A centrifugal actuator for mounting on a rotor shaft, the actuator being capable of movement from a first or start position to a second or run position, is provided having a base portion with a pair of opposed, mirror image actuator levers biased towards the first position. The levers are urged to the second position by centrifugal force when the shaft rotates. The levers are cooperatively connected to a sleeve, the sleeve being capable of axial movement allowing the sleeve to move from the first to second position in response to the movement of the levers. The sleeve has a collar and a shoulder portion for the seating of the actuator levers. Unique ramp structures extending from the sleeve collar to the seats on the shoulder cause the actuator levers to seat properly during assembly thereby allowing automated assembly and preventing field failure due to misseating of the actuator arms.

This invention relates to electric motors or to other dynamoelectric machines, and more particularly, to an improved centrifugal actuator for actuating a motor starting switch which in turns controls energization of the starting winding in the motor in response to the speed of rotation of the motor.
In many conventional electric motors, such as single-phase induction motors, a rotating magnetic field is produced by means of a main winding and a starting winding included within the stator assembly of the motor. These windings are so designed and arranged within the motor that during start up of the motor, sufficient starting torque is obtained. Once the motor reaches a predetermined operational speed, a switch responsive to the rotational speed of the motor is opened to deenergize the starting winding. Upon the motor speed slowing below another predetermined speed of operation (e.g., due to load conditions or upon shut down of the motor) the switch is closed so that it will energize the starting winding of the motor.
As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,271,602 and 3,609,421, prior art centrifugal actuators are rotatable With a rotor shaft and include a centrifugal weight assembly, the latter including a pair of centrifugal weighted levers pivotally mounted on a sleeve. The sleeve, in turn, is mountable on the rotor shaft and is intended to be movable thereon. Upon the shaft rotating at a predetermined speed, the weights are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force thus causing the levers to pivot which in turn effects axial shifting movement of the sleeve of the centrifugal actuator with respect to the rotor shaft. This axial movement of the sleeve of the centrifugal actuator assembly in one direction from a so-called first or starting position to a second or run position upon acceleration of the motor to its predetermined operational speed effects the opening of a starting switch associated with the motor by relieving pressure on an actuator arm of the switch.
Typically, the sleeve of the centrifugal actuator, which is operated by the centrifugal levers, is moved along the shaft in a linear motion. The sleeve has a flat collar portion that engages the start switch to close the switch when the rotational speed of the rotor is not sufficient to overcome a biasing of force exerted on the levers. The centrifugal levers are resiliently biased toward their starting position by means of bias springs.
Centrifugal actuators known to the prior art are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,242,607, and 4,205,245 to Hildebrandt et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,732 to Gerht. With many of the centrifugal actuators known to the prior art, typically the levers are formed of metal and have centrifugal weight attached to a portion thereof. The levers are pivotally connected to the actuator sleeve. Generally the lever is formed with leg portions extending outward from the weight bearing portion. The leg portions of the levers straddle an outwardly extending shoulder segment of the main body of the sleeve with the tips of the leg portions pivotally seated in notches or slots or other seating means formed in the shoulder portion of the sleeve member. During the assembly of these centrifugal actuators, the centrifugal levers are placed, legs up, on an assembly fixture. The sleeve is assembled onto a base and placed over the upwardly positioned lever legs. The bias springs are applied and the ends of the levers are manually inserted in the lever seats on each side of the sleeve. Prior art designs of the sleeve require that the seating of the levers be done manually to ensure that the leg portions of the levers are properly seated in the lever seats. This is a time consuming and labor intensive process which does not lend itself to an automated assembly procedure. Furthermore, motors having actuators assembled this fashion do not always operate properly in the field because they sometimes have misassembled actuators.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal actuator having a sleeve with lead ramps extending upward to the lever seats so that the end portions of the lever legs slide up the ramps into the lever seats during assembly, thereby assuring proper seating of the levers in the sleeve portion.
Another object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal actuator assembly having a sleeve with mounting ramps leading to the lever leg seats so that the lever legs can slide into the seats without misaligning during assembly process thereby permitting automated assembly of the actuator.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal actuator assembly in which the lever legs can be properly seated in the sleeve notches before field assembly thereby preventing failure and field returns.


A manufacturing method and repair structure of a display panel are provided. A repair method for a signal wire of the display panel comprises the steps of: connecting a repair wire and a welding pad before a PSVA process, and connecting the repair wire to a short-circuit bus bar of a signal wire of the same category through the welding pad; and welding a weld point between a breakpoint and the connection point of the repair wire and the short-circuit bus bar on a broken wire, hence a signal applied to the display panel by the short-circuit bus bar is transmitted to the breakpoint through the repair wire in the PSVA process. Since the repair wire is connected with the short-circuit bus bar and directly powered up through the short-circuit bus bar in the PSVA process, the wire can not be broken when the signal is transmitted via the short-circuit bus bar, the permanent memory of the broken wire defect of the display panel in the form of a liquid crystal pre-tilt angle on the display panel during the PSVA process can be avoided, and the process yield of the display panel can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of a liquid crystal displaying techniques, and in particular to an manufacturing method of a display panel and a repair line structure.
2. The Related Arts
A liquid crystal display panel includes a array substrate, a color filter substrate, disposed oppositely to an array substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two substrates, wherein the array substrate is disposed with a large amount of signal lines, such as, scan lines and data lines. During the manufacturing process, some defects may occur to the large amount of signal lines, for example, broken lines. Pixel electrodes on the broken lines will not receive the normal data signals, leading to defects in the liquid crystal panel.
Specifically, for the liquid crystal panel using a PSVA display mode, because the signal lines are broken before a PSVA process, the defects of the broken lines of the display panel will be permanently imprinted to the display panel in a manner of the liquid crystal pre-tilt angle after the subsequent PSVA process using pre-heating or UV radiation for curing pre-tilt angle. Any subsequent repair will be rendered useless.
In summary, it is desired to have a manufacturing method of a display panel and a repair line structure thereof.

Manufacturing method of display panel and repair line structure thereof

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


The present invention provides loading and unloading mechanisms for data storage cartridges, drive door mechanisms for data drives, and data drives comprising such loading and unloading and/or drive door mechanisms. Embodiments of the cartridge loading and unloading mechanisms, drive door mechanisms and/or data drives, of the present invention can operate in a manner such that the drive door of the data drive is fully closed before the disk medium is exposed, e.g., before opening of the associated shutter of the cartridge. An embodiment of the cartridge loading and unloading mechanism of the present invention can be powered by the same drive motor assembly that is used to move or transport the cartridge to the optical head assembly used for writing and/or reading of data from the disk medium of the cartridge. Embodiments of the cartridge loading and unloading mechanisms and drive door mechanisms of the present invention can fit within a standard configuration for a data drive. Embodiments of the cartridge loading and unloading mechanisms, drive door mechanisms and/or data drives of the present invention can provide for reliable operation, ease of assembly, as well as simplification of the parts and components necessary for the reliable operation of the loading and unloading mechanism, drive door mechanism and/or data drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to loading and unloading mechanisms, and more particularly, to a loading and unloading mechanism for a data storage cartridge, as well as to drive door mechanisms for data drives, and data drives comprising such loading and unloading mechanisms and/or drive door mechanisms.
2. Related Art
Data storage cartridges have been used to house removable data storage media. The cartridge typically comprises a housing that serves as a protective enclosure for a disk medium. In the past, this disk medium has been in the form of a magneto-optical (MO) disk medium. However, another type of data storage system known as holographic storage, is described in for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,691 (Curtis et al.), issued Feb. 17, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,875 (Curtis et al.), issued Feb. 20, 2001. It may be desirable that the holographic data storage (HDS) medium be provided in a disk form and housed in a cartridge similar to those used for an MO disk medium. This enables HDS manufacturers to utilize existing MO cartridge designs and handling mechanisms for easy conversion to HDS applications.
These removable data storage cartridges typically comprise a disk-shaped data storage medium having a rotatable hub provided at the center of the disk, and are inserted into data storage drives that can read data from and write data to such removable data cartridges. Some data storage drives include a "soft load" mechanism, which receives a data cartridge inserted into a load port of the drive, and translates the cartridge to couple the hub in the data cartridge with a spindle mechanism in the drive. The loading mechanism typically translates the cartridge first in a lateral direction to draw the cartridge fully into the drive, and second in a downward direction to lower the cartridge onto the stationary spindle. After coupling, the spindle rotates the data storage medium past a radially positionable read/write head, which can read data from and/or write data to various locations on the data storage medium.
In a conventional HDS drive system, the HDS cartridge is inserted through the drive door of the data drive. After insertion, a sensor is typically triggered to indicate that the HDS cartridge may be loaded onto the drive spindle. The mechanism for loading (as well as unloading) the cartridge onto the drive spindle is typically powered by one motor with the proper gear reduction necessary to overcome the forces required for either loading or unloading the cartridge. Another separate motor is then typically used to move or transport the loaded cartridge underneath a stationary optical head assembly used to write and/or read data from the disk medium within the HDS cartridge. This transporting/loading process is then reversed to unload or eject the HDS cartridge from the data drive.
At some point during the loading of the HDS cartridge and transportation underneath the optical head assembly, a shutter associated with the cartridge is typically opened to expose the disk medium for writing and/or reading of data by the optical head assembly. For HDS cartridges, it is important that the loading/unloading mechanism for the cartridge operate in a manner such that the drive door of the data drive is fully closed before this shutter is opened. In addition, the loading/unloading mechanism for the HDS cartridge should desirably fit within the standard configuration for a data drive, which is typically a width of no more than about 5.75 inches (14.61 cm.) and a height of no more than about 3.25 inches (8.26 cm). Further, the cartridge loading/unloading mechanism should provide for reliable operation, as well as ease of assembly.

