Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a snowboard or ski or the like comprises a base body having at least one edge, a top surface and a bottom surface; wherein the edge comprises at least one channel formed therein to provide two or more edge elements to contact a medium during use.

Snowboards or skis or the like are typically constructed of a main body comprising a wood core, and one or more layers of fiberglass, plastic or resin. A metal edge is provided along the edge of the body to provide friction between the board and the medium such as snow, ice, or water, during maneuvering. However, the simple metal edge may provide a limited amount of catching of the medium, which may limit the performance of the snowboard or ski or the like during more extreme turning or maneuvering.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

Snowboard or ski or the like having a channeled edge or multiple element edge


A grinding machine for grinding tripods of constant velocity couplings allows execution of circular or elliptical profiles on each tripod stem. A piece holder has means for supporting the tripod, which means allows bringing into a working position a new stem without need of removing the tripod from the holder. The precise execution of the elliptical profile is obtained by rocking the workhead, to which the piece holder is fastened, by means of a piezolectric transducer.

Tripods are elements comprising a central body with an axial bore engaged by a shaft; three appendages or stems radially project from the body at 120.degree. with respect to each other, and rollers, sliding in guides provided in an element carried by a second shaft, roll over the surfaces of said stems. Independently of the actual stem shapes, the external stem surfaces comprise a cylindrical or spherical portion which is to be ground so as to have an elliptical or circular profile, depending on the kind of coupling. Moreover, in the case of an elliptical profile, the eccentricity may vary in accordance with the requirements of the coupling users. Very narrow tolerances are permitted for both profiles. It will be apparent that for maximum operation flexibility a grinding machine must be able to execute both kinds of profiles and to adapt itself to the different user requirements in case of elliptical profiles.
In commercially available machines of that kind the workhead allows the usual piece rotation and moreover it can be rocked to vary the piece distance from the grinding wheel during rotation when the elliptical profiles are to be executed.
In such known machines, the piece is worked while being held between the centers, with a conventional faceplate transmission system, or on a fixed piece holder. Whatever the profile to be executed, such machines have the drawback of very long working cycles, with considerable dead times in piece positioning, due to the nature of the piece supporting means. In effect, the three tripod stems must be individually worked and, after completion of the working of a stem, an external loader is to be brought into engagement with the piece, the means retaining the piece on the support are to be released, the piece is to be removed from the support, rotated by 120.degree., and located again accurately and fastened onto the support; after that the external loader is to be moved away. All these operations are made while the grinding machine is stopped.
Moreover, as far as the control of the workhead rocking is concerned, the conventional grinding machines use hydraulic systems or mechanical systems with cams operated by electrical or hydraulic motors. The former systems have the drawback that the viscosity of the fluid used varies with temperature, whereby the response time is not constant. The latter systems have the drawback that the translatory movements are slow. Moreover, observing working tolerances is rather difficult in both cases, especially in case of very narrow tolerances.

Grinding machine for grinding tripods of constant velocity couplings


Disclosed embodiments provide systems and methods for aggregating and displaying tactical information. Multiple navigation routes between a starting location and ending location are computed. Each route is evaluated on a variety of criteria, and a ranked list is presented to a user. Additional information, such as rendering a geographically specific notification, display of a virtual range card, and/or information pertaining to an air support operation may also be rendered. Embodiments further enable issuing of air support requests via a tactile user interface. In this way, pertinent information is rendered in a timely manner to battlefield and commanding personnel to enable effective decision-making.

Large volumes of collected data (traditional, non-traditional, actionable intelligence, real-time battlefield) available have become overwhelming in regards to dissemination and appropriate means to make decisions with. How this data is collected and delivered has also been of issue. Inclement weather, terrain or geographical features has at times, disrupted these efforts to disseminate intelligence. Historically, data has been handwritten, analyzed and processed into electronic format for greater dissemination, or received directly into the Command Operation Center (COC) for the battlefield or rear echelon commanders to make a decision or Course of Action (COA). This process lags the operational tempo of battle due to slow and lack of means. Real-time battlefield intelligence is often consolidated and various combat factors are weighed together to formulate a COA. Various factors including human error and emotional based decision making may also interfere with courses of action that would most relevantly serve mission accomplishment and success. Acceptable ranges of data and action milestones must be agreed upon in order for the success of the mission as well as an acceptable gains/loss factor. Significant human factors within operations is also methodically factored into ultimate decision making. Delivering battlefield intelligence directly from operator to COC has also been more difficult due to terrain, weather, lack of solid communication means as well as the ability to formulate broken or unreadable messages. It is therefore desirable to have improvements in the aggregating and displaying of tactical information to promote effectiveness of military and/or law enforcement operations.

System and method for aggregating and displaying tactical, intelligence, and military garrison information


Apparatus and methods for clock and data recovery (CDR) are provided herein. In certain configurations, a first CDR circuit captures data and edge samples from a first input data stream received over a first lane. The data and edge samples are used to generate a master phase signal, which is used to control a phase of a first data sampling clock signal used for capturing the data samples. Additionally, the first CDR circuit generates a master phase error signal based on changes to the master phase signal over time, and forwards the master phase error signal to at least a second CDR circuit. The second CDR circuit processes the master phase error signal to generate a slave phase signal used to control a phase of a second data sampling clock signal used for capturing data samples from a second input data stream received over a second lane.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to electronic devices, and more particularly, to clock and data recovery circuits.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Clock and data recovery (CDR) circuits can be used in a variety of applications for recovering data from a high-speed serial data stream.
For example, a chip-to-chip communication system can include two or more serial communication links or lanes used to communicate data from a first integrated circuit (IC) or chip to a second IC. Additionally, each lane can include a CDR circuit for recovering data from an input data stream received over the lane. By communicating data in parallel across two or more lanes, the chip-to-chip communication system can exhibit a higher overall data rate relative to a configuration using a single lane.


The invention relates to a software-type platform which is dedicated to Internet site referencing, i.e., the indexing of sites using Internet search tools that can be accessed by netsurfers, said platform comprising a database. According to the invention, the platform is characterized in that it comprises a client interface enabling the client or the manager of a referenced site to access the database, a consultant interface enabling a consultant responsible for referencing a site to access the database and means which ensures that different data are supplied to the client or consultant user depending on the interface used to access the platform.

