A comfort positioning pillow for use with a user's foot is provided. The pillow includes a first side surface; a second side surface; a flat front surface disposed between the first and second side surfaces; a flat back surface disposed between the first and second side surfaces, wherein the flat back surface is positioned at an angle relative to the flat front surface; a top surface disposed between the first and second side surfaces, wherein the top surface is convex-shaped; and a bottom surface disposed between the first and second side surfaces, and disposed between the flat front surface and the flat back surface. One or more methods of using the pillow are also provided.

Millions of people suffer from foot and heel pain every year. A large percentage of these individuals suffer from a condition known as plantar fasciitis which is caused by irritation and/or inflammation of the plantar fascia, the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot and connects the heel to the toes. While the cause of plantar fasciitis is not known, certain activities such as long periods of standing or long distance running may overuse the plantar fascia leading to small tears in the tissue. These small tears may become inflamed and result in the sufferer feeling stabbing pain in the heel and along the bottom of the foot.
Treatment of plantar fasciitis typically employs conservative approaches, such as resting the injured area and stretching and strengthening of the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon. Pain may be eased using typical over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin. During the day, sufferers may also use orthotics placed in the shoe to help in more evenly distributing pressure to the foot and hold the foot and arch in a more neutral position. However, these shoes/orthotics are not designed to be worn during sleeping hours. While sleeping, sufferers are frequently recommended to wear a night splint to promote stretching of the plantar fascia by holding the foot in a flexed position, thereby lengthening the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon during sleep. However, many wearers complain of discomfort and interruption in sleeping when using these splints.
Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative treatment approach to night splints when sleeping for alleviating plantar fasciitis. The present invention addresses this need, as well as other needs, by providing a foot support device which promotes stretching of the plantar fascia while the user lies down, while also providing for a more comfortable and restful sleep.


In an optical pickup, the sum signal -V.sub.MAIN of the light receiving sections A, B, C and D of a main photo diode is applied to an inversion amplifier Amp9, and the sum signal V.sub.MAIN is applied to a data processor section and a mirror signal arithmetic section. An inversion amplifier Amp10, on the side of sub photo diodes, receives the sum of the sum signal -V.sub.SUB E and a corrected signal C*V.sub.MAIN which is obtained by adjusting the sum signal V.sub.MAIN of the main photo diode with a variable resistor VR1. The output of the inversion amplifier Amp10 becomes a regular sub beam receiving signal V.sub.SUB which is obtained by subtracting a correcting signal whose voltage is equal to the main beam leakage signal from the sub photo diode sum signal V.sub.SUB E. The regular sub beam receiving signal is applied to the mirror signal arithmetic section.

1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to optical disk drive mirror signal arithmetic circuits, and more particularly to an optical disk drive mirror signal arithmetic circuit in which a mirror signal is eliminated which is due to a main beam leakage signal to a sub photo diode.
2. Related art
As shown in FIG. 2, a Light receiving section of a three-spot beam pickup employed for an optical disk drive comprises: a main photo diode 1 at the center; and right and left photo diodes provided on both sides of the main photo diode 1. The main photo diode receives a main beam though a cylindrical lens, and has a light receiving surface which is radially divided into four parts (A, B, C and D). A focus servo mechanism utilizes the difference between the outputs of two pairs (A and C, and B and D) in each of which two light receiving surfaces are confronted with each other through the optical axis), controls the focus of the objective lens, and uses a decoder to decode the sum signal of main beams received, and a control section reads a digital signal.
A tracking error signal is produced owing to the difference between the quantities of received light of sub beams SB of the right and left sub photo diodes 2 and 3, and a tracking servo mechanism controls a tracking actuator to position the main beam on the data track of the optical disk.
In order to count the number of tracks which have passed at the time of random access, a mirror signal V.sub.MIRR adapted to detect a mirror surface section of the optical disk is calculated from a current-voltage-converted main photo diode sum signal V.sub.MAIN and a sub photo diode sum signal V.sub.SUB, and it is determined from the voltage level of the mirror signal V.sub.MIRR whether the main beam is on the data track groove of the optical disk, or whether it is on the mirror surface section between tracks. EQU V.sub.MIRR =V.sub.MAIN -k*V.sub.SUB Equation (1)
where
V.sub.MAIN =V.sub.A +V.sub.B +V.sub.C +V.sub.D PA1 V.sub.SUB +V.sub.E +V.sub.F +V.sub.G +V.sub.H PA1 k=ratio of the quantity of light of the main beam to that of the sub beam
However, as indicated in a main beam quantity-of-light distribution graph of FIG. 2, at the time of random access the periphery of the main beam MB reflected from the data track groove of the optical disk is applied to the sub photo diodes 2 and 3, as a result of which sometimes the sum signal of the sub photo diodes may be V.sub.SUB E which includes the incidence light V.sub.SUB of the sub beams SB, and the leakage signal V.sub.err of the main beam. EQU V.sub.SUB E =(V.sub.E +V.sub.F V.sub.G +V.sub.H)+(V.sub.E err +V.sub.F err +V.sub.G err +V.sub.H err)
The sub photo diode main beam leakage signal V.sub.err causes no trouble in the tracking servo that a tracking control signal is formed according to the difference between the outputs of the right and left sub photo diodes, because it is canceled out by subtraction; however, in the case of the mirror signal V.sub.MIRR adapted to obtain the sum of the outputs of the right and left sub photo diodes, it becomes an error, as a result of which a track count error occurs; that is, it becomes impossible to achieve a seek operation.
This gives rises to a problem that, in the optical disk device, the track count error is technically eliminated, whereby the seek operation is improved in stability. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to solve the problem.

Mirror signal arithmetic circuit in an optical disk drive


A device for removing a rubber stopper from a test tube is mountable to an upright wall, has a generally horizontal splash guard, and a lower plate spaced parallel to and below the splash guard. A slot in the lower plate has spaced-apart opposing edges that converge towards each other from the plate outer edge to a narrowed portion, the opposing edges shaped to make engagement between the bottom of the stopper flange and the top edge of the test tube to wedge therebetween and to grasp the stopper in the slot narrowed portion to hold the stopper as the test tube is manipulated downwardly and pulled from the stopper. The opposing edges extend inwardly to adjoin an opening having a diameter significantly larger than that of the stopper flange.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for facilitating the removal of flange-topped rubber stoppers from installed positions within test tubes and like vessels.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
So-called "anaerobic" tubes and flasks are heavy-duty Pyrex glass vessels that are used in the laboratory, and it is often necessary to plug the mouth of such a vessel to seal its pressurized contents, most commonly with a conventional rubber stopper that has a circular flange top for grasping, and a cylindrical lower portion for insertion within the vessel mouth. To ensure that the stopper is not dislodged by internal pressure, it is a common practice to apply a metallic retainer, such as an aluminum crimp seal that covers the stopper top and engages the underside of a lip that extends about the periphery of the top of the vessel. When experiments are completed and laboratory equipment set-ups are to be disassembled, the anaerobic vessels must be unplugged for cleaning and made available for reuse. This is typically accomplished by first removing the metal retainer by grasping the retainer's integral tear tab and then tearing it off so as to sever the hold of the retainer. Here, one must be cautious to avoid injury to the fingers by sharp metallic edges presented by the broken retainer. Then using both hands, the stopper flange is pried upwardly with the thumb to urge the stopper from the mouth of the vessel. All too often, a stopper will become stuck in place, and removal of such a stopper by hand will become a difficult, time-consuming task. Even when a stuck stopper is not encountered, the unplugging of several test tubes will often cause a bothersome soreness at the thumb tip, and sometimes tearing of the skin. At other times, particularly when there is difficulty in prying the stopper loose, the rim of the tube will break. Besides representing an equipment loss, jagged edges of a broken vessel and sometimes flying glass present an obvious immediate safety hazard to the handler. Such accidents can be particularly serious when toxic contents are involved.
Oftentimes test tube reactants will generate high-pressure gaseous by-products. In order to relieve this pressure prior to stopper removal, it is the prescribed practice to first pierce the stopper with a syringe to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately, through human error and oversight, occasionally some vessels will not be depressurized. In such cases, unplugging of the vessels will be occasioned by expelling of the liquid and gaseous contents. In some cases, when the metal retainer is removed, the unrestrained stopper will immediately be forcefully propelled from the vessel, followed by the pressurized contents. This can also be particularly hazardous when the contents are harmful substances.


A data manipulation appliance can be installed or plugged into a computer network between business partners, and can perform many of the difficult and tedious data manipulation operations in a substantially automated manner. Examples of operations that can be performed by an embodiment of the apparatus include, but are not limited to, encryption, authentication, auditing, shaping data to a common intermediate format for exchange between partners, other auditing of data exchanges in transaction logs, filtering data for privacy compliance and risk management, error detection and correction, mapping internal non-standard data elements to external standard code sets, proxy and protocol re-writing, and so on. The appliance can be embedded with various tools to perform these operations, and therefore appears to be “intelligent.”

