To provide a wristwatch in which a band can be easily attached to and detached from a case band without using an exclusive tool, in which a sufficient attachment strength with respect to the case band can be ensured, and moreover whose use feeling is good. Bow feet each of which has an attachment hole are protrusively provided in a case band, and a bow crotch receiving an end piece (case band connection end part) of a band capable of being attached to and detached from the case band so as to be capable of being put in and taken out is formed between the bow feet. An operation opening is provided in the end piece. A coupler having possessed a tubular rotation body and coupling axles is internally mounted in the end piece. The tubular rotation body has female screws, and the coupling axles are meshed with these female screws. The tubular rotation body is provided while facing on the operation opening, and manual-rotation-operated from an outside of the end piece. The coupling axles are locked to the end piece, and provided so as to be capable of being protruded and immersed with respect to an end face of the end piece in its width direction in accordance with the rotation of the tubular rotation body. The coupling axles having been protruded and immersed are inserted into and withdrawn from the attachment holes, so that an attachment/detachment of the band with respect to the case band is made possible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a band for timepiece and a wristwatch in which this band has been detachably attached to a case band.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, there is known a technique detachably attaching the band to the case band of the wristwatch without using an exclusive tool (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In this technique of the Patent Document 1, a metal plate having two curl parts is attached to an end part of a leather band, and a spring bar is provided while extending over the two curl parts. The spring bar has a handle being bent approximately like the V letter in an intermediate part of a spring wire material, and one end and the other end, which are bent so as to become mutually remote from this handle. Both ends of this spring bar are individually inserted into the two curl parts and rotatably held, and the handle is disposed between the two curl parts. And, in one of the two curl parts, there are provided a slant face causing the handle to slide widely and narrowly, and a taper face holding the handle in a narrow width end of this slant face under a contraction state.
The one end of the spring bar consisting of the spring wire material is always protruded from the curl part which holds the one end. In contrast to this, the other end of the spring bar is protruded from the other curl part by the fact that the handle widens following upon the fact that the handle is brought down to a back face of the band by being rotated, and is immersed into the other curl part by the fact that the handle becomes the contraction state following upon the fact that the handle is raised with respect to the back face of the band by being rotated reversely to the former.
Accordingly, by rotating the handle of the spring bar, the end of this spring bar can be put in and taken out of a hole provided in a bow foot of the case band. For this reason, the band can be attached to and detached from the case band without using the exclusive tool.
<Patent Document 1> Japanese Utility Model No. 3042321 Gazette
In a case where a spring property of the spring bar formed by bend-working the spring wire material, whose elastic deformation is possible, is strong, there decreases an operability when raising the handle of the spring bar. Reversely to this, in a case where the spring property of the spring bar is weak, there decreases a reliability for attaching and holding the band to the case band with a predetermined strength. The spring property of the spring bar is generally large in its dispersion because the bend working of the handle of the spring bar influences as well. For this reason, in ensuring both of an easy attachment/detachment operability of the band with respect to the case band and a sufficient attachment strength, the technique of the Patent Document 1 is not desirable.
Further, there is considered the fact that the handle of the spring bar existing along a back side of the band contacts with a user's wrist during use and, in this case, there is the fact that a use feeling is impaired.
Moreover, under a state that the band having been detached from the case band is kept in custody, it is normal that the handle of the spring bar is made into a state of extending along the back face of the band. For this reason, when attaching the band to the case band of the wristwatch, there becomes necessary a work for immersing the movable end of the spring bar into the curl part holding this end, by once raising the handle. Therefore, a work for attaching the band to the case band is comparatively troublesome as well.


Impact-absorbing damping device which has at least two telescoping tubes, in particular for motor vehicles, to decelerate a vehicle when it collides with an obstacle by damping and/or spring forces, whereby the cavity of at least one tube is provided with an elastomer body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an impact-absorbing damping device which has at least two telescoping tubes, in particular for motor vehicles, to decelerate a vehicle when it strikes an obstacle by means of damping and/or spring forces.
2. Background Information
Known impact-absorbing damping devices (e.g. German Patent No. 34 19 165), can include two telescoping tubes, whereby a closed inner tube contains, in sequence starting from the bottom, a gas chamber which encloses a gas cushion under high pressure, a separating piston which is guided in a sealed manner and so that it can move inside the inner tube, and a first fluid chamber. The first fluid chamber is in communication with a second fluid chamber by means of a throttle point or choke point and is used to generate hydraulic damping forces. In this normal position, the maximum stroke is large enough so that it is able to absorb an impact up to 8 km/h. The volume equalization and the return of the impact-absorbing damping device into the original base position is accomplished by means of the gas cushion, which is enclosed in the closed gas space.


The apparatus for an X-ray data generation according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes a processor that receives 3D data to generate output data and a buffer, and the processor includes an extraction unit that extracts raw object data from the 3D data and projects the raw object data onto a 2D plane to generate first object data, an augmentation unit that performs data augmentation on the first object data to generate second object data, a composition unit that synthesizes the second object data and background data to generate composite data, and a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the composite data to generate the output data, and the buffer stores a plurality of parameters related to generation of the first object data, the second object data, the composite data, and the output data.

Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to an X-ray data generation, and more particularly, relate to an apparatus and a method for an X-ray data generation, which are used for neural network learning.
Artificial intelligence is being used in various fields due to the development of its technology. Since a predictive performance of neural networks used in artificial intelligence is determined depending on a learning method of a neural network, it is necessary to learn the neural network using high-quality learning data. However, when the neural network is learned using only data acquired in an actual environment, the amount of learning data is limited, and it is difficult to secure learning data that reflects various environments. In addition, to learn the neural network using data acquired in the actual environment, additional processing for the acquired data is required, and additional annotation work for learning may be required in the acquired data.
Furthermore, in the case of an X-ray image, the number of samples is less than that of a general visible ray image, and it is limited to acquire images in various environments due to the characteristics of photographing devices. Therefore, in the medical field or the customs detection field where X-ray images are mainly used, it is difficult to secure learning data for introducing artificial intelligence.

Apparatus and method for x-ray data generation

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A method for promoting oral hygiene and treating a patient for gingivitis, other periodontal problems, or oral mal odor by transmitting to the gums of a patient electrical current waveforms of electrical voltage within the range of from about ±0.1V to about ±3.9V as a combination of ultra-weak electrical currents.