An increasing number of entities, such as businesses, associations and/or private individuals, wishing to be present on the Internet to allow users of this network, referred to hereinafter as netsurfers, access to information offered by these entities.
For this it is necessary to have an Internet site, that is, a database, generally in the form of pages coded in Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML), which is stored in a server connected to the Internet in such a way as to permit the transmission of these data to a netsurfer requesting them.
To permit the realization of such a request, each site of the Internet is identified by an address of its own, called the Unique Response Link (URL).
Thus, a surfer can connect to the server stocking a particular site by giving his navigator the URL of the site he wishes to consult.
However, frequently the address of the site that a netsurfer might desire to consult is unknown to him, especially when such consultation is made for the first time in view of seeking out one or more sites that can answer a request for information.
In this case it is possible to search for the URL by means of search tools called servers or search engines present on the Internet.
For example, companies such as Google, Altavista, Yahoo, Lycos, MSN, Inktomi, Fast or Voila operate such search tools.
These search tools are Internet sites making it possible to order a URL search starting out from one or more key words, such that from this key word or words a search server offers a list, called Web result, of sites and their URLs so that the netsurfer can access one or more sites that appear of interest to him, i.e., having a content pertinent to his search.
Given the extremely great number of sites present on the Internet, the search servers have an important role in the promotion of a site with netsurfers.
For example, when a new site comes on line in the Internet, it is important to reference it, i.e., to assure that this site is indexed in the databases of these search servers, so that netsurfers who have made a search, or request, by key words can be directed to this new site by selecting the URL of this site from the Web result.
In fact, the URLs in the Web result are coded in the form of a hypertext link which permits direct access to the site corresponding to the URL by means of a mouse connected to a computer.
Furthermore, it is advantageous to the responsible party of a site for this link to appear in the first responses from the list proposed by a search server on the occasion of a request when the key words of this request are pertinent to the content of the site.
In fact, it is acknowledged that a netsurfer rarely consults the responses put forward by a search server beyond the 30th or even the 20th response offered.
In fact, either this netsurfer finds a site matching his expectations in the first responses proposed or he re-establishes the key words he chose in order to resume the search.
This is why a manager, called hereinafter a webmaster, of an Internet site must check and find the referencing of this site in order to promote the frequenting of this site.
For this, this webmaster faces the problem of determining an Internet strategy which, according to the content of the site and the attempts of the netsurfers, makes it possible to set up a list of key words associated with the site, to which the content of the site must correspond and with which the netsurfers' needs can be identified in order that the search tool will guide the netsurfer toward this site via these key words.
Furthermore, the webmaster must make possible modifications to the structure of the site which can enable him to be identified optimally by the research servers because, as will later be described, it is possible that a search server might be unable to reference a site because of problems inherent in the site's structure.
Moreover, since a search tool can index a plurality of sites of similar or competitive content simultaneously, the webmaster is facing the problem of defining a website structure enabling him to figure among the first responses of a list of web results provided by a search tool.
For these operations of optimization to be taken into account by the search tool, it is indispensable that the webmaster subject the new site to the search tools so that the tools will list the site in their databases and provide it among the first responses to any pertinent inquiry.
Also, it is known that, to measure the referencing quality of a site, it is necessary to observe the visibility of this site, i.e., its accessibility by means of the search servers.
The visibility of a site is measured by observing, for a given key word, the appearance or classifying rank of this site in the list of results presented by a search tool.
Such an observation corresponds to measuring a parameter referred to hereinafter as the Index of the Rate of Penetration on the Net (ITPN).
To perform this observation, it is known to use specific software which, according to key words supplied, from a list of search tools selected and of a particular URL, perform operations necessary to obtain the classification of the site in the list of the proposed results.
This Index of the Rate of Penetration on the Internet (ITPN) measures, for each key word used by the site, the exact position which the site in question occupies in the Web results supplied by the various search tools.
In other words, these results indicate, for each search tool and each key word, a rank of appearance of the site observed in the responses proposed by the search tools to the request corresponding to one or more of the key words supplied.
Thus, each result appears in the form of a triplet of data:
(search tool)/(key word)/(rank of appearance of the site in the tools).
For example, a search concerning a site "cosmetic.com" can be performed in relation to 4 search tools named OR1, OR2, OR3 and OR4 and considering the following key words: cosmetiq
The results of the search, provided in a data processing format specific to each software used, such as the CSV format, then takes a rough or simple shape such as:
Search Toolor Keycosmeticword: ORClassingmaquillagemake-up12492156313104171318
By analyzing this table it can be seen that, for example, the URL of the site "cosmetic.com" appears in a less good position with the search tool OR4 (17th, 13th and 18th position for the words 'maquillage' and 'make-up,' respectively, than with another search tool, such as search tool OR1, or for these same search words, the URL of the site appears in 2nd, 4th and 9th place.
In like manner, such a table makes it possible that a key word, such as 'cosmetic' or 'maquillage' is better referenced than another key word, such as 'make-up' in this example. ue, maquillage, make-up.
However, these crude or elementary results present the problem of being given without any distinctive form permitting quick comprehension, direct by synthesis of the graded classifications of the site.
As a result, the consultant of a referencing business conducting a study for a client's account is forced to spend time in sorting and organizing the information obtained by the specific software, consequently limiting his availability for performing analyses of the performance of these sites, for example with regard to the keywords most used by the netsurfers.
In fact, the foregoing example concerns three key words and four search tools, whereas one consultant must handle tens of them, even hundreds of key words in connection with tens of search tools.
Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the consultant is also obliged to translate the results provided by a specific software in a specific language, such as CSV (Comma Separated Value, that is to say, values separated by commas) to a more generalized language so as to be able to share the results obtained by means of this software with these clients, this translation presenting the problem of again reducing the time that a consultant can devote to the analysis of the results.
The measure of the quality of the referencing of a site also requires observing the frequentation of this site, i.e., the number of netsurfers accessing this site.
Now, the measurement of frequentation presents the problem that, when a netsurfer has accessed a site via a search server in which this site is referenced, it is common for the netsurfer to enter into the memory of his computer, generally in the form of a "favorite," the URL of the site accessed, in the degree of the importance of this site, thus avoiding another search every time he needs to connect to this site.
In this case, that is to say, when this netsurfer connects to the site in question, via its favorite, it is not possible for him to determine via the search tool that this connection is made by means of the search tool, which proves troublesome in tracking the frequentation of a site.
To this effect it is well to note that the measure of the frequentation of a site is, according to the prior art, performed by means of a specific software called "TAG" hereinafter.
A TAG entered in an Internet page is thus a little script, or program, which is executed each time that the page is read by a netsurfer.
Since then it is possible to involve a counter which increases at each run of the script, that is, at each teleloading of the page by a netsurfer.
To accomplish a frequentation measurement there are some service providers, such as Audientia, XITI, Estat or VocalCom SA, devoted to this operation and presenting their results in form specific to each supplier.
However, as with visibility measuring suppliers, the operations connected with the measurement of frequentation require a great amount of human involvement in order to obtain from rough data the fine data underlining a phenomenon, such as an increase in the frequentation of a site which the consultant wants to place before his client.
If one considers that such a presentation of treated data is generally accompanied by the consultant's commentaries, it appears that this human intervention is time-consuming, because thousands, even millions of pages may have to be considered, as well as many visitors and an extremely great number of key words and sorting words.
In fact, the volumes of data to be dealt with by a consultant for an analysis of visibility and frequentation are so great that they create many problems. The number of clients that can be dealt with simultaneously by a consultant is small, which presents the problem of limiting the performance of a consultant doing these operations.
Furthermore, this amount of information to be processed limits the time that such a consultant can allow for his analysis and therefore to the quality of his advice for situating or maintaining the site in a good position of visibility and frequentation.
Also, the storage of raw information is expensive for it requires a large memory capacity such that this information is not generally stored.
As a corollary, the lack of data storage relative to a site over relatively long periods of time, that is to say several months, prevents analysis of the development of a site in terms of frequentation and/or visibility, for example.
The large volume of raw data to be process also causes access to these data to be generally restricted to the consultant of a firm, who having a certain experience in the treatment of these data is able to identify the important data.
To sum up, it appears problematic that, according to the prior art, the operations proper to referencing are analyzed manually from raw data provided by software programs, as described previously in connection with the visibility of a site.
After that, several days of work are required to conduct the following of the referencing of each site. In fact, considering, for example, the analysis of the visibility of a site, it is necessary for the consultant of a referencing service to handle the presentation of this information so as to facilitate its comprehension and/or its interpretation, for example by means of data displays.
Furthermore, it is well to note that the consultant is generally asked to provide commentaries on these displays so as to help the client to understand the phenomenon observed, which again increases the charge for his work.
Also, this operation brings up the problem that, to produce these displays, a consultant is constrained to use displays whose parameters are limited and predetermined so as to limit the time required for the acquisition of these displays.
Lastly, it should be noted that a consultant generally presents analysis reports in a similar form for different clients, that is, there exists no personalization of the results sent to a client, because this would mean an extra amount of work performed to the detriment of the thorough analysis of the client's Website.
On the other hand, for a site to be referenced in a search engine, it is necessary to wait until this site has been run through by a program of the search tool called a "spider," which runs through the site, reading its content and indexing its pages in the database of the search tool, these pages being associated with the key words.
Now, the spiders of the principal search engines run through the pages of a site only every twenty-eight hours, on average.
On this account, referencing by means of a spider presents the trouble that it can take around twenty-eight days, without its being really possible to cover the time during which the site is not referenced.
These spiders also present the problem that they are unable to read the content and index the pages of only a static Internet site, that is to say, one which is "frozen," while it is not possible for them to reference all of the pages of a dynamic Internet site whose content varies.
For example, if one considers a site permitting access to the content of a dynamic database, i.e., one whose data may very, this site then appears only as a single page whose fields are fed with the content of the database.
Now, this site potentially presents as many pages as entries in the database, while the spider can read only the single physical page, which presents the problem that its analysis will not take into account the real content of the site, i.e., the content of the database.
Furthermore, it is known to put key words, referred to hereinafter as "metas" into the code of the Internet pages, intended to distinguish these pages.
However, the number of key words that can be associated with an Internet page is limited, generally to twenty key words, which does not make it possible to precisely characterize the content of each page, particularly in the case of a dynamic site connected to a database of several hundreds, even thousands, of entries.