As technology advances in today's society, many tasks that were traditionally performed manually can now be performed automatedly via the use of computers. An example is electronic commerce or "e-commerce" that allows consumers to purchase goods and services via the Internet. With e-commerce, consumers and merchants rely on the secure exchange of accurate electronic data.
Other examples of exchanges of electronic data include business-to-business relationships where one business contracts with another business to manage a particular component of its operation. For instance, a business may outsource with a third-party organization to manage its payroll and benefits. In such an affiliation, the business typically provides the third-party organization with remote access to its confidential electronic information (e.g., data stored in databases and file systems, as well as applications to manipulate such data) to allow the third-party organization to process the information.
Yet other examples where electronic data can be exchanged are with systems that try to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPM compliance mandates a national Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) framework that standardizes private electronic health information so it can be securely shared in a largely automated manner between health care providers, employers, insurers, patients, and other authorized parties. Thus, an insurer can access patient records at a hospital in order to verify treatment and coverage for a particular patient, for instance.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) have been used as one technique to securely exchange data between remote systems (where the term "systems" herein includes data exchanges between computer to computer, computer to human, human to human, or any variation thereof). With a VPN, a secure network overlays an insecure public network, such as the Internet. A VPN is created by encrypting all data streams between selected nodes on the larger public network, such that no other nodes on the same public network can access the confidential data.
These examples of VPN data exchange systems suffer from a number of drawbacks. First, many of them can only understand, analyze, and act according to external data stream information and not the actual contents of the data stream. For example, traditional VPNs monitor incoming and outgoing packets, block incoming packets based upon source or destination, and require some authentication information in order to establish a secure connections to authorized data. However, once a secure connection is established the VPN is largely ignorant of the content of the data being exchanged. The most such systems can do is blindly record the data exchanged without the ability to intelligently act upon it in real time.
Another disadvantage of these VPN data exchange systems is that data will often need to be exchanged between machines (such as between computer systems, client terminals, application software, servers, web browsers, and the like) that communicate via different or incompatible data formats and protocols. In the payroll and benefits scenario described above, and individual in the business may need to re-format the data to a format (e.g., to a compatible software application file, database layout, intermediate file format, and so on) before the data is sent to the third-party organization, so that the third-party organization can read and process the data. A web browser generally only understands the webbased protocols, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS), and thus cannot exchange data with an email server that communicates via the other protocols, such as SMTP, POP, and/or IMAP protocols. This translation between data formats and protocols may need to be done differently and manually on a case-by-case basis for each data exchange link, thereby adding to the complexity and inefficiency of the process.
Yet another problem with these VPN data exchange systems is that erroneous data can be cumbersome to detect or correct. Correction of incorrect data, if such incorrect data is even located to begin with, typically involves having to track down specific static database or file system entries where the original error occurs. This can be difficult in situations where there are multiple databases having different formats. In addition, data that is exchanged often needs to be logged in terms of source, destination, date and time, or other transactional tracking information. This transactional information is also generally stored statically in databases, file systems, or other storage locations (e.g., "data at rest"), and can easily become outdated or erroneous if the original data had errors. Erroneous data can result in severe consequences, particularly in the health care field where a wrong prescription number for a medicine may cause great harm to a patient. If left uncorrected, erroneous data can propagate and proliferate through various systems and databases as the data is exchanged.
Specific software packages and general application server platforms have been developed to address some of the more sophisticated problems of data analysis, integration, and exchange. This software approach to data exchange usually provides some advanced programming environment whereby functionality can be customized to analyze, manipulate, and audit data according to the unique business flow and data architecture of each customer.
These examples of software data exchange systems suffer from a number of drawbacks. First, security at all levels is usually a prerequisite for data exchange but generally only exists at the application layer in such software systems, such as in the form of login username and passwords. Because encryption is so computationally costly and poorly done in software alone, these systems are either inefficient or unable to secure significant data exchanges at the lower packet level. Often, security must be addressed separately at the application, operating system, network level, and overall integration levels.
In addition, software is just one component of an overall working data exchange system. Hardware must be independently researched, purchased, configured, and managed along with the software package. Both the hardware (including the operating system) and software must be integrated for security, performance, automation, etc., which represents a significant continual effort. Moreover, such software data exchange systems are usually tied to a back-end local data store operating on data at rest. Once data is initially extracted, it can be copied and exchanged many times independent of such systems, thereby undermining core functionality such as comprehensive auditing and privacy filtering.
Accordingly, improvements are needed in data exchange techniques.

Intelligent secure data manipulation apparatus and method


A tool holder includes a body, a head, and a flange. The body is dimensioned to fit closely within a slot formed within a flight block. The head is positioned at a distal end of the body and has a recess to receive a cutting tool and hold the cutting tool in a rotationally forward orientation. The head includes a threaded bore extending from the recess to an outer surface, and a set screw positioned within the threaded bore, to selectively engage and secure a cutting tool therein. The flange is positioned adjacent the head and extends from the body in a rotationally forward direction. The flange is angled away from the cutting tool recess and to one side of the tool holder to facilitate deflection of debris away from the interface of the flight block and the tool holder and to one side of the tool holder.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to rotary driven cylindrical cutters and scarifiers for use in earth-working, mining, or other in situ disintegration of hard materials. The invention is particularly directed to a tool holder for such a machine.
2. Background of the Invention
In general, roadway mining or planing equipment includes a rotary driven cylindrical comminuting drum which acts to scarify and to mine the top portion of the asphaltic road surface in situ. The rotary driven drum includes flighting on the drum which acts to collect and move the mined material toward the center of the drum where it can be removed. Often the mined material is then remixed with additional bituminous material and thereafter re-deposited as a newly formed smooth asphaltic surface. The rotary driven drums can also be used in other types of mining including subterranean extraction of desirable minerals and ores.
In some prior art devices of this type, the flighting is itself formed from a plurality of cutting bit support members which are connected to the curved surface of the cutting drum by bolts which pass from the upper surface of the flighting downward into the drum to engage threaded openings in the drum. Alternatively, the cutting bit support members can be welded to the drum or to the flighting.
A plurality of flight blocks can be arranged end-to-end so as to form a substantially continuous helical flighting. The top surface of the helical flighting is generally elevated above the curved surface of the drum. The flight blocks can include angled openings into which conventional tool holders are received. Each tool holder has a recess to receive a cutting tool.
In use, the tool holders may vibrate and otherwise move within the flight blocks. Particularly in the presence of abrasive debris from the roadway mining operation, the vibration and movement of the tool holders can act to enlarge the slot within the flight block receiving the tool holder to such an extent that the tool holder is no longer retained. Additionally, the presence of dust and debris that is being churned up by the cutting tool itself can get pushed into the flight block, between the wall of the slot and the tool holder. This debris causes added and accelerated wear on the tool holder and flight block.
When the tool holder is no longer held securely in the flight block, it then becomes necessary to remove the old flight block, usually with the aid of a cutting torch, and to weld a new flight block in its place. Again, this repair job is difficult to do in the field and still achieve accurate alignment of the flight block on the flighting section. Misalignment of the flight block results in undesirable lateral forces on a new cutting tool which in turn results in very fast wear and ultimate failure of the replaced parts.
The vibration induced wear can also occur between the tool holders and the cutting tool itself. Some rotational movement of the cutting tool may be desirable to permit the cutting tool to suffer even wear. Any rotational movement of the tool can cause wear of the part holding the tool, whether the tool holder or any intermediate sleeve. It is desirable to retain the cutting tool in the tool holder so long as the cutting surface of the cutting tool remains satisfactory to perform the desired cutting action. If a cutting tool experiences too much wear it may be ejected from or drop from the tool holder. If the tool holder experiences too much wear in surfaces confronting the cutting tool, the tool holder may not be able to retain even a new cutting tool, thus mandating the replacement of the tool holder. Thus, it is desirable to accommodate some measure of wear between the cutting tool and the tool holder while minimizing the wear on the tool holder itself.
Thus, there remains a need for a tool holder that can be used with standard flight blocks, and will resist the intrusion of debris between the tool holder and the cutting tool and will retain the cutting tool for a longer time. There remains a further need for a tool holder that can accommodate or compensate for some measure of wear of the cutting tool in relation to the tool holder.

Keystone Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.


