A method by which, in an optical disk recording and reproducing device, the time required for a test recording performed prior to an actual information recording can be reduced according to characteristics of an optical disk. A random pattern signal is transmitted from a random pattern signal generating circuit 3 and recorded on a test track on an optical disk 1, and a bit error rate of a reproduction signal is measured. Only when a value of the bit error rate is not less than a fixed value, test pattern signals are transmitted from a test pattern signal generating circuit 4 and recorded. An edge timing of a reproduction signal is measured by an edge timing detecting circuit 13. Based on a result of the measurement, edge positions of a front-end pulse and a back-end pulse are corrected.

In recent years, media used for optically recording information have been proposed and developed that include an optical disk, an optical card, and an optical tape. Particular attention has been given to an optical disk as a medium that allows large-capacity and high-density recording and reproduction of information.
Among the forms of rewritable optical disks is a phase change optical disk. A recording film used in the phase change optical disk is brought into either an amorphous state or a crystalline state depending on conditions of heating and cooling by a laser beam. There is reversibility between the amorphous state and the crystalline state. The recording film varies in optical constants (refractive index and extinction coefficient) depending on whether the recording film is in the amorphous state or the crystalline state. In the phase change optical disk, these two states are formed selectively on the recording film according to an information signal. As a result of this, optical variations (variations in transmittance or reflectance) are caused and used to perform recording and reproduction of the information signal.
In order to obtain the above two states, an information signal is recorded by the following method. A laser beam (power level Pp) focused by an optical head is irradiated onto a recording film of an optical disk in a pulse-like state (referred to as a recording pulse). A temperature increased beyond the melting point causes the recording film to melt. The melted portion is cooled rapidly as the laser beam passes therethrough and turned into a recording mark (referred to also as a mark) in an amorphous state. The power level Pp is referred to as peak power. On the other hand, when a laser beam (power level Pb, Pb<Pp) is focused to be irradiated onto the recording film, which has such an intensity as to increase the temperature of the recording film to a temperature higher than the crystallization temperature but lower than the melting point, a beam-irradiated part of the recording film is brought into a crystalline state. The power level Pb is referred to as bias power. The peak power and the bias power are referred to as recording power, collectively.
In the foregoing manner, a recording pattern of the recording mark of an amorphous region that corresponds to a recording data signal and a mark non-forming part of a crystalline region (referred to as a space) is formed on a track of the optical disk. By the use of differences in optical characteristics between the crystalline region and the amorphous region, the information signal can be reproduced.
Recently, the mark edge recording (referred to also as the PWM recording) method has been in wider use than before in place of the mark position recording (referred to also as the PPM recording) method. The mark position recording allows only a position of a recording mark itself to have information; while the mark edge recording allows both front and back ends of a recording mark edge to have information, thereby being advantageous in improving recording linear density.
Particularly, in the mark edge recording method, recording is performed in such a manner that a recording pulse generated in recording a long mark is resolved into a plurality of recording pulse trains (referred to as a multiple pulse), and that a first pulse (referred to as a front-end pulse) is made wider than an intermediate pulse and a last pulse (referred to as a back-end pulse). The recording is thus performed with the following in mind. In recording a back part of a mark, a recording film is fed with less heat than that in the case of recording a front part of the mark in consideration of the influence of excess heat transmitted from the front part of the mark. Accordingly, distortion in the shape of the recording mark is reduced, whereby the mark is recorded with increased accuracy.
In the meantime, in view of an optical disk being a replaceable recording medium, a device for recording and reproducing optical disks is required to allow stable recording and reproduction with respect to a plurality of optical disks different from one another. However, even optical disks manufactured under the same conditions may vary from one another in the recording power that is optimum for recording and reproduction due to variations in thermal characteristics attributable to variations caused during manufacturing and changes over time. Further, laser beam power to reach a recording film of an optical disk may vary due to staining on the surface of a substrate of the optical disk and a decrease in transmission efficiency of an optical system and variations in an operating condition of a recording and reproducing device.
Furthermore, in the mark edge recording method, variations in thermal characteristics of an optical disk have an influence on a forming condition of a recording mark itself and the degree of thermal interference among recording marks. That is, even recording marks formed as a result of recording in the same recording pulse waveform vary in shape from one disk to another. Thus, a recording mark edge may shift from an ideal position to cause degradation of a reproduced signal depending on a disk that is used.
Therefore, it is requested to allow a recording mark to be recorded in ideal edge positions irrespective of which disk is used by optimally correcting recording power, a front-end pulse edge position, and a back-end pulse edge position with respect to each disk.
An example of a method for accurately recording and reproducing an information signal by correcting optimum power level of a laser beam, a front-end pulse edge position, and a back-end pulse edge position as described above has been disclosed in JP 2679596 B. In the example, combinations of a length of a recording mark (referred to as a self mark length) and lengths of spaces preceding and following the recording mark (referred to as a preceding space length and a following space length, respectively) are organized into combination tables, and with respect to each element in the combination tables, a front-end pulse edge position or a back-end pulse edge position is corrected.
Furthermore, a method for determining optimum recording power from power dependence of a bit error rate has been disclosed in JP 9(1997)-63056 A. Further, the following method has been disclosed in JP 6(1994)-195713 A. Prior to recording of an information signal that is performed in starting up a recording and reproducing device and in introducing an optical disk, a test recording using a data pattern having a certain period of time (referred to as a test pattern) is performed. Then, a test signal as a result of the recording is reproduced, and a resultant reproduction signal is measured to determine a shift amount of a recording mark edge. A front-end pulse edge position and a back-end pulse edge position are corrected accordingly.
However, in the conventional methods described above, in introducing an optical disk, for example, a test recording always results in following the same sequence of steps irrespective of the type of optical disk that is used. Accordingly, when the recording power, the front-end pulse edge position, and the back-end pulse edge position retained as initial values in a recording and reproducing device are optimum with respect to an introduced optical disk, a test recording results in having substantially redundant steps. As a result, it takes much time for the recording and reproducing device to be brought into a state where an information signal actually can be recorded, which has been disadvantageous. Particularly, determining a front-end pulse edge position and a back-end pulse edge position requires many steps of test recording, and thus the time taken to obtain a state where an information signal can be recorded is considerable.
Furthermore, in some cases, even when a front-end pulse edge position and a back-end pulse edge position are corrected during steps of a test recording using a test pattern, the corrected edge positions may not be sufficiently optimum in actual recording of an information signal. As a result, the test recording using a test pattern alone does not allow recording of an actual information signal to be performed with sufficient accuracy, which has been disadvantageous.
Furthermore, in the conventional methods, when recording pulse trains that depend on a mark of an information signal are generated to record information, in some cases, a front part and a back part of a recording mark may be distorted asymmetrically with each other due to variations in thermal characteristics of an optical disk. As a result, a reproduction signal is distorted, so that even when a front-end pulse edge position and a back-end pulse edge position are optimized by a test recording, an information signal can not be recorded with sufficient accuracy, which has been disadvantageous.

Method for optically recording information and device for optically recording information by the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A new nail polish template for protecting the skin adjacent a nail from contact with nail polish while painting the nail. The inventive device includes a generally trapezoidal member having top and bottom surfaces, opposite first and second sides, and opposite third and fourth sides extending between the first and second sides of the member. The member also has a plurality of nested portions. Each portion of the member is extended from the first side of member towards the second side of the member. Each of the portions is separable from member to define a cutout.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nail grooming devices and more particularly pertains to a new nail polish template for protecting the skin adjacent a nail from contact with nail polish while painting the nail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of nail grooming devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, nail grooming devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art nail grooming devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,208; U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,726; U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,587; U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,121; U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,957; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 313,286.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new nail polish template. The inventive device includes a generally trapezoidal member having top and bottom surfaces, opposite first and second sides, and opposite third and fourth sides extending between the first and second sides of the member. The member also has a plurality of nested portions. Each portion of the member is extended from the first side of member towards the second side of the member. Each of the portions is separable from member to define a cutout.
In these respects, the nail polish template according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting the skin adjacent a nail from contact with nail polish while painting the nail.


