A radiation image detector that includes a radiation image recording medium capable of recording a radiation image and detects the signal outputted from the medium in accordance with the radiation image recorded on the medium, in which a real-time signal is obtaining with a simple and low-cost structure of the detector while the medium is being exposed to radiation. The charges generated in the photoconductive layer and stored in the storage section are detected by the first detecting section with the use of the first and second striped electrodes, each made of a plurality of wire electrodes, and the real-time signal while the medium is being exposed to radiation is obtained by the second detecting section connected to the second striped electrode by detecting the current flowing through the second striped electrode in accordance with the amount of charges generated in the photoconductive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation image detector that includes a radiation image recording medium capable of recording a radiation image carried by radiation when exposed thereto and detects signals outputted from the medium in accordance with the radiation image recorded thereon. More specifically, it relates to a radiation image detector for detecting doses of radiation while the radiation image recording described above is being performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A radiation image detector that includes a radiation image recording medium capable of recording a radiation image by storing electric charges into the storage section of the medium in accordance with the dose of radiation such as X-ray transmitted through-a subject and detects signals outputted from the medium in accordance with the radiation image recorded thereon is widely used including, for example, in obtaining medical radiation images, and various types of detectors are proposed.
One such detector is proposed as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-284056. The radiation image detector described above has a radiation image recording medium comprising a set of layers layered in the order of a first electrode layer which is transparent to radiation; a recording photoconductive layer that generates charges when exposed to radiation; a charge transport layer that acts as substantially an insulator against the charges of latent image and as substantially a conductor for the transport charges having the opposite polarity to that of the charges of latent image; a reading photoconductive layer that generates electric charges when exposed to reading light; and a second electrode layer composed of first wire electrodes which are transparent to reading light and extending linearly, and second wire electrodes which are opaque to reading light and extending linearly, the first and second wire electrodes being disposed alternately in parallel with each other. In the radiation image detector described above, the radiation is emitted on the detector from the side of the first electrode, and the radiation image is recorded by storing electric charges of the latent image in accordance with the dose of radiation emitted thereon at the interface between the recording photoconductive layer and charge transport layer. Thereafter, the radiation image stored in the detector is read out as electrical signals by emitting reading light from the side of the second electrode and detecting the currents generated in the detector, that is, when the reading light is emitted on the detector, it passes through the first wire electrodes and illuminates the reading photoconductive layer generating charge pairs therein, and either negative or positive charges of the charge pairs couple with the charges of the latent image stored in the storage section, while the charges having the other polarity are detected by a current detecting amplifier connected to the first or second wire electrode, thereby the radiation image stored in the detector is read out as electrical signals.
Here, when obtaining a radiation image using the radiation image detector described above, the dose of radiation is controlled in accordance with the region of the human body to be imaged, the type of radiation source used, and the like, thereby the dose of radiation is controlled to an amount which is not harmful to human body, yet sufficient to obtain a radiation image of appropriate quality for diagnosis. In order to implement such dose control described above, the phototimer has conventionally been used. The phototimer is disposed between the radiation image detector and the subject to be imaged so that a gap is left therebetween. This gap causes the radiation image obtained by the radiation image detector to be enlarged, so that the size of the subject on the radiation image may differ from the actual size of the subject. This discrepancy in the size is undesirable in obtaining ordinary radiation images for medical diagnosis and making treatment plans using the radiation image other than the case in which the radiation image is enlarged intentionally. Further, the use of such radiation image for the geometrical measurement of the subject may cause inaccurate results. Still further, the phototimer is a device that compares the dose of radiation detected with a predetermined threshold level, and outputs a signal for terminating the radiation when the detected dose of radiation exceeds the threshold level. It has, however, different sensitivities to different radiation sources and their quality so that the threshold level needs to be adjusted according to the type of radiation source and its quality.
In this connection, certain methods for obtaining the signal for controlling the dose of radiation without using the aforementioned phototimer are proposed as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,441 and U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20010806187. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,441 proposes a method for obtaining the dose control signal described above for the radiation image detector of so-called a direct conversion type that converts radiation image carried by radiation to electric charges using a photoconductive layer made of, for example, amorphous Selenium (a-Se) for detecting the radiation image, in which microplates, each corresponding to each pixel, for collecting the charges produced in the manner described above are divided into a real-time signal electrode for reading out the real-time signal corresponding to the charges generated in the photoconductive layer while it is being exposed to the radiation and a radiation image signal electrode for reading out the accumulated radiation image signal after the radiation image recording is completed, and the dose control signal for controlling the dose of radiation is outputted based on the real-time signal read out from the real-time signal electrode. U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20010806187 proposes a method for obtaining the dose control signal for the radiation image detector of direct conversion type as in the case described above, in which an electrostatic sensing electrode is provided separately, and the dose control signal is outputted based on the real-time signal detected by the electrostatic sensing electrode.
However, in the method in which the microplates provided on a pixel-by-pixel basis are divided as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,441, the structure of the detector becomes complicated and requires a greater number of interconnections, which requires a complicated manufacturing process and a higher manufacturing cost. Further, it has a switching circuit for switching the divided electrodes so that the image quality may be degraded due to the switching noise. The method described in U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20010806187 requires an electrostatic sensing electrode separately as described above, so that an additional cost for that is required. Further, the electrode is placed on the entrance side of the radiation so that the image of the electrode may easily be added to the radiation image. Mammographic images, in particular, are affected greatly by this added image of the electrode since they are usually obtained with a small dose of radiation.


A method wherein subjects having or at risk for having hyperopia, presbyopia or astigmatism are administered a composition having an effective amount of ocular antioxidants, including specifically macular pigments, to prevent, treat, or delay the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The present invention relates generally to a method of early diagnosis and treatment of ocular disorders and, more specifically, to the early diagnosis of subjects at risk for age-related macular degeneration and the administration of ocular antioxidants to subjects having hyperopia, presbyopia or astigmatism.
Hyperopia, presbyopia, and astigmatism are visual or ocular disorders that affect a significant percentage of the human population worldwide.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease associated with aging that gradually destroys sharp, central vision. The disease attacks the macula, the central area of the retina that allows a person to see fine detail. Individuals can lose all but the outermost peripheral vision, leaving dim images or black holes at the center of vision. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss and legal blindness in adults over 60 in the United States. An inverse relationship exists between the incidence of AMD and the amount of macular pigments, principally lutein and zeaxanthin, in the macula.


A location based Quality Assurance System and a method to collect data in work spaces in terms of locations, environment conditions, time, workers and behaviours, thru the wireless interactions (M2M) of located and installed sensors on sites and PPE with detachable or built-in sensors, which data wirelessly transmitted to remote servers for big data analysis in order to enhance effective communication and management of safety, work flow, work forces, worker attendance and project in work spaces.

In large-scale real estate projects, there are hundreds of defects in construction work and existing buildings that need to be corrected, and the elimination of such defects needs to be monitored systematically.
Defects have been collected and documented in most construction and real estate enterprises with the aid of conventional media such as dictaphones, photos and Excel files or even by means of especially developed access databases or manual notes on printed CAD drawings. Thousands of photos and descriptions of defects as well as their gradual elimination have to be manually collated and systematised.
This conventional procedure is very time-consuming and the risk of errors is very high. One quickly loses track of the overall situation and the result may be documentation that is not legally compliant.
Then there is the question of where the defects were recorded. Localization/location tagging is often difficult.
In addition, there will exist one or more danger zones in a work place or space, the indication and/or management of the same is also a serious but hard to solve problem. In general, complete elimination of danger zones is not possible due to the nature of activities being conducted, thereby there is a need to manage the danger zones by alerting/restricting unauthorized persons to approach or access the danger zone, and only authorized workers/personnel with competent credentials and carried with suitable equipment should be allowed to approach or access the same during a predetermined period.


