attachment arrangements are relatively expensive when compared to the attachment arrangements disclosed herein. The attachment arrangement, in accordance with this invention, makes possible the reliable use of lower cost high-performance conduit and use of quick connectors of the nature of those described in U.S. Pat, Nos. 4,423,892 and 4,541,658, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.
From the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art.

End terminating means for plastic and rubber conduit


A harvester includes a chassis, a separation frame movably supported by the chassis and upon which crop material is deposited, a reciprocating drive operably coupled to the separation frame to reciprocate the separation frame, a control system, a sensor programmed to produce a signal indicative of a tilt of the chassis relative to a gravitational direction, and programmed to provide the signal to the control system, and an adjustable link operably coupled between the separation frame and the chassis to adjust a pivot point of the separation frame. The control system is programmed to determine a change in tilt of the chassis based on the signal from the sensor. The controller is programmed to adjust the adjustable link to modify the pivot point of the separation frame in response to the change in tilt of the chassis.

The present invention relates to harvesters. More particularly, the invention relates to harvesters that separate grain from material other than grain (MOG). Harvesters are used to gather a crop. Many harvesters utilize a cleaning shoe to separate grain or other wanted portions of a crop from chaff or other unwanted portions of the crop, referred to as MOG. The cleaning shoe may include several separation frames that facilitate the separation of grain from MOG. The separation frames may include an imperforate floor that forms a pan or filtering elements, such as louvers, that form chaffers or sieves. The separation frames along with their support separation elements may be reciprocated to assist in such separation of grain from MOG.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.

Harvester separation frame orientation adjustment


An installation mount for an in-wall component has a sloped spackle rim around a recessed opening. The recessed opening is shaped to accept either a sanding shield or a component cover. While the sanding shield is in the recessed opening, an installer could spackle the front surface of the installation mount and can then sand the spackle away until the sanding shield is exposed, creating a surface that is flush with the rest of the wall. The sanding shield could then be so that the sanding shield could be used to protect the interior of the installation mount during sanding, while the component cover could be used while the component cover is in use to protect the component and provide a flush-mount look and feel.

When finishing wood or other abrasive surfaces, installation engineers frequently need to sand or plane the surface smooth. During such an installation, surfaces near to the unfinished surface need to be protected during the sanding process. US20080194187 to Bennett teaches a sanding device that uses bumpers to prevent a sanding belt from accidentally sanding a nearby surface. Bennett and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein or in extrinsic materials should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Bennett, however, only prevents sanding belts from touching surfaces that are a few centimeters away or more from the unfinished surface. A bumper does not have the accuracy to prevent a sanding belt from sanding a surface directly adjacent an unfinished surface. U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,106 to Komatsu solves this problem by teaching a sanding mask that fits over a surface adjacent an unfinished surface. A sandblaster could then safely blast both the unfinished surface and the mask, leaving the surface under the mask untouched. Komatsu, however, fails to prevent a sandblaster from wearing away too much material from the unfinished surface.
WO2008119180 to Arbel prevents a sandblaster from wearing away too much material from the unfinished surface by teaching a cover piece that is installed over the operative surface of a wall outlet. After fill material is spackled over the cover piece and the rest of the wall outlet, the fill material is sanded until the cover piece is exposed enough to be removed. Since the fill material only protrudes slightly from the front of the wall outlet, Arbel's outlet has an illusion of a flush-mount appearance. Arbel's cover piece, however, creates an unsightly recess in front of the operative surface of the wall outlet after the cover piece is removed.
Thus, there is still a need for systems and methods of protecting a surface directly adjacent to an unfinished surface during sanding which allows for a better flush-mount look and feel.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A thin USB electronic device, which includes a substrate and a housing enclosing the substrate, is disclosed. The substrate includes a circuit board and an extended connector. Electrically conductive metal strips are adhered to the connector, and integrated circuit elements are mounted on the substrate. The housing has openings, through which the corresponding metal strips are exposed and electrically communicate with the contacts of an USB receptacle. In another example USB electronic device, a plurality of metal film are used instead of electrically conductive strips, the integrated circuits are allocated centrally beneath the substrate, and bulges are manufactured upon the lower housing to sustain the extended connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention discloses a USB electronic device and specially relates to a thin USB electronic device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the progress in the information technology (IT) industry, portable electronic devices become more and more popular. Some of them, such as a flash drive or a small memory card, are capable of communicating with host (PC or notebook computer) through specific transmission interfaces, in which the universal serial bus (USB) is the most popular one. Because the USB is one of the most popular I/O interfaces in current personal computers, many electronic devices adopt USB as their transmission interface. The advantage of utilizing the USB is that it reduces the usage of a card reader for portable devices with different I/O interface.
Conventionally the connector for the USB electronic device is separated from the circuit board, and fabricated together by a weld. Because the USB connector's limitations, however, the USB electronic device will become too thick to be portable. Referring to FIG. 1, the housing 100 of the USB connector will influence and increase the volume and thickness of the electronic device. In order to reducing the thickness of all electronic elements among the electronic device as possible, the most regular solution is to improve the USB connector's structure, or to apply a connector-less design for thinning out the USB electronic device. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, Taiwan patent number 570242 discloses a USB storage device, therein the connector 202 is extended from the circuit board and enclosed in an upper housing 200 and a lower housing 201. By utilizing the contacts of a USB receptacle to touch the metal film 204 electroplated directly on the connector 202, the USB storage device could establish a circuit loop with the host. However, most parts of the connector 202 are exposed from the device housing, making the contacts (formed of metal films) short circuit easier by external matter, which decrease the electronic device's life.
FIG. 3 illustrates the simplified structure of a small USB connector disclosed in Taiwan patent number 565026, therein connector 30 and circuit board 31 are manufactured whole in one and placed in the lower housing 38. The upper housing 37 merely covers parts of the connector 30 and forms the device's housing with the lower housing 38. In addition, four metal strips 33 are adhered on the connector 30 as the contacts for communicating with an USB receptacle (not shown). However, the connector 30 still reveals too much to outside environment. Further, because it's necessary to drill on the connector 30 before adhering the metal strips 33, and a metal housing 39 shaped of U letter is also needed for protecting the connector 30, the structure of the USB electronic device becomes more complicated and harder to fabricate, resulting in difficulties in reducing production costs.
According to the above descriptions, the foregoing two inventions may achieve the goal for a thin USB electronic device, but there are still some disadvantages to overcome. Therefore, there is need to further reduce the thickness of the USB connector and the thickness of the USB electronic device, to overcome the foregoing disadvantages, and provide more protection for the connector (especially contacts of USB electronic device).