There is disclosed an information recording/ reproducing apparatus utilizing a probe electrode and a recording medium, based on the principle of scanning tunnel microscope. When a track groove on the recording medium is detected, the distance control between the probe electrode and the recording medium is suspended. Consequently, the tip of the probe electrode does not enter the track groove, and is prevented from collision with the recording medium. The scanning speed of the probe electrode can, therefore, be increased without the danger of such collision.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus utilizing the technology of scanning tunnel microscope.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, the use for memory material constitutes the nucleus of electronics industry of electronic equipment such as computer and its peripheral device, video and audio disk equipment, and development of such material is being conducted actively. Conventionally, magnetic and semiconductor memories consisting of magnetic and semiconductive materials, have been utilized principally, but inexpensive optical memories capable of high density recording, consisting of an organic thin film, for example, of organic pigments or photopolymer, are being introduced as a result of progress in the laser technology.
On the other hand, the recent development of scanning tunnel microscope (STM) capable of directly observing the electron structure on or in the vicinity of the material surface [G. Binnig et al., Helvetica Physica Acta, 55, 726 (1982)] has enabled the observation of a real spatial image of monocrystalline or non-crystalline material with a high resolving power. Wider applications are expected for said microscope, as it can effect the measurement with a low electric power and with no damage to the specimen by the current, and as it can be applied to various substances not only under high vacuum but also in atmospheric pressure or in solution.
STM is based on a phenomenon that a tunnelling current is generated when a metal probe is brought to a distance of about 1 nm to a conductive specimen, with a voltage applied therebetween. Since said tunnelling current is extremely sensitive to and exponentially varies with the said distance, the real spatial shape of the specimen surface can be obtained with a resolving power of about 0.1 nm along the surface, by scanning the specimen surface with the probe while maintaining a constant tunnelling current therebetween.
According to application of the above-explained principle of the STM, it is possible to perform the recording and reproduction of information in the atomic (sub-nanometer) order. So, there have been proposed various information processing apparatus for recording, reproduction and/or erasure of information with an ultra high density, based on said principle. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-80536 discloses the information recording by elimination of atomic particles adhered on the recording medium with an electron beam. Also, there is proposed information recording method by physical or magnetic breakdown of the surface of the recording medium with a laser beam, an electron beam or a particle beam.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,822 discloses information recording by a charge injection with the tunnelling current into a dielectric layer formed on the surface of the recording medium. In these cases, the recording and reproduction of information are conducted by STM. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 63-161552 and 63-161553 propose the information recording and reproduction with STM, utilizing a substance with memory effect on the voltage-current switching characteristic, such as organic compounds of a .pi.-electron system or chalcogenide compounds, as a thin film recording layer. Such method enables a large-capacity recording of 10.sup.12 bit/cm.sup.2 in a recording bit size of 10 nm.
In such information processing apparatus, it is essential to effect the scanning operation with a constant average tunnelling current between the probe and the recording medium, and control methods therefor are proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 1-53363 and 1-133239.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional control circuit for the distance between the probe and the recording medium, wherein the tunnelling current flowing between a probe electrode 1 and a recording medium 2 is amplified by an amplifier 3. A band component extracted by a low-pass filter 4 is supplied through a phase compensation circuit 5, an error amplifier 6 and a sample hold circuit 7, and is used for feedback control on the operating voltage of a cylindrical piezoelectric actuator 8 connected to the probe electrode 1, so that the average tunnelling current is maintained constant. On the other hand, a band component extracted by a high-pass filter 9 is supplied to a signal processing circuit 10 thereby reproducing the information. Upon input of recording signal, the sample hold circuit 7 is utilized to maintain a constant output signal for the probe electrode 1.
The above-explained control is also possible in a circuit shown in FIG. 2. The current flowing between a probe electrode 1 and a recording medium 2 is supplied through a current amplifier 3, a logarithmic amplifier 11, a low-pass filter 4, an amplifier 12, a phase compensation circuit 5, an error amplifier 6 and a sample hold circuit 7, and is used for feedback control on the operating voltage of a cylindrical piezoelectric actuator 8. The information is reproduced from the output of a lowpass filter 4 in a signal processing circuit 10. Upon input of a recording signal, the probe electrode 1 is operated in a similar manner as in the circuit shown in FIG. 1.
In such information processing apparatus, the probe electrode 1 has to be positioned upon access to the recording medium 2. In such high-density memory, there is generally employed an access method in which plural edges (tracks) for positioning are formed on the recording medium 2 in advance as shown in FIG. 4, and after detecting a desired edge, the probe electrode 1 is moved to an access position (information column) along the edge. Upon access in direction B, there is frequently conducted movement from a track to another track. Such movement between tracks is executed by giving an offset value to the driving voltage of a scanning mechanism for the probe electrode 1, or by moving a rough moving mechanism itself.
In the conventional information processing apparatus, since the probe electrode 1 is moved along the plane of the recording medium 2 with the average tunnelling current maintained substantially constant as explained above, tip of the probe electrode 1 follows a broken-lined trajectory shown in FIG. 3 when it crosses a recessed track groove T in an access operation.
Since the tip of the probe electrode 1 is generally made very sharp, it has to be prevented from contact with the recording medium 2. For this reason, in the above-explained conventional example, the probe electrode 1 is scanned with speed enabling feedback control, in order to avoid collision of the probe electrode 1 with the recording medium 2 when said probe electrode 1 comes out of the recess on the recording medium 2. The fact that the scanning speed is limited by the ability of feedback control, gives rise to a limitation in application fields requiring a high access speed.

Information processing apparatus with held distance control on track edge detection


The present invention relates to a simple, safe, and efficient process for the complete bio-decaffeination of caffeine-containing solutions using fungus Pseudomonas alcaligenes CFR 1708, a method of isolating pseudomonas alcaligenes CFR 1708 useful for the bio-decaffeination of caffeine-containing solutions, a Pseudomonas alcaligenes strain of accession number CFR 1708, and a decaffeinated solution obtained by aforementioned process.

Caffeine (C8H10N4O2) is an alkaloid naturally occurring in coffee and coca beans cola nuts and tea leaves. Caffeine is described as a methylated xanthine alkaloid derivative (1,3–7 Trimethyl xanthine). Caffeine is water soluble above 175° F. and is soluble in methanol, ethanol etc. In mammals ingested caffeine is rapidly absorbed, metabolized and excreted in the urine as methyl Xanthine derivatives. Caffeine is mildly stimulating and is used as a therapeutic agent.
Caffeine has become a ubiquitous drug. Caffeine is widely distributed in pharmaceutical preparations and beverages. It has a variety of biological effects. It stimulates the central nervous system, shows toxicity when fed excessively and is even mutagenic in-vitro. Theobromine shows caffeine like pharmacological activities but does not cause excessive reaction as caffeine, so used as diuretic.
Many of the physiological effects of coffee beverage are due to their caffeine content. Dr. Karal Wimmer of Germany invented the process of removing caffeine from coffee. This process is known as decaffeination and the product is known as "Caffeine free Coffee" Reference may be made to the work on Coffee Solubilization: Commercial Processes and Techniques, Pintauro and Nicholas, D., (1975), wherein they have used methylene chloride for decaffeination of coffee. The drawback of this process is that the flavor elements and oil are drawn off from the beans; presence of residual solvent, which is not safe for human health and the time taken for the whole process, is more than 24 hours.
Reference may be made to the work of Zeller and Saleeb, Proceedings of 18th ASIC Colloquium (Helsinki), 168–172, (1999), wherein they have reported decaffeination of coffee beans using Ethyl Acetate. The drawback of this method is, it involves the use of organic solvent, which makes the process hazardous to health, expensive, time consuming and highly labour intensive.
Reference may be made to Hinman and Saleeb (1984), (General Foods Corp.), European Patent No.: EP-0140269, Coffee Technology; wherein they have reported the decaffeination of coffee by Charcoal or carbon. The drawbacks of this process are loss of flavor elements and colour, presence of residual caffeine in the product in addition to the longer time duration involved in the whole process.
Reference may be made to a patent by General Foods Corporation, USA, (1973), U.S. Pat. No.: Br. 1,313,047, Coffee Technology, wherein they have reported the use of Triglycerides. The drawbacks of this process are the loss of flavor and incomplete removal of caffeine from the final product.
Reference may be made to the work of Katz, S. N, Coffee Technology, (1987), wherein he has reported the use of supercritical CO2 for decaffeination. The drawback of this process is that although it does not affect the quality of the final product, it necessitates the extraction of caffeine to the surface of the bean by steam and involves very high costs and the caffeine is not completely removed from the final product.
Reference may be made to the work of Michael Gluck and Franz Lingens (1987), Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 334–340, on the studies on microbial production of theobromine and heteroxanthine from caffeine wherein they have used a strain of Pseudomonas putida. The drawbacks of this process are that the cells grow very slow in the medium containing caffeine, degradation of caffeine was very slow and the accumulation of products was too low for commercial purposes and the products produced in this process have effects similar to that of caffeine.
Reference may be made to the work of Wouter J. Middlehoven and Cor. M Bakker (1982) Eur. J Appl. Microbio. Biotechnol. 214–217, wherein they have reported the degradation of caffeine by immobilized cells of Pseudomonas putida strain C 3024 wherein they have immobilized the cells in beads of agar. The disadvantages of the process are the immobilization method tends to remove substances other than caffeine thus adversely affecting the flavor of roasted coffee and the growth yields of the cells are very low.
Reference may be made to a Swiss patent by Robert, F. D., Nestle Group (1981) Patent No. CH626781 "Decaffeination process" on decaffeination of vegetable material when exposed to the microorganism of the species Acinetobacter. The disadvantage of this method is that caffeine removal from the coffee extract is very slow and only about half of the initial caffeine content is removed from the extract.
Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,191 (1980) wherein they have reported the use cell free extracts of Pseudomonad like organisms for decaffeination of aqueous caffeine containing liquids such as coffee extract. The disadvantage is the requirement of addition of cofactors for decaffeination, which are highly unstable.

