An image reading apparatus includes an imaging unit which has a plurality of channels and which, for the channels, outputs effective signals output from photo-receiving sections for receiving light from a subject, and optical black signals output from light-shielding sections in which the light from the subject is shielded. The image reading apparatus also includes a monitoring unit for monitoring the optical black signal output from the imaging unit, a correcting unit for performing shading correction on the signals output from the imaging unit, and a controller for controlling timing with which the shading correction by the correcting unit is performed. In an image reading method for the apparatus, the shading correction is performed in response to a job start signal, and based on an optical black signal monitored thereafter, the shading correction is performed again.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus using a plurality of sensor chips, an image reading method, and a program used therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In scanners for use by common users, contact image sensors (CISs) are used since they have advantages in that the required cost is reduced by the recent progress in the semiconductor process and production technology and in that they only need small amounts of luminous energy from light sources.
Recent scanners for use by common users have a main-scanning period of approximately 10 to 20 milliseconds, while image reading apparatuses, which are so-called "copying machines", have such a two-digit increase in speed that the main-scanning period is 300 milliseconds.
When a CIS is used in the image reading apparatus having the double speed, one problem is that an increase in the temperature of sensor chips causes variation in a black offset level, which is a signal level for performing correction, to a reference level for the black signal by performing calculation on input signals and which can cancel (offsets) a difference in level between input signals. Specifically, in a mode of sequential reading of up to approximately fifty documents by using an auto document feeder (ADF), shading correction for offsetting an effective-image-signal level difference (e.g., a level difference between image signals in a line sensor when performing reading from a uniform-density reference member) is performed only once at the start of a job (e.g., an image-reading operation based on an operator's instruction). This is because mechanical implementation of shading correction for each document reduces copying productivity. Also, in order to meet the recent need to reduce power consumption, there is a case in which a CIS is not supplied with power when scanning is not performed, and by supplying power just before scanning, tens of documents are consecutively copied.
In this case, the temperature of a sensor chip and an analog chip rapidly rises for about the first one minute from a dead state and gradually increases thereafter, so that the black offset level changes. In addition to self-heating of the sensor chip and the analog chip, for example, when a Xenon lamp or the like is used as a document-illuminating light source, it is also a heat source and enhances the change.
As described above, the above-described related art has several problems. For example, it takes three minutes to sequentially read fifty documents set in the ADF from the start of reading to the end of reading, and the black offset level greatly changes between the reading of the first document and the reading of the fiftieth document.
This becomes particularly serious when a so-called "multi-chip sensor" formed by a plurality of arranged sensor chips is used. In other words, the change in black offset level between chips is not uniform compared with individual sensor-chip differences. Accordingly, a plurality of channels have different reference levels for a black signal. This generates brightness differences in image regions corresponding to the reference levels, so that visual image quality greatly deteriorates.

Image reading apparatus, image forming system, image reading method, and program therefor


The invention disclosed herein provides an apparatus and method for securely collecting, storing, and disposing of documents by attaching a reusable, secure, lockable closure to a cardboard receptacle box. The lockable closure has a slot in the top to allow documents to be deposited in the box. Two opposing side surfaces of the lockable closure have an interior lip that engages the box flap in such a way as to prevent the unwanted removal of the closure. The closure can be secured to the box with a locking seal such as a cable tie through locking holes located on the top surface and two opposing sides of the lockable closure as well as the box flaps and box sides. A hole allows removal of the lockable closure by exerting pressure on the flap. The disclosed method provides the steps of providing a single lockable closure, a plurality of receptacle boxes, and a number of locking seals capable of fitting through the holes. The single, reusable, locking closure is placed on a receptacle box, which is sealed, documents are placed into the box through the slot. When the box is full, the locking seals are removed and the box is closed secured with its internal flaps and shipped for destruction or recycling. The same lockable closure is then placed on a different box bottom to repeat the process.

An immense volume of paper is generated by working commercial offices. Large fractions of this volume of paper must be securely stored and securely destroyed to prevent theft of information. For example, offices which deal with consumer reports for business purposes in the United States are subject to the requirements of the Federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) which requires proper disposal information of consumer reports and records to protect against "unauthorized access to use of the information". The "disposal rule" as it is known requires entities to follow appropriate measures to dispose of outdated consumer reports and all sensitive information derived from them.
In the prior art, disposal of large volumes of documents is usually accomplished by document shredding services. Document shredding services provide trucks with portable shredding equipment. The trucks transport the portable shredding equipment to the site at which the documents are located. A bonded courier then moves the documents from the office to the truck where they are shredded. The bonded courier can then attest to the secure handling and destruction of the documents once they leave the office.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,074 to La Rue discloses a container for storage and transportation of documents. The box includes a closure. Cable ties are threaded through grommet holes in the closure and the handles in the box to secure the closure and box together. However, the box and closure are designed to be used together to form a closed and sealed document transportation container. Once sealed, additional documents cannot be added without breaking the seals. Also the box cannot be closed and sealed without the corresponding closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,722 to Fromian discloses a packing box that is "self-locking". The box comprises a bottom having a plurality of sides. The sides of the bottom include flaps. The top includes a slot designated to accept the flaps. When the box is closed, the slots engage the flaps and prevent the top from being removed. To open the box, force is applied through a hole in the top to push the flap out of the slots. However, the box and the top are a single integral piece and cannot be separated without destruction of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,130,271 to Hammond discloses a box used for packing articles. Outer flaps of the body of the box engage an inner lip of the cover. To remove the cover from the body, a force is exerted a hole to disengage the flaps from the inner lip. However, there is no provision made for addition of documents to the box after the box is secured. Further, no provision is made for preventing unwanted tampering with the contents of the box during transport. Further, no provision is made for closing and sealing the box without the removable cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,007 to D'esposito discloses an interlocking tray and detachable cover. Flanges on the tray flex outward to engage locking ridges on the inside of the cover. To remove the cover, a force is applied through a hole in the cover to the flanges to disengage the cover. However, there is no provision made for addition of documents to the box after the box is secured. Further, no provision is made for preventing unwanted tampering with the contents of the box during transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,747 to Chipp discloses a container which incorporates a "knock down" type bottom box and a closure closure. The closure closure comprises a strengthening frame having a side wall and inwardly turned flange. The bottom box comprises an outwardly turned flange. The flange on the box engages the flange on the closure to close the box. The flanges may be released by tabs on the flaps of the box. However, Chipp does not provide for the addition of documents once the closure closure has been sealed to the bottom box. Further, no provision is made for preventing unwanted tampering with the contents of the box during transport.
The prior art does not provide for secure collection of sensitive documents within the office on a large scale. The prior art provides only the use of boxes with dedicated closures which cannot be used for secure collection of documents on an ad hoc basis.
The prior art also does not provide for destruction of documents in remote geographic areas. For instance, in the prior art portable document destruction cannot be efficiently carried out outside of large metropolitan areas. For example, there is always a finite number of document destruction vehicles in a large metropolitan area. Since these vehicles are usually heavily utilized, it is impractical to send them to remote geographic areas to provide document destruction services. The reason, of course, is that the time that the document destruction vehicles are on the road is time that the document destruction equipment cannot be used. The farther the trucks must be sent from their home location to be used, the fewer documents can be destroyed and therefore the less efficient and more expensive the document destruction service becomes.
The prior art does not disclose or suggest a reusable document collection closure that can be repeatedly used with a plurality of boxes having integral tops. Moreover, the references listed above do not disclose or suggest a slot in the closure that allows documents to be placed in the box on an ad hoc basis after the closure has been secured to the box.
It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide a document container system which provides a verifiable method of ad hoc collection, storage and transportation of a large number of confidential documents for destruction and that promotes the efficient destruction and storage of confidential documents in remote geographic locations.