Inventec Multimedia & Telecom Corporation


The present invention allows transmission power control for each packet without increasing overhead and control processing delay in communications control systems such as CDMA systems, thereby increasing the quality of transmission. The present invention provides a communications control system for controlling packet communications between a base station and a mobile station, including a determiner for determining the transmission power level of packet data based on the received intensity of a preamble signal transmitted in advance of transmission of the packet data or a reservation signal, a reservation signal transmitter for transmitting to the base station information regarding the amount and type of subsequent packet data as the reservation signal in parallel with transmission processing of the packet data, and a packet data transmitter for obtaining information regarding the determined transmission power level at the mobile station and transmitting the packet data based on the obtained information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communications control system, a communications control method, and a mobile station and a base station for use therein, for controlling packet communications between the base station and the mobile station such as CDMA packet communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A W-CDMA system, a third-generation mobile communications control system, adopts a method of adaptively switching between a shared channel and a dedicated channel in accordance with traffic.
On a RACH (random access channel), a type of shared channel, a packet is separated into a preamble signal (preamble portion) and packet data (data portion) for transmission. A mobile station transmits, before transmitting the packet data, the preamble signal several times, gradually increasing in predetermined steps the transmission power from a small transmission power level until receiving an acquisition indicator AI from a base station.
Upon detecting the preamble signal, the base station transmits an acquisition indicator AI to the mobile station on the RACH. When receiving the acquisition indicator AI, the mobile station starts transmitting the packet data at a transmission power level determined based on the transmission power level of the preamble signal having been transmitted immediately before. This method is called "power ramping" which allows transmission power control for each packet.
When the amount of packets stored in a transmission buffer becomes equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, a DCH (dedicated control channel) is established between the mobile station and the base station as in circuit switching communications, and resources for packet communications between the mobile station and the base station are exclusively allocated.
With this, a control channel associated with the dedicated control channel DCH performs packet data transmission power control on a regular basis, eliminating the need for power ramping.
On the other hand, a "reservation method" is known as a technique for efficiently using an RACH. In the reservation method, a mobile station transmits a very short reservation signal to a base station before transmitting a packet, and the base station controls the packet transmission by the mobile station to avoid packet data collision, in view of its resource allocation conditions.
For the reservation method, various systems such as Reservation ALOHA, SRMA (split-channel reservation multiple access), PRMA (packet reservation multiple access), DQRUMA (distributed queuing request update multiple access) have been proposed for practical use.
For the reservation method, a method of transmitting a reservation signal on an RACH such as a Slotted ALOHA system, a method of transmitting a reservation signal in minislots which are fixedly allocated to each mobile station (e.g., CSMA: global scheduling multiple access), and a method of selectively using the above two methods in accordance with the type of traffic (PODA: priority-oriented demand assignment) are known.
The use of the reservation method for a base station to control packet transmission by mobile stations enables solving a so-called "hidden terminal problem" such as signal collision between mobile terminals each out of the other's view.
Further, specification of the priority or the like of packets in reservation signals allows a base station to schedule transmission of packets in accordance with the priority and also to deal with QoS control in uplink packet transmission.
CDMA communications have a near-far problem and require packet transmission power control to obtain sufficient channel efficiency in cellular environments.
Fading, shadowing, interference, moving of mobile stations and the like dynamically vary transmission characteristics in a radio link between mobile stations and a base station. Packet communications in which a burst of traffic is produced thus require transmission power control on a packet basis such as the above-described power ramping.
A conventional communications control method using power ramping, however, has a problem that it requires adjustment of transmission power using a preamble signal for each packet, resulting in increased overhead.
The communications control method further has a problem that fixing the packet data transmission power at the start of transmission of packet data prevents continuous transmission of packets containing lengthy packet data.
The communications control method still further has a problem that it is difficult for it to conduct QoS control according to packet types.
On the other hand, a communications control method utilizing the above-described reservation method has a problem that it does not give consideration to packet data transmission power control.
The communications control method further has a problem that higher the packet transmission speed, larger the decrease in efficiency due to delay in response from a base station to a reservation signal.
The communications control method still further has a problem that when reservation signals are transmitted over a RACH, packet collisions can cause delay in reception of the reservation signals, causing quality degradation especially in real-time communications such as voice communications which allow short delay time.

Communications control system, communications control method, and mobile station and base station for use therein


A computer front cover mounting arrangement includes two doorposts fixedly fastened to two opposite vertical lateral sides of the face panel of a computer mainframe, each door post having two pivot shafts at top and bottom sides, and a front cover releasably coupled to the doorposts and covered on the face panel and selectively openable from the face panel from the left side or the right side, the front cover having backward coupling flanges in four corners, each coupling flange having a circular recess for coupling with one pivot shaft, and a guide groove for guiding the corresponding pivot shaft into coupling position.

The present invention relates to a computer front cover mounting arrangement which comprises a computer mainframe having a face panel, and a front cover covered on the face panel to protect the face panel against dust and thieves. The front cover can be opened from the face panel from the left side or the right side as desired.
In order to protect the face panel of a computer against dust and thieves, an additional front cover may be provided. However, when a front cover is installed, it can only be turned between the closed position and the opened position from one side, i.e., from the left side or the right side only.

Computer front cover mounting arrangement

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An architectural archway for an aircraft. The archways can be positioned individually, or in pairs or other sets along the length of an aircraft fuselage. The archways are used to run or connect various transport elements, such as electrical wiring, water lines, and environmental control system conduits, between the upper crown, lower bay and passenger cabin of the aircraft. The invention simplifies installation complexity and eliminates the installation and variability associated with running transport elements between the various sections of the aircraft.

The interior configuration and architecture of aircraft have become relatively standardized today. The arrangements of the passenger seats, bulkheads, lavatories, serving areas, and crew spaces have been developed for convenience and accommodation of both passengers and crew. The passenger compartments are typically divided into two or more sections with bulkheads and lavatories being positioned accordingly. Aisles and passageway spaces are left between sets of seats and at the access doors.
The support lines and conduits for the accessory and auxiliary systems, such as conditioned air, water, hydraulics and electrical systems, are typically positioned in the lower bay below the passenger compartment (cabin) or in the crown or space above the passenger cabin. For some of these accessory systems, such as conditioned air and electrical systems, the wires and lines are passed between the lower bay and crown, or between one of those areas and the passenger cabins through the sidewalls or support members adjacent the exterior of the aircraft.
The installation, repair, and modification of the accessory and auxiliary systems, as well as the cabin furnishings, is a considerable expense to aircraft owners and users. There is a need for improved interior systems and for more efficient design and use of cabin furnishings and associated systems.
Often, the design and installation of cabin furnishing and auxiliary systems result in modification to the system transport elements, such as electrical wiring, fluid lines, and environmental control system ducts, which result in an increased cost and lead time for delivery of the desired aircraft. The problem is amplified for those transport systems that pass between the crown and lower bay of the aircraft since this may result in the loss of windows and sidewalls or longer than desired runs to fixed monuments at bulkheads.
There is a need in the aircraft industry for improved, more efficient, less complex, and less costly configurations for cabin furnishings and associated auxiliary systems in order to obviate the afore-mentioned problems.