Data storage cartridge loading and unloading mechanism, drive door mechanism and data drive


A semiconductor laser array according to the invention is so constructed that plural LDs are driven by the same modulating signal, and series connection of the plural LDs becomes possible. Accordingly, efficiency of modulation of the aforementioned semiconductor laser array is largely improved. After a n-InP clad layer 6, an active layer 7 and a p-InP layer 8 are successively grown on a semi-insulating substrate 5, the n-InP clad layer 6 is etched and a stripe shaped mesa is formed. Then, a p-InP current blocking layer 9 and a n-InP current blocking layer 10 are grown on the etched portion. After fabricating a p+-InP cap layer 11 thereon, the surface of the n-InP clad layer 6 is exposed by selective etching. Moreover, a channel 12 for isolating the adjacent LDs, reaching the semi-insulating layer 5, is formed by penetrating the n-InP clad layer 6. Each of the LDs is provided with a p-side electrode 13 and a n-side electrode 14 thereon, and a p-side electrode 13 of any LD is connected to the n-side electrode of an adjacent LD by a bonding wire 3.

Recently, the capacity of the optical CATV transmission system is remarkably increasing, and the number of television channels becomes as large as 100 to 150. Then, required characteristics to a semiconductor laser diode (LD, hereinafter), serving as a light source in the optical CATV system, gradually become higher and severer. For example, in an analog modulation circuit for an optical CATV of 150 chs, required characteristics of the LD are that, composite second order (CSO) distortion .ltoreq.-60 dB, composite triple beat (CTB) .ltoreq.-65 dB and output power (Po) .gtoreq.20 mW, and production yield of the LD satisfying the aforementioned requirements is very low at present.
In view point of the present situation, the present inventors have proposed a multi-LD array in which plural LDs are simultaneously modulated by the same electrical signal comprising a great many channels of television signals, and plural optical signals thus obtained are multiplexed by a multiplexer, and specification on distortions of individual LDs are effectively relaxed, because the light-power of each LD is decreased. According to the multi-LD array, the production yield of the LDs can be improved, because specifications on distortions of each of the LDs are relaxed.
However, several disadvantages have been pointed out on the conventional multi-LD array.
Since plural input electrodes for receiving an electrical modulating signal are provided on the respective LDs, the LDs are respectively connected to the same output terminal of a modulating signal generator by plural bonding wires. Then, the wiring inductances of the bonding wires and the parasitic capacitances of bonding pads arise in the input portion of the plural LDs, and the band width of a modulated optical signal is largely decreased.
Moreover, since the LDs in the conventional multi-LD array are connected in parallel, the input impedance of the multi-LD array is very low as compared with the output impedance of the modulating signal generator. Then, the greater part of a modulating signal power is consumed in a resistor inserted therebetween for impedance matching.


A speaker system uses destructive wave interference to generate “dead spots” with respect to an audio presentation. The signal for the dead spot generating device can be an inverted signal generated using the audio signal. In one embodiment, the inverted signal is generated using the audio signal, an indication of loudness at one or more active speakers, and a determination of the characteristics of the sound path from the one or more active speakers (including delay and attenuation).

Home media systems, including home audio and audiovisual systems, typically include multiple speakers and have become increasingly popular, for example, with the advent of High Definition (HD) televisions. These systems can rival the experience of movie theaters and high-end audio presentations.
Often customers are not able to enjoy the audio portion of an audio or audiovisual presentation at a desired sound volume for fear of disturbing others, such as sleeping family members, in particular locations of a premise. This and other shortcomings are identified and addressed in this disclosure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A rigid frame structure has a corner retaining configuration for retaining a sheet member to an inside corner of the frame structure. First and second panel members are arranged to form the frame structure's inside corner. A gap of nominal gap width is disposed at the inside corner between a rear edge of the second panel member and a face of the first panel member. One or more retaining members partially close the gap to provide corresponding areas of reduced gap width. Each retaining member is formed on or attached to a surface of the first or second panel member that defines a first or second side of the gap without mechanical fastening to both sides of said gap. The nominal gap width is sized to receive one or more bead elements on the sheet member, and the reduced gap width traps the one or more bead elements within the gap, thereby retaining the sheet member to the inside corner.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to in-ground (and above-ground) vinyl swimming pool installations and other constructions wherein a flexible sheet member needs to be attached to a rigid support structure. More particularly, the disclosure concerns a technique for retaining a flexible sheet member to a support structure inside corner configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By way of background, vinyl swimming pools are conventionally constructed with a flexible water-tight liner made from heavy duty vinyl. For an above-ground vinyl swimming pool construction, the bottom of the liner is supported by a suitable base made from packed sand or the like. The sides of the liner are supported by a rigid sidewall made from components such as metal, plastic or wood panels. For an in-ground vinyl swimming pool construction, the liner is supported within an excavation whose shape provides a desired perimeter configuration and depth contour of the swimming pool. The bottom of the excavation typically comprises a vermiculite cement or packed sand base. The sides of the excavation are typically lined with a rigid side wall. The side wall can be constructed from panels made of steel, plastic, fiberglass or wood. Alternatively, the side wall can be constructed as a formed concrete wall or from concrete blocks.
For both above-ground and in-ground vinyl swimming pools, the upper peripheral edge of the liner usually comprises a bead that is secured in a track at the top of the side wall. Such pools generally also have a stair system and possibly a "swim-out" bench system, each of which may be fabricated using various materials. For in-ground vinyl swimming pools, commonly-used stair and bench system materials include steel, molded plastic and poured concrete. For above-ground vinyl swimming pools (which may have an inside stair system, an outside stair system, or both), molded plastic is usually the material of choice, but other materials may also be used.
For both stair and bench systems, there will be least one inside corner where the bottom edge of a vertical component (e.g., a stair riser) intersects the rear edge of a horizontal component (e.g., a stair tread or pool bottom). The liner typically needs to be attached to the inside corner(s) in order to prevent unsightly (and potentially unsafe) wrinkling and bulging. This is particularly the case near the top of a stair system where there may only be a few inches of water to hold the liner in place. In addition to holding the liner in place, the liner attachment needs to be releasable to allow for the liner to be replaced in the future.
As shown in FIG. 1, the preferred technique used for many years to retain a vinyl swimming pool liner at the inside corner of a stair or bench system has been to form loops "L" on the back of the liner that slide over a fiberglass retaining rod "R." The retaining rod "R" is secured to the underlying stair or bench structure using metal spring clips "C." The spring clips "C" are deformable so that they can be inserted between a gap "G" that is provided at the inside corner tread/riser intersection. In some cases, clip insertion can be expedited by loosening one or more bolts that hold together the stair or bench structure (if constructed as an assembly). This allows the gap "G" to be temporarily enlarged in order to make it easier to insert the spring clips "C." Following insertion, the spring clips "C" return to their original configuration, thereby holding the liner firmly against the inside corner. One drawback of the rod/clip technique is that the outline of the retaining rod "R" is visible through the liner following installation. Some individuals find this visually unattractive. The rod/clip technique is also difficult or impossible to use when installing replacement liners because it requires the spring clips "C" to be inserted between the step riser and step tread after they have been cemented into place and have no flexibility to move and allow the spring clips to slide between them. This often necessitates the application of adhesives to retain the replacement liner. Such adhesives may cause accelerated deterioration of the liner. The use of adhesives also makes future liner replacements difficult.
More recently, a bead and track system has been used for corner retention areas. As shown in FIG. 2, this prior art system incorporates a liner lock extrusion "E" that is mounted between the riser and tread components when the stair or bench system is assembled. The extrusion "E" has an upper channel that is substantially U-shaped. A small retaining flange "F" is formed at the upper edge of one of the channel sidewalls to partially close off the channel opening. A liner bead "B" is attached in a suitable manner (e.g., using R.F. welding) to the back side of the liner. To secure the liner to the inside corner, the liner bead "B" is inserted into the channel, where it is trapped in place by the retaining flange "F". This method works satisfactorily from a mechanical standpoint, but has several problems. First, the cost of the stair or bench system is high because of the assembly process required. Second, the extrusion must be separately fabricated or purchased from a third party, thus further increasing costs. Third, the extrusion gets sandwiched between two components of the stair or bench system. In some cases, the extrusion will be made from aluminum and the stair or bench system components will be sheets of zinc-coated steel. This may lead to corrosive galvanic action. In other cases, the extrusion will be made from plastic. Such extrusions are subject to wear and may become brittle over time.