Decaffeinating microorganism and process of bio-decaffeination of caffeine containing solutions

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A thermally stable ink for use in ink jet printing contains an ester amide resin, a tackifying resin, and a colorant.

The invention relates to inks for ink jet printing.
Ink jet printing, for example, drop-on-demand ink jet printing, involves forming characters on a substrate by ejecting ink droplets from a printhead having one or more nozzles.
The inks may be hot melt inks that are solids at room temperature but liquids at jetting temperatures. Hot melt inks are in widespread use in ink jet printers.
Hot melt inks can have some potential drawbacks. Hot melt inks are solid at room temperature, and it is necessary to heat the inks in order to apply them to the substrates. Heating may cause the components of the ink to degrade, which may cause the ink jets to clog.
In addition, hot melt inks may be partially or fully worn off the surface of a substrate after they solidify in response to, for example, rubbing, scratching, or flexing. Hot melt inks may also cause offsetting; offsetting occurs when ink is applied to one surface, that surface contacts another surface, and an unwanted image is formed on the second surface.
Wax has often been used in hot melt inks. Wax provides the ink with the property of being solid at room temperature, but liquid at elevated temperatures. Wax can be brittle at room temperature, however, which may lead to poor adhesion of the ink to the substrate. The problem of poor adhesion may be compounded when the wax shrinks upon cooling to room temperature, disturbing the mechanical bonds between the substrate and the ink.


A method for fabricating an applique for horology including a visible upper surface, and a lower surface from which protrudes at least one securing foot: a rough piece is made as a straight workpiece; this rough piece is deformed to form a blank so as to form an upper curve; this blank including this feet is machined; this blank is mounted on a tool having a support surface complementary to the lower surface of this blank, a recess for housing each foot, gripping means and/or an adhesive for securing each blank; the upper curve of this blank is machined with at least one final diamond-polishing operation to form this upper surface.

Timepiece appliques are essential elements of a timepiece, in particular of a watch, helping to give it a specific look. Consequently, they must be very carefully made, very reproducible and free from any surface finish defects. Perfect workmanship is made difficult by the very small size of these decorative components and by the difficulty in gripping them. Consequently, the scrap rate may be high. Fabrication is even more complex when the appliques are bent or curved, to adapt to the curve of a dial, a flange, or a plate, and have no flat reference surface. In the case of curved dials, it is known to form symbols by transfer, or to make very thin appliques curved directly onto the dial. It is clear that, in both cases, the finished look is mediocre. If a diamond-polished applique is made and it is curved or bent (for a curved applique) after diamond-polishing, this spoils its appearance, with orange peel and/or cracks appearing at the surface, which is unacceptable.
EP Patent Application No 1557729A1 in the name of NIVAROX discloses a method for fabricating hour-symbols with feet, allowing the base of said symbols to be fixed on a dial, from a metal profile, including the steps consisting of, in a first step, milling the feet in one end of the profile and roughly shaping the profile; in a second step, gripping the feet in a clamp and cutting out a blank; and in a third step, finishing the blank in the desired shape of the symbol and performing a diamond-polishing operation on all the visible surfaces.


Ink lag compensation techniques are described. In implementations, an input is recognized by a computing device as an ink stroke to be rendered on a display device of the computing device. An extension is predicted, by the computing device, to be applied to the ink stroke that is likely to be subsequently input in conjunction with the ink stroke. The ink stroke and the extension are output for concurrent display on the display device of the computing device.

The way in which users are able to interact with computing device is ever increasing. For example, keyboards were originally provided so that a user could type inputs to a computer. Cursor control devices (e.g., a "mouse") were subsequently developed to enable users to interact with the computing device via a graphical user interface.
However, these and subsequent techniques that were developed for user interaction may still have an artificial "look and feel" to the user. For example, traditional techniques that were utilized to render ink strokes by a computing device may encounter an amount of lag between receiving an input (e.g., the drawing of a line) and a display of the input (e.g., the line). Therefore, the user may have a disconnected experience when drawing a line using traditional ink rendering techniques, which may make it difficult for the user to interact with the computing device in this manner.


The invention relates to a device for observing the ocular fundus, in particular to a fundus camera. Said device comprises a light source (1b) for the provision of illumination radiation, an illumination optical path for directing the illumination radiation onto the ocular fundus and observation optics for reproducing the illuminated ocular fundus, the observation optics comprising a module (16b), whose refractive power can be electrically adjusted.

Normally when using a fundus camera, depending on the defective vision of the patient, the optical observation system in the fundus camera is changed from one patient to the next such that a highly focused image of the ocular fundus is reproduced on the image recording sensor. In order to be able to examine as many patients as possible the focusing range is selected with no less than ±25 dpt. In known fundus cameras, either a part of the optical system is displaced along the optical axis of the lens, or the image recorder is displaced along the optical axis (see FIGS. 1a, 1b).
It has been demonstrated that the known fundus cameras require precise mechanical components that are expensive in and of themselves and in addition are subject to wear, and that furthermore it is not possible to obtain focused images of the ocular fundus in all patients using this camera.
However, the object of the invention is to provide a device for observing the ocular fundus that makes it possible, in a simpler manner and/or for a greater majority of patients, to obtain focused images of their ocular fundus.