A system and method to reduce-the effects of TOA errors. A mobile unit, generates a correlation pulse when a signal transmitted from a base station is detected. The transmitted signal may be reflected or defracted such that multipath signals arrive at the mobile unit, leading to distortion in the generated correlation pulse and errors in accurate TOA measurements. The system models the response function and calculates the width of the pulse using the modeling function with a dynamically adjustable factor to indicate at what point down from the peak the pulse width will be calculated. Based on calculation of pulse width, a type of multipath signal may be determined and an appropriate correction factor applied to the measured TOA to provide a more accurate TOA determination. The system may apply correction factors to TOA signals from base stations in a mobile telephone unit or from signals received from GPS satellites.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to telecommunication and, more specifically, to a technique for detecting and compensating for time of arrival errors in a telecommunications system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emergency services are often requested using telephone numbers, such as "911." If the caller is in a fixed location, such as a residence, computer systems track the telephone number of an incoming telephone call using automatic number identification (ANI) and quickly determine the address from which the call originated. Thus, it is a relatively simple task to determine the location from which emergency services are requested.
The location of a user requesting emergency service via mobile communications, such as cellular telephones, personal communication systems (PCS) devices and the like, is not as easily determined. Radio triangulation techniques have long been used to determine the location of a mobile unit. However, such radio triangulation techniques are known to be inherently inaccurate. Errors on the order of thousands of meters are not uncommon. However, such errors are unacceptable for the delivery of emergency services.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered changes in communication technology that will permit greater accuracy in location determination. In the case of mobile communications, the FCC has generated a rule that requires infrastructure based location systems to have an accuracy of 150 meters 67% of the time (and an accuracy of 300 meters 95% of the time). For systems that require modified handsets, the FCC has decreed that such systems must determine location within 50 meters 67% of the time (and 150 meters 95% of the time).
Existing position location technologies based on global positioning system (GPS) use a network of satellites in the sky that transmit signals at a known time. A GPS receiver on the ground measures the time of arrival of the signals from each satellite it can detect. The time of arrival, along with the exact location of the satellites and the exact time the signal was transmitted from each satellite is used to triangulate the position of the GPS receiver. A typical GPS receiver requires four satellites to make a triangulation, and the performance of the resulting calculation increases as the number of satellites that can be detected increases.
In an alternative to GPS, an existing network of cellular base stations can be treated as a network of satellites for purposes of position location. Similar to GPS technology, the exact location of each base station, the exact time at which the base station is transmitting a signal, and the time of arrival of the base station signal at a mobile station can be used to triangulate the position of the mobile station. This technique is described by some service providers as advanced forward link trilateration (AFLT). A significant problem faced by the mobile station is to measure the time of arrival with the signals that are received from each base station. Different wireless technologies may take different approaches to time of arrival measurements. Code division multiple access (CDMA) is one such technology. CDMA modulation is one of several techniques that allow a large number of system users to share a communication system. It is possible to utilize conventional CDMA modulation techniques as part of an AFLT system.
Radio location systems use time of arrival (TOA) signals coming from different transmitters of known positions to triangulate and estimate the mobile unit location. However, TOA signals are often distorted or erroneous due to multiple transmission paths or the unavailability of a line of sight between the network antenna and the mobile station. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of multiple transmission paths that may be experienced by a mobile phone in a vehicle 10. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile unit 10 is receiving signals from transmitters 12 and 14 mounted atop towers. In the example of FIG. 1, the mobile unit 10 receives a signal directly from the transmitters 12 and 14 but also receives signals from the transmitter 14 that have reflected off nearby buildings. Thus, the mobile unit 10 receives a number of signals from the transmitter 14. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile unit 10 is not within the line of sight (LOS) of the transmitter 16. That is, buildings or other structures block the direct line of sight between the mobile unit 10 and the transmitter 16. However, the mobile unit 10 still detects signals from the transmitter 16 that are reflected off buildings or other structures or are defracted around edges of buildings or other structures. In addition, the mobile unit 10 receives signals from a transmitter 16 mounted atop a building and may also receive signals from a global positioning system (GPS) satellite 18 in orbit about the earth. As a result, the mobile unit 10 receives multiple signals from the transmitter 16, none of which are direct LOS signals. Signals from the GPS satellite 18 may also comprise both LOS signals and reflected signals.
As a result of such multipath signals, the time of arrival measurements by the mobile unit are subject to error. Such errors can be significant in the presence of multipath signals, thus making it difficult or impossible to achieve the FCC directives with regard to location accuracy. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method to improve TOA measurements for mobile location systems. The present invention provides this and other advantages that will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.

System and method for the detection and compensation of radio signal time of arrival errors


Apparatus for determining the number of cycles occurring in a frequency modulated signal during a sample period, including not only the number of full cycles but any portion of a cycle, by determining the number of whole cycles and adding to this a value obtained by counting the number of high frequency clock cycles occurring between the time of the last rising edge of a full cycle and the end of the sample period, and the number of high frequency clock cycles occurring from the last rising edge prior to the start of the sample period and the start of the sample period and the number of high frequency clock cycles in a whole cycle.

In the art of sensing acceleration, a type of accelerometer described by a Peters U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,427 operates to produce four digital outputs. Two of these outputs are in the form of acceleration dependent frequency modulated signals. The other two outputs provide information concerning temperature and calibration coefficients respectively. To calculate the incremental change in velocity being experienced one may determine the changes in frequency between the first two outputs and provide adjustments in accordance with the second two outputs. Determining frequency changes is sometimes accomplished by means of a counter which counts the number of cycles of each output during a sample period. To obtain high accuracy, it is not only necessary to count the number of full cycles during a sample period but also any portions of a cycle which occur during that period. Having the number of full and partial cycles of the two acceleration dependent frequency modulated outputs, the average frequency during the sample period may then be numerically converted by a system processor to calculate the incremental velocity along the sensing axis of the accelerometer.
A full and partial cycle counting apparatus has been described in the Hulsing II, et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,861 which employs a first counter operable to provide an output count indicative of the number of full cycles in a sampling period defined by two successive strobe signals, a second counter which counts the integer number of high frequency clock cycles occurring during a full cycle of the unknown frequency and a third counter which counts the integer number of high frequency clock cycles during a time period starting with the end of the sample period and ending with the next rising edge of the signal being measured. Subtracting the ratio of the number of high frequency clock cycles during this latter time period to the number of high frequency counts during a full cycle from 1 is indicative of the portion of a full cycle that occurs before the end of the sample period. The ratio defined above indicates the portion of a full cycle that occurs after the start of the next sample period.
A problem encountered in the above described apparatus, arises from the fact that it is necessary to wait until after the end of a sample period to determine the number of high frequency clock periods existing in a portion of a cycle of the signal being measured. As a result, the information used to determine the incremental change in velocity along the sensing axis cannot be sent to the system processor for use until after the completion of the full cycle of the unknown frequency which was initiated prior to the end of the subsequent sample period.

Full and partial cycle counting apparatus and method


A fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine, having a fuel injector supplied with fuel from a high-pressure fuel source and including an injection valve member for opening or closing injection openings and a low-pressure circuit with a prefeed pump which pumps fuel from a fuel tank. Partial return fuel quantities, depressurized to the prefeed pressure of the prefeed pump, are delivered to the low-pressure circuit by pressure boosters or by fuel injectors inside an infeed portion via returns.

German Patent Disclosure DE 199 10 970 A1 discloses a fuel injection system having a pressure boosting unit, which is located between a pressure reservoir and a nozzle chamber and whose pressure chamber communicates with the nozzle chamber via a pressure line. A bypass line connected to the pressure reservoir is also provided. The bypass line communicates directly with the pressure line. The bypass line can be used for a pressurized injection and is located parallel to the pressure chamber, so that the bypass line is passable, regardless of the motion and position of a displaceable pressure fluid in the pressure boosting unit. This makes greater flexibility in terms of the injection possible.
German Patent Disclosure DE 101 23 911.4 relates to a fuel injection system with a pressure boosting device. A fuel injection system for internal combustion engines includes a fuel injector, which can be supplied from a high-pressure fuel source and has a pressure boosting device. The pressure boosting device includes a movable piston, which divides a chamber connected to the high-pressure fuel source from a high-pressure chamber communicating with the injector. The high-pressure chamber communicates with a differential pressure chamber via a fuel line, so that the high-pressure chamber can be filled with fuel via the differential pressure chamber of the pressure boosting device. The triggering of the fuel injection system with the pressure boosting device known from DE 101 23 911.4 is effected via a pressure relief of the differential pressure chamber of the pressure boosting device. The systems known from DE 199 10 970 A1 and DE 101 23 911.4, include a stroke-controlled fuel injector. Each fuel injector is assigned a pressure booster, for elevating the injection pressure as needed. The triggering of the pressure boosting device is effected via a simple 2/2-way valve and leads to reduced depressurization losses, since the differential pressure chamber of the pressure boosting device is pressure-relieved for its actuation. Moreover, these systems make it possible to perform multiple injections and to shape the injection course flexibly.
The use of a pressure boosting device in a fuel injection system that includes a common rail leads to a greatly increased fuel quantity demand per fuel injector within the injection system. For a high-pressure pumping unit, the result is an increased pumping quantity at a reduced pressure level. For a low-pressure pump, the pumping quantity also increases. The pressure level of the low-pressure pumping unit, however, does not decrease, since good filling of the pump chambers of the high-pressure pumping unit and exact meterability of the pumping quantity by the metering unit in the fuel system must be assured. Designing the prefeed pump for the large-quantity flows required in fuel injectors with a pressure booster is therefore a problem. In a fuel injection system with a common rail with an integrated pressure booster, high return quantities occur because of the pressure boosting, and these quantities amount to multiple times the fuel quantity to be injected via the respective fuel injector. In the systems known from the prior art, this fuel quantity is depressurized completely and is delivered to the fuel tank, which is exposed only to atmospheric pressure. The entire quantity demanded by the fuel injection system must then be compressed by the low-pressure pump to the prefeed pressure, to enable filling of the pump chambers of the high-pressure pumping unit.