A method of making an article having channels therethrough includes the steps of: providing a ductile structure defining at least one macro-channel, the macro-channel containing a salt; drawing the ductile structure in the axial direction of the at least one macro-channel to reduce diameter of the macro-channel; and contacting the salt with a solvent to dissolve the salt to produce an article having at least one microchannel.

Two methods of making "structured" drawn glass, having microchannels or nanochannels in the direction of the draw are commonly known and used. The first method is to start with a preform that contains two kinds of glass. A core glass is easily etched in acid, while a cladding glass is not etchable. The preform is drawn into fiber, cut perpendicularly to the drawing direction into segments, and the segments are bundled together in parallel. The drawing and bundling process can be repeated many times. Finally, the last bundle is fused, sliced perpendicularly to the drawing direction into segments of a desired thickness, and the core glass is etched out from both sides leaving an array of holes. The difficulty is that in cases where a segment is more than a few millimeters thick, the etching process can take a prohibitively long time, since the core glass is etched out through increasingly long, narrow channels. The article produced is known as microchannel or nanochannel glass.
The second method is used to make structured optical fiber (also known as photonic crystal fiber or holey fiber). In this case, the preform has holes (macro-channels) through it which can be produced by bundling solid and hollow rods or by bundling two kinds of glass, fusing and etching out one glass before drawing (Falkenstein, et al, Optics Letters vol. 29, p. 1858, 2004). In either case, the preform has holes through it when it is ready for drawing. The preform is then drawn once or repeatedly to make the fiber. The difficulty is that the holes tend to collapse and/or distort during the final fusing process.

Method of producing microchannel and nanochannel articles


An optoelectronic sensor, including a transmitting unit for transmitting a plurality of optical signals in each case to a plurality of segments of an object, and a receiving unit that includes a first multichannel analog-digital converter device, including: an analog-digital converter unit; a plurality of signal processing channels, the signal processing channels of the plurality of signal processing channels in each case including: a detection antenna for receiving optical signals; and a modulator for generating an individual signal encoding. Signals of the plurality of signal processing channels, with individual signal encoding, are transmittable together to the analog-digital converter unit, are converted, and may be associated once again with the corresponding signal processing channels due to the individual signal encoding via algorithms.

There are various concepts for analyzing the surroundings by use of LIDAR sensors.
A frequently used approach is the so-called "macroscanner," in which a rotating macromirror having a diameter in the centimeter range guides the beam across the visual field (also referred to as the "field of view"). The relatively large beam diameter has advantages with regard to maintaining eye safety, since pupil diameters of 7 mm assumed in the standards (IEC 608125-1) capture only a fraction of the optical power contained in the beam. In addition, a larger beam diameter is more robust against scattering influences such as rain or dust.
Another system concept is the use of microscanners. These involve small mirrors having a diameter in the millimeter range (typically 1-3 mm), which are manufactured in MEMS technology and are able to oscillate in one or two axes in order to achieve a beam deflection.
In addition, LIDAR sensors having a barrel-shaped, shoebox-shaped, or can-shaped configuration are known from the related art. Furthermore, solid-state LIDAR (SSL) systems are currently being developed which for the beam deflection manage without mechanical movement, i.e., without a movable mirror. In addition to reduced costs, these systems may also have advantages with regard to vibration influences, which play a role in the automotive sector, among others. One approach of an SSL is based on beam deflection by so-called optical phase arrays (OPAs).
Here, the phase of individual antenna elements of an antenna array on a photonic chip is adapted in such a way that the superimposition of the portions of all antenna elements has an intensity maximum in the preferred direction. There are major challenges with this approach, including the precise setting of the phase for each individual element as well as suborders of the interference pattern that are irradiated in other directions. In addition, a scanning system is known from US 2017/0090031 A1, for example, based on two grids without a scanning element for the two-dimensional beam deflection.
LIDAR systems measure the distance of an object, for example by direct runtime measurement (also referred to as "direct time of flight" (dToF)) of the irradiated light pulse. A laser source emits a light pulse that is deflected onto an object via a suitable unit. The object reflects the light pulse, the reflected light pulse being measured and evaluated by a detector. When the runtime measurement is used, the system may ascertain the runtime based on the points in time of the emitted light pulse and the received light pulse, and via the speed of light may ascertain the distance of the object from the transmitter/detector. Other methods are based on an indirect runtime measurement by modulating the light intensity or the light frequency itself. One approach is the combination of frequency modulation and coherent detection (also referred to as coherent frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW)). WO 2018/067158 A1 in particular is relevant as technical knowledge in this regard.

Optoelectronic sensor, method and vehicle


An amplifier includes first and second amplifying stages with the first amplifying stage having an inverting input, a non-inverting input and an intermediate output node at which is produced a signal responsive to signals applied to the inverting and non-inverting inputs. The second amplifying stage has an input connected to the intermediate output node and an output connected to an amplifier output terminal. A selectively enabled transmission gate is connected in series with a capacitor between the input and the output of the second amplifying stage. The selectively enabled transmission gate means, when enabled, functions as a resistance which in combination with the capacitor provides frequency compensation for the amplifier. When the transmission gate is disabled, it functions to disconnect one side of the capacitor and eliminates its loading effect on the amplifier stage.

This invention relates to amplifier circuits and, in particular, to amplifier circuits intended to be operated in two different modes.
In certain applications such as switched capacitor systems, an amplifier, functioning as a comparator used to detect the difference between two signals, is normally operated in two modes. In the first mode, also termed herein the "initialization" or "auto-zero" phase, offset voltages are determined and stored and applied to the input(s) of the amplifier which are preset to some initial states and/or reference levels. This is better explained by reference to FIG. 1 which shows a prior art auto-zeroed comparator circuit.
An operational amplifier A1 which is a high gain amplifier has an inverting input 11, a non-inverting input 13, and an output terminal 101. For ease of discussion, the amplifier A1 of FIG. 1 is shown to include two amplifying stages 103 and 105. The first stage 103 is a differential input stage connected to inputs 11 and 13 and has an output 104 connected to the input of a second amplifying stage 105 whose output is connected to output terminal 101. A feedback compensation network comprised of a resister R1 and a capacitor C1 is connected between the input and output of the second amplifying stage 105.
A feedback switch S1 is connected between output terminal 101 and inverting input node 11. When S1 is closed (enabled) it provides a low impedance conduction path between the output terminal 101 and input node 11. Offset voltages produced when S1 is closed are stored at node 11. When S1 is closed, it is necessary that amplifier A1 be stable. To meet this requirement, the components R1 and C1 of the feedback compensation network are selected and designed to ensure that amplifier A1 is stable. To satisfy the stability criteria, the feedback combination of R1 and C1 lowers the gain of the amplifier at the higher frequencies and lowers the bandwidth to avoid oscillations.
Thus the values of R1 and C1 are selected such that during the mode auto-zero of operation amplifier A1 with switch S1 closed functions as a unity gain, stable, operational amplifier.
In the second mode of operation also referred to herein as the "amplifying" mode the switch S1 is opened and input signals are applied to the amplifier. In FIG. 1, capacitors CA1 and CA2 are connected to terminal 11 to couple different signals to be compared while a reference voltage VREF is applied to input 13. During the amplifying mode it is required that the amplifier respond as quickly as possible to very small signal variations. To meet this requirement, the amplifier must have high gain at high frequencies and must have a wide bandwidth. However, the presence of R1 and C1 limit the gain and the frequency response of the circuit.
In circuits known to applicants, as shown in FIG. 2, the resistance R1 may be formed by connecting the conduction paths of two complementary transistors in parallel; one transistor NA being of N-conductivity type and the other PA being of P-conductivity type. The gate of the P-type transistor (PA) is permanently connected to ground and the gate of the N-type transistor (NA) is permanently connected to the positive power supply, VDD. The sizes of the P- and N-type transistors are selected to provide the desired value of resistance for R1 and since the gates of the transistors ar permanently connected to ground and VDD, the resistance R1 is permanently connected in the circuit.
As noted above, the R1-C1 network, connected to the amplifier provides compensation to ensure that the amplifier is in a stable condition during the auto-zero mode of operation. However as also noted the R1-C1 network presents a significant problem in that it limits the gain, the high frequency response, and the bandwidth during the signal amplifying operating mode.
The problem discussed above is resolved in circuits embodying the invention.