System for secure collection and disposal of large volumes of documents


A device for shaping a vacuum includes a housing having a primary passageway which includes an inlet. A fluid shaping mechanism is disposed in the primary passageway in fluid communication with the inlet for changing the shape of a fluid flow into a planar fluid flow flowing radially outwardly from a central point. The fluid shaping mechanism includes a conically-shaped portion disposed within the primary passageway, a plurality of secondary passageways extending through the housing from a periphery of the cone-shaped surface to outlets at a bottom surface of the housing, and a reflector adjacent to and spaced from the bottom surface for uniformly reflecting the fluid from the secondary passageways radially outwardly to create a vacuum adjacent thereto.

Tools used for picking up parts, such as semi-conductor chips and the like, can be made from simple tubes attached to a vacuum source. However, such pick-up tools for use with delicate objects, such as semi-conductor devices, could damage the object being picked up. Pick-up heads have been developed for such operations.
The pick-up heads urge an article against a projection by a vacuum-produced base on the aereodynamic paradox (Bernoulli's principle) between a dish-shaped article and the surface of a support facing an article. Since a projection or several projections engage an article outside of its center, it can be securely retained, such as during a treatment operation or even set into rotation.
Such pick-up heads, which can also be termed "grippers", can be incorporated as gripping units of robots and manipulators or nippers for various technological processes. Gripping tables of micro- and mini-centrifuges in microelectronics can use such technology. Such grippers can also be used for gripping and carrying liquids to hard to reach localities, such as in the case of performing electrochemical and chemical operations in manufacturing printed circuit cards, precision etching with subsequent removal of the etching products from working areas, automation means in producing lacquer coatings, in the food industry, optics, and photolithograthic processes.
Examples of such pick-up heads or grippers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,196 to Safabakhsh, issued Feb. 8, 1992, and 5,492,566 to Sumnitsch, issued Feb. 29, 1996. Each of these prior art references disclose a pick-up tool or pick-up head including a housing having a disk disposed therein. The disk changes a fluid flow from a cylindrical flow to a planar flow by directing the cylindrical flow over a conical-shaped insert. The insert has a flat working surface exposed to the article being gripped thereby. Such devises have contact-vacuum principle of operation. This hinders gripping parts with uneven surfaces, parts with holes, as well as those coated with various liquids and other consistent materials. Also, such a vacuum can distort brittle or thin parts.
In view of the above, it is desirable to provide a gripper unit which reduces to a minimum the contact between the surface gripped and the area of the vacuum formation, to increase accuracy when establishing a line of demarcation between local areas and vacuum creation, as well as to increase efficiency, uniformity, and vacuum depth with minimum power conception. It is also advantageous to use liquid media as a energy carrier.


A plasma ignition plug for an internal combustion engine has a thorium alloyed tungsten anode separated from a vanadium- or beryllium-alloyed copper cathode by a boron nitride ceramic powder insulator. A generally semi-spherical titanium emitter is electrically coupled to the anode and disposed within an end of the insulator so as to form an annular gap with a torus on the end of the cathode. The surface of the emitter protrudes slightly beyond the rim of the torus on the cathode. High amplitude pulses driven into the anode arc across the annular gap to the cathode at more than twenty-four spots simultaneously, generating a plasma ignition front.

This invention is directed to an ignition source for use with internal combustion engines. More particularly, the invention is directed to a plasma ignition plug designed to replace a spark plug. The plasma generated by the inventive ignition plug increases molecular dissociation of the fuel such that virtually 100% combustion is achieved, with a decrease in heat generation, an increase in horsepower, and near complete remediation of the exhaust profile.
The purpose of this invention is to create a device for use in internal combustion engines that induces combustion of petroleum-based fuels by plasma propagation. Plasma ignition properties are not currently provided by conventional spark ignition devices such as spark plugs. The field of spark-type devices is densely populated by more than 1,000 patented spark emitter and plasma propagation devices. The field of plasma-arc igniter systems is also densely populated but largely relegated to uses not affiliated with internal combustion engines. All such devices are typically comprised of (a) an anode bar which is inserted longitudinally through the center of (b) an insulating porcelain material comprised of a vitreous or glassine ceramic of various types, (c) a fitted metallic cathode material comprised of various materials, which is affixed to the ceramic insulating material using various strategies and techniques, (d) all of which incorporate a wide variety of spark-gap geometries ranging from a simple spark bar separated from the tip of the anode bar to various types of cages, plates, layered materials, and other strategies intended to amplify or enhance the effectiveness of the spark emitted into the cylinder of the engine during ignition cycles.
The current invention is distinguished from all prior art devices of the same class by (a) the materials incorporated into its design, (b) the geometry of its ignition tip, and (c) its electronic and electrical properties. A singular and common short-coming of spark plugs in general is that the metallic elements incorporated into their manufacture are incapable of emitting a spark across the ignition gap that efficiently ignites, beyond a finite limit, the air and fuel droplets compressed in the cylinder during the detonation phase. The limitations of current 'spark emitter' devices are the product of (a) marginal conductivity of the metallic elements, (b) electrical persistence demonstrated by the metallic elements, and (c) a finite limit to electrical saturation provided by the porcelain ceramic insulating materials.
The normal air-to-fuel ratio supported by conventional devices is generally recognized as 14.7:1. Newer engines have recently been manufactured which operate at an elevated ratio of 22:1. This elevated level of air-to-fuel mixtures represents the upper limit of operability in conventional internal combustion engine devices because the amount of electrical current (including a number of variable input properties) that can be tolerated by conventional spark plugs cannot exceed this level of performance. In order to efficiently detonate a fuel-air mixture at a higher ratio the ignition source must be designed to tolerate much higher current levels, faster switching times, and higher peak amplitudes than can be supported by any currently available devices.
The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.