The invention relates to a coil component used as a major component of a common mode choke coil or transformer and a method of manufacturing the same, and the invention is aimed at providing a compact and low-profile coil component having a high common mode filtering property and a method of manufacturing the same. A common mode choke coil has a configuration in which a first insulation film, a first coil conductor, a second insulation film, a second coil conductor and a third insulation film are stacked in the order listed between magnetic substrates provided opposite to each other. A top portion of the first coil conductor is formed in a convex shape. The second insulation film is formed so as to follow the shape of the top portion of the first coil conductor. A bottom portion of the second coil conductor is formed in a concave shape such that it follows the shape of a top portion of the second insulation film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coil component used as a major component of a common mode choke coil or a transformer and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reductions in the size of electronic apparatus such as personal computers and portable phones have resulted in demand for reductions in the size and thickness (height) of electronic components such as coils and capacitors mounted on internal circuits of electronic apparatus.
However, a wire-wound coil obtained by winding a copper wire around a ferrite core has a problem in that it is difficult to make compact because of structural limitations. Under the circumstance, research and development is active on chip-type coil components which can be provided with a small size and a small height. Known chip-type coil components include multi-layer type coil components provided by forming coil conductor patterns on surfaces of magnetic sheet made of ferrite and stacking the magnetic sheets and thin film type coil components provided by forming insulation films and coil conductors constituted by metal thin films alternately using thin film forming techniques.
Common mode choke coils are known as thin film type coil components. FIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views of common mode choke coils 51 taken along a plane including center axes of coil conductors 59 and 61. FIG. 7A shows a common mode choke coil 51 having coil conductors 59 and 61 which are curved in the form of a convex in a top portion thereof when viewed in the coil section. FIG. 7B shows a common mode choke coil 51 having coil conductors 59 and 61 having a rectangular coil section. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the common mode choke coils 51 have an insulation layer 57 formed by stacking an insulation film between ferrite substrates (magnetic substrates) 53 and 55 which are provided opposite to each other. The coil conductors 59 and 61, which are provided opposite to each other with the insulation film interposed between them and formed in a spiral configuration, are embedded in the insulation layer 57. The insulation layer 57 and the coil conductors 59 and 61 are formed in the order listed using thin film forming techniques.
An opening 63 is formed on an inner circumferential side of the spiral coil conductors 59 and 61 by removing the insulation layer 57. An opening 65 is formed on an outer circumferential side of the spiral coil conductors 59 and 61 by removing the insulation layer 57. Magnetic layers 67 are formed to fill the openings 63 and 65. Further, a bonding layer 69 is formed on the magnetic layers 67 and the insulation layer 57 to bond a magnetic substrate 55.
When the coil conductors 59 and 61 are energized, a magnetic path M is formed such that it passes through the magnetic substrate 53, the magnetic layer 67 in the opening 63, the bonding layer 69, the magnetic substrate 55, the bonding layer 69 again, and the magnetic layer 67 in the opening 65 in the section including the center axes of the coil conductors 59 and 61. The bonding layer 69 is a film having a thickness on the order of a few μm, although it is non-magnetic. Therefore, substantially no leakage of the magnetic flux occurs in this part, and the magnetic path M may be regarded as a substantially closed path.
In order to improve the common mode filtering property of the common mode choke coil 51, strong magnetic coupling must be achieved between the coil conductors 59 and 61. To increase the strength of the magnetic coupling between the coil conductors 59 and 61, it is necessary to increase the numbers of turns of the coil conductors 59 and 61, to reduce the magnetic path length of the magnetic path M, and to space the layers of the coil conductors 59 and 61 at a small and uniform distance. The numbers of turns of the coil conductors 59 and 61 may be increased in a limited region by reducing the conductor width of the coil conductors 59 and 61 and intervals between adjoining parts of the conductors to reduce the pitches of the conductors. However, a reduction in the conductor width results in an increase in the resistance of the coil conductors 59 and 61. Under the circumstance, the ratio between the height and width (aspect ratio) of the coil sections of the coil conductors 59 and 61 may be increased to maintain the areas of the coil sections substantially constant, so that the resistance will not increase.                Patent Document 1: JP-A-2003-133135        Patent Document 2: JP-A-11-54326        Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-307372        Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent No. 2011372
However, as shown in FIG. 7A, when coil conductors 59 and 61 having an aspect ratio of 0.5 or more are formed using an electro-plating process, the top surfaces of the coil conductors 59 and 61 are curved in the form of convexes, and the bottom surfaces have a planar shape. Therefore, the inter-layer distance between the coil conductors 59 and 61 is shortest at the convex parts of the top surfaces of the coil conductors 59 and gradually increases toward both sides of the convexes. As a result, a capacitance (stray capacitance) between the coil conductors 59 and 61 decreases to reduce the degree of magnetic coupling between the coil conductors 59 and 61, which results in a problem in that the common mode filter property is degraded.
A method for suppressing the reduction in the degree of magnetic coupling attributable to the shape of the top surfaces of the coils is to planarize the top surfaces of the coil conductors 59 and 61 using a chemical mechanical polishing process (CMP process) to make the coil sections rectangular, as shown in FIG. 7B. In this case, however, the manufacturing cost is increased because of the need for the step for planarizing the top surfaces of the coil conductors 59 and 61.
As thus described, when it is attempted to improve the degree of magnetic coupling by increasing the numbers of turns of the coil conductors 59 and 61 or decreasing the magnetic path length for the purpose of improving common mode filtering property, the capacitance generated between the coil conductors 59 and 61 decreases to hinder a sufficient improvement of the degree of magnetic coupling. When the top surfaces of the coil conductors 59 and 61 are planarized to increase the capacitance of coupling between the coil conductors 59 and 61, the number of manufacturing steps increases, and this can result in the problem of an increase in the cost of the common mode choke coil 51 through an increase in the manufacturing cost.

Coil component and method of manufacturing the same


A method delaying a pulse domain signal using a time encoder circuit and a time encoder based beamformer method and apparatus for use in receiving and/or transmitting applications.

This invention relates to a novel chip-scale analog beam forming engine for receive array applications consisting of IC chips. The beam forming engine is based upon HRL's Asynchronous Pulse Processor (APP) circuit technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,592,939 entitled "Digital domain to pulse domain time encoder" the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. APP involves using Pulse domain processing with time encoders. Pulse processing for other applications is described in other issued US patents assigned to the assignee of the present application, which include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,403,144; 7,515,084; 7,724,168; and 7,822,698 for other applications in: frequency filtering (implementing a filter with a given frequency transfer characteristic without beam forming); Analog-to-Digital-Conversion (converting a single analog signal into the digital domain without beam forming); implementation of linear programming circuits (for solving a specific class optimization mathematical problems without beam forming); and implementation of nonlinear processors (for realizing neural networks without beam forming). U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,403,144; 7,515,084; 7,724,168; and 7,822,698 are all incorporated herein by reference,
This invention enables ultra wide bandwidth, low cost and low complexity receive Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA) that are not practical using prior art technologies. Key features of proposed APP-based beam forming engine is that it (1) is scalable up to millimeter wave frequencies and up to extremely large size two- and three-dimensional arrays with arbitrary numbers of independent beams, (2) enables ultra wideband operations with wide instantaneous bandwidth, (3) is affordable since it enables potentially low cost RF CMOS, chip-scale highly modular architectures, (4) is easily extendable to transmit arrays, and (5) provides high Dynamic Range (DR) and linearity operation.
Prior art receive AESA technologies include (a) traditional analog beam forming approaches that utilize conventional phase shifting and time delay devices, (b) element level digital beam forming approaches that utilize a high DR and wide bandwidth Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) in each antenna element and (c) subarray level digital beam forming approaches that utilize analog beam forming approaches for the subarrays and use only one ADC for each subarray. Comparison of above array technologies along with the disclosed APP based beam forming approach with respect to required control complexity, Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) of ADCs, dispersion loss and bandwidth are summarized in Table I below:
TABLE IARRAY CONTROLSFDR & #DISPERSION LOSS &ARCHITECTURECOMPLEXITYOF ADCsBANDWIDTH (BW)Traditional AnalogMediumHigh SFDRHigh LossSmall #of ADCsNarrow BWElement Level Digital HighHigh SFDRHigh LossLarge #of ADCsWide BW(No process gain in SFDR)Subarray Level DigitalHighHigh SFDRHigh LossMedium #of ADCsWide BW(No process gain in SFDR)
Traditional analog beam forming approaches utilize passive or active phase shifters, photonics beam forming approaches that are based upon photonics true time delay elements i.e., long optical cables distributed across the array, and switched transmission lines.
Passive or active phase shifters are inherently narrowband devices that cannot be used for wide bandwidth operation. Also, they are physically large and lossy devices.
In photonics beam forming approach the RF input signals from the antenna elements first need to be converted into optical signals where the beam forming operation is achieved by the delay operation in the optical cables. Then the time delayed optical signals need to be transformed back from optical to RF and need to be digitized and further processed. The RF-to-optical and optical-to-RF transformations are typically lossy processes that require power hungry optical modulator and demodulator devices. Also, a large number of long and precisely cut optical cables are required to obtain fine granulites in the beam angle resolution. While the photonics beam forming based AESA can have wide operational bandwith, its complexity for even medium size arrays is prohibitive. The switched transmission lines beam forming approach requires fast, wide bandwidth and low loss switching devices along with wide bandwith, low loss and long transmission lines. Unfortunately, neither reliable switching devices nor low cost low loss transmission line technology exist today. The RF MEMS switch technology that could provide low loss wide bandwidth RF switches is still in its infancy. Superconductor technology could provide low loss wide bandwidth transmission lines but the cost is prohibitive for all practical applications.
Element level digital beam forming approaches of the prior art utilize a high DR and wide bandwidth Analog-to-Digital Conventer (ADC) in each antenna element. No wideband and high DR (SFDR) ADCs are known by the inventors hereof to exist which makes that prior art approach impractical. No ADCs are required at the antenna elements of the beamformer of the invention.