Focusing and astigmatism compensation device for a fundus camera


A cleaner includes a rectangle elastic blade contacting a surface-moving object in a counter direction to remove an extraneous matter adhering to the surface of the object. An apical surface of the elastic blade in a longitudinal direction comprises a fluorine atom in an amount not less than 16.3% by atom when measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a cleaner used in image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimiles and copiers, and to an image forming apparatus using the cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, residual a toner remaining on the surface of a photoreceptor even after a toner image thereon is transferred onto a recording material or an intermediate transfer medium is removed therefrom using a cleaner.
A cleaner installed in an image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2000-66555-A includes a rectangle elastic blade, and a base end of the elastic blade is supported by a supporting member and an edge of the other end is contacted to the surface of an image bearer to block and scrape off a residual toner on the image bearer. Thereby, the residual toner is removed from the surface of the image bearer.
In attempting to meet a recent need of forming high quality images, a spherical toner prepared by a method such as polymerization methods (hereinafter referred to as polymerization toner) having a small particle is used. Since such polymerization toner has such an advantage as to have higher transfer efficiency than pulverization toner, the polymerization toner can meet the need.
However, the polymerization toner has such a drawback as not to be easily removed from an image bearer by a cleaning blade. This is because the polymerization toner has a spherical form and a small particle diameter, and easily passes through a small gap between the edge of a cleaning blade and the surface of the image bearer.
In attempting to prevent the polymerization toner from passing through a gap between the cleaning blade and the image bearer, it is necessary to increase the pressure to the cleaning blade contacted with the surface of the image bearer to enhance the cleanability of the cleaning blade.
However, when the contact pressure of the cleaning blade is increased, the friction between the cleaning blade and the image bearer is increased, and the tip of the cleaning blade is pulled by the image bearer in a moving direction thereof. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, a cleaning blade 262 is pulled by the surface of an image bearer 23 in a moving direction of the image bearer due to increase of friction between the blade and the image bearer, thereby causing a problem (hereinafter referred to as everted-tip problem) in that an edge line 262c of the blade 262 is everted. In this regard, the thus everted tip has a restoring force, and therefore the tip tends to vibrate, resulting in generation of fluttering sounds.
In addition, when the cleaning operation is continued while the edge line 262c of the cleaning blade 262 is everted, a portion of the tip 262a of the cleaning blade 262, which is apart from the edge line 262c by few micrometers, is abraded as illustrated in FIG. 7B. When the cleaning blade 262 is further used for the cleaning operation, the portion of the tip 262a of the blade 262 is further abraded, resulting in lack of the edge line 262c of the blade 262 as illustrated in FIG. 7C. The cleaning blade 262 having no edge line cannot remove residual toner from the surface of the image bearer 23, thereby forming an abnormal image in which background thereof is soiled with residual toner.
A coating in which a fluorine compound monomer including a vinyl or an acryloyl group is mixed in an acrylic coating has attracted attention as a hard coat coating recently. When an acrylic coating in which a fluorine compound monomer is mixed is coated, the fluorine compound monomer is not uniformly present in an acrylic liquid and tends to be present in an air-liquid interface. After the acrylic coating is coated on an object, an UV light is irradiated to the coating such that the fluorine compound monomer is chemically bonded with an acrylic monomer of the acrylic coating at the outermost surface to noticeably decrease a frictional resistance of the surface of the object.
Because of these reasons, a need exists for a cleaner having high-durability and good cleanability.


An injection method includes closing an inner path, and injecting a printing material into a printing material containing chamber through a printing material supply port after closing the inner path.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique for injecting a printing material into a cartridge.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, a technique which uses an ink cartridge (also simply referred to as a "cartridge") for containing ink has been known as a technique which supplies ink to a printer as an example of a printing device (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-061785 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-349786). Such a cartridge is manufactured by injecting ink into a printing material containing chamber for containing ink. The above mentioned publications also disclose a technique in which a cartridge is reused by injecting ink into a used cartridge again so as to achieve the effective use of resources.

Method for injecting printing material, injection kit, and injection device


Information regarding facial cues may be received. Such information may associated each facial cue with a responsive action. Images (e.g., photo, video) of an area in front of a computing device may be captured by a front-facing camera. A user's face may be detected, as well as determined to exhibit a facial cue. The facial cue is identified, along with its associated action. The computing device may then perform the action associated with the facial cue exhibited by the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computing commands. More specifically, the present invention relates to using facial cues as computing commands.
2. Description of the Related Art
Individuals currently have a variety of options for communicating and carrying out transactions. Such options may include traditional desktop coming devices, as well as various mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, tablets). In fact, many individuals may use multiple computing and mobile devices at home, work, and on the move. For example, an individual may use a desktop computer at work, a laptop computer at home, and one or more mobile devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet) elsewhere. In many cases, such computing devices may include a front-facing camera. Such a camera may generally be used for videoconferencing or taking self-portraits.
Various computing devices may not all have the same capabilities in other respects. For example, such devices may run different operating systems/platforms and applications. In addition, such devices may also be used differently, so applications may be optimized for one type of device, but not another. For example, the different devices may have different sizes and input options (e.g., keyboard, keypad, touchscreen). The display of one device may not be optimized for a second device. For example, if a desktop computer display is shrunk to fit on a smartphone screen, the shrunken size may be difficult for the user to read or discern what is being displayed. Alternatively, if the display is not shrunken, the smartphone may only be able to display a portion of the original display at a time, which also adds to the difficulty in reading and discerning what is being displayed. While some devices allow for manual adjustment of the display by the user, changing displays and images may require the user to continually re-adjust the display, which may be unwieldy and inconvenient. Such is the case in many applications where content only uses a portion of the screen and user interface portions (e.g., toolbars, status bars, scroll bars, rulers). As such, there are situations where providing ways to receive user input is unwieldy or awkward.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved systems and methods for using facial cues as computing commands.


A bicycle shifter is configured to ensure that the position where a main shifter body is attached to a bicycle can be easily varied. The bicycle shifter basically has a mounting bracket, a main shifter body and a fixing mechanism. The mounting bracket is preferably configured be fixed to a handlebar of a bicycle. The main shifter body is mounted on the mounting bracket and has a shifter mechanism in the interior. The fixing mechanism is a mechanism whereby the main shifter body can be fixed in place on the mounting bracket at an arbitrary attachment position between a first position and a second position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle shifter. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle shifter that is mounted on a bicycle and that is used to shift the gears of a bicycle.
2. Background Information
Bicycling is becoming an increasingly more popular form of recreation as well as a means of transportation. Moreover, bicycling has become a very popular competitive sport for both amateurs and professionals. Whether the bicycle is used for recreation, transportation or competition, the bicycle industry is constantly improving the various components of the bicycle. One component that has been extensively redesigned is the shifter of the bicycle.
A shifter of a bicycle is typically linked to a shifting device by a Bowden shifting cable, for example. The shifting device is made to shift the gears by operating an operating member in the form of a lever, for example, on the shifter. A conventional shifter has a bracket mounted on a handlebar, and a main shifter body mounted on the mounting bracket. In conventional practice, in cases in which a shifter is provided separately from a brake lever, normally, the shifter is attached to the handlebars inside a bracket on the brake lever. If the shifter is attached to the handlebar within the brake lever, then the shifter may be difficult to operate, depending on the shapes of the operating member(s) of the shifter.
There are conventional shifters in which the main shifter body is capable of moving in relation to handlebar attachment part, and the position where the main shifter body is attached can be varied in the axial direction of the handlebar (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 1-134591). In this conventional shifter, the mounting bracket is divided into two members: a boss part mounted on the handlebar, and a fixing member for fixing the boss in place on the handlebar. The fixing member is a cylindrical member having a large hole into which the boss part fits, a small hole into which the handlebar fits, and a slot formed in the axial direction. The fixing member is provided with a fixing bolt for making the slot narrow. As a result of tightening the fixing bolt and narrowing the slot, the fixing member is fixed in place on the handlebar. The boss part is then also fixed in place on the handlebar. The position where the main shifter body is attached can be varied in relation to the boss part and set to an arbitrary position in the axial direction of the handlebar. This can be achieved by varying the position where the boss part fits in the large hole in the axial direction.
With the conventional configuration previously described, the fixing bolt of the fixing member must be loosened to vary the position where the main shifter body is attached. When the fixing bolt is loosened, the alignment of the fixing member on the mounting bracket sometimes changes because the fixing member is capable of rotating in relation to the boss part. Therefore, the alignment of the main shifter body around the axis of the handlebar also changes. Since the alignment of the main shifter body also changes when the attachment position of the main shifter body is varied, the alignment of the main shifter body must be adjusted, and such position alignment is troublesome.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved bicycle shifter. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A fluid coupling assembly 20, 120, 220, 320 and 420 of the type including a housing having spaced side walls 24, 124, 224 and 434 extending radially to an axis A and defining a fluid chamber surrounding a disc 30, 130 supported by a shaft 26 extending through and rotatably supported by one of the side walls with cooling fins for cooling the fluid chamber. A cooling sub-assembly 44, 46, 48, 144, 244, 246, 248, or 444 of cooling fins connected to a ring 50, 54, 58, 150, 250, 350, 450 and 472 is secured to the housing. The housing and/or the disc may be fabricated from sheet metal. The cooling sub-assemblies may be of various embodiments and a plurality of cooling sub-assemblies 44, 46, 48 may be attached to each housing.