The hard and soft tissues of the mouth are covered with microbial populations that contain bacteria with different metabolic capabilities. The Gram-positive bacteria within these microbial populations readily catabolize carbohydrates to produce acids which attack the hard tissues of the oral cavity, resulting in the formation of dental caries lesions or cavities. In contrast, the Gram-negative bacteria, especially the anaerobes readily metabolize various amino acids contained in salivary and, to lesser extent, other peptides and proteins in the oral cavity to form end-products which favor the formation of oral malodor and periodontitis. This process of peptide, protein and amino acid degradation by the mouth bacteria is referred to as oral bacterial putrefaction. The mixture of malodorous compounds produced by the Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria during putrefactive degradation of proteins, peptides and amino acids include hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide (formed from the sulfur containing amino acids cysteine, cystine and methionine); indole and skatole (formed during the metabolism of tryptophan); cadaverine and putrescine (produced from lysine and ornithine); and butyrate and valerate (produced from the metabolism of other amino acids). The production of these malodorous compounds in the oral cavity results in a condition commonly referred to as oral malodor. It is estimated that about 75% of all adults have some form of this condition.
Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, butyrate and propionate are putrefaction end-products that also have cell and tissue altering non-inflammatory roles in the periodontitis process. Hydrogen sulfide and methylmercaptan are compounds particularly effective in facilitating the oral epithelium penetrability of toxins and other large molecular weight compounds produced by Gram-negative bacteria, and leading to the inflammation and tissue degradation characteristics of gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is a condition in which the gingiva is red, swollen and bleeding. If left untreated, gingivitis may develop into periodontitis, a condition characterized by destruction of the periodontium, including epithelial attachment loss, periodontal membrane and ligament destruction, and loss of gingiva and alveolar bone. Severe periodontitis resulting in deep periodontal pockets may ultimately result in tooth loss.
Adult periodontal disease is a widespread medical problem that is difficult to treat, especially in the middle-aged and elderly. It develops when bacteria indigenous to the oral cavity colonize gingival sulci, forming bacterial plaques in the absence of oral hygiene. Inflammation (gingivitis) develops and eventually spreads, causing tooth attachment loss (periodontitis). The diversity of the oral flora, the chronic nature of the disease, and the absence of a generally accepted animal or in vitro model, have made the molecular pathogenesis of this disease by bacteria difficult to study. Therapies for this disease have also been hampered by ignorance of the bacterial induction process. Current therapy requires that the dentist improve oral hygiene by debridement (scaling and root-planing) and repair tissue architecture using periodontal surgery as necessary. The patient must undertake regular toothbrushing and flossing. This therapy is expensive, time-consuming and unpredictable in its outcome.
Previous studies have largely otherwise focused on the use of germicidal agents to treat gingivitis-periodontitis and oral malodor. Recent findings have recognized that gingivitis-periodontitis and oral malodor arise from a common process, oral bacterial putrefaction.
Both gingivitis and periodontitis are inflammatory diseases caused by plaque formation on the teeth. Chronic periodontitis often leads to destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth. Plaque can be defined as a soft bacteria-containing coating on the surface of a tooth. When a tooth is not clean, plaque formation will commence and this will lead to gingivitis in the gingival area.
The inflammation of the gingiva leads to the formation of the gingival sulcus, and a gingival pocket is formed. Clear evidence that plaque is responsible for gingivitis was derived from the induction of experimental gingivitis (H. Loe et al., J. Periodontology 36: 177-187, 1965). Starting from a state of clinical gingival health, all participants developed gingivitis within 10 to 21 days after elimination of oral hygiene procedures. After reinstating plaque control, the gingiva returned to a normal condition within seven days.
Gingivits is characterizered by swelling and redness of the free gingival margin. Bleeding is caused by, for example, toothbrushing and gentle probing by a dentist. There is a loss in the connective tissue tone, which tends to open the gingival sulcus. The disease process may be combatted by either eliminating the plaque or by altering the environment by changing the composition of the plaque.
In order to colonize a surface, bacteria must be able to adhere to the surface in question. The mucous epithelium of the oral cavity is constantly renewed, so that bacteria adhering to the mucosal surface will tend to be sloughed off together with the outer layer of dead cells of the epithelium, thus preventing bacterial invasion of the living tissue underneath the dead epithelial cells. On the other hand, the dental surface constitutes a firm non-living base to which bacteria effectively adhere. The bacterial colonies on the dental surface (plaque), especially at the gingival margin and in the subgingival region, are not removed by any similar process, resulting in an antibacterial immune reaction from the surrounding tissue evident as a chronic inflammation of the gingival tissue. Under normal and healthy conditions this inflammatory reaction is mild, with a delicate balance being struck between colonizing bacteria and antibacterial effect.
Inflammation of the gingiva due to bacterial colonization of the dental surfaces is therefore an important initial stage of periodontitis. If the bacterial colonies (plaque) are not removed, accumulation of bacteria along the gingival margin or in the dento-gingival region will lead to increased gingival inflammation and destruction of the periodontal membrane possibly followed by bone resorption. Eventually a periodontal pocket develops in which more bacteria accumulate, resulting in increased inflammation and infection proper of the tissue so as to lead to a more pronounced degradation of the tooth-supporting tissue.
Wherever there is a plaque-coated surface, calcium ions can take part in chemical reactions, giving rise to formation of calculus. Calculus can be found on the tooth surface as supra-gingival or subgingival deposits. These deposits must be removed in order to maintain normal gingival conditions.
A characteristic of periodontal infection is that once bacteria/plaque have established themselves (i.e. infected) firmly in a periodontal pocket, the natural humoral defense mechanisms are not capable of dealing with the infection, and the plaque may turn into hard deposits, i.e. calculus.
Apart from the general inflammation caused by the presence of bacteria/plaque, the release of hydrolytic enzymes like hyaluronidase, desoxyribonuclease, collagenase and proteases probably contributes to the destruction of dental tissue.
The severity of tissue damage probably depends on the antigen/antibody reaction of the organism as well as the degree of retention of inflammatory products in the periodontal pockets. Accumulation of mediators of local inflammation accelerates the process. In most cases the process is slow, with immunoinfiltration of the gingival tissue and formation of granulation tissue which contains inflammatory cells. Occasionally, this slow progression is superseded by acute exacerbations with accumulation of inflammatory cells and release of lysosomal enzymes. Such exacerbations are probably due to changes in the bacterial flora.
Juvenile periodontitis differs from the above marginal periodontitis only by an early onset, and by often involving certain groups of teeth and being accompanied by a much lesser degree of plaque formation. It begins in late childhood, resulting in a pronounced loss of the teeth's supporting tissue, and it too is an infectious disease on a par with other periodontal diseases.
Current periodontal therapy is directed towards the removal of bacterial plaque and calculus deposits—subgingival and supragingival plaque. These goals are usually achieved by means of scaling and polishing, instruction in oral hygiene procedures, periodontal surgery where indicated and periodic maintenance.
Another option for treatment, which remains to be fully evaluated, is the possibility of disrupting the subgingival microflora in such a way that supragingival plaque control becomes less important. One potential approach to such a treatment is intensive intermittent disruption using local or systemic antimicrobial agents, examples of which are metronidazole, tetracycline and erythromycin. Such agents may also be used for irrigation of the periodontal pockets. The potential effect is based on the concept that alteration of the subgingival microflora at appropriate intervals may be sufficient to prevent the development of an ecosystem suitable to the reestablishment of pathogens in adequate levels for disease initiation. Another approach is bacterial substitution, replacing potential pathogens with bacteria which occupy the same ecological niche but have a reduced pathogenic potential.
Still another approach is the use of chemical agents which will alter plaque and subgingival microflora sufficiently to prevent gingivitis or the development of gingivitis into parodontitis.
A vast number of chemical agents have been evaluated as potential antiplaque/antigingivitis agents. The first generation agents are antibacterial agents with limited effectiveness. These agents are effective as antibacterials in vitro, but are either not retained intra-orally or they are rapidly released. Therefore, they inhibit the bacteria for a short period of time, after which time bacteria growth is resumed. Their clinical effect is limited unless the agents are used frequently, i.e. four to six times a day. This group includes topical antibiotics, oxygenating compounds, quaternary ammonium compounds, phenolic compounds, and sanguinarine. The second generation agents are effective not only in vitro but also in vivo, due to their retention and release kinetics. At present, chlorhexidine and chlorhexidine analogues are the primary second generation compounds, and stannous fluoride may also qualify as belonging to this group.
Penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, polymyxin B, kanamycin, metronidazole and spiromycin have been used for anti-plaque treatment. However, the potential for the development of bacterial resistance and hypersensitivity reactions should limit the use of antibiotics for plaque control purposes. In general, antibiotics may hold great promise for specific bacterial diseases in the oral cavity, but they appear to be inappropriate for the routine control of supragingival plaque and associated diseases.
Quaternary ammonium compounds are cationic surface agents which are capable of reducing surface tension, absorbing to negatively charged surfaces and disrupting membranes. Plaque reducing effects have been reported with benzethonium chloride and cetylpyridinium chloride at 0.1%, when used four times daily. Side effects with quaternary ammonium compounds have included both ulcerations and discomfort.
Phenolic compounds have a long history of use in the oral cavity as either a mouthwash or as throat lozenges. A commercial preparation (Listerine®) of thymol, eucalyptol, methyl salicylate, benzoic acid and boric acid has shown a certain plaque reducing effect as compared to a placebo. It is not clear whether the degree of plaque inhibition due to this agent is of long-term value in the prevention of periodontitis.
Sanguinarine, a benzophenanthradine alkaloid, has recently been reported to be potentially useful as a plaque control agent. Preliminary studies indicate that sanguinarine is capable of providing some reduction and prevention of plaque and gingivitis.
Chlorhexidine gluconate in 0.1-0.2% solutions and 1% gels have been shown to exert an effective plaque inhibiting and anti-gingivitis effect, when used short-term. A few long-term studies with chlorhexidine gluconate have also shown promising effects against plaque formation. The oral use of chlorhexidine has been associated with staining of the teeth and tongue and a bitter taste, and longer use often gives rise to alterations of the mucosa. Owing to the cationic nature of the compound, it is difficult to mask the taste by addition of flavoring agents without affecting the biological activity. Other agents such as alexidine and octenidine are structurally similar to chlorhexidine, and appear have a comparable effect.
In summary, treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis has mainly been prophylactic, emphasizing the importance of removing calculus and dental plaque and generally improving oral hygiene by mechanical means such as toothbrushing using fluoride-containing toothpastes etc., and using dental floss, toothpicks and the like. When necessary, surgical methods have been used in order to reduce the depth of the periodontal pockets. Systemic or topical antibacterial treatment with tetracyclin or the like has also been shown to have some effect, especially during acute infectious episodes, and finally, irrigating or rinsing the mouth with antiseptics such as chlorohexidine has been shown to exert a certain, if limited, effect, especially on gingivitis and plaque formation. However, none of these treatments are entirely satisfactory as they either require a high degree of patient compliance and/or do not possess a high degree of efficiency.
There is therefore a need to provide an effective method for promoting oral hygiene and treatment, either prophylactic or therapeutic treatment, of gingivitis, other periodontal problems and oral mal odor.