Time encoded circuits and methods and a time encoder based beamformer for use in receiving and transmitting applications


A temperature sensing system comprises a thermowell, a sensor, and a solid insert. The thermowell extends into a sensing region of a fluid flow. The sensor has a probe housed in the thermowell to sense a temperature in the sensing region. The solid insert is configured to removably support the probe within the thermowell and to provide a thermal contact between the thermowell and the probe.

The present invention relates generally to process sensor systems, and more particularly to thermowell sensor housings for fluid sensors in industrial process monitoring systems.
Industrial process transmitters and sensor assemblies are used to sense various characteristics of process fluids flowing through a conduit or contained within a vessel, and to transmit information about those process characteristics to a control, monitoring and/or safety system remotely located from the process measurement location. Each process transmitter may be connected to one or more sensor and/or actuator assembly. Sensor assemblies may sense a variety of process parameters, including pressure, temperature, pH or flow rate. Process transmitters are typically electrically connected sensor assemblies via sensor wires used to transmit current- or voltage-based analog sensor output signals reflecting at least one such process parameter. Each transmitter reads these sensor output signals, and converts them into a digital measurement of the process parameter. Finally, the transmitter sends the information to the control system.
Sensor assemblies for sensing process fluid temperatures and changes in temperature commonly include at least one temperature sensor housed in a thermowell extending into the fluid flow. Thermowells are designed to be in physical contact with process fluids and to shield the temperature sensor from physical damage caused by direct contact with the fluid, e.g., impacts, corrosion, etc., while efficiently conducting heat between the fluid and the temperature sensor. Thermowells may sometimes vibrate as a result of process fluid flow, and tend to act as thermal barriers that lengthen sensor response times by increasing the thermal mass of the sensor assembly. Some sensor assemblies have included damping fluids such as mineral oils to improve thermal conduction between thermowells and temperature sensors, and to protect alleviate thermowell vibration.


The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an OLED display substrate, including a step of forming a pattern of a pixel definition layer on a substrate through a patterning process. A bottom wall of the pixel definition layer is formed on the substrate, a top wall of the pixel definition layer is arranged parallel to the bottom wall, and a side wall of the pixel definition layer is angled relative to the top wall at an acute angle.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of display technology, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display substrate and an OLED display substrate.
Due to such advantages as self-luminescence, rapid response, wide viewing angle, and the capability of being formed on a flexible substrate, OLEDs have been widely used in high-performance displays.
In the related art, an organic light-emitting layer of an OLED display panel may be formed through an ink-jet printing process. During the formation of the organic light-emitting layer, a light-emitting material climbs upward along a side wall of a pixel definition layer, so the resultant organic light-emitting layer is of a structure thick at a periphery and thin in the middle. Uneven brightness can consequently occur in a pixel region, adversely affecting the performance of the display. Conventional methods for manufacturing OLED display panels tend to be complex, are less effective at suppressing the climbing of the light-emitting material along the side wall of the pixel definition layer.

Organic light-emitting diode display substrate and method for manufacturing the same


A security composition for use with an ink composition including diphenyl guanidine and acrylic resin. The ink composition may further include a glycol ether and a plasticizer and can be printed on paper, for example in the word "VOID". If bleach is used to attempt to alter the document, the initially colorless ink will form a colored image in the shapes or letters printed on the paper. The ink composition is resistant to leaching upon contact with, for example, water.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a leach resistant CHLOROSTAIN ink composition. The invention also relates to the use of the leach resistant ink as a security ink, i.e., for application to a document to prevent alteration of information on the document. The invention further relates to a method of forming a document having the security ink thereon.
2. Description of The Prior Art
CHLOROSTAIN-based security inks are initially colorless inks which are printed on a document, for example in the word "VOID". If bleach or some other oxidizing agent is used in an attempt to alter the document, the colorless ink forms a colored image in the shapes or letters printed on the paper.
CHLOROSTAIN-based security inks suffer from the problem that unimaged CHLOROSTAIN can be easily washed out with water. Some government jurisdictions have begun requiring that CHLOROSTAIN security features be water resistant in the unimaged state for up to one hour.
The use of benzothiazole compounds such as CHLOROSTAIN OR (Mobay Corp. Pittsburgh, Pa.) in ink compositions to prevent document alteration is known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,719 to McElligott et al. discloses a CHLOROSTAIN OR-based security ink. However, McElligott et al., like other known CHLOROSTAIN-based security inks, suffers from the problem that the ink is not water resistant and can be washed out upon contact with water.
Recently, a security ink using N-N-diphenylguanidine (Tradename: CHLOROSTAIN BR, by Mobay Corp.) has been disclosed that provides improved water resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,925 to Dotson discloses a leach resistant security ink that includes CHLOROSTAIN BR. However, the security ink disclosed by Dotson suffers from several drawbacks. The ink composition requires the use of a complexing agent, such as glucose, sucrose, sorbitol and the like, to provide resistance to leaching. The ink disclosed in Dotson further requires the use of a separate fixing agent and fixing step to bind the ink composition to the document substrate. The separate fixing step requires either two passes through a printing or coating head or two units on the press or coater for this ink alone while the ink of the present invention only requires one print station. Further, the carrier liquid of Dotson is either alcohol, which is flammable, and therefore potentially dangerous, or water, which may distort the paper and will require drying. Further, the two step Dotson operation will either limit the other printing that can be done in one pass or will raise the cost if another printing or coating unit is added or if the paper is run through twice.
An object of the present invention is to provide a security composition that can be applied to a document to prevent unauthorized alteration of the document by the use of oxidizing agents.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink composition that, while initially colorless, changes color upon contact with oxidizing agents and additionally, can not be easily leached out with water.
Another object of the invention is to provide a leach resistant ink composition which does not require the use of a complexing agent.
A further object of the invention is to provide a document protected against alteration by use of a security ink composition, which composition can be applied to the document without a fixing agent or a fixing step.

Water resistant security ink composition


A dishwasher comprising at least one partial program step “drying” in which air from a washing container of the dishwasher and/or ambient air is directed through a sorption column with reversibly dehydratable material into the washing container by a fan, and humidity is removed from the air when the same is directed therethrough. The fan is operated at different rotational speeds in accordance with a main controller of the dishwasher in order to influence the adsorption process.

The invention relates to a dishwasher with a sorption drying device. The invention further relates to a method for operating a dishwasher with at least one partial step "drying", in which air from a washing container of the dishwasher and/or ambient air is in this partial program step directed through a sorption column with reversibly dehydratable material into the washing container by a fan, and humidity is removed from the air when the same is directed therethrough.
Conventional dishwashers have, as is well known, a washing process whose programmed sequence consists of at least one partial program step "pre-wash", a partial program step "cleaning", at least one partial program step "clear washing and a partial program step "drying". To increase the cleaning effect, the washing bleach is in this case heated before or during a partial program step. The washing bleach is normally heated by electrical heating devices. Different drying systems are known for drying the items to be washed in a dishwasher.
For example, DE 20 16 831 discloses a dishwasher of the type already mentioned, in which the air is directed from the washing container through a sealable opening in the wall of the washing container on reversibly dehydratable material, and from there out trough an opening. The desorption of the reversibly dehydratable material takes place during the stationary phase of the appliance, the water vapour formed thereby being directed out through the opening. The dishwasher described is disadvantageous from the energy viewpoint because the regeneration of the reversibly dehydratable material takes place during a stationary phase of the appliance and therefore at a time when none of the partial program steps described above is being carried out. A further disadvantage consists in the fact that damage to the surrounding kitchen furniture by the discharge of the water vapour formed during the regeneration of the reversibly dehydratable material to the outside cannot be ruled out. Here the regeneration is associated with an additional energy requirement which is added to the energy required during the partial program steps.
In order to minimise the energy expenditure when a dishwasher is operated, a dishwasher with a washing container and devices for washing cutlery and dishes by means of a washing bleach is known from DE 103 53 774.0 of the applicant, which dishwasher has a sorption column connected in an air conducting manner to the washing container and containing reversibly dehydratable material, where on the one hand the sorption column is for drying the cutlery and dishes and on the other hand the thermal energy introduced for desorption of the sorption column is used to heat at least partially the washing bleach and/or the cutlery and dishes in the washing container.
To solve the same problem DE 103 53 775.9 of the applicant proposes guiding air from a washing container and/or from ambient air through a sorption column and into the washing container for operating an appliance in the at least one partial program step "drying", the sorption column containing reversibly dehydratable material and removing humidity from the air when it is directed through it.
Because of the use of reversibly dehydratable material with a hygroscopic property, e.g. zeolith, heating of the items to be treated is no longer normally necessary in the partial program step preceding the partial program step "drying". This allows a considerable saving in energy.
EP 0 358 279 B1 discloses a device for drying cutlery and dishes in a domestic dishwasher in which the washing bleach is heated by a heater arranged outside the washing container, preferably an electric geyser, a largely closed drying system being provided in which air circulates from the washing container via a drying device that can be regenerated by heating and from this back into the washing container. In this case the drying device consists of a drying container in thermal contact with the heater, which container is filled with a drying agent adsorbing the humidity. The connection of the drying container to the heater that is provided in any case for heating the washing bleach means that the drying device is operational immediately after the washing process. Here the drying agent is applied at least partially as a jacket around the heating elements of the heater so that the drying agent can be heated in the drying container during each heating process and can therefore be dried.
The drying container is designed as a double-walled hollow cylinder in which the drying material is stored. The inlet and outlet opening for connection to the closed air system is arranged in a diagonally opposing configuration. The disadvantage of this is a relatively high flow resistance, with the result that the fan provided for promoting the air flow must be operated at very high power. This has a negative effect on noise development and energy consumption.
Because of the structural design of the sorption drying device, which requires inhomogeneous introduction of heat into the drying material, the desorption is time consuming and may also result in local overheating of the drying agent and hence irreversible damage. Desorption is also difficult because the heater is arranged in the centre of the double-walled hollow cylinder and radial propagation of the heat to the drying agent located close to the outer hollow cylinder wall is hardly possible due to the air flowing axially past it.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dishwasher comprising a sorption drying device, and method for the operation thereof