Plasma ignition plug for an internal combustion engine


A fiber stub type optical device is provided with a ferrule formed with a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction thereof and a groove for dividing the through hole in an intermediate position with respect to the longitudinal direction, a first optical fiber accommodated in the through hole, a second optical fiber aligned with the first optical fiber in the through hole while being divided by the groove and having a larger mode field diameter than the first optical fiber, and an optoisolator provided in the groove and optically connected with the second optical fiber divided by the groove.

This invention relates to an optical module suitably used in an optical communication apparatus, sensor or the like, and to a fiber stub type optical device mountable in an optical module and having a built-in optoisolator for blocking reflected and returned light from the outside, and to a method for producing a fiber stub type optical device.
In a semiconductor laser diode (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cLDxe2x80x9d), which is one of semiconductor devices, used as a light source in the optical communication, if emitted light is reflected and returned to an active layer of the LD, an oscillating state of the LD is disturbed. This causes a variation in emission power and a wavelength deviation, thereby deteriorating signals.
In order to prevent such a problem, the LD is normally mounted in the same package as an optoisolator for transmitting light only in one direction to thereby construct an LD module which is one type of the optical module.
Particularly, analog signals are likely to be deteriorated by the reflected and returned light, and the higher the density thereof, the more they are likely to be influenced by the reflected and returned light. Accordingly, optoisolators have become essential elements as analog transmission data via, e.g., CATV increases and requires larger capacity and higher speed.
The operation of a general optoisolator is described. The optoisolator is, as shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B, comprised of a Faraday rotator 19c and two polarizers 19a, 19b at the opposite sides of the Faraday rotator 19c. As shown in FIG. 26A, a forward propagating light 22 incident on the first polarizer 19a becomes a linearly polarized light of a specific polarization direction (see 23a in FIG. 26A). This forward propagating light 22 has its polarization direction 24 rotated by 45xc2x0 to the right with respect to the propagating direction of the light in FIG. 26A by the Faraday rotator 19c, is then incident on the second polarizer 19b having the polarization direction 23b rotated by 45xc2x0 to the right from the polarization direction 23a of the first polarizer 19a with respect to the propagating direction of the light, and emerges out of the optoisolator while maintaining its polarization direction.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 26B, backward propagating light 25 is made into a linearly polarized light by the second polarizer 19b, and has its polarization direction 24 rotated by 45xc2x0 in the same direction as in FIG. 26A by the Faraday rotator 19c, with the result that this light is blocked by the first polarizer 19a by forming an angle of 90xc2x0 with respect to the polarization direction 23a of the first polarizer 19a.
Next, an example of the conventional LD module is described. As shown in FIG. 27, an LD module J1 is constructed such that at least an LD 15, lenses 6a, 6b, an optoisolator 2, and one end of a single-mode fiber 4 are accommodated in a package 18. Identified by 16 in FIG. 27 is a light detector, by 17 a Peltier cooler and by 32 a rubber boot for protecting an optical fiber margin.
In this LD module J1, the light emitted from the LD 15 is collimated by the lens 6a, transmits through the optoisolator 2, and is gathered by the lens 6b to be incident on the single-mode fiber 4. The package is used to isolate the respective parts from external environments. Ball lenses, biconvex lenses, aspheric lenses, gradient-index lenses (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cGRIN lensesxe2x80x9d) and the like are used as the lenses 6a, 6b.
Further, in order to miniaturize the entire module and facilitate an alignment, there has been proposed an optical device J2 which is a combination of an optical fiber and an optoisolator without using lenses as shown in FIG. 28 (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-105886). In this optical device J2, a core enlarged fiber 4 obtained by enlarging a core diameter of an optical fiber is used, the elements (polarizers 19a, 19b, Faraday rotator 19c) of the optoisolator are separately arranged and while a specified element (Faraday rotator 19c) is arranged in a groove 7 formed obliquely to an optic axis in order to prevent reflection.
In order to miniaturize the entire optical module and facilitate an alignment, there has been also proposed an optical device J3 in which an optoisolator is mounted on a fiber stub similarly using a core enlarged fiber 5 without using lenses as shown in FIG. 29 (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-68909).
This optical device J3 uses the core enlarged fiber 5 obtained by enlarging a core diameter of an optical fiber in order to improve optical coupling, and the optoisolator 2 is obliquely inserted with respect to an optic axis in order to prevent reflection. The optical device J3 is constructed by fitting an optoisolator 2 and a cylindrical magnet 30 surrounding the optoisolator 2 in a ferrule 3 holding a fiber 9 having a spherical end in its axial center and fixedly mounting an entire assembly in a sleeve 13.
The optical device J3 is free from radial displacement since the ferrule 3 is coaxially mounted with high precision. Further, the module provided with the optoisolator can be easily assembled by operation steps similar to those for a module having no optoisolator. However, in this prior art, how the ferrule 3 is processed, how the optoisolator 2 and the magnet 30 are assembled and fixed are unclear.
The core enlarged fiber used in the optical devices J2, J3 and the like is formed by locally heating a general single-mode fiber. Specifically, the single-mode fiber is heated to diffuse dopants such as germanium in the core, thereby enlarging a diffusion area of the dopants and making a specific refractive index difference smaller.
If a diameter of the core increases with the specific refractive index difference between the core of the optical fiber and the cladding thereof unchanged, a single-mode condition breaks and a multimode is excited. However, in the case of the core enlarged fiber, the enlargement of the core and a reduction of the specific refractive index difference simultaneously occur due to the diffusion of the dopants caused by heat and accordingly rxc3x97(D)xc2xd is automatically maintained at constant value. Here, r denotes a radius of the core of the optical fiber, D a specific refractive index difference between the core and the cladding, and rxc3x97Dxc2xd an amount in proportion to normalized frequency. The single-mode condition is maintained if this value rxc3x97(D)xc2xd is constant.
FIG. 30 shows optical coupling characteristics of the core enlarged fiber. A horizontal axis represents a fiber spacing which is a spacing between the divided sections of the core enlarged fiber (width of a groove formed in a core enlarged portion) and a vertical axis represents an optical coupling loss (diffraction loss). Here, w denotes a mode field diameter and corresponds to the respective curves. It is assumed that wavelength is 1.31 xcexcm generally used in optical communication and the groove (clearance between fibers) is filled with air (refractive index n=1).
