A boxing game machine in which a pair of boxer dummies are opposed to each other, each boxer dummy having at least one extensible arm, includes: an extender which drives the extension of the arm; a rotary unit which is rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and carries at least one of the boxer dummies; and an operative member which is connected with the rotary unit and provided with a switch for switching over the drive of the extender, the operative member being operable to rotate the rotary unit about the horizontal axis. By rotating the operative member about the substantially horizontal axis together with the rotary unit while gripping the operative member, the boxer dummy connected with the rotary unit rotates about the same axis.

This invention relates to a boxing game machine provided with opposing boxer dummies.
A known game machine provided with opposing boxer dummies is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-307487. In this game machine, the base ends of rotatable arms are mounted on the shoulders of the respective boxer dummies, and the rotatable arms are rotated by the extension and contraction of an extension mechanism. The extension mechanism is connected with a pumping mechanism in gloves via air supply pipes. When a player simulates a boxing action while holding the gloves, the rotatable arms move accordingly to punch and/or defend.
In the above game machine, although the boxer dummies can punch or defend by operating the gloves, the posture of the dummies is basically fixed all the time. It is not possible to move the dummies themselves to the left or right and to change the facing directions of the dummies. As a result, the simulated boxing game lacks movements.
The trunk of the dummy automatically swings to the left and right when the punch is given in the above game machine. However, this swinging action is only performed in synchronism with the punching action, and the posture of the dummy cannot be controlled at the player's free will. Further, a manufacturing cost of this game machine is relatively high because of a complicated mechanism to cause the swinging action upon the punching action.


A U-shaped clip that is configured to be quickly installed by attaching the clip over the top edge of the vertical wall defined by plural end to end oriented landscape edging restraint members. This action is quick and easily accomplished by hand, requiring no tools or forceful effort. The clip is made of a material having a hardness characteristic that is harder than the material of the edging restraint members. The clip includes a series of pointed, opposing, hardened steel barbs that bite into the softer edging material to create a mechanical lock. Further, the barbs are angled so as to increase the force applied to the edging material as the parts are drawn apart in opposite directions.

This invention was born from the need to quickly and firmly attach longitudinal restraint sections of edging material for landscape and particularly hardscape applications. Edge restraints are a critical element in the construction of interlocking pavement and other hardscape constructions. They perform the mechanical function of restraining the perimeter of the hardscape so as to prevent lateral shifting and separation of the hardscape materials.
Typical edge systems are often constructed of multiple lengths of edging materials that must be joined together to form a continuous length of restraint. The point of connection between adjacent sections is, mechanically, the weakest point in the system and generates an increased labor cost to properly install.
Although many edging systems currently incorporate some type of connection system, these connections are limited in that they are either permanently affixed to the end of the edging lengths, being rendered useless when edging sections must be cut to a shorter length, or are secondary systems that require additional hardware and are labor intensive to install. Some of the existing systems that incorporate a mechanical fastening device use nuts and bolts that protrude from the face of the edging materials creating an obstruction so that the paving material is prevented from being installed flush to the paving restraint device. Further, many of these systems are designed as a wedge type, friction fit. As is well known, the landscape is a dynamic constantly moving environment that will quickly cause failure of a connection based upon friction as the sole means of binding.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a new thin profile connection system that provides a strong, secure connection which is quick and easy to install. This system is mechanically secure for securing the edging materials together and allowing the paving materials to be installed directly adjacent to the paving restraint, while decreasing labor and expense.


Disclosed is a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image, the toner containing polymer particles having a carboxyl group on the surface thereof in the range of EQU 5.times.10.sup.-11 mol/cm.sup.2 .ltoreq.A.ltoreq.3.times.10.sup.-9 mol/cm.sup.2. wherein A represents an amount of the carboxyl group obtained using a conductometric titration method.

Conventionally, a toner employed for the development in electrophotograpy has been prepared generally by a method in which a colorant (carbon black, magnetic powder, pigment, etc.), a charge control agent and other additives are melt kneaded in a thermoplastic resin, pulverized and classified.
In order to overcome various disadvantages of the toner prepared by the pulverization method, preparation methods such as an emulsion polymerization method, a suspension polymerization method, etc. have been developed. (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 36-10231, 47-518305, 51-14895, etc.)
However, these conventional toners have various disadvantages. There have been problems specially on the stability of charge amount and charge rising at the repeated use.

Toner, developer and image forming method employing the toner


Accessibility in software engineering is treated as expensive, time consuming and hence adoption of accessibility, is a challenge despite stringent timelines and regulatory requirements published around the world. Moreover, cost of implementing accessibility increases project cost due to manual intervention and dependency on niche skills, which is scarce in industry. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide system and method for automated identification of applicable accessibility guidelines and determination of remediation techniques for fixing issues in webpages, wherein webpages are rendered, and applicable accessibility guidelines are identified based on user interface elements (UI) comprised in the webpages. Further, content associated with rendered webpages are analyzed using the applicable accessibility applicable guidelines to identify webpage non-compliance issue(s) and remediation technique(s) thereof. Fixes for the non-compliance issues are determined based on the webpages and applied on a document object model (DOM) based on a current state associated with the webpage and/or UI elements.

