A pressure transducer using as a component for changing shape in response to a change in the pressure being measured a composite elongated body, with specially arranged reinforcing fibers. Such a pressure transducer can use various means for sensing the change in shape of the elongated body, including an optical fiber affixed to the elongated body so as to itself change in length in response to a change in pressure, and having a Bragg grating as part of the optical fiber, with the Bragg grating positioned and arranged so as to convey, in response to an optical signal, information about the change in shape of the elongated body. The elongated body is provided with at least one pair of contra-helically wound reinforcing fibers, which may even be bi-axially braided, and are wound either to amplify the effect of pressure acting on the elongated body or to insulate the elongated body from the effects of pressure and other sources of stress. The reinforcing fibers are embedded in a resin, and in some applications more than one pair of contra-helically wound reinforcing fibers are used, so that the composite body consists of more than one layer of reinforcing fibers. The resulting elongated body is a non-isotropic material and can be designed to have a Poisson's ratio significantly greater than 1/2, the maximum possible Poisson's ratio for an isotropic material, providing an enhanced axial strain accompanying any radial or circumferential strain. The elongated body can also be designed to have a small Poisson's ratio by using an inner layer and outer layer of contra-helical windings where the reinforcing fibers of the two layers intersect at different angles.

As is well known in the art of pressure measurement, a pressure transducer typically consists of two general components: a component that responds mechanically to a change in pressure, i.e. by e.g. changing shape, and a component that senses the mechanical response of the other component and provides a signal that can be correlated with the mechanical response, i.e. a strain sensor.
For measuring pressure, such as pressure in a fluid, the mechanically responding component is often a cylindrical body. One way of measuring pressure is to sense how a cylindrical body will lengthen, in what is called Poisson's effect, in response to pressure imposing a radial stress on the body leading to circumferential stress, also called hoop stress. In Poisson's effect, when pressure, such as fluid pressure, squeezes radially on a cylindrical body, the body tends to lengthen as it thins, i.e. it experiences axial strain as well as circumferential strain.
The prior art also teaches that it is also useful to sense how a cylindrical body thins, instead of how it lengthens, in response to an increase in pressure acting on the cylindrical walls of the cylindrical body. Sensing either aspect of the mechanical response, either the lengthening or thinning response to an increase in pressure, can be done by the second component of a pressure transducer.
To measure axial strain of a cylindrical body exposed to some pressure, a fiber optic, having a Bragg grating, is often arranged along the length of the body and attached so as to lengthen along with the body. A Bragg grating is created over a length of a fiber optic by exposing segments along the length to different light in the ultraviolet range causing different indices of refraction. The axial strain is then detected by interferometry, i.e. when light is passed through the fiber, the Bragg grating causes an interference pattern that depends on the length over which the Bragg grating extends; when the length changes, as a result for example of fluid pressure and Poisson's effect, the pattern changes and does so in a way that allows the change in length to be determined, which can then be correlated with pressure that caused the change in length.
An alternate method of using an optical fiber Bragg grating as one component of a pressure transducer to sense how a cylindrical body, serving as the other component, strains axially in response to a change in pressure is to create a Bragg grating on either end of a length of optical fiber lengthening as a result of Poisson's effect. This method has a far greater sensitivity than the single Bragg grating approach, because a greater length of fiber is strained yielding a greater overall change in length.
When a body deforms in a way that exhibits Poisson's effect, so that strain parallel to the applied stress is accompanied by strain orthogonal to that stress (e.g. squeezing circumferentially on a cylindrical body not only makes it thinner but also makes it longer), the ratio of the orthogonal strain to the parallel strain is known as Poisson's ratio and is an indicator of the magnitude of Poisson's effect for the particular material or structure composing the body.
The use, as a temperature sensor, of an optical fiber with a Bragg grating is not new, and such use includes embedding an optical fiber sensor in a plurality of layers of resin reinforced by (non-optical) fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,854 to Dunphy et al. teaches embedding an optical fiber sensor in a plurality of layers of fiber-reinforced resin, each layer having a different thermal expansion coefficient, and the reinforcing fibers of each layer oriented to cause transverse stresses on the embedded optical fiber different from those caused by the other layers, the difference depending on the temperature being sensed. The unequal transverse stresses cause birefringence in the grating, which can be correlated with the temperature being sensed.
In contrast, according to the prior art, in order to make a pressure sensor sufficiently sensitive, bare (i.e. unsheathed) optical fiber is often used, so that the optical fiber having a Bragg grating is exposed to the full pressure, undiminished by any sheathing. But bare optical fibers are susceptible to abrasion and chemical attack, so that in some applications, using ensheathed optical fibers is not practical.
Sometimes in the prior art, bare optical fibers are sheathed in a fine diameter steel capillary tube filled with fluid to protect against chemical attack and abrasion. However, such a sheathing reduces the sensitivity of the optical fiber. Furthermore, steel tubing has a different coefficient of thermal expansion than optical fiber material, and this difference creates thermal-based axial strains that compound the pressure measurement. If one could assume that the optical fiber would expand with the steel capillary, one could subtract out the effect of the thermal strains. However, the optical fiber can slip within the metal capillary, so the thermally induced strains are difficult to predict and thus distinguish from pressure induced strain.
In other prior art, an optical fiber is made more sensitive to pressure by encapsulating or jacketing the optical fiber in a soft polymer having a relatively low bulk modulus of elasticity and a relatively high Young's modulus, and using a jacket outer diameter as large as 2000 microns on an optical fiber with a diameter of 125 microns. A disadvantage of these polymer coatings is their very high sensitivity to temperature changes due to the very large coefficient of thermal expansion of these polymers. Changes in temperature cause very large expansions of the polymer coatings; these expansions strain the optical fiber and the Bragg grating giving a false indication of a pressure change, and sometimes damaging the optical fiber.
Even the bare optical fiber itself will respond to temperature changes by undergoing thermal expansion or contraction in both length and diameter, but these changes in dimension can be compensated for by using a second grating that is not exposed to the pressure. However, with a bare optical fiber, even a flowing of fluid over the optical fiber can, through shear stresses, impart axial stresses that interfere in the pressure measurement.
What is needed is a mechanical form, for use as the mechanical component of a pressure transducer, that will not itself experience significant thermal strains, but will exhibit a pronounced Poisson's effect when exposed to a change in pressure acting on the mechanical form, and so exhibit significant axial and longitudinal strains. When used with an optical fiber having a Bragg grating as the second component of a pressure transducer, the mechanical form should not reduce the sensitivity of the optical fiber to the pressure being measured, even if it ensheathes the optical fiber and so protects the optical fiber against abrasion and chemical attack.
In some applications, a cylindrical body used as the mechanical component of a pressure sensor can extend over a distance spanning regions where sensitivity to pressure is not wanted, and other regions where it is. Because of this, an even more advantageous mechanical form would allow varying sensitivity to pressure along its length, so that it is more sensitive to pressure along some spans, and substantially insensitive along other spans.
Another important advantage would be for the mechanical form to be producible in a continuous batch process, so that there would be no break between lengths of the form intended to exhibit different sensitivities to pressure. In other words, ideally, the manufacturing process would produce, as the mechanical form, a continuous material, although differing in its construction in different spans, according to the level of response to pressure wanted by the different spans.

Composite form as a component for a pressure transducer


A mouse roller module includes a roller, a sensing unit, an electromagnet and a control unit. The roller includes a ring-shaped magnet and a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is extended along a first direction. When an external force is exerted on the roller, the ring-shaped magnet is rotated about the rotating shaft. The sensing unit is located near the roller to sense a pole of the ring-shaped magnet. The roller is arranged between the electromagnet and the sensing unit. The electromagnet and the ring-shaped magnet interact with each other to generate a magnetic force. The control unit is electrically connected with the sensing unit and the electromagnet. The control unit controls the electromagnet and the ring-shaped magnet of the roller to generate the magnetic force according to a result of sensing the pole of the ring-shaped magnet by the sensing unit.