Promotion of oral hygiene and treatment of gingivitis, other periodontal problems and oral mal odor with alternating current waveforms and device therefor


A seamless vertical handoff method allows the network applications and connections on a mobile node to continue without disruption as it moves within a wireless overlay network that comprises multiple possibly overlapping layers of wireless networks (e.g., a WLAN and a WWAN) with different underlying technologies, providing mobile roaming capabilities. The method comprises a WLAN access point signal strength monitor for determining when to switch between WLAN and WWAN, and a network connection migration scheme that can move an active network connection from a wireless link of one technology to another wireless link of a different technology in a way that is transparent to the user, the remote end of the network connection, and the operator of the WWAN carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to wireless roaming, and more particularly to a system and method for vertical handoff in a wireless network.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Wireless connectivity is a burgeoning market in which consumers are coming to expect network access in a variety of venues, such as malls, hotels, public spaces, etc. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) are providing the connectivity.
Within these venues dead zones are a problem. Dead zones are pockets within a WLAN having reduced or no wireless signal for connecting to the network. As a mobile node moves into a dead zone, any connection to the network will be substantially degraded or dropped. The dead zones detract from the users experience of wireless connectivity.
One method of limiting dead zones is to implement a network comprising different wireless technologies having different capabilities in a given geographic area. For a wireless device to move within such a network, a handoff is needed between wireless network cells to provide continuous connections to the network.
Handoffs in wireless mobile networks can be characterized into two categories, horizontal handoff and vertical handoff. Horizontal handoff allows mobile nodes to move among wireless network cells that support the same wireless link technology. Vertical handoff allows device movement within a network environment that comprises heterogeneous wireless links.
Because vertical handoff involves different types of connections, e.g., 802.11 and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), handing a connection from one cell to another is slow as compared to horizontal handoff, and detracts from a user's wireless experience. For example, until the new connection is established, the mobile node is cut off from the network. Further, packet loss or delay during a handoff interval can incorrectly trigger a congestion control mechanism at the sender side of any Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections in which the mobile node is involved, thus greatly slowing down the throughput.
No known system or method exists for seamless vertical handoff between different wireless technologies. Therefore, a need exists for a system and method for performing a seamless vertical handoff.

Research Foundation of the State University of New York


The invention relates to a method of controlling movements of a positioner of a micro-scanner, the method comprising: determining the vibration resonance frequency ranges of the positioner, and performing a main scan by a controlled movement of the positioner.

Over the past decade, storage densities in magnetic recording technology haves experienced a tremendous increased in storage densities with a corresponding decrease in and the cost per GByte has correspondingly decreased. However, due to limitations imposed by the super-paramagnetic effect, the maximum achievable storage capacity of magnetic recording technologies is believed to be in the order of 250 Gbit/in2.
Another shortcoming of hard disk drives is their high access time. The large physical size of hard disk drives is a major contributor to this high access time. MEMS-based scanning-probe data storage technology is considered as an ultra-high-density and low-access-time alternative to conventional magnetic data storage that addresses some of the shortcomings of the latter. Such a probe-storage device uses nanometer-sharp tips, typically used in scanning probe microscopes to write information to and read the recorded information from a storage medium. Such a probe-storage concept is, for example, disclosed in H. J. Mamin, R. P. Ried, B. D. Terris, and D. Rugar, "High-Density Data Storage Based On The Atomic Force Microscope," Proc. IEEE, vol. 87, pp. 1014-1027, 1999. Such a technology can be regarded as a candidate to previously-proposed technologies for achieving higher storage densities at lower access times. A major challenge in creating a viable probe-storage device is that such probes operate for read and write operations, respectively, at best on the microsecond timescale. Therefore, in order to be competitive with known conventional storage technologies, orders of magnitude increases in speed are necessary is desirable for such a device. One solution to achieve such a substantial increase in data rates is to employ with MEMS-based arrays of probes operating in parallel, with each probe performing read/write/erase operations on an individual storage field. In such a system, a MEMS-based micro-scanner with two-dimensional motion capabilities is used to position the storage medium with respect to the array of read/write probes. Since actuation distances typically are of the order of 100 μm and the moving components have relatively smaller masses, the access delays are generally expected to be smaller than in reduced compared to disk drives.
Implementations of probe-based storage devices are known for example from P. Vettiger, G. Cross, M. Despont, U. Drechsler, U. D{umlaut over ( )}uürig, B. Gotsmann, W. Häberle, M. Lantz, H. Rothuizen, R. Stutz, and G. Binnig, "The "Millipede"—Nanotechnology Entering Data Storage," IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, Vol. 1, pp. 39-55, 2002 and E. Eleftheriou, T. Antonakopoulos, G. K. Binnig, G. Cherubini, M. Despont, A. Dholakia, U. D{umlaut over ( )}urig, M. A. Lantz, H. Pozidis, H. E. Rothuizen, and P. Vettiger, "Millipede—A MEMS Based Scanning-Probe Data Storage System," IEEE Transactions On Magnetics, vol. 39(2), pp. 938-945, 2003.
Such devices are based on a thermo-mechanical principle for storing and retrieving information written on thin polymer films. Thereby, such films typically have a thickness less than 200 nm. Digital information is stored by making indentations on the thin polymer film by using the tips of AFM micro-cantilevers, which are a few nanometers in diameter. The shape of a typical indentation resembles an almost conical structure with a diameter of approximately 15 to 30 nm. This indentation shape results in an error-rate performance that increasingly rapidly deteriorates as the probe-tip distance from the center of the indentation is increased. This is, for example, discussed H. Pozidis, W. Häberle, D. W. Wiesmann, U. Drechsler, M. Despont, T. Albrecht, and E. Eleftheriou, "Demonstration of Thermomechanical Recording at 641 Gbit/in2," IEEE Transactions On Magnetics, vol. 40(4), pp. 2531-2536, 2004.
Hence accurate positioning of the storage medium relative to the probes is essential. Typically a micro-scanner is employed to position the storage medium. Such a micro-scanner is disclosed in M. A. Lantz, H. Rothuizen, U. Drechsler, W. Haeberle and M. Despont, "A vibration resistant Nanopositioner For Mobile Parallel-Probe Storage Applications", Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 2006.
For controlling the micro-scanner in a closed-loop fashion, position information is derived from a global position sensor like a thermal position sensor that is disclosed in M. A. Lantz, G. K. Binnig, M. Despont, and U. Drechsler, "A Micromechanical Thermal Displacement Sensor With Nanometer Resolution," Nanotechnology, Vol. 16, pp. 1089-1094, May 2005.
Track seeking and track following controllers may, for example, utilize thermal sensors. For example A. Pantazi, A. Sebastian, G. Cherubini, M. Lantz, H. Rothuizen, H. Pozidis, and E. Eleftheriou, "Control of Mems-based Probe Storage Devices," IEEE Transactions on Control System Technology, 2006, discloses a prototype system that uses thermal position sensors for deriving positional information.
Thermal sensors have a satisfactory noise performance at increased high frequencies. However, they tend to suffer from significant low-frequency drifts which can be considered as low-frequency noise. Hence a feedback-control scheme relying on the thermal sensors alone is not suitable for a long-term operation of the device. Because of the availability of multiple probes, a small number of probes and their respective storage fields could be dedicated for the generation of some form of medium-derived positional error signal (PES). This medium-derived PES accurately captures deviations from the track centerline for each data track. Therefore, it has a very limited range that is substantially equal to the distance between tracks.
Nevertheless, since medium-derived PES is crucial for a satisfactory operation of such a micro-scanner, prior to using a MEMS-based scanning probe storage device, the servo information generating the medium-derived PES has to be written in those storage fields reserved for this specific purpose. This operation is referred to as "servo writing". Since the servo information is written without assistance from an external positioning device, the servo writing is usually called "self servo writing".
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of controlling movements of a positioner of a scanner, an improved controller, an improved scanner, an improved data storage device and an improved scanning probe microscope.

Method of controlling movements of a position of a microscanner

International Business Machines Corporation


In an uncoupling element for uncoupling vibrations of the turbocharger of an internal combustion engine from an exhaust system with a bellows, provisions are made, especially for achieving a lower stiffness with short overall length, for the bellows to be a diaphragm bellows.

The vibration amplitudes of a turbocharger are in the range of 3 μm to 5 μm with vibration frequencies of 500 Hz to 5,000 Hz, especially up to 1,500 Hz. In addition, the space available for installation is rather small at a turbocharger of an internal combustion engine in the axial direction (of the exhaust gas outlet of the turbocharger or of the exhaust system), so that bellows with great overall lengths cannot be used here.