Software-type platform dedicated to internet site referencing


A receiving apparatus and transmitting apparatus capable of transmitting and receiving a high speed optical signal and a communication system using the same, including a transmitting apparatus having a conversion circuit for converting serially input data to a plurality of bits of parallel data given predetermined information and an LED array having a number of LED units corresponding to the number of bits of the parallel data from the conversion circuit arranged in an array, wherein the LED units are controlled in light emission in parallel based on bit information of corresponding parallel data to emit optical information signals dispersed in a spatially predetermined range, and of a receiving apparatus having a plurality of photo-diodes arranged in an array for emitting electric signals of levels in accordance with amounts of light received, wherein the photo-diodes output electric signals in parallel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus and transmitting apparatus for receiving and transmitting data as information light and a communication system using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a communication system for transmitting data converted to optical information, optical information transmission systems using optical fibers as a transmission medium are in practical use.
In recent years, there has been remarkably progress in optical communication technology. Transmission of various kinds of information including image information by optical fibers is being realized to not only trunk lines, but also the level of the general homes, by links to not only telephone systems, but also computer networks.
The transfer rate has been improved enabling even communication at 100 Mbps and further 200 Mbps or 400 Mbps (on the frequency level, a giga-(G) hertz order, for instance, 2.4 to 5 GHz).
Summarizing the problem to be solved by the invention, when transmitting various kinds of information including image information by optical fibers to for example the general homes as explained above, the transmitted information is delivered to a personal computer, television, telephone, etc. (hereinafter, referred to as data processing apparatuses).
In this case, when the information processing apparatus is installed in one place, it is possible to lay an optical fiber inside the home for transfer of the optical information as it is to the information processing apparatus for example via an optical repeater and convert the optical information to an electric signal at the information processing apparatus side.
It is also possible to move the information processing apparatus around instead of installing it in one place, however, this is not practical in that it is then necessary to re-lay the optical fiber.
Use of wireless communication using radio waves can therefore be considered. Wireless communication is however only possible using the tens of Mbps to 100 Mbps range due to legal restrictions.
Accordingly, wireless communication cannot be applied for recent high speed optical communication of 100 Mbps or more.
Therefore, it is considered practical to convert an optical signal transmitted from the outside over an optical fiber to an electric signal by an optical repeater, convert the electric signal back to an optical signal to generate optical information (hereinafter, information light), and convert it back from an optical signal to electric signal at the information processing apparatus side.
A semiconductor laser and a light-emitting diode can be used for emitting information light, but a semiconductor laser is not preferable due to problems of directivity etc.
Accordingly, it is preferable to use a light-emitting diode. There are however official restrictions on the strength, and therefore problems remains in the strength per predetermined area. Under the current circumstances, construction of a communication system capable of reliably transmitting and receiving a high speed optical signal is difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Receiving apparatus, transmitting apparatus, and communication system


A piston ring system, having an internal diameter >400 mm, for a piston of a two-stroke internal combustion engine, includes at least a first and a second piston ring each having a convex running surface with a crest of the convexity in contact with a cylinder wall and each being inserted into a respective first and second piston ring groove in the piston, wherein the first piston ring faces a combustion chamber and the second piston ring is disposed axially beneath the first piston ring, and wherein the crest of the convexity of the first piston ring is disposed beneath a radial plane passing through a midpoint of axial height of the first piston ring, and the crest of the second piston ring is disposed above a radial plane passing through a midpoint of axial height of the second piston ring.

As differs from four-stroke engines, two-stroke marine engines have the problem that the supply of oil for lubrication, and thus for reducing wear, must take place by way of oil injection systems. These systems must provide sufficient oil at a suitable time to ensure sufficient lubrication of the cylinder surface/piston rings. A common feature of all known systems is that the oil supply must be carried out under conditions of gas counterpressure. Considering that modern marine engines are operated with rotational speeds of approximately 100 rpm at strokes of up to 2500 mm, the unit of time for the oil distribution is very difficult to establish. In a piston/piston ring system measuring 900 mm in diameter and an oil supply system having approximately 8 intake ports distributed over the circumference, independent oil distribution develops in the circumferential direction by means of the installed components (piston rings) measuring approximately 350 mm,
This shows that a conventional piston ring design contributes no more than 3% to the distribution of the oil quantity due to the lack of pressure differentials on the circumference.
Oil supply systems were previously developed that were intended to ensure more rapid oil distribution during supply, despite high counterpressure. Complex piston/piston ring systems to support better oil distribution, which in reality would be difficult to implement, are unknown to date.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,385 B1 discloses a piston ring that is provided with geometrically different profiles on the running surface side. This piston ring can be used, in particular, for the oil lubrication of two-stroke engines. Piston rings that are disposed on top of each other and have convex running surfaces are used in a piston/piston ring system, wherein the piston ring is designed to be conical to receive a piston ring groove configured in corresponding fashion, at least in the region of the flank surface of the ring facing a combustion chamber.
DE 10 2006 058 081 A1 discloses a two-stroke internal combustion engine, comprising at least one port of a gas control system of an inlet and/or of an outlet, wherein a gap between a piston and a running surface surrounding the piston is sealed, wherein a combination seal for sealing the gap is provided in the running surface, the piston sliding along this combination seal in such a way that the combination seal has both a gas sealing function and an oil scraping function.
It is the object of the invention to create a piston/piston ring system, in which more uniform oil distribution over the entire running surface of the piston rings, as seen in the circumferential direction, is generated, wherein the absolute oil quantity is also to be reduced.


A network access device directs an electronic device, distinct from the network access device, to display graphical user interface, the graphical user interface comprising a network access self-identification user interface. The network access device obtains a selection of a user identification option, through the self-identification user interface. In accordance with a determination that the selected user identification option corresponds to a registered user (e.g., a registered user in a research panel), of a previously defined set of registered users of the network access device, the network access device enables access to a communications network, in accordance with the application of one or more logging rules corresponding to the selected user. Further, in accordance with a determination that the selected user identification option corresponds to an unregistered, guest user, the network access device enables access to the communications network, without the application of any logging rules.

Actions of users (or panelists) participating in a research panel may be correlated with demographic information for the users, which in turn may be extrapolated and applied to a general population. For example, websites that users in an Internet research panel visit may be associated with demographic information for the users. This demographic information may be used to determine a likelihood that a particular user having particular demographic characteristics will view a particular website, will click on a particular advertisement displayed on the particular website, and/or will purchase products and/or services related to the particular advertisement displayed on the particular website. Improved techniques for tracking websites or Internet locations that a user in an Internet research panel has visited, which are not burdensome to the user, are needed.

System and method for tracking network traffic of users in a research panel


A duplicating camera, especially, a diffusion transfer type duplicating camera including an exposure box in which a scanner for scanning across the surface of an original in the form of a slit is incorporated and a transfer box in which a sheet of photosensitive material is exposed to light so that a set of slit images from the exposure box can be formed on the photosensitive material, and in which the image recorded on the photosensitive material is transferred to an image receiving material. These exposure and transfer boxes are arranged in an adjustable manner so that the scan axis of the scanning unit can be aligned with the transfer axis of the photosensitive material. In the exposure stage, an exposure table on which the photosensitive material is transferred is positioned above conveyor rollers disposed on both sides of the exposure table, so that a nominal rise occurs in the photosensitive material traveling above the exposure table.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a diffusion transfer type duplicating camera used for the preparation of a block copy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In this diffusion transfer type duplicating camera, a photosensitive material, called a negative paper, is exposed to light to obtain a latent image of an original on the photosensitive material. This exposed photosensitive material is then superimposed on an image receiving material, called a positive paper, and these materials are then immersed in a developer, so that the image recorded on the photosensitive material is diffused and transferred to the image receiving material. To obtain a latent image on the photosensitive material, it is necessary for a type of a duplicating camera, which takes an image of an original, to be capable of correctly acquiring images from a large A3 size original, or thereabouts, without distortions. Examples of such diffusion transfer type duplicating cameras are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62(1987)-6735, Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 1(1989)-112242, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 64(1989)-7648. These duplicating cameras also have drawbacks in that they become significantly bulky and heavy because of their reducing and magnifying functions.
For these reasons, when the duplicating camera is arranged such that the surface of the original, situated on a transparent glass original table, is scanned from the below thereof by means of a scanning unit including a light source which scans in the pattern of a slit, and that the light reflected from the original is radiated through a lens onto a sheet-like photosensitive material to be carried, the duplicating camera can have a simpler structure, and be made smaller so it becomes possible to carry out duplication like copying. By virtue of its reducing and magnifying functions, it is possible to change the ratio of the optical path length between the original and the lens to the optical path length between the lens and the photosensitive material, and also possible to adjust the ratio of the scan speed of the scanning unit to the feeding speed of the photosensitive material.
This duplicating camera is usually made up of an exposure box incorporating a scanning unit and a transfer box in which a photosensitive material sheet is exposed in the manner of a scanning to a slit-like light image from the exposure box. The exposed photosensitive material is superimposed on an image receiving material, then the image recorded on the photosensitive material is transferred to the image receiving material. The exposure box is put on the transfer box, and these boxes are located in position and secured by means of pins.
In the case of this duplicating camera, it is necessary to completely match the scan axis of the scanning unit with the axis along which the photosensitive material is conveyed in order to precisely transfer the image of the original to the image receiving material. If the scan direction of the scanning unit is at an angle to the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, the resultant transferred image will be distorted into a parallelogram-like shape. Therefore, the exposure box and the transfer box are accurately positioned and fixed together.
Although these boxes are positioned by means of the pins as mentioned above, merely inserting the pins provided on the transfer box into the counterpart pin holes on the exposure box may cause the scan direction of the scanning unit in the exposure box to be at an angle to the transfer direction of the photosensitive material in the transfer box because of unevenness in position of the pins and pin holes.
In this type of duplicating camera, an exposure stage is composed of an exposure table on which the photosensitive material is slidably conveyed and conveyor rollers disposed upstream and downstream of the exposure table, and slit-like images of the original are exposed to the photosensitive material on the exposure table. To obtain a precise and high resolution duplicated image without distorted rulings, the photosensitive material must be transferred while it remains close contact with the upper surface of the exposure table, and the photosensitive material must remain flat. For these reasons, for example, a suction apparatus is hitherto provided on the exposure table so that the photosensitive material can be sucked downwards so as to remain closely in contact with the exposure table during its transfer. This results in a camera having a complicated structure and being heavier.