In the digitalized era, computers and associated electronic devices are very popular. For example, computers become essential devices in every family. As known, a mouse device is an important input device for the computer system. Via the mouse device, the user may communicate with the computer system. In addition, the mouse devices with improved or new functions are gradually developed.
A mouse device is used to control a cursor on a computer screen in order to operate the computer. Since 1968, the United States has produced the world's first mouse device. After then, the mouse device is applied to paper processing operations, video games, industrial drawings, drawing design or media production. Consequently, the mouse device has become an indispensable part of the computer system. In the early stage, the mouse device uses a trackball to detect the displacement of the mouse device. With increasing development of science and technology, an optical module or a laser module is used to detect the displacement of the mouse device in order to enhance the working efficiency. Moreover, for increasing the functionality and convenience of the mouse device, the earliest wired single-button mouse device is gradually evolved into the modern wireless multi-button roller mouse device. For complying with different industrial needs or personal preferences, various electronic manufacturers have begun to create a variety of mouse device devices with different shapes in order to meet the operation requirements of different users. Consequently, people pay much attention to the comfort and sensitivity of pressing or operating the left button, the right button and the middle button.
In addition to the left button and the right button, a roller of the mouse device is another kind of button that is frequently used by the user of the computer. For example, by rotating the roller, the function of browsing web pages or moving the cursor is achieved. Alternatively, by pressing the roller, a middle button signal is generated or the function of switching different operation mode is achieved. For increasing the convenience and comfort of operating the roller, a roller module of an input device is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. I448928. In the roller module, a recess or a hollow slot of the roller is equipped with one or two different toothed surfaces. When a swinging arm is contacted with one of the toothed surfaces, the rotation of the roller generates different tactile feels. Moreover, a hyper-fast roller structure of a mouse device is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M498914. A tooth part and a stopping rod are installed in the roller module. In case that the stopping rod is pushed by a torsion spring, the stopping rod is in close contact with the tooth part. When a button linked with the stopping rod is operated by the user, the roller is switched between a hyper-fast scrolling mode and an ordinary scrolling mode.
However, since the mechanical of the mouse device for performing the hyper-fast scrolling motion is designed according to the principle of inertia, the conventional technologies still have some drawbacks. For example, only some default scrolling modes are provided for the user to switch the operation mode of the roller. Moreover, the consumers cannot adjust the default scrolling modes according to their requirements or the preferences. Consequently, the consumer has to spend more time in searching the suitable mouse device. If the mouse device is not suitable, the working efficiency is deteriorated.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved mouse roller module in order to overcome the above drawbacks.


A process for producing carboxylic acids, in particular furoic, 3-methylthio-propionic and 2-methyl-butyric acids, as well as other short-chained, linear and branched acids consisting of the oxidation, in essentially quantitative yields, of the corresponding alcohols or aldehydes using microorganisms of the genera Saccharomyces, Hansenula, Pichia, Candida or Kluyveromyces is disclosed.

Amongst the compounds whose use is particularly important in the practical flavoring of foods and drinks in general, as well as in perfumery, there appear a great number of carboxylic acids as well as their ester derivatives. Used as such, or as starting materials for obtaining derivatives of varied nature, these acids or esters form a class of compounds for which a constant effort has been invested by the industry in view of their synthesis. Although the microbial production of certain organic acids has been known for a long time--it is enough to think of the formation of acetic acid upon the bacterial production of vinegar--, to this day, there are still no simple and efficient bioconversion methods for preparing carboxylic acids, methods which are of general use. Yet, it is precisely and mostly in certain particular fields such as the pharmaceutical or the food production ones that such microbiological methods are justified.
In industrial practice there are a great number of methods resorting to Saccharomyces cultures, owing to their availability, their low price and their status as approved organisms for the preparation of food ingredients. Therefore, the use of such a family of microorganisms is well documented in the literature.
The same applies to other families of microorganisms such as those of the Hansenula, Pichia, Candida or Kluyveromyces genus.
On the other hand, oxido-reductive dismutation reactions on various substrates have been described in the prior art. For example, it is known that, under the action of the lactate dehydrogenase, glyoxylic acid is converted into oxalic acid and glycolic acid [Ital. J. Biochem., 20 (1971) 129]. The dismutation of formic aldehyde into formic acid and methanol is also known, which dismutation is induced by the alcohol dehydrogenase [Arch. Biochem. and Biophysics, 141 (1970) 632] as well as by microorganisms from the Pseudomonas putida family [Agr. Biol. Chem., 48 (1984) 2017].
In spite of this, none of the references found mentions or suggests the use of Saccharomyces, or of yeasts from the Hansenula, Pichia, Candida or Kluyveromyces genus, in efficient and advantageous processes for the preparation of carboxylic acids by quantitative oxidation of the corresponding alcohols or aldehydes.
In fact, in the cases where the prior art has taught the use of fungus or yeasts in similar bioconversions of aldehydes or alcohols, the result has indicated that yeasts are either inefficient microorganisms in this type of bioconversion or need to be grown under conditions which are not convenient for large scale exploitation.
For example, K. C. Guven et al., in Parfumerie und Kosmetik 59, 263 (1978), showed that Candida krusei failed to oxidize citral into geranic acid, but produced geraniol instead.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,762 which teaches a method for converting short chain alcohols into the corresponding acids by the action of a yeast from the genera Candida, Kluyveromyces, Hansenula, Saccharomyces or Pichia, it was shown that said method required a period of anaerobic fermentation of the yeast, described as physiological or environmental manipulation of the yeast culture, before the bioconversion of the alcohol. In a specific example the authors showed that yeast which had not been manipulated in this manner totally failed to convert butanol into butyric acid. Such a method requires careful monitoring of the amount of ethanol formed during the anaerobic fermentation, which ethanol may easily become toxic to the microorganism being cultivated.

Process for the production of carboxylic acids from alcohols using saccharomyces


An apparatus (10) comprises a movable member (60) having an outer circumferential surface which engages a collated assemblage (20) on a collating conveyor (14) to compress the collated assemblage when the member is moved towards the collated assemblage. A light source (36) directs light (37) toward the outer circumferential surface of the member. The outer circumferential surface includes a light reflective surface (83) portion against which the light is directed and then reflected. The reflected light (38) has a characteristic which varies as a function of the thickness of the collated assemblage. The reflected light is sensed and a first electrical signal (42) is provided which varies as a function of the characteristic of the reflected light and thus as a function of the thickness of the collated assemblage. An electrical circuit (90) detects a value of the first electrical signal corresponding to a maximum compressed condition of the collated assemblage, holds the value for at least a predetermined time period, and provides a second electrical signal (96, 97) indicative of whether the value of the first electrical signal is within a predetermined value range.

Calipering devices for measuring the thickness of a collated assemblage on a collating conveyor are known. Some calipering devices compress the pages of a collated assemblage to be measured before a sensor is triggered to take a measurement which is indicative of the number of pages of the collated assemblage. The collated assemblage is compressed to remove fluff from the collated assemblage so that the sensor can provide an accurate output signal indicative of the number of pages of the collated assemblage.
A problem associated with some known calipering devices is the effect of mechanical vibration on the output signal of the sensor which is indicative of the number of pages of the collated assemblage being measured. The collated assemblage may not be in a desired compressed condition when mechanical vibration is present and the sensor is triggered to take a measurement. If the collated assemblage is not in a desired compressed condition when the sensor is triggered to take a measurement, the output signal provided by the sensor may not accurately indicate the number of pages of the collated assemblage.

Apparatus for calipering a collated assemblage


The application provides an ink cartridge chip, an ink cartridge and an operation method for giving response to printing work, and belongs to the technical field of printing. The ink cartridge chip comprises a storage module at least provided with a first ink quantity data block and a second ink quantity data block which share data with a printer and make the printer have one printing mode, wherein the first ink quantity data block is fixed in the printing mode, and the second ink quantity data block is variable in the printing mode. The ink cartridge comprises the ink cartridge chip. The application with a printing system is easy, convenient and fast, universality is high, printing at a high ink utilization rate is achieved in one printing mode, and the problems of resource waste, consumable loss, high cost and the like are solved.

A printing system generally comprises a printer, an ink cartridge, a chip mounted on the ink cartridge, and the like. In printing work, images and characters are formed on printing media according to control information output from the printing system. In the printing process, replaceable printing components such as the ink cartridge are large in loss and need to be replaced frequently at the end of the life of the replaceable printing components. In the replacement process, an original ink cartridge or a same-generation compatible ink cartridge is generally needed for replacement so as to be compatible with the printer and give response to printing work normally. However, if the expensive original ink cartridges are used for a long time, the cost of printing consumption can be excessively high, requirements of all users cannot be met, and fair competition of other suppliers is limited. In addition, along with continuous upgrading of the printing technique, firmware of the printer generally needs to be upgraded once in two to three years, and a printer of a novel type is released, so ink cartridges which have already been purchased by users and have not been used yet have to be discarded, and the same-generation compatible ink cartridges matched with the upgraded printer have to be purchased again, consequentially, the cost of the printing consumption is increased, severe resource waste is caused, and residual ink and ink cartridges can even cause environment pollution.
In addition, it is found in long-term use that the utilization rate of ink in the ink cartridge is not high enough, and the ink is not completely consumed. Meanwhile, when a certain printing system is used for ink-jet printing through the ink cartridge for the first time, a low-ink state is displayed when about 15% of ink is still left; when an ink-out state is displayed by the printing system, ink needs to be added into the ink cartridge again for the second round of printing, or a new ink cartridge is directly used for the second round of printing; when about 30% of ink is left in the printing process, the low-ink state is displayed by the printing system again, shortly afterwards, a user is informed of ink-out information in this round of printing, and the quantity of ink left in the ink cartridge in this round of printing is larger than the quantity of ink left in the ink cartridge in the first round of printing. After a long period of time, the utilization rate of ink in the ink cartridge is not high, consumable loss is large, cost is extremely high, and the printing efficiency is low.
For this reason, for making ink consumable be compatible with printing systems of all big brands, certain compatible ink consumable manufacturers adopt the method sequentially including data encryption, intermediate transmission and decryption to make replaceable components compatible with the printing systems; certain manufactures adopts the method of conducting function simulation on relevant components such as sensors used for detecting the ink quantity, however, the method only solves the compatibility problem and cannot solve the problem of low ink utilization rate and low printing efficiency at the same time.
For solving the problem of low ink utilization rate, analog sensors used for detecting the filling degree of recording materials, such as ink, in the ink cartridge are successfully adopted by the compatible ink consumable manufacturers, ink consumption is actually controlled according to data in an ink cartridge chip, and thus the ink quantity is accurately measured. However, for printers of different types, the scheme is poor in universality. Since different printing ink consumption threshold values for stopping printing are set for printers of different types, for example, for certain printers, printing is stopped when the ink consumption rate reaches 120% or 100%, so that for achieving accurate measurement of ink consumption and avoiding extra ink waste, different quantities of ink needs to be filled into printers of different types. Obviously, the scheme has limitation, and even extra ink waste can be caused.