A system is provided for object localization in image data. The system includes an object localization framework comprising a plurality of object localization processes. The system is configured to receive an image comprising unannotated image data having at least one object in the image, access a first object localization process of the plurality of object localization processes, determine first bounding box information for the image using the first object localization process, wherein the first bounding box information comprises at least one first bounding box annotating at least a first portion of the at least one object in the image, and receive first feedback regarding the first bounding box information determined by the first object localization process. The system is further configured to persist the image with the first bounding box information or access a second object localization process based on the first feedback.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
A database system can store data or information, which may include annotated data used to train neural networks, as well as unannotated image data that requires annotation for neural network training purposes. In a customer relationship management (CRM) database, for example, this data or information can include image data for customers of the CRM system, which may be used for neural network training, object localization and detection, and/or other computer vision and image processing requirements. This data and information in a database system can be stored in the form of electronic image data or digital objects. When a user is interested in processing images for object detection, a neural network trained using annotated image data may process received image data to detect and identify objects. The annotated image data includes not just a classifier or class label of objects in images, but also includes bounding box information that describes the location of the objects in the images. Thus, using the input image and the trained neural network, the system responds with image detection results, which identifies the same or similar objects in images. This annotated data requires tens of thousands or more annotated images. However, for proper selection of bounding boxes in the annotated images, a user or administrator is required to manually select the objects in the images and place the bounding boxes over the objects so that a neural network can be trained in identifying the object. This not only takes a large amount of time and human resources, but further introduces bias and error based on human input. Moreover, proper training may require billions of such annotated images to recognize many or different objects, especially when images include multiple objects. As such, training of proper object detection systems requires large amounts of data in supervised models that leads to consumer issues and time expense.
In the figures, elements having the same designations have the same or similar functions.

Object localization framework for unannotated image data


This invention is a barbecue type grill that can be used either indoors or outdoors. By diposing a convertible drip pan that can be opened and closed between the food supporting rack and the cooking heat source, rapid preheating can be accomplished as well as searing of desired food products, followed by closing of the drip pan to prevent unwanted flare-ups caused by juices dripping from the food being cooked. This closing of the drip pan allows the food to cook slower than over direct heat which allows the food to retain more juices when done. This invention overcomes the slow preheating and slow initial cooking inherent in the prior art using a solid impervious drip pan. Also, since different types of heat sources can be used in conjunction with the present invention, the problem of the bottom of the housing rusting out in the area adjacent the round burner below the heat deflecting plate is effectively eliminated.

The art of cooking has been around since the earliest days of the human race. This includes both indoor and outdoor preparation of foods utilizing heat to cook the same. In more recent times, Hibachis have been used for both indoor and outdoor cooking while charcoal and gas grills have been used primarily for outdoor cooking, and jen-aire and other electric and gas fired units with ventilating systems are used for indoor cooking. One problem universally encountered when cooking food products that have excessive juices, particularly meats, is that such juices catching on fire and burning such products.
People have become accustomed to seared steaks, hamburgers and the like but do not want the same charred. Brown on the outside and juicy on the inside is the usual order of the day. The problem is how to sear products the desired amount and yet prevent further flame contact which could over cook or char the same. Also, when cooking food products such as poultry, including chickens, turkeys, and the like, flare ups are very undesirable and yet adequate heat must be available to cook the product and brown the outside thereof.
In recent years, at least one barbecue device has been developed that eliminates during the cooking process. This gas grill, however, is extremely slow to heat up to cooking temperature and is slow to complete the cooking process even on relatively small pieces of meat or other food products. Also extremely high temperatures are encountered in the burner area during the entire cooking process. It is touted that this grill has no controls, just "on" and "off", but the reason for this is that the cooking temperature in the area of the food product is barely adequate to cook the same and any reduction in heat would give unsatisfactory results.

Convertible drip pan and method of using the same


To provide a magnetic head, a recording/reproducing method for a tape magnetic recording medium and a rotary magnetic head mechanism. A flat head FH1 is mounted on a rotary drum DR1 capable of allowing a magnetic tape MT to run thereon, and a smooth flat surface PL1 that faces the magnetic tape MT and produces hydrodynamic interference with the magnetic tape MT is provided on a flat head FH1, and a head element HE1 that contacts the magnetic tape MT and produces magnetic interference is provided in the area where the magnetic tape MT contacts the smooth flat surface PL1.

As an apparatus for recording and reproducing signals on/from a tape magnetic recording medium, a rotary drum type of video cassette recorder apparatus is widely used wherein a track is formed at an inclined angle for record on the tape magnetic recording medium by the magnetic head which is mounted on the rotating drum, and reproducing is also performed by tracing this inclined track. Above all, in recent years, a rotary drum type of VTR apparatus of the digital standards has come into wide use.
As an example of the tape magnetic recording medium, a coat-type of magnetic tape is available. Its structure is such that a magnetic layer or a magnetic surface is formed on a plastic substrate coated with needle-like or fine grain magnetic particles by a binder which is an adhesive agent. As to the magnetic surface, as the recording is performed in high density, its coercive force Hc and its residual magnetic flux density Br tend to increase. In the case of the MP tape of the DV standards, for example, the coercive force Hc reaches 2300 oersted and the residual magnetic flux density Br reaches 3000 gauss.
On the other hand, the size of a magnetic particle simple substance is micronized to a degree of 0.1×1.0 μm in the case of a coat-type metal tape. Moreover, a tape thickness becomes thinner from the tape thickness of approximately 10 to 16 μm adopted in the conventional editing machine because of the demand for a compact tape cassette and a long time recording and reproducing. In the case of the tape magnetic recording medium for digital video signals of the DV standard, the tape has a thickness of 7 to 8 μm.
Accordingly, the apparatus for recording and reproducing on/from the magnetic tape having such characteristics needs to be elaborately designed on both hydrodynamic interference function in relation to the control of physical contact with the magnetic tape and magnetic interference function in relation to the recording and reproducing.
As an example of such a magnetic tape recording/reproducing apparatus, the conventional rotary drum type head for recording and reproducing on/from the magnetic tape medium while rotating adopts a magnetic head according to the magnetic induction principle. This magnetic head has both the magnetic poles opposed to each other by keeping a narrow head gap in-between and the magnetic surface of the magnetic tape medium is disposed orthogonal to this head gap in the closest position. At the time of recording, when the lines of magnetic force generated by driving both the magnetic poles reach from one magnetic pole to the other magnetic pole through the head gap and the magnetic surface, the magnetic substance constituting the magnetic surface is magnetized so that the recording is performed, while at the time of reproducing, a leakage magnetic flux generated from the magnetic substance constituting the magnetic surface of the magnetic tape medium is caught by both the magnetic poles through the head gap and an electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction when the medium fluctuates while moving is detected so that the reproducing is performed.
In order to enhance the recording density and to improve a S/N ratio, adherence of the magnetic tape medium to the head gap is required and, furthermore, maintaining a steady movement of the tape while keeping the adherence is required.
In the conventional configuration, in order to realize the above described adherence state, a contact pressure is obtained by pressing the magnetic tape medium against the head gap and, above all, the rotary drum type head is constituted in such a manner that the above described contact pressure, so-called "contact" is obtained by a tensile force given to the magnetic tape medium. FIG. 10 is a schematic view explaining the configuration of such a conventional rotary drum type head. FIG. 11 is a diagram viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 10 and FIG. 12 is a diagram viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 10.
As shown in each drawing, a rotary drum type head 100 disposes a magnetic head 104 having a head gap 103 in a head window 102 caved in so as to open a part of the cylindrical surface of a cylindrical rotary drum 101 and rotates at a predetermined velocity in the rotational direction 106. With this rotation, the magnetic head 104 also moves at the same velocity. On the magnetic tape medium 105 along the rotary drum 101, a tensile force 107 is given, and pulled by this tensile force 107, the magnetic tape medium is pressed against the head gap 103 and advances at the velocity slower than that of the magnetic head 104 in the same direction. Moreover, at the bottom of this rotary drum 101, there is disposed a cylindrical fixed drum 111 at a short distance apart.
Here, in order to improve a contact state between the head gap 103 and the magnetic tape medium 105, a surface 108 which contacts the magnetic tape medium 105 existing in the vicinity of the head gap 103 is constituted as a curved surface of a convex curvature 109 in the recording track direction, that is, in the magnetic tape running direction and moreover constituted as a curved surface of a convex curvature 110 in the track width direction also and moreover the surface 108 is constituted as projecting from the cylindrical surface of the rotary drum 101 together with the head gap 103.
When the magnetic tape medium 105 contacts the magnetic head 104 thus constituted by pressure attributable to the tensile force 107, the magnetic tape medium 105 is deformed in the convex shape along the surface 108 of the magnetic head 104 so as to improve the contact state. Moreover, the part in which the magnetic head 104 does not contact the magnetic tape medium 105 is sometimes deformed by influences of the clearance between the head window 102, the rotary drum 101 and the fixed drum 111.
As described above, the rotary drum type head 100 as conventionally constituted gives the sufficient tensile force 107 to the magnetic tape medium 105 and by this tensile force 107 the magnetic tape medium 105 is compulsively pressed against the convex magnetic head 104 so as to improve the contact state, and by practicing magnetic interference between the magnetic head 104 and the magnetic tape medium 105 the magnetic recording or reproducing is performed.
However, as a result of pressing the magnetic tape medium 105 compulsively against the convex magnetic head 104 as described above, the problems arise that the head gap 103 is worn and the head gap life is shortened. Other problems also arise that the magnetic surface of the magnetic tape medium 105 is also worn and the tape life is shortened due to non-reversal deformation.
Hence, in order to lengthen the life of the head, in the conventional configuration, a depth of the head gap 103, that is, a gap was designed to be deep enough to dispose a margin there. According to this configuration, for example, at the initial stage, the gap is set to 20 to 30 μm so that the time until the gap depth reduces to the limit value due to wear is lengthened and the life of the head is extended.
However, the configuration where the initial gap depth is deeply set presents the problems in that the improvement of sensitivity has a limit, a high density recording is controlled and a high density reproducing has a limit. Moreover, it did not have any effect on solving the problem of the shortened life of the tape.
Moreover, it also does not realize a means with which an MR head and a GMR head of the magnetic resistance effect type (or magnetic flux response type) having a configuration where the magnetic field changes on the recording medium are detected with an extremely shallow gap by utilizing the magnetic resistance effect, which are mainly applied in a hard magnetic disc drive (HDD), can be applied in the tape magnetic recording medium in place of the magnetic head based on the above described magnetic induction principle.