Diffusion transfer type duplicating camera


A lens has a lens body (1), reinforcing extensions (3a, 3b) and a clear aperture (9) surrounded on top and bottom by lens body. The lens is suitable for spot scanning. The lens is made of a water absorbing material, such as most polymers, particularly acrylate polymers. Aluminum sheets as vapor barriers are attached on each side of the lens body. This results in excellent resistance to change or distortion in high humidity environments.

Materials forming lenses that change or distort with increases of humidity are typically plastics, especially acrylic plastics. Some hydrocarbon plastics resist water intake and are used in special situations for lenses, but the material are expensive and are difficult to mold to form the lens.
The prior art has addressed this problem in U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,360 to Nakanishi, but the solution presented in that patent is one which significantly restricts the characteristics and form of the lens since it is based on the premise that a lens fully permeated with water does not exhibit major distortion. Accordingly, the better lenses in accordance with this patent would be tall and thin.
Lenses of this invention may differ little from ordinary form for scan lenses, but have vapor barriers applied to render the lens highly resistant to increases in humidity.


To determine a paper splice time when the present web is spliced to a next web for the purpose of a so-called lot shift (or a paper shift) in an apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards, not only a length of each core but also a length of each web have been hitherto measured. In view of the current circumstance that a measuring operation is accompanied by various errors and an order is often given with a small lot in size, determination of a paper shift time is made at an operator's discretion which depends on his skill. In practice, there often arises a malfunction that the operator erroneously determines the time when a paper shifting operation is to be performed. To obviate the foregoing malfunction, the present invention provides a system for informing a paper shift during a production controlling operation for an apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards wherein a remaining time till the time when a paper shifting operation is performed can be assured by a time enough long to accomplish the paper shifting operation regardless of a lot size and moreover a warning for informing the time when the paper shifting operation is started as well as a warning at each step during production of corrugated paper boards can be instructed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for informing a paper shift during a production controlling operation for an apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards.
2. Description of the Related Art
To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a typical conventional apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards will briefly be described below with reference to FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards is constructed such that webs 6 and 7 are conveyed from rolls mounted on a mill roll stand to a single facer 11 via splicers 20 and 21, the one web 7 is corrugated in the single facer 11 to form a core and the other web 6 is adhesively secured to the core thereby to produce a sheet of one-sided corrugated paper board 13 in the form of a continuous A flute. The one-sided corrugated paper board sheet 13 is conveyed to a double facer 16 via an overhead bridge 15, a three-staged preheater 26 and a gluing machine 33. In addition, another sheet of one-sided corrugated paper board 14 in the form of a B flute produced via the same steps as those for the one-sided corrugated paper board sheet 13 while having a different corrugation height as well as a web 10 in the form of a front liner paper are conveyed to the double facer 16 from rolls mounted on the mill roll stand via a splicer 24 and another three-staged preheater. The one-sided corrugated paper board sheets 13 and 14 and the front liner paper 10 are adhesively secured to each other in the double facer 16 thereby to produce a sheet of double-sided corrugated paper board 32. The double-sided corrugated paper board 32 is then subjected to slitting and scoring in an assembly 19 of slitter and scorer. Subsequently, it is cut to a predetermined length by actuating a rotary cutter 19.
Further, the apparatus performs a controlling operation for counting the number of sheets produced in the apparatus in the following manner. Specifically, the controlling operation is performed in such a manner as to calculate the position where a preset number of sheets can be produced with the present structure of each web and then execute a so-called lot shift (or a paper shift) at the foregoing position so as to allow to the present web to be spliced to a subsequent web having another structure. The lot shift is achieved in whole combination of the respective cores and webs. In other words, to carry out a lot shift, the present webs are spliced to subsequent webs of the kind corresponding to a next production lot in splicers 20, 21 and 24. With respect to not only a splice point for webs but also a splice point for cores which is directly measured with much difficulties, determination of splice points at which a web and a core are spliced to subsequent web and core has been hitherto accomplished by measuring a running length of each web-and then calculating a value representative of a running length of each core based on values derived from the measurements while the core running length value is added with a calculated take-up rate. As far as a sheet of corrugated paper board is concerned, the calculated take-up rate refers to a ratio of a length of each corrugated core in the extended state to a length of the liner paper, i.e., the web adhering to the core. When the calculated take-up rate is practically added with the value derived from the measurement of the running length of the web, the standard value which has been definitely predetermined corresponding to a height of the corrugated core is normally used.
Determination of splice points in the above-described manner is accompanied by many factors which may cause errors. One of such errors is caused when the liner paper and a final product of corrugated paper board are measured and a running length of the corrugated core is then determined based on the value derived from the measurement of the liner paper and the final product of corrugated paper board. Another error is caused when measurements are carried out with the aid of a rotary pulse signal generator and a slippage measuring instrument for measuring slippage between webs or sheets. Another error is caused when the liner paper and the final product of corrugated paper board expand or contract due to variation of a moisture content and a kind of paper to be measured. In addition, an error is caused when the final product of corrugated paper board is cut by actuating the rotary cutter 19. Finally, a sum of these errors appears in the form of an incorrect length as a result of superposition of the errors as mentioned above.
In recent years, many requests for a smaller lot in size (reduced number of corrugated paper boards) and reduction of a reject rate have been raised from users. The smaller the number of corrugated paper boards to be produced per one lot, the longer the erroneous part in a length of the final product of corrugated paper board. This causes the rate of rejection to be increased undesirably. In view of the aforementioned errors, the inventor has made proposals to reduce generation of errors as disclosed in two prior inventions, one of them being filed under Japanese Patent Application No. 114795/1989 with a title "A method of measuring a running sheet length in an apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards" and the other one being filed under Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61211/1989 with a title "An apparatus for controlling production and measurement in an apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards". The former prior invention is intended to prevent generation of measurement errors due to expansion and contraction of each web and obtain a measured value with higher accuracy on the running length measuring instrument side by properly correcting the measured value derived from the rotary pulse signal generator at a production speed of each web passing between mark sensors disposed with a predetermined distance therebetween. The latter prior invention is intended to prevent generation of errors due to expansion and contraction of each web by measuring a running length of each of webs for a liner paper and a corrugated core, calculating a splice point for each of the webs to be spliced to each other based on a value derived from the measurement and then adding the value derived from the measurement of a running length of each web with a calculated take-up rate in a case where a value derived from measurement of liner paper including an error value unchangeably is used in place of a running length of the corrugated core.
Since the controlling operation for the apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards is performed based on a production length of each final product of corrugated paper board, and moreover a constant value controlling process utilizing a manual speed command or a standard speed command depending on conditions such as a kind of paper or the like is employed for the purpose of determining a production speed, there does not arise any particular problem in a case where a lot size is large in length and a production length of each final product of corrugated paper board is longer than a line stay length between the rotary cutter 19 and the splicers 20, 21 and 24. In recent years, however, since many requests for a smaller lot size have been raised from users, there may arise an occasion that a paper shifting operation to be performed in response to an order change for webs to be subsequently spliced cannot follow the present production speed. In other words, a paper shifting operation has been hitherto manually performed by an operator under a condition that a time required for performing a splicing operation is recognized as a standard time. In addition, an operational setting time having the standard time added with some allowance time is assured so as not to cause a malfunction during a normal operation of the apparatus. However, in a case where an order is given with a small lot in length shorter than the operational setting time, there may arise a trouble when a paper shifting operation is performed. In addition, since the time when an operator performs a paper shifting operation is determined at his own discretion depending on a quantity (length) of unfeeling of a web from the mill roll stand, other problems are that a highly trained skill is required for accomplishing the paper shifting operation and the operator erroneously determines the time when the paper shifting operation is properly performed.