Ink cartridge chip, ink cartridge and operation method for giving response to printing work


An inflator socket pin collar which includes integral electrostatic discharge protection for an initiator of an air bag inflator. The collar includes a body having first and second opposed ends. An upper chamber is disposed in the first end and a lower chamber disposed in the second end. The second chamber is capable of receiving the electrical connector of the vehicle. An insert is located in the first chamber. The insert includes a pair of socket pins for connecting the initiator to an electrical connector of a vehicle. A metal oxide varistor is disposed in the insert for protecting the initiator from electrostatic discharge. The initiator is supported by the collar and pins of the initiator mate with the socket pins of the insert.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflator socket pin collar which serves as the electrical connection between an electroexplosive device or initiator and a automobile passenger restraint electrical system, and more particularly, to a collar which supports the electroexplosive device within a gas generator, and which includes a metal oxide varistor for electro-static protection of the electroexplosive device.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the prior art to employ an inflatable occupant restraint system for protecting a passenger of an automobile. Such restraint systems encompass a reaction canister which houses a gas generator or inflator, and an air bag in an uninflated condition. In response to a collision, the gas generator generates gas to inflate and expand the air bag to protect the vehicle occupant.
Inflators for automobile passive restraint systems or other devices require a pyrotechnic initiator or electroexplosive device (EED) to operate the inflator. For actuating the gas generator or inflator an electroexplosive device starts the material of the gas generator burning. The inflator initiator is connected to a crash sensor that is positioned adjacent the initiator or at a remote location in the vehicle.
In operation, the crash sensor sends an electrical signal to the initiator or squib. The initiator fires into the ignitor chamber and ruptures a container, which holds an ignitor material, commonly a mixture of boron and potassium nitrate. The initiator consists of a pair of spaced parallel electrical pins joined at one end by a bridge wire which is embedded within pyrotechnic material. The pyrotechnic material bums with a very hot flame and ignites solid fuel gas generant pellets contained in the combustion chamber. The pellets release a nitrogen gas, which travels through the diffuser chamber and into the protective air bag for protecting occupants of the vehicle.
A common characteristic of electroexplosive devices (EED's) is that the bridge wire is susceptible to inadvertent radiant energy from outside electrostatic charges. This radiant energy, which may be of an electromagnetic or radio frequency origin, can inadvertently initiate the EED. Protection against such radiant energy will herein be referred to as EMI/RFI protection.
One prior art solution to overcome this hazard involves the use of ferrite beads disposed directly within a chamber of the initiator. The ferrite beads absorb the extraneous energy preventing the energy from reaching the bridge wire. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,499 to Holmes, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
A problem with the electroexplosive device of Holmes is that incorporation of the EMI/RFI protection directly within the EED increases both the size of the device, as well as, manufacturing costs and time. Moreover, the manufacturer of the gas generator is limited to a specific EED design.
Another solution is a universal squib connector which encompasses a ferrite bead which surrounds the electrical terminal of the EED. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,200,574 and 5,241,910 to Cunningham et al., assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Cunningham et al. discloses universal connectors encompassing EMI/RFI protection, which are permanently secured within the gas generator. The ferrite bead, electrically, is essentially an inductor which impedes the instantaneous change in current flow.
Another problem with known inflator assemblies is that the EED is crimped into the inflator base. This crimping process often damages the initiator if done improperly.
The use of a metal oxide varistor (MOV) to absorb electrostatic energy in an electroexplosive device has recently been explored. See, V. Menichelli, A Varistor Technique to Reduce the Hazards of Electrostatics to Electroexplosive Devices, (1974).
Typically, metal oxide varistors are used in surge suppression devices, such as computers. However, the prior art has not explored the use of a MOV in an electroexplosive device used as an initiator in an air bag gas generator.

Inflator socket pin collar for integrated circuit initaitor with integral metal oxide varistor for electro-static discharge protections


The object of a device for transferring a transport object between two end positions is to exclude negative influences on dependability and clean room conditions, also in lengthy transport paths, while ensuring a highly flexible transfer. To control the operation of sensors and actuators at a movable part of a drive serving to transfer, electrical contact between these sensors and actuators and a supply unit located in a stationary part of the drive is effected exclusively in the two end positions. The device is provided in particular for use in the manufacture of semiconductors, e.g., for charging semiconductor processing machines, but is not limited to this field.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a device for transferring a transport object between two end positions in which a stationary part supports a part which is movable linearly between the end positions by means of a drive, wherein the stationary part contains a supply unit for supplying signal current and motor current to sensors and actuators.
b) Description of the Related Art
In the production of integrated circuits, semiconductor wafers must be transported between different processing steps to individual processing machines. This is effected to an increasing extent in standardized transport containers, so-called Standard Mechanical InterFace boxes (SMIF boxes), since, instead of optimizing conventional clean rooms by way of higher grades of purity to achieve greater density of integration, rigorous implemented use of enclosures or the use of SMIF technology in semiconductor processing installations provides a way to achieve higher yields at reasonable cost.
The semiconductor wafers are inserted into shelves of a magazine which is attached in a suitable manner to the bottom of the SMIF box. In order to charge the semiconductor processing installations, the magazines are first removed from the transport containers. This generally necessitates a transfer which is carried out by various known technical solutions.
For example, in EP 209 660 a cassette is transported from a SMIF elevator to a device elevator by an automated cassette manipulator in that a swiveling movement is effected during the vertical movement for lifting or lowering the cassette. The use of rotating members is intended to reduce the degree of particle generation compared with linearly moving members.
Similar solutions are also described in EP 238 541, in which the magazine is transferred along given movement curves by motor-operated lever arms which are moved in the Z-direction by means of a separate lift.
The laminar flow of air required to maintain the clean room is perturbed or prevented due to the mechanical construction in the known solutions, in particular due to the fact that the region of action of the transfer device, which is constructed as a lever arm, is controlled laterally to the magazine and due to the closed design. Coupling the transfer movement with the Z-movement unnecessarily prolongs transport times and increases particle generation.
Moreover, when refitting semiconductor processing installations, it is difficult in the known technical solutions to supplement already existing clean rooms with the SMIF system so as to allow wafer magazines to be introduced into the machines under SMIF conditions and unpacked and transported in the machines under clean room conditions.
In a technical solution known from DE Patent 43 26 309 C1, a linear drive for a rigid gripper arm is attached to a supporting column for the purpose of transferring the magazine from a depositing position to a processing location, this linear drive being vertically adjustable in the movement direction of the elevator. The range of action of the gripper arm lies above the magazine located in the depositing position and is directed vertically to the movement direction of the elevator. An air passage opening is provided between the supporting column and an elevator drive. All drive parts are separated from the clean room by a dust-tight enclosure and suction devices or extractors are arranged adjacent to openings through which transport elements project into the clean room.
Although the disadvantages mentioned above are eliminated in this way, cables which are carried along over long transporting distances for transmitting signal current and motor current from devices provided for this purpose in the stationary part of the arrangement to movable parts can lead to disturbances and can have a negative impact on dependability. Mechanical reaction of the cable connection on the movable parts and the possibility of particle generation represent a further disadvantage.
Moreover, due to their wide variety, semiconductor processing installations also require different charging and depositing variants for the magazines.
Further, pneumatically operated linear drives have the disadvantage that they are braked very abruptly in end positions on either side of the cylinder by a speed control via throttle check valves in the form of an end position damping. In so doing, braking is effected from the maximum speed to zero along a distance of a few millimeters resulting in inevitable jolting of the transport object.

Device for transferring a transport object between two end positions


A display device (10) includes a display panel, such as a liquid crystal panel (12), in combination with a reflective holographic optical element (14) that redirects ambient light for illuminating the display. The light redirected by the holographic element is limited to a predetermined spectral band. Fluorescent film (16) is included for absorbing light outside the spectral band of the holographic element and re-emitting light within the spectral band to increase the light redirected by the holographic element and thus increase the apparent brightness of the display.