To enable persons with disabilities to obtain accessible online experience website must meet the requirements of accessibility standards Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) published by W3C covers a wide range of recommendations for making web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these. The website must help all kinds of people with disabilities access to various public accessibility of information services. It has been observed that now a days a website is created in manner such that users with disabilities can also access the website without other assistance. To facilitate web accessibility to the users with disabilities, it is essential to assess the web accessibility of the website before the website is deployed on a server.
Existing approach of accessibility development/remediation is a 4-step process excluding the initial planning phases which includes finding the guideline(s) applicability, identify the accessibility non-compliances, taking the decision for using right technique for remediation followed by applying the fixes. For the initial 2 steps, there are many tools out in the market. But the tools can verify only 25-29% of WCAG checkpoints. Hence conventionally, the accessibility implementations are a mix of manual interventions using assistive technologies and commercial or open-source automation tools wherein the automation in the accessibility value chain is limited only to the testing phase.
Also, the traditional method for identifying the accessibility guidelines applicability and non-compliances present in a webpage consisted of utilizing Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Document Object Model (DOM) for identifying web elements present on a webpage wherein this method identifies each web element based on structure and semantic of HTML code, associated to each web element. Based on that it is only capable of identifying the web elements such as an image, a table, a heading, a list which can be termed/referred as basic web elements, with ease and thereby perform the web accessibility assessment on the basic web elements. However today with the internet evolution and growing user demand of richer and user-friendly website developers are creating rich user interface (UI) controls for ex carousels, menu bar, date pickers, sliders, expand and collapsible Panels, tree view, etc. These complex web elements cannot be identified based on the structure and the semantics of the HTML code or the HTML DOM because they do not have a defined structure or semantic of the HTML code. Further, they are interpreted as the basic web elements and are assessed in the same manner as the basic web elements are assessed by the automated tools. For example, a menu bar or a tree view is also made up of lists nested into each other. Reading the HTML markup or the DOM results in an ordinary list. Similarly, CAPTCHA is just an image along with a textbox and some additional links/buttons. The accessibility requirements of the complex web elements are different and more complicated than that of the basic web elements. Therefore, due to complexity in identification of the complex web elements, manual effort is required to identify each web element before assessing the web accessibility and hence increases the effort of the web accessibility assessment.
Further, in development phase it is completely human dependent and requires a subject matter expert (SME) to identify accessibility guideline applicability, issue(s), and remediation (fixing the issue). Till date developers have been reluctant towards achieving accessibility in their applications. The first reason being the steep learning curve for the developers to understand how the people with disabilities interact with technology, the assistive technology tools used by them, and what their needs are in spite of the presence of the testable statements for each success criteria. Developers find accessibility implementation as a complex problem as there are instances where more than one technique is available to meet the success criteria. Most of the production time is spent on exploring and finding the right techniques to implement in order to fix the issues. All these lead to additional efforts and time required to achieve accessibility and in turn adding to the cost of development.

Machine first approach for identifying accessibility, non-compliances, remediation techniques and fixing at run-time


A composition for the manufacture of an opaque silvery coating on a glass surface is provided. The composition comprises a mixture of at least two metal powders. The metal powder mixture contains carbonyl iron and aluminum, and a carrier liquid for forming a suspension of the metal powder mixture. A method for manufacturing an opaque silvery coating for a lamp having a glass envelope is also provided. In the method, a suspension comprising a mixture of carbonyl iron and aluminum powders in a carrier liquid is applied onto the envelope of the lamp. The suspension is dried, and thereafter the composition remaining from the suspension is burned at a temperature above 500° C. A lamp with a glass envelope and a single layer opaque coating covering at least a part of the glass envelope is also disclosed. The opaque coating comprises 50 to 80 weight % carbonyl iron and 20 to 50 weight % elementary aluminum.

This invention relates to a composition for the manufacture of an opaque silvery coating on a glass surface, particularly on a lamp, and a method for manufacturing such an opaque silvery coating.
It is known in the art to apply an opaque coating to various parts of lamps having a glass envelope. A typical example is the covering of the tip of an automotive lamp, in order to prevent the emission of direct (non-reflected) light beams from the headlamp of a vehicle. The light emitted by a lamp in a vehicle headlight is projected onto the road in a controlled manner, so as to avoid the blinding of other drivers. Therefore, the light being emitted forward from the lamp directly, and which would not be controlled by the projection optics, is prevented from escaping the lamp by a metal cover shield, or by an opaque layer or coating applied directly to the lamp surface.
The use of such an opaque layer is described, among others, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,016 and No. 6,270,237. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,016 discloses that a suitable composition for forming the opaque layer is accomplished by mixing carbonyl iron and silicon powder, and further forming a suspension with butanol as a carrier liquid. The suspension is dried, and the metal powder mixture is burned to form a stable, hard and opaque coating. However, this coating has a substantially black color. Recently, the need has appeared to provide a silvery coating on the lamps instead of a black coating, primarily due to aesthetical reasons.
In order to satisfy this need, it is proposed to employ a dual layer on the lamp in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,237. A metal layer providing a silvery appearance is suggested to be made of various metals, for example Ag, Al, Ni, etc. and mixtures thereof. Another layer with light-absorbing properties is placed between the metal layer and the glass. This layer is essentially black, and may be manufactured from Fe, Mn, Ti or Si. According to the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,237, the purpose of this light absorbing layer is to prevent the reflection of light from the metal layer toward the reflector surface. This arrangement has the disadvantage that the manufacturing steps required for the additional layer makes the production more expensive.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a composition, which could be applied in a single layer only, and which would ensure the required properties of the opaque layer, namely a silvery appearance, sufficient opaqueness, small backscatter, combined with long term stability and ease of manufacture. Further, it is desirable to provide an appropriate method for manufacturing such an opaque layer.

Composition for opaque coating, lamp with coating, and method of manufacture


A kit of parts for use in the manufacture of a particle cassette for a needleless syringe device. The kit may include a first cassette part having a first rupturable membrane sealed thereto and a second cassette part having a second rupturable membrane sealed thereto. The first and second cassette parts may be arranged to be attachable together so as to create a chamber for the confinement of particles between the first and second membranes. The first and second cassette parts may be substantially annular and the first cassette part defines a receptacle for receiving particles. The second cassette part may be attachable concentrically around or inside the first cassette part.

Needleless syringe devices are known from WO 94/24263. In this document, a needleless syringe is disclosed which entrains particles in a gas stream accelerated through a nozzle so that the particles may be injected into a target, such as human skin or other cells. For many applications, there is a need for the particles to be maintained in a sterile environment prior to actuation of the device. WO 94/24263 discloses for this purpose a particle cassette comprising a central annular ring having rupturable diaphragms sealed to each face so as to form a self contained sealed unit containing the particles to be injected. Upon actuation of the device, the diaphragms rupture allowing the particles initially contained between the diaphragms to be entrained in the gas flow and then delivered into the target.