BOA Balg-und Kompensatoren-Technologie GmbH


A lithographic apparatus having a controller that sets at least one lithographic apparatus parameter such that the difference between the critical dimension of pattern features formed on the substrate in regions of relatively high and relatively low pattern feature density is minimized for an area on the substrate on which a patterned beam of radiation is to be projected and which re-sets the at least one lithographic apparatus parameter during a time period between the times of projection of the patterned radiation beam onto two areas of the substrate.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
Microchip fabrication involves the control of tolerances of a space or a width between features, and/or between elements of a feature such as, for example, two edges of a feature. In particular, the control of space tolerance of the smallest of such spaces permitted in the fabrication of the device or IC layer is of importance. Said smallest space and/or smallest width is commonly referred to as the critical dimension ("CD").
In order for the devices formed by the lithographic process to function correctly and consistently, it is important to ensure that the CD of a completed device or part of a completed device is as close as possible to a desired value. It is also important to ensure that the CD value varies as little as possible between devices formed on different substrates, between devices formed on different parts of a single substrate and between different parts of a single device. The CD may vary between substrates and across substrates, however, because of variations in the processing conditions of the resist on the substrate, for example. The inherent CD variation may be compensated for by adjusting the dose applied to the substrate.
However, it has also been found that the CD may vary between features formed on the same part of the substrate. In particular there may be a difference in the CD of isolated features (namely features formed on the substrate in regions of relatively low pattern feature density) and dense features (namely features formed in regions of relatively high pattern feature density). These variations may limit the process latitude, i.e. the available depth of focus in combination with the allowed amount of residual error in the dose of exposure of irradiated target portions for a given tolerance of the CD. This problem arises because features of the patterning device having the same nominal critical dimensions may print differently depending on their pitch (i.e. the separation between adjacent features) due to pitch dependent effects. For example, the feature consisting of a line having particular line width when in isolation, i.e. having a large pitch, will print differently from the same feature having the same line width when together with other lines of the same line width in a dense arrangement on the patterning device, i.e. having a small pitch. Hence, when both dense and isolated features of critical dimension are to be printed simultaneously, a pitch dependent variation of printed CD is observed. This phenomenon is called "iso-dense bias".
The iso-dense bias may be caused by diffraction effects, which result is radiation reaching the substrate at locations other than those intended. The separation between two adjacent pattern features, namely the pitch, affects the impact of stray radiation from one pattern feature on the printing of an adjacent pattern feature. In addition, the overall intensity of the radiation projected onto the substrate may affect the iso-dense bias. In addition, substrate processing steps external to the lithographic apparatus, such as resist coating, resist development and etching, for example, can introduce an iso-dense bias in the pattern features formed on the substrate. In such chemical processing steps, the iso-dense bias is caused by the different concentrations of the reactive species in the isolated and dense pattern regions.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method


A putter-head (1) has its center of mass (15) spaced p mm behind its impact-face (8) at a height hc mm above the head-bottom (9), a loft angle α12 at height 12 mm above the head-bottom (9), a moment of inertia/kg-mm2 about the vertical axis through the center of mass (15), a mass M kg and a radius of gyration of K mm about the heel-toe axis (2–10) of the head through the center of mass (15), where p/l is not more than 0.18, hc is less than [12−p×sin(α12)]. The ratio d2/K is less than 1.0, d2 mm being the vertical offset above the heel-toe axis (2–10) of the axis of attachment of the putter-shaft (3) to the putter-head (1); the attachment-axis of the shaft may be spaced by no more than the shaft-radius from the center of mass. The impact-face (36) may have an upper flat section (38) that merges smoothly into a cylindrical lower section (39), and the head (30) may be constructed with a high-density part (32;40) that extend lengthwise of the heel-toe axis and is either bonded to the underside of a lower-density part (31), or forms both an upstanding front flange (43) and a rear body-section (41) of larger mass than, and spaced from, the flange (43).

In putters, it is desirable to arrange that the putter-head behaves like a free body at impact and to control various parameters of the putter-head such as its principal moments of inertia, the position of its center of mass and the impact face shape in order to improve spin and velocity characteristics imparted on a ball at impact. These improvements comprise greater imparted topspin or reduced backspin and a reduction in the variation of putt length as a function of impact height.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Subscriber terminals of different service feature classes are accessed on access channels of a communication system with different service feature classes. At least two access channels (RACH1, RACH2) of a different service feature class are provided in the communication system.

The present invention relates to a method for access from subscriber terminals in different service classes to access channels in a communications system having different service classes, and to a correspondingly designed communications system.
Currently existing communications systems are being continually improved and new, upgraded or optimized services are continuously being provided in these communications systems, and are expressed in different service classes in the corresponding communications systems. Services such as these may represent specific services which a subscriber to the communications system can use directly, such as speech, data or multimedia communication, or accompanying services such as a call answering function or the like. However, it is also possible to provide services which relate to the internal procedures in the communications system, such as the nature, number and capacity of communications channels, the way in which data is passed on or processed, or the like.
WO 98/24250 A2 describes a communications system in which a mobile station, which is referred to as VIP MS, has its own access channel, by which it receives exclusive access to special packet data channels, as required.
One example of this is mobile radio systems, in which second-generation mobile radio systems are currently operated, in particular such as GSM or GPRS, and third-generation mobile radio systems are specified, in particular such as UMTS or UTRAN. In this case, networks are also envisaged which form an interface function between second- and third-generation mobile radio systems, in particular such as GERAN networks, and which thus have facilities which allow services for the second generation and third generation of mobile radio systems in parallel. In this case, the radio transmission part (radio interface) of the GERAN network is designed on the basis of the second generation of mobile radio systems, while the landline network part of the GERAN network is designed on the basis of the third generation of mobile radio systems. A GERAN system thus supports not only the A interface for line-switched connections and the Gb interface for packet-switched connections for the second generation, but also the lups interface for package-switched connections and the lucs interface for line-switched connections for the third generation.
By way of example, the provision of bidirectional communications channels is intended as a service in one of the first service classes—corresponding to the second generation of mobile radio systems—for GERAN networks of this type, that is to say channels in the downlink direction from the communications system to a subscriber terminal and in the uplink direction from the subscriber terminal to the communications system, which channels are coupled to one another and have a defined frequency separation (45 MHz) and a defined separation in the time slot structure (3 time slots) for the TDMA radio interface for the GERAN network. On the other hand, the service may also include as a further service class unidirectional communications channels in the uplink direction or downlink direction, which are not coupled to any corresponding second channel and thus allow greater flexibility for assignment of transmission capacities to communications connections. This makes it possible to make better use of the total available transmission capacities, allowing more communications connections to be supplied with the necessary transmission capacity than in the case of systems with bidirectional channels. These measures are described, by way of example, in Tdoc 2e00–126 "GERAN Physical Sub-Channels", ETSI SMG2 Working Session on EDGE, Seattle, Wash. USA, May 8–12, 2000.
Specifically, subscriber terminals can access communications systems via specific access channels. For example, a specific, common signaling channel (common control channel CCCH) is provided in mobile radio systems for this purpose, and is in the form of an access channel (random access channel RACH). However, previous access methods have not allowed a subscriber terminal to be assigned to the services in good time in that service class which is necessary or optimum for the service class of that terminal overall or the service currently being requested by the subscriber terminal. In fact, such optimized assignment is carried out only in a second step after a previously complete access by the subscriber terminal to the communications system, and this increases the signaling complexity or may even make it necessary for the terminal to access the communications system once again, on this occasion specifically directed at the appropriate services in the appropriate service class (directed retry).

Access method in communications systems with different service feature classes, and a corresponding communications system


A real-time application-based cellular system with real-time GPS positioning to notify civilian drivers of the proximity of emergency services vehicles in sufficient time to allow appropriate response. Civilian users receive alerts and information on their personal computing devices, including, but not limited to, tablets and smart phones. No addition or special hardware is required. Only drivers in a moving vehicle with a certain proximity are directly and selectively notified. The system also is able to send other additional customized warning signals to citizens in threatening situations in a non-vehicular context.