In a solid state magnetic memory device wherein the information storing region of a Bloch line memory device using Bloch lines generated in magnetic domain walls as information carriers is covered with a magnetic material film having stripe domains perpendicular to the magnetic domain walls, the information storing position is determined by the stripe domains and a memory density of more than several tens giga bits per cm.sup.2 can be realized.

The present invention relates to a magnetic memory device, particularly to a solid state magnetic memory device which is suited to a miniature mass storage memory device.
In the recent information-oriented society, each individual handles an enormous amount of information. There is an increasing demand for high density solid state storage elements as memory devices as miniature information related equipment for processing such information. Magnetic bubble memory and Bloch line memory are well-known solid state magnetic memories. The Bloch line memory, as indicated in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-101092, has a feature that the memory density is higher by about 2 digits than that of the magnetic bubble memory because it stores information in a micro magnetization structure (Bloch line pair). When the memory density is increased, much information can be stored in a limited area, so that a memory device which is economical and easy to operate can be realized.
However, it is known that it is difficult to increase the memory density of the Bloch line memory device, which can be increased most, to more than 1 giga bits per cm.sup.2. It is due to the structure of the conventional Bloch line memory device. This problem will be described with reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b.
FIG. 2a is a plan view of the information storing region of the conventional Bloch line memory. The information storing region comprises magnetic garnet films and a pattern group for determining the information storing position, which is called Bit Pattern 4, formed on the film. Magnetic domain walls 3 (a magnetization transition region which exists on the boundary between the magnetic domains) are provided almost perpendicularly to the bit pattern 4, and information, which is set to 1 or 0 in correspondence with the presence or absence of a micro magnetization structure formed on each magnetic domain wall which is called a Bloch line pair 2 (schematically indicated by arrows in the same way as with conventional patents), is stored. The bit pattern 4 comprises a magnetic material and others, and has a function for determining the stable position of each Bloch line pair by the interaction of the pattern strain field and the Bloch line pair. FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of this status. FIG. 2b shows the shape of a potential well formed by the the interaction of the strain field and the Bloch line pair. The potential well periodically determines the stable position of the Bloch line pair.
The Bloch line memory moves each Bloch line pair to a predetermined position for input or output of information, converts the existence of the Bloch line pair to the existence of a bubble domain which can be read, or reversely converts the existence of the bubble domain to the existence of a Bloch line pair. This shift (also called propagation) of the Bloch line pairs is important for realizing the memory operation.
The shift of the Bloch line pairs can be realized by the force (acted in the tangential direction of each magnetic domain wall) generated by externally applying a pulsed magnetic field. By adjusting this force and the force for determining the Bloch line pair position, the Bloch line pair can be shifted to the position determination region of the neighboring bit pattern only when a pulsed magnetic field is externally applied. By doing this, the propagation function necessary of the memory operation can be realized.
The conventional Bloch line memory requires a bit pattern 4 which has the shape shown in FIG. 2a because it stores information. Since the bit pattern 4 comprises continuous simple rectangular patterns, it has been considered that the bit pattern 4 can be easily formed by the so-called lithographic technique using the optical means. As the memory density increases, however, the bit pattern size decreases to less than 1 micron and it becomes difficult to form the bit pattern 4 due to the optical resolution limit. To solve this problem, the X-ray lithography or the electron beam lithography which has a high resolution is required. The X-ray lithography or the electron beam lithography generally requires expensive equipment. Therefore, it is difficult to install such equipment so as to reduce the device production cost. Accordingly, the conventional method produces only solid state magnetic memories with a memory density of 10 Mb per cm.sup.2 using bit patterns of more than 1 micron.


A method of treating a T-cell mediated disease in a subject by administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody or fragment thereof that specifically binds to CD6 is described. Humanized antibodies useful for the method are also described.

CD6 is primarily expressed on T cells. Kamoun et al., J Immunol 127: 987-991 (1981). Results from previous in vitro studies using different CD6-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are contradictory, suggesting that CD6 can either stimulate or suppress T-cell activation. Bott et al., Int Immunol 5: 783-792 (1993); Singer et al., Immunology 88: 537-543 (1996). CD6 has also long been proposed as a potential target for therapy of autoimmune diseases, and despite the lack of clear understanding of CD6's function, recently a humanized mAb against CD6 has been approved for treating psoriasis in India. Jayaraman, K., Nature Biotechnology 31: 1062-1063 (2013). However, historically, in the United States, the first wave of programs aimed at using CD6-targeted reagents in treating human diseases was dropped or slowed, due in part to the lack of in vivo data to confirm the in vitro and ex vivo studies and to the absence of CD6 gene engineered animals to test CD6-targeted reagents in vivo. Pinto, M. & Carmo, A. M., BioDrugs: clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy 27: 191-202 (2013). So far, there is only one report on in vivo studies of CD6 using genetically engineered animals (Orta-Mascaró, M. et al. J Exp Med 213(8): 1387-1397 (2016)), and the potential role of CD6 in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains elusive. Recent genomic wide association studies from several groups identified CD6 as a risk gene for MS (De Jager et al., Nat Genet 41: 776-782 (2009); Heap et al., Hum Mol Genet 19: 122-134 (2010)), arguing a significant role of CD6 in the pathogenesis of MS.

CD6 antibody for treatment of T-cell mediated diseases or disorders

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


Method and apparatus for producing stereoscopic images for motion picture or TV using a single sensor or camera and a single lens. In carrying out the method of the invention, the camera lens is caused to rotate about an axis defined by the optical path of the incoming image rays. The apex of the cone is defined by the object being rendered. The base of the cone is defined by the image sensor portion of the camera and its circular path remains unchanged during an image rendering session. The lens of the camera, on the other hand, travels in a smaller circular path and the circumference of the path of travel of the lens is increased or decreased depending on the distance from the image to the lens and can change during the image rendering session. Apparatus comprises a frame which is driven by an electro mechanical drive mechanism for moving a camera support body through a conical path. The drive mechanism functions to drive the frame for moving a first portion of the camera support body through a circular path which remains generally constant during an image rendering session and a second portion of the camera support body through a smaller circular path which is determined by the distance from the lens to the image which is at the apex of the cone.