This invention relates to a display device, such as a liquid crystal display device or the like, that comprises a reflective holographic optical element for ambient light illumination. More particularly, this invention relates to such display device that also includes a fluorescent element to increase the light redirected by the reflective holographic optical element and thereby enhance the brightness of the display.
A simple display combines dark and bright areas to create a desired image. For example, the dark areas may form alphanumeric characters surrounded by bright areas. The common example is produced by a liquid crystal display device and is found in calculators, watches, laptop computers and the like. The device comprises a liquid crystal panel that contains a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between front and back polarizers having perpendicular axis of polarization. Electrodes adjacent to the liquid crystal layer apply a localized electric field to selected regions of the layer. In the absence of an electric field, polarized light is admitted through one polarizer, reoriented by the liquid crystal layer and passes through the opposite polarizer, so that the panel appears transparent. However, an electric field disrupts the liquid crystal material to prevent light from being reoriented to pass through the opposite polarizer, resulting in an opaque region. By selectively applying electric voltage to the electrodes, individual regions of the panel are switched between a transparent state and an opaque state to create a desired display.
The liquid crystal panel does not generate the light needed for viewing the display. For this purpose, it is known to combine the liquid crystal panel with a reflector facing the back of the panel. Ambient light passing through a transparent region of the liquid crystal panel is reflected and is retransmitted through the liquid crystal panel to form a bright area for the display. Of course, light is not reflected through an opaque region.
It has been proposed to provide ambient light illumination of a display by a reflective holographic optical element, also referred to as a holographic reflector. In contrast to reflection by a mirror, a holographic element acts as a diffraction grating to redirect light in an interference pattern. One advantage of a holographic reflector is that light illuminating the surface at angles outside the interference pattern is redirected within the pattern to enhance the brightness of the display at preferred viewing angles. However, because it produces an interference pattern, the reflective holographic element tends to redirect light within a relatively narrow spectral band. It is desired to capture ambient light that is outside the effective spectral band of the holographic element and to redirect the light within the reflection pattern of the holographic element, so as to increase the brightness of the display.

Display device comprising fluorescent enhanced reflective holographic illumination


A storage container for a plurality of uniformly sized circular, elongated or spherical objects includes a transparent plastic tube of circular cylindrical shape terminating in opposed open parallel extremities of circular configuration. A closure cap removably engaging at least one extremity of the tube has a collar portion having a flange that defines a central aperture region whose diameter is smaller than the inside diameter of the tube. A plug member and a flat retainer disc may removably reside within the collar portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a tubular device for holding a plurality of similar objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A popular pastime for children is the collecting of discs known as "POGS".TM.. The POGS.TM. are flat circular discs having a standardized diameter of approximately 41 millimeters, and are generally fabricated of stiff cardboard or plastic. The thickness of each disc is about 1 millimeter, and at least one surface of the disc contains visibly distinctive indicia such as cartoon pictures.
The POGS.TM. are acquired by collectors either by purchase at stores or by winning in games played with other collectors. It is not unusual for a collector to have several hundred POGS.TM.. It has been found convenient to store the POGS.TM. in stacked array within tubular containers having removable end cap closures and having a holding capacity of 25 to 200 POGS.TM.. Most collectors prefer to group their POGS.TM. in a single container in accordance with some underlying theme, such as animal characters, flowers, fish, sports celebrities, motion picture celebrities, geographic scenes, historical depictions, etc. However, there has been no way of knowing the nature of the POGS.TM. within a container unless the collector places some sort of marking upon the exterior of the container. Also, none of the known containers suitable for POG.TM. storage interactively enhance the pastime.
Golf balls are often marketed in tubular packages containing several golf balls, the packaging permitting visual observation of the balls. It is desirable, however, to provide an option for personalized labeling of the packages. In situations where a message on the tubular packaging might obscure the balls it is desirable to have an open top to provide a clear view of the contents or additional copy space for easy-to-change messages within the tube. This is particularly important for tournament awards, where last minute names and winners can be placed within the case or on the ends of the case and appear as though they were always part of the award.
Tubular cylindrical containers for shipping and storage purposes are well known. Various types of closure caps for tubular containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,476,240; 3,749,277; 3,913,774; 3,986,659 and 5,052,578. None of the aforesaid closure means and their associated tubular containers, even if dimensioned to accommodate POGS.TM., are capable of displaying the contents of the container or providing interactive enhancement of the pastime. Some of the closure devices, although secure, are difficult to remove or replace.
Vertically elongated holders are well known for the desk top storage of pens and pencils in a ready-to-use manner. However, such devices usually are unsightly because of the random manner in which the pens and pencils are secured, and further lack versatility with respect to changeability of sidewall appearance, configuration of the opening, or the ability to add personalization.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a tubular container for storing and identifying a plurality of uniformly sized circular, spherical or elongated objects.
It is another object of this invention to enable the owner or vendor to associate an easily changed personal identification or special occasion message with the container of the foregoing object.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container of the aforesaid nature having one or two closure caps which are easily removed and re-installed.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a container of the aforesaid nature having game-playing functionality.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

Storage container having changeable identifying indicia


The application discloses a rare-earth permanent magnetic powder, a bonded magnet, and a device using the bonded magnet. The rare-earth permanent magnetic powder comprises 4 to 12 at. % of Nd, 0.1 to 2 at. % of C, 10 to 25 at. % of N and 62.2 to 85.9 at. % of T, wherein T is Fe or FeCo and the main phase of the rare-earth permanent magnetic powder is a hard magnetic phase with a TbCu7 structure. Material volatilization can be avoided effectively during a preparation process of the rare earth permanent magnetic powder, thus improving the wettability with a water-cooling roller during the preparation process and final prepared materials are provided with good magnetic properties.

Due to advantages of good formability, high dimensional precision, high magnetic properties or the like, rare-earth bonded permanent magnets have been widely used in fields including various electronic equipment, office automation, automobiles etc., especially in micro-special motors. In order to meet the requirements of equipment miniaturization and microminiaturization in scientific and technological development, it is necessary to further optimize the properties of bonded magnetic powder.
The key to prepare a bonded rare-earth permanent magnet is a preparation of rare-earth permanent magnetic powder. The properties of the magnetic powder determine the quality and market price of the bonded magnet directly. Mature bonded rare-earth permanent magnets in the early market are basically isotropic bonded NdFeB magnets. This kind of widely used NdFeB magnetic powder is generally prepared by a rapid quenching method. Such NdFeB magnets have good properties. However, as patent products, the NdFeB magnets have been controlled by a few companies. In order to extend the application of rare-earth bonded permanent magnetic products further, people have been struggling to find more new bonded permanent magnetic powder products in recent years. Bonded permanent magnetic powder including HDDR (hydrogenation-disproportionation-desorption-recombination) isotropic powder, Th2Zn17-type isotropic powder, TbCu7-type isotropic powder and ThMn12-type isotropic powder etc. has attracted much attention of people.
Currently, samarium-iron-nitrogen-series rare-earth permanent magnetic powder has attracted wide attention because of its excellent properties. During a preparation process of the SmFe-series alloy, a rapidly quenched magnetic powder with a TbCu7-structure hard magnetic phase is prepared through a strip casting technique. However, the preparation process, especially an industrial process has the following problems:
(1) samarium, with a low vapor pressure, is seriously volatile during the preparation process, thus causing unstable alloy preparation costs; the volatilized samarium, which is easily oxidized, is easy to catching fire and cause safety accidents; the volatilized samarium blocks a pipeline, which greatly damages a vacuum system;
(2) the highly viscous samarium alloy with bad wettability with a copper wheel during the rapid quenching process is easy to cause alloy liquid splashing, unstable liquid flows on the surface of a strip casting and unevenness of the surface to further cause an uneven alloy phase structure and microstructure, reducing the magnetic properties of the prepared samarium-iron-nitrogen-series rare-earth permanent magnetic powder. This is also a major reason that influences large scale application of the material currently.
In order to solve these problems encountered during the preparation process of the samarium iron alloy, it is a new subject in the field of rare-earth permanent magnetic powder development to find a kind of new rare-earth permanent magnetic powder with better magnetic properties.

Rare earth permanent magnetic powder, bonded magnet and device using the bonded magnet


A lighting system controller. The lighting system controller includes a housing, a power supply, a wireless transceiver configured to send signals to and receive signals from a lighting system via a wireless network, a recessed area disposed on the housing, the recessed area adapted to removably secure a smartphone therein, and a plurality of buttons, each button of the plurality of buttons configured to control an individual operation of the lighting system. The smartphone display is configured to display properties of the lighting system, such as the position and brightness of individual lights.

Lighting systems used in entertainment lighting applications, such as stage shows, sporting events, public events, and the like, are typically complex systems that utilize broad varieties of stationary and moving lights to produce various lighting effects. In such lighting systems, the individual lights are typically connected to a central control console via control cables. The console is utilized to control various parameters of the individual lights of the lighting system. For example, the brightness, horizontal position, and vertical position of one or more lights can be adjusted if desired. The control console can control operation and adjust parameters of individual lights and can also program multiple lights to behave in a desired manner.
While it is advantageous to have the ability to control various parameters of individual lights via a single central console, it is not without drawbacks. For example, installation of the control cables is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. The consoles are typically unable to be easily transported, so they can only be used in a single location and not used elsewhere without going through the arduous tasks of disassembling and transporting the console. In addition, the control cables limit the applications and use of lighting devices due to the restrictions in the location and length of the cables. Furthermore, the cables contaminate an operating space of a show and may constitute a personnel and public safety hazard. It is therefore desirable to provide a lighting system controller that can wirelessly control a lighting system.
Devices have been disclosed in the known art relating to lighting controllers. There exist mobile devices such as smartphones that are capable of wirelessly controlling a lighting system. However, users may have a difficult time utilizing a smartphone's touchscreen to control the lighting system without additional physical buttons due to the layout and complexity of the controls. Another device discloses a means of wirelessly controlling a lighting system in conjunction with a central wired console. However, this device still utilizes the expensive and bulky console that cannot be easily moved if needed.
In light of the devices disclosed in the known art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing lighting system controllers. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.