Magnetic head, method for recording/reproducing tape-like magnetic recording medium, and rotary magnetic head mechanism


A distortion compensation apparatus compensates for non-linear distortion of a power amplifier. The distortion compensation apparatus includes a pre-distorter, a learning unit, and a gain control unit. During training of the pre-distorter, the learning unit repeatedly updates a compensation coefficient on the basis of signals output from the power amplifier. While the training continues after update of the compensation coefficient, the gain control unit performs gain control on a signal before input to the power amplifier.

In a radio communication system, a radio transmitting apparatus for transmitting radio signals uses a power amplifier so as to amplify transmission signals. In a region where the amplitude of the input signal is small, the power amplifier has a linear characteristic such that the amplitude of the input signal and the amplitude of the output signal have a substantially linear relationship. On the other hand, in a region where the amplitude of the input signal is large, the power amplifier has a non-linear characteristic such that the amplitude of the input signal and the amplitude of the output signal have a non-linear relationship. In many cases, in order to use the power amplifier effectively, the power amplifier is operated not only in the linear region, but also in the non-linear region.
However, non-linear distortion of a transmission signal due to the non-linear amplification characteristic of the power amplifier may cause a reduction in the radio communication quality, such as power leakage from the desired frequency band to the adjacent frequency bands and the like. As one method for linearizing the non-linear amplification characteristic of the power amplifier, the radio transmitting apparatus performs distortion compensation using a pre-distortion scheme. For performing distortion compensation using the pre-distortion scheme, the radio transmitting apparatus is provided with a pre-distorter that serves as a linearizer.
The pre-distorter applies non-linear distortion having a characteristic opposite to the non-linear characteristic of the power amplifier to a transmission signal before input to the power amplifier. Then, the transmission signal to which the non-linear distortion having the opposite characteristic is applied passes through the power amplifier. Thus, it is possible to prevent the amplified transmission signal from being non-linearly distorted with respect to the transmission signal before input to the pre-distorter. For example, the pre-distorter applies to the transmission signal to be input to the power amplifier a compensation coefficient corresponding to the amplitude of the transmission signal (for example, multiplies the transmission signal by the compensation coefficient) such that the amplitude of the transmission signal becomes non-linear. The compensation coefficient corresponding to the amplitude of the transmission signal may be stored in a lookup table, for example.
However, it is not easy to accurately estimate the characteristic opposite to the non-linear characteristic of the power amplifier in advance. Therefore, in the distortion compensation system using the pre-distortion scheme, the compensation coefficient used by the pre-distorter is adaptively updated while operating the power amplifier. For example, the radio transmitting apparatus feeds back the output signal of the power amplifier. Then, an appropriate compensation coefficient is estimated on the basis of a feedback signal and a transmission signal before input to the power amplifier, and is set in the pre-distorter.
It is to be noted that there has been proposed a transmitter that includes an intermediate frequency amplifier upstream of a distortion compensation circuit. On the basis of a detected intermediate frequency signal before input to the distortion compensation circuit, the input signals to the distortion compensation circuit are controlled to be maintained at a constant level. There has also been proposed a radio communication apparatus for a radio communication system that includes an automatic gain controller upstream of a non-linear phase distortion compensator. The gain of a high-frequency signal to be input to the non-linear phase distortion compensator is controlled in accordance with an external signal. There has also been proposed an amplifying apparatus in which a variable attenuator is provided upstream of a pre-distortion circuit, and in which a power detector for detecting power leaked to the adjacent channels is provided downstream of an amplifier. This amplifying apparatus controls the attenuation amount of the variable attenuator on the basis of the leaked power.
Further, there has been proposed a distortion compensation apparatus in which a variable attenuator is provided between a multiplier for multiplying a baseband signal by a distortion compensation coefficient and a power amplifier. This distortion compensation apparatus controls the gain of the variable attenuator in accordance with the temperature and the frequency of an analog circuit. There has also been proposed a distortion compensation apparatus in which an attenuation circuit is provided between a distortion compensator and an amplifier circuit, and in which a detection circuit for detecting an output power of the amplifier circuit is provided downstream of the amplifier. This distortion compensation apparatus adjusts the attenuation amount of the attenuation circuit in accordance with the output power from the amplifier circuit. There has also been proposed a transmission amplifier that includes a power adjustment unit upstream of a non-linear distortion compensation unit. This transmission amplifier controls the gain of a symbol to be input to the non-linear distortion compensation unit on the basis of the average power of the symbol before input to the non-linear distortion compensation unit. There has also been proposed a radio transmitting apparatus that includes a gain adjustment unit in a distortion compensation unit. The gain adjustment unit corrects a distortion compensation coefficient in accordance with a power value of a feedback signal from a power amplifier.
These proposed techniques are disclosed, for example, in the following references: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-268117; Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-232328; Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-12419; International Publication Pamphlet No. WO2009/016686; Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-103834; Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-154017; and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-278505.
The non-linear amplification characteristic of the power amplifier is not always constant, but varies with changes in temperature and the like, depending on the driving conditions of the power amplifier. Accordingly, when the average power of inputs to the power amplifier changes, the amplification characteristic of the power amplifier changes slightly. That is, the amplitude of an output signal after amplification corresponding to the amplitude of an input signal is dependent on the average power of input signals around that input signal. Such variation in the amplification characteristic of the power amplifier affects the training of the pre-distorter as described below.
It is assumed that, during the training, the compensation coefficient of the pre-distorter is repeatedly updated on the basis of feedback signals from the power amplifier. In this case, the updated compensation coefficient is calculated so as to match the amplification characteristic of the power amplifier before the update. However, when the compensation coefficient is updated, even when the average power of inputs to the pre-distorter remains the same, the average power of the outputs from the pre-distorter is changed from the average power before the update, so that the average power of the inputs to the power amplifier changes. Thus, the driving conditions of the power amplifier change, so that the amplification characteristic changes slightly. In the case where the training continues, the compensation coefficient is further updated so as to match the changed amplification characteristic of the power amplifier. Thus, the convergence of the compensation coefficient is delayed.

Distortion compensation apparatus and method


An image processing device is provide with an external storage which is detachably connectable to the image processing device, an inputting unit configured to allow a user to input user information, a registration unit configured to register ID information intrinsic to the external storage and the user information input through the inputting unit with registration data in a related manner, a permission unit configured to retrieve the ID information from the external storage and permit access to the external storage connected to the image processing device only if the retrieved ID information is included in the registered ID information which is registered with the registration data, and a data processing unit configured to read/write data from/to the external storage if access to the external storage is permitted by the permission unit.

1. Technical Field
The following description relates to an image processing device capable of reading/writing data from/to an external storage which is detachably connectable to the image processing device.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known an image processing device capable of performing direct printing. The direct printing is a function of retrieving print data stored in the external storage detachably attached to the image processing device, developing the print data into generate image data (e.g., generating bitmap data), and printing images on recording sheets based on the developed image data. An example of such an image processing device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2006-224329.
When such an external storage is used, security protection of the data stored in the external storage is important. Typically, in order to protect the security, the external storage is connected to a host computer, and under control of the host computer, authentication data is stored in the external storage. When such an external storage is connected to an image processing device and data is handled between the image processing device and the external storage, a user is firstly required to input authentication data (e.g., password) to handle the data. Then, the image processing device compares the input authentication data and the authentication data preliminarily stored in the external device, and enables handling of data between the image processing device and the external storage only when the input authentication data coincides with the stored authentication data.