Systems for producing stereoscopic images, that is images which appear to have depth when viewed generally consist of a method and/or apparatus for creating two images which are recorded from different perspectives so that when displayed one eye sees one perspective of the image and the other eye sees a different perspective of the image. Most commonly this is accomplished by the utilization of two or more cameras which are spaced apart and which record an image from different perspectives. The images form each camera are then disposed side by side, such as on film or on a cathode ray tube. Means, such as polarized or photopic/scotopic glasses, special screens or special apparatus for timing the display of the left and right images, are provided so that the left eye sees only one image and the right eye sees only the other image while to the viewer the image appears to have depth. An example of such a system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,738 issued Jan. 8, 1974 to Howard Natter. The subject matter of the '738 patent relates to the production of stereoscopic video images employing an image displacer which creates two images as viewed from different perspectives. As an alternative, Natter may employ two spaced apart video cameras to create two images of the scene. Special headgear having spaced apart viewing windows so that only one eye can view one image is required for viewing the stereoscopic images. The system relies heavily on the fact that the images must be perfectly synchronized when 12 shot and when viewed to avoid image deterioration.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,316, issued Dec. 1, 1981 to Robert McElven, discloses a two-camera system for recording left and right perspectives of a scene. The images are combined on a film strip in a sequence of left and right views with non-moving parts of the scene superimposed. In this manner stereoscopic images on a two dimensional surface can be seen with the unaided eye. As an alternative, a single camera having a shutter that alternately records left and right perspectives of the scene can be used.
Other systems employing several cameras or optical means for creating left and right image perspectives which are then displayed alternatively to create a stereoscopic effect are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,933, issued May 17, 1966 to H. E. Beste; U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,226, issued Jun. 11, 1985 to Lipton, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,642, issued Aug. 25, 1992 to H. Sudo; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,750 issued Jun. 14, 1988 to M. Robinson.
Another method for producing stereoscopic images on a two dimensional display involves moving the camera and image with respect to one another to produce stereoscopically related images. These images can be displayed sequentially to provide a stereoscopic image without the aid of a viewing device. Alternatively, a viewing device can be used which, in effect, causes the left eye to see a left perspective and the right eye to see a right perspective of the image. These systems allow for the use of a single camera. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,024, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to McLauren et al., a single camera is mounted on a moving the platform and the stereoscopically related images are presented alternately to the viewer so that the resulting image is perceived by the viewer as having depth. No special viewing device or glasses is required. U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,327, issued Jun. 28, 1988 to Thomas Lippert, also employs a single camera on a horizontally moving platform for producing left and right perspectives of an image as the camera moves. The image may be displayed as separate frames for the left and right eye to provide depth to the image. The images may be separated by differences in polarity of light or presented sequentially to the left and right eye of the viewer.
As an alternative to moving a camera with respect to the image, moving mirrors can be utilized to essentially move the image with respect to the lens so that alternate perspectives of the image are recorded. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,159, issued Feb. 2, 1988 to Donald Imsand, combines a reference camera and a moving dynamic camera to produce stereoscopic images. As an alternative to moving the dynamic camera, Imsand may utilize rotating mirrors to create the effect of moving the dynamic camera, although two cameras are required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,821, issued Sep. 29, 1992 to Mortimer Marks, uses the horizontal movement of pair of mirrors arranged at an angle to deflect the image onto the lens of a single camera to create different perspectives of an image as the mirrors move. These images may then be viewed as a stereoscopic image through photopic/scotopic filters. The images appear as conventional two-dimensional images when viewed without the filters.
While the foregoing mirror arrangement does allow for the use of a single camera, the mirrors traveling in a generally horizontal fashion result in dead spaces in the film when the mirrors complete travel in one direction and begin traveling in the opposite direction. Mortimer recognized this problem and disclosed in one embodiment of the invention, a dual camera arrangement utilizing dual sets of moving mirrors so that images were recorded only when the mirrors were moving in one direction. In this manner, the mirrors may be moving from left to right for one camera which is in the recording mode while second camera is shut down to allow its mirrors to return to the left position. When the mirrors of the one camera reach the full right of travel, it shuts down and the second camera begins recording and its mirrors begin moving left to right. In application Ser. No. 617,478, filed Mar. 15, 1996 by Eddie Paul, the problem of dead spots was overcome by the provision of apparatus which is attached to a single, conventional camera. This apparatus comprises a pair of spaced apart mirrors which rotate about the longitudinal axis of the lens and which are arranged to deflect the image from one mirror to the second mirror and thence to the lens to achieve a stereoscopic image.
The use of moving mirrors, either in a circular path or in a horizontal path, provides several disadvantages. First, the use of moving mirrors causes light loss of one f stop or more resulting in a loss of about five to fifteen percent of the available light. In addition, the lens cannot be utilized in a wide angle since the image would be wider than the mirrors at certain points of the rotation. Vibration is also amplified as well as any distortion in either of the mirrors or distortion due to imperfect mounting or travel of the mirrors.

Method and apparatus for producing stereoscopic images with single sensor


Steering stability of a vehicle under a traveling state such as cornering is enhanced by controlling a state of the vehicle based on cornering powers of right and left wheels. A detecting unit 1 detects action force containing longitudinal force Fx, lateral force Fy and vertical force Fz which act on each wheel. A specifying unit 2 specifies a friction coefficient between the wheels and road surface. An estimating unit 6 estimates cornering power ka of each wheel based on the action force and the friction coefficient. A processing unit 7 determines control values so that the representative value ka_ave of the cornering powers concerning the right and left wheels is larger than the present value of the representative value ka_ave of the cornering powers concerning the right and left wheels. Controlling units 8 to 10 control the state of the vehicle based on the control values thus determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method for controlling a motion state of a vehicle, and particularly to control of the state of the vehicle based on the cornering power of wheels.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been hitherto known a vehicle control method of controlling a motion state of a vehicle by controlling a driving/braking torque applied to the vehicle or controlling a suspension characteristic of the vehicle. According to this vehicle control method, for example, the motion state is controlled to be optimized under a traveling state such as cornering, thereby enhancing steering stability. As one of these techniques is known a vehicle control device for controlling the motion state of a vehicle by using a wheel frictional force utilization factor (for example, see Japanese Examined Patent Application No. 3132190). This vehicle control device determines the vehicle frictional force utilization factor for each wheel, and controls a wheel state of each wheel so that the vehicle frictional force utilization factor approaches a target vehicle frictional force utilization factor. The wheel frictional force utilization factor is calculated as a rate of the actual frictional force (a resultant force of a longitudinal force and a lateral force that actually occurs between the wheels and road surface) to the maximum frictional force (a product of an actual friction coefficient between the wheels and the road surface and vertical force actually occurring between the wheels and the road surface).
The inventor has found that it is preferable to pay attention to cornering power of wheels in order to effectively control the motion state of a vehicle under a traveling state (for example, cornering, traveling on road surface with a low friction coefficient, etc.) to which the above-described vehicle control is effective. This is because the cornering power indicates response of variation of the behavior of the vehicle (cornering force) in accordance with the magnitude of the value thereof, and thus it is a value having close relationship with the motion state of the vehicle. Accordingly, the steering stability of the vehicle can be estimated on the basis of the cornering power. For instance, formulation (for example, static margin, stability factor, etc.) is generally carried out using cornering power in steering stability analysis or vehicle motion control using a vehicle motion model considering only two degrees of freedom (the model considering the translation motion in the lateral direction and the rotational motion around the vertical axis).
The method disclosed in the Japanese Examined Patent Application No. 3132190 enhances the motion state of the vehicle by bringing the vehicle frictional force utilization factor closer to the target frictional force utilization factor. However, focusing on the cornering power of the wheels, there is a probability that the cornering power of the wheels has an improper value for each wheel even when the vehicle frictional force utilization factor of the wheels approaches the target friction utilizing factor. For example, the controllability of the vehicle may be lost when the wheel cornering power is reduced.

Vehicle control device and vehicle control method


A video transmission apparatus comprises video codec for compression-encoding video data to be transmitted and decompression-decoding video data as received; a first audio codec for compression-encoding first audio data to be transmitted and decompression-decoding first audio data as received; a second audio codec for compression-encoding second audio data to be transmitted and decompression-decoding second audio data as received; a multiplexer-demultiplexer for including a three-channel buffer memory and processor; and an interface connectable to communications satellite network and ground network. In the multiplexer-demultiplexer, video data-first audio data and second audio data to be transmitted are multiplexed and converted to a packet based on a predetermined communication format, and packet as received is separated into video data-first audio data, and second audio data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video transmission apparatus which is capable of transmitting video signals, even from an isolated island or a remote place where no communication network is provided, through use of communication satellite lines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With analog inmarsat A network, full duplex lines have been established with a transmission rate of 4800 bps between mobile earth station and land earth station for both forward channel and backward channel, thereby achieving telephone function. In addition, HSD (High Speed Data) service with an increased transmission rate of 64 Kbps for the forward channel has also been available. Video transmitting apparatus using such a service has been employed for the purposes of collecting news at an isolated island or a remote place through use of communications satellite. With the conventional apparatus, it has been the practice that when it is attempted to transmit video material via the 64 Kbps forward channel of the A network, the transmitting station makes a previous arrangement with the receiving station by using the telephone function, confirms that the receiving station is ready for reception; then switches the apparatus to the HSD service mode; and transmits video data either in real-time mode or storage mode, in a one-way fashion.
In the real-time mode, detection of transmission error at the receiving station is effected by performing real-time correction process at the receiving station without using the backward channel; thus, the telephone function can be retained for the backward channel.
In the storage mode, on the other hand, the telephone function is not available since the backward channel is occupied for the receiving station to detect transmission error in video transmission for each data block and send the result of the detection to the transmitting station. Furthermore, the switching of the apparatus to the telephone mode cannot be effected at the receiving station, and thus inconveniently no means for transmitting information is available at the receiving station.


Devices and methods for optimizing semi-active workloads are described herein. A network interface device may be configured to offload data packet acknowledgment responsibilities of a host platform by transmitting, to the sender of the packets, acknowledgements of packets received throughout a time duration. Upon completion of the time duration, the network interface device may trigger the host platform to perform batch processing of the data packets received during the time duration.