Particle cassette, method and kit therefor


A first conductivity layer and a first insulating film are successively formed on a channel layer, and a photoresist film is formed on the first insulating film. The photoresist film is selectively exposed to light using a photomask and patterned. Using the patterned photoresist film as a mask, the first insulating film and the first conductivity layer are etched to form source electrodes from the first conductivity layer. Using the first insulating film and the source electrodes as a mask, an impurity of one conductivity type is diffused into exposed portions of the channel layer to form source regions. A second insulating film is formed in covering relation to side walls and upper surfaces of the source electrodes. Using the second insulating film as a mask, the channel layer and the common drain layer are etched to form trenches in the source regions, the channel layer, and the common drain layer. A third insulating film is formed on surfaces of the trenches, and a second conductive layer is formed as a gate electrode on the entire surface so as to fill up the trenches and cover the second insulating film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a trench-type power MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor).
2. Description of the Prior Art
One conventional semiconductor device will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a power MOSFET having a trench structure.
As shown in FIG. 1, the power MOSFET has a common N.sup.- -type drain layer 1 deposited on the surface of an N.sup.+ -type semiconductor substrate 8 by epitaxial growth, and a channel layer 2 that is formed in a surface layer of the common N.sup.- -type drain layer 1 by diffusing a P.sup.+ -type impurity therein. A source region 5 is formed in a surface layer of the channel layer 2 by diffusing an N.sup.+ -type impurity therein. The power MOSFET includes a trench defined vertically in the common N.sup.- -type drain layer 1, the channel layer 2, and the source region 5. The surface of the trench is covered with a gate insulating film 3, on which there is deposited a polysilicon gate 4 that fills the trench.
The polysilicon gate 4, the channel layer 2, and the source region 5 are covered with an interlayer insulating film 6 which has contact holes defined therein over the source region 5. An interconnection layer 7 is deposited on the interlayer insulating film 6 and in the contact holes in contact with the source region 5.
Heretofore, the conventional power MOSFET has been manufactured by a fabrication process that comprises the steps of (1) forming a guard ring, (2) separating a device region, (3) forming a channel layer in the device region, (4) forming a body region, (5) diffusing an impurity to form a source region, (6) forming a trench, (7) forming a gate electrode, (8) forming contact holes in an interlayer insulating film for connection to the source region, and (9) patterning an interconnection layer. In each of these steps, there has been required a photomask that is indispensable for a photolithographic process for patterning a deposited layer or layers. Therefore, the fabrication process has necessitated a total of nine photomasks.
These required photomasks and associated procedures for handling the photomasks have made the fabrication process highly complex, with the result that it is relatively expensive to manufacture the conventional power MOSFET.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A situational awareness system for aerial refueling is disclosed. In embodiments, the situational awareness system may include one or more millimeter wave devices of a tanker aircraft configured to transmit one or more emitter signals toward an aircraft to be refueled, and receive one or more reflected signals reflected from the aircraft to be refueled. In embodiments, the situational awareness system further includes a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more millimeter wave devices and the display device, the controller configured to determine a distance between a refueling assembly of the tanker aircraft and the aircraft to be refueled based on the one or more reflected signals, and generate one or more control signals configured to cause a display substrate of a display device to display at least one of a metric or image indicative of the determined distance.

Tasks and operations which require accurate three-dimensional (3D) depth perception often lack sufficient 3D cues to perform the task/operation efficiently and safely. In particular, conventional systems for providing 3D depth perception typically suffer from low contrast, detrimental shadowing effects, and obscurations. Systems capable of providing accurate 3D depth perception data are required in a variety of applications, including airborne refueling, robotics applications, and docking spacecraft.
In the context of aircraft and airborne/aerial refueling, systems are required to determine distance and closure rate between an armature of a tanker aircraft and an aircraft to be refueled (e.g., receptacle of the aircraft to be refueled). For example, distances and closure rates between a tanker aircraft and an aircraft to be refueled may be directly measured using a variety of active emitter techniques, including light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radar, laser radar, and the like. However, these conventional techniques suffer from significant size, weight, power, and cost impacts. Additionally, these active emitter techniques are easily detectible, and are therefore not suitable for covert, emissions control (EMCON) operations.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method which cure one or more of the shortfalls of the previous approaches identified above.

Covert distance determination via millimeter wave proximity sensor


According to the present invention, when a vehicle speed is less than a set value (e.g., 40 km/h) and a throttle opening degree is more than a set value, it is determined that the vehicle is accelerating, and a viscous clutch is turned off. Therefore, a shearing operation of high-viscosity fluid by a rotor of a viscous heater is not performed. In this way, a driving load applied to an engine is reduced, so that an accelerating state suitable for an intention of a driver can be obtained. Further, when the vehicle speed is more than a set value (e.g., 40 km/h) and an engine rotational speed is more than a set value (e.g., 3500 r.p.m.), the viscous clutch is turned off, and a driving load applied to the engine and a V-belt is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heating apparatus for controlling, based on an accelerating state of a vehicle a rotation as well as a stop of the rotation of a rotor in a heat-generating unit using a shearing force, for heating cooling water to be supplied from an engine to a heating heat exchanger.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, as a heating apparatus for a vehicle, there has been generally known a hot water type heating apparatus for heating a passenger compartment, in which cooling water for cooling a water-cooled engine is supplied to a heater core disposed in a ducts and air heated while passing through the heater core is blown into the passenger compartment by a blower to heat the passenger compartment.
Recently, an improvement of an engine efficiency is highly demanded for an engine mounted on a vehicle; however, when the engine efficiency improves, heat loss decreases; and therefore the cooling water for cooling the engine cannot be heated sufficiently. Further, in a case of a vehicle having a diesel engine or a lean burn engine, the heat amount generated by the engine is too small to heat the cooling water sufficiently. In the vehicle where the heat amount generated by the engine is small, a temperature of the cooling water in the cooling water circuit cannot be maintained at a predetermined temperature (e.g., 80.degree. C.), there occurs a problem in that a heating capacity for the passenger compartment is insufficient.
To overcome such a problem, as disclosed in JP-A-2-246823 or JP-A-3-57877, there has been conventionally proposed a heating apparatus for a vehicle, in which a heat-generating unit using a shearing force, for heating cooling water supplied from the engine to the heater core is disposed in a cooling water circuits and when a temperature of the cooling water in the cooling water circuit, detected by a cooling water temperature sensor, is lower than a set cooling water temperature, the heat-generating unit is operated to improve the heating capacity for the passenger compartment.
The heat-generating unit transmits a rotational driving force of the engine to a shaft through a belt transmitting mechanism and an electromagnetic clutch, a heat-generating chamber is formed in a housing, and a cooling water passage is formed at an outer periphery of the heat-generating chamber. Further, a rotor which rotates integrally with the shaft is disposed in the heat-generating chamber, and a shearing force generated by a rotation of the rotor is applied to viscous fluid such as silicon oil sealed in the heat-generating chamber to generate heat. The cooling water is heated by the generated heat. That is, the heating apparatus for a vehicle uses a rotational driving force (driving torque) applied to the rotor of the heat-generating unit as an auxiliary heat source for heating operation.
In the heating apparatus for a vehicle, provided with the conventional heat-generating unit, because a rotational driving force (driving torque) applied to the rotor of the heat-generating unit is used as the auxiliary heat source for heating operation, a large driving load is applied to the engine by the driving torque. Therefore, while the heat-generating unit is operating, if a driver desires an acceleration and steps on an acceleration pedal an accelerating state suitable for an intention of the driver cannot be obtained, because a driving load of the engine is increased. There occurs a problem that a driveability deteriorates or an emission (NOx) increases.