This graph shows that the larger the mode field diameter w, the smaller the diffraction loss. For example, in the case of the mode field diameter w of 10 xcexcm (i.e., the core is not enlarged), when the fiber spacing is 70 xcexcm, the diffraction loss is above 1 dB. Contrary to this, in the case of the mode field diameter w of 40 xcexcm, even when the fiber spacing is 800 xcexcm, the diffraction loss is below 1 dB. This clearly shows an improvement in coupling characteristic.
However, in the module as shown in FIG. 27, the optoisolator 2, the lenses 6a, 6b and other parts are aligned after being separately fixedly mounted in the holder. Thus, this module disadvantageously requires many parts and a cumbersome adjustment and results in a large size.
Although the core enlarged fibers are used in the examples shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the conventional core enlarged fibers have following problems (a) to (g).
(a) Although having an advantage of an alleviated tolerance for radial displacement, the core enlarged fiber requires a tapered portion where the core diameter gradually increases. A large temperature difference is required to form the tapered portion and, thus, heating must be locally applied.
(b) Since the core enlarged portion is several mm, this heating needs to be applied to each device at least once. In the case of heating by an electric furnace, several to in the order of ten hours are needed. That the core enlarged fiber has to be formed by locally applying heating one by one for a long time is a biggest problem thereof.
(c) In the case that the grooves for inserting the optical devices are formed, loss is large since, if the tapered portion is located in the groove, this results in coupling of fibers having different mode field diameters.
(d) The length and angle of the tapered portion are determined by a temperature gradient which is difficult to control. Loss changes as the length and angle change.
(e) In the optical device J3 shown in FIG. 29, the core enlarged fiber 5 needs to have a tapered portion and a long core enlarged region. It is actually difficult to manufacture such a core enlarged fiber because the tapered portion which requires a sharp temperature gradient and the long core enlarged region which requires a uniform temperature are adjacent to each other. Specifically, it is very difficult to controllably form the core enlarged fiber having the tapered portion with the parallel core enlarged region of a desired length.
(f) In the optical device J3 shown in FIG. 29, the groove dividing the ferrule 3 as well as the core enlarged fiber 5 is formed to arrange the optoisolator 2. This has an advantage that the axis of the core enlarged fiber 5 is not displaced even after being divided. However, since the ferrule 3 is usually made of a ceramic such as alumina or zirconia having excellent wear resistance, strength and precision, its hardness and elasticity are considerably different from those of the core enlarged fiber 5. If a blade for cutting the ceramic is used, a cut face of the core enlarged fiber 5 is rough, which results in diffusion of light and, therefore, a larger loss.
(g) In the optical device J3 shown in FIG. 29, since the optoisolator 2 is obliquely arranged, even light slightly reflected is at an angle to the optic axis of the core enlarged fiber 5 and the optoisolator 2 is coupled to the core of the optical fiber to prevent transmission of light in backward direction. However, a part of the reflected light may be incident on the cladding and transmits therethrough in a direction toward the LD (cladding mode).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fiber stub type optical device, an optical module provided with a fiber stub type optical device, and a method for producing a fiber stub type optical device which are respectively free from the problems residing in the prior art.
According to an aspect of the invention, a fiber stub type optical device comprises a ferrule formed with a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction thereof and a groove for dividing the through hole in an intermediate position with respect to the longitudinal direction; a first optical fiber accommodated in the through hole; a second optical fiber aligned with the first optical fiber in the through hole while being divided by the groove and having a larger mode field diameter than the first optical fiber; and an optoisolator provided in the groove and optically connected with the second optical fiber divided by the groove.
With this construction, the fiber stub type optical device can be assembled substantially alignment-free even if an optical element is inserted in a transmission path, and by a far simpler procedure for a shorter time than the prior art.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to an optical module, comprising a substrate; and a fiber stub type optical device provided on the substrate and comprising a ferrule formed with a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction thereof and a groove for dividing the through hole in an intermediate position with respect to the longitudinal direction; a first optical fiber accommodated in the through hole; a second optical fiber aligned with the first optical fiber in the through hole while being divided by the groove and having a larger mode field diameter than the first optical fiber; and an optoisolator provided in the groove and optically connected with sections of the second optical fiber divided by the groove.
With this construction, the optical module can be optically adjusted only by adjusting the positions of the fiber stub type optical device and an optical element such as a light emitter.
Thus, the optical module can be assembled by a far simpler procedure for a shorter time than the prior art.
Still another aspect of the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a fiber stub type optical device, comprising the steps of preparing a ferrule formed with a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction thereof; aligning a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber having a larger mode field diameter than the first optical fiber in the through hole; forming a groove in an intermediate position of the ferrule so as to divide the second optical fiber accommodate in the through hole and cross the through hole; and providing an optoisolator in the groove so as to be optically connected with sections of the second optical fiber divided by the groove.
Further aspect of the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a fiber stub type optical device, comprising the steps of preparing a ferrule formed with a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction thereof; forming a groove in an intermediate position of the ferrule; aligning a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber having a larger mode field diameter than the first optical fiber in the through hole, such that the second optical fiber extends over the groove; dividing the second optical fiber accommodated to extend over the groove; and providing an optoisolator between sections of the second optical fiber divided by the groove.
According to the above methods, the fiber stub type optical device can be assembled substantially alignment-free even if an optical element is inserted in a transmission path, and by a far simpler procedure for a shorter time than the prior art.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Fiber stub type device and an optical module using the same, and a method for producing a fiber stub type device