A multistage mast assembly for use on a lift truck and method of operation for staging first and second mast sections of the multistage mast assembly. Each mast section has a retracted position and an extended position. The apparatus includes a mast staging hydraulic circuit which diverts hydraulic fluid from the second mast section actuator to the first mast section actuator using a multi-position valve having an open position and a restricted flow position. In the restricted flow position, hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic line supplying the second mast section increases to divert hydraulic fluid to the first mast section actuator before the second mast section reaches its extended position.

The present invention relates to mast staging of a multistage mast assembly, in particular to method and apparatus which reduces shock loads encountered in the transition between stages of a multistage mast assembly of a lift truck
Known lift trucks, such as Reach-Fork® and Swing-Reach® trucks available from The Raymond Corporation in Greene, N.Y., include a vertically extendible mast supporting a carriage which incorporates "mast staging" to lift a carriage to considerable heights. "Mast staging" refers to a method of lifting/lowering loads on a lift truck carriage in stages (sections). To lift, a fixed hydraulic ram extends until it reaches its end of stroke, whereupon, successive rams (stages) continue the lift. Unfortunately, a shock load is generated as one ram decelerates rapidly at its end of stroke and the next ram accelerates upward. These shock loads reduce the life of the mast components, and can propagate through the lift truck to the discomfort of the operator, and can destabilize on the carriage.
One known method of mast staging intended to reduce shock loads is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,496. The disclosed method continuously monitors the carriage position relative to the mast, and slows the rate of movement of the carriage immediately before and during a stage transition. Once the transition is complete, the carriage speed is increased to the operator selected speed. This method changes the speed of the carriage as it moves in a vertical direction which can destabilize a load on the carriage, and cause discomfort to an operator.
Another known method of mast staging intended to reduce shock loads is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,834. The disclosed method incorporates spring elements at the end of each mast stage to cushion the transition between stages. This particular method increases the complexity of the mast assembly and the difficulty of retrofitting an existing mast assembly. Therefore a need exists for a mast staging method and apparatus which can be easily incorporated into a lift truck, and does not require changing the vertical speed of a carriage during the transition between stages.


A method of manufacturing an absorbent sanitary paper product having a machine direction, a cross-machine direction orthogonal and co-planar thereto, and a Z-direction orthogonal to both the machine- and cross-machine directions is disclosed. The method provides the steps of: providing a first and second network of fibers each having opposing first and second sides where each fiber of the first network of fibers has a longitudinal axis generally disposed within the plane comprising the machine- and cross-machine-directions; applying a first bonding layer to one of the first and second sides of the first network of fibers; applying a first and second second network of fibers to the first bonding layer; and, placing the first and second network of fibers into face-to-face contacting engagement.

Absorbent sanitary paper products, such as bath tissue, facial tissue, and paper towels are commonly used in households, businesses, restaurants, shops, and the like.
Manufacturers of absorbent paper products understand that consumers desire absorbent sanitary paper products to be soft to the touch. Softness is a complex tactile impression elicited by an absorbent sanitary paper product when it is stroked against human skin. The purpose of being soft is so that these absorbent sanitary paper products can be used to cleanse the skin without causing irritation.
Accordingly, absorbent sanitary paper products, such as bath tissue and paper towel products, that promote softness, comfort, and/or cleaning without providing any performance-impairing sacrifices have long been the goal of the engineers and scientists devoted to improving absorbent sanitary paper products. There have been numerous attempts to reduce abrasive effects such as improving the softness of absorbent sanitary paper products as well as increase the absorbency thereof.
Although somewhat desirable for towel products, softness can be a particularly important property for facial and bath tissue products. Such tactile perceivable softness can be characterized by, but is not limited to, friction, flexibility, and smoothness, as well as subjective descriptors, such as lubricious, velvet, silk or flannel, which imparts a lubricious feel to tissue.
Another important physical property related to softness is generally considered by those skilled in the art to be the strength of the absorbent sanitary paper products. Strength is the ability of the absorbent sanitary paper products, and its constituent webs, to maintain physical integrity and to resist tearing, bursting, and shredding under use conditions. Achieving a high softening potential without degrading strength has long been an object of workers in the field of the present invention.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to provide an absorbent sanitary paper product that provides higher tactile softness while maintaining strength at least at par with currently available commercial absorbent sanitary paper products.

Process for manufacturing absorbent sanitary paper products


Electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability in which the image is formed by dots located at image pixels having a predetermined size, comprising a scanning light beam source and circuits for modulating the light beam so as to form dots having a size in the direction transverse the scan direction equal, smaller or greater than the pixel size.

Typically, non-impact printing machines are designed to create a printed image by printing a series of picture elements, pixels or dots, on a print medium such as paper. In electrophotographic printing apparatus, the process of image generation is the same, although indirect, in the sense that the image is first formed on a photosensentive member, as a latent image, and then transferred to a paper sheet through a developing process. The image on then photosensitive member is formed by a light beam (usually a laser beam) which scans the electrically charged surface of the photosensitive material in a succession of scan lines. Each scan line is divided into pixel areas, and the light beam is modulated (e.g., switched on or off) at each pixel location, so as to selectively discharge the photosensitive material at the location of selected pixels. In this manner, an image is formed on the photosensitive member, the image consisting of pixels which have retained an electrical charge and pixels which have been discharged.
Thereafter, toner is applied to the surface of photosensitive material and adheres thereto in the locations (pixels) which have been discharged (in the case of positive or write-black process), or in the locations which have not been discharged (negative or write-white process). This step is known as the developing step and is followed in known manner by a transfer step (the toner is transferred to paper) and by a fixing step (the toner is fused onto the paper). The printed image produced by an electrophotographic printing apparatus its therefore a digitized image, or a bit mapped image, of a desired analog image which is represented and described at best by a discrete set of pixels or dots.
The resolution of the bit mapped images formed by electrophotographic printing machines is typically 300 dots per inch. No higher resolution is generally adopted because it would result in expensive and slow apparatus. With a resolution of 300 dots per inch, the discontinuities of the printed image as to a desired continuous image which has been digitized are readily perceivable, in particular when nearly vertical lines or edges or nearly horizontal lines or edges have to be printed. These lines or edges are effectively printed as stair steps showing undesired jaggies. Proposals have been made to overcome this limitation and to provide edge smoothing, without increasing the bit mapped image resolution, by using three basic approaches and combinations thereof:
1) Adding or substituting gray pixels for the normal black or white pixels at the edges of images;
2) Adding or substituting reduced size dots in pixels at the edges of images;
3) Adjusting the placement of dots as to the pixels in the scan direction.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,641 provides a summary of documents suggesting several approaches, and discloses a method and apparatus which uses a combination of approaches 2) and 3) above. All these approaches provide a partial solution to the problem of enhancing the quality of the image, but are not entirely satisfactory, particularly when lines or edges slightly slanted as to the scan direction of the light beam have to be printed.

Bull HN Information Systems Italia S.p.A.


An encoder includes circuitry configured to receive a video frame, partition the video frame into a plurality of blocks, determine a respective spatial activity measure for each block in the plurality of blocks and using a transform matrix, encode the video frame using the spatial activity measure. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

A video codec can include an electronic circuit or software that compresses or decompresses digital video. It can convert uncompressed video to a compressed format or vice versa. In the context of video compression, a device that compresses video (and/or performs some function thereof) can typically be called an encoder, and a device that decompresses video (and/or performs some function thereof) can be called a decoder.
A format of the compressed data can conform to a standard video compression specification. The compression can be lossy in that the compressed video lacks some information present in the original video. A consequence of this can include that decompressed video can have lower quality than the original uncompressed video because there is insufficient information to accurately reconstruct the original video.
There can be complex relationships between the video quality, the amount of data used to represent the video (e.g., determined by the bit rate), the complexity of the encoding and decoding algorithms, sensitivity to data losses and errors, ease of editing, random access, end-to-end delay (e.g., latency), and the like.
During encoding, a picture (e.g., video frame) is segmented (e.g., partitioned) into relatively large blocks, such as 128×128 and such structure is fixed. But by segmenting a picture into large blocks for compression and without taking into consideration the underlying video information (e.g., the video content), the large blocks may not partition the picture in a manner that allows for efficient encoding, thereby resulting in poor bit-rate performance.