Fuel injection system comprising a pressure intensifier and a delivery rate-reduced low-pressure circuit


In a liquid-droplet jetting apparatus constructed to change volume of pressure chambers in a cavity unit by displacement of active portions in a piezoelectric actuator so as to jet liquid in the pressure chambers from nozzles, respectively, the pressure chambers and the active portions extend on a predetermined plane; a length in a longitudinal direction of each of the active portions is not more than 1.5 mm, a height of each of the pressure chambers is 40 μm to 60 μm, and a thickness of a member which defines surfaces, of the pressure chambers, on a side opposing the piezoelectric actuator is 100 μm to 150 μm. The liquid-droplet jetting apparatus can stably jet a liquid-droplet having a minute volume at a predetermined speed without increasing a drive voltage applied to the active portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid-droplet jetting apparatus constructed to jet (discharge) liquid-droplets of a liquid from a cavity unit by displacement of an active portion in a piezoelectric actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a liquid-droplet jetting apparatus, there is an ink-jet head and the like. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-291543 or the like, an embodiment of the ink-jet head is described which is constructed such that a jetting pressure is applied from a piezoelectric actuator to a cavity unit having nozzles so as to jet droplets of an ink (ink-droplets) from the nozzles. For example, in an embodiment disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-291543, the cavity unit is formed in a substantially flat shape, and inside the cavity unit, ink supply channels, each of which is formed to range from one of pressure chambers, formed to open on one wide surface of the cavity unit, to reach one of nozzles formed to open on the other wide surface thereof, are provided for the nozzles respectively.
On the other hand, the piezoelectric actuator has a plurality of piezoelectric layers, individual electrodes provided for the pressure chambers respectively, and common electrodes each of which is arranged to cover the plurality of pressure chambers. In this piezoelectric actuator, areas of the piezoelectric layers, sandwiched between the individual electrodes and the common electrodes from thereabove and thereunder, are active portions which displace or deforms by a drive voltage applied between the individual electrodes and the common electrodes. Then, the piezoelectric actuator is stacked and fixed on the one wide surface of the cavity unit so that the active portions correspond to the pressure chambers respectively.
In the ink-jet head constructed in such a manner, displacement of an active portion changes the volume of a pressure chamber to thereby jet an ink filled in the pressure chamber from a nozzle. Therefore, to jet ink-droplets in a predetermined amount and at a predetermined speed, it is necessary to generate a predetermined amount of volumetric change in the pressure chamber.
With respect to the ink-jet head as an liquid-droplet jetting apparatus, there are tendencies to increase the degree of integration (densification) in a plane arrangement of nozzles and to decrease the plane area dimension of pressure chambers, so as to correspond to the miniaturization of the ink-jet head, the highly densified recording, and to the micronization of liquid-droplet in recent years. Accordingly, the reduction of the length of a channel (including a pressure chamber) needed for one nozzle not only makes it possible to realize the adaptation to the miniaturization of the ink-jet head and to the micronization of liquid-droplets, but also shortens an inherent cycle of a pressure fluctuation generated in the ink, thereby increasing a driving frequency of the jetting, which in turn is effective to realize the high-speed recording. However, this inevitably leads to the reduction in the plane area dimension of the active portions provided for the pressure chambers respectively, and thus it is necessary to increase the displacement amount of the active portions so that the volumetric change is applied, to the pressure chambers, in a predetermined amount by the active portions as a whole. Consequently, the drive voltage required for driving the active portions is needed to be set high. Further, the cavity unit is not a perfectly rigid body. Therefore, the displacement of active portion or portions is absorbed by the displacement of the cavity unit, causing a problem such that a predetermined jetting speed cannot be obtained without further setting the drive voltage higher.


In accordance with this invention, a gold colored tarnish and corrosive resistant alloy is provided which includes the following: 6 to 20 percent by weight gold, 5 to 10 percent by weight of indium, 5 to 12 percent by weight of palladium, 23 to 40 percent copper, 5 to 10 percent by weight zinc, and 23 to 40 percent by weight silver. It has been found that the aforesaid alloys are sufficiently malleable to be rolled or stamped without fracturing.

The present invention relates generally to gold alloys and in particular to a gold alloy that resembles 10 karat gold in color.
A wide variety of U.S. patents have disclosed various gold-color alloys. Included among them are U.S. Pat. Nos.
______________________________________ 1,965,012 7/1934 Taylor 75/1 3,424,577 1/1969 Nielson et al 75/134 3,767,391 10/73 Tuccillo et al 75/134 3,925,066 3/1981 Kobru et al 75/134 4,255,191 3/1981 Kropp 75/134 4,264,399 4/1981 Harris et al 75/134 4,350,527 9/82 Davitz 75/173 4,370,164 1/1983 Harris et al 420/503 4,396,578 8/1983 Bales 420/58 4,446,102 5/1984 Bales 420/507 4,557,895 12/10/1985 Karmon et al 420/587 ______________________________________
In addition, the applicant is the owner of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,350,527; 4,865,809; 4,948,557; and 5,019,335 which also disclose gold-colored alloys. However, it has been found that the aforesaid alloys are not sufficiently malleable to be rolled or stamped. Alternatively, such alloys that are sufficiently malleable are not corrosion and tarnish resistant.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gold-colored alloy that is malleable, corrosion-resistant, tarnish-resistant and resembles 10 karat gold in color.


A high performance soldering sleeve having improved heat transfer characteristics. The soldering sleeve has a continuous winding of solder coils positioned within a heat shrinkable tubular member. The solder coils, having a proper flux to solder ratio which increases performance of the soldering sleeve by generating a better solder flow. The solder coils also have better heat adsorption and heat transfer characteristics than prior art solid solder inserts. The solder coils further have the advantage of forming a plurality of lines which provide a fail safe configuration as a visual cue to indicate when a proper amount of heat has been applied to the soldering sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to connectors and, more specifically, to a high performance soldering sleeve having improved heat transfer characteristics and method therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the mid 1960's, RAYCHEM CORPORATION invented the first soldering sleeve. The soldering sleeve was comprised of a heat shrinkable tube with a solder preform inside. The soldering sleeve found immediate and widespread acceptance throughout the aerospace industry. However, the soldering sleeve had one major problem. It was difficult for people who used the soldering sleeve to control the heating process to assure that excessive heat was not applied to the soldering sleeve. Excessive heat compromises the dielectric properties of the wire insulation and/or causes burned solder joints.
In the mid 1970's RAYCHEM CORPORATION made improvements to the original soldering sleeve invented in the mid 1960's. The solder preform of the original soldering sleeve was replaced with a combination of two solders which formed a bi-alloy solder ring. Each of the two solders had a different melting point. The bi-alloy solder ring was suppose to give the assembly technician using the soldering sleeve a visual cue in applying the proper amount of heat.
The 1970's improvements to the soldering sleeve provided only a marginal amount of help to the assembly technician in applying the proper amount of heat. Thus, during the 1980's RAYCHEM CORPORATION invented a thermochromic ink addition to the outside of the solder preform. The thermochromic ink ring led to a plurality of patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,421; U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,224; U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,869; U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,713; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,901. The thermochromic ink ring was designed to undergo a change of color at the temperature required to effect a solder termination. While the thermochromic ink ring performed significantly better than the bi-alloy solder ring, it still leaves much to be desired as an effective visual indicator of soldering reliability.
The basic problem with present soldering sleeves is derived from the fact that the heat is, of necessity, externally applied. In an ideal soldering application using MIL-STANDARD 2000 ground rules, the heat would be applied to the inner wire or braid and the solder would be drawn to the heat. In this scenario, the thermochromic ink ring could function as a good indicator of proper heat content at the solder joint, as the lower metal layer would be at the proper eutectic temperature. However, all soldering sleeves must be larger than the wire package to facilitate assembly. This clearance negatively affects the amount of heat effectively transferred from the external source to the inner metal layer. Therefore, the thermochromic ink ring will often indicate a higher temperature than the lower metal layer. Thus, one runs the risk of reading a "false positive", and thereby misjudging the actual quality of the solder joint wetting.
Therefore, a need existed to provide an improved soldering sleeve. The improved soldering sleeve must improve the heat transfer characteristics of previous soldering sleeves. The improved soldering sleeve must be able to absorb heat at a faster rate than previous soldering sleeves thereby reducing the total amount of time that an external heat source needs to be applied for the solder joint to reach an eutectic temperature. The improved soldering sleeve must provide a visual cue to show that proper wetting has been obtained and that the external heat source may be removed.