A dressing aid for suspending a lower garment from an upper garment is disclosed herein comprising a band and a pair of clips, with one clip connected to each end of the band. Each clip comprises a pair of arms each having a handle at a first end and a jaw at a second end, a pivoting means, and a means for biasing the jaws to the closed position. One may engage a garment using the clip by squeezing together the handles such that the jaws separate, then releasing the handles to close the jaws about a garment positioned therebetween. It is contemplated that one will employ the present apparatus to aid in donning a lower garment using the following steps: assuming a seated position with the lower garment pulled up past one's knees; manually squeezing the handles of one clip together to separate its jaws, positioning the jaws about a portion of the upper garment and then releasing the handles to close the jaws and engage the upper garment; manually squeezing the handles of the other clip together to separate its jaws and to likewise engage a portion of the lower garment; and finally standing erect, with the lower garment suspended from said upper garment, and fastening the lower garment into place.

A common challenge for those persons afflicted with physically disabling conditions is the performance of daily tasks such as dressing oneself For example, a stroke victim having some degree of paralysis or weakness may experience difficulty in putting on a lower garment, such as a pair of pants or a skirt. The task of putting on one's pants requires one to accomplish a number of activities almost simultaneously, namely standing while grasping the top edge of the article of clothing and maintaining that grasp while fastening the article of clothing, such as by zipping and buttoning a pair of pants. A disabled person may find any one or all of these activities difficult, let alone their near simultaneous accomplishment. One common scenario is that a person may be able to stand up while grasping the garment, but then has difficulty maintaining his or her balance and experiences the garment sliding down when trying to fasten the article.
Various apparatuses are disclosed that secure articles of clothing in the desired position. For example, apparatuses for holding down one's shirt are known. Illustrative of that class of apparatuses is U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,886, issued to Ellis on Jul. 3, 1990 and entitled "Infant Shirt Hold-Down", which teaches an apparatus comprising a wide, elongated elasticized section from which extends a pair of straps from each end thereof, with an operable fastener being provided at the end of each strap. The apparatus is intended to hold down a child's upper garment, such as a shirt. Ellis teaches that the apparatus is passed between the child's legs and the strap fasteners are fastened to the lower edges of the upper garment. Other disclosures of similar apparatuses include U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,813, issued to Bosack and entitled "Shirttail Retaining Harness"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,814, issued to Courtney and entitled "Shirt Retainer"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,923, issued to Cohen and entitled "Shirt Hold-Down Device"
The above-described references related to shirttail retaining apparatuses do not disclose a device that would assist a disabled person in donning a lower garment, but simply relate to securing an upper garment. Moreover, the fastening mechanisms contemplated for use with the shirttail retaining apparatuses are garter clips or jawed hinge clips, which require more dexterity than fastening an article of clothing and would offer no help to a disabled person attempting to clothe himself
In contradistinction from the above-described devices, suspenders or suspender-like devices are known for holding up trousers or lower garments, rather than holding down upper garments. A disclosure for suspenders is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,429, issued to Lucier and assigned on its face to New England Accessories. Therein, Lucier discloses combination suspenders having interchangeable clip ends and button strap ends connected to the suspender straps for use with either button or buttonless trousers. While suspenders such as disclosed by Lucier are useful in supporting a lower garment, the clips contemplated for engaging the lower garment are jawed hinged clips which are openable and closeable via a latching lever. Like garter clips, jawed hinged clips require one to position the clothing between the jaws and then secure the clothing by engaging a lever, which is a two-step process that disabled persons might find difficult or impossible to complete.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,669, issued to Rasdell et al. and entitled "Clothing Anchor Apparatus", teaches an apparatus for securing clothing in position, and is particularly contemplated to anchor the front and back tails of shirts. The apparatus includes an elastic strap at each end of which is a clothing connector. The clothing connector disclosed by Rasdell et al. comprises a female connector member and a male connector member, such that the user must position the garment therebetween and then latch the male connector member into the upper rim of the female connector. Again, a disabled person might find the steps of positioning the garment within the connectors and latching the connectors to be onerous.
The clips employed by each of the above-described apparatuses therefore require a combination of steps for engagement that a disabled person might find prohibitive. However, there are certain types of clips that would present less difficulty in engaging than garter clips or jawed hinge clips. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,374, issued to Drake and entitled "Closure Clip for Plastic Bags and Similar Articles", discloses a hinged clip that is operated by simply manually squeezing together the arms of the clip to open its jaws then releasing to close the jaws. However, this type of hinged clip would not be useful underneath clothing because of its bulky shape. An example of a commercially available hinged clip operable by squeezing together the arms of the clip is the "Chip Clip.RTM.", which is intended for use in closing potato chip bags.
It would be desirable to develop a lower garment suspension apparatus employing hinged clips that could be more readily operated by disabled persons than the garter clips commonly employed in suspenders, for example. The apparatus should be of simple and durable construction, with the hinged clips requiring a minimal amount of strength to open yet capable of firmly holding clothing when engaged.

Lower garment suspension apparatus for assisting disabled persons in dressing


The invention pertains to the monitoring of the integrity of position and speed information arising from a hybridization between an inertial reference system and a satellite-based positioning receiver. The invention relates more precisely to a navigation apparatus known in the art by the name INS/GNSS system (for “Inertial Navigation System” and “Global Navigation Satellite System”) hybridized in closed loop.