System for informing paper shift in apparatus for producing corrugated paper boards


A method of manufacturing a bond pad structure, comprising the steps of forming a pad material layer on a passivation layer, forming a protection layer on the pad material layer, performing an etching process to pattern the protection layer and the pad material layer into a bond pad structure, and removing the protection layer on the bond pad structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of manufacturing a bond pad structure and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a bond pad structure with a protection layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In semiconductor manufacturing, a fabricated integrated circuit (IC) device is typically assembled into a package to be utilized on a printed circuit board (such as a motherboard, etc) as part of a larger circuit. When the fabrication of the integrated circuit device (such as a die) is finished, the integrated circuit device is immovably bound and sealed using an electronic package technique so as to prevent damages from an external force or other environmental factors. A package substrate is often used in the electronic package industry to affix the integrated circuit device thereon, and it also provides one or more layers of metal interconnects, wherein one end of the metal interconnect is electrically connected to the integrated circuit device, and the other end thereof is electrically connected to the other electronic modules. The metal bond pad (or referred to as bonding pad) is designed to be in the openings of the passivation layer (i.e. topmost insulating layer) of the integrated circuit device as a mean to connect the metal interconnects of the package substrate to the integrated circuit device.
In the past, aluminum or aluminum alloys, such as AlCu alloy or AlSiCu alloy, have been used as conventional chip wiring materials. More recently, aluminum wiring material has been replaced by copper and copper alloys with damascene process, since copper wiring can provides improved chip performances and superior reliability when compared to aluminum and aluminum alloys. However, in the packaging of IC devices, employing copper wiring may induce a number of process issues, such as the reaction of copper with the material used in the ball-soldering process, and/or the susceptibility of copper to the environmental damages and corrosion. To solve these process issues, a terminal aluminum pad or aluminum cap structure is designed to be formed on the copper interconnection for protecting the copper from environmental deterioration.
Although the use of an aluminum pad/cap structure on the copper interconnection may solve the conventional copper deterioration issues, it still has some process drawbacks to improve. As well-known in the semiconductor field, aluminum materials are quite vulnerable to the corrosion issue, especially for the aluminum structure in the aforementioned pad loop. In this process stage, a thick photoresist layer used for patterning the aluminum pad may leave residues on the surface of aluminum layer due to the PR hardening, thereby significantly increasing the possibility of Al corrosion. This is major cause of the so-called "pad discoloration" issue.
Therefore, while aforementioned existing methods of fabricating bond pad structures for semiconductor devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect. There is still a need to improve the bond pad structure and the manufacturing method thereof in order to provide larger process windows as well as to lower the process costs.

Bond pad structure and method of manufacturing the same

Science-Based Industrial Park , Hsin-Chu


A water faucet includes a receptacle engaged into a housing and having a passage communicating with a water outlet of the housing, a valve stem slidably engaged through the passage of the receptacle and having a valve member for controlling the water to flow from the water inlet to the water outlet of the housing, and a piston attached to the valve stem and slidably engaged in a compartment of the receptacle, the valve stem includes one or more orifices and one or more apertures for controlling a fluid to flow between the compartment of the receptacle and a cavity of the valve stem, and a valve element may adjust the flowing of the fluid into and out of the cavity of the valve stem.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water faucet, and more particularly to an automatically shut off water faucet including a simplified structure for controlling the flowing quantity or the flowing time of the outlet flowing water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical water faucets comprise a water passage formed or provided in a faucet body, a water inlet coupled to a water reservoir, a water outlet for discharging the water, and a control valve engaged into the water passage for controlling the flowing of the water through the water passage and out of the water outlet.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,008 to Barnum et al. discloses one of the typical push button faucets comprising an energy saving effect for delivering a predetermined volume of water in a set period of time.
However, a large number of parts or elements are required to be engaged into the typical push button faucet body such that the typical push button faucet body is required to be formed with a great volume.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,852 to Chow discloses another typical device for controlling the flow of fluid with a cam and ratchet wheel and also for delivering a predetermined volume of water in a set period of time.
However, similarly a large number of parts or elements are required to be engaged into the housing of the typical water control device such that the housing of the typical water control device is also required to be formed with a great volume.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,534 to Chung-Shan discloses a further typical water faucet with a timing device for controlling the flow of fluid and also for delivering a predetermined volume of water in a set period of time.
However, similarly a large number of parts or elements are required to be engaged into the housing of the typical water faucet such that the housing of the typical water faucet is also required to be formed with a great volume.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional automatically shut off water faucets.


A method and apparatus for reading digital audio signals photographically recorded on a medium (such as motion picture film). If the medium has multiple, spatially separated digital and analog audio soundtracks, a photosensitive detector array is employed for each of the digital audio soundtrack areas, and a separate analog soundtrack read head is employed. Preferably, digital error code is recorded in a digital soundtrack area of the medium (with digital audio bits), and error detection and correction are performed on the recorded digital audio bits read from the medium. Preferably, the apparatus includes switching circuitry for substituting a corresponding analog audio signal for one or more corrupted digital soundtrack channels, when such digital soundtrack channels have an error rate which exceeds a selected threshold. Also preferably, the invention reads recorded digital audio information by projecting a laser beam (having a near infrared wavelength) on a row of a digital soundtrack area of a motion picture film, to modulate the beam as it passes through the row. The radiation transmitted through each digital soundtrack bit area is projected onto a spot in the detector plane that is substantially larger than the dimension of each individual detector which receives the spot. As the film translates continuously relative to the radiation source so that the projection of the spot translates relative to each receiving detector, the output of each receiving detector is integrated over the period during which a portion of the spot is projected thereon.

The photographic recording of digital soundtracks on motion picture film has been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,280, issued Jul. 15, 1986, describes a technique for recording a digital soundtrack on a film strip by exposing the film to modulated light from a light source. In one method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,280, an intermittent light beam (encoded with digital audio information) is scanned horizontally across the film, and the film is then advanced vertically and the scanning process repeated. U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,280 suggests alternatively that the light can be projected on the film through a linear array of solid state shutters or Bragg cell modulators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,552, issued Jul. 24, 1984, also discloses a method in which digital audio is photographically recorded on motion picture film.
It has also been proposed to photographically record other types of digital information on photographic film. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,833, issued Nov. 19, 1985, discloses a method for photographic recording of characters and symbols on photographic film. In this method, light emitted from a relatively large-sized array (such as a light emitting diode array) is focused through converging lenses, to cause a relatively small-sized dot pattern to be projected on the film.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,781, issued Dec. 22, 1981, suggests recording a command data track (track 11 shown in FIG. 2) on motion picture film, along with an unmodulated locator track (track 5 shown in FIG. 2) and several analog soundtracks. Similarly, both U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,198, issued Apr. 21, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,921, issued Jan. 16, 1990, disclose a process for recording digital data along an edge portion of a strip of cinematographic film.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/896,412, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Photographically Recording Digital Audio and a Medium having Photographically Recorded Digital Soundtracks," filed on the same day as the present application, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, also discloses a method and apparatus for photographically recording digital audio signals, and a medium having digital audio signals photographically recorded thereon.
Until the present invention, however, it had not been known how accurately to read multiple channels of digital audio information on a continuously translating motion picture film. Nor had it been known how efficiently to perform error detection and correction on one or more channels of digital audio information read from a continuously translating motion picture film.

Method and apparatus for reading photographically recorded digital audio soundtracks


An electrolyte for a lithium secondary battery and a lithium secondary battery including the same are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, an electrolyte for a lithium secondary battery includes a lithium salt, an organic solvent, and an oligomer represented by Formula 1 described in the present specification or a polymer derived from the oligomer represented by Formula 1. A lithium secondary battery including the electrolyte for a lithium secondary battery is improved by suppressing reactivity of lithium metal.