Heating apparatus for vehicle, having heat-generating unit


A fireplace adapted to heat multiple heating zones of a building, controlled by a control circuit which adjusts the heat input to the fireplace, airflow through the fireplace and ducting of the airflow to the various zones individually in response to a call for heat by thermostats in the zones. The fireplace may also be adapted to provide cooled or circulated air to the zones and may also serve to provide heating to the zones in the event of an electrical power outage. The fireplace is provided with a cabinet having ducts through which air is conveyed by use of a fan to a tube-type heat exchanger, the heat exchanger also in communication with the hot flue gases exiting the combustion chamber of the fireplace. The air heated by the heat exchanger is conveyed to a multitude of fireplace outlets, each of which is provided with a damper which regulates the airflow through the outlet to one of the zones to be heated, depending on whether that zone calls for heat through its thermostat. The fireplace is also provided with an evaporator core in an evaporator case, the core being part of an air conditioning system. Air flowing through the fireplace may bypass the cabinet ducts and tube-type heat exchanger, instead being directed to flow through the evaporator core, where it may be cooled, and then to the fireplace outlets for distribution to the zones.

This invention relates to a gas fireplace, and, in particular, to a gas fireplace adapted to provide heat to multiple zones of a building.
Known in the art are a multitude of different types of gas fireplaces, including gas fireplaces such as freestanding models and zero clearance models which provide heating to the room in which it is located. These fireplaces commonly include housings or shells that surround the combustion chambers or fireboxes where combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as propane or natural gas, occurs. The walls of the housing are typically constructed in spaced relationship with some or all of the walls of the combustion chamber, including the bottom wall and top wall which form the floor and ceiling of the combustion chamber. The resulting space or plenum provided between the combustion chamber and housing permits the formation of passageways suitable to circulate air. Existing fireplaces have used these passageways to circulate air to serve a number of nonexclusive purposes, including the transfer of heat to room air which is inlet into these passageways and circulated therethrough by means of natural convection or electric motor driven fans. The inlet room air is discharged from the fireplace at a higher temperature to heat only the room in which the fireplace unit is installed, with any heating provided by the fireplace to other rooms being incidental. Thus, buildings having previously known fireplaces are generally provided with a separate furnace or other heating means and, in some cases, an air conditioner for cooling or circulating air throughout the building incorporated into the separate furnace or standing alone.
Generally, present direct vent fireplaces have steady state efficiencies of up to approximately 75 percent, and Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiencies (AFUE) in the 60 to 65 percent range. Improvements in these efficiencies would, of course, be desirable, although it is recognized in the art that the steady state efficiency is limited to a maximum of 83 percent to prevent condensation in the flue in noncondensing applications. Generally, flue gas temperatures at the flue terminal should be about 190.degree. F. (87.8.degree. C.), or at least 50.degree. F. (27.degree. C.) above the dew point of the flue gases.
It is also desirable to provide a fireplace which serves an aesthetic function as well as providing heat to rooms or zones other than the zone in which the fireplace is installed in response to calls for heat from the remote zones, obviating the need for a separate furnace. With the fireplace taking the place of a furnace, it is desirable to also have the ability to provide the heated air and unheated or cooled air to the various zones through common air conveyance means. Moreover, in the event of electrical power failure, it is desirable that some quantity of heat still be provided to the various zones.

Fireplace having multi-zone heating control


A polarized light irradiation apparatus includes: a light source unit including a light source, and emitting parallel light derived from the light source; a polarizing plate for polarizing the parallel light emitted from the light source unit to output polarized light; a polarizing plate holder for holding the polarizing plate; a mask holder for holding a mask having a light transmissive part and a light shielding part; a work stage for holding a work that is irradiated with light that has been polarized by the polarizing plate and has passed the mask; a polarization direction changer for changing a direction of a polarization axis of light for irradiating the work held by the work stage; and an irradiation location changer for changing a location of the polarized light that irradiates the work.