An inertial reference system includes a set of inertial sensors (gyrometric sensors and accelerometric sensors) associated with processing electronics. A calculation platform, called a virtual platform PFV, then delivers the carrier speed and position information in a precise frame of reference (often denoted LGT, Local Geographic Trihedron). The virtual platform PFV allows the projection and the integration of the data arising from the inertial sensors. The inertial reference system provides information which is precise in the short term but which drifts over the long term (under the influence of the sensor defects). The control of the sensor defects represents a very significant proportion of the cost of the inertial reference system.
A satellite-based positioning receiver provides carrier position and speed information by triangulation on the basis of the signals transmitted by non-geostationary satellites visible from the carrier. The information provided may be momentarily unavailable since the receiver must have direct sight of a minimum of four satellites of the positioning system in order to be able to get location data. The information is furthermore of variable precision, dependent on the geometry of the constellation on which the triangulation is based, and noisy since it relies on the reception of signals of very low levels originating from distant satellites having a low transmission power. But they do not suffer from long-term drift, the positions of the non-geostationary satellites in their orbits being known precisely over the long term. The noise and the errors may be linked to the satellite systems, to the receiver or to the propagation of the signal between the satellite transmitter and the GNSS signals receiver. Furthermore, the satellite data may be erroneous as a consequence of faults affecting the satellites. These non-intact data must then be tagged so as not to falsify the position arising from the GNSS receiver.
To forestall satellite faults and ensure the integrity of the GNSS measurements, it is known to equip a satellite-based positioning receiver with a precision and availability estimation system termed RAIM (for "Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring") which is based on the geometry and the redundancy of the constellation of satellites used during the triangulation and on the short-term forecastable evolution of this geometry deduced from the knowledge of the trajectories of the satellites. However, the RAIM algorithm, linked purely to the satellite based locating system, is not applicable to the monitoring of location data arising from a hybrid (INS/GNSS) system and can detect only certain types of faults in a given time.
Hybridization consists in mathematically combining the position and speed information provided by the inertial reference system and the measurements provided by the satellite-based positioning receiver to obtain position and speed information taking advantage of both systems. Thus, the precision of the measurements provided by the GNSS system makes it possible to control the inertial drift and the not very noisy inertial measurements make it possible to filter the noise in the measurements of the GNSS receiver. This combination very often calls upon the Kalman filtering technique.
Kalman filtering relies on the possibilities of modeling the evolution of the state of a physical system considered in its environment, by means of an equation termed "the evolution equation" (a priori estimation), and of modeling the dependence relation existing between the states of the physical system considered and the measurements of an external sensor, by means of an equation termed "the observation equation" so as to allow readjustment of the states of the filter (a posteriori estimation). In a Kalman filter, the effective measurement or "measurement vector" makes it possible to produce an a posteriori estimate of the state of the system, which estimate is optimal in the sense that it minimizes the covariance of the error made in this estimation. The estimator part of the filter generates a posteriori estimates of the state vector of the system by using the noted deviation between the effective measurement vector and its a priori prediction so as to generate a corrective term, called an innovation. This innovation, after multiplication by a gain vector of the Kalman filter, is applied to the a priori estimate of the system state vector and leads to the obtaining of the a posteriori optimal estimate.
In the case of a hybridized INS/GNSS system, the Kalman filter receives the position and speed data provided by the inertial reference system and the positioning measurements provided by the satellite-based positioning receiver, models the evolution of the errors of the inertial reference system and delivers the a posteriori estimate of these errors which serves to correct the inertial reference system's positioning and speed data.
The estimation of the position and speed errors due to the defects of the inertial sensors appearing at the output of the virtual platform PFV of the inertial reference system is carried out by the Kalman filter. The correction of the errors by way of their estimation made by the Kalman filter can then be done at the input of the virtual platform PFV (closed-loop architecture) or at output (open-loop architecture).
When the defects of the sensors of the inertial reference system, gyrometers, accelerometers, and barometric module (one speaks in this case of a baro-inertial reference system), are not too significant, it is not necessary to apply the corrections at the input of the virtual platform PFV; the modeling of the system (linearization of the equations governing the evolution of the system), within the filter remains valid. The a posteriori estimate of the errors of the inertial reference system which is calculated in the Kalman filter is used solely for the formulation of optimal estimates of the position and speed of the carrier by deducting from the position and speed information provided by the inertial reference system its respective estimates calculated by the Kalman filter. The hybridization is then termed open loop, and in this case, the hybridization has no influence on the calculations carried out by the virtual platform PFV.
When the inertial defects are too significant or when the duration of the flight is long, the linearization of the equations governing the evolution of the inertial model integrated within the Kalman filter is no longer valid. It is therefore obligatory to apply the corrections to the virtual platform PFV so as to remain in the linear domain. The a posteriori estimate of the errors of the baro-inertial reference system which is calculated in the Kalman filter serves not only for the formulation of the optimal estimate of the position and speed of the carrier but also for the readjustment of the inertial reference system within the virtual platform PFV. The hybridization is then termed "closed loop" and the results of the hybridization filter are employed by the virtual platform to carry out its calculations.
The hybridization can also be done by observing GNSS information of different kinds. Either the carrier's position and speed, resolved by the GNSS receiver, are considered: one then speaks of loose hybridization or hybridization in geographical axes, or the information extracted upstream by the GNSS receiver is considered, namely the pseudo-distances and pseudo-speeds (quantities arising directly from the measurement of the propagation time and the Doppler effect of the signals transmitted by the satellites towards the receiver): one then speaks of tight hybridization or hybridization in satellite axes.
With a closed-loop INS/GNSS system where the location resolved by the GNSS receiver is used to readjust the information originating from the inertial reference system, it is necessary to pay particular attention to the defects affecting the information provided by the satellites since the receiver which receives them will propagate these defects to the inertial reference system, giving rise to poor readjustment of said inertial reference system. The problem arises in a particularly critical manner for ensuring the integrity of an INS/GPS hybrid location data. In what follows, we are concerned with systems integrating tight hybridization, in closed loop.
To quantify the integrity of a position measurement in applications such as aeronautical applications, where integrity is critical, a parameter called the "protection radius" of the position measurement is used. The protection radius corresponds to a maximum position error for a given probability of occurrence of error. That is to say, the probability that the position error exceeds the announced protection radius without an alarm being dispatched to a navigation system, is less than this given probability value. The calculation is based on two types of error which are on the one hand the normal measurement errors and on the other hand the errors caused by an operating anomaly of the constellation of satellites, i.e. for example a satellite fault.
The value of the protection radius of a positioning system is a key value specified by buyers wishing to purchase a positioning system. The evaluation of the value of the protection radius generally results from probability calculations using the statistical characteristics of precision of the GNSS measurements and of the behavior of the inertial sensors. These calculations are made explicit in a formal manner and allow simulations for all the cases of a GNSS constellation, for all the possible positions of the positioning system over the terrestrial globe and for all possible trajectories followed by the positioning system. The results of these simulations make it possible to provide the buyer with protection radius characteristics guaranteed by the proposed positioning system. Usually these characteristics are expressed in the form of a value of the protection radius for an availability of 100% or of a duration of unavailability for a required value of the protection radius.