Solder sleeve having improved heat transfer characteristics and method therefor


An embodiment of an energy absorbing container may include a shell formed of a plastic material, one or more energy absorbing components for absorbing energy resulting from impact loads, and an opening mechanism for opening the container and allowing the placement or removal of a bottle therefrom. The energy absorbing components securing a bottle stored within the container to may inhibit or prevent movement of the bottle within the container.

When dosing a large number of animals in a short period of time, for example in a single veterinary visit to a beef feed lot or to a chicken farm, a veterinarian or animal husbandry worker will often use a dosing gun injector. The dosing gun injector allows the user to dose a large number of animals without having to carry a large number of single dose vials. One such one such dosing gun injector is shown in FIG. 1.
The dosing gun injector has a needle in the cap, which is screwed on to the neck of a large vial of vaccine or other treatment to be injected into the animals. The needle in the cap punctures a seal on the container that prevents contamination of the vaccine. The vial is typically turned upside down in order to prevent any air in the vial or dosing gun from being injected into the animals. The vaccine or other treatment is typically injected by depressing some triggering device. As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the two parts of the handle are compressed together, thus pumping a predetermined and metered portion of the treatment through the dosing gun injector.
Traditionally, vaccines and other treatments are stored in glass vials. As can be readily appreciated, glass, though having the beneficial effect of typically not reacting with the material it contains, is relatively hard and readily breakable. Large vials, of the type commonly used with dosing gun injectors, are approximately the size and shape of the bottles shown in FIG. 1A, and generally contain either 500 ml or 250 ml of the treatment. Because this is sufficient vaccine or treatment for dosing a large number of animals, the accidental breakage of such a container can be very costly.
However, despite its breakability, glass remains one of the most common materials for storage of vaccines and other animal treatments. One benefit of glass is that it is not reactive with most treatments, as some plastics can be. Another reason glass continues to be used are the manufacturing costs involved in switching to other materials. Further, because many vaccines are live cultures, they can only properly be stored in sterile containers. As a result of the heat typically necessary for sterilization, glass remains a common choice for storage of vaccines and other animal treatments.
Due to the breakability of glass, attempts have been made to manufacture a shield or protective cover in which to place a glass bottle and prevent its breakage. One example of such a bottle can be seen in FIG. 2, where a protective cover for the drug MICOTIL is shown. The cover or sleeve in which the glass container is placed is formed of polypropylene and has flanges on both the top and bottom of the sleeve. When impacted, the flanges help distribute and reduce bottle stresses. The bottle is supported in the sleeve at both ends to prevent its movement within the sleeve. However, experience has shown that the approach evidenced by the MICOTIL protective cover has not proven to be wholly effective in preventing the breakage of bottles stored therein. In particular, this device fails when subjected to localized impacts which are concentrated in a small area. For example, the device shown in FIG. 2 will fail if a stress is imparted to the cover of the device at some point between the two flanges.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to addressing these problems associated with existing containers.


A scanning optical apparatus includes a light source, a deflector for deflecting a beam emitted from the light source, an optical device for guiding the beam emitted from the light source to the deflector, a stop member, provided in an optical path between the optical device and the deflector, for shaping a beam size of the beam having passed the optical device, the stop member having an aperture portion, an imaging device for guiding the beam deflected by the deflector onto a surface to be scanned, and a shade member, provided in the optical path between the stop member and the deflector, for intercepting a beam traveling in a central part of the stop member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning optical apparatus and, more particularly, to a scanning optical apparatus, for example suitably applicable to apparatus such as laser beam printers (LBPs) or digital copiers, that is arranged to effectively intercept part of a laser beam from a light source means by a shade member having a shade portion formed in a predetermined shape, thereby decreasing the spot diameter, increasing the focal depth, and suppressing the negative effect of side lobe on an image.
2. Related Background Art
In the conventional scanning optical apparatus used in the laser beam printers, the digital copiers, or the like the laser beam (light beam) emitted from the light source means is optically modulated according to an image signal. Then the optically modulated laser beam is deflected on a periodic basis by a light deflector, for example comprised of a polygon mirror, and an imaging optical system having f-.theta. characteristics focuses the beam in a spot shape on a photosensitive recording medium. The beam thus scans the recording medium to effect image recording thereon.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of major part in a main scanning cross section of a scanning optical apparatus of this type.
In the same drawing, the laser beam (light beam) L emitted from the light source means 31 is converted into a nearly parallel beam or into a converging beam by a collimator lens 32, a stop member 33 shapes the size of beam cross section of the beam, and the shaped beam is incident into a cylindrical lens 34. Among the parallel beam incident into the cylindrical lens 34, rays in the main scanning cross section are emergent in the state of parallel rays as they are. In the subsidiary scanning cross section perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 rays are converged to be focused as an almost linear image on a deflecting surface (or reflecting surface) 35a of the light deflector 35. After that, the laser beam deflected by the deflecting surface 35a passes through an imaging optical system (f-.theta. lens) 36 to be converged on a photosensitive drum surface 37, and the light deflector 35 is rotated in the direction of arrow A to effect optical scanning in the direction of arrow B (i.e., in the main scanning direction) on the photosensitive drum surface 37. This results in recording an image on the photosensitive drum surface 37 being a recording medium.
In these years, the laser beam printers, digital copiers, or the like are being required to achieve higher resolution and higher quality of image and, especially for meeting requirements for high resolving power and for tone reproduction affluent in half tones (intermediate tone levels), it is necessitated to further decrease the spot diameter on the photosensitive drum surface being a surface to be scanned.
Here, the above spot diameter d is expressed by the following equation. EQU d=.alpha.F.lambda. (a)
In Eq. (a),
F: F-number of image-forming beam (optical system), PA1 .lambda.: wavelength of laser beam, PA1 .alpha.: constant. PA1 F: F-number of image-forming beam (optical system), PA1 .lambda.: wavelength of laser beam, PA1 .beta.: constant. PA1 light source means; PA1 deflecting means for deflecting a beam emitted from said light source means; PA1 optical means for guiding the beam emitted from said light source means to said deflecting means; PA1 a stop member, provided in an optical path between said optical means and said deflecting means, for shaping a beam size of the beam having passed said optical means, said stop member having an aperture portion; PA1 imaging means for guiding the beam deflected by said deflecting means onto a surface to be scanned; and PA1 a shade member, provided in the optical path between said stop member and said deflecting means, for intercepting a beam traveling in a central part of said stop member. PA1 a shape of a shade portion of said shade member satisfies the following conditions: EQU Ps(eff)<Pm(eff)+0.2022/{Pm(eff)+0.1718}-0.1716, EQU Pm(eff)<Ps(eff)+0.2022/{Ps(eff)+0.1718}-0.1716, EQU 0<Ps(eff)<1, and EQU 0<Pm(eff)<1, PA1 where Pm(eff) is an effective shade length ratio in a direction of deflection of said deflecting means with respect to the aperture portion of said stop member and Ps(eff) is an effective shade length ratio in a direction perpendicular to the direction of deflection of said deflecting means with respect to the aperture portion of said stop member.
Therefore, in order to further decrease the spot diameter d, it is necessary to decrease the F-number of image-forming beam or to decrease the wavelength .lambda. of laser beam, as seen from Eq. (a). However, a decrease in the F-number of image-forming beam will result in an increase in the beam width of laser beam L outgoing from the collimator lens 32. It thus becomes necessary to increase the effective diameter of collimator lens 32. Such a collimator lens has the problem of increase in the manufacturing cost, because the number of lenses used therein increases and because higher adjustment accuracy thereof is required.
In addition, since the width of the beam incident to the deflecting surface (reflecting surface) of light deflector 35 also becomes greater, the effective area of the deflecting surface must be increased, too. The manufacturing cost of such a light deflector increases and the weight of the light deflector itself also increases. Thus, a very large load is exerted on a motor for rotating the light deflector. This will result in such various problems as an increase in the cost of the motor and an increase in consumption power.
As for shortening of the wavelength .lambda. of laser beam, the cost is normally still high of lasers creating visible light, which are used for some high-grade machines, but are not suitable for cheap laser beam printers.
On the other hand, the focal depth D of the laser beam focused in the spot shape on the photosensitive drum surface is expressed by the following equation. EQU D=.beta.F.sup.2 .lambda. (b)
In Eq. (b),
As seen from Eq. (b), the focal depth D tends to become smaller (shallower) as the F-number of image-forming beam is made smaller or as the wavelength .lambda. of laser beam is made shorter in order to decrease the spot diameter. This necessitates decreasing the curvature of field of the f-.theta. lens (imaging optical system). As a result, design becomes complex and higher accuracy is required for processing of the f-.theta. lens itself. Further, higher assembly accuracy is necessitated for each optical component, which will result in a problem of a large increase in the cost.
In order to solve this problem, there are methods proposed, including a method for generating a Bessel beam of the first kind of order 0 to decrease the spot diameter and to increase the focal depth, for example as described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-307151 or in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 6-148545, a method for intercepting the side-lobe part of an eccentric Bessel beam by a slit member, and so on.
Creation of the Bessel beam, however, required use of, for example, a conical prism and a phase/amplitude filter or the like, which tended to complicate the whole apparatus. The method for intercepting the side-lobe part of eccentric Bessel beam by the slit member tended to complicate adjustment.