Conventionally, for alignment processing applied to alignment films used in liquid crystal display elements such as liquid crystal panels, a technique referred to as photo-alignment has been adopted as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4968165. In photo-alignment, films are irradiated with polarized light of a predetermined wavelength.
In recent years, utilization of polarized light has been considered in fields other than liquid crystal display elements. For example, there are materials that exhibit different optical properties depending on a direction of polarization when irradiated with polarized light. Attempts have been made to develop optical elements that utilize such properties (see Seokil Moon et al., "Augmented reality near-eye display using Pancharatnam-Berry phase lenses," Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 6616, 2019).
Seokil Moon et al. disclose that a virtual world image is projected with light with right-handed circular (RHC) polarization to a region of an optical element, and a real world image is projected with light with left-handed circular (LHC) polarization to another region of the optical element. The virtual world image and the real world image are combined for display.
To manufacture the optical element disclosed by Seokil Moon et al., it is necessary to divide a certain material into two regions and to irradiate the respective regions with light having different polarizations. It is envisaged that the boundary line between the two regions may not necessarily be straight, and may have a complex shape.
There has not been developed a polarized light irradiation apparatus capable of irradiating respective multiple regions of a single material (work) with light having different polarizations.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for irradiating respective multiple regions of a single work with light having different polarizations, and a method therefor.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polarized light irradiation apparatus that includes a light source unit including a light source and emitting parallel light derived from the light source; a polarizing plate for polarizing the parallel light emitted from the light source unit to output polarized light; a polarizing plate holder for holding the polarizing plate; a mask holder for holding a mask having a light transmissive part and a light shielding part; a work stage for holding a work that is irradiated with light that has been polarized by the polarizing plate and has passed the mask; a polarization direction changer for changing a direction of a polarization axis of the polarized light that irradiates the work held by the work stage; and an irradiation location changer for changing a location of the polarized light that irradiates the work.
Since the direction of the polarization axis of the polarized light that irradiates the work and the location of the work irradiated with the polarized light can be changed, it is possible to respectively irradiate multiple regions of a single work with light having different polarizations.
The polarization direction changer may include a polarizing plate rotator for rotating the polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holder in a plane perpendicular to the parallel light that enters the polarizing plate. By this configuration, a single polarizing plate can be used for producing polarized light having different polarizations. Furthermore, this configuration improves a degree of freedom for change of design since the direction of the polarization axis is changed by rotation of the polarizing plate. In addition, since polarized light irradiation apparatuses are usually provided with rotation mechanisms for adjusting the angle of a polarizing plate relative to a work, the direction of the polarization axis may be changed by use of an existing rotation mechanism.
The polarizing plate holder may be configured to simultaneously hold multiple polarizing plates having different polarization directions. The polarization direction changer may include a polarizing plate slider for moving the polarizing plate holder in a plane perpendicular to the parallel light that enters the polarizing plate, so as to replace a polarizing plate aligned with an optical path of the parallel light with another polarizing plate. By this configuration, the currently used polarizing plate can be readily replaced with another one having a different polarization direction.
The polarization direction changer may include a polarizing plate changer for replacing a polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holder with another polarizing plate having a different polarization direction. By this configuration, the currently used polarizing plate can be readily replaced with another one having a different polarization direction.
The polarization direction changer may change the direction of the polarization axis of polarized light for irradiating the work by 90 degrees. By this configuration, two regions of a single work can be respectively irradiated with polarized light having polarization axes that differ by 90 degrees.
The irradiation location changer may include a mask changer for replacing a mask held by the mask holder with another mask having a different arrangement of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part. By this configuration, the currently used mask can be readily replaced with another one having a different arrangement of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part. In addition, since polarized light irradiation apparatuses are usually provided with replacement mechanisms for replacing masks, an existing replacement mechanism may be used to change the location of polarized light for irradiating the work.
The mask holder may be configured to hold multiple masks simultaneously, with each of the masks having a different arrangement of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part. The irradiation location changer may include a mask slider for moving the mask holder in a plane perpendicular to the parallel light that enters the mask, so as to replace a mask aligned with an optical path of the parallel light with another mask. By this configuration, the currently used mask can be readily replaced with another one having a different arrangement of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part.
The irradiation location changer may include a mask rotator for rotating the mask held by the mask holder in a plane perpendicular to the parallel light that enters the mask, so as to interchange locations of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part. By this configuration, a single mask can be used for selectively shielding a region of the work. The work may be bisected such that the boundary line between the two regions is a straight line. The mask M is rotated by 180 degrees, so that each of the two regions is irradiated with light of a different polarization.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of irradiating a work with polarized light of parallel rays through a mask having a light transmissive part and a light shielding part. The method includes irradiating a first region of the work with polarized light having a polarization axis extending in a first direction; changing a direction of a polarization axis of polarized light for irradiating the work from the first direction to a second direction that is different from the first direction after irradiating the first region; changing a location of the polarized light that irradiates the work for changing a location of the work irradiated with polarized light from the first region to a second region that is different from the first region; and irradiating the second region of the work with polarized light having a polarization axis extending in the second direction.
Changing the direction of the polarization axis may include rotating a polarizing plate that outputs the polarized light in a plane perpendicular to parallel light that enters the polarizing plate.
Changing the direction of the polarization axis may include moving a polarizing plate holder that simultaneously holds multiple polarizing plates having different polarization directions, so as to replace a polarizing plate that outputs the polarized light with another polarizing plate.
Changing the direction of the polarization axis may include replacing a polarizing plate held by a polarizing plate holder with another polarizing plate having a different polarization direction.
Changing the direction of the polarization axis may include changing the direction of the polarization axis of polarized light for irradiating the work by 90 degrees.
Changing the location of the polarized light may include replacing a mask held by a mask holder with another mask having a different arrangement of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part.
Changing the location of the polarized light may include moving a mask holder that simultaneously holds multiple masks having different arrangements of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part, so as to replace a mask aligned with an optical path of the polarized light with another mask.
Changing the location of the polarized light may include rotating a mask in a plane perpendicular to the polarized light that enters the mask, so as to interchange locations of the light transmissive part and the light shielding part.