Hybrid INS/GNSS system with integrity monitoring and method for integrity monitoring


Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for unifying graphical user interface (GUI) displays across different device types. In an embodiment, a unification system may convert various GUI view appearing on, for example, a desktop device into a GUI view on a mobile device. Both devices may be accessing the same application and/or may use a cloud computing platform to access the application. The unification system may aid in reproducing GUI modifications performed on one user device onto other user devices. In this manner, the unification system may maintain a consistent look-and-feel for a user across different computing device type.

As users continue to rely on computer and software, their reliance and interactions with a user interface (UI) or a graphical user interface (GUI) also increase. These interactions may include manipulating buttons or icons on a GUI to execute software commands or to navigate to different views. Users also are beginning to expect a full-featured desktop GUI experience to be mirrored onto a mobile GUI experience, despite limitations with the mobile form factor. While developers have attempted to provide this mirrored capability, the applications developed and supported typically have fixed GUI configurations. For example, many application GUIs include fixed buttons or icons. This fixed nature may lead to inefficiencies in navigation as users navigate through and access various GUI components on a desktop computing device and/or on a mobile computing device. Further, modifications made on the desktop computing device may not be reproduced in the mobile computing device and vice versa.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

Desktop and mobile graphical user interface unification


A process for making a shelf-stable food, not requiring preservatives or refrigeration and in a form that is convenient for use as a snack food. A block of tofu or wheat gluten is first frozen so as to cause the formation of ice crystals that form cavities within the block. The frozen block is then thawed, cut into smaller pieces and drained of excess water. The thawed pieces are dried in a microwave-vacuum dehydrator to produce a crunchy food product.

Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a common food in Western and Eastern diets. It is made by coagulating soy milk and is sold in a variety of fresh and processed forms. However, in most of its forms, it requires refrigeration or further treatment and is not convenient to use as a ready-to-eat snack food. Wheat gluten is a food made from wheat and it is sometimes used as an alternative to tofu. It likewise requires further processing and is not convenient to use as a ready-to-eat snack food.


A vehicle park lock assembly includes a park valve that moves in a first direction to transition a lever from a first to a second position, and moves in an opposite, second direction to permit movement of the lever from the second to the first position. The assembly includes a support block that limits movement of the park valve in the first direction. The assembly includes a biasing device coupled to the support block and the park valve. The biasing device biases the park valve to the first position. A method of supporting components of a vehicle park lock assembly includes moving a park valve in a first direction to transition a lever from a first to a second position, and moving the park valve in an opposite, second direction to permit movement of the lever from the second to the first position. The method also includes biasing the park valve to the first position with a biasing device that is coupled to the lever and a support block, and limiting movement of the park valve in the first direction using the support block.

In general, electrified vehicles differ from conventional vehicles because electrified vehicles can be selectively driven using one or more electric machines powered by a traction battery. An internal combustion engine of a conventional vehicle can generate drive torque to propel the conventional vehicle. An internal combustion engine, an electric machine, or both, can generate drive torque to propel an electrified vehicle. Example electrified vehicles can include hybrid electrified vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electrified vehicles (PHEVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Both conventional and electrified vehicles can include a transmission system that, among other things, transfers drive torque to vehicle drive wheels. The transmission system can be automatic. In automatic transmission systems, electrical components can be used in place of mechanical components. Such automatic transmission systems are often referred to as "shift-by-wire" transmissions.
Vehicles equipped with automatic transmission systems can include a vehicle park lock assembly. The vehicle park lock assembly can transition between a PARK position, which blocks movement of the vehicle, and an OUT-OF-PARK position, which permits movement of the vehicle. A "park-by-wire" park lock assembly can include at least some electrical components in place of mechanical components.

Vehicle park lock assembly with support block and supporting method for vehicle park lock assembly


The invention provides a simulation system and method having an image generating function that can visualize the behavior of an object of analysis in real time. The behavior of the object of analysis is divided into a plurality of subspaces, and is visualized as subspace images by an MP method by performing simulation computations for the respective subspaces at nodes 431 to 438. The subspace images are sent to a pipelined composer 44 where the images are blended together by considering occlusion relationships determined by reference to a viewpoint by a BSP method. The resulting composited image is corrected for distortion at a server 40 by using a texture mapping function, and is displayed on a display apparatus 41.