Historically, emergency services (ES) personnel and vehicles, including, but not limited to, police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks, have had at least an adequate ability to notify other vehicles of their approach during emergency situations, such as by lights and/or sirens or horns. This type of notifications is adequate when the roads were less crowded, most civilian vehicles were driving more slowly, and the civilian vehicles themselves were less enclosed with no substantial competing internal sound systems and were not engineered for sound dampening.
More recently, roads have gotten more crowded, speeds have increased, vehicles have become substantially soundproofed, and drivers are listening to other competing sounds sources (e.g., high definition stereo music). Improvements on the ES vehicles have been brighter LED lights and increased decibels of sirens, but these have not overcome the above issues.
The prior art has proposed various solutions, but these generally require cumbersome, additional hardware be added to vehicles or to specific locations, such as road intersections, and have not been implemented successfully. Prior art systems include U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,624 (electronic siren with variation in pitch), U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,148 (requires use of radar detectors), U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,776 (requires installation of specific hardware), U.S. Pat. No. 7,236,101 (emergency vehicle alert system required dedicated digital UHF transmitter and receiver units), U.S. Pat. No. 9,254,781 (emergency vehicle device providing alert at upcoming intersection), U.S. Pat. No. 10,147,318 (emergency vehicle system with transponder and receiver); US Pat App. No. 20040233067 (acoustic siren detector that captures outside audible high-pitched siren sound), and US Pat. App. No. 20110187559 (receivers installed at specific intersections to alert pedestrians); all of which are incorporated herein by specific reference for all purposes. Among other issues, the average citizen does not want to obtain and mount a new device in his or her vehicle.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system to provide notifications, alerts and information from first responders and other ES personnel during an emergency event to civilian drivers and other individuals that overcomes the issues discussed above.

System for emergency response alerts and notification


A cyclonic separator comprising a first cyclone stage, a second cyclone stage and an inlet duct. The first cyclone stage comprises a cyclone chamber and a first dirt collection chamber. The second cyclone stage is located downstream of the first cyclone stage and comprises a second dirt collection chamber. The inlet duct carries fluid from an opening in the base of the cyclonic separator to the cyclone chamber, and the first dirt collection chamber surrounds at least partly the inlet duct and the second dirt collection chamber.

Vacuum cleaners having a cyclonic separator are now well known. The inlet to the cyclonic separator is often located at an upper part of the separator. Fluid drawn in through a cleaner head of the vacuum cleaner is then carried to the inlet via ducting. The ducting often impacts on the size of the vacuum cleaner. Additionally, owing to the relative locations of the cleaner head and the inlet, the path followed by the ducting is often tortuous, thus adversely affecting the performance of the vacuum cleaner.


A carrier frame (104), for installation on a circuit board (2), is implemented in the manner of an oil-drilling rig and comprises a platform (117) that is equipped with supporting legs (105, 106, 107, 108) for mounting on the circuit board (2). The carrier frame has, at the center of its platform (117), a depression (121, 123) that is implemented for installation of a fan (3) at a distance from the circuit board (2), the outer wall (123) of the depression (121, 123) forming part of the fan.

It is known to cool directly, by means of miniature and subminiature fans, regions of a circuit board at which a great deal of heat is generated. Such regions are usually referred to as "hot spots."
A disadvantage in this context is that the area on which such a fan is installed is no longer available for components, as indicated by DE 195 03 521 A1, AMRHEIN et al. It is also disadvantageous that the cooling air flow generated by usual miniature fans is poorly suited, because of its shape, for direct cooling close to the surface on circuit boards.

Assembly used for cooling a circuit board or similar


In a drill pipe handling apparatus, a pipe gripping mechanism comprises three pipe-gripping jaws arranged to grip a pipe at locations adjacent the apices of a triangle containing the axis of the pipe. A first pipe gripping jaw is connectible to a first pivoted arm at any selected one of a set of plural distances from the pivot axis of the first arm and connected to the first arm at one of those plural distances, and a second jaw is connectible to the second arm at any selected one of the same set of plural distances from the pivot axis of the second arm and connected to the second arm at the same one of those plural distances at which the first jaw is connected to the first arm. Because the same first and second jaws are connectible to the arms at plural distances from the pivot axes, the same jaws can accommodate a wide range of pipe diameters.

In earth drilling, for example the drilling of wells for extraction of water, oil, natural gas, or coal bed methane, and in drilling for other purposes such as mineral exploration, mining, access to geothermal energy, or the formation of holes for building foundations, etc., it is desirable for the drill pipe loading and unloading equipment used in conjunction with a drilling mast to be capable of handling drill pipe in a range of diameters. There are several reasons. First, the ability to accommodate a range of pipe diameters gives the drill pipe loading and unloading apparatus improved versatility. That is, it can handle pipe used to make up a small diameter drill string as well as pipe used to make up a large diameter drill string. Second, the loading and unloading apparatus can also be used in drilling boreholes where a borehole is first drilled using small bit and a narrow drill string and later expanded using a larger bit on a larger diameter drill string. Third, if well casing is to be installed, it is convenient to supply the well casing to the drilling mast using the same loading and unloading apparatus as was used to supply the drill pipe.
It has been common practice to use mechanical pipe gripping devices in these loading and unloading apparatuses to move lengths of drill pipe into position for attachment to the top head of a drilling mast. However, most such gripping devices have been capable of handling only a very limited range of drill pipe diameters. The use of replacement jaws has been proposed to enable a gripping apparatus to accommodate different pipe sizes. However, to achieve this objective, it is necessary to keep a supply of gripping jaws of various sizes on hand.

Drill pipe handling apparatus having improved pipe gripping mechanism


A machine for filtered coffee comprising a main body having at least a tank containing the water, at least an aperture to access at least the containing tank in order to load the water, and at least a basket, comprising a housing compartment to house members to filter the coffee. The basket is pivoted to the main body so as to be rotatably and selectively disposed between a closed position, in which the basket is comprised in the bulk of the main body, in such a manner that access to the housing compartment is prevented, and an open position, in which the basket makes access available to the housing compartment, and vice versa. The basket, in the closed position, closes the aperture, preventing access to the tank.

Machines for preparing filtered coffee, also called "American coffee", are known.
An example of a machine of this type is disclosed in the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,637.
These known machines substantially have a main body which houses a filter for the powdered coffee, disposed in a relative filter-carrier compartment, and a tank for the water. Such known machines are also provided with at least a lid pivoted to the upper part of the main body, which lid opens by rotating upwards.
The upward opening of the lid allows access only from above, both to the filter-carrier compartment to load, clean and/or replace the filter, and also to the water tank in order to carry out direct loading or removal from above, and/or other similar operations for reloading and preparing the machine.
These known machines have the disadvantage, however, that they allow the above operations to be performed only by intervening from above; for their installation they therefore need, not only the volume of the main body, but also an additional space upwards, both to lift the lid and also for the loading maneuvers by the user; they thus limit their potential use in built-in applications, for example in furniture for domestic kitchens and suchlike.
Alternatively, the user is obliged, every time the machine is reloaded, to displace the machine in order to prevent interference with adjacent furniture or equipment.
Machines for filtered coffee are also known with a main body which has, pivoted to it, both a door opening frontally with the filter-carrier compartment integrated into it, also known as a swing-basket, and also an upper lid opening upwards, to allow water to be fed to the tank.
In these known machines, in order to allow a correct positioning/removal of the filter in/from the filter-carrier compartment, a great lateral rotation of the swing basket is necessary, more than 90°, which entails a lateral increase in the bulk of the machine in the open condition. The opening filter-carrier can also interfere with possible objects or domestic appliances normally adjacent to the machine for the filtered coffee.
Moreover, the upper lid which opens upwards has the same disadvantages already illustrated for the known machines which load the coffee and water from above.
These problems are all the more serious because in modern societies the need has arisen to make living spaces compact and optimize them in most dwellings, particularly in domestic kitchens, providing the use of domestic appliances that are built-in and/or disposed in series on the work surfaces.
However, known machines for filtered coffee, which for use require daily reloading operations and hence access to the compartments for the coffee and the water, do not allow to exploit the available space to the utmost, and can even limit the presence of other domestic appliances.
A purpose of the present invention is therefore to achieve a machine for filtered coffee which is simple and economic to produce and which does not need, in order to be reloaded and/or prepared, additional maneuvering spaces, laterally and upwards, beyond the volumetric bulk of the machine itself.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.


A fused decoder for selecting one or more elements of an array, such as a row of memory, is provided. The corresponding row of memory can be permanently deselected by blowing the fuse of the decoder. Array components such as a redundant row of memory, can be substituted for the deselected component. The decoder includes a gate formed exclusively from NMOS transistors so that the decoder can provide a select signal in response to an address without an PMOS transistor responding to the address- By eliminating PMOS transistors from the gate portion of the decoder, the load presented to the address lines is reduced.