Due to the high shear forces in such fluid couplings, significant amounts of heat is generated. In order to dissipate this heat, the housings of the fluid couplings are die cast with integral fins which act as heat sinks. The numerous and geometrically complex cooling fins cannot be manufactured economically with any process but die casting. However, die casting is an expensive process and often produces defective housings which leak. An example of such an assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,289 to Dax. In addition to the heat dissipation, it is frequently desirous to maintain a narrow gap between the disc and side walls of the fluid coupling assembly as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,754 to Kokochak et al. Conventional clutches are die-cast and then machined to achieve the necessary tolerances. Considerable machining is needed because die-casting is an inaccurate process that typically generates parts that substantially deviate from the final desired result. An additional disadvantage of die-casting is the potential leaks in the clutch because of the porosity of the die-casting material. This porosity typically dictates the need to use an additional step in the manufacturing process called impregnation, whereby the die-cast and machined parts are immersed in a high temperature resin batch under pressure in order to seal the leaks in the material. Impregnation is expensive and slow. Despite its disadvantages and cost, the die-casting process is used in conventional clutches because of the need to provide cooling fins on the outside of the body of the clutch. Viscous clutches generate substantial heat internally because of the shear stress in the oil. This heat has to be transferred to the air surrounding the clutch, and this is possibly only by providing a sufficiently large heat exchange area, which is achieved with the cooling fins. Cooling fins cannot be machined because the amount of machining would make the clutch prohibitively expensive. The only possible solution so far has been to use die-cast those fins. That resolves the problem of the cooling fins, but it creates all the other problems mentioned above.


Where a point corresponding to a point of interest P1 is not detected and a depth value thereof is not known and where points corresponding to surrounding points Pi and Pj are detected and depth values of the points Pi and Pj are known, a depth value of the point of interest P1 is determined by interpolation. A provisional corresponding point is determined from the provisional depth value. Region-based search is executed in the neighborhood of the provisional corresponding point so that precision in identifying the location of the corresponding point is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a depth measuring technique and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for measuring depth by a stereo method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in "Robot Vision" (Taniuchida, Shokodo 1990, pp. 181–185), a technique is known which detects corresponding points in two images and measures depth of each point in the images by applying the principle of triangulation.
Methods for detecting corresponding points in images are classified roughly into the "feature-based" method and the "region-based" method. The feature-based method establishes correspondence between characteristic parts in images. More specifically, points in a second image that are candidates of correspondence with a point of interest in a first image are identified in successive steps with increasing degree of specificity, based on an attribute of the point of interest in the first image. When a single point is identified, the point is identified as a corresponding point. The region-based method establishes correspondence based on a correlation score of a region surrounding a target pixel. A point with the best correlation score in a search range is determined as a corresponding point.
Accuracy of identifying a corresponding point in the feature-based method depends on accuracy of feature detection. Generally, feature detection tends to pick up noise components as a result of, for example, detecting high frequency components. Accordingly, noise-free detection of a feature is difficult. Moreover, the number of reliable feature points is limited so that depth measurement in the whole image is subject to constraints.
The region-based method is weak in processing an image with repeated patterns. Moreover, if a search range is large, the computation load is correspondingly heavy. If a search range is narrowed, there is likelihood that a corresponding point is missed. As described above, both methods have good points and bad points.
Related Art List
Robot Vision, Taniuchida, Shokodo 1990, pp. 181–185

Depth measuring method and depth measuring apparatus


Systems and methods for reducing interference in a TDMA based wireless network are provided. Such systems and methods can include a wireless access point forming a wireless network, the wireless access point selecting a first information channel, a second information channel, and a plurality of operating channel sequences from a plurality of wireless network channels used by the wireless network, the wireless access point assigning a first operating channel sequence of the plurality of operating channel sequences to the wireless access point and a second operating channel sequence of the plurality of operating channel sequences to a wireless repeater, the wireless access point hopping between each one of the first operating channel sequence in different ones of superframes used by the wireless network, and the wireless repeater hopping between each one of the second operating channel sequence in the different ones of the superframes.

Known wireless networks that employ one or more signal repeaters suffer from several known problems. First, known wireless networks are limited by a number of the signal repeaters and devices that can be connected to a single access point, which limits an overall coverage area of a wireless network. Second, known wireless networks are susceptible to interference from other wireless systems that operate in an overlapping frequency band.
In view of the above, there is a need and an opportunity for improved systems and methods.


A poppet element of a valve is provided. The poppet element is movable relative to a valve seat of the valve and includes a balance chamber wall defining a balance chamber with a center body partially fixed relative to the valve seat, an upper head, a balance chamber holder having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is matched with that of the upper head and a fastening element disposed to fasten the balance chamber holder to the upper head. The balance chamber holder is disposed between the center body and the balance chamber wall and configured to prevent thermal loading transfer from the balance chamber wall to the fastening element.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a balance chamber defined by a poppet element of a valve and, more particularly, to a balance chamber defined by a poppet element of a high temperature valve.
Steam turbine control and stop valves often employ a balance chamber. During valve opening incidences, steam inside the balance chamber is evacuated through equalizer valves or poppet valves so that pressure inside the balance chamber is reduced and lesser hydraulic force is required to open the valve.
In order to ensure that a pressure inside the balance chamber is minimized, clearances between a valve disk and a wall of the balance chamber are often reduced as much as possible with seal rings used to provide high quality sealing characteristics. However, clearance reduction is limited since some predefined amount of clearance needs to be maintained in order to ensure that the valve opens and closes without jamming.
In certain applications, a balance chamber may be fixed to an upper head via bolts and, in some cases, the balance chamber material is different from the upper head material. The different materials have correspondingly different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and, as such the upper head and the balance chamber expand at different rates when heat is generated (i.e., when the steam turbine starts up). At steady state, due to the difference in the CTEs, a bending stress is placed on the bolts and this bending stress is transmitted to the upper head via shear stress.

Valve poppet element defining balance chamber


A linear actuator for adjusting a piece of furniture comprises a motor having a motor shaft, a conversion arrangement coupled to the motor shaft and adapted to convert a rotational movement generated by the motor shaft into an elongation of the linear actuator, and a locking arrangement coupled directly or indirectly to the motor shaft and adapted to selectively cause rotation locking of the motor shaft by means of a locking element. The locking arrangement comprises an inner part with at least one inner chamber and an outer part radially surrounding the inner part and having at least one outer chamber. The outer part and the inner part are rotatable relative to each other in such a way that the at least one inner chamber and the at least one outer chamber can be aligned with each other. The rotation locking is activated by clamping the locking element between the at least one inner chamber and the at least one outer chamber by means of rotation of the inner part and the outer part relative to each other.

The present disclosure relates to a linear actuator, an actuator system with such a linear actuator, a piece of furniture with such a linear actuator or such an actuator system, and a method for controlling such a linear actuator.
Adjustable furniture is known both in the field of office furniture and in the home sector. The most common designs in the office furniture sector are, for example, electrically adjustable tables or chairs, while electrically adjustable beds, seating furniture or reclining furniture are known in the home sector.
The adjustment is usually carried out by linear actuators, which are built into one or more columns of the table or into a frame of the bed, seating furniture or reclining furniture.
Such linear actuators are regularly composed of an electric motor which drives a motor shaft and a conversion arrangement which converts a rotation of the motor shaft into a linear elongation of the linear actuator. For example, spindle-nut systems are used as such conversion arrangements, where a spindle is driven by the motor shaft via a gear and causes a linear displacement of the nut. In the example of a table, this then leads to raising or lowering of the table top.
However, to ensure that a force acting in a linear direction on the linear actuator, for example via a table top, does not cause the spindle or motor shaft to rotate in the opposite direction, the components acting together are usually designed accordingly. For example, friction between the components is deliberately chosen to be so high that self-locking occurs. However, the degree of self-locking also determines the efficiency of the linear actuator. Accordingly, more energy must be expended for linear adjustment of the linear actuator with high self-locking than with low or non-existent self-locking. With conventional linear actuators, it is therefore necessary to weigh up between an acceptable degree of efficiency and the necessary self-locking.