Polarized light irradiation apparatus and method for polarized light irradiation


A method and apparatus for a system physically realizing a transfer function and having improved accuracy and fast calibration is described, comprising a plurality of stages configured in a serial fashion, each stage having a transfer function realized with fixed and adjustable elements. Control logic for selectively reconfiguring said stages, operable for coupling any one of said stages to a reference signal and for further coupling said one of said stages to the remaining ones of said stages in a serial fashion is added; control logic for selectively causing said stages to transmit at their output responses to an input which enable measurement of individual components within said stages is included; and control logic for updating the adjustable elements within each stage is described. A calibration technique is disclosed wherein the system is reconfigured to allow any one of said stages to be configured as the first stage in a chain made up of all of said stages, serially coupled, the first stage outputting signals indicative of the value of components within it in response to selective excitation by the reference signal, the remaining stages capturing said outputted signals and storing the result as a measurement.. The calibration process continues until the adjustable elements within each stage have been updated. Additional cycles may be performed for increased accuracy. An additional preferred embodiment of an analog-to-digital converter implemented using the accuracy bootstrapping invention is disclosed. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described first in terms of general system design and second in connection with a system which implements an analog-to digital converter function, as an example.
Heretofore, in the field of system design in general, there have been several approaches to designing extremely accurate systems and/or correcting inaccuracies which arise after the system is physically realized. Some typical approaches are: feed-back, wherein a scaled version of the output is continuously fed back and compared to the input, and the difference or error is used to correct the system or the output so that the desired output is achieved; correlated double sampling, wherein a zero or reference input is sampled between sampling of the input data stream, and the output used is calculated as the difference of the output generated by the reference and the output generated by the input data; look-up tables, which are used to adjust the parameters of the transfer function and thereby improve system performance; histogram analysis, wherein a deterministic or random input signal is applied to the system and the output is observed to determine its actual transfer function, this information is then used to drive compensating logic or functions; neural networks which implement a system by training a network using feedback with adjustable parameters to obtain a desired output response for a specific or set of specific input responses.
Some of the problems faced by the prior art approaches have been that many of the techniques listed above require measurements of the transfer function of the system with components which are more precise than the system itself, or alternatively operate to attempt to drive the components to their designed values through self-calibration techniques.
If the system is designed to attempt to control the component values, the precision possible is limited by the accuracy of the components. If the system uses digital error correction techniques, greater precision is possible but the values of the components must be physically measured. If the system is a closed system, such as an integrated circuit, measurements may be impossible or costly, or require actual fabrication of the measuring hardware- which is in fact a more accurate system; perhaps requiring accuracy beyond that available with the state of the art.
Even if the system is measured and precisely calibrated at the outset, the components will in time experience drift. The device must be periodically recalibrated, and the result is that it may be necessary for the precise measuring device to remain in place.
Other calibration approaches require continuous error correction calculations, which interfere with and limit the rate at which the devices can accept incoming data. Some approaches require precise reference signals to be available. Finally, all of the above approaches are limited to the inherent inaccuracy of the calibration components. This fundamental limit forms an obstacle to the development of highly accurate, high-speed systems. In the example of analog-to-digital or ADC circuitry, this limit appears to prevent the development of converters that are highly accurate (>10 bits) and high speed (tens of Mhz) converters. Accordingly, improvements which overcome any or all of the problems are presently desirable.


A modular trocar system which includes an obturator assembly, and a cannula assembly defining a longitudinal passageway therethrough configured and dimensioned to slidably receive the obturator assembly, the cannula assembly including a housing which includes a valve assembly and a first mating portion, and a cannula defining a passageway of a predetermined dimension therethrough, the cannula and housing movable alternately between a spaced apart relative orientation and an attached orientation wherein the first and second mating portions are engaged.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to trocar systems for inserting cannulas into patients, and more particularly to modular trocar systems and methods of assembly of trocar systems.
2. Background of Related Art
Minimally invasive surgical procedures where trocar systems are desirable or even necessary are continually increasing in number and variety. These procedures call upon surgeons to utilize an array of variously sized surgical equipment, e.g., graspers, dissectors, clip appliers, staplers, retractors, imaging systems, and the like. Accordingly, trocar assemblies having variously sized obturators and cannulas are required, e.g. 3-15 mm, to facilitate the range of minimally invasive procedures while minimizing the size of each trocar entry to the extent possible.
Presently, placement of each different diameter cannula requires the use of a specially sized obturator assembly. In other words, to introduce a 5 mm cannula, a 5 mm obturator is required; to introduce a 10 mm cannula, a 10 mm obturator is required; and so on. Manufacturers of trocar assemblies must therefore produce and inventory numerous different sized housings and operative components to allow the manufacture of each particular obturator and cannula variation to be marketed. For obvious commercial reasons, health care providers and medical equipment distributors of trocar assemblies must maintain appropriate inventories of each product variation to meet customer demand as it arises.
WO 95/07663 to Vidal et al. discloses one approach to addressing the variety of customer needs in the field of trocar assemblies. Vidal et al. disclose a plurality of obturator tips that are adapted to be removably received by an obturator shaft, e.g., through a detent/leaf spring arrangement or a lug/groove arrangement. While a variety of cutting blade geometries are proposed from which the surgeon may select, each of the disclosed obturator tips is the same diameter so that the completed obturator assembly may be utilized with a cannula of preselected diameter.
It is also known to provide operative surgical instruments with interchangeable working ends. For example, WO 94/13335 to Dorsey discloses a "quick disconnect" arrangement for a suction/irrigation system that allows interchange between a variety of probes of differing shapes and orientation. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,503 to Desai which discloses an instrument that is adapted to receive a variety of electrostatic probes.
A further factor of significance in the design and use of trocar systems is the ease with which the trocar system passes through the body wall so as to position the cannula thereacross. Thus, efforts have been expended to minimize the penetration force of the trocar system while maintaining maximum surgeon control and safety. U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,710 to Moll discloses several trocar designs which include a spring biased safety shield adapted to cover the cutting blade upon entry into the body cavity. In one embodiment (see FIGS. 1-5B), the safety shield is slotted and the blade is configured to extend through the slots, thereby increasing the effective diameter of the blade incision. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,288 to Deneiga et al.
Despite these earlier efforts in the fields of interchangeability, a need exists for a trocar system that is truly modular. That is, a trocar system wherein various components thereof may be readily interchangeable and certain components standardized to facilitate manufacture and use across a broader spectrum of product lines.
Moreover, improvements in trocar design which might minimize penetration force while maintaining surgeon control and safety during trocar penetration are always warranted and to be welcomed.

Modular trocar system and methods and assembly


Both single-layer and multilayer imageable elements have a substrate and at least one imageable layer. The elements can be used to prepare either negative- or positive-working imaged elements, for example as lithographic printing plates. The imageable elements also include a radiation absorbing compound and a solvent-resistant polymer comprising pendant phosphoric acid groups, pendant adamantyl groups, or both. When this polymer comprises pendant adamantyl groups, they are connected to the polymer backbone through a urea or urethane group. The imageable elements have improved chemical resistance and thermal bakeability from the presence of the unique solvent-resistant polymer.