Many electronic devices are provided in an array form, including memories which have a plurality of addressable rows. Some arrays include redundant elements. For example, a memory intended to provide 256 selectable rows may be fabricated with one or more extra or redundant rows. This is done in order that a redundant row can be substituted for a defective row, so that the array can continue to be used and replacement of the entire device can be avoided. Portions of the array, such as rows of a memory, are typically selected using a decoder coupled to each selectable row. Each decoder has the functionality of a multi-input, single-output logic gate. Conceptually, a decoder can be viewed as an AND gate which will output a "high" select signal when all of the inputs received from an address bus are simultaneously high. For those decoders that are intended to select in response to an address which does not have all inputs high, the inputs which should be low in order to select the corresponding output line can have an inverter interposed.
In one common configuration, the decoder is a CMOS NAND gate with the output of the NAND gate provided to an inverter so that the low level select output is converted to a high level select output. Of course, other configurations are also used for decoders including configurations where the output line is selected by having a low level rather than high level or where an address input is active low rather than active high. These variations, and the apparatus used to achieve them, are well known to those skilled in the art.
When decoders are used in a device having redundant elements, a circuit is used to prevent the selection of a defective row in response to the address which would normally select such a defective row. Often this element includes a fuse which can be blown to provide an open line, with the fuse being blown by, for example, a laser or the input of high-amperage current.
Previous fused decoders have been fabricated using CMOS technology, i.e., have included circuitry in which providing the select signal requires both a PMOS and an NMOS transistor to respond to each bit of the input address. An example of such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,481 issued May 9, 1989 to Johnson, et. al. Although this device is useful for some purposes, the CMOS circuitry presents a large load to the address lines, particularly when the address bus has many address lines, such as 20 or more address lines (i.e., 20 or more address bits are input to the decoder).
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a fused decoder such as can be used in conjunction with disabling a decoder output to permit selection of a redundant circuit, but having a reduced load presented to the coded address lines.

Redundancy selection apparatus and method for an array


A fire-resistant partition wall includes wall studs and first and second walls each including gypsum boards with vertical and lateral joints. The wall studs are on the back side of the vertical joints. A joint base member is provided at the lateral joints. The gypsum boards, the joint base member, and the wall studs are not screwed with a common screw, and (a) the gypsum boards are screwed to only the wall studs and are not screwed to the joint base member, and the joint base member is fixed to the lateral joint position by being inserted between the gypsum boards and the wall studs, or (b) the gypsum boards are screwed to the wall studs and to the joint base member with different screws, and the joint base member is fixed to the lateral joint position by being inserted between the gypsum boards and the wall studs.

Partition walls having a 60-minute fire-resistance rating, being capable of preventing the temperature of a non-heated surface from rising to or above a temperature at which a combustible contacting the non-heated surface may burn when fire heat due to a fire is applied to a heated surface for one hour, are known. Conventional partition walls thus having a fire resistance capability of one hour are formed by screwing two walls to multiple wall studs (or studs) formed of light-gauge steel installed at predetermined intervals such that the wall studs are sandwiched between the two walls.
Each of the two walls has a multilayer structure of at least two sheets of fire-resistant covering material, such as a base layer reinforced gypsum board and a top layer reinforced gypsum board, and accordingly, the partition wall as a whole has a structure of four or more layers of fire-resistant covering material. In each of the two walls, multiple fire-resistant coverings are vertically and horizontally arranged to form lateral joints and vertical joints. When a room fire breaks out, the fire-resistant coverings are exposed to fire heat to shrink, so that gaps are formed in the joints that are formed by gaplessly abutting the fire-resistant coverings to each other. Therefore, in the case of a single layer of fire-resistant covering material, heated air leaks out through the gaps in the joints. Accordingly, it is common to have a fire-resistant structure of four layers in total, two layers on each side, the same as the above-described partition wall, and offset the joint positions between the first layer and the second layer and between the third layer and the fourth layer, thereby preventing heated air from leaking out through gaps in the joints.
Here, consideration is given to a double-sided partition wall having one layer on each side for better workability, in which in general, (fire-resistant coverings are arranged such that) there are wall studs on the back side of the vertical joints of fire-resistant coverings, and accordingly, there is no risk that heated air leaks out through vertical joints when a room fire breaks out.
In contrast, there are no wall studs on the back side of substantially all lateral joints. Therefore, there is a risk that heated air leaks out into the partition wall through lateral joints. Such a leak of heated air through lateral joints may degrade the fire resistance capability of the partition wall. Furthermore, when a partition wall having a 60-minute fire-resistance rating is developed, normally, a 60-minute fire resistance test is conducted by applying heat for one hour, and the partition wall can be certified by the minister by passing this fire resistance test. The leakage of heated air through lateral joints makes it difficult to pass this 60-minute fire resistance test.
Here, a partition wall structure that can improve fire resistance capability and facilitate construction work has been proposed. Specifically, the partition wall structure includes wall studs, a pair of fire-resistant partition walls formed of a base layer material and a coated top layer material attached thereto, and an extension material extended on the outer side of at least one of the partition walls (see, for example, Patent Document 1).


The light control film includes a base material with transparency and a light control layer that is provided on a side of a surface which faces a display surface of a display panel in the base material, has a light shielding portion which is formed on one surface of the base material, and controls an emission direction of light by diffusing light which is emitted from the display surface, in which the light control layer includes a light emission end surface that contacts with the base material, a light incident end surface that faces the light emission end surface and has a larger area than an area of the light emission end surface, and a reflection surface that contacts with the light emission end surface and the light incident end surface and reflects light which is incident from the light incident end surface, a height from the light incident end surface to the light emission end surface is larger than a layer thickness of the light shielding portion, and the reflection surface reflects light to allocate light at a polar angle with a relatively high light flux amount among directions along prescribed azimuth angles in the display surface to light at a polar angle with relatively low luminance among directions along prescribed azimuth angles.

Liquid crystal display devices have been widely used as displays of portable electronic apparatuses such as cellular phones, televisions, personal computers, and the like. In general, the liquid crystal display device has high visibility from the front but a narrow viewing angle. Thus, various ideas are suggested for widening the viewing angle. As one of the ideas, a configuration has been suggested which includes a member for controlling a diffusion angle of light emitted from a display body such as a liquid crystal panel (hereinafter, the member is referred to as a light diffusion member) on a visually recognized side of the display body.
For example, PTL 1 mentioned below discloses a light diffusion sheet in which a groove with a V-shaped cross section is provided in the light diffusion layer and a light absorption layer is provided in a portion of the groove. In the light diffusion sheet, a transparent sheet formed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or the like is arranged on a light incident side and a light emission side of the light diffusion layer. A portion of light incident on the light diffusion layer at a right angle is totally reflected by a wall surface of the groove and thereafter emitted. Accordingly, the light emitted from the light diffusion sheet is diffused.

Light control film including light control layer with reflection surface and display device including same


Methods and systems for reducing network usage of a computing device are provided herein. The method includes receiving a network call relating to a network transfer from an application at an application programming interface of the computing device. The method also includes determining whether the network transfer is relevant to a current state of the application and procrastinating the network transfer if it is not relevant to the current state of the application.

The high cost of data transfers is an impediment to the widespread use of mobile computing devices. For example, in the case of mobile phones, the ratio of data plan cost to median income may be relatively high. Therefore, mobile phones with operating systems that are efficient in data consumption are highly desirable.
Several existing techniques attempt to mitigate the high cost of network transfers for mobile computing devices by providing for the efficient consumption of data. For example, compression, de-duplication, and other similar techniques may be used on network traffic sent to a particular mobile computing device. However, such techniques may not reduce the size of network transfers to an acceptable degree.
Another technique involves exposing network usage statistics by various applications to the user of a mobile computing device and allowing the user to change his behavior according to the data plan for the mobile computing device. However, this technique relies on active behavior monitoring on the part of the user and, thus, can be time-consuming for the user.
In addition, application programming interfaces (APIs) that reduce network usage may be provided to application developers. For example, an API that executes network transfers based on how many bytes are included in a user's data plan may be implemented into an application. However, it is often difficult for application developers to understand the use of such APIs in the context of specific applications.

Reducing network usage of computing device


A rebar tying tool (2; 302; 402) include a feed mechanism (24), which includes a first motor (32; 304) and feeds a wire (W), and a twisting mechanism, which includes a second motor (76; 306) and twists together one or more portions of the wire. A control unit (202; 350) controls the first motor and the second motor and includes a general-purpose I/O port (202c; 350c) and a motor-control-signal output port (202a; 350a). A motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit (204; 310; 406) inputs motor-control signals (UH, VH, WH, UL, VL, WL) from the control unit via the motor-control-signal output port and selectively outputs the inputted motor-control signals to either the first motor or the second motor in response to input of a switching signal (SW).

US Patent Publication 2019/0193879 A1 discloses a rebar tying tool that comprises: a feed mechanism, which has a first motor and is adapted/configured to feed (advance and retract) a wire to loop (wind) the wire multiple times around two or more rebars; a twisting mechanism, which has a second motor and is adapted/configured to twist an intermediate portion of the looped wire using a pair of rotatable hooks; and a control unit, which controls the first motor and the second motor.