Mobile device users expect and demand that mobile platforms allow for ever-increasing involvement in communication activities. Mobile platforms, therefore, offer ubiquitous network connectivity through one or more communication devices to provide mobile device users with significant communications capabilities. Mobile platform communication needs are further increased as some mobile platform activities move into the cloud. For example, as data storage activities and content retrieval activities are increasingly moved into the cloud, network communications between the mobile platform and servers within the cloud are correspondingly increased.
While a communication interface device may consume a relatively small portion of a mobile platform's power, the impact of communication activities on overall platform power requirements may nevertheless be significant because, in conventional systems, the whole platform, including for example processors, memory, and buses, is kept active to process network packets.
Further, because it may not be possible to ascertain in advance when network packets will arrive, the whole platform may need to remain active for extended periods even in the absence of network traffic. If network packets are not handled within an amount of time expected by the sending application, the sending application may fail or return errors, and the user experience may be degraded. Therefore, due to the non-deterministic nature of communications activities, conventional mobile platform elements may remain in a constant state of readiness to process network packets. This may lead to elevated power consumption for the overall mobile platform.


An optical fiber sensor with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution is described. The optical fiber sensor includes a multicore fiber having cores configured to permit crosstalk between cores. Crosstalk corresponds to transfer of an optical signal from a core to another core and is used as a mechanism for sensing the external environment surrounding the multicore optical fiber. The degree of crosstalk depends on the relative refractive index profile of the cores and surrounding cladding, as well as on the spacing between cores. The external environment surrounding the multicore optical fiber and changes therein influence crosstalk between cores to permit sensing. The relative refractive index profiles of the cores are also configured to provide a group delay difference for optical signals propagating in different cores. The group delay difference facilitates the position of an external perturbation along the length of the multicore optical fiber.

Distributed optical fiber sensors (DOFSs) are attractive for many applications such as structural health monitoring for buildings, bridges, tunnels, dams and pipelines; temperature monitoring for the oil and gas industry; and perimeter intrusion monitoring for roads, borders, ports, military and government sites. Monitoring with a DOFS is normally based on a light scattering mechanism such as Rayleigh scattering, Brillouin scattering, or Raman scattering. Rayleigh scattering is a linear process, which is used to measure propagation effects, including attenuation and gain, phase interference and polarization variation. Brillouin scattering is a nonlinear process, which is dependent on temperature and strain. Raman scattering is another nonlinear process, which is dependent on the temperature of the fiber. Different DOFS systems based on each of the three scattering mechanisms have been studied extensively and commercial products are available. Deficiencies, however, remain for DOFSs based on each of the scattering mechanisms and there remains a need for new types of optical fiber sensors with improved sensitivity, spatial resolution, and sensing range.

Multicore fiber crosstalk sensor with matched effective index


A top pole piece of a voice coil motor (VCM) is attached to a hard disk drive cover without screw fasteners and with minimal loss of VCM magnetic flux capacity. A pair of leaf springs are supported at both ends, rather than by cantilever, to more uniformly distribute mechanical stress throughout the springs so that less space is required to achieve the same transverse load as a cantilevered spring of the same profile. The smaller space envelope required by this design minimizes the loss of magnetic flux capacity of the VCM. Each leaf spring has two integral legs, central portions of which are rigidly fastened to the drive cover. The end of each leg opposite the central portion applies a force against the cover in the assembled disk drive.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved hard disk drive and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for attaching the top pole piece of a voice coil motor to the cover of a hard disk drive enclosure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data access and storage systems generally comprise one or more storage devices that store data on magnetic or optical storage media. For example, a magnetic storage device is known as a direct access storage device (DASD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) and includes one or more disks and a disk controller to manage local operations concerning the disks. The hard disks themselves are usually made of aluminum alloy or a mixture of glass and ceramic, and are covered with a magnetic coating. Typically, one to five disks are stacked vertically on a common spindle that is turned by a disk drive motor at several thousand revolutions per minute (rpm). Hard disk drives have several different typical standard sizes or formats, including server, desktop, mobile (2.5 and 1.8 inches) and microdrive.
A typical HDD also uses an actuator assembly to move magnetic read/write heads to the desired location on the rotating disk so as to write information to or read data from that location. Within most HDDs, the magnetic read/write head is mounted on a slider. A slider generally serves to mechanically support the head and any electrical connections between the head and the rest of the disk drive system. The slider is aerodynamically shaped to glide over moving air in order to maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk, thereby preventing the head from undesirably contacting the disk.
A slider is typically formed with an aerodynamic pattern of protrusions on its air bearing surface (ABS) that enables the slider to fly at a constant height close to the disk during operation of the disk drive. A slider is associated with each side of each disk and flies just over the disk's surface. Each slider is mounted on a suspension to form a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The HGA is then attached to a semi-rigid actuator arm that supports the entire head flying unit. Several semi-rigid arms may be combined to form a single movable unit having either a linear bearing or a rotary pivotal bearing system.
The head and arm assembly is linearly or pivotally moved utilizing a magnet/coil structure that is often called a voice coil motor (VCM). The stator of a VCM is mounted to a base plate or casting on which the spindle is also mounted. The base casting with its spindle, actuator VCM, and internal filtration system is then enclosed with a cover and seal assembly to ensure that no contaminants can enter and adversely affect the reliability of the slider flying over the disk. When current is fed to the motor, the VCM develops force or torque that is substantially proportional to the applied current. The arm acceleration is therefore substantially proportional to the magnitude of the current. As the read/write head approaches a desired track, a reverse polarity signal is applied to the actuator, causing the signal to act as a brake, and ideally causing the read/write head to stop and settle directly over the desired track.
In the hard disk drive enclosure, a common means for joining a top pole piece of the actuator VCM to the drive cover is fasteners such as screws. Due to tolerance conditions, there can be a gap between the cover and the top pole piece. Under these conditions, the force applied by the screws distorts the drive cover, which adversely affects the nominal attitude of the actuator mechanism. Likewise, interference between the cover and top pole also distorts the cover.
An alternative to screw fasteners is the use of one or more leaf spring(s) 211 (FIGS. 1 and 2) located between the cover 213 and the top pole piece 215 of the VCM 217. Generally, the leaf spring 211 is a funnel-like design having an open, L-shaped perimeter 212 or upper edge and a thin, zig-zag shaped, lower edge opening 214. Only the upper edge or perimeter 212 contacts and is rigidly attached (e.g., via adhesive) to the cover 213 with a cantilevered boundary condition. The funnel like body of spring 211 protrudes downward from cover 213. The opposite end or lower edge opening 214 of the leaf spring 211 does not contact the cover 213, but instead contacts the upper surface of top pole 215 of the VCM 217. The spring 211 thereby applies a force against the top pole 215 of the VCM 217.
This prior art leaf spring 211 provides structural stiffness in the plane of the cover 213 while remaining compliant in a direction that is transverse to the plane of the cover. This design results in reduced cover distortion for the same tolerance conditions described above. As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, a significant drawback of this design is that the space required for the spring 211 reduces the volume available for the top pole piece 215. This design also causes a reduction in both magnetic flux capacity and corresponding torque constant of the VCM 217 as it completely overlaps the magnetic transition 218 of magnet 217. Thus, an improved design for interfacing the VCM top pole piece and the cover of the disk drive enclosure would be desirable.

System, method, and apparatus for attaching top pole piece of a voice coil motor to a hard disk drive enclosure

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands, BV


Systems and methods are provided for automatically totalizing materials from multiple feed locations in parallel while mitigating device requirements to monitor such locations. In one aspect, an industrial automation system to process materials is provided. The system includes a totalizer component to determine an aggregated amount of materials supplied from at least two feed locations. A logic component periodically monitors at least one of the feed locations to determine the amount of each material.

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is an industrial computer control system that continuously monitors the state of input devices and performs automated decisions based upon a user-designed program to control the state of output devices. Almost any production line, machine function, or process can be greatly enhanced using this type of control system. However, one main benefit in using a PLC is the ability to change and replicate the operation or process while collecting and communicating vital information. Another advantage of a PLC system is that it is modular. That is, users can mix and match the types of Input and Output devices to best suit a given application.
Programmable Logic Controllers are programmed by systems designers to operate manufacturing processes via user-designed logic programs or user programs. The user programs are stored in memory and generally executed by the PLC in a sequential manner although instruction jumping, looping and interrupt routines, for example, are also common. Associated with the user program are a plurality of memory elements or variables that provide dynamics to PLC operations and programs. Differences in PLCs are typically dependent on the number of Input/Output (I/O) they can process, amount of memory, number and type of instructions, and speed of the PLC central processing unit (CPU).
One application that PLCs are particularly well-suited is for controlling the amounts of materials solids, gases or liquids that are employed in manufacture of a given process. In a many industries, materials such as various types of grain are employed to produce the final products. In other applications, various liquids are added and mixed to produce the desired product at hand. In order to successfully manufacture such products in highly automated manner, various measuring techniques are required to determine the amounts of materials that have been added to or mixed with a given process or recipe. In general, measuring devices such as load cells, flow meters, or other devices are employed to automatically measure the amount of product added to a container for example, where instructions within the PLC are utilized to determine the precise amount that has in fact been added to the batch, recipe, or process. Such applications for determining these amounts are referred to as totalizer applications or totalizing applications.
As can be appreciated, integrated manufacturing operations involve high-complexity manufacturing processes. Such processes are involved in many areas of modern production. Often, complex factory equipment arrangements and programming are required to provide the functionality necessary to measure the required amount of materials. This can include significant expense to install and maintain equipment such as load cells and flow meters to measure such materials. In view of such expense, a single means of measuring material amounts required for a given process is often utilized. Single measuring points forces manufacturing processes to perform material additions to the process—one at a time, in order to measure accurately differing materials and material amounts. By causing materials to be added sequentially, process costs are increased due to the increased time to manufacture. Thus, the reduction in overall time to perform these additions is often limited to minimizing the dead-time between sequential material additions.