A washer nozzle includes a spread jet opening for basically jetting washer fluid in a predetermined direction of a vehicle; and a jet opening for accessorily and intensively jetting part of the washer fluid as a directional jet flow which is different from the spread flow basically jetted from the spread jet opening. The washer fluid is jetted and sprayed over a large area in a fan-shaped spread flow from the spread jet opening. Further, the washer fluid is intensively sprayed as the directional jet flow from the jet opening. Thus, sweeping performance of the washer nozzle and a washer apparatus is improved such that the directional jet flow is not substantially affected by airflow during high-speed driving so that the washer fluid is effectively utilized so as to be sprayed and supplied to areas that are prone to be left unwashed.

A washer apparatus suitably used for automobile is required to wipe a large area with a small quantity of washer fluid in a short time. On this account, spread (spray)-type jet nozzles which are capable of jetting washer fluid over a large area to increase wiped areas have been proposed (e.g. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-67887).
In this type of washer nozzle, a nozzle chip is built in a nozzle body and further the nozzle chip has an oscillation chamber for self-oscillating the pumped washer fluid. In the oscillation chamber, a channel of washer fluid fed through a feed passage in the nozzle body is formed (main channel). In addition, a plurality of feedback channel is formed therein for branching, guiding, and returning part of the washer fluid to the main channel. Thus, the washer fluid guided by the feedback channels provides a control flow, which in turn causes the washer fluid flowing through the main channel to self-oscillate. Then, the self-oscillating washer fluid is jetted in a fan-shaped spread flow over a large area.
However, if the washer fluid is spread and jetted over a large area using such a spread-type jet nozzle, the distribution of the quantity of the jetted washer fluid is not uniform. The quantity of fluid is high at both the ends of the fan-shaped spread flow and low in the center. If the washer fluid supplied onto a windshield glass is expected to spread by wiper blades, it is required to perform wiping operation more than once. Therefore, the washer fluid is not quickly spread and some areas can be remained unwashed, especially, when muddy water is sticking to the windshield glass. Further, in such a spread-type jet nozzle, the particle size of jetted washer fluid is relatively small. Therefore, the jetted washer fluid is easily affected by the airflow when the vehicle is driving at high speed, and a splashdown of the washer fluid falls down from a target point. As a result, the washer fluid is not supplied to the upper part of a windshield glass and a large unwashed area remains. Accordingly, it is difficult to secure a sufficient field of view at the driver's side.
The particle size of washer fluid is relatively small, as mentioned above. Therefore, if the spread angle of spread jet is increased so as to increase the wiped area, part of jetted fluid is flown by the airflow and sprayed out of the windshield glass. As a result, the jetted fluid is not effectively utilized.
The present invention is made with the above-mentioned problem taken into account. The object of the present invention is to provide a washer nozzle and a washer apparatus which are capable of spraying and supplying washer fluid even to areas which are likely to remain unwashed by a wiper apparatus so that wide fields of view for the driver and front-seat passenger are secured quickly and stably.


A two-port S-parameter calibration between a first port and a second port of a test system having a multi-port vector network analyzer is performed to provide a first S-parameter calibration of the test system. A transfer device is connected between the first and second ports of the test system. A port of the test system is changed to provide a second state of the test system, and a plurality of ratioed un-corrected parameters of the transfer device are measured with the test system in the second state. A second S-parameter calibration of the test system in the second state is determined using the ratioed un-corrected parameters and S-parameter data.

Obtaining accurate measurements of two port devices with a vector network analyzer ("VNA") uses a two-port calibration to characterize the systematic errors of the instrument and test set. Calibration is typically performed using a number of calibration devices of pre-determined characteristics, such as a short, an open, a termination of known impedance, and one or more through lines of known electrical lengths, or an electronic calibration ("E-cal") device, which is a programmable device that selectively provides a sequence of calibration standards. These devices are commonly known as "calibration standards."
In many cases, a customer needs to alter the VNA or test set while measuring a device under test ("DUT"). One example of this is changing the value of an attenuator to optimize the measurement of both high and low power (either input or output) conditions of the DUT. Unfortunately, such a change in the test environment invalidates the two-port S-parameter calibration made with the VNA/test set in its previous state.
One technique for addressing this problem is to re-calibrate the test system (i.e. the VNA and test set) with the calibration standards after the test system has been configured to its new state. However, this requires disconnecting the DUT, connection of the calibration standards, and execution of a complete 2-port S-parameter calibration, requiring the measurement of multiple calibration standards, or multiple states of an E-cal device. While this approach produces good results, it is inconvenient, time consuming, and disrupts the test sequence flow of the DUT.
Another technique is to calibrate all desired states of the test system prior to measuring the DUT. This approach is time consuming, even if the customer knows in advance which states the test system needs to be calibrated for. A customer does not always know which test system states will be used when testing a DUT. If the customer does not know which test system states need to be calibrated for, a complete calibration of all possible states is usually done. This is very time consuming because each state requires execution of a complete 2-port S-parameter calibration, requiring the measurement of multiple calibration standards, or multiple states of an electronic calibration device.
Sometimes, approximations of the effects of a state change of the test system are used to avoid some portions of the time-consuming calibrations. Unfortunately, such approximations result in increased measurement uncertainty, and hence less accurate measurements.
Therefore, an improved technique for measuring a DUT after a calibrated port has been modified that provides accurate network measurements is desirable.