Block-based spatial activity measures for pictures


The object of this invention is to provide a method which not only maintains the nitrile hydratase activity of a nitrile hydratase-containing cell or a treated material of the cell under conditions where the cell does not grow, but also improves the nitrile hydratase activity of a nitrile hydratase-containing cell or a treated material of the cell whose activity was once reduced. This invention relates to a method of maintaining or improving a nitrile hydratase activity which comprises bringing a nitrile hydratase-containing cell or a treated material of the cell into contact with an oxidizing agent under conditions where the cell does not grow, as well as a method of producing an amide compound from a nitrile compound, which comprises using the cell brought into contact with an oxidizing agent or a treated material of the cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of maintaining or improving the activity of industrially useful nitrile hydratase. The activity referred to herein is a nitrile hydrating activity determined by a method described in the Examples.
2. Description of the Related Art
The nitrile hydrating activity of nitrile hydratase is unstable and easily reduced with time. For preventing such reduction in the nitrile hydrating activity of nitrile hydratase with time to maintain the activity, a method which comprises adding at least one compound selected from a nitrile, an amide, an organic acid and a salt thereof as a stabilizer to a suspension or solution of a nitrile hydratase-containing microorganism or a treated material of the microorganism is disclosed (see, for example, JP-B 5-43351 and JP-B 4-48435).
A storage method wherein a microorganism or a treated microbial material is in a state suspended in an aqueous medium and the aqueous medium is neutral or weakly basic and having dissolved therein an inorganic salt at a concentration of 100 mM to its saturated concentration is also disclosed (see, for example, JP-A 8-112089). However, both the methods are effective only in maintaining a nitrile hydratase activity, and an effect of further increasing the nitrile hydratase activity is not reported therein.
As a method of increasing a nitrile hydrating activity by producing a nitrile hydratase-containing microorganism through culture and then subjecting the resulting microorganism or a treated material of the microorganism to some treatment, a method which comprises irradiating the resulting Gram-positive microorganism having a nitrile hydratase activity with light is disclosed (see, for example, JP-B2-35). However, this method is effective only in increasing the nitrile hydratase activity of the microorganism obtained through culture, and does not improve the nitrile hydratase activity of a microorganism whose activity was reduced. In addition, this method is irrelevant to maintenance of nitrile hydratase activity.
It is also reported that oxygen is necessary for culturing a nitrile hydratase-containing microorganism, and the concentration of dissolved oxygen during culture is maintained in the range of from 1 ppm to its saturated concentration, whereby the growth of the microorganism can be improved, and simultaneously the microorganism expressing a nitrile hydratase activity at high levels can be obtained (see, for example, JP-A 2002-17339). However, it is merely reported in this method that during culture, that is, under conditions where the nitrile hydratase-containing microorganism grows, there is the optimum concentration of dissolved oxygen in a culture solution in order to express a nitrile hydratase activity, and there is no description therein of maintenance and improvement of the nitrile hydratase activity under conditions where the nitrile hydratase-containing microorganism does not grow, that is, after the conclusion of culture.
The detailed mechanism of expression and reduction of nitrile hydratase activity is not completely elucidated, but it is described that for example, the reduction of the nitrile hydrating activity of iron-type nitrile hydratase derived from Rhodococcus sp. N-771 is attributable to oxidation, with oxygen in the air, of cysteinesulfenic acid coordinated with non-heme iron (III) as central metal into cysteinesulfinic acid (see, for example, M. Okada, M. Tsujimura and I. Endo: RIKEN Review, No. 41, p. 58-60 (2001)).
It is also described that for example, the activity of iron-type nitrile hydratase derived from Rhodococcus sp. N-771 is lost when trivalent iron as central metal is reduced to divalent iron by 2-cyano-2-propylhydroxy peroxide while cysteinesulfenic acid is oxidized into cysteinesulfinic acid (see, for example, M. Okada, M. Tsujimura and I. Endo: New Development of Reaction in Organic Chemistry (in Japanese), No. 3, p. 17-20 (2001).
It is also described that the structure of nitrile hydratase with cobalt as central metal, derived from Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1, is not determined, but is estimated to be similar to that of iron nitrile hydratase (see, for example, P. K. Mascharak, Coordination Chemistry Reviews, No. 225, p. 201-214 (2002)).

Method of maintaining or improving a nitrile hydratase activity


Provided are a sodium ion-conductive crystal-containing solid electrolyte sheet capable of giving excellent battery characteristics even when reduced in thickness, and an all-solid-state battery using the same. The solid electrolyte sheet contains at least one type of sodium ion-conductive crystal selected from β″-alumina and NASICON crystal and has a thickness of 500 μm or less and a flatness of 200 μm or less.

Lithium ion secondary batteries have secured their place as high-capacity and light-weight power sources essential for mobile devices, electric vehicles, and so on. However, current lithium ion secondary batteries employ as their electrolytes, mainly, combustible organic electrolytic solutions and, therefore, raise concerns about the risk of ignition or the like. As a solution to this problem, developments of lithium ion all-solid-state batteries using a solid electrolyte instead of an organic electrolytic solution have been promoted (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
However, an issue of concern with lithium is global price increase of raw and processed materials therefor. To cope with this, sodium has attracted attention as a material to replace lithium and there is proposed a sodium ion all-solid-state battery in which NASICON-type sodium ion-conductive crystals made of Na3Zr2Si2PO12 are used as a solid electrolyte (see, for example, Patent Literature 2). Alternatively, beta-alumina-based solid electrolytes, including β-alumina and β″-alumina, are also known to exhibit high sodium-ion conductivity. These solid electrolytes are also used as solid electrolytes for sodium-sulfur batteries.
In relation to all-solid-state batteries, a smaller thickness of the solid electrolyte is preferred because the resistance to ion migration in a battery (for example, a sodium ion all-solid-state battery) becomes smaller and the energy density per unit volume becomes higher. Therefore, there is a demand to reduce the thickness of the solid electrolyte (produce a sheet-form solid electrolyte).

Solid electrolyte sheet, method for producing same and all-solid-state secondary battery


An apparatus for wireless communication includes a plurality of antennas, a master baseband integrated circuit (BBIC) and a slave BBIC. The antennas are configured to communicate a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) signal. The master BBIC is configured to process a first component of the MIMO signal that is communicated via a first subset of the antennas. The slave BBIC is configured to process a second component of the MIMO signal that is communicated via a second subset of the antennas. The master BBIC is further configured to control the slave BBIC so as to jointly communicate the MIMO signal, based on the first and second components, via the entire plurality of the antennas.

Some Wireless Local-Area Network (WLAN) configurations use Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) schemes for communicating with multiple users simultaneously. MU-MIMO operation in WLANs is specified, for example, in the IEEE 802.11ac-2013 standard, entitled "IEEE Standard for Information technology—Local and metropolitan area networks—Specific requirements—Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 4: Enhancements for Very High Throughput for Operation in Bands below 6 GHz," 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.

SU-MIMO, MU-MIMO and beamforming operations using synchronized WLAN devices


A light guide assembly as a linear light source for enhancing the uniformity of beaming light within the beaming light's effective focal range comprising a light guide bar connected to a light source assembly and a reflective housing encasing the light guide bar. One surface of the light guide bar is a light-scattering/light-emission surface, and other surfaces are all reflective. The emission plane has gradually changing indentations for adjusting the light refractive and reflecting indexes to ensure the light uniformity. The reflective housing covering the light guide bar is used for enhancing the light reflection and intensity. An opening is formed in the reflective housing corresponding to the emission plane of the light guide bar, and a reflecting flange is formed at one side of the opening. Combined with the sloping and notched emission plane, light with high intensity and uniformity can be obtained, and the uniformity of beaming light within the beaming light's effective focal range can also be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a linear light source, and more particularly, to a linear light source having a light guide bar with a sloped and notched light emitting surface and an external reflective housing, which enhances uniformity of beaming light within the beaming light's effective focal range in addition to the overall improvements on light intensity and uniformity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Scanners, facsimile machines and multifunction peripherals are popularly used in daily life. This type of equipment generally utilizes a linear light source to illuminate the target. Imaging quality of the scanned target is greatly related to the performance of the light source. If the intensity or uniformity of the light source is patchy, the output picture will not be accurate. Under certain circumstances, if the scanned target is not in a fixed focal range and exceeds the effective focal range tolerance of the light source, the output picture will be indistinct. Hence, the light source of the present invention with the overall intensity and uniformity improvements and in particular the uniformity of beaming light within beaming light's effective focal range enhancement has been developed.
Conventional linear light sources are generally cylindrical, square or rectangular. These designs are easier to be molded or fabricated, but the efficiency of light propagation in terms of diffusion and scattering or uniformity control is limited. As a result, many different inventions have been disclosed to resolve these problems. For giving consideration to linear light source designs having a symmetrical polygonal cylinder, the applicant has previously developed a linear light source having a reflecting plane. As shown in FIG. 1, the light source comprises a light guide bar 40′ and a light source component 50′. The light guide bar 40′ is a polygonal cylinder, and includes an arced emission plane 42′, a reflecting plane 44′ corresponding to the arced emission plane 42′, an incidence plane 46′and a plurality of reflecting sides 48′. With this kind of design, the light guide bar 40′ can yield uniformed light with the reflecting plane 44′ after directing the light from the light emitting diode on the light source component 50′. Also, the condensing effect of the arced emission plane 42′ can lead to better light output and enhance the image detecting quality.
The above-mentioned prior art utilizes the plane treatment of the light guide bar to improve the light uniformity, and changes the structure of the light guide bar to improve the condensing effect and light intensity. Although the prior art provides acceptable results, greater improvements are still sought after to optimize the energy conservation, improve the intensity and uniformity of the emitted light, and enhance the uniformity of beaming light within beaming light's effective focal range. Hence, the present invention discloses a linear light source having a sloped and notched light-emitting surface and an external reflective housing which enhances uniformity of beaming light within the beaming light's effective focal range. The reflecting housing with reflecting flange efficiently guides the light and reduces the energy loss with repetitive diffusion and scattering, thus further enhancing the light intensity.