Recently, interests in energy storage technologies have been increasingly grown. In particular, while the application of the energy storage technologies is expanded to mobile phones, camcorders, notebook PCs, and even to electric vehicles, research and efforts for the development of the energy storage technologies have been gradually materialized.
Electrochemical devices have received most attention in the field of energy storage technologies, and there emerges an interest in rechargeable secondary batteries among these electrochemical devices.
A lithium secondary battery is prepared by a process in which, after current collectors are respectively coated with a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material of appropriate thicknesses or the active materials themselves are prepared in the form of a film having an appropriate length, the resultant products are then wound or stacked with an insulating separator to prepare an electrode assembly, the electrode assembly is put into a can or a container similar thereto, and an electrolyte is then injected thereinto.
In this case, a liquid electrolyte including an electrolyte solution solvent, in which a lithium salt is dissolved, or a gel polymer electrolyte further including a matrix polymer may be generally used as the electrolyte.
The electrolyte solution solvent may include ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, dimethoxyethane, γ-butyrolactone, N,N-dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuran, or acetonitrile.
The electrolyte solution solvent may not only cause a side reaction at a high voltage and an oxidation reaction when it is stored at high temperatures for a long time, but may also easily react with lithium (Li) metal in the form of dendrites formed on a negative electrode to cause an exothermic reaction. Particularly, in a case in which overcharge is performed at a predetermined state of charge (SOC) or more, since the oxidation reaction of the electrolyte is accelerated and the exothermic reaction between the electrolyte solution and the Li metal on the surface of the negative electrode, which is formed due to excessive migration of Li from a positive electrode to the negative electrode, is intensified, the battery may ignite or explode.
Thus, in order to improve stability and high output characteristics of the lithium secondary battery, there is a need to develop an electrolyte for a lithium secondary battery in which wetting property of the electrolyte may not only be improved, but reactivity with the lithium metal may also be suppressed.

Electrolyte for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery including the same


In an echo effector for imparting an echo effect to an audio signal based on values of a plurality of parameters, a memory is provided for memorizing an interrelationship among the plurality of the parameters which are mutually related to each other. A dial is actuated for independently setting one or more of the parameters to desired values. A microcomputer dependently sets the remaining parameters to appropriate values according to the desired values and the memorized interrelationship. Further, in a sound field effector operative according to a selected program for creating an effect simulative of a sound field in matching with a room situation under which the effector is installed, a program memory stores a plurality of programs which can be selected in terms of types of sound fields and types of room situations. A first switch is operated for designating a desired type of a sound field. A second switch is operated for designating a desired type of a room situation. One program is selected from the program memory according to both of the designated type of the sound field and the designated type of the room situation.

The present invention relates to an effector apparatus integrated into an audio amplifier such as a karaoke amplifier which is used by many and unspecified users.
In a specific use of the amplifier such as karaoke amusement, various effects including an echo and a sound field are imparted to an audio signal such as a musical sound signal which is amplified by the amplifier. In the karaoke amusement, the various effects are applied to the audio signal in order to improve atmosphere of the performance and situation.
Referring to FIG. 7, a conventional echo effector is briefly described. The echo effector has a front operation panel which contains three dials 11, 12 and 13 for adjusting a delay time, a repeat and an echo level, respectively. The echo effector imparts an echo to an inputted audio signal according to these parameters of the delay time, the repeat and the echo level. Such an echo effector is integrated into the karaoke amplifier or the like. However, these parameters are not independent from each other, but are mutually related to each other. Therefore, an adjustment of one parameter affects values of the remaining parameters. For example, the value of the echo level is unwantedly varied when either of the delay time and the repeat is adjusted. Therefore, it would be difficult to freely set a desired value of the echo level. If such an echo effector is owned by a specified user, a total adjustment may be conducted by trial and error method. However, the karaoke amplifier is generally used by many and unspecified persons. It is practically difficult for each person to set a desired echo effect according to his/her preference.
In another point of view, a range of each parameter is preset by factory. Therefor, a user can only operate the dials 11, 12 and 13 within the fixed range. The user (could not adjust, a value of each parameter beyond the preset range. For example, if the range of the delay time is preset from 0 msec to 100 msec, the user could not set the value of the delay time to 150 msec out of the range. Generally, the karaoke amplifier is used by many and unspecified persons having diverse and different preferences over a wide range. Therefore the factory-set range could not cover such an actual wide range.
In a separate point of view, a sound field effector is integrated into the karaoke amplifier in addition to the echo effector. The sound field effector is operated by a control program to create a typical sound field. However, the karaoke amplifier is installed in various types of rooms. The program is edited by a user to modify the sound field to conform with situation of the room. This edit work may be conducted initially at the installation. However, if the amplifier is replaced, the edit work must be done again. Even worse, if the sound field effector stores a plurality of control programs corresponding to different types of sound fields, such an edit work must be carried out for each program.

Effector with integral setting of control parameters and adaptive selecting of control programs


A liquid curable resin composition comprising a dialkylpolysiloxane particles with at least two urethane bonds and/or urea bonds in the terminal groups. The resin composition exhibits superior shelf life in a liquid state and produces cured products having a slippery surface. It is suitable as a coating material for optical fibers, particularly as a ribbon matrix material and a bundling material.

In the production of coated optical fibers, a resin coating is provided for protection and reinforcement immediately after spinning molten glass fibers. A known structure of the resin coating consists of a primary coating layer of a relatively flexible resin which is coated on the surface of optical fibers and a secondary coating layer of a relatively rigid resin which is provided over the primary coating layer. A so-called optical fiber ribbon is composed of a plurality of these coated optical glass fibers, e.g., four or eight optical fibers, by arranging these fibers typically in a plane and fixing them with a binder material to produce a ribbon structure with a rectangular cross-section. The binder material for preparing the optical fiber ribbon from a plurality of optical fibers is called a ribbon matrix material. A structure composed of a plurality of these ribbons is often referred to as a bundle. The material for binding such a bundle of ribbons is called a bundling material.
In the manufacture of optical fiber ribbons and multiple ribbon bundles it is important that the ribbons and/or bundles manufactured are smoothly wound up and the wound ribbons and/or bundles can be smoothly drawn out at a specific rate to smoothly complete the manufacture of optical fiber cables and/or easily utilize the ribbons/bundles in succeeding steps. Conventionally, a lubricant such as silicone oil or a powder such as talc has been applied to the surface of the ribbon to provide a slippery surface, whereby smooth wind-up and draw-out operations of the optical fiber ribbons and/or bundles are ensured.
Another method to provide good surface slip characteristics is a method of adding an additive such as silicone oil to the ribbon matrix material or the bundling material. Although such additives improve the surface slip characteristics of the cured product, the use of silicone oil or other conventional additives, however, impairs the shelf-life of the composition. Specifically, the addition of a large amount of additives causes the liquid composition to separate into two layers during storage. If the amount of such an additive remains small so that the shelf-life of the compositions remain relatively unaffected, it is necessary to apply a powder such as talc when ribbons are produced, because the cured product does not have sufficient surface slip characteristics.


A ratchet useful for wrenches is provided having a pawl and a main gear that reside in a case, wherein the pawl is biased to engage teeth of the main gear to permit rotation in a selected direction. According to an aspect of the invention, a biasing mechanism is housed within the pawl and acts outwardly from the pawl against one or more ramped surfaces formed in the case, thereby biasing the pawl rotationally. For example, the biasing mechanism may be a coil spring housed within a bore extending through the pawl, aligned parallel to an axis of rotation of the pawl. The spring is compressed between two ball bearings, urging the ball bearings axially outwardly against the ramped surfaces. The ramped surfaces are shaped so that a component of the force of the ball bearings creates a rotational moment on the pawl.

Ratchet wrenches are well known as hand tools. Ratchet wrenches typically have mechanisms that allow the action of the wrench to be reversed so that the wrench can be used for both tightening and loosening screws, nuts, bolts and the like. A common style of reversible ratchet wrench has a driving head mounted to a handle. Mounted within the head is a toothed ratchet wheel that includes a square drive projection to which sockets may be attached. It is known to provide a pawl pivotally mounted within the head in a manner, which allows the pawl selectively to contact the toothed portion of the ratchet wheel. In reversing ratchet wrenches, the pawl is switchable between two positions to be engageable against the teeth of the ratchet wheel for selectively permitting clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the drive member. In each of the two positions, in the direction opposite the permitted direction, rotational movement is not permitted and the ratchet wheel is in a locked position, allowing applied forces to create a torque.
In a conventional ratchet using a pawl, it is well known to use a coil spring mounted in the driving head or handle of the wrench. The spring is in compression to force a contact ball against an exterior surface of the pawl. Such a conventional structure includes a bore that is drilled into the driving head in order to house the spring and contact ball. So that the spring force is properly directed against the pawl, the bore extends from a cavity in the head radially away from the pawl. Moreover, the pawl must have a specially contoured external surface such that radial spring force imparts a rotational moment to the pawl. Unfortunately, this conventional structure presents manufacturing difficulties that result in costly labor and special equipment. For example, the bore is difficult to drill from the confines of the cavity, and the complex contour of the exterior surface of the pawl requires a machining step using special equipment. Moreover, the bore effectively removes material from a critical stress point where the wrench handle meets the head.