With recent improvements in the performance of digital computers, it has become possible to simulate the behavior of a large-scale object of analysis. For an easy understanding of the behavior, it is important that the result of the simulation be presented in visible form.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a prior art simulation system, which comprises a simulator 10 for computing the dynamic characteristics of an object of analysis based on prescribed parameters 1 to m, a storage medium (for example, a hard disk) 11 for storing the results of the computations performed by the simulator 10, a visualization apparatus 12 for visualizing the computation results stored on the storage medium 11, and a display panel 13 for displaying the simulation results visualized by the visualizing device 12.
However, in the prior art simulation system, as the visualization is implemented as a post-process to be carried out after the simulation, the following problems arise.
1. It is difficult to observe the results in real time, upon changing the parameters, because the simulation results output from the simulator are visualized after once storing them on the storage medium.
2. For the visualization apparatus to visualize the simulation results, the simulation results stored on the hard disk or the like must be converted to a format that matches the visualization apparatus, but if the scale of the object of analysis is large, an enormous amount of computation is required for the conversion.
For example, when the viewpoint is moved, an image corresponding to the new viewpoint must be generated anew; on the other hand, when the simulation results are output as volume data for visualization with polygons, the volume data must be converted to polygons. As a result, it has not been possible to present the simulation results as images for observation in real time.
In view of this, a so-called distributed simulation system has been proposed in order to enhance simulation and visualization processing speeds.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a distributed simulation system having eight nodes; in this system, the behavior of the object of analysis is computed by distributing the processing among the nodes #1 to #8, and the results of the computations are combined.
Outputs of the nodes #1 to #8 are transmitted via a communication line (for example, Message Passing Interface) and a high-speed network switcher 21 to a server 22 for display as an image on a CRT 23.
Here, to present the result of the simulation in a visually recognizable manner, the image must be updated at a rate of about 30 frames per second (video rate), which means that, as the object of analysis becomes complex, the number of nodes, that is, the number of parallel-connected computers, must be increased.
However, since there is only one communication line between the server and the nodes, if the number of nodes is increased, collisions may occur during inter-node or node-server communications, and the overhead time required for communications may become so large that it cannot be ignored.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of parallel-connected computers and the processing time, plotting the number of parallel-connected computers along the abscissa and the processing time (in seconds) along the ordinate. As shown in FIG. 3, when the number of parallel-connected computers is increased to between 50 and 100, the processing time does decrease, but on the contrary, when the number of computers is increased beyond 100, the processing time increases. When currently available CPUs are used, the processing time that can be achieved is about 0.5 second at the shortest.
The present invention has been devised in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the invention to provide a simulation system having an image generating function that can visualize the behavior of an object of analysis in real time by simulating the behavior of the object of analysis by dividing a three-dimensional space, in which an object of analysis is constructed, into a plurality of subspaces and by visualizing the result of the simulation on a subspace-by-subspace basis and thereafter blending the resulting subspace images together by considering the occlusion relationship between them.

Simulation system having image generating function and simulation method having image generating process

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


A particularly flexible soccer goal target can be formed by using a plurality of fasteners or clips to attach together a plurality of strips of netting into a target assembly. The plurality of strips of netting are fastened or clipped together, edge to edge, to form a net assembly having sufficient width and height to extend across a substantial portion of the entrance of the soccer goal. The strips of netting, which are fastened or clipped together to form the target assembly, may be easily disconnected by unclipping them at different locations of the goal entrance to provide openings in the target assembly at different positions in the goal that will serve as targets for practice. Further, both the soccer net and flexible soccer goal may be provided at their peripheries with a plurality of spaced permanently attached cord-formed attachment means.

In the past, the soccer net used to catch a soccer ball within the confines of a soccer goal has been attached to the goal framework by inserting a cord or lanyard through an opening of the netting and spiralling the cord or lanyard around the goal framework, inserting the cord or lanyard through the next opening of the netting and spiraling the cord or lanyard around the goal framework and so on, continuing the process of threading the cord through openings in the net and around the goal framework until the net is held in position on the soccer goal framework by the cord or lanyard. As can be appreciated, this method of attachment is tedious and time-consuming and has been particularly undesirable where publicly-available soccer fields are used by grade schools, high schools, children's leagues and the like, where the personnel associated with the team have to go through the tedious installation procedure and then remove their soccer nets by using this process and its reverse.


The invention is directed to a stationary exercise apparatus for small children. The apparatus includes an activity table adapted for receiving one or more children's activity items, one or more legs, a seat supported by the legs, and a resilient support surface suspended generally horizontally from at least one of the legs. The seat has a pair of leg openings that allow the child to touch the resilient support surface with its legs, and the resilient support surface has a resiliency that allows the child to bounce vertically by pushing its legs downwardly against the resilient support surface. Furthermore, the distance between the resilient support surface and the seat can be increased or decreased to account for the height of the child placed within the apparatus by moving the resilient support surface, and a tension element of the resilient support surface can be adjusted to account for the child's strength.

Stationary exercise apparatuses are used to assist children in the development of the muscles and coordination needed for walking. A typical stationary child exercise apparatus includes a seat portion that is positioned in the center of the apparatus and is at least partially surrounded by an annular-shaped activity tray. The activity tray includes toys that entertain the child. The stationary apparatus is held in a stationary position by legs that extend downwardly from the activity tray. In most stationary exercise apparatuses, the seat portion can rotate 360°, independently of the activity tray, about an axis of rotation that is defined by the center of the seat portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,247 to Meeker ("the '247 Patent") discloses a child exerciser/rocker that includes a bowl-shaped base adapted to rock in any direction, three equally spaced towers extending upwardly from the upper periphery of the base, a circular tray that is positioned on top of the towers, and a seat for receiving a child that is rotatably mounted in the center of the tray. The towers include springs to allow a child positioned in the seat to bounce with respect to the base, and the heights of the towers are adjustable. However, the base itself does not bounce and the vertical motion provided by the springs in the towers is felt by the child through the seat, and not through the child's legs. In addition, the seat and circular tray move together when the child bounces in the rocker, which may cause food or drinks on the tray to spill.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,890 to Salls ("the '890 Patent") discloses a resilient action jumping toy that includes an upstanding, cylindrical-shaped framework with a foot-engageable platform at the bottom of the framework. Between the platform and the floor are compressible elastic energy storing means, such as compression springs, that provide oscillatory movement to the platform when a child standing on the platform jumps up and down. However, because the jumping toy does not have a seat for supporting a child over the foot engageable platform, the toy is unsuitable for small children that have not yet developed the muscles and coordination needed for standing. In addition, the compressive elastic energy storing means cannot be adjusted to increase or decrease the amount of oscillatory movement of the platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,011 to Nolet ("the '011 Patent") discloses an exerciser and playpen structure that has a trampoline like bottom surface. A child standing on the resilient surface can grip an upper frame of the structure with its hands and move its legs up and down to take advantage of the rebounding effect of the resilient surface. However, like the jumping toy of the '890 Patent, this structure does not include a seat for supporting a child that has not yet developed the muscles and coordination needed for standing, and the tension of the resilient surface cannot be increased or decreased.
Therefore, an unsatisfied need in the art exists for a stationary child exercise apparatus that is able to support a child over a resilient surface while the child develops the muscles and coordination needed for standing and walking and allows for the adjustment of a tension element of the resilient surface.

Stationary child exercise apparatus with bouncing pad