A buckle for a child safety seat comprising a body having an opening for receiving and selectively retaining in position a tang portion of a first belt portion connector, a loop element for connecting a second belt portion, the loop element engaging the tang portion to connect the first and second belt portions, the loop element comprising a base with a pair of legs extending therefrom and abutting at distal ends at a split surface. Each leg includes an anti-spread tab extending generally perpendicularly from the leg configured to engage the opening when the buckle is operably assembled to prevent separation of the split surface and retain the loop element engaged on the tang portion. The anti-separation tabs allow separation of the split surface as the tang is partially withdrawn from the opening so that the lop portion may be disengaged from the tang by movement generally transverse to the tang.

This invention relates generally to children's safety seats for use in vehicles or to conveniently carry a child or infant, and more particularly to a five-point harness or restraint system with an improved buckle that allows shoulder restraint belts to be conveniently detached from the lap belts for improved accessibility and safety.
Restraint belts in child safety seats typically comprise a pair lap belt portions, a crotch belt, and a pair of shoulder belt portions all centrally connected in front of the child's abdomen to hold the child in place. It was at one time common for the lap belt portion and shoulder belt portion on each lateral side to be formed from a continuous loop of belt that is connected to the seat at each end and directed through a tab which engages a centrally positioned buckle typically attached to the crotch belt. Advancement in safety standards necessitated the need to eliminate loops in the safety belts which could pose safety hazards for children when the belts were not in use and potentially inhibit removal of the child from the safety seat in an emergency.
Restraint belt connectors have become increasingly complex as the requirements in the interest of safety have increased. As a result, many buckle designs are somewhat complex and not always as easy to use as might be desired by caregivers struggling to properly secure children in safety seats. It would be advantageous to provide a means for securing the ends of lap and shoulder belts used in child safety seats capable of meeting the necessary safety standards while offering a simple and easy to use way to connect the safety belts.


A two-piece tire assembly with a removable tread belt for installing about the circumference of a tire carcass is provided. The inner surface of the tread belt follows a non-linear, preferably arcuate profile with a radius of curvature R across the tread belt wherein the distance DL as measured from the axis of rotation to the inner surface of the tread belt extends a distance DO at the equatorial plane and curves radially inwardly to a distance DE at each belt edge such that DE≦0.9*DO.

Very large two-piece tires, in which a removable tread belt is mounted upon a pneumatic structure, have been designed for use on large earthmover vehicles. The large two-piece tires are subjected to high stress and loads under harsh environmental conditions such as in rock quarries, mines, foundries, and other areas where tires are subjected to puncture-producing and wear-inducing conditions.
Two engineering challenges separate the two-piece tires from standard one-piece tires. The first engineering challenge is to retain the outer tread belt on the carcass, which requires enough interfacial pressure between the tread belt and carcass. The second engineering challenge is to ensure that the tread has adequate circumferential stiffness to restrain the diametric growth of the carcass. The tread belt must also have enough flexural compliance to have a nonzero interfacial pressure at the leading and trailing edges of the footprint, and low circumferential compliance to compress the belt package in the footprint in the circumferential direction. These opposing requirements make it difficult to design a two-piece tire which is utilized under heavy load conditions.
With the continual drive to improve earthmover performance, there is a continuing need to provide novel methods and tire designs for improving earthmover tire durability. The present invention is directed to an improved pneumatic tire and removable tread belt assembly with which the frequency of premature tire removal or replacement is thought to be substantially reduced.


A control lever extension includes a base plate and a receiving element pivotably connected to the base plate. A first end of a secondary control lever is configured to detachably engage the receiving element. A first end of an extension arm is pivotably connected to the secondary control lever and a receiving member for cooperation with the tractor controls is pivotably connected to a second end of the extension arm.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to control lever extensions for construction vehicles and, more particularly, to steering control lever extensions for skid loader-type vehicles having a backhoe attachment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional skid loader has a cab which includes a driver's seat and a pair of steering control levers, one lever located on each side of the skid loader driver's seat. The driver moves and steers the skid loader by pushing or pulling on these steering control levers to move the skid loader in a forward or reverse direction or to turn the skid loader to the left or right.
Skid loader manufacturers manufacture backhoe attachments which can be attached to a skid loader to form a single skid loader/backhoe unit. The backhoe is generally attached to the skid loader forward of the skid loader cab and includes an elevated backhoe operating station having a backhoe operator's seat and a set of backhoe hand control levers. The backhoe includes a boom assembly that pivots around a horizontal pivot by means of a hydraulic ram. The outer end of the backhoe incorporates a bucket that is also pivotally supported about a horizontal pivot. The movements of the boom assembly and bucket are made possible by means of a hydraulic control system powered by the skid loader engine. Operation of the backhoe is controlled by the hand control levers located at the backhoe operating station.
A problem with these prior art skid loader/backhoe units is that the steering control levers in the skid loader cab cannot be operated from the backhoe operator's seat. Therefore, when the operator is seated at the backhoe operating station, he cannot move the skid loader/backhoe unit to reposition the backhoe. When the backhoe operator needs to reposition the backhoe by moving the skid loader, he must get off the backhoe operator's seat, climb into the skid loader cab, sit in the skid loader driver's seat and then operate the steering control levers to move the skid loader/backhoe unit. One problem with this arrangement is that it wastes valuable operating time caused by forcing the operator to travel back and forth between the backhoe operator's seat and skid loader driver's seat numerous times during the course of an average job simply to reposition the skid loader/backhoe unit. Another problem is that since the backhoe is located in front of the cab of the skid loader, visibility from the skid loader driver's seat is obstructed and many attempts may be necessary to correctly position the skid loader/backhoe unit so that the backhoe can be most effectively used.
What is needed is a device for remote operation of the skid loader steering control levers from the backhoe operating station. While remote lever operating devices are generally known in the art, these prior art devices are not designed for, nor could they be easily adapted for use with, a skid loader/backhoe unit as described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,527,801 to Downing et al. discloses an extension member for a tractor gear shift lever which permits operation of the gear shift lever from a remote location. The extension member is bracketed at one end to the gear shift lever and is also bracketed to a support which is required to be mounted on the tractor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,856 to Nudd discloses a mechanism for controlling engine speed of a tractor for operation of a rear mounted backhoe. The mechanism includes a complex series of brackets, flanges and plates which translate rotational movement of a hand throttle to translational movement of a fuel pump throttle lever. Additional extension control devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,597,722; 1,862,186; and 2,705,444. In each of these devices, a complicated series of levers is used to control operation of some aspect of a piece of equipment. These devices are generally complex to fabricate and generally require the installation of permanently mounted support members. Furthermore, the devices are generally difficult to install and even more difficult to remove when they are no longer required for operation of the equipment.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight, easily installed control lever extension for skid loader-type steering control levers.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a control lever extension which can be easily removed and stored.