Process of producing skin-core fibers and the resulting fibers and nonwoven materials and articles wherein the fibers are composed of a polymer blend of a polyolefin and polymeric bond curve enhancing agents, such as ethylene vinyl acetate polymers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synthetic fibers especially useful in the manufacture of nonwoven fabrics. In particular, the present invention relates to fibers intended for such use, including processes of their production, and compositions for producing the fibers, as well as nonwoven fabrics and articles containing these fibers. More specifically, the fibers of the present invention are capable of providing soft feeling nonwoven materials that have high tensile strength. Further, the nonwoven materials are thermally bondable at lower temperatures while having superior strength properties, including cross-directional strength. The fibers of the present invention can be incorporated into lower basis weight nonwoven materials which have strength properties that are equal to or greater than nonwoven materials of higher basis weight. Still further, the fibers of the present invention are capable of being run on high speed machines, such as high speed carding and bonding machines.
2. Background Information
The requirements of nonwoven fabrics used in applications concerned with hygiene, medical fabrics, wipes and the like continue to grow. Moreover, utility and economy, and aesthetic qualities often must be met simultaneously. The market continues to expand for polyolefin fibers and items made therefrom having enhanced properties and improved softness.
The production of polymer fibers for nonwoven materials usually involves the use of a mix of at least one polymer with nominal amounts of additives, such as stabilizers, pigments, antacids and the like. The mix is melt extruded and processed into fibers and fibrous products using conventional commercial processes. Nonwoven fabrics are typically made by making a web, and then thermally bonding the fibers together. For example, staple fibers are converted into nonwoven fabrics using, for example, a carding machine, and the carded fabric is thermally bonded. The thermal bonding can be achieved using various heating techniques, including heating with heated rollers, hot air and heating through the use of ultrasonic welding.
Fibers can also be produced and consolidated into nonwovens in various other manners. For example, the fibers and nonwovens can be made by spunbonded processes. Also, consolidation processes can include needlepunching, through-air thermal bonding, ultrasonic welding and hydroentangling.
Conventional thermally bonded nonwoven fabrics exhibit good loft and softness properties, but less than optimal cross-directional strength, and less than optimal cross-directional strength in combination with high elongation. The strength of the thermally bonded nonwoven fabrics depends upon the orientation of the fibers and the inherent strength of the bond points.
Over the years, improvements have been made in fibers which provide stronger bond strengths. However, further improvements are needed to provide even higher fabric strengths at lower bonding temperatures and lower fabric basis weight to permit use of these fabrics in today's high speed converting processes for hygiene products, such as diapers and other types of incontinence products. In particular, there is a need for thermally bondable fibers, and the resulting nonwoven fabrics that possess high cross-directional strength, high elongation and excellent softness, with the high cross-directional strength (and softness) being obtainable at low bonding temperatures.
Further, there is a need to produce thermally bondable fibers that can achieve superior cross-directional strength, elongation and toughness properties in combination with fabric uniformity, loftiness and softness. In particular, there is a need to obtain fibers that can produce nonwoven materials, especially, carded, calendered fabrics with cross-directional properties on the order of at least about 200 to 400 g/in., more preferably 300 to 400 g/in, preferably greater than about 400 g/in, and more preferably as high as about 650 g/in or more, at speeds as high as about 500 ft/min, preferably as high as about 700 to 800 ft/min, and even more preferably as high as about 980 ft/min (300 m/min). Further, the fabrics can have an elongation of about 50-200%, and a toughness of about 200 to 700 g/in, preferably about 480-700 g/in for nonwoven fabrics having a basis weight of from about 10 g/yd.sup.2 to 20 g/yd.sup.2. Thus, it is preferred to have these strength properties at a basis weight of about 20 g/yd.sup.2, more preferably less than about 20 g/yd.sup.2, even more preferably less than about 17 to 18 g/yd.sup.2, even more preferably less than about 15 g/yd.sup.2, and even more preferably less than about 14 g/yd.sup.2 and most preferably as low as 10 g/yd.sup.2, or lower. Commercial fabrics produced today, depending upon use, have a basis weight of, for example, about 11-25 g/yd.sup.2, preferably 15-24 g/yd.sup.2.
Softness of the nonwoven material is particularly important to the ultimate consumer. Thus, products containing softer nonwovens would be more appealing, and thereby produce greater sales of the products, such as diapers including softer layers.
Various techniques are known for producing fibers that are able to be formed into nonwoven materials having superior properties, including high cross-directional strength and softness. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,281,378, 5,318,735 and 5,431,994 to Kozulla are directed to processes for preparing polypropylene containing fibers by extruding polypropylene containing material having a molecular weight distribution of at least about 5.5 to form a hot extrudate having a surface, with quenching of the hot extrudate in an oxygen-containing atmosphere being controlled so as to effect oxidative chain scission degradation of the surface. In one aspect of the process disclosed in the Kozulla patents, the quenching of the hot extrudate in an oxygen-containing atmosphere can be controlled so as to maintain the temperature of the hot extrudate above about 250.degree. C. for a period of time to obtain oxidative chain scission degradation of the surface.
As disclosed in these patents, by quenching to obtain oxidative chain scission degradation of the surface, such as by delaying cooling or blocking the flow of quench gas, the resulting fiber essentially contains a plurality of zones, defined by different characteristics including differences in melt flow rate, molecular weight, melting point, birefringence, orientation and crystallinity. In particular, as disclosed in these patents, a fiber produced therein includes an inner zone identified by a substantial lack of oxidative polymeric degradation, an outer zone of a high concentration of oxidative chain scission degraded polymeric material, and an intermediate zone identified by an inside-to-outside increase in the amount of oxidative chain scission polymeric degradation. In other words, the quenching of the hot extrudate in an oxygen containing atmosphere can be controlled so as to obtain a fiber having a decreasing weight average molecular weight towards the surface of the fiber, and an increasing melt flow rate towards the surface of the fiber. For example, a preferred fiber comprises an inner zone having a weight average molecular weight of about 100,000 to 450,000 grams/mole, an outer zone, including the surface of the fiber, having a weight average molecular weight of less than about 10,000 grams/mole, and an intermediate zone positioned between the inner zone and the outer zone having a weight average molecular weight and melt flow rate intermediate the inner zone and the outer zone. Moreover, the inner, core zone has a melting point and orientation that is higher than the outer surface zone.
Further, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/080,849, 08/378,267, 08/378,271 and 08/378,667 (and its continuation application Ser. No. 08/598,168, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,119) to Takeuchi et al., and European Patent Application No. 0 630 996 to Takeuchi et al., which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, are directed to obtain fibers having a skin-core morphology, including obtaining fibers having a skin-core morphology in a short spin process. In these applications, a sufficient environment is provided to the polymeric material in the vicinity of its extrusion from a spinnerette to enable the obtaining of a skin-core structure. For example, because this environment is not achievable in a short spin process solely by using a controlled quench, such as a delayed quench utilizable in the long spin process, the environment for obtaining a skin-core fiber is obtained by using apparatus and procedures which promote at least partial surface degradation of the molten filaments when extruded through the spinnerette. In particular, various elements can be associated with the spinnerette, such as to heat the spinnerette or a plate associated with the spinnerette, so as to provide a sufficient temperature environment, at least at the surface of the extruded polymeric material, to achieve a skin-core fiber structure.
Still further, Kozulla, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/358,884, filed Dec. 19, 1994 its continuation application Ser. No. 08/998,592, and European Patent Application No. 0 719 879, which are incorporated by reference in their entirety, are directed to the production of skin-core fibers that can be produced under various conditions while ensuring the production of thermally bondable fibers that can provide nonwoven fabrics having superior cross-directional strength, elongation and toughness.
Still further, it is known that blends of materials can be extruded to obtain fibers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,433,573 to Holladay et al. is directed to compositions comprising blends of 5 to 95% by weight of a propylene polymer containing a major amount of propylene, and 95 to 5% by weight of a copolymer of ethylene with a polar monomer, such as vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, vinylene carbonate, alkyl acrylates, vinyl halides and vinylidene halides. Compositions within the broad scope of Holladay et al. include blends containing 5 to 95% polypropylene and correspondingly, from about 5 to 95% ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer, expressed as weight percent of the ultimate blend. The compositions of Holladay et al. may be formed into fibers, films and molded articles of improved dyeability and low temperature characteristics.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,117 and European Patent Application No. 0 239 080 to Daponte are directed to melt-blowing of certain copolymers of ethylene into elastomeric fibers or microfibers. The useful copolymers are disclosed to be those of ethylene with at least one vinyl monomer selected from the group including vinyl ester monomers, unsaturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acids and alkyl esters of these monocarboxylic acids, where the amount of vinyl monomer is sufficient to impart elasticity to the melt-blown fibers. Exemplary copolymers disclosed by Daponte are those of ethylene with vinyl acetate (EVA) having a melt index in the range from 32 to 500 grams per ten minutes, when measured in accordance with ASTM D-1238-86 at condition E, and including from about 10% by weight to about 50% by weight of vinyl acetate monomer, more specifically from about 18% to about 36% by weight of vinyl acetate monomer, and most specifically from about 26% to about 30% by weight of vinyl acetate monomer, with an even more specific value being about 28% by weight.
The copolymer of Daponte can be mixed with a modifying polymer, which may be an olefin selected from the group including at least one polymer selected from the group including polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers (generally other than those with vinyl acetate), propylene copolymers, butene copolymers or blends of two or more of these materials. The extrudable blend of Daponte usually includes from at least 10% by weight of the ethylene/vinyl copolymer and from greater than 0% by weight to about 90% by weight of the modifying polymer.
WO 94/17226 to Gessner et al. is directed to a process for producing fibers and nonwoven fabrics from immiscible polymer blends wherein the polymer blend can include polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Additionally, the blend may include up to about 20% by weight of one or more additional dispersed or continuous phases comprising compatible or immiscible polymers, for example, up to about 20% by weight of an adhesive promoting additive, which amongst other materials can be poly(ethylene vinyl acetate) polymers.
Still further, it is known that composite fibers, e.g., having a sheath-core or side-by-side structure, can be produced with different polymers in the different components making up the composite fibers. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,173,504, 4,234,655, 4323,626, 4,500,384, 4,738,895, 4,818,587 and 4,840,846 disclose heat-adhesive composite fibers such as sheath-core and side-by-side structured fibers which, amongst other features, include a core that can be composed of polypropylene and a sheath that can be composed of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,982 discloses a bicomponent fiber wherein the sheath may additionally comprise a hydrophilic polymer or copolymer, such as (ethyl vinyl acetate) copolymer.