Re-calculating S-parameter error terms after modification of a calibrated port


A wireless AV station is furnished with an Internet browsing function, a TV viewing function, a TV recording and playback function and a message board function, and these multiple functions are activated by a command from a plurality of personal computers each operating as remote controllers, and/or a dedicated remote controller. A control portion executes exclusive control among multiple functions based on exclusive control data, so that concurrently available functions may be used independently by a plurality of remote controllers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote-control technique in consumer appliances, such as an HDD recorder, furnished with multiple functions including, for example, an audio playback function and a video recording function.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the improvement of the semiconductor manufacturing technique and the information processing technique in recent years, so-called consumer appliances are being made multifunctional at a fast pace. Most of the consumer appliances of this type are remotely controllable, and the user is able to use multiple functions by manipulating a single remote controller.
With the aim of managing and using multiple functions collectively, there have been proposed various schemes that make it possible to control a plurality of discrete devices by a single remote controller (for example, patent document JP-A-11-3166)
Incidentally, conventional consumer appliances are designed on the assumption that there is only one remote controller for remote-control operations. Hence, concurrent use of a function X by a user A and a function Y by a user B is not anticipated.
However, a wireless network technique that enables, for example, a cableless interconnection of a plurality of electronic appliances has been developing recently, and a plurality of personal computers interconnected through a network are becoming able to operate as a remote controller for remote-control operations.
The inventor has surmised that one day it will be common practice to control, for example, an HDD recorder furnished with an audio playback function and a video recording function, installed in the living room, such that user A may perform a manipulation for the audio playback function on his personal computer in his room while at the same time the user B may perform a manipulation for the video recording function on his personal computer in his room. However, such operations would require concurrent use of two remote controllers and resolving contention problems among them as well as problems of exclusive use of certain functions dependent on the particular hardware and functions desired to be controlled.
The invention was devised in view of the foregoing, and therefore has an object to provide an electronic appliance and a remote controller that enable concurrent, independent use of multiple functions by a plurality of remote controllers.

Electronic apparatus and remote controller


A MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor having low power consumption which can be operated for one year or longer at a low voltage power source (for example, 1.5 to 3 V) is achieved. A sensor FET is formed in a MEMS region 34 where a Si substrate 22 of a SOI substrate is bored, and a heater wiring 32 is arranged so as to be folded between a Pi-Ti—O gate 28 and a source electrode 31S of the sensor FET and between the Pt—Ti—O gate 28 and a drain electrode 31D thereof, respectively. Further, a plurality of through-holes 36 obtained by removing a protective film so as to expose an embedded insulation layer of the SOI substrate are formed in a region where an intrinsic FET region 35 where the sensor FET is formed does not overlap with the MEMS region 34 and except for bridge regions 90, 90S, 90G, and 90H where lead-out wirings 20S, 20D, 20G, and 20H are formed and except for reinforced regions 91.

Hydrogen gas has properties of odor free and low ignition energy which results in large explosion power. Therefore, in order to exactly monitor leakage of hydrogen gas in a pipeline for city gas or others and detect the leakage of hydrogen gas in an industrial hydrogen gas line, usability of a system in which a lot of small-sized hydrogen gas sensors are arranged to monitor leakage locations has been reviewed. For example, in a hydrogen concentration which is several percentages of a concentration of explosion limit, a hydrogen gas sensor which can detect hydrogen gas at a high response speed (for example, in a range of 1 to 3 seconds) is required. An idea of such a monitoring system is described in, for example, Fuel Cell, VOL, 4, No. 4, 2005, p. 60-63 (Non-Patent Document 1). In order to achieve such a monitoring system, for the hydrogen gas sensor, it is desired to respond to a hydrogen concentration which is 10% of 100 ppm at a high speed and to be low power consumption, small sized, and low cost. Also in monitoring the hydrogen leakage in fuel cell vehicle or hydrogen vehicle, a hydrogen gas sensor with low power consumption is useful.
Incidentally, there is a lithium cell (lithium battery) as one of batteries which can take the most current capacity recently. The lithium cell has a risk of ignition. However, in a case of up to two of them, it is legally established that it is not required to take a countermeasure based on a specific mounting structure for firing safety measures. When a hydrogen gas sensor is operated by using two lithium batteries with high current capacity (for example, a voltage of 3 V and a current capacity of 2.6 Ah) of the lithium cells, if power consumption is 1 mW, continuous operation of the hydrogen gas sensor for about 650 days is possible. That is, as long as the operation for one year, power consumption up to 1.78 mW is allowed. Further, when a hydrogen gas sensor is operated by using one small-sized button cell for a mobile device, even if it is a lithium cell with relatively large capacity, a voltage is 3 V but a current capacity is such small as 0.61 Ah. Therefore, in order to operate the hydrogen gas sensor for one year or longer, an idea for further reduction in the power consumption is required. The power consumption of the hydrogen gas sensor is defined mainly by a sensor unit and an interface circuit. The power consumption of the interface circuit can be reduced by configuring the interface circuit to be an IC.
As a hydrogen gas sensor whose mass production is easy and which has a property of low power operation with using Si semiconductor, a hydrogen gas sensor of a Si-MISFET (Metal Insulator Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) type has been proposed. However, even in the Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor, if the high-speed response is required, it is required to heat the Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor at 100 to 200° C.
The present inventor has achieved the power consumption of about 100 mW in the Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor on which a sensor chip having a size of 2 mm square is mounted (see in, for example, Fuel Cell, Vol. 8, No. 3, (2009), p. 88 to 96 (Non-Patent Document 2)). However, as described above, in the cell operation, further reduction in the power consumption is required.
In the Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor in the above-described Non-Patent Document 2, a sensor MISFET, a reference MISFET, and a PN-junction-type diode for measuring the temperature are surrounded on a surface of the sensor chip by a heater wiring made of metal, and the whole sensor chip having a flat dimension of 2 mm×2 mm and a thickness of 0.4 mm is heated at 100 to 150° C. In this case, a lot of lead wires are used.
Further, as a substrate for the sensor chip, a Si substrate made of monocrystalline Si is generally used. However, the Si substrate has a thermal conductivity of 148 W/(m·° C.). Therefore, as a technique for the power reduction, an MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) structure is known, in which a Si substrate is bored and a heater is formed in the bored region. For example, U.S. Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004/0075140 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique in which, a Si substrate is bored, an insulator such as a Si3N4 film or a SiO2 film having low thermal conductivity is thinly formed in the bored portion, a flammable gas sensor with using a thin film such as a SnO2 film in the portion and a heater formed of a resistor body are formed and heated at about 400° C. However, in this example, the MISFET is not formed in the bored portion.
Further, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,280 (Patent Document 2) discloses a flammable gas sensor in which, an SOI (Silicon On Isolator) substrate is used, a Si-MISFET formed in a bored region in a Si substrate is used as a heater, and a sensitive membrane (for example, an SnO2 film) is arranged on the Si-MISFET to be used as a gas sensor film. Further, it discloses a hydrogen gas sensor in which, a sensitive film made of metal oxide to which a material having catalytic function is doped is formed on a gate insulating film of the Si-MISFET formed in the bored region in the Si substrate, and a Pt electrode is formed on the sensitive film. Further, it also discloses to form a heater made of a resistor body is formed on a rear surface of the SiO2 film in the bored region in the Si substrate and to heat the Si-MISFET. However, in such a structure of a hydrogen gas sensor, a manufacturing step such as performing a plurality of lithography processes to the rear surface of the SOI substrate having concave-convex surfaces is used after a lithography process to a front surface of the SOI substrate.
Meanwhile, if the low power consumption cannot be sufficiently achieved by continuous current flow, an intermittent operation method is effective. The intermittent operation method can be used, in which, heating time is represented as "τ1" and heating stop time is represented as "τ2", and the power consumption for heating can be effectively reduced by a duty ratio "(τ1/(τ1+τ2))". This intermittent operation method is effective when a time constant determined by the product of a thermal capacity of a targeted region with a thermal resistance connected to the targeted region is sufficiently shorter than the heating time τ1 and the heating stop time τ2. In this method, if the heating stop time τ2 is long, the power consumption can be reduced with no limit in principle. However, performance of the detection of gas leakage is reduced.
Because of limitation of the response speed of the conventional hydrogen gas sensor, it is determined in current regulations that the response speed of the hydrogen gas sensor is 30 seconds or shorter. Therefore, if a hydrogen gas sensor with a high response speed (for example, about one second) is provided, the explosion by the leakage of hydrogen gas can be prevented without damaging safety even in such an intermittent operation in which heating is performed for 2 seconds by the heater, and then, heating is stopped for 28 seconds. Therefore, a lower limit of the duty ratio is about 1/14. That is, when two lithium cells which are not regulated legally are used for, for example, a cordless monitoring system or a sensor node of a wireless monitoring system in the above-described Non-Patent Document 1, the lower limit of the power consumption is expressed as 25 mW×(1/14)≅1.78 mW. Therefore, it is considered that an upper limit of the power consumption in the heater heating for which the operation for one year can be ensured is about 25 mW.
In the Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor, on which the sensor chip having a size of 2 mm square (in which a thickness of the Si substrate is 0.4 mm) is mounted, achieved in the above-described Non-Patent Document 2, the thermal capacity of the sensor chip whose size is 2 mm square is such large as about 270 μW-second/° C. Therefore, when a chip temperature is raised from an environmental temperature (for example, −35° C.) to about 150° C., the arrival time t0 to the temperature is obtained by the quotient of the product of the thermal capacity C with a temperature difference ΔT and the heater power Pow supplied, and it takes about 1 second in 100 mW and takes about 100 seconds in 1 mW. In such a hydrogen gas sensor, when the heater is continuously operated, the arrival time t0 does not become a problem since it does not rapidly change the sensor temperature. However, when the intermittent operation of the heater is achieved, it becomes a large interruption. That is, in the existing publicly-known techniques, there is no hydrogen gas sensor equipped with a heater which can be used by a cell for a long period.
Further, an installation environmental temperature of the hydrogen gas sensor used is in a wide temperature range from a low temperature of −50° C. to a high temperature of 70° C. in some cases, and the installation is required in some cases in a place where the environmental temperature in the installation changes every day or every year. For example, in a catalytic-combustion-type hydrogen gas sensor described in, for example, Kiyoshi Fukui, Surface Technology, Vol. 57, No. 4, (2006), p. 244 to 249 (Non-Patent Document 3) or others, the problem of temperature change is solved by using a temperature compensation device, that is, a balance circuit (a Wheatstone bridge circuit or others) having a structure equivalent to that of the hydrogen gas sensor.
Further, in a Pt-gate Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor with using Pt for a gate, there are problems such that reliability for a long term cannot be guaranteed because an adhesive property between Pt and oxide such as SiO2 is poor and that a Pt film is partially peeled off, which results in contamination of a manufacturing apparatus by the peeled-off Pt film in a working process for manufacturing the Si-MISFET. Therefore, when Pt is used, the adhesive property is maintained by inserting barrier metal such as Ti, Mo, or W between Pt and SiO2, so that the contamination due to the peeling off is avoided. However, when the hydrogen gas sensor is operated, if such a barrier metal layer exists, the hydrogen gas is blocked or stored by the barrier metal layer, and therefore, there is a problem that the sensor cannot be used as the hydrogen gas sensor because the hydrogen gas sensor does not react with the hydrogen gas at all or the hydrogen response speed is significantly low (see in, for example, S. Y. Choi, et. al, IEEE Electron Device Letters, EDL-5, 14-15 (1984) (Non-Patent Document 4)).
In a Pd-gate Si-MISFET-type hydrogen gas sensor obtained by forming Pd catalytic on a gate insulating film (SiO2 film) by a sputtering method, such an effect that thermal treatment at 100° C. with 1% air-diluted hydrogen gas by significantly shorten the response time for the 1% air-diluted hydrogen gas from 50 hours to 55 seconds has been found (see in, for example, Y. Morita, et. al, Sensors and Actuators, B33, 96-99 (1996) (Non-Patent Document 5)). Note that, when irradiation of the 1% air-diluted hydrogen gas is stopped, hydrogen response intensity slightly remains so that the time required for the stop of the hydrogen response is about 655 seconds. The above-described Non-Patent Document 5 reports that, while threshold voltages Vth of an n-channel-type MISFET and a p-channel-type MISFET are 1.3 V and −0.6 V before hydrogen annealing, respectively, both of the threshold voltages obtained after the thermal treatment at 100° C. with the 1%-air diluted hydrogen gas are changed to 0.2 V.