In conventional or "wet" lithographic printing, ink receptive regions, known as image areas, are generated on a hydrophilic surface. When the surface is moistened with water and ink is applied, the hydrophilic regions retain the water and repel the ink, and the ink receptive regions accept the ink and repel the water. The ink is transferred to the surface of a material upon which the image is to be reproduced. For example, the ink can be first transferred to an intermediate blanket that in turn is used to transfer the ink to the surface of the material upon which the image is to be reproduced.
Recent developments in the field of printing plate precursors concern the use of lasers or laser diodes for imaging. Laser exposure does not require conventional silver halide graphic arts films as intermediate information carriers (or "masks") since the lasers can be controlled directly by computers. High-performance lasers or laser-diodes that are used in commercially-available image-setters generally emit radiation having a wavelength of at least 700 nm, and thus the radiation-sensitive compositions are required to be sensitive in the near-infrared or infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, other useful radiation-sensitive compositions are designed for imaging with ultraviolet or visible radiation.
Imageable elements useful to prepare lithographic printing plates typically comprise an imageable layer applied over the hydrophilic surface of a substrate. The imageable layer includes one or more radiation-sensitive components that can be dispersed in a suitable binder. Alternatively, the radiation-sensitive component can also be the binder material. Following imaging, either the imaged regions or the non-imaged regions of the imageable layer are removed by a suitable developer, revealing the underlying hydrophilic surface of the substrate. If the imaged regions are removed, the element is considered as positive-working. If the non-imaged regions are removed, the element is considered as negative-working. In each instance, the regions of the imageable layer (that is, the image areas) that remain are ink-receptive, and the regions of the hydrophilic surface revealed by the developing process accept water and aqueous solutions (typically a fountain solution) and repel ink.
Imaging of the imageable element with ultraviolet and/or visible radiation is typically carried out through a mask that has clear and opaque regions. Imaging takes place in the regions under the clear regions of the mask but does not occur in the regions under the opaque mask regions. Use of a mask is time-consuming and has a number of significant disadvantages.
Direct digital imaging has obviated the need for imaging through a mask and is becoming increasingly important in the printing industry. Imageable elements for the preparation of lithographic printing plates have been developed for use with infrared lasers. Thermally imageable, multi-layer elements are described, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,311 (Shimazu et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,812 (Shimazu et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,055 (Shimazu et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,811 (Patel et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,669 (Savariar-Hauck et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,228 (Savariar-Hauck et al.), U.S. patent application Publication 2004/0067432 A1 (Kitson et al.).
U.S. patent application Publication 2005/0037280 (Loccufier et al.) describes heat-sensitive printing plate precursors that comprise a phenolic developer-soluble polymer and an infrared radiation absorbing compound in the same layer.
Radiation-sensitive compositions and imageable elements have also been designed for imagewise exposure and/or development while on a printing press using fountain solutions and/or printing inks, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,882 (Pappas et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,994 (Huang et al.), U.S. patent application Publication 2004/0260050 (Munnelly et al.), and WO 2004/101280 (Munnelly et al.). These imageable elements typically comprise a single imageable layer on the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,725 (Takechi et al.) and U.S. patent application Publication 2004/0018445 (Akita et al.) describe chemically amplified resist compositions and processes for forming resist patterns using polymers containing pendant adamantyl groups.

Imageable members with improved chemical resistance


Apparatus for adjusting the vertical placement of a bow sight on an archery bow is provided with a belt extending over a drive pulley and an idler pulley. A sight mount is secured to the belt for movement therewith between the pulleys and a sight is attached to the sight mount. A sight adjustor lock locks the sight in position by preventing rotation of the drive pulley.

The present invention relates generally to adjustable sight assemblies for archery bows. More particularly, the present invention relates to adjustment control of an adjustable archery sight through the use of a driver pulley, an idler pulley, and a belt operatively engaging the pulleys. The sight is attached to the belt for movement therewith.
Archery bows and the use of adjustable sights therewith are well known in the art. Such adjustable archery sights vary from simple to complex assemblies each varying with respect to ease of use and cost.
One type of prior art archery sight control mechanism provides an adjustable sight with a rotatable sight adjustor shaft near the bow draw string. In one example of this type of archery sight control mechanism, a flexible shaft is coupled between a rotatable adjustor shaft and a lead screw for transmitting the rotational movement of the adjustor shaft to rotational movement of the lead screw. A sight mount, threadedly engages the lead screw and is vertically movable as the lead screw rotates. This type of mechanism tends to be imprecise and is difficult to properly adjust; further, such flexible shaft mechanisms fail to give a xe2x80x9csmoothxe2x80x9d feel to the adjustment that is desirable with modern compound bows and auxiliary equipment and is relatively expensive.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive adjustable sight assembly for use on an archery bow.
It is another object of the invention to provide an inexpensive adjustable sight assembly for use on an archery bow that provides smooth and precise control over the vertical movement of the sight.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a reliable and easily adjusted sight for use on an archery bow.
The present invention is an inexpensive adjustable sight assembly which provides firm and direct control over vertical movement of a bow sight. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rotation of a sight adjustor knob, mounted at one end of a rotatable adjustor rod is transmitted to a drive pulley mounted on an opposite end of the adjustor rod such that when the sight adjustor knob is rotated, the drive pulley correspondingly rotates. An idler pulley, spaced from the drive pulley, is provided and a belt is wrapped around both pulleys. Rotation of the drive pulley imparts linear motion to the belt as it travels vertically between the pulleys. A sight block is attached to that portion of the belt between the drive pulley and the idler pulley. Movement of the belt thus translates into vertical movement of the sight block between the drive pulley and the idler pulley. One embodiment of the invention also includes an adjustor rod lock to restrict movement of the drive pulley, thereby maintaining a predetermined position of the sight block.


A programmable circuit includes an array of printed groups of microscopic transistors or diodes. The devices are pre-formed and printed as an ink and cured. The devices in each group are connected in parallel so that each group acts as a single device. In one embodiment, about 10 devices are contained in each group so the redundancy makes each group very reliable. Each group has at least one electrical lead that terminates in a patch area on the substrate. An interconnection conductor pattern interconnects at least some of the leads of the groups in the patch area to create logic circuits for a customized application of the generic circuit. The groups may also be interconnected to be logic gates, and the gate leads terminate in the patch area. The interconnection conductor pattern then interconnects the gates for form complex logic circuits.