In a card connector for connection to a card, a connector frame defines a region allowing the card to be fitted therein and holds a contact adapted for contact with the card. For ejecting the card, an eject member is movable with respect to the connector frame and swingably holds a locking member having a locking function to lock the card. The locking member swings due to engagement with the connector frame according to movement of the eject member, thereby controlling the locking function.

This type of card connector normally has an eject mechanism for ejecting a card. There is known an eject mechanism called a push-push type or a W-PUSH type. This type of eject mechanism has an eject member adapted to move in a connector along with an inserted card.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-217738 discloses a card connector in which an eject member having a pushing portion, an engaging portion, and a spring portion is switchable between first and second positions. In this card connector, in the state where a card is connected to the connector, the eject member is in the second position where the engaging portion is in engagement with a cutout of the card and this engagement is prevented from being released. Therefore, even if a strong pulling force is applied to the card, the card does not come off the connector. On the other hand, when the eject member is moved from the second position to the first position, the card is pushed out by the pushing portion. Although the engaging portion is still in engagement with the cutout of the card even in the first position, since this engagement can be released by elastic deformation of the spring portion, the card can be easily pulled out by applying a pulling force to the card to cause such elastic deformation.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-77589 discloses a connector for connecting an IC card. This connector includes a plate spring having one end fixed to an eject member and the other end serving as a locking portion curved into a generally U-shape. The locking portion can enter and retreat from a cutout of the IC card. A guide portion is provided in a connector housing of the connector. In this card connector, when the IC card is fitted into the connector, the effective size of the plate spring decreases following the movement of the eject member so that the locking portion enters the cutout of the IC card due to elastic deformation of the plate spring. Therefore, even if a strong pulling force is applied to the IC card, the IC card does not come off the connector. On the other hand, when the eject member moves in a direction of pushing out the IC card, the effective size of the plate spring increases so that the locking portion retreats from the cutout of the IC card due to restoration of the plate spring and thus the IC card can be easily pulled out.

Card connector capable of switching a card holding state with a simple structure

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A method to generated a chart recommendation based on machine understanding of spreadsheet data, including determining a set of data that each include content of a cell of one or more cells in a column of a spreadsheet presented to a user. The method further determines an entity type associated with the column based on the set of data. The entity type represents a semantic meaning of the set of data in the column of the spreadsheet. The method further identifies at least one of a plurality of charts that is relevant to the entity type associated with the column. The method then provides the identified chart for presentation to the user.

Spreadsheet documents may be used for organizing and analyzing large amounts of information. Information in a spreadsheet document may be contained in cells, arranged as rows and columns, on one or more sheets. For example, spreadsheets may be used for managing and manipulating financial information, engineering information, or any organizational information. A user may use a spreadsheet software application to manipulate (e.g., create, edit, view, print, etc.) electronic spreadsheets. When editing an electronic spreadsheet, the user may change the content of the spreadsheet by removing text, entering new text, formatting the spreadsheet layout, adding graphs or charts, or otherwise changing the content of the spreadsheet.

Adding machine understanding on spreadsheets data


The present disclosure relates to an Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and a method for controlling a balance rate of a production line. The Industrial IoT includes an user platform, a service platform, a management platform, a sensor network platform, and an object platform interacting in sequence, the service platform adopts a centralized arrangement, the management platform adopts an independent arrangement, and the sensor network platform adopts a rear sub-platform arrangement.

Production line balancing is technical means and method of averaging all the production processes and adjusting the workload so that each work time is as close as possible, which aims to eliminate unbalanced efficiency losses between operations and overproduction. Production line balancing is a great knowledge, which is directly related to normal use of the production line. In industrial applications, the production line balance rate or the balance loss rate are used to indicate the quality of the production line balancing.
In the prior art, in general, the higher the production line balance rate is, the higher the production line balancing is, the higher the overall efficiency of the production line is, and the shorter the waiting time of each workstation of the production line is. However, considering issues such as cost, product output, and workload intensity of production line equipment, in practical applications, it is not necessary to use the higher production line balance rate since it will lead to many questions, such as increased manufacturing costs, overcapacity, or heavy equipment load, etc.
Therefore, under different production backgrounds, it is necessary to adjust the manufacturing parameters of the production equipment in the production line, thereby adjusting the production line balance rate to suit the required production requirements. In the prior art, it is necessary to manually collect the working hours of each production line equipment, obtain the bottleneck time through a software, then obtain the production line balance rate through manual conversion, then adjust the manufacturing parameters of each production line equipment through the production line balance rate, and finally obtain a new production line balance rate through collecting the data again to verify whether the new production line balance rate meets the production requirements. When there are many production line equipment, not only is it time-consuming and labor-intensive to collect the working hours, but also it is prone to errors and the amount of data is large, and the new production line balance rate needs to be recalculated after subsequent adjustments, which further increases the time and cost. There is no guarantee that the new production line balance rate meets the production requirements, and further verification is required. Not only is the process tedious and the workload is heavy, but also it will also affect the actual manufacturing operations.
Therefore, with the increasingly perfect intelligent manufacturing technology, how to use intelligent manufacturing technology to solve the above technical problems quickly and at low cost is an urgent need to solve.

Industrial Internet of Things and methods for controlling production line balance rate

CHENGDU QINCHUAN IOT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The semiconductor device includes first interlayer insulating layers and first conductive patterns which are alternately stacked; a second interlayer insulating layer formed on the first interlayer insulating layers and the first conductive patterns; and a slit passing through the second interlayer insulating layer, the first interlayer insulating layers and the first conductive patterns to divide the first interlayer insulating layers and the first conductive patterns into stack structures.

1. Field of the Invention
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a 3-dimensional cell string and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a cell string of a semiconductor device is formed in a 2-dimensional (2D) structure configured to form memory cells in a single-layer form on a substrate. A degree of integration of the 2D cell string may be enhanced by reducing the area of a plane occupied by the memory cells using a fine pattern forming method.
Since technologies that enhance the degree of integration for the above-described 2D cell string have reached a limit, a 3-dimensional (3D) cell string configured to stack memory cells in a multi-layer form on a substrate has been proposed. A degree of integration of this 3D cell string may be enhanced without reducing the area of a plane occupied by the memory cells.
The 3D cell string is formed along a channel structure passing through interlayer insulating layers and conductive patterns, which are alternately stacked on a substrate. The interlayer insulating layers and the conductive patterns may be penetrated by a slit and divided into a plurality of stack structures. The channel structure may be connected to conductive lines such as bit lines, source lines, etc. via a contact plug, which is connected over the channel structure.
Since a contact area between the contact plug and the channel structure is small, misalignment between the contact plug and the channel structure easily occurs during the fabrication processing. Hereinafter, causes of the misalignment between the contact plug and the channel structure are described in further detail.
After forming the slit, thermal stress may be applied to the substrate. Due to the thermal stress, the conductive patterns may be bent. When the number of the interlayer insulating layers and the conductive patterns that constitute the stack structure are increased to enhance a degree of integration of the 3D cell string, bending of the conductive patterns becomes more severe. When the conductive patterns are bent, the location of the channel structure passing through the conductive patterns may be changed. As a result, the misalignment between the contact plug and the channel structure may occur.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


In a system and method for securely storing and controlling the dispensing of a payout, the system includes a payout dispenser for securely storing and dispensing a payout, and a terminal for controlling the dispensing of the payout and for interfacing with an attendant in connection with the payout. The system further includes a network for interconnecting the payout dispenser and the terminal. The system may also include a device for indicating a payout payable responsive to the input of a person to whom the payout is payable, wherein the payout-indicating device may be connected to the payout dispenser and the terminal by a network. The system may further include a device for enabling the dispensing of a payout breakage amount, which is the difference between the payout in a payout dispenser denomination and the payment to be paid out. The system may still further include a central terminal for centrally controlling the dispensing of payouts at a plurality of local stations to which the central terminal may be networked.