Linear light source for enhancing uniformity of beaming light within the beaming light's effective focal range


A magnetic one-component toner of the invention contains at least a binding resin and a magnetic powder, and has a volume average particle size of 6.0 to 9.0 μm, a compressibility of 15 to 50%, and a mean roundness of 0.950 to 0.960. The magnetic powder has at its surface a phosphorus element of 0.10 to 0.50% by weight. This toner is suitable for use in an image forming apparatus provided with a developer carrier made of stainless steel, or an image forming apparatus provided with an amorphous silicon photosensitive material. This toner has high transfer efficiency and less fog, thereby enabling to maintain image density for a long period of time, and form high image-quality image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic one-component toner for use in image forming apparatuses, such as copying machines, printers and facsimiles, employing electrophotography method, electrostatic storage method, or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally in image forming methods such as electrophotography method and electrostatic storage method, the surface of a photosensitive material is charged by corona discharge or the like, and then exposed by laser or the like to form an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is then developed with a toner to form a toner image. This toner image is then transferred to a storage medium to obtain a high quality image. This image forming method often employs a powdered magnetic one-component toner, which can be obtained by adding a coloring agent, charge control agent, release agent, magnetic powder, etc. to a binding resin composed of a thermoplastic resin, etc., followed by kneading, grinding and classification.
To achieve high quality image, the above magnetic one-component toner calls for miniaturization of particle size. However, there arises the problem that the miniaturization of particle size deteriorates toner flowability. As a method of solving this problem, Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open Nos. 2-236566, 2-157027, and 2-300763 disclose methods of adding an additive, and describe the conditions under which the additive is blended with a toner, and the form of the additive. Unfortunately, such a method of adding an additive is insufficient to improve the flowability of the miniaturized toner. Hence, an improved method is demanded.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 5-289398 discloses a method in which the volume average particle size of toner is set to a specific value, and compressibility is adjusted to not more than 30%. However, there arises the problem that when the compressibility is too small, a toner layer on a sleeve is apt to be nonuniform, making it difficult to achieve a uniform image.
Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 2000-29239 discloses a method in which the mean roundness of a toner manufactured by grinding process is adjusted to a specific value. This toner seems to have higher transfer efficiency. For this reason, when this toner is used in a developing apparatus provided with a developing sleeve of high charge applying force, the toner in the vicinity of the surface of the developing sleeve has an extremely high charge and, under reflection force it is strongly attracted to the sleeve surface, resulting in an immobile layer. This decreases the chance that the toner is rubbed with the sleeve, thereby inhibiting the charge application. As a result, due to nonuniform charge of the toner, a toner thin layer formed on the developing sleeve causes turbulence and lack of uniformity to deteriorate image quality.
Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 2002-91142 discloses a developing apparatus construction and a method of adjusting the particles size, flowability, and compressibility of a toner to a specific value. However, because this toner is ground by a jet stream grinder, its mean roundness is low. When this toner is miniaturized, its flowability is lowered, which can cause the toner density drop.

Image forming apparatus with a magnetic one-component toner


The present invention describes systems and methods to for providing stable and programmable voltage and current reference devices. An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a voltage reference device having a first floating-gate transistor with a first source, a first drain, and a first gate. The first gate is provided coupled to a first programming capacitor and a first input capacitor. Furthermore, the voltage reference device includes a second floating-gate transistor having a second source, a second drain, and a second gate. The second gate is provided coupled to a second programming capacitor and a second input capacitor. Additionally, the charge difference between the first floating-gate transistor and the second floating-gate transistor is a reference voltage.

An ideal voltage reference is an electronic device that ideally produces a fixed voltage irrespective of the loading on the device, power supply variation and temperature. Voltage references are critical components in both analog and digital systems. The accuracy, temperature sensitivity and drift of references impact the performance of many circuit blocks such as analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters and power management circuitry. The ever decreasing scale of transistors now requires lower reference voltages, such as below 1 volt. Additionally, these voltage references must have low temperature sensitivity and high initial accuracy.
One of the most commonly used conventional voltages references in integrated circuits is the bandgap voltage reference. A bandgap-based reference uses analog circuits to add a multiple of the voltage difference between two bipolar junctions biased at different current densities to the voltage developed across a diode. The diode voltage has a negative temperature coefficient (i.e. it decreases with increasing temperature), and the junction voltage difference has a positive temperature coefficient. When added in the proportion required to make these coefficients cancel out, the resultant constant value is a voltage equal to the bandgap voltage of the semiconductor. In silicon, the bandgap voltages is approximately 1.25V. Typically, the bandgap reference is designed to achieve a first order temperature cancellation that gives a zero temperature coefficient at a particular temperature.
Although sufficient for some applications, the conventional bandgap voltage reference restricts the reference voltage to that of the energy bandgap of silicon (1.25V). Therefore, the conventional bandgap voltage reference is insufficient for applications requiring a reference voltage below 1 volt ("sub-1V").

Systems and methods of providing programmable voltage and current reference devices


A system for receiving cash deposits at a point of sale includes a processor; a product inventory database; a communication interface; a product inventory item reader; and a purchase instrument reader. The processor is configured to receive a product code from the product inventory item reader; access the product inventory database to recognize the product code as a deposit product code; receive signals indicating an amount of a deposit associated with the deposit product code; receive signals from the purchase instrument reader identifying an account for the deposit; and send signals to a transaction processing network via the communication interface to thereby effect the deposit of the amount into the account.

While online banking has increased in popularity, many banking transactions still cannot be completed exclusively through exchange of data over a network because these transactions involve exchange of tangible items. These transactions may involve cash deposits, cash withdrawals, check deposits, account cards, printed documents, documents requiring physical signatures, or other tangible items. In these cases, a customer must complete the transaction at a location which facilitates the exchange of these tangible objects.
It is costly for banks to establish staffed bank branches at locations which are convenient for all of their customers. Technology has enabled automatic teller machines (ATMs) to perform some banking functions in a wider variety of locations which are more convenient for customers. ATMs, however, are typically located in public or semi-public locations. Some customers have security and personal safety concerns with respect to performing banking transactions in these locations because the transactions often involve confidential or risky activities such as handling of cash, use of account cards, entry of personal identification numbers (PINs), entry of other transaction data, and/or opening of wallets and purses.

Cash deposit at point of sale using deposit product inventory item systems and methods

UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA)


A statistical point pattern matching technique is used to match corresponding points selected from two or more views of a roof of a building. The technique statistically selecting points from each of orthogonal and oblique aerial views of a roof. generating radial point patterns for each aerial view, calculating the origin of each point pattern, representing the shape of the point pattern as a radial function, and Fourier-transforming the radial function to produce a feature space plot. A feature profile correlation function can then be computed to relate the point match sets. From the correlation results, a vote occupancy table can be generated to help evaluate the variance of the point match sets, indicating, with high probability, which sets of points are most likely to match one another.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to a computer-based method of rendering an image of a three-dimensional structure from several views of the structure. In particular, the computer-based method for creating a roof model relies upon a statistical method of point pattern matching on an aerial top plan view and one or more aerial perspective views of the roof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The building and insurance industries have historically relied on human beings to evaluate roofs in person, to determine labor and materials needed for repair or replacement. Sending a claims adjuster or a roofing specialist out to each individual property can be time-consuming and costly, especially when many buildings need to be evaluated, for instance, following natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, hail storms, and the like. Furthermore, a human being standing on the ground can only give a rough estimate of the sizes of roof features, as opposed to obtaining actual measurements. As a result, estimates can be inaccurate.
Recently, imaging and mapping technologies have made possible computer-based calculations of roof dimensions from aerial photographs. A top plan view ("orthogonal") looking straight down from above, together with one or more different perspective views ("oblique") looking at an angle from, for example, the north, south, east, or west directions, can be sufficient to generate a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction depth model of the roof structure. Such a model can include three-dimensional roof features such as dormers, gables, hips, and the like. Accurate measurements can then be made from the 3D model. Such methods pertaining to roofs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,088,436 and 8,170,840. Furthermore, there are many techniques known in the art for generation of 3D models of structures from multiple perspective images. Such 3D architectural images have many applications in the building industry.
In the generation of a 3D roof model, combining information from orthogonal and oblique views of the roof entails an initial step of point matching. First, a set of points is identified on each view to represent the shape of the roof, and then corresponding points from each view are matched. Usually the points are at locations where the roof lines merge. Human beings can easily recognize and associate points from the orthogonal view that match points on the oblique view. For example, it is easy for a human being to identify which are the highest points on either view of the roof, and which points are the lowest. However, requiring human intervention to perform the step of point matching precludes achieving a fully computer-generated model. When many roof models need to be processed, it is inefficient and cumbersome to interrupt a computerized process to obtain a human-generated data set, and then resume the computerized process.
Unfortunately, computerized point matching algorithms for performing such a task tend to be complex and exhaustive. For example, if N=20 points are identified on an orthogonal view of a roof and M=10 points are identified on an oblique view of the roof, if all possible permutations are considered, nearly 200,000 potential point match sets must be evaluated to complete the step of point matching. Thus, a more efficient method of computer-based point matching is desirable.