Systems and methods for totalizing parallel feeds


A method of forming a structure in a phase changeable memory cell can include forming a bottom electrode having an interlayer dielectric layer thereon, the bottom electrode having a recess therein that extends beyond a boundary between the bottom electrode and the interlayer dielectric. A phase changeable layer can be formed in the recess including a protruding potion of the phase changeable layer that protrudes into the bottom electrode beyond the boundary.

Nonvolatile memory devices can retain data stored therein even when power thereto is interrupted. Some nonvolatile memory devices employ flash memory cells having stacked gate structures. Each of the stacked gate structures can include a tunnel oxide layer, a floating gate, an inter-gate dielectric layer and a control gate electrode, which can be sequentially stacked on a channel region. The reliability and program efficiency of the flash memory cell may be improved by improving the film quality of the tunnel oxide layer and increasing the coupling ratio of the cells.
Phase changeable memory devices are also known. FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit of a typical phase changeable memory cell. Referring to FIG. 1, the phase changeable memory cell can include an access transistor TA and a variable resistor C, which are serially connected to each other. The variable resistor C can provide a data storage element that includes a bottom electrode, a top electrode and a phase changeable material layer interposed between the bottom electrode and the top electrode. The top electrode of the variable resistor C is connected to a plate electrode PL. The access transistor TA includes a source region connected to the bottom electrode, a drain region spaced apart from the source region and a gate electrode located over a channel region between the source and drain regions. The gate electrode and the drain region are electrically connected to a word line WL and a bit line BL, respectively. As a result, an equivalent circuit of the phase changeable memory cell may include elements/components that are similar to those included in some dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells. However, a property of the phase changeable material layer is different from that of a dielectric layer which is sometimes included in capacitors of DRAM cells. That is to say, the phase changeable material layer exhibits two stable states according to a temperature.
FIG. 2 is a graph that illustrates a property of the phase changeable material layer. The abscissa represents time T and the ordinate represents temperature TMP applied to the phase changeable material layer. Referring to FIG. 2, if the phase changeable material layer is heated to a temperature that is greater than the melting point Tm for a first duration T1 and cooled down rapidly, the phase changeable material layer is transformed into an amorphous state (refer to curve {circle around (1)}).
Alternatively, if the phase changeable material layer is heated to a temperature that is in the range between the crystallization temperature Tc of the phase changeable material and the melting temperature Tm for a second duration T2 (greater than the first duration T1) and is cooled down, the phase changeable material layer is transformed into a crystalline state (refer to curve {circle around (2)}). The resistivity of the phase changeable material layer having the amorphous state is greater than that of the phase changeable material layer in the crystalline state. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the information stored in the memory cell is a logic "1" or a logic "0" by detecting the current that flows through the phase changeable material layer in a read mode. A compound material layer containing germanium (Ge), stibium (Sb) and tellurium (Te) (hereinafter, referred to as a GST layer) is widely used as the phase changeable material layer.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating a data storage element of conventional phase changeable memory device. Referring to FIG. 3, a conventional phase changeable memory includes an interlayer dielectric layer 14 on a semiconductor substrate (not shown) having a contact plug 16 and a bottom electrode 12 therein. The contact plug 16 extends through the interlayer dielectric layer 14 so as to contact the bottom electrode 12. A phase changeable layer 18 is on the contact plug 16 and the interlayer dielectric layer 14. An upper electrode 20 is on the phase changeable layer 18.
Because the phase changeable layer 18 is on the contact plug 16, a normal profile of the contact between the phase changeable layer 18 and the contact plug 16 can extend in a vertical direction. When heat is generated by the contact resistance at a contact portion between the contact plug 16 and the phase changeable layer 18, the central region 22 of the contact portion may remain at a high temperature. However, an edge region A of the contact portion may be maintained lower than a temperature necessary to change the phase of the phase changeable layer 18 due to, for example, heat leakage into the interlayer dielectric layer 14 around the contact portion. This may result in the generation of abnormal regions A where the respective phase of the region is not fully changed to an amorphous state. Such abnormal regions A may commonly be found at the edge of the contact portion, where charge leakage e can occur. Such charge leakage may lead to errors in the retention of data within the phase changeable memory cell.

Methods of forming phase changeable layers including protruding portions in electrodes thereof


A sealed attachment fastener assembly with a receiving member and a cap that can be inserted into an opening in a work piece and fixed therein from only one side of the work piece. A portion of the fastener assembly on the blind side of the work piece is collapsible into a flange. In addition, another portion of the fastener assembly is contemporaneously radially expandable within the opening of the work piece to at least rotationally secure the fastener assembly with respect to the work piece. The radial expansion will result in a high interference fit of the fastener in the work piece, which may enhance the fatigue of the installation. A cap completes the fastener assembly to substantially prevent fluid from leaking through the fastener assembly opening. The cap can be assembled with the receiving member after the internal threads within the receiving member have been machined.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to a sealed, blind, internally threaded fastener assembly that is cold expanded and at least partially collapsible to form a secure fit within a work piece.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability to blindly install a fastener into structural work members is well known in the art, particularly in the aerospace industry. As used herein, a blind fastener comprises the nut or receiving portion of a bolt/nut fastener group. Blind fasteners are often used for access panels and other structure where it is difficult or nearly impossible to get a tool onto the back or "blind" side of the panel to hold a nut. Thus the blind fastener, once installed, performs like a nut to receive an attachment bolt so that other structure or accessory devices can be attached to the work piece or access panel, for example. A blind fastener, sometimes referred to as a blind rivet, is typically a cylindrically shaped device with an internally threaded passage.
The blind fastener or rivet is installed into an opening in a work piece from an access side of the work piece. Blind fasteners are typically provided with an integrally formed closed end and internal threads machined within a partial opening in the fastener body. The blind fastener can have a first flange or a head on one end for seating the blind fastener against the access side of the work piece and for helping to axially restrain the blind fastener with respect to the work piece. The opposite end of the blind fastener, which is inserted through the opening in the work piece, is configured with internal threads. The internal threads permit the blind fastener to be attached to an installation tool during installation of the blind fastener and further permits an attachment or accessory bolt to be threaded into the blind fastener when, for example, an accessory device is mounted to the work piece.
A typical installation tool used to install a blind fastener has a threaded rod coupled to the tool. The tool is operated to pull on the rod, thus causing a portion of the blind fastener located on the blind or inaccessible side of the work piece to collapse and form a second flange. The second flange, formed on the blind side of the work piece works in conjunction with the head of the blind fastener to axially secure the blind fastener within the work piece (e.g., axial with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blind fastener). Blind fasteners or rivets of the type just described are currently provided by Bollhoff Rivnut company, with headquarters in Bielefeld, Germany under their RIVNUT® brand of fasteners.
To enhance the fatigue life of the surrounding work piece, and/or to rotationally secure the blind fastener with respect to the work piece, at least a portion of the blind fastener can be radially and plastically expanded into the work piece during installation. Methods and tools that can be used to install blind fasteners or rivets are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,767 issued to Reid et al. on Dec. 3, 2002. The radial expansion process helps to prevent the blind fastener from rotating or "torquing out" when torque is applied to a screw or bolt mounted in the blind fastener. Thus, the blind fastener remains torsionally static while the accessory bolt or screw is tightened to its requisite design torque or is removed from the blind fastener.
As mentioned, blind fasteners are typically manufactured with a fastener body having an integrally formed closed end. Internal threads are machined within a partial opening in the fastener body. During the machining of the internal threads, metal shavings and other debris can become trapped between the valleys of the threads and accumulate in the region of the closed end. Therefore, the internally threaded region must be cleaned out and at least a majority of the debris removed. One drawback of presently designed blind fasteners is that the integrally formed closed end of the blind fastener prevents the removal of the majority of debris residing in the blind fastener opening after machining. The failure or inability to remove a substantial amount of debris from the threaded region of the blind fastener can cause stress concentration sites in the thread roots, for example, and lead to premature fracturing of the bolt or the blind fastener while the blind fastener is under an operational load. In addition, debris can interfere with the proper threading of an accessory bolt or screw that is inserted into the blind fastener. Debris also causes additional friction between the internal threads of the blind fastener and the threads of the accessory bolt or screw. Increased friction between threaded members can be detrimental to achieving the proper amount of bolt preload. When the preload of a bolt is too low, the accessory device attached via the bolt may vibrate and become loose and/or the bolt would have to carry a larger share of the operational loads, thus reducing the fatigue life of the bolt and possibly leading to premature bolt failure.
One application where blind fasteners can be used is in a so-called "wet" environment, for example, in the structural wall of an airplane fuel tank. Presently, blind fasteners with integrally machined closed ends are used. However, blind fasteners with integrally machined closed ends, referred to as "one-piece blind fasteners," tend to be costly, tend to be heavy, can be difficult to quality check, and have internal threads that are difficult to clean sufficiently. Another drawback with a one-piece blind fastener is that excessive material is required to allow a sufficient threading depth within the partial opening of the fastener body, this it is often difficult to meet the design requirements for thread runout, etc. Therefore, a low-cost, inspectable, lighter weight, and easier to clean blind fastener that can be used in a wet environment is desirable.