Rebar tying tool and electric work machine


An apparatus for supporting a trailer of a tractor semitrailer has a supporting element that is telescopically adjustable by way of a gear shifting mechanism having a gear input shaft running vertically onto a spindle. In this way, the supporting element has an especially compact construction and can be installed very easily. The gear shift also has a free floating gear between two shift positions and can be shifted very conveniently.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to trailer landing gear and apparatus for supporting the trailer of a semitrailer.
2. Background Information
The invention concerns an apparatus for supporting a trailer of a tractor-semitrailer with a supporting element of adjustable height in a telescoping manner and having an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve, with a spindle mounted in the supporting element and driven by a multi-position gear shifting mechanism via a bevel gear/sprocket wheel arrangement, and with a spindle nut engaging one of the sleeves and collaborating with a spindle, said gear shifting mechanism displaying a pinion and an input gear shaft having a large-diameter sprocket wheel, a set of sprockets rotatably mounted and collaborating with the sprockets of the gear input shaft and bevel gear arrangement as well as shiftable clutching/coupling means which are designed for the optional connection of the gear input shaft with the sprocket wheels of the sprocket wheel set via one of the sprocket wheels.
Such an apparatus is known, for example, from EP-0675029. In this case the gear shift is situated in a housing attached to the outer sleeve. The housing and the wall of the outer sleeve lying opposite the housing in each case have a support for the gear input shaft and gear output shaft on which the set of sprocket wheels is arranged nonrotatably. The gear input shaft in this case is arranged below and the gear output shaft above the bevel gear arrangement. The gear input shaft can be rotated by a hand crank and is guided eccentrically past the spindle. The gear output shaft is guided through the housing of the gear shifting mechanism so that at this place two identical supporting elements may be connected to one shaft and may be adjusted uniformly in height. The translation generated with the large-diameter sprocket wheel of the gear input shaft in connection with a small-diameter sprocket wheel of the sprocket wheel set serves for fast adjustment, while the translation generated by the pinion of the gear input shaft and a large-diameter sprocket wheel of the sprocket wheel set is provided for adjusting the height of the supporting element under a load.
From DE 196 16 704 A1 a drive mechanism for a manually operated lifting device, especially a trailer rest support is known in which the gears are installed in a gearbox and the drive mechanism in a drive/transmission housing outside of the trailer support. In this way no special assembly devices are required and the required installation space is not enlarged.
The disadvantage of the known apparatus is the fact that the large-diameter sprocket wheel of the gear input shaft may protrude to the side past the outer sleeve or must have a very small diameter as a result of the arrangement of the gear input shaft beside the spindle. For a translation ratio intended for the fastest possible adjustment this necessitates designing the housing for the gear shift mechanism to be strongly projecting and costly.
The invention has the objective of designing an apparatus of the type mentioned initially in such a way that it is constructed as compactly as possible.

Apparatus for supporting the trailer of a tractor-semitrailer


A connector with a locking mechanism includes an insulating body, a plurality of terminals, a metallic casing and a pair of locking pieces. Both sides of the insulating body are provided with two accommodating troughs. The insulating body is provided with pivot shafts in the two accommodating troughs respectively. The terminals are provided in the insulating body. The metallic casing is provided on the insulating body. The two locking pieces are provided in the two accommodating troughs respectively. Each locking piece is provided with a pivot hole, and the pivot hole is fitted with the pivot shaft of the insulating body. The locking piece is formed with an elastic arm by extending from a wall surface of the pivot hole. The elastic arm abuts against the pivot shaft. Via this arrangement, the locking piece is simple in structure, and can be manufactured easily, thereby reducing production costs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a connector with a locking mechanism, and more particular to a connector that can be connected with cables and can be firmly connected with another corresponding connector via the locking mechanism.
2. Description of Related Art
Signal transmission between various electronic devices can be achieved by using two connectors that are connected to each other. In order to avoid the connector that is connected to another connector from loosening due to an external force so as to deteriorate the connection between these two connectors, usually one of the connectors is provided with a locking mechanism, thereby making the connection more firmly.
The conventional connector with a locking mechanism is provided respectively with a locking piece (FIG. 1) on both sides of an insulating body thereof. The locking piece 10a has a base portion 11a, an extending portion 12a formed by extending from one end of the base portion 11a, and a pressing portion 14a formed by extending and bending one side of the extending portion 12a. The front end of the elastic arm 13a is provided with a hook 15a. Via the hook 15a, the connector can be connected to another corresponding connector more firmly. Further, via the elasticity of the elastic arm 13a, a user can press the pressing portion 14a to cause the hook 15a to remove from the corresponding connector, thereby detaching the connector from the corresponding connector.
However, in the conventional connector with a locking mechanism, the structure of the locking mechanism is complicated and needs to be formed by bending and molding several times. Therefore, it is not easy to manufacture the conventional connector with a locking mechanism, and thus the production cost is high.
Consequently, because of the above technical defects, the inventor keeps on carving unflaggingly through wholehearted experience and research to develop the present invention, which can effectively improve the defects described above.


A bipolar rail-to-rail input stage with emitter degeneration includes a current reduction circuit arranged to reduce the amount of current which the PNP and NPN input pairs would otherwise conduct when the common mode input voltage is such that both pairs are conducting. The current reduction circuit is preferably arranged such that the transconductance (Gm2) of the input stage when both pairs are conducting is equal to its transconductance (Gm) when only one pair is active. The current reduction circuit preferably comprises a current shunt circuit made from four bipolar transistors: a pair of PNP transistors, the emitters of which are connected to respective emitters of the PNP input transistors, and a pair of NPN transistors, the emitters of which are connected to respective emitters of the NPN input transistors, with the bases and collectors of all four shunt transistors connected together at a summing node. When the shunt transistors are properly sized with respect to the input devices, Gm is made equal to Gm2.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of rail-to-rail amplifiers, and particularly to methods of reducing gain error in the input stage of a rail-to-rail amplifier.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rail-to-rail amplifier""s input stage typically includes complementary differential pairs. One differential pair conducts when the common mode voltage Vcm applied to the amplifier""s inputs is above a particular reference voltage Vref, and the other pair conducts when Vcm is less than Vref.
To improve slew rate and linear input range, the input stage transistors of a bipolar rail-to-rail amplifier often include emitter degeneration resistors. When so arranged, the transconductance Gm of the input stage when only one of the differential pairs is conducting is given by:       G    m    =      1                            (                      k                                      xe2x80x83                                                  T              /              q                                )                                      I            T                    /          2                    +              R        d
where kT/q is a constant for a bipolar transistor, IT is the differential pair""s tail current, and Rd is the resistance of the emitter degeneration resistors.
As the common mode voltage moves above and below Vref, the active differential pair transitions from one pair to the other. When Vcm=Vref, both pairs are active, with each pair getting one-half of the total tail current IT. Under this condition, the transconductance Gm2 of the input stage is given by:       G    m2    =      2                            (                      k                                      xe2x80x83                                                  T              /              q                                )                                      I            T                    /          4                    +              R        d
By inspection, it is seen that a bipolar rail-to-rail input amplifier with degeneration has a higher gain in the transition region, i.e., with both pairs active, than it does when one pair is operating alone. In fact, when the amplifier is heavily degenerated, i.e., with             R      d         greater than  greater than                   k                          xe2x80x83                                  T          /          q                                      I          T                /        2              ,
Gm2≈2Gm. This results in a gain error when operating in the transition region, which can cause discontinuities and distortion in the output voltage produced by the input stage.
A bipolar rail-to-rail input stage is presented which overcomes the problem noted above. Gain error which would otherwise arise is reduced by lowering the transconductance of the input stage transistors when operating in the transition region.
The degeneration resistors connected in the emitter circuits of the PNP transistors are connected together at a first common mode node, and the NPN transistors"" emitter resistors are connected together at a second common mode node. The transconductance of the input stage is reduced in the transition region with a current reduction circuit, which is arranged to sense the difference in voltage between the two common mode nodes, and to reduce the amount of current which the input pairs would otherwise conduct when Vcm≈Vref. The current reduction circuit is preferably arranged so that the transconductance of the input stage when Vcm=Vref is made equal to the transconductance of the input stage when Vm greater than Vref or Vcm less than Vref and only one pair is conducting.
The current reduction circuit preferably comprises a current shunt circuit made from four bipolar transistors: a pair of PNP transistors, the emitters of which are connected to respective emitters of the PNP input transistors, and a pair of NPN transistors, the emitters of which are connected to respective emitters of the NPN input transistors, with the bases and collectors of all four shunt transistors connected together at a summing node. A current shunt circuit so arranged senses the difference in voltage between the common mode nodes and shunts current around the input pairs to reduce the current they would otherwise conduct and thereby lower their respective transconductances when Vcm≈Vref. When the shunt transistors are properly sized with respect to the input devices, Gm is made equal to Gm2.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

Bipolar rail-to-rail input stage with transconductance correction


A masking-amount guide device for a stereo slide can verify suitable masking amount by observing a stereo slide film strip with the following constitution. Projection lenses 13R and 13L and focusing plates 14R and 14L are provided in a frame 54, a film guide 16 is disposed at the rear. Lens boards 52R and 52L are respectively engaged with the guide slots 55R and 55R of the frame. The right and left guide slots are obliquely moved symmetrically to the optical axis, the lens boards are obliquely moved by the rotation of a cam shaft 25 so that the inner edges of the focusing plates are always brought into agreements with the inner edges of the projection pictures irrespective of the projection magnification. The cam shaft is rotated while observing the images of the focusing plates so that the images are observed at the back of the same plane or pattern as the collimation pattern of the focusing plate. When the number of a dial mounted at the cam shaft is observed, the number of the stereo slide mount of optimum picture masking factor is observed.