It has been known to provide systems such as retail registers and change machines for storing and enabling the dispensing of payouts at locations such as retail stores or the like. A large supply of money had to be kept on hand at such locations, to cover substantial transactions, requiring inefficient and inconvenient refilling of such supply on a relatively frequent basis. Further, such large supplies of money were maintained in relatively insecure retail registers and/or change machines at such locations, where such machines were subject to theft of the money by criminals and/or attendants.
It has been further known in jurisdictions where gambling is legal, such as Nevada, to have gaming machines at locations such as convenience stores, grocery stores, taverns, or the like, as for example video poker machines and/or electronic slot machines. The gaming machines may include coin hoppers for receiving coins for game play and for storing coins for payment of payouts such as cash outs and/or jackpots resulting from the play of the game. The coin hoppers in such machines had to be refilled relatively frequently due to substantial payouts. Further, large amounts of money had to be kept on hand at such remote locations, to cover substantial payouts incurred at such machines beyond the amount of coins in the coin hoppers. Also, such large amounts of money were maintained in relatively insecure retail registers and/or change machines at such locations, where such machines were also subject to theft of the money by criminals and/or attendants.
In addition to such refilling and security issues, in a route type environment, wherein the route may comprise locations remote from each other for refilling retail registers, change machines, and/or gaming machine coin hoppers, the frequency of refilling has greatly increased and has become very much of an inconvenience. In such route type environments, particularly for gaming machine locations, the inconvenience of frequent refilling has escalated with the popularity of bill acceptors in gaming machines, where the coin hoppers are not replenished with coins played into the machine, whereby payouts cannot be made from the coin hopper without emptying it.
Therefore, those concerned with the development and use of improved payout storage and control systems and methods and the like have recognized the need for improved systems and methods for enabling a substantial supply of payouts to be securely stored and for controlling the dispensing of the payouts, so as to reduce the need for frequent refilling thereof.
Accordingly, the present invention fulfills these needs by providing efficient and effective systems and methods for securely storing and controlling the dispensing of a payout, so as to enable a substantial supply of payouts to be securely stored, to reduce the need for refilling of the payout supply, and to control the dispensing of a payout.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for securely storing and controlling the dispensing of a payout


An input device of a vehicle brake system which is downsized and has an improved general versatility in comparison with conventional vehicle brake systems is provided. An input device 14 includes: a master cylinder 34 that produces a fluid pressure in accordance with an input of an operation of a brake operating member 12; and a stroke simulator 64 which is provided side by side with the master cylinder 34 and which applies in a pseudo manner a force counteracting the operation of the brake operating member 12 to the brake operating member 12. The master cylinder 34 and the stroke simulator 64 are formed integrally.

Examples of conventional vehicular (automobile) brake systems known are ones equipped with a servo unit such as a vacuum booster or a hydraulic booster. In recent years, electric boosters that are driven by an electric motor have become popular (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The electric booster disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a main piston that moves back and forth in accordance with an operation of a brake pedal, a cylindrical booster piston that is externally engaged in a manner displaceable relative to the main piston, and a rotation-linear-motion converting mechanism like a ball screw that transmits the rotational force of an electric motor to the booster piston as a booster thrust force.
According to this electric booster, the main piston and the booster piston are utilized as pistons for a master cylinder, and respective front ends of those pistons are in communication with the pressure chamber of the master cylinder. Hence, a brake fluid pressure is produced in the master cylinder by a thrust force input into the main piston from an operator through the brake pedal and the booster thrust force input into the booster piston from the electric motor.


A method and system are provided for converting wind power into electrical energy. One or more blades are attached by one or more struts to a vertical or central shaft, wherein each strut mechanically couples at least one of the blades to the shaft. One or more blades may be laminar. An optional method of fabricating a wind turbine blade, or fluid turbine blade, wherein the blade may be manufactured by a pultrusion process; may present a constant blade twist along a central axis of the blade itself; and/or may present a cross-section along the blade central axis. Alternatively or additionally, an airfoil is provided may be laminar and/or uncambered. According to a still additional optional aspect of the method of the present invention, a Darrieus-type vertical-axis wind turbine is provided, the turbine having a shaft that defines a rotation axis with a plurality of substantially rigid blades.

The prior art provides systems and methods of use thereof for the purpose of generating electrical energy from atmospheric wind power. U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,246 (hereinafter, "Goldberg") discloses a vertical-axis wind turbine that includes two or more elongated blades connected to a rotor tower. Goldberg teaches that the tower defines an axis of rotation and is linked, preferably via a gearbox or other torque-converting arrangement, to the shaft of a generator. Each of Goldberg's blades are "twisted" so that each blade has a lower attachment point that is displaced angularly relative to an upper attachment point of the same blade. In a preferred embodiment of Goldberg, the radial distance of each blade from the axis of rotation varies between upper and lower attachment points such that the blade lies approximately along a "troposkein", i.e., the shape that is assumed by a string clamped at each end and spun about an axis passing through the ends of the string. The ratio between blade chord length and blade thickness is preferably constant over the length of each blade of Goldberg's device, with the middle of each blade being approximately 80% as thick as its ends. Goldberg teaches that the cross-section of one or more blades may be teardrop-shaped, shaped as an airfoil, rectangular, or curved in some other way.
International Patent Application PCT/GB2004/003257, or WIPO Patent Application Publication No. WO/2005/010355, (hereinafter, "Cochrane"), discloses a vertical axis wind turbine comprising a rotatable shaft formed about a longitudinal axis and a plurality of substantially rigid blades mechanically coupled to the shaft, wherein each of the plurality of blades comprises an elongate body having an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end and the lower end of each blade are rotationally off-set from each other about the longitudinal axis such that each blade has a helix-like form. Furthermore, Cochrane teaches that sections of an elongate body of each blade, taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis, are shaped as an aerofoil having a leading edge and a trailing edge. The blade of Cochrane presents a camber line defined between the leading edge and the trailing edge, wherein the disclosed aerofoil is arcuately shaped such that each blade camber line lies along a line of constant curvature having a finite radius of curvature.
International Patent Application PCT/GB2008/001151, or WIPO Patent Application Publication No. WO/2008/119994 (hereinafter, "Bertenyi") discloses a wind turbine system that includes a wind turbine; a regenerative drive system; a wind-speed sensor for measuring local wind speed; and a controller. The wind turbine comprises a motor-generator system, which is operatively connected to the regenerative-drive system. The motor-generator system is both (a.) drivable as a motor by the regenerative drive system to increase a rotational speed of the wind turbine; and (b.) operable as a generator by the regenerative drive system to decrease a rotational speed of the wind turbine. The system controller is operatively connected to the wind-speed sensor and the regenerative drive system, wherein the controller is operable to control operation of the regenerative-drive system to thereby control the rotational speed of the wind turbine in response to signals received from the wind sensor indicative of gusting changes in the local wind speed.
Yet the methods of the manufacturing of blades for wind turbine systems remain an economic burden on the cost-effective deployment of wind turbines, and the prior art designs of wind turbine blades fail to optimally address the variety of needs and preferences of the public and of industry. There is therefore a long-felt need for improved methods of wind turbine manufacture, wind turbine design, and methods of use thereof.

Method and device for electrical power generation from wind power and method of manufacture thereof


An apparatus for observing an eye of an examinee, comprises: an irradiation optical system for irradiating and two-dimensionally scanning a laser beam onto an observational objective part of the eye; an observation optical system having a photo-receiving element, for photo-receiving the laser beam reflected by the objective part to obtain an image of the objective part, the observation optical system sharing at least a part of the irradiation optical system; a display which displays the obtained image; a polarizing member arranged on an optical axis of the observation optical system, an arrangement angle of the polarizing member with respect to the optical axis being changeable to change a polarized component to be transmitted by the polarizing member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ophthalmic observation apparatus for observing an eye of an examinee.
2. Description of Related Art
There is an apparatus constructed to irradiate and scan a laser beam in two dimensions over an objective part to be observed such as a fundus and receives the beam reflected by the objective part by a photo-receiving element (a photo-detector) to produce an image of the objective part. The apparatus of this type includes an apparatus in which the photo-receiving element receives the beam reflected from the objective part through a pinhole placed in a conjugate relationship with respect to the objective part, thus producing a high-resolution image of the objective part. However, the light amount of the beam reflected by the objective part is small. If noise light (scattered light) besides the reflected beam is allowed to pass through the pinhole and is received by the photo-receiving element, the resolution of the objective part image would be reduced, which makes it difficult to observe the objective part.