Skid loader steering control lever extension


A vehicle anti-theft system in which a registration of an ID code of a new key to a vehicle side cannot easily be made by an ill-intentioned third party. Provided are a first memory for storing ID codes of operation keys and a second memory for storing an ID code of an L-key. Of a particular ID code of an inserted key has been registered as an operation key in the first memory, an immobilizer code stored in an immobllizer code memory is sent out to an engine ECU to enable the engine to be started up, and if the registered L-key is inserted, and operation keys are successively inputted, the renewal mode for the ID code is activated to rewrite the ID codes of the previously registered operation keys with ID codes of subsequently inserted operation keys in the first memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention Is related to a vehicle anti-theft device, and particularly to a vehicle anti-theft device in which the start-up of the engine is enabled on condition that a predetermined relationship is satisfied by the ID code previously registered in the engine key or the like and the ID code previously registered on the vehicle side.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In some of the various proposals for preventing the theft of a vehicle such as a car, the vehicle is prevented from being started or it is immobilized by mechanical and/or electrical means when it is attempted to be started or moved using a wrong key. This is achieved by previously storing an identification code or a key ID code in a key, reading the key ID code when the key is inserted into a key cylinder to start the vehicle, comparing it with a reference ID code prestored in the vehicle side, generating an enable signal only when there is a match between both ID codes, and enabling the engine to be started up only when an engine control unit successfully receives that signal. In this case, since a theft may be committed by mechanical breakage or illegal wiring if the enable signal is a binary signal of on/off, the encoding of the enable signal has been proposed, for instance, in the "Car Technology", Vol. 48, No. 8, 1994, pp. 59-64.
An example of such a conventional transponder type immobilizer is shown in FIG. 9. A key 2 includes a memory (not shown) in which a key ID code (for instance, of 64 bits) is prestored, and a transmitter 4 for transmitting the key ID code. The transmitter 4 of the key 2 and a key cylinder 5 are coupled together by, for instance, an induction coil (antenna) 6.
When the key 2 is inserted into the key cylinder and rotated to the ignition-ON position, an ignition switch 7 is closed. In response to this, an immobilizer CPU 13 in an immobilizer control unit (ICU) 10 operates, and operating electric power is supplied from a power amplifier 11 to the transmitter 4 through the coil (antenna) 6. The transmitter 4 responds to this to read the key ID code, and transmits it to the key cylinder 5 side.
The received key ID code is detected and digitized by a R/F (radio frequency) circuit 12 in the ICU 10, and read into the CPU 13 and temporarily stored in an appropriate ID code register 13B in the CPU 13. In an EEPROM 13A of the CPU 13, a unique reference ID code assigned to each vehicle is prestored, and tile reference ID code and the key ID code which was read in are compared with each other by a compare unit 13S of the CPU 13. If it is determined that there is a match between the two or they are in a predetermined relationship, an enable code is transmitted from the compare unit 13S to an engine control unit (ECU) 16. At the same time, a starter relay 15 is activated to initiate the rotation of a starter motor (not shown).
When the engine ECU 16 has determined and verified the received enable code, the engine ECU 16 controls a fuel injection valve 17, a fuel pump 18, an ignition control unit 20, etc., according to a predetermined procedure and timing to enable the start and travel of the vehicle.
If the reference ID code stored in the EEPROM 13A and the key ID code transmitted from the key 2 and read in do not match each other or they are not in a predetermined relationship, the compare function unit 13S does not issue an enable code. Accordingly, the start of the vehicle by the ECU 16 is inhibited, and a horn 14 is activated by the CPU 13 to provide an appropriate alarm and display. Thus, the illegal start-up of the engine and the driving of the vehicle by a wrong key are prevented to ensure the vehicle anti-theft function.
However, if an ID code is provided for each key, there must be thousands or tens of thousands of different ID codes, and thus, usually, the maker or seller of keys does not manage keys depending on these ID codes for the convenience of the manufacturing or management of keys. Accordingly, if a user has lost or broken his key, it would be extremely difficult to specify and buy a key having the same ID code. Thus, if a key was lost, it would be necessary to purchase a new key of a different ID code, and newly register the ID code of this new key on the vehicle side.
For the new registration of a key having a new ID code, as described, for instance, in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-76077 official gazette, a switch for switching the operation mode to either a "write mode" or a "read mode" for an ID code was provided, and normally, or for operating the anti-theft function, it is switched to the "read mode" side, while for registering the ID code of a new key, it is temporarily switched to the "write mode".
In the above prior art, the switching means for specifying the "read mode" or the "write mode" is indispensable, and the registration of a new key can very easily be done by switching this switch. Accordingly, there is a problem that, if an ill-intentioned third party has got a new key and newly registered it by switching this switch means, the start-up of the engine by the new key is enabled and the theft of the vehicle can easily be accomplished.


Disclosed is a biaxially oriented polyester film that is 7.0 GPa or more in either the Young's modulus in the machine direction (YmMD) or in the transverse direction (YmTD), and in the range of 55.degree. to 85.degree. in the circumferential half-width of the diffraction line from the crystal plane in the direction of the polyester's backbone chain that is determined through crystal orientation analysis by wide angle X-ray diffractometry performed while rotating the polyester film around its normal. The film is high in rigidity in all directions within the film plane, high in tear resistance, high in dimensional stability, and resistant to deformation under load, and have very great industrial advantages as material for high-density magnetic recording media, with wide applicability as material for electrostatic capacitor, heat transfer ribbon, and base paper for thermosensitive stencil printing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to biaxially oriented polyester films and their production methods. More specifically, it relates to biaxially oriented polyester films that are high in rigidity in all directions within the film plane, high in dimensional stability, and resistant to deformation under load, and serves as a base film for high density magnetic recording media that shows particularly high travelling durability when used as data-recording tape and improved preservability in tape's service environment, and it also relates to their production methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent magnetic recording tapes have become thinner and higher in recording density to permit the production of smaller products with longer recording time, and there are increased demands for tape products with smaller elongational deformation under tensile stress and longer preservability in tape's service environment. Under such conditions surrounding the development of magnetic recording tape products, there are increased demands for improved base film materials that are higher in strength as well as form stability and dimensional stability in the tape's service environment.
To provide base films that meet the above requirements, aramid materials have been used conventionally as they are high in strength and dimensional stability. Though they are high in price and disadvantageous in terms of cost, manufacturers have had to use them as there are no alternatives. On the other hand, in conventional methods for producing a high-strength biaxially oriented polyester film, film is once stretched in two directions, i.e., machine and transverse directions, and further stretched in the machine direction to ensure high strength in the machine direction (for example, JP-B-SHO 42-9270, JP-B-SHO 43-3040, JP-A-SHO 46-1119 and JP-A-SHO 46-1120). For additional increase in strength in the transverse direction, "longitudinal and transverse re-stretching processes" in which film is first re-stretched in the machine direction and then re-stretched in the transverse direction have been proposed (for example, such films are proposed in JP-A-SHO 50-133276 and JP-A-SHO 55-22915). High-strength polyester films produced by these conventional methods have such disadvantages as: 1) tape breaks during use, 2) insufficient rigidity in the transverse direction causes edge damage, 3) elongational deformation under stress or dimensional deformation due to environmental conditions result in a shift of recording tracks that cause errors when records are read out, and 4) insufficient strength brings about difficulty in thickness reduction and makes it impossible to achieve required magnetic conversion performance. Thus, many problems still remain to be solved to allow large-capacity, high-density magnetic recording tape to be produced from these films.
Further, another stretching method has been proposed in which preliminary stretching is performed prior to the above-mentioned stretching-orientation process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,657, for example, proposes a process in which film is subjected to preliminary stretching at a draw ratio of 1.2 to 3 times in the machine direction at temperatures of (polyester's glass transition temperature Tg+40).degree. C. to (crystallization temperature Tc-20).degree. C., followed by stretching in the transverse direction and the machine direction, and shows films that are strengthened only in the longitudinal direction. Further, JP-A-HEI 9-300455 also proposes (a) a process in which film is subjected to preliminary stretching at a draw ratio of 1.5 to 2.5 times in the transverse direction at temperatures of 100.degree. C.-120.degree. C., followed by stretching in the transverse direction and the machine direction, and (b) a process in which a preliminary stretching is performed at a draw ratio of 1.1 to 2.2 times in the machine direction at temperatures of 100.degree. C.-120.degree. C. in addition to the above-described process (a), and shows films that are strengthened only in the transverse direction. Furthermore, JP-A-SHO 58-145421 proposes a process in which film is stretched in the two directions simultaneously at a temperature of 115.degree. C. or higher, followed by simultaneous biaxial stretching, with the aim of producing thin films and increasing the production speed, and shows films with small Young's modulus. Films produced by these technologies, however, are not high in rigidity in all directions and cannot solve the problems associated with applying the material to the production of high-density recording tape.