A motivational game for enhancing obedience skills of a pet is disclosed which includes a board game having a board. The board shows a start identifier and a finish identifier for the game. A marker is included which is movable between the start identifier and the finish identifier. The board game includes obedience task indicia associated with it. The obedience task indicia identifies an obedience task to be performed by the pet during play of the board game. Movement of the marker is based on performance of the obedience task by the pet.

The present invention relates generally to motivational games and methods of playing the same. More particularly, the invention relates to motivational games and methods for assessing the pet training skills of a human and the obedience skills of a pet. Moreover, the present invention relates to motivational games for assessing the interaction between a pet owner and his pet and for comparing such interaction with the interaction between other pet owners and their respective pets.
The related art games and motivational tools, although useful for limited applications, do not achieve the benefits and advantages derived from the motivational 2game of the present invention. The related art games do not provide for a method of assessing the pet training skills of a human, the obedience skills of a pet and the interaction between a pet owner and his pet. Furthermore, the related art games and motivational tools do not provide for such a method in an entertaining board game environment.
Generally speaking, the related art games and motivational tools may be classified in two different groups. First, the related art includes motivational tools for teaching a family pet to perform obedience tasks. These related art motivational tools may also assess the obedience skills of a pet and the training skills of its owner. However, these related art motivational tools existing before the present invention do not include a board game apparatus that allows pet owners to make such assessments in a fun and entertaining environment.
Second, the related art includes board games of a general type designed to provide entertainment for their players. However, the related art board games existing before the present invention have not been directed to a game that assesses the training skills of a pet owner, the obedience skills of his pet and the interaction between that owner and his pet. In particular, it has been found that there is a direct correlation between a person's ability to communicate a command to his family pet and that pet's ability to perform the requested obedience task. Before the present invention, the related art did not include an effective way to assess interaction between a human and his pet and compare such interaction with the interaction between other humans and their respective pets in an entertaining board game environment.
The present invention overcomes these deficiencies of the related art board games and motivational tools. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the ability of a pet to respond to the commands of its owner depends on three criteria. The first of these criteria is the training skills of the owner. The training skills of a pet owner are closely related to the ability of the owner to communicate signal commands. The next of the three criteria is the obedience skills of the pet. This criteria measures the ability of the pet to understand the command signals of its owner. The final, but perhaps most important, criteria is the interaction between the owner and his pet. It is well known that some pets respond to only a select group of people, if any at all. The present invention assesses these three criteria, among other things.
In order to overcome the deficiency of the related art board games and motivational tools, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new pet-training board game which is designed to encourage pet owners to facilitate the process of training their pets.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new pet-training board game that allows pet owners to assess the obedience skills of their pet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new pet-training board game that allows pet owners to assess their own training skills.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new pet-training board game that allows pet owners to assess the effectiveness of the interaction they have with their family pet.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new pet-training board game that allows family members, friends or acquaintances to spend enjoyable time together while they assess their ability to interact with their pets.


A liquid channel (411a) is formed in an upper end of a partition wall (411) between subtanks (41) and (42) each filled with a fixing liquid to draw the fixing liquid from the subtank (42) into the subtank (41), and a guide plate including an opposing plate (411d) is provided in the subtank (41) to guide the fixing liquid downward. A liquid channel (431a) is formed in an upper end of a partition wall (431) between subtanks (43) and (44) each filled with a stabilizing liquid to draw the stabilizing liquid from the subtank (44) into the subtank (43), and a guide plate including an opposing plate (431d) is provided in the subtank (43) to guide the stabilizing liquid downward. A liquid channel (441a) is formed in an upper end of a partition wall (441) between subtanks (44) and (45) each filled with a stabilizing liquid, and a guide plate including an opposing plate (441d) is provided in the subtank (44).

Conventionally, there has been known an automatic developing system of developing a photographic sensitized material provided with a series of treating tanks each filled with a certain treating liquid therein in the order from upstream to downstream in the direction of feeding the sensitized material, e.g., a developing tank filled with a developing liquid, a bleaching tank filled with a bleaching liquid, a fixing tank filled with a fixing liquid, and a stabilizing tank filled with a stabilizing liquid. In such an automatic developing system, subtanks such as a developing subtank filled with a developing liquid, a bleaching subtank filled with a bleaching liquid, a fixing subtank filled with a fixing liquid, and a stabilizing subtank filled with a stabilizing liquid are provided in such a manner as to communicate with the corresponding treating tank in order to circulate the treating liquid in the communicating treating tank and the subtank.
In particular, a plural number of fixing tanks and stabilizing tanks and a plural number of fixing subtanks and stabilizing subtanks are provided to suppress contamination of the fixing liquid and the stabilizing liquid by the treating liquid that has been adhered to the surface of the sensitized material in the process prior to the fixing/stabilizing process.
Fresh developing liquid and bleaching liquid are replenished into the developing subtank and the bleaching subtank respectively, and the developing liquid and the bleaching liquid in the respective treating tanks are drained outside. More specifically, the fixing subtank and the stabilizing subtank that are located on the downstream in the feeding direction are replenished with fresh fixing liquid and stabilizing liquid, respectively, and the fixing liquid and the stabilizing liquid are drained from the fixing tank and the stabilizing tank that are located on the upstream side, respectively. Thereby, the fixing liquid and the stabilizing liquid in the downstream subtank flow into the upstream subtank.
In the automatic developing system having the above construction, a transport rack is provided in each of the treating tanks to feed the roll of sensitized material from upstream to downstream in the treating tanks each filled with a treating liquid to sequentially perform a developing operation.
Observing the fixing tank/subtank, the bleaching liquid having a greater specific gravity than the fixing liquid is adhered to the surface of the sensitized material in the bleaching tank and carried into the fixing tank. Accordingly, the upstream fixing tank/subtank, which are closer to the bleaching tank, contain the fixing liquid having a greater specific gravity than the downstream fixing tank/subtank. When the fixing liquid having a smaller specific gravity in the downstream fixing subtank flows into the upstream fixing subtank through the liquid level, the lighter fixing liquid supplied from the downstream fixing subtank does not mix well with the heavier fixing liquid in the upstream fixing subtank due to the specific gravity difference.
The above phenomenon also occurs in the stabilizing tank and the stabilizing subtank. The fixing liquid having a greater specific gravity than the stabilizing liquid is adhered to the surface of the sensitized material in the fixing tank and carried into the stabilizing tank. Accordingly, the upstream stabilizing tank/subtank, which are closer to the fixing tank, contain the stabilizing liquid having a greater specific gravity than the downstream stabilizing tank/subtank. When the stabilizing liquid having a smaller specific gravity in the downstream stabilizing subtank flows into the upstream stabilizing subtank through the liquid level, the lighter stabilizing liquid supplied from the downstream stabilizing subtank does not mix well with the heavier stabilizing liquid in the upstream stabilizing subtank due to the specific gravity difference.
In order to prevent the above drawbacks, the conventional system is constructed such that a partition wall provided between the adjacent subtanks is formed with a through hole in a vertically intermediate portion thereof, and a liquid supply pipe is provided in the through hole to flow the treating liquid from the downstream subtank into the middle or a lower portion of the upstream subtank through the pipe with an attempt to mix the lighter treating liquid flowing from the downstream subtank with the heavier treating liquid in the upstream subtank.
The above idea of providing the pipe in the intermediate through hole in the partition wall separating the adjacent subtanks, however, is cumbersome in the aspect of plumbing operation. Further, in the case of integral molding of the treating tank and the subtank with a synthetic resin or its equivalent, the construction of a mold for the treating tank/subtank would be complex, because the through hole is formed in the vertically intermediate portion of the partition wall. This would raise the production cost of the system.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the foregoing problems in the prior art and an object thereof is to provide an automatic developing system of developing a sensitized material that securely enables mixing of a treating liquid with a lighter specific gravity flowing from a downstream subtank with a treating liquid with a heavier specific gravity in an upstream subtank with a simple construction.

Automatic developer for photosensitive material