Methods and system to progressively degrade a trial version of software products in various ways so as to permit the user to continue to use the product until the user becomes reliant on the product and becomes so frustrated that the user purchases the product. This approach, it may be noted, is also useful for discouraging illegal use of software without proper licenses. The trial or demonstration version of the software program may degrade in any one or more of a number of ways. For instance, the brightness may fade, the application window may shrink, the font may degrade, features may drop out, the display quality may degrade, the sound quality may diminish, the processing speed may decrease, or the network bandwidth may decrease.

This invention generally relates to methods and systems for selling software applications. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and systems for encouraging users to purchase software applications after being provided with trial or demonstration versions or samples of the applications.
Companies often make programs for evaluation purposes. Such software applications may be run on a computer, kiosk, web-TV, or other device. Often, such applications display text and images in windows on monitors and provide graphical user interfaces with which users interact with the applications. Typical applications include text and image editors, mail systems, web browsers, financial programs, games, drawing programs, music players, and various office application software. The software vendor may send the programs to consumers for free. Consumers can download programs from the Internet or load them on to their computers from a CD, and the consumers can use the programs during a certain period of time.
Most of the time, the programs have expiration dates beyond which consumers cannot use the programs. For example, a user may be able to download a program such as a text editor and use it for one month until the program expires. Close to the end of the expiration period, the program starts to send a warning message to the user, informing the user that he needs to buy the licensed version of the program, otherwise the program will expire. If the user does not buy the program, the demo program will stop working after the evaluation period. Also, the user can buy a software key (typically a code) that will remove the expiration date and allow the program to continue to work.
This approach is often problematic. When the program stops working, the user often decides to find another company that makes a similar program with similar functionality. Often, the person goes back to the vender's web site, again downloads the demo version of the program, and uses it for another month until it too expires, without ever buying the program.
A current challenge to manufacturers is to determine ways to encourage users to buy the trial products. Manufacturers need methods that are more effective than simply suddenly stopping the use of the product.

International Business Machines Corporation


A data recording/reproduction apparatus and method are disclosed, in which a recording medium for digitally recording and reproducing a copyrighted signal is prevented from being illegally duplicated and controlled by a duplication control method conforming with the signal input and the internal functions of the apparatus. An image signal is compressed, the compressed data is converted by a first converter into a format adapted for recording in a recording medium, and the data is recorded by a recording unit in the recording medium. The data recording/reproduction apparatus further comprises a first detection unit for detecting the duplication limiting information embedded in the image signal. Further, the input/output of the image information can be suspended in accordance with the duplication limiting information.

The present invention relates to a recording/reproduction or a reproduction or a recording apparatus for recording and/or reproducing images and audio data or controlling the reproduction or recording, or more in particular to a recording/reproduction or a recording or a reproduction apparatus for controlling the recording/reproduction or reproduction or recording of a recording medium by duplication management information.
The DVD-ROM is a recording medium having a capacity about seven times as large as the CD-ROM. The DVD-ROM can record even movie software as well as the program code for personal computers (PC) by compressing video and audio data. The recording media for recording data on DVD include DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD-RW. A large amount of data can be recorded in these media, and therefore it is necessary to prevent the illegal digital duplication of the movie software or the like as such. Therefore, the technique for preventing the illegal duplication plays an important role for this purpose.
Such techniques include an electronic watermark, the standardization of which is described in "Nikkei Electronics", pp. 31–32, May 18, 1998, published by Nikkei BP Co., Ltd.
Apart from the electronic watermark technique, the technique for preventing the illegal duplication in data exchange between equipment using IEEE1394 is also described in the Mar. 23, 1998 issue of "Nikkei Electronics", pp. 47–53, published by Nikkei BP.
With the devices such as the DVD-RAM drive which includes digital/analog input/output means, however, it is difficult to prevent illegal duplication with these techniques alone. Such techniques are even sometimes easily avoided. Also, data exchange within the personal computer is more complicated, often generating a loophole of duplication control.
In view of this, it is necessary to configure a system using an appropriate combination of a plurality of duplication control techniques including the watermark technique and the IEEE1394 antiduplication technique

Data recording/reproduction apparatus and method


A device and method for reducing crystal formations, which have a range of resonant frequencies, on electrode plates of an electrical battery, is described. A signal generator is connected to the primary winding of a transformer, having primary and secondary windings, so as to deliver a transformed alternating current signal to the secondary winding. A rectifier is connected to the secondary winding to convert the transformed signal to a train of direct current pulses at a frequency within the range of resonant frequencies, and an output circuit is connected to the rectifier to deliver the train of pulses to the battery causing the crystals to crack and redissolve into the battery solution. There is also a provision for adjusting the frequency of the alternating current signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the reconditioning of batteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that when a lead acid battery discharges or remains inactive, lead sulfate forms on the battery's plates. The lead sulfate gradually accumulates, clogging the plates to the point where the battery is no longer usable. The phenomenon of this sulfate crystal growth has been documented and will not be discussed further.
Several devices are currently available to recondition lead acid batteries by delivering a pulse at a given frequency to the battery terminals. Although satisfactory, the conventional devices are generally based on the principle of a DC pulse waveform and, as such, are unable to be adjusted according to certain variations both in the types of batteries being reconditioned and the changes in the capacity of the battery itself during the procedure.
It is an object of the present invention to obviate these problems.


The present invention provides a chemiluminescent composition including an oxalate and a fluorescent material wherein the chemiluminescent composition is mixed with a composition including hydrogen peroxide to induce chemiluminescence. The chemiluminescent composition comprises a solvent for the oxalate and the fluorescent material, which includes an acetyl citrate ester or an organic solvent containing an acetyl citrate ester. As an alternative to dibutyl phthalate which is suspected to be one of endocrine disrupting chemicals, the solvent of the present invention can assure safety to human body while maintaining excellent storage stability and luminescent performance.

A number of inventions concerning a chemiluminescent composition have been made as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. S53-47798. A typical organic solvent used in these inventions is dibutyl phthalate, which is actually employed as a solvent for bar-shaped chemiluminescent devices in the marketplace. Dibutyl phthalate has been selected from various solvents because it assures a sufficient solubility of an oxalate ester and provides an excellent luminescent performance and storage stability. In late years, dibutyl phthalate, however, is suspected to be one of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and some countries have banned or move toward banning the use thereof.


A method and apparatus for providing a utility based revenue stream for a security software subscription at a client computer is provided. In one embodiment, the method for providing a utility based revenue stream for a security software subscription at a client computer comprises analyzing a security activity log based on a utility metric to produce an analysis result and determining a value for the security software subscription based on the analysis result.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to security software, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a utility-based model for generating revenue from security software usage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computing devices use various forms of security software to defend against network-based threats, such as viruses, SPAM, phishing attacks and/or the like. Traditional revenue systems for such security software involve a subscription plan in which a user installs the security software after paying upfront one time license fee. Till the time the security software license is valid, the user receives updates for both, the security software and threat signatures newly identified.
One problem with the conventional revenue systems is that, the fee paid by the user in the subscription plan does not take into account the usage of the security software. In other words, the amount charged to the user for the subscription does not reflect the actual utility or worth of the security software for the user. For example, the user pays the same amount if the security software removed one or hundred viruses.
Moreover, when the license expires, the security software continues to work. Hundreds and thousands of older threat signatures are stored on the user's machine, which are recognized and removed by the old version of the security software. Only latest updates for the security software and threat signatures are not made available to the user. As a result, some users believe that the installed product with its older definitions is good enough and do not see the need to continue paying a subscription fee.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for providing a utility-based revenue stream for security software usage at client computer.