Biaxially oriented polyester films and their production methods


A system of angular displacement control for micro mirrors includes a stationary vertical element, a stationary horizontal element and an interference eliminator. Alternatively, the stationary horizontal element holds micro mirrors in place during transportation for avoiding vibration and collision. The stationary vertical element orientates the micro mirrors in the vertical position. The interference eliminator eliminates magnetic interference that could affect the operation of the micro mirrors. The micro mirrors having interference eliminators are capable of remaining unaffected by operations of other micro mirrors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical switch device that controls the angular displacement of micro mirror structures, eliminates the interference of magnetic field from other optical switch device and controls the horizontal displacement of micro mirror structures to prevent vibration and collision in the optical switch device transportation. Further, the present invention is directed to control the displacement and eliminate the interference of micro mirror structures or a plurality of optical switch devices. Alternatively, the present invention also improves the reliability of transporting optical switch devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently several researchers have spurred an increasing development of microstructures in optical communication and micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The microstructures that were not performed in the past are fabricated by a combination of silicon deposition, surface micromachining and bulk-micromachining. A typical optical communication system requires a number of small-sized, high-speed, and highly reliable optical switches for the line switching operation in any applications. The optical switch devices are discussed in detail in Transducers, 1995, entitled xe2x80x9cAn electrostatically operated torsion mirror for optical switching devicexe2x80x9d by Hiroshi Toshiyoshi and Hiroyuki Fujita and in Solid-state sensor and actuator, 1998, entitled xe2x80x9cParallel assembly of hinged microstructures using magnetic actuationxe2x80x9d by Yang Yi and Chang Liu. Recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,094,293 and 5,960,132 have been disclosed the related information.
The optical switch devices as mentioned previously use electrostatic or magnetic force to control the angular displacement of individual mirror. The incident light is transmitted and passed only when mirror is in the non-reflection state (OFF-state). On the other hand, the incident light is reflected and changed the origin route when the mirror moves between the non-reflection state and the reflection state (On-state). A problem associated with the typical optical switch devices is that precision alignment of mirror is required to control the reflective light""s route. The mirror achieves large angular displacements (over 90xc2x0) under a torque provided by applying an external magnetic or electrostatic force because the mirror is influenced by the inertia.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the 3D views and cross-section views of the micro mirror in the prior art. A torsion mirror device 10 is formed on a flat surface of a silicon substrate 11 (or glass substrate). The torsion mirror device 10 includes a bump 15, a reflective mirror 14 and a torsion bar 121 connected the reflective mirror 14 with the first connector section 12a and the second connector section 12b.
Alternatively, first connector section 12a, second connector section 12b, the torsion bar 121, the reflective mirror 14, and the bump 15 are formed by the elastic poly-silicon in the lithography process. The first connector section 12a and second connector section 12b are performed on the silicon substrate 11 and separated by the torsion bar 121. The reflective mirror 14 is formed on the extension part of the middle of the torsion bar 121. A magnetic material 141 (so called permalloy) is performed on the top of the reflective mirror 14. The permalloy 141 is deposited by the way of sputtering or electroplating. The reflective mirror 14 contains a reflective area 142. The reflective area 142 is performed by a smooth plane, which makes the incident light to change the route of the incident light when the incident light approaches the reflective area 142. The bump 15 fixed under the reflective mirror 14 is a square or a rectangle. Furthermore, the height of the bump 15 is suitable for the reflective mirror 14 placed on the bump 15 when the reflective mirror 14 is in the horizontal level. An actuator 16 under the silicon substrate 11 could provide repulsive force to raise the reflective mirror 14.
The conventional rotation mechanism of the reflective mirror 14 is introduced in FIGS. 3-5. As shown in FIG. 3, the torsion mirror device 10 is at rest and the external magnetic field is just applied to the actuator 16. FIG. 4 shows that a torque provided by the actuator 16 makes the torsion mirror device 10 rotate from the horizontal level to vertical level. Thereafter, FIG. 5 shows that the torsion mirror device 10 achieves large angular displacements (over 90xc2x0) and doesn""t keep stable at the vertical position under the influence of the inertia.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the actuator 16 applying magnetic field results in flux density 161 and the permalloy 141 induces magnetization 163. The positive pole of the flux density 161 and the positive pole of the magnetization 163 result in repulsive force 164. The repulsive force 164 raises the reflective mirror 14 away from silicon substrate 11. Alternatively, the torsion bar 121 which connects with the reflective mirror 14, first connector section 12a and second connector section 12b. When the reflective mirror 14 rotates from the horizontal level to the vertical level, the torsion bar 121 is provided with elasticity to distort under the repulsive force 164. Furthermore, the repulsive force 164 achieves the maximum when the distance between the positive pole of the flux density 161 and the positive pole of the magnetization 163 is shortest.
As shown in FIG. 4, the repulsive force 164 achieves smaller when the distance between the positive pole of the flux density 161 and the positive pole of the magnetization 163 is farther. The torsion bar 121 is so elastic that the reflective mirror 14 moves forward to the vertical position.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the reflective mirror 14 approaches the vertical position, the distance between two positive poles increases further and the repulsive force 164 decreases substantially. The repulsive force 164 approaches zero when the reflective mirror 14 is at a vertical position 17. In the influence of the inertia, the reflective mirror 14 stops at a static position 18 after the orientation mirror 14 rotates over the vertical position 17. The repulsive force 164 is continuously applied to retain the reflective mirror 14 at the static position 18.
FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-section view that the conventional mirror device stays at the static position 18. Although the actuator 16 is not provided by applying external magnetic field anymore, the induced magnetic filed of the permalloy 141 disappears and the reflective mirror 14 influenced by resilience moves back to horizontal level form the static position 18. FIG. 7 shows a cross-section view that the conventional torsion mirror device 10 moves back to the horizontal level. A problem with a reflective mirror 14 similarly described above is that the reflective mirror 14 couldn""t retain the horizontal level for the inertia when the reflective mirror 14 moves back. The bump 15 overcomes the problem because the height of the bump 15 is suitable for the reflective mirror 14 stopped on the bump 15.
As shown in FIG. 7, the torsion mirror device 10 isn""t fixed by the bump 15 in the horizontal level when the torsion mirror device 10 or an array of torsion mirror devices is transported.
FIG. 8 illustrates the cross-section view of an array of torsion mirror devices 20 in prior art. The array of torsion mirror devices 20 are composed by the sixteen micro mirrors labeled 211, 212, 213, 214, 221, 222, 223, 224, 231, 232, 233, 234, 241, 242, 243 and 244. Among these mirrors, the mirrors labeled 213, 221, 232 and 244 are in the vertical level (reflective state), and therefore beams of incident light 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D are individually reflected by the mirrors labeled 213, 221, 232 and 244 to sensors of 20E, 20F, 20G and 20H. The other mirrors labeled 211, 212, 214, 222, 223, 224, 231, 233, 234, 241, 242 and 243 are set to in the horizontal level. Alternatively, the actuators of the mirrors labeled 213, 221, 232 and 244 are provided by the external magnetic field to retain the mirrors in the vertical level. The other problem is that the actuators described above influence some of the mirrors labeled 211, 212, 214, 222, 223, 224, 231, 233, 234, 241, 242 and 243 so that these mirrors don""t retain in the horizontal level. Prior art array of torsion mirror devices 20 could not operate properly if incident or reflective light is obstructed by mirrors not remaining in horizontal position. The present invention proposes an interference eliminator to resolve the above-mentioned problems.
According, it is a primary object of the present invention is to provide a torsion mirror device or an array of torsion mirror devices, which can positively be retained in the vertical level.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide a torsion mirror device or an array of torsion mirror devices, which can positively be retained in the horizontal level.
It is yet another object of the present invention is to provide a torsion mirror device with function of eliminating magnetic interference, which comes from other torsion mirror device.
To achieve these objects, a system of angular displacement control for micro mirror includes a stationary vertical element, a stationary horizontal element and an interference eliminator. Alternatively, the stationary horizontal element fixes micro mirrors in the transportation to avoid vibrating and colliding. The stationary vertical element orientates the micro mirrors in the vertical position. The interference eliminator eliminates from magnetic interference affecting the operation of the micro mirrors. The micro mirrors with interference eliminators aren""t affected by other micro mirrors in the operation process.

System of angular displacement control for micro-mirrors

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method and data storage device determine an equalized signal-to-noise ratio in the storage device. The equalized signal-to-noise ratio is determined by generating an analog read signal, passing the read signal through an equalizer in the storage device, and sampling the equalized signal using an analog-to-digital converter in the storage device. The samples from the analog-to-digital converter are then used in the equalized signal-to-noise calculation.

The present invention relates to read channels in storage devices. In particular, the present invention relates to determining a signal-to-noise ratio for a read signal in a storage device.
In data storage devices, data that has been written to a storage medium is read from the medium through a read channel. Specifically, a read signal is generated by a read head that passes over the medium. The read signal is provided to the read channel where it is equalized to have a desired shape and is sampled by an analog-to-digital converter. The digital samples are then provided to a detector, such as a Viterbi detector, which determines a most likely sequence of values that could be represented by the digital samples.
One measure of the performance of a drive is the signal-to-noise ratio at the input to the Viterbi detector. Since this ratio involves an equalized read signal, it is referred to as an Equalized Signal-To-Noise Ratio (ESNR).
In the past, determining the ESNR for a drive required a Digital Storage Oscilloscope to over-sample the analog signal from the head and a software program to equalize the analog signal based on a model of the nominal equalization provided by the read channel. The resulting signal provided by the software program was then re-sampled to provide samples that could be used in the equalized signal-to-noise calculation. The use of such external devices was costly, time consuming and not completely accurate.
The present invention provides a solution to this and other problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.
A method and data storage device determine an equalized signal-to-noise ratio in the storage device. The equalized signal-to-noise ratio is determined by generating an analog read signal, passing the read signal through an equalizer in the storage device, and sampling the equalized signal using an analog-to-digital converter in the storage device. The samples from the analog-to-digital converter are then used in the equalized signal-to-noise calculation.

Method and apparatus for determining equalized signal-to-noise ratio in a storage device


The present invention relates to a cosmetic product having an excellent UV-blocking effect and a manufacturing method thereof, in which the cosmetic product has an excellent UV-blocking effect, shows reduced whitening, has a good feeling in use, and good adhesion to the skin, and is not glossy and sticky after application to the skin, and to a manufacturing method thereof. The cosmetic product having an excellent UV-blocking effect according to the present invention includes: a cosmetic composition; and a hollow pearlescent pigment added to the cosmetic composition in an amount of 1 to 15 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the cosmetic composition.

Cosmetics refer to products intended to be applied to or spread on the skin of the human body in order to cleanse or beautify the human body. Namely, cosmetics have been applied topically to the exposed portions of the skin in order to protect the skin from external factors such as sunlight, wind, rain and the like.
Such cosmetics can be divided into: skin care cosmetics intended to cleanse or beautify the human body to keep the skin healthy; makeup cosmetics such as loose powders, two-way cake foundations and the like, which are intended to enhance attraction; hair cosmetics such as hair lotions, hair creams and the like, which are intended to keep hair healthy and to beautify hair; and perfume.
As described above, skin care cosmetics or color makeup cosmetics are suitably used to keep the skin healthy and beautiful, so that the skin can be protected from dryness or UV rays, thereby keeping the skin bright and soft.
In recent years, products obtained by adding UV-blocking titanium dioxide to cosmetic compositions have been frequently used to protect the skin from UV rays.
However, the use of titanium dioxide as a UV-blocking agent has problems in that the titanium dioxide causes severe whitening, and gives a hard feeling due to its very small particle size to thereby reduce the feeling of the cosmetic product in use.
Prior art documents related to the present invention include Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2003-0046440 (published on Jun. 12, 2003) which discloses a cosmetic composition.