Statistical point pattern matching technique


An improved fluorescence detection system is provided which utilizes a relatively high powered, relatively high repetition rate light source with high speed detection electronics to increase system sensitivity and accuracy. In the preferred embodiments, a laser diode is the light source. In one embodiment, the position of a time window is varied to compile a decay profile of a fluorophore. In another embodiment, the time to detection of a photon is used to compile the decay profile. In one aspect of this invention, a histogram of the fluorescence decay is generated by determining a preliminary histogram of the shape and multiplying it by the ratio of the total number of events divided by the number of events comprising the preliminary histogram. In another aspect of this invention, the time of detection after excitation of the photon is started from a random time, such as after a preceding event is detected and the data stored.

Fluorescence is the process of monitoring fluorescent radiation from an object for analysis, characterization or imaging. Typically, an excitation pulse of radiation is directed onto or into a sample, followed by fluorescence of the sample, and the detection of the fluorescent radiation. The detected fluorescence is used for sample analysis, characterization or imaging. In the case of an immuneassay, analysis of a sample is typically done by marking a desired species with a fluorescable tag, exciting the sample and monitoring for fluorescence from the tag.
Theoretically, fluorometry is capable of being the most sensitive of all analytic tools. It is possible to detect single photon events, and possible to re-excite a fluorophore and confirm the analysis. However, the problem which has plagued fluorescence has been in discriminating the fluorescent signal of interest from the background radiation in the system. Often times, the signal from "background" radiation may be 10,000 times larger than the intensity of the fluorescent signal of interest. Detection of the unwanted background radiation reduces the image quality and accuracy of the detection.
The problem caused by background radiation is particularly acute in biological systems. For example, in the analysis of blood plasma, the presence of a naturally occurring fluorescable material, such as biliverdin, causes substantial background radiation. Other sources of undesirable background radiation include ambient radiation, radiation from fast fluorescing materials (generally considered to be those with decay half lives on the order of 1 to 1.5 nanoseconds) and various scattering mechanisms, such as Raman scattering bands.
Earlier attempts to overcome the problem of background radiation have met with limited success. A first technique involves discriminating against background radiation on the basis of wavelength. Generally, a filter is used to reject detected radiation at all but a narrowly defined wavelength band. This technique has been less than successful principally because the background radiation may also be at the same wavelength as the desired fluorescence signal, and accordingly, still be passed through the filter and detected.
A second technique attempting to discriminate the desired fluorescent signal from the background is the so called time gating approach. Here, the fluorescent signal is observed in a short time window after the excitation. The time window may be varied both in its length and in its starting time. Through the use of the variable time window, the detected radiation may be observed at the maximal time for detection sensitivity- Historically, this technique has used a fluorophore of very long decay time (such as 1,000 nanoseconds) to allow the background fluorescence to substantially decay before detection of the fluorescent signal of interest. Generally however, long decay time fluorophores are less desirable than shorter decay time fluorophores because they are relatively insensitive and require longer times for overall analysis.
Historically, there have been two excitation pulse formats for transient state fluorescent analysis. One format utilizes a single, relatively high power pulse which excites the fluorophore. The transient state is typically monitored by a high speed photomultiplier tube by monitoring the analog signal representative of current as a function of time. Single pulse systems require sufficiently high power to excite a large number of fluorescent molecules to make detection reliable. The other principal format for transient state fluorescent analysis utilizes repetitive excitation pulses. Ordinarily, pulses of relatively short, typically nanosecond duration, light with power in the microwatt range are repetitively supplied to the sample at rates varying from 1 to 10,000 Hz. Ordinarily, the excitation source is a lamp, such as a Xenon-lamp. Frequently, the decay curve is measured digitally by determining the time to receipt of a photon. One commercially available system uses repetitive pulses (such as at 5,000 Hz) and strobes the photomultiplier tube at increasingly longer times after the flash in order to obtain a time dependent intensity signal. Detection in such systems has proved to be very time consuming and insensitive. A single analysis can take on the order of one hour, even at relatively high fluorescable dye concentrations (e.g. 10.sup.-6 M).
Recently, significant advances have been made in the area of fluorescable dyes. In one aspect, dyes being excitable by longer wavelength radiation, such as in the red and infrared wavelengths, are now available. Applicant incorporates by reference the applications by Arrhenius, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 701,449, filed May 15, 1991, entitled, "Fluorescent Marker Components and Fluorescent Probes," (which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 523,601, filed May 15, 1990), and Dandliker and Hsu, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 701,465, filed May 15, 1991 entitled "Fluorescent Dyes Free of Aggregation and Serum Binding" (which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 524,212, filed May 15, 1990). Significant improvements in sensitivity are achieved through use of these modern dyes over older dyes.
Further significant advancements have been made in increasing sensitivity through data collection and analysis techniques. As disclosed in Dandliker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,965, entitled "Fluorometer," time gating techniques are used in conjunction with data collection and analysis techniques to obtain an improved signal relative to the background. Generally, Dandliker et al., considers the detected intensity as a function of time to be composed of signals from various sources, including the desired signal source, and various undesired background sources. Optimization of the desired signal is achieved through data collection and analysis techniques.
Further significant advancements have been made in the ability to measure relevant materials in immunoassays. For example, in Dandliker et al, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 490,770, filed Mar. 6, 1990, entitled "Transient State Luminescence Assays," (which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 365,420, filed Jun. 13, 1989) incorporated herein by this reference, the bound and free form of materials in a homogeneous assay may be determined. Generally, the technique requires measurement of the time dependent decay of the intensity of parallel and perpendicular polarization components. By measuring the time dependent decay of various polarization states, it is possible to determine the bound and free forms of materials such as haptens, peptides, or small proteins in a homogeneous analysis format. Significantly, no separation of the bound and free materials is required.
Despite the significant and promising improvements made in the field of fluorescable dyes, and in the data analysis aspects, the actual methods and apparatus for achieving and detecting fluorescence have heretofore remained relatively unchanged. Utilizing even the most sensitive and best equipment, analysis can take an hour or more, even at high concentrations of materials. When fluorometry is used for immunoassay in a clinical context, time for analysis and proper diagnosis can be absolutely critical. Patient survival can depend on accurate, timely analysis. Additionally, rapid testing would permit retests of patients without having them wait significant periods of time, resulting in more rapid and accurate diagnosis. As to sensitivity, it is extremely desirable to be able to detect minute amounts of fluorescable material. However, as the amount of fluorescable material in a sample decreases, the ratio of the size of the undesired background signal to the desired signal increases. Further, since the time for analysis depends on the amount of fluorescent radiation received from the detector, low concentrations generally require substantially more time to analyze.
Heretofore, the time required for analysis has been prohibitively high. Known methods and apparatus have failed to provide rapid and accurate diagnosis and analysis of samples. This has been so despite the clear and known desirability of the use of fluorometry.


A transport system for cut sheet media has a first and second cylinder to form a nip, a support subsystem to transport edges of cut sheets having at least one image into and out of the nip, and an array of contact points on each cylinder to make contact with the cut sheets without marking the image. A wheel for a print medium transport system has an outer rim having a series of contact points, an inner hub supporting a means to accommodate a drive shaft, and an internal spring connecting the outer rim to the inner hub. A method of transporting cut sheets in a printing system forms a nip between at least one pair of cylinders, each cylinder having an array of contact points, guides a first edge of a cut sheet into the nip, and uses the arrays of contact points to transport the cut sheets through one of either a fusing or drying process.