Linear actuator, actuator system, piece of furniture and method for controlling a linear actuator

LOGICDATA ELECTRONIC & SOFTWARE ENTWICKLUNGS GMBH


A system includes first and second modules of a vehicle. The first module stores at least one seed value, calculates a key based on the at least one seed value, forms a seed key pair based on the calculated key and the at least one seed value, generates a data bus message including the seed key pair and data corresponding to operation of the first module, and transmits, over a distributed vehicle network, the data bus message. The second module receives the data bus message over the distributed vehicle network, retrieves the seed key pair from the data bus message, determines whether the calculated key matches an expected key, and selectively verifies integrity of the first module based on the determination of whether the calculated key matches the expected key.

The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
An automotive electronic control system for a vehicle controls vehicle functions including, but not limited to, vehicle propulsion, braking, steering, and transmission operation. One or more main microprocessors (e.g., within electronic control units, or ECUs) execute software and/or perform calculations associated with the control of these vehicle functions. The microprocessors may communicate with other microprocessors and components of the electronic control system over a distributed asynchronous serial communication network such as a controller area network (CAN) bus.
The main microprocessors within the corresponding ECUs execute software related to control of various vehicle functions over the CAN bus, and one or more microprocessors may monitor another one of the microprocessors over the CAN bus. For example, a main microprocessor may monitor another microprocessor associated with a vehicle sensor. As such, vehicle performance depends on the integrity of the main microprocessors.

Method of performing microprocessor ALU integrity test over a distributed asynchronous serial communication network for ASIL-D level safety critical applications


A butchering tool including a handle and a bar extending from the handle. A claw is affixed to the bar remote from the handle. The claw includes a primary hook curving downwardly and rearwardly toward the bottom of the handle and a notch in the top thereof. The claw also includes a secondary hook that curves upwardly and rearwardly toward the top of the handle and that partially closes the notch.

Hunting is very popular in the United States, and thousands of people expend significant amounts of time, money, and physical effort in pursuit of game animals. Upon completing a successful hunt, a hunter faces the prospect of having to skin and dress a large animal carcass, often in cold and damp weather and typically after a long and tiring day. While field dressing can be an important part of the hunting experience, for most hunters it is not always the most enjoyable one. The butchering of what may be a heavy and unwieldy animal carcass is, therefore, a task that typically requires excellent tools to minimize work.
A hunter needs a very sharp knife to cut through the hide of an animal carcass. The knife, to be effective for prolonged periods of use, must be kept sharp and free of sticky grime. What is equally important is that the hunter be able to lift, manipulate, and otherwise handle the carcass comfortably and safely as the knife cuts the hide and the meat from bone. It would save time and effort if blade sharpening and carcass manipulating could be achieved through the use of a single tool that is safe and easy to handle even in the presence of slippery blood, animal fat, and ambient dirt. Unfortunately, no tool is presently available that can accomplish these tasks.


The present disclosure provides a display device including a rubber frame, a liquid crystal panel, a backplane, and a front frame which is connected with the backplane. The rubber frame is located between the backplane and the front frame. A periphery of the liquid crystal panel is retained between a support surface of the rubber frame and the front frame. The rubber frame is provided with a through-hole, a central axis of which is perpendicular to a plane where a light emitting surface of the liquid crystal panel is located. The backplane is provided with a slot-hole. The center axis of the through-hole passes through the slot-hole. The display device further includes a screw corresponding to the through-hole. The screw extends into the through-hole and is movable toward the front frame along the center axis of the through-hole relative to the rubber frame.

A liquid crystal panel itself does not emit light, thus, a backlight is required to be placed behind the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel and the backlight are fixed by a mechanical structure. In a normally white liquid crystal panel, when an electric field is applied on liquid crystal molecules, the liquid crystal panel may block the spread of light, so that a totally black screen is displayed. In a normally black liquid crystal panel, when no electric field is applied on the liquid crystal molecules, the liquid crystal panel may block the spread of light, so that the totally black screen is displayed.
However, under normal circumstances, especially in an advanced super dimension switch (ADS) mode liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal panel is not able to completely block the light. Particularly at a mechanical engagement structure on edges of the panel, since a front frame on the edges of the liquid crystal panel is usually manufactured by die stamping which is not a precision machining, thus, it is difficult to ensure good flatness and small dimensional tolerance. Further, even using a front frame with good flatness, the front frame may be deformed during a process of assembling a liquid crystal display module, resulting in that a gap between the front frame and the liquid crystal panel becomes smaller. Therefore, compressive stress against the liquid crystal panel caused by a deformed portion of the front frame becomes larger, thereby significantly weakening effects of blocking the light by the liquid crystal panel, and a light-leakage phenomenon appears in the totally black screen.