Formulations comprising one or more epothilones together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, in particular such pharmaceutical compositions suitable for oral administration of an epothilone.

The class of polyketides known as epothilones has emerged as a source of potentially therapeutic compounds having modes of action similar to paclitaxel (Bollag, et al. 1995; Service 1996; Winkler and Axelsen 1996; Bollag 1997; Cowden and Paterson 1997). Interest in the epothilones and epothilone analogs has grown with the observations that certain epothilones are active against tumors that have developed resistance to paclitaxel (Harris, et al. 1999a) as well as reduced potential for undesirable side-effects (Muhlradt and Sasse 1997). Among the epothilones and epothilone analogs being investigated for therapeutic efficacy are epothilone B 1 (Oza, et al. 2000) and the semi-synthetic epothilone B analogs, BMS-247550 2, also known as "azaepothilone B" (Colevas, et al. 2001; Lee, et al. 2001; McDaid, et al. 2002; Yamaguchi, et al. 2002), and BMS-310705 3.

Desoxyepothilone B 4, also known as "epothilone D" is another epothilone derivative having promising anti-tumor properties viz. paclitaxel that is being investigated for therapeutic efficacy (Su, et al. 1997; Chou, et al. 1998a; Chou, et al. 1998b; Harris, et al. 1999b; Chou, et al. 2001; Danishefsky, et al. 2001b; Martin and Thomas 2001; Danishefsky, et al. 2002). This compound has also demonstrated less toxicity than epothilones having 12,13-epoxides, such as epothilone B or BMS-247550, presumably due to the lack of the highly reactive epoxide moiety.

Generally, pharmacologists and physicians prefer therapeutic formulations to have good oral availability to enhance patient compliance and ease of administration (DeMario and Ratain 1998). Formulations showing oral activity in mice have been described for BMS-247550 and BMS-310705 (Lee 2002a; b); however, these compounds lack the structural combination of a lactone oxygen and olefin found with epothilone D.
A single report of a polyethylene glycol-400:ethanol (10:1) formulation of epothilone D delivered orally to one mouse (at a dose of 50 mg/kg) showed no discernable effect on tumor size (Chou, et al. 1998b). Unfortunately, epothilone D has poor aqueous solubility; and current epothilone D formulations include a castor oil derivative solubilizing agent sold under the trade name CREMOPHOR® (BASF Aktiengesellschaft) to enhance solubility. These formulations are suitable only for intravenous delivery. While current epothilone D formulations are acceptable for clinical and therapeutic use, CREMOPHOR® has been associated with patient discomfort and toxicity. CREMAPHOR®-free formulations of epothilone B for intravenous delivery have been described (Van Hoogevest 1999). Therefore, it would be preferable to provide enhanced formulations of epothilone D that do not require CREMOPHOR® and, still more preferably, that can be delivered orally.


A data processing system comprising a storage apparatus and computers which executes a first program and a second program, the storage apparatus having a cache memory with a first area and a second area and a disk unit for storing data of the cache memory. The storage apparatus writes data into the first area corresponding to area identification information included in a data storage request in response to an input of the data storage request. The data is written into the second area corresponding to area identification information included in a data storage request in response to an input of the data storage request. The data stored in the second area is copied to the first area in response to an input of a copy request for causing the data in the second area to be reflected in the first area.

The present invention relates to a cache control method for a storage system, and more particularly to an effective caching control technology that is responsive to an access from a computer or a program.
Conventionally, when using the same file (logical block address) in computers or programs performing different works, an exclusive control in which a shared file is exclusively used has been performed to prevent an occurrence of a logical inconsistency. According to this technology, other programs are inhibited to access the file until an end of execution of processing such as data updating request made by a specific computer or program for the file. Accordingly, there is a method of duplicating the file and using the files with switching between a reference file and an update file alternately as disclosed in JP-A-3-266046.

Method and system for data processing for controlling a cache memory


A computer-implemented method for determining an actual cost of ownership of a purchase product may include determining a baseline value of the purchase product, and receiving usage information representative of usage of a user product from a computing device in communication with the user product. The purchase product and the user product may belong to a same class of products. The method also may include determining a user cost component based on the received usage information, and determining an actual cost of ownership of the purchase product based on at least the baseline value and the user cost component.

Merchants that sell items that have a high cost to operate and maintain derive benefits from providing a potential purchaser with information regarding costs associated with the purchase of the item. These costs may cover a particular period of time. Such items, including, for example, vehicles or houses, may be listed by aggregation services that provide cost information beyond the purchase price. Financiers can also benefit from presenting a representation of costs to allow their customers to more accurately plan large purchases.
A cost of ownership for the purchase of an item may be based on a few estimates that represent an average operating cost. For example, the average insurance cost for a typical item over a period of time may be provided. Such estimates may be based on considerably generalized information. Actual user information is absent from these estimates, as is objective information reflecting the user's use of a similar item.
The present disclosure is directed to addressing one or more of these above-referenced challenges. The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.

Method and system for determining an actual cost ownership


A method of manufacturing an LCD comprising, preparing a liquid crystal panel which comprises a substrate assembly and a polarizing plate, wherein the polarizing plate is attached to the substrate assembly, disposing a gas injecting part towards the plate surface of the liquid crystal panel, while the gas injecting part is exposed to atmospheric conditions, and applying a pressure to the plate surface of the liquid crystal panel by injecting gas through the gas injecting part. With this configuration, the present invention provides a method to remove bubbles between the polarizing plate and liquid crystal panel without the use of a chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an apparatus therefor, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing an LCD and an apparatus for removing bubbles being formed between substrates and polarizing plates of a liquid crystal panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
An LCD comprises a liquid crystal panel which comprises a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate and a color filter substrate, the surfaces of which are respectively attached with polarizing plates, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between both substrates. Since the liquid crystal panel does not emit light itself, a backlight unit may be located behind the TFT substrate to supply light to the liquid crystal panel. The transmittance of light from the backlight unit depends on the alignment of the liquid crystal layer.
In addition, the LCD may further comprise a drive integrated circuit, a data driver and a gate driver to drive a pixel of the liquid crystal panel, wherein the data driver and the gate driver receive a driving signal from the drive integrated circuit and then apply a driving voltage on a data line and a gate line within display area respectively.
In the manufacturing process of the LCD, polarizing plates are attached to the outside plate surfaces of the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate. In this process, minute bubbles are formed between the substrates and the polarizing plates, thereby lowering the adhesion force therebetween and deteriorating display quality.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional bubble removing apparatus. The conventional bubble removing apparatus 100 comprises a chamber 110 and a door 120 which opens/closes the chamber 110. An accommodating part 130, in which liquid crystal panels 140 are loaded, is provided in the chamber 110. The bubble removing apparatus 100 further comprises a pump (not shown) to supply a compressed gas into the chamber 110, and a heater (not shown).
The method of removing the bubble using the above apparatus 100 will be explained.
First, the door 120 is opened to open the chamber 110. Then, the liquid crystal panels 140 are loaded into the accommodating part 130. At this time, the temperature and the pressure in the chamber 110 is room temperature and atmospheric pressure, respectively. The accommodating part 130 can be loaded with a plurality of liquid crystal panels 140 at the same time. The door 120 is shut to close the chamber 110 after the loading of liquid crystal panels 140 is completed.
Next, the temperature and the pressure are increased to predetermined levels. Generally, the temperature is increased to about 50° C., and the pressure is increased to about 5 kgf/cm2. By these operations, heat and pressure are applied to the liquid crystal panels 140 in the chamber 110. Therefore, the bubbles formed between the substrates and the polarizing plates are moved towards the outside of polarizing plates thereby to be removed. When the removing of the bubbles is completed, the temperature and the pressure in the chamber 110 are decreased to room temperature and atmospheric pressure, respectively. Then, the door 120 is opened to open the chamber 110, and the liquid crystal panels 140 are unloaded.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing the change of temperature and pressure in the chamber 110 of the conventional bubble removing apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 2, the 'I' section corresponds to the increase of temperature and pressure from room temperature and atmospheric pressure to predetermined values, which normally takes 8 minutes. The 'II' section corresponds to maintaining the temperature and the pressure at the predetermined values, which normally takes 15 minutes. The 'III' section corresponds to the restoration of the temperature and the pressure to room temperature and atmospheric pressure respectively, which normally takes 7 minutes.
The conventional method of removing bubbles has several disadvantages. First, it requires a significant amount of time in increasing and decreasing the temperature and the pressure of the chamber. Second, the chamber type apparatus is not suitable for treating a large liquid crystal panel. That is, it is difficult to manufacture a chamber which can accommodate a liquid crystal panel having a length greater than 1 m. Further, as the size of the chamber is increased, the safety of the chamber is not guaranteed with ease. Third, the presence of a chamber in a manufacturing process makes the automation of the process difficult.
Basically, these problems come from the presence of chamber in order to remove bubbles.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing an LCD