Each of two coupling members is formed in an abutting end lace thereof with a recessed portion for accommodating a gasket and a retainer therein, and the recessed portion has a retainer holding hollow cylindrical portion formed centrally on a bottom surface thereof and provided on an end face thereof with an annular projection for clamping the gasket. The gasket comprises a small portion and a large portion having a greater outside diameter than the small portion. The retainer is attached to the cylindrical portion of the coupling member with which the gasket small portion is in contact.

The present invention relates to fluid couplings, and more particularly to a fluid coupling for use in fluid control devices for manufacturing semiconductors, the fluid coupling being useful for interconnecting massflow controllers, on-off valves, and connecting blocks interposed between these devices.
Fluid control devices for use in manufacturing semiconductors comprise a regulator such as massflow controller for controlling the rate of flow or a pressure regulator, and an on-off valve in combination with the regulator. It is known to connect the massflow controller to the on-off valve by a suitable connecting block as a preferred arrangement (see JP-A No. 326943/1996). FIG. 10 shows the construction of a fluid coupling included in the arrangement.
With reference to FIG. 10, the fluid coupling comprises a male coupling member 91 having an abutting end face formed with a hollow cylindrical fitting projection 95, a female coupling member 92 having a fitting recessed portion 96 circular in cross section and formed in a fitting end face thereof, an annular gasket 93 interposed between the two coupling members 91, 92, and a retainer 94 for holding the outer periphery of the gasket 93 to hold the gasket 93 to the female coupling member 92. The projection 95 of the male coupling member 91 is formed in its projecting end with a gasket accommodating annular cavity 100. The circular recessed portion 96 of the female coupling member 92 has a retainer holding cylindrical portion 97 formed in its projecting end with a gasket accommodating annular cavity 101. The bottom surfaces of the caved portions 100, 101 are formed with gasket clamping annular projections 98, 99, respectively.
Each of the coupling members 91, 92 may be a connecting block, massflow controller main body or a block joined to the on-off valve. One of these coupling members 91, 92 is of the male type, and the other member is of the female type The fitting projection 95 of the male coupling member 91 is fitted in the recessed portion 96 of the female coupling member 92, whereby the members 91, 92 are prevented from shifting radially relative to each other. The retainer 94, holding the gasket 93, is attached to the cylindrical portion of the female coupling member 92 to ensure a sealing function.
The conventional fluid coupling described includes two types of coupling members, i.e., male and female, so that when these members are to be joined, each member needs to be identified to distinguish the orientation thereof for the joint. The joining procedure therefore takes much time, while when the orientation of the joint is to be reversed, there arises a need to use additional coupling members of reverse male-female relationship.
If the distinction between the male and female types is eliminated, the advantage of preventing radial displacement by the fitting engagement is no longer available, with the result that the female coupling member 92 becomes radially shiftable relative to the male coupling member 91 In the case of the female coupling member 92 having the gasket-holding retainer 94 fitted around its cylindrical portion 97, the gasket clamping projection 99 thereof is unlikely to become radially displaced relative to the gasket 93, whereas with the male coupling member 91 to which the retainer 94 is not attached, the gasket clamping projection 98 thereof is liable to shift radially relative to the gasket 93. Consequently, this gives rise to the problem that the clamping projection 98 becomes released from the gasket end face to impair the seal.
This type of fluid coupling further has the problem of permitting leakage of fluid when subjected to a bending force. Additionally, for the coupling to be suitable to uses of which a very high degree of cleanliness is required as in manufacturing semiconductors, a problem still remains to be solved as to what configuration is to be given to the gasket clamping annular projections.