Beijing BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A system for managing utility power use by ascertaining the amount of resources to be purchased from a power supplier, identifying transactions that balance energy needs with various users, and production of schedules that maximize or minimize potential revenue from surplus energy.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method by which utilities and other power and natural gas companies in the power industry can effectively manage and utilize their power supply as well as position themselves for operation in the changing environment relating to the same.
B) Background Information Relating to the Present Invention
The preferred embodiment of the present invention which is disclosed herein was developed for the particular operating environment which exists in the area served by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other areas which have somewhat similar operations (e.g. the Western Area Power Administration [WAPA] that operates the Hoover Dam). Further, much of the descriptive text available that describes the system and method of the present invention was prepared with specific reference to the area served by the Bonneville Power Administration. Accordingly, it is believed that a clearer understanding of the present invention will be obtained by relating this preferred embodiment specifically to the operating system in this operating area of the BPA and for convenience of the description, terminology and references will be made to the BPA and the practices in that area.
Also, the assignee of the present invention, which is responsible for the development and implementation of the present invention has adopted terminology describing this system. For example, the overall system is referred to internally by this company by the term "PowerBiz" (the trademark rights of which are being claimed by the Assignee of the present invention) and other terminology adopted by the assignee will appear throughout the text.
However, it is to be understood that this is simply done by way of illustrating this preferred embodiment, and these terms are not being used in a generic sense. Rather, the system and method of the present invention are intended to apply more broadly to other situations in environments where similar or related conditions would be present, and the elements or components having such designations (e.g. "Slice Optimizer") are to be interpreted more broadly.
Also, the following text, the term "BPA" is intended not to refer just to the Bonneville Power Administration, but also to other companies or entities in the power industries which have operations sufficiently related to the concepts of the present invention so that the present invention will be applicable to such entities. Also, the term "Power Companies" is to be used in a broad sense to apply to any of the companies or entities which are engaged in the generation, distribution, use, and/or transportation of power, and more particularly, to those which are dealing in electrical power.
In the distribution of power by the BPA, there is what is called the SLICE System. The SLICE System is the BPA SLICE of the System (SLICE) product. SLICE is predominantly a hydropower generation resource. Like other hydropower resources, it is unique in that use of the resource today influences how much of the resource is available in the future. In other words, once water is released from a reservoir to generate electricity, that water is not immediately replaced. Nature replaces the resource through precipitation and runoff.
The SLICE product is delivered and managed in the form of electrical power. The amount of electrical power a SLICE participant receives is referred to as the SLICE entitlement. This entitlement is not a fixed number but a fixed percentage of the actual output of the Slice System Resources, and therefore is dependent on water conditions that occur in any given year. Also, the amount of SLICE energy delivered to a participant is not guaranteed, nor is the timing of power deliveries likely to match a participant's actual requirements over the course of a year.                The BPA SLICE product has several unique characteristics.        A small portion of SLICE is generated from thermal plants, which covers base load, and is included in the minimum generation limit.        SLICE is also comprised of multiple hydro resources, which means that as water is released from one hydro plant to generate electricity, the released water flows downstream through other hydro plants and generate additional electricity. The result of this downstream effect is addressed in the overall management of SLICE.        In addition, the BPA has ultimate control over SLICE. The participants are not buying any right to operate or control the BPA system resources by purchasing SLICE, and its reservoirs and hydro plants.        Because of this, the BPA will establish and maintain for each participant a SLICE System Storage Account (SSA) in order to determine if each participant is staying within the limits of the SLICE system to store energy and later release stored energy. The SSA is in essence a paper pond. A paper-pond is a contractual storage account, which may or may not correlate to a physical storage account. The SLICE Participant is obligated to maintain its paper pond within its prescribed upper and lower bounds, which change from day-to-day. BPA has the right to levy severe penalties if these bounds are violated.
The participant may shape its SLICE delivery so long as the rate of delivery of SLICE is between the maximum and minimum operating limits established by BPA. BPA will calculate these limits and provide them to the participant for each day. The participant's SLICE SSA will be used to track the accumulate difference between the SLICE power received and the participant's SLICE entitlement.
The advantage of SLICE to the participant is that they can control how this resource in use. A SLICE participant can decide to minimize the amount of SLICE energy delivered to increase the amount of storage in its paper-pond, and conversely they can maximize the amount of SLICE energy and draw down their paper-pond. This flexibility allows a customer to use the SLICE product to counter market price changes. For example, if the market price is high, a SLICE customer can use SLICE energy in lieu of purchasing energy on the open market or they can generate excess energy and sell it. Likewise, if the market price of energy is low, a SLICE customer can reduce the use of SLICE energy and store the energy in the paper-pond.
The advantage to BPA is that they are relieved from the responsibility of meeting the customer's load. The customer has a greater degree of control of the power supply and the obligation to meet load. When the optimal use of SLICE results in deficits or surpluses, the SLICE participant must buy from or sell energy in the open market.
As will be discussed in more detail later herein, the system and method of the present invention determines how to best utilize the SLICE resource for an individual client and for a group of clients. The system is referred to as PowerBiz, and the company or other entity operating the system will be called the PowerBiz provider. The key component of PowerBiz is the Slice Optimizer, which creates an optimal Slice schedule.
As indicated previously, certain terminology used in this text is derived from terms that have been adopted by the Assignee of the present invention. Thus, as indicated above, the term "PowerBiz" refers to the entire system. The term "Slice Optimizer" relates to the computer system and associated components and/or methods in operating the same.
The system can be divided in to two primary functions.                Pre-Schedule Optimization        Real-Time Schedule Optimization
The purpose of pre-scheduling is to identify the firm power needed to meet the forecasted load, as well as any surplus power available for disposal in the open market, and to ensure sufficient transmission exists to move that power. The forecasted load is prepared, based on a correlation of historical weather and energy use patterns. Adjustments for industrial and agricultural loads are also included in the forecasted load. Pre-scheduling is completed the day before the schedule goes into effect.
The purpose of real-time scheduling is to adjust resources to account for changes between the forecasted load and the actual load. Real-time schedule optimization provides information on how to adjust the use of SLICE resources when updated load forecasts based on actual take, and market prices change during the day.
Slice, for all practical purposes, is a hydropower energy resource, and as such, how it is used today effects how it can be used tomorrow. For example, using the Slice resource today to meet a load may mean the Slice resource is not available tomorrow to meet a load. Conversely, if you use less today, there will be more available tomorrow. Because of this, a lot of care must go in to determining how best to use the Slice resource. PRM's Slice Optimizer is designed to provide PRM's schedulers with the information necessary to schedule the Slice resource to achieve optimal economic results and meet the energy demand loads for a utility.

System and method for managing utility power use

Abstract: To accomplish this, there are studied forecasted weather, historical weather patterns, industrial and seasonal loads, and other factors affecting timing and use of power.


An miniature three-piece optical imaging lens with short back focal length, along an optical axis from the object side to the image side including: a first lens of positive refractive power that is a meniscus aspherical lens having a convex surface on the object side, an aperture stop, a second lens of negative refractive power that is a meniscus aspherical lens having a convex surface on the image side, a third lens of negative refractive power that is an aspherical lens whose center is on the optical axis, while on the lens center the convex surface is on the object side and the concave surface is on the image side. Moreover, from the center of the third lens element toward the edge, the refractive power changes from negative power, through an inflection point, to positive power. Furthermore, the optical imaging lens further satisfies conditions:

The present invention relates to an imaging lens, and more particularly to an optical imaging lens for mobile phones or image sensors such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) formed by three elements of lens with features of short back focal length, short overall (total) length and low cost.
Due to fast development of modern technology, electronics have becoming more compact and multifunctional. A lot of electronics such as digital cameras, PC (personal computer) cameras, network cameras, mobile phones, even personal digital assistants are equipped with image capturing devices. For convenience of easy-carrying and requirement of humanization, the image capturing devices requires good image quality, compact volume and low cost. Especially for applications on mobile phones, the above requirements are getting more important.
Due to many materials available for making the lens and better correcting effect for color aberration, conventional spherical ground glass lenses have been widely adopted in optical industry field. However, the spherical ground glass lenses have poor effect on correction of spherical aberration and astigmatic aberration when being applied under condition of a smaller f number and wide angle of field. In order to improve above disadvantages of the conventional spherical ground glass lenses, the image capturing devices available now use aspherical plastic lenses or aspherical molded glass lenses to replace conventional spherical ground glass lenses for better imaging quality. For example, refer to the lenses disclosed the optical imaging lens are formed by three lens elements, such as US2007/0091457, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,515,809 , 7,262,925, US 2007/0195432, US2005/0128334, JP 2007-121820, JP2005-352317, JP 2004-163786, JP 2007-094113, JP 2005-338234, JP 2007-047513, and JP 2006-098976 etc. The differences among embodiments of above patents are in components or combinations of components. For example, the three lens elements are all in meniscus shape or the first and the second lens elements are meniscus while the third lens element is in plano-concave shape or plano-convex shape. Or the convex surface/concave surface of the first/second/third lens elements can be arranged on the object/image side. Or the refractive power of the three lens elements may vary. For example, refractive power of the first, the second and the third lens elements are respectively positive, negative, positive or positive, positive, negative in sequence. Moreover, the three lens set/lens element respectively satisfy various optical parameters such as f (effective focal length of the whole optical imaging lens), d (distance between the object side and the image side of the first lens element), R11 (radius of curvature of the object side of the first lens element), R12 (radius of curvature of the image side of the first lens element), f1 (effective focal length of the first lens element), f2 (effective focal length of the second lens element), and f3 (effective focal length of the third lens element), as the embodiment shown in Japanese patent No. 3717488. Thus it is learned that the design of a three-element type optical imaging lens depends on optical requirements that result from combinations of various lens in different shapes and with different functions.
In recent years, the optical imaging lens are getting more compact with shorter focal length and better aberration correction for being applied to various portable electronics such as cameras, camera phones, and PDA. In different designs of compact three-element type optical imaging lens, the lens having a first lens element with positive refractive power, a second lens element with negative refractive power, a third lens element with an inflection point that changes the refractive power (also called M-shaped lens) achieves most compact requirement. As to different imaging method, the lens having a first lens element with positive refractive power, a second lens element with negative refractive power, a third M-shaped lens element with positive refractive power are disclosed in EP1830210, JP2008-139853, JP2006-178328, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,397,613, 7,486,328, 7,423,817, 7,468,847, 7,515,358, US2007/0195426, US2007/0217034, US2007/0229986, US2008/0239510, TWM343167, TW200639432, CN1670560, CN1873460, and so on. The lens having a first lens element with positive refractive power, a second lens element with negative refractive power, a third M-shaped lens element with negative refractive power are disclosed in EP1840618, EP1942363, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,460,315, 7,460,314, 7,450,323, 7,511,899, US2007/0229987, US2008/0225401, US2008/0266679, US2007/0195426, JP3816093, JP2008-276200, JP2008-233222, JP2007-010773, WO2007039980, CN1945372, and so on.
Applying for optical imaging lens, especially an optical imaging lens for mobile phones and network camera, the users are in urgent need of the imaging lens system with small effective radius, short overall length, short back focal length, and good aberration correction. However, in order to achieve the above-mentioned needs, the prior arts utilize different composition of lenses, different shapes of lenses or different related optical parameters. In order to achieve the convenience for designing and manufacturing the lens, this present invention provides an optical imaging lens with short back focal length, especially utilize a second lens with a relative longer focal length so as to decrease the back focal length effectively for being applied to mobile phones or imaging system more easily.