Method and apparatus for providing a utility-based model for security software revenue generation


A watercraft has an engine that is controlled by an electronic control unit and the watercraft includes a security system. The security system includes a portable transmitter unit, and also includes a mounted receiver. The portable unit is waterproof and is buoyant. The portable unit includes a housing of transparent material that allows a user to see whether water has entered the portable unit. The security system has an antenna that provides improved reception between the portable transmitter unit and the mounted receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a control system for controlling a marine engine, and more particularly relates to an improved control system that controls a marine engine using a security system that has various modes of operation and that includes a transmitter and a receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Watercraft have been provided with an automatic control system using a transmitter that can remotely communicate with a receiver on the watercraft to allow an engine of the watercraft to start. Typically, an ID code is applied to identify whether a transmitter is the true key that is accessible to an associated receiver. Unless the system determines that the ID code is true, the person who has tried to use the key is not allowed to start the engine. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-254549 discloses examples of such watercraft systems.
Small watercraft employ an engine to power the vehicle. For example, in a personal watercraft (PWC), a hull of the watercraft typically defines a rider's area above an engine compartment. An internal combustion engine powers a jet propulsion unit that propels the watercraft by discharging water rearward. The engine lies within the engine compartment in front of a tunnel, which is formed on an underside of the hull. At least part of the jet propulsion unit is placed within the tunnel and includes an impeller that is driven by the engine.


A program causes a computer to perform a step 1 of reading a model from a storage apparatus; a step 2 of computing difference equations by replacing variables with numeric values of a time-series that are stored in the storage apparatus; a step 3 of determining ranges of parameters of the model using a quantifier elimination method and a step 4 of verifying numbers of significant figures that show an accuracy of a computation by the determined ranges of parameters of the model.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fitting method of model parameters in various types of systems that are described in, for example, differential equations. More concretely, the present invention relates to a program that verifies and controls accuracy of model parameter computation using quantifier elimination method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the analysis of various types of systems described in, for example, ordinary differential equations, a parameter fitting method of fitting the model parameters and the initial values of differential equations is executed in such a way that the observed values of a time-series become equal to the commutated values of the time-series of a differential equation model. For example, in order to clarify the mechanism of a biochemical reaction, a fitting computation is executed in such a way that the observed values of a time-series and the values computed by a differential equation model are the same, thereby estimating model parameters and initial values.
According to this method, in the first step, the time-series computations are executed at first by a differential equation model using suitable model parameters and suitable initial values. In the second step, model parameters and initial values are estimated in such a way that the results of computation and the observed values of a time-series match with each other. In the third step, the time-series computations are executed by a differential equation model using the estimated model parameters and the estimated initial values. Then, the second and third steps are repeated until the sum of squared residuals among the results of the time-series computations and the observed values of a time-series becomes minimum, or equal to a certain threshold value or less.
As a conventional technology of such a parameter fitting method, there is the following document related to the mechanism analysis system of HIV proteinase.
[Nonpatent Literature 1]
Hermann Georg Holzhutter and Alfredo Colosimo; SIMFIT: a microcomputer software-toolkit for modelistic studies in biochemistry, CABIOS Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 23-28 (1990) (http://www.gepasi.org/gep3tuts.html.)
In this literature, the following steps are executed.    (1) Time-series simulations are executed by a simulator using suitable initial values and suitable initial parameters.    (2) In order to match the results of the simulation with the experimental values, a weighted sum of squared residuals is computed using observed values, the results of simulation and model parameter values by a minimizer and then model parameters are computed in such a way that the computed sum becomes minimum.    (3) Time-series simulations are executed by the simulator using the computed model parameters. At this time, initial values are changed so that the initial values such that the weighted sum of squared residuals computed by the minimizer becomes minimum are detected.    (4) Time-series simulations are executed by the simulator using the model parameters computed in (2) and the initial values detected in (3).    (5) A weighted sum of squared residuals is computed by the minimizer using the observed values, the simulation results and the model parameters and then model parameters for minimizing the value are obtained.    (6) Returning to (2) until the model parameters and the initial values converge up to the predetermined range. In this way, the accuracies of the values of model parameters that are obtained by a fitting computation is discussed using statistic data such as a sum of squared residuals in the conventional technology. Therefore, in the conventional fitting computation, the influence caused by the difference between the accuracy of the time-series computations and that of a fitting computation or the fluctuation among observations is present. Accordingly, there arises a problem such that the accuracy of model parameters or that of initial values that are obtained by the fitting computation cannot be correctly discussed. That is, according to the conventional method, there are the following problems. Firstly, it cannot be distinguished whether the standard deviation of model parameters that is obtained by fitting the observed values of a time-series and the differential equation model is generated by an experimental error or a numerical calculation. Therefore, the accuracy of the obtained values of parameters cannot be discussed. Furthermore, there is no method of easily clarifying the factors of computation accuracy or controlling the accuracy.

Accuracy verification program for model parameter computation using a quantifier elimination method


A carrier for immobilizing lipase is prepared by bonding a silane coupling agent having a carboxylic-ester group to an inorganic carrier. Preferred silane coupling agents are .gamma.-methacryl oxypropyltrimethoxy silane, .gamma.-acetoxypropyltrimethoxy silane or .gamma.-acryloxypropyltrimethoxy silane. The inorganic carrier can be kaolinite, porous glass, bentonite, silica gel, alumina, silica, silica-alumina hydroxy apatite or calcium phosphate gel. Lipase is immobilized by mixing lipase with the inorganic carrier containing the bound silane coupling agent, filtering the resultant mixture and drying the filtered mixture. Functional groups of the lipase are bonded to the carboxylic-ester group of the silane coupling agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to enzyme immobilizing carriers and immobilized lipase which are used as a bioreactor, biosensor, and so on to facilitate various biochemical reactions in an industrial field wherein various enzymes are employed as a biological catalyst.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to execute various biochemical reactions in an industrial field by using an organic catalyst, for example, an enzyme catalyst, many researches and studies on an immobilized enzyme bioreactor and a biosensor have been actively carried out in recent years. On the same occasion, studies on a carrier for immobilizing enzyme; i.e., an enzyme immobilizing carrier, which is applied to these bioreactor and biosensor, have also been developed. This immobilized enzyme bioreactor includes a column which is filled with an organic catalytic material made of an immobilized enzyme carrier. For the carrier, various materials may be used, for example, high molecular organic materials and inorganic materials such as commonly used porous glass, ceramics, and so on.
Although such inorganic materials have some advantages such as a high mechanical strength, and an excellent thermal and chemical stability during a sterilization treatment, they have the disadvantage that they cannot be repeatly used, due to a poor adsorption force for enzymes. Some conventional arts have been proposed to overcome such adisadvantage. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No.55-32357 and No.56-15231 disclose one typical process where an amount of silane coupling agent introduced with reactive organic radicals are combined with an inorganic carrier such as porous glass, alumina, silica, and so on, and then the enzyme's functional groups are reacted with the reactive organic radicals of the silane coupling agent to realize bonding between the inorganic carrier and the enzyme.
As a typical example of such enzyme immobilized in the inorganic carrier (hereinafter, referred to "immobilized enzyme") including the silane coupling agent, carbohydrate-decomposing enzymes such as .alpha.-amylase, glucoamylase, and so on are known. However, since these enzymes have a low activity; i.e., a poor reactivity with starch or other substrates, compared to the enzyme not immobilized in carrier, a great amount of the immobilized enzyme is required to obtain the same level of reactivity in a non-immobilized enzyme. Accordingly, the immobilized enzyme is not adapted for a producing process in an industrial field. In order to overcome this problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-219952 and 4-51894 disclose a novel carrier and method for immobilizing enzyme into the carrier.
On the other hand, one of typical fat splitting enzyme, lipase, has been rapidly and widely used for various techniques in the field of organic synthesis chemistry such as monoester decomposition, ester synthesis, optical resolution of racemic modification by ester exchange reaction, and so on which is like a splitting function on oil and fat. Nevertheless, it has been only studied and developed as an industrial immobilizing method to physically adsorb a high concentrated lipase solution into diatomaceous earth. In order to produce lipase-adsorbed diatomaceous earth, it is necessary to mix the high concentrated solution of coarse enzymic lipase with diatomaceous earth and then dry the mixture. However, the physical adsorbability of the diatomaceous earth is limited and its adsorbing force is relatively low owing to the physical adsorption. Accordingly, the activity of the lipase-adsorbed diatomaceous earth will gradually decrease by repetition.
Primarily, a main object of using the immobilized enzyme is that although the enzyme is expensive, it can be repeatly used without disposal after only one usage, therefor decreasing production cost and the reacted product is free from any remaining enzymes. In other words, it is desirable to realize a specific immobilized enzyme which can be repeatly used for a long period with the smallest amount possible. As the activity of immobilized enzyme is increased, a scale of reaction apparatus becomes smaller thereby providing the merit of lowering its initial and running cost.

Inorganic carrier containing bound silane coupling agent having carboxylic-ester group for immobilizing lipase