Transport of cut sheets with wet or molten images on one or both sides requires negligible interaction between the transport means and the images. Interaction between the transport system and the images may result in alteration of the images if the transport system marks the images prior to drying, solidifying, or fusing the image onto the paper. Fully non-contacting transport using air jets requires continuous closed-loop feedback and jet control to achieve sufficient control of sheet transport. Such a system can be prohibitively expensive. It is therefore a benefit of the present embodiments to provide an open loop, in the sense that no sheet position sensing is required, relatively inexpensive and virtually non-contacting means to transport sheets with wet or molten images thereon.
Interaction may also cause transfer of the marking material, such as ink or toner, to the transport system. When the transport system transports a different sheet, the marking material may transfer onto the other sheet, leaving a ghost image of the previous sheet's image on the new sheet.
In addition, cut sheets, such as individual pages of paper, may have issues related to cockling or curling of the sheets as they are transported. Generally, contactless fusing, where the media moves through a fusing process to fix the image onto the media, may involve knives of gases or vapors for heating, drying and cooling the media. For a web medium that comes in large rolls, this may not be as much of a problem because tension in the roll assists in keeping the medium flat. It may become more difficult to keep cut sheets of media flat in a contactless system.


A flash-spinning solution of a polyolefin dissolved in a primary solvent selected from the group consisting of methylene chloride and dichloroethylene, and a co-solvent selected from the group of hydrofluoroethers, cyclic perfluorinated hydrocarbons, and cyclic partially fluorinated hydrocarbons.

Commercial spunbonded products made from polyethylene plexifilamentary film-fibril strands have been produced by flash-spinning from trichlorofluoromethane; however, trichlorofluoromethane is an atmospheric ozone depletion chemical, and therefore, alternatives have been under investigation. Shin U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,326 discloses one alternative spin fluid, namely, methylene chloride and a co-solvent halocarbon having a boiling point between minus 50.degree. C. and 0.degree. C. As pointed out in Kato et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,422, the Shin methylene chloride based process is not entirely satisfactory, and the '422 patent discloses an alternative, namely, a spin fluid of bromochloromethane or 1,2-dichloroethylene and a co-solvent, e.g., carbon dioxide, dodecafluoropentane, etc.
Published Japanese Application JO5263310-A (published Oct. 12, 1993) discloses that three-dimensional fiber favorable for manufacturing flash-spun non-woven sheet may be made from polymer dissolved in mixtures of solvents where the major component of the solvent mixture is selected from the group consisting of methylene chloride, dichloroethylene, and bromochloromethane, and the minor component of the solvent mixture is selected from the group consisting of dodecafluoropentane, decafluoropentane, and tetradecafluorohexane.


Panels which are joined at their opposing end faces are used to create a panel assembly. The opposing end faces may be a tongue and groove arrangement or they may consist of matching beveled recesses. In either case, the interrelationship between the opposing end faces is such that, upon assembly, an intervening space is created between adjoining panels. This intervening space eliminates the cantilever force effect associated with known panel assemblies and it results, instead, in a shear force which is evenly distributed over the full extent of the abutting panel faces.

There are several known systems for creating wall panel assemblies in homes, offices and elevators.
Systems which are most commonly used in elevators include, for example:                (1) Panels secured to a support structure by the use of Z-clips;        (2) Panels which are adhesively secured to a wall, including walls fabricated from extruded aluminum supports; and        (3) Panels which employ an extruded spline-type fastening system.
Walls constructed with permanence as, for example, walls in homes and buildings, usually employ a drywall secured to studs. Once the drywall has been put in place, paneling, plaster or other coverings such as paint, may be used to enhance its appearance.
The present invention is an improvement over known systems because it provides for panels which can be interlockingly joined to one another, and to a support structure, including drywall, with relative ease. Moreover, this invention allows a user to remove individual panels and/or disassemble the entire system with a facility that is not possible with known systems.


A gas spring assembly includes a gas spring enclosed within a flexible, liquid-impermeable protective sleeve. The sleeve protects the gas spring against contamination during painting and pre-paint processes, and is then removable to leave the gas spring as a permanent component of the installation subject to the painting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective sleeve or covering for a gas spring and, more particularly, to a gas spring assembly including a protective sleeve or covering for protecting a gas spring against contamination during a painting process and for the subsequent post-processing removal from the gas spring.
2. The Related Art
Gas springs are widely used to assist in opening and closing the hinged deck lids, such as the hood, the hatchback, the trunk, and the like, of automotive vehicles. During the assembly of the vehicles, it is desirable to install the gas springs in their operating positions on the vehicle body, so that they are available to hold the lids in the open position when necessary during the manufacturing process. Certain processing steps, however, involve exposure of the vehicle body to materials and conditions that are detrimental to the gas springs. During pre-painting and painting processing steps, in particular, the vehicle body is typically exposed to pre-treatment chemicals, primers, paint, etc., which, if coming into contact with the gas spring components, can adversely affect the subsequent operation of the gas springs during use of the vehicle.
Previous attempts to prevent the contamination of gas springs under the foregoing conditions have involved the use of replaceable paint-line gas springs, referred to as "paint slaves," or prop rods, which are used only during the painting processes and are then replaced by the permanent, original equipment gas springs. After each use, such "paint slave" gas springs or prop rods must be removed from the vehicle body and transported to a different location for cleaning, re-use, or disposal in the event of failure. These additional handling and process steps are costly and time consuming.

Gas spring assembly with pre-paint protective sleeve


A portable foldable containment (10) is illustrated for use in containing spilled material and preventing environmental contact. Containment (10) includes a floor (14) and integral side walls (16, 18, 20, 22). Rigid side braces (A) internal braces (B) and wall bracing elements (C) provide support to enable walls (16, 18, 20, 22) to extend upright a considerable distance. Internal braces (B) consist of a first brace segment (26), a second brace segment (28) and a hinge (30). Wall bracing elements (C) consist of a vertical leg (64), a horizontal leg (66), and a resilient hinge (68). These components enable the internal braces (B) and wall bracing elements (C) to be folded allowing walls (16, 18, 20, 22) to be laid horizontally for passage of a vehicle.

The invention relates to a portable, foldable containment device for hazardous chemicals such as petrochemicals, and the like, and the prevention of environmental contamination by the chemicals. For example, environmental contamination is the long-term result of point source spills in the transfer of petrochemicals and the like from one container to another. In particular, the problem of loading and off-loading petrochemicals and preventing environmental contamination is a problem to which considerable attention need be given because in the transfer of the chemicals, spills can occur and it is necessary to prevent the spill from absorption in the soil.
In the past, temporary, disposable, or stationary containments have been provided in which a plastic membrane or fabric which contains the chemical is supported by air inflatable walls or foam for containing the chemical. U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,024 discloses a disposable drip pan for use under a vehicle which contains dirt or other matter and to prevent the same from soiling or contaminating a floor surface at a fixed site. Air inflated sleeves or radially compressible pipe tubing form a ridge which surrounds a floor of the drip pan to contain material falling off the vehicle. While a vehicle may be driven over the ridge, the ridge is not sufficient for containing liquid spills, such as agricultural chemicals, in large volumes, nor is it fastened to the floor to prevent dislocation by prop wash from aircraft. The corners are not designed to withstand impact from vehicle traffic. Similar temporary containment systems are known which may be folded, assembled, inflated, and transported having a rubberized fabric which withstands rough treatment and a broad range of chemicals. However, again, the support tubes for the side walls are inflatable with air are susceptible to puncture and are separate pieces that require assembly. With the side walls inflated, considerable risk is involved when driving a vehicle on or off the containment, and the walls must be removed to allow vehicle traffic. To deflate the walls permits liquid to escape the containment.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,588 discloses a portable containment for chemicals that is comprised of resilient braces. While providing good egress into and out of the containment, the resilient nature of this portable containment limits the spill-retention capacity by restricting the maximum height of the containment walls. The resilient nature of the walls prohibit the containment unit from effectively containing a voluminous spill. In the event of a voluminous spill, the wall tends to bow concentrating a disproportional amount of pressure upon a small area of the containment and hence increasing the risk of rupturing. Additionally, the interior bracing straps are designed to allow a resiliently braced wall to be driven over by a vehicle, and would not support a much higher wall, thus requiring a rigid brace.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a portable containment unit having a relatively high wall for containing voluminous spills; and which is economical, portable, and easy to transport and deploy, and which may be reused.
Another object of the invention is to provide a containment having a rigidly enforced side wall for containing a large spill of hazardous chemicals and the like which is truly portable in that it may be folded, transported, and reused at different sites without disassembly or reassembly being required.
Another object of the invention is to provide a foldable portable containment unit for the prevention of ground spills which is highly durable and can withstand vehicle traffic onto and off of the unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide a portable containment unit which is portable, requires no assembly at the site, can withstand vehicle traffic over the walls of the containment unit, and can tolerate toxic chemicals such as pesticide solutions.