Miniature three-piece optical imaging lens with short back focal length

Abstract: 0.25  ≤      bf    TL    ≤  0.4wherein bf is back focal length, TL is total distance on the optical axis from the object side of the first lens to the image plane. Thereby, the imaging lens achieves effective aberration correction, high resolution and minimum total length.


A process for the preparation of ammonia from a hydrogen- and nitrogen-containing synthesis gas having a combined compression step in the recirculation of synthesis gas from at least two ammonia synthesis loops. The process includes admixing to the synthesis gas a recycle gas from a first and a second ammonia separation step. The admixed gases are pressurized, and the gas is divided into a first make-up gas stream and a second make-up gas stream. The first make-up gas stream is introduced to a first ammonia reactor, and a first process stream rich in ammonia is withdrawn. The second ammonia make-up gas stream is introduced into a second ammonia reactor, and a second process stream rich in ammonia is withdrawn. Ammonia from the first and second process streams is separated. The remainders of the first and second process streams are recycled for admixing with the synthesis gas. The separated ammonia is combined and withdrawn as an ammonia product stream.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to certain improvements in the preparation of ammonia from a hydrogen- and nitrogen-containing ammonia synthesis gas.
More particularly, this invention concerns synthesis of ammonia at high production capacity in at least two ammonia synthesis reactors arranged in parallel synthesis loops with one combined compression step of synthesis recycle gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Synthesis of ammonia conventionally is performed by passing a process stream of synthesis gas, containing nitrogen and hydrogen in essentially stoichiometric amounts, to the formation of ammonia through a catalyst arranged in one or more beds in a reactor.
Thermodynamically, the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia requires the reaction to be performed at elevated temperature and pressure, usually above 100 atmospheres and at temperatures between 300.degree. and 600.degree. C. At the above process conditions, the equilibrium concentration of ammonia in a stoichiometric synthesis gas composition is below 20% by volume in the synthesis gas stream from the reactor. The stream has to be recycled to the reactor, together with fresh synthesis gas, in order to provide a reasonably sufficient ammonia product yield.
Prior to recycling, the stream is cooled to separate ammonia from unreacted hydrogen, nitrogen, and inert diluents present in the synthesis gas. A fraction of the recycle gas is purged to vent inerts. The stripped gas is then passed to a compression stage by which it is recycled to the reaction.
Expenses for compressing and recycling synthesis gas are important factors in the economy of ammonia production in general, and in particular when production capacities of existing ammonia synthesis loops have to be increased.
Accordingly, the need exists for ammonia production processes having reduced expenses, such as those associated with compressing and recycling synthesis gas. In addition, the need exists for economical methods of increasing the production capacities of existing ammonia synthesis plants.


During the transport of flat products, in particular folded products which are transferred at the end of a transport path to an assembly which forwards them, a great degree of freedom from faults can be attained by the fact that, in the case of lower transport speeds, the products are accelerated during the transfer by air which passes along them at a higher speed in the transport direction than the transport speed. In the case of higher transport speeds, the products are expediently braked during the transfer by reducing the pressure in the gap between one of their surfaces and an adjacent guide surface.

According to a first concept of the invention, the invention relates to a method for transporting flat products, in particular folded products which are transferred at the end of a transport path to an assembly which forwards them and is preferably moved transversely with respect to the transport path.
A further concept of the invention relates to an apparatus which is suitable for carrying out this method, having a transport gap which is formed by conveying elements which are moved in the transport direction and lie opposite one another, it being possible to supply the products to the transport gap which is delimited on at least one side by at least one stationary guide element in the region of its end which is assigned to an assembly which forwards the products and is preferably moved transversely with respect thereto, the transport gap being assigned air nozzles which can act on the products coming out of the transport gap.
During the transport of folded products, etc., by means of a belt guidance means, there is the risk that the products are charged electrically on account of unavoidable friction. The consequence of this is that the movement of the products is impeded during the transfer to an assembly which is arranged after the belt guidance means, such as a paddle wheel, etc. This is true, in particular, at relatively low production speeds, such as occur, for example, during the starting-up operation or braking operation, where the kinetic energy of the products is not sufficiently great to overcome the tendency of the products to adhere, which is brought about on account of the electric charging. The invention is shown that, in such a case, the products can remain attached to stationary guide elements with their rear end region or to the associated paddle of the paddle wheel with their front end region. In both cases, the products do not pass entirely into the associated compartment of the paddle wheel, with the result that the rear ends can block the entrance to the next compartment, which leads to disruptions.
German Patent Document No. DE 102 19 540 B3 has disclosed an apparatus of the abovementioned type, in which blower nozzles are attached on both sides of the transport gap, which blower nozzles are directed towards the adjacent product surface and are intended to keep the latter away from stationary guide tongues. Although this counteracts the rear product ends getting caught on the stationary guide tongues, the risk of it being possible for the front end regions of the products to get caught on the associated paddle of the paddle wheel cannot be prevented with this known arrangement. It is not possible to use the known arrangement to accelerate the products in order to increase their kinetic energy to such an extent that an inclination to adhere is overcome. The same is true conversely for a braking operation.
In addition, the air jets which impact on the product surface approximately perpendicularly with respect to the latter cannot guide the products. It can therefore occur that the products become tilted, etc., which can likewise lead to disturbances.
Proceeding from this, it is the object of the present invention to improve a method and an apparatus in such a way that a high level of freedom from faults is attained.
In conjunction with the method according to the generic type, this object is achieved by the fact that, in the case of lower transport speeds, the products are accelerated during the transfer by air which passes along them at a higher speed in the transport direction than the transport speed.
The solution, in apparatus terms, of the object according to the invention consists in the fact that, in the apparatus of the generic type, the air nozzles have a jet direction which is substantially parallel to the transport plane and points in the transport direction, it being possible to apply compressed air to the air nozzles, at least in the case of lower transport speeds, in such a way that the air which emerges from them has a higher speed than the transport speed.
These measures lead to an air film which passes along the products at high speed and not only separates the products from an adjacent stationary guide element but accelerates them at the same time in the transport direction. The products are therefore not only guided reliably but are also given sufficient kinetic energy that, even in the case of an absent or weak air film, an inclination to adhere on account of electrostatic attraction is overcome. The front edges of the products therefore advantageously pass reliably as far as the base of the paddle wheel, as a result of which disturbances of the type mentioned in the introduction are avoided reliably.
Advantageous refinements and expedient developments of the superior measures are further specified. In the case of higher transport speeds, the products can thus be braked during the transfer by reducing the pressure in the gap between one of their surfaces and an adjacent guide surface. For this purpose, the air nozzles can be connected to a vacuum source, with the result that there is a drop in pressure. As a consequence of the drop in pressure, the products are attracted by suction and braked as a result. In this case, there is no need to fear that the products will get caught on account of electrostatic attraction, as the kinetic energy of the products is sufficiently high here to overcome electrostatic attraction forces.
A further expedient measure can consist in the fact that the air nozzles are assigned to a guide plate which extends over the width of the transport gap. This makes it possible to form an air film reliably over the entire width.
The guide plate can advantageously be provided with tongues which engage into grooves of an adjacent belt deflection roller. As a result, a transfer is attained which is free from disturbances.
A further, particularly expedient measure can consist in the fact that a plurality of nozzle rows which extend in the transport direction are provided over the width of the guide plate. The nozzle rows can be switched on and off individually, which makes simple adaptation to the respectively processed product format possible.

Method and apparatus for transporting flat products