Cosmetic product having excellent UV-blocking effect and manufacturing method thereof


A coupling device releasably couples tubes of a pole dancing pole. The coupling device includes a body, and a mechanism comprising a first threaded element and a screw member mating with each other, the mechanism being arranged to apply a force to an interior surface of at least one of the tubes by turning the screw member with respect to the first threaded element. The mechanism is further arranged such that, during operation of the mechanism to increase the force applied to the interior surface of at least one of the tubes, a screw axis of the first threaded element and a screw axis of the screw member remain substantially aligned with each other. Also disclosed is a pole dancing pole and a pole dancing pole kit including the coupling device.

Poles for use in dance exercise, or pole dancing, have become very popular in recent years. Such poles extend between floor and ceiling and generally comprise at least two tubes connected together in series according to the height required. The poles may be erected and dismantled by coupling or decoupling the tubes. To facilitate coupling and decoupling, joints are provided between the tubes. There are presently two forms of joint used, screw joints and insert joints, both of which suffer from drawbacks.
Screw joints are expensive to manufacture, since they require an insert to be welded into the end of a tube and a finishing operation. During use, when a pole becomes warm, the tubes and joint can expand so that the screw threads become locked together and it is difficult to unscrew the joint after use of the pole. Alternatively, the screw joint can be unscrewed during use by anti-clockwise rotation if it is not sufficiently tight.
Insert joints must be smaller than the tubes into which they are inserted, accordingly they are prone to movement within the tubes, which results in flexing of the pole and/or relative rotation of the tubes during use. Furthermore, when a pole becomes warm during use the insert can expand causing the tubes to become locked together and difficult to separate.
Coupling devices having a body that radially expands are also known for joining tubes together, for example from UK patent application no. 0713866.2. However, such coupling devices can be difficult to operate as during operation moving parts can become misaligned thereby preventing the body from expanding correctly. This provides the problem that a user may believe that the coupling device is properly engaged with the tubes, for example because a screw of the moving parts become difficult to turn, when in fact this in not the case and can result in a potential hazard for the user.
The present invention sets out to provide an improved coupling device for a pole dancing pole that overcomes the problems of the prior art.


A pre-molded plastic package has encapsulation material removed so that an upper cavity is formed above the die and its associated wirebonds and a lower cavity is formed below the die attach pad and lead frame. Advantageously, the encapsulating material is removed without damaging the die, its associated wirebonds or the lead frame. An upper shield is then mounted on the top side over the still encapsulated die and wirebonds. Encapsulating material, such as epoxy, is then placed about the upper shield and cured. A lower shield is then mounted on the bottom side the die attach pad and lead frame. Encapsulating material is also placed over the lower shield and cured. Advantageously, the invention provides a process alternative whereby the shields can be installed at a very low per unit cost and in only minutes per unit without the need for custom tooling.

The natural radiation in space is caused by electrons and protons that are trapped by the magnetic field of the earth. The trapped protons occupy a belt that ranges from 1 to about 3.8 earth radii (when measured at the equator). The electrons are trapped in an inner zone that ranges from 1 to about 2.8 earth radii and an outer zone that ranges from about 2.8 to about 12 earth radii, one earth radius being about 4000 miles.
In space applications, integrated circuits are dependent to a large extent on external component shielding to protect the components from the bombardment of this natural radiation. External component shielding consists of satellite material, printed circuit boards, and any other material that make up a space craft. When necessary, specially designed boxes constructed of selected shielding materials are also employed.
Although, approximately 80% of the integrated circuits that are sold and produced today are packaged or encapsulated in epoxy, heretofore, plastic encapsulated packages have not been used successfully in space applications. The primary reason for their lack of success is because moisture easily penetrates through plastic packages which can cause dendritic growth and corrosion which consequently may result in electrical shorts and open circuit conditions. Secondly, the accumulation of radiation eventually causes them to fail. Although, plastic packages can be used in space (providing that sufficient outer shielding is also included), the excess outer shielding does add a considerable amount of weight.
While it is known in the art to add thermally conductive heat sinks to the die attach pad in a plastic package, the inventors are not aware of any method of molding an upper shield into a plastic package because of the difficulty in securely positioning the shields (i.e., the possibility of an upper shield moving during the molding process could easily short to the die and wirebonds). Even if it were possible to mold shields into the package, shields would have to be customized for each die size and package combination. Given the low volume of components needed, this approach would be extremely costly.
Thus, the state-of-the-art for providing environmental protection and total dose radiation shielding of an integrated circuit die at the package level consists of modifying existing alumina ceramic package designs or designing new alumina ceramic packages to incorporate copper tungsten shield plates. This is achieved by first cofiring a copper tungsten lower plate as an integral part of a cofired alumina ceramic package. The lid of the package then forms the upper shield. The exact location, thickness and material used for the shielding plates are critical factors which determine the shielding effectiveness of a given device.
What is needed is a shielded package which is light-weight, low cost, which can be manufactured quickly and inexpensively, and which provides protection from the environment, as well as, total dose radiation shielding of the integrated circuit die.

Radiation shielding for integrated circuit devices using reconstructed plastic packages


In a magnet assembly, and an angle detection system embodying such a magnet assembly, for detecting a rotational angle of a rotating shaft, first and second magnet portions are mounted on the shaft, and have geometrical shapes and respective magnetizations with various symmetry features.

In many applications it is desired to monitor the rotation of a shaft or an axle around the longitudinal axis of the shaft or axle, by detecting the angle of rotation. It is known to detect the angle of rotation using a magnet assembly that is fixed to the shaft or axle, so as to co-rotate therewith. Such a magnet assembly produces a magnetic field that rotates along a circle that is concentric with the axis of rotation of the shaft or axle. To detect an angle of rotation, known angle sensors measure magnetic field components (e.g. x-y-component) and compare the measured magnetic field components to provide a value of the rotation angle, typically by using geometrical functions of the ratio of the two components. Thus, an angle sensor system is capable to uniquely determine the rotation angle (between 0 and 360°) at each rotation angle position of the axis from the at least two magnetic field components distinguished for example from speed sensors utilizing for example pole wheels who are capable of determining only increments of fractional angle amounts.
In an on-axis angle detection system, a non-rotationally symmetric button magnet may be placed at the end of the shaft. Magnetic sensors placed near the axis of rotation may be used to detect an angle of rotation.
For some applications, however, this known arrangement is not suitable, usually because of space limitations or other factors in the environment of the rotating shaft. Then, one or more field detectors may be situated around the rotating shaft or axle on or within a so-called reading radius (reading circle), in order to detect the magnetic field of the rotating magnet assembly, and thus to identify the magnitude of the rotating magnetic field at the detection locations. Such an angle sensor is known as an "off-axis" angle sensor, or an out of shaft angle sensor, because the sensor elements are not situated on the rotation axis of the shaft or axle.
In both types of angle sensing systems, Hall probes or magneto-resistive (MR) sensors may be used in order to detect the magnetic field and its orientation. Examples of such sensors are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,779,760.
In general, known off-axis angle detection systems are not as precise as known on-axis systems. It is typical for an on-axis system to be able to detect the angle with an error of less than 1°, whereas known off-axis systems typically have a detection error of approximately 5°. A primary reason for the lower precision of off-axis systems is the sensitivity of such systems to manufacturing tolerances.
Such manufacturing tolerances include geometric tolerances, such as the positional error of the magnet on the shaft, as well as the respective positions of the sensor elements of the read circuit, both with respect to radial position and tilting of the shaft or axle. Errors that are inherent in the sensor elements themselves, such as zeroing (calibration) errors, gain and linearity errors may also contribute to the lower precision, as well as an inability to precisely match the sensitivities of individual sensors to each other, when multiple sensors are used in a sensing arrangement.

Out of shaft magnetic angle sensing system


A bacterium belonging to the genus Streptomyces having an ability to produce reveromycin A or a synthetic intermediate thereof, the bacterium being modified so as to increase expression of revQ gene coding for the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36 or an amino acid sequence having an identity of not less than 80% to SEQ ID NO: 36 as compared with a parent strain, thereby the above-mentioned production ability is increased as compared with the parent strain.

Reveromycin A (RM-A) has been known to induce apoptosis selectively for osteoclasts at low concentrations and suppress bone metastasis of tumors (Patent Document 1). RM-A is a polyketide compound having spiroketal rings. Although a chemical synthesis technique has been established, multiple stages of synthesis steps are required. It is also produced through fermentation by a bacterium belonging to the genus Streptomyces (Streptomyces sp. SN-593) (Patent Document 2) but large scale production has been difficult. Because no genes involved in reveromycin biosynthesis have been reported, breeding of reveromycin-producing bacteria by genetic recombination has not been carried out.

Process for producing reveromycin A or a synthetic intermediate thereof, process for producing compounds containing a spiroketal ring and novel antineoplastics, fungicides and therapeutic agents for bone disorders