Non-overlapping portions are formed at the left edge portion of a left picture and the right edge portion of a right picture of stereo slide films photographed by a stereo camera of the structure that an interval between the optical axes of right and left lenses is fixed in response to the distance of a subject according to the difference of the visual fields of right and left photographing lenses.
Since these non-overlapping portions do not contribute to forming a solid image to obstruct the view when the stereo slide films are viewed by using a stereo slide viewer, the windows of the pictures of the stereo slide mount have been generally formed in a width narrower than the one picture of the stereo slide film to mask the outer non-overlapping portions of the right and left pictures.
To obtain natural stereo effect, it is also known to need to correct the position of a subject by masking the outsides of the picture of right and left stereo slide films so that the subject (particularly in the case of large influence of the subjects in a close-range view) for mostly affecting the influence to the matching of right and left images in the pictures are disposed nearly at the equal positions on the right and left pictures. That is, when all subjects like a mountain photograph are located nearly at infinitely remote distance, it is not almost necessary to mask the outsides of the pictures, but the near the distance of a subject is disposed, the more the portions to be masked are increased.
The present applicant has proposed a stereo camera that was so formed that the distance between the optical axes of right and left photographing lenses could be adjusted. According to this stereo camera, the distance between the optical axes of the photographing lenses is automatically or manually adjusted in response to the distance of the subject at the time of taking a photograph to suitably correct a parallax. Therefore, it does not almost need to mask the outsides of right and left pictures of the films photographed by the inter-optical axis distance adjusting type stereo camera by the stereo slide mount, but when the subject which strongly affects the influence to the matching of right and left images is photographed at a closer range than a focal distance, it might need to correct a sense of distance by slightly masking the outsides of the right and left pictures.
As mentioned above, the stereo slide films are mounted by adjusting the masking amounts of the outsides of the pictures by varying the interval between the right and left films in response to the distance of the subject or selecting the stereo slide mount of the width of the picture windows to be considered suitably from a plurality of types of stereo slide mounts having different widths of the picture windows, and hence the mounting operation becomes cumbersome and inefficient.
It is not easy to determine suitable masking amounts, the selection of the stereo slide mount and the adjustment of the interval between the films are easily mistaken, and there arises a problem that it is not easy to mount the stereo slide films in an optimum stereo effect state.
Therefore, in order to facilitate the determination of accurate masking amount and the selection of conforming stereo slide mount, it becomes necessary to solve a technical assignment. The object of the present invention is to solve this technical assignment.

Masking-amount guide device for stereo slide


A control method for a mobile communication system. The method includes receiving data destined for a mobile terminal from a host apparatus; storing the data in a buffer; keeping the stored data destined for the mobile terminal available even when the mobile terminal changes a cell association; retrieving the data from the buffer; and transmitting the data to the mobile terminal via wireless signals.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, a wireless base station apparatus and mobile terminal provided in the mobile communication system, and a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the amount of data traffic is expected to greatly increase not only for a fixed radio communication network but also for a mobile radio communication network. Accordingly, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) was proposed in Release 5 of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) for W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), HSDPA enables enlarged data traffic in a downlink circuit (radio link from a wireless base station apparatus to a mobile terminal).
The HSDPA employs HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest) as an error correction technique. Moreover, according to HSDPA, the downstream data for a number of mobile terminals are multiplexed with respect to time and code into one common channel. For each mobile terminal using the common channel, transmission opportunities are scheduled based on a radio link quality. In a mobile communication system employing HSDPA, the packets are transmitted to a number of mobile terminals under various conditions through the common channel from the wireless base station apparatus, thus, providing an improvement in the system throughput with the larger number of mobile terminals.
In the wireless base station apparatus utilizing the HSDPA as described above, since a spreading encoder provided for each cell is shared in the communication with a plurality of mobile terminals, the transmission signal from the spreading encoder should be allocated among the transmission data sent to the mobile terminals according to priority (degree of priority for transmission opportunity), which is set for each mobile terminal. An example of a wireless base station apparatus enabling the priority control described above is in the 3GPP TR25.321 V5.7.0 (2003-12) "MAC protocol specification", which discloses that a wireless base station apparatus comprises a buffer unit for temporarily holding the user data for each mobile terminal.
Furthermore, in the mobile communication system where mobile terminals establish communications while moving, a buffer control, as well as priority control, is needed in order to securely transmit the user data to the mobile terminal without loss of data. The buffer control is needed even if the mobile terminal changes its associated cell while moving among the cells.
For example, in a mobile communication system where the buffer unit corresponding to each of a plurality of cells managed by the wireless base station apparatus is provided, all user data remaining in the buffer unit corresponding to a certain cell is completely transmitted while the mobile terminal is associated with the certain cell. If the mobile terminal moves to another cell before completing the transmission of the user data because the mobile terminal is moving fast, the transmission of the user data in the buffer unit may not be completed. Conversely, if the communication system immediately changes a buffer unit to store user data based on the changing of a cell association of the mobile terminal, the user data remaining in a previous buffer unit corresponding to a cell previously associated with the mobile terminal is discarded. Accordingly, the discarded user data needs to be retransmitted to the current buffer unit corresponding to a cell currently associated with the mobile terminal.
In order to solve the above-noted problems of related arts and to provide improved communication systems, a first object of the present invention is to provide a base station in which a retransmission of user data destined for a mobile terminal can be suppressed by preventing the user data from being lost due to the changing of cells with which a mobile terminal associates.

Mobile communication system, radio base station apparatus, mobile terminal, and control method therefor


A thermoplastic resin film is preheated as the temperature T is changed to at a temperature of Tg<T<m.p.-10.degree. C., and absolutely contacted with a belt by being pressed at a linear pressure of 9.8 N/cm-980.0 N/cm (Tg: glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin film, m.p.: melting point of the thermoplastic resin film). Next, the thermoplastic resin film is heated as the temperature T is changed to a temperature of m.p.-20.degree. C.<T<m.p.+20.degree. C. while being absolutely contacted with the belt, and successively, the thermoplastic resin film is cooled while being absolutely contacted with the belt, and then the thermoplastic resin film is peeled from the belt.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a heat-treating method of a thermoplastic resin film, in which a produced film can be used for structural materials, materials for electronic components and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
After a thermoplastic resin film is conducted with, for example, simultaneous biaxial orientation, the oriented film is removed with residual stress caused by deformation of the orientation by being heat-treated.
In a conventionally typical heat-treating method, the film is moved while both ends of the film in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction are fixed in a heating-atmosphere. According to the aforementioned heat-treating method, however, a stress easily concentrates in parts, especially, the stress concentrates in a part where a fish eye, a gel or the like is produced on the film, so that the film is ripped sometimes. Provided that the film is heat-treated at an approximate melting point, the film has a thermal deformation, resulting in a disadvantage that the heat-treatment at an approximate melting point cannot be carried out.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho59-178223 proposes a method, in which an oriented thermoplastic film, having an adherent layer on the surface thereof, undergoes annealing while being attached through the adherent layer on a support plate made by stainless steel.
According to the aforementioned heat-treating method, the film is attached on the support plate by way of the adherent layer, so that the film is prevented from rip caused by the concentrated stress, however, another disadvantage is produced.
That is to say, in order to attach the film on the support plate, the film should be formed with the adherent layer, resulting in necessity of a forming process for the adherent layer. The film should be forcibly peeled from the support plate after the heat-treatment, resulting in difficulty in carrying out processes successively. And further, some types of the films are fused to the support plate made of stainless steel, resulting in impossibility of the successive processes.

Heat-treating method of a thermoplastic resin film