It is known, by the present assignee's own work, how to form and print microscopic 2-terminal vertical light emitting diodes (LEDs), with the proper orientation, on a conductive substrate and connect the LEDs in parallel to form a light sheet. Details of such printing of LEDs can be found in US application publication US 2012/0164796, entitled, Method of Manufacturing a Printable Composition of Liquid or Gel Suspension of Diodes, assigned to the present assignee and incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a layer of LEDs 16 that may be printed using the following process. Each LED 16 includes standard semiconductor GaN layers, including an n-layer, and active layer, and a p-layer.
An LED wafer, containing many thousands of vertical LEDs, is fabricated so that the bottom metal cathode electrode 18 for each LED 16 includes a reflective layer. The top metal anode electrode 20 for each LED 16 is small to allow almost all the LED light to escape the anode side. A carrier wafer, bonded to the "top" surface of the LED wafer by an adhesive layer, may be used to gain access to both sides of the LED for metallization. The LEDs 16 are then singulated, such as by etching trenches around each LED down to the adhesive layer and dissolving the exposed adhesive layer or by thinning the carrier wafer.
The microscopic LEDs are then uniformly infused in a solvent, including a viscosity-modifying polymer resin, to form an LED ink for printing, such as screen printing or flexographic printing.
If it is desired for the anode electrodes 20 to be oriented in a direction opposite to the substrate 22 after printing, the electrodes 20 are made tall so that the LEDs 16 are rotated in the solvent, by fluid pressure, as they settle on the substrate surface. The LEDs 16 rotate to an orientation of least resistance. Over 90% like orientation has been achieved.
In FIG. 1, a starting substrate 22 is provided. If the substrate 22 itself is not conductive, a reflective conductor layer 24 (e.g., aluminum) is deposited on the substrate 22 such as by printing. The substrate 22 may be thin and flexible.
The LEDs 16 are then printed on the conductor layer 24 such as by flexography, where a pattern on a rolling plate determines the deposition for a roll-to-roll process, or by screen printing with a suitable mesh to allow the LEDs to pass through and control the thickness of the layer. Because of the comparatively low concentration, the LEDs 16 will be printed as a monolayer and be fairly uniformly distributed over the conductor layer 24.
The solvent is then evaporated by heat using, for example, an infrared oven. After curing, the LEDs 16 remain attached to the underlying conductor layer 24 with a small amount of residual resin that was dissolved in the LED ink as a viscosity modifier. The adhesive properties of the resin and the decrease in volume of resin underneath the LEDs 16 during curing press the bottom LED electrode 18 against the underlying conductor 24, making ohmic contact with it.
A dielectric layer 26 is then printed over the surface to encapsulate the LEDs 16 and further secure them in position.
A top transparent conductor layer 28 is then printed over the dielectric layer 26 to electrically contact the electrodes 20 and is cured in an oven appropriate for the type of transparent conductor being used.
If needed to spread current, metal bus bars 30-33 are then printed along opposite edges of the conductor layers 24 and 28 and electrically terminate at anode and cathode leads (not shown), respectively, for energizing the LEDs 16. The bus bars 30-33 will ultimately be connected to a positive or negative driving voltage.
FIG. 2 is a top down view of FIG. 1. The cross-section of FIG. 2 is a horizontal bisection of FIG. 3. The locations of the LEDs 16 in the printed layer are random.
If a suitable voltage differential is applied to the anode and cathode leads, all the LEDs 16 with the proper orientation will be illuminated. FIG. 1 shows a light ray 38.
The above process is strictly for use with 2-terminal devices having a top electrode and a bottom electrode, since the locations of the LEDs on the substrate are random, and the LEDs can only be interconnected by sandwiching the LEDs between two conductive layers of any thickness. Further, the above process is strictly for forming an array of LEDs for generating light. The LEDs are not intended to perform any type of logic function since the array of parallel-connected LEDs simply forms a single diode.
It would be desirable to adapt the above-described printing/curing process to create complex printed electrical circuits involving 3-terminal transistors, diodes, and possibly additional types of components, to perform logic functions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for forming complex electronic circuits by interconnecting groups of printed devices


A compact 10 is obtained by compression-molding coated soft magnetic particles covered with insulating coatings, and is a modified frustum body having, as a main body, a frustum portion 113 sandwiched between plate-shaped portions 111 and 112 arranged in opposing relation. A vertical cross-section of the compact 10 is made up of a trapezoidal surface 113s, a long-side rectangular surface 111s joining to a long side of the trapezoidal surface 113s, and a short-side rectangular surface 112s joining to a short side of the trapezoidal surface 113s.

A magnetic circuit component including a magnetic core made of a soft magnetic material, such as iron or an iron alloy, and a coil arranged around the magnetic core is utilized in various fields. On example of constituent elements of the magnetic core is a compact. The compact is typically manufactured by filling material powder made of a soft magnetic material, into a molding space, which is defined by a die having a through-hole and a lower punch arranged to close one opening of the through-hole of the die, and then compression-molding the material powder by an upper punch and the lower punch. A compression-molded product drawn out from the die is usually subjected to heat treatment aiming at removal of distortion, etc.
When the above-mentioned magnetic circuit component is used in an alternating current (AC) magnetic field, an iron loss (generally given as the sum of a hysteresis loss and an eddy current loss) occurs in the magnetic core. In particular, when the magnetic circuit component is used at high frequencies of several kHz or higher, the eddy current loss is significantly increased. Therefore, reduction of the eddy current loss is demanded in the magnetic core. In order to reduce the eddy current loss, it is proposed to employ, as material powder, coated powder formed of a metal particle made of a soft magnetic material, such as an iron particle, and covered with an insulating coating over its outer peripheral surface, thus increasing electrical resistance (see Patent Literature (PTL) 1). It is also proposed to perform post-treatment, such as acid treatment, on a compression-molded product to remove a portion (hereinafter called a "bridge portion") where the insulating coatings are damaged due to, e.g., sliding contact between the compression-molded product and an inner peripheral surface of a die and an electrically conductive state is generated because the metal particles are exposed from the insulating coatings and are deformed to come into contact with each other (see PTL 1).


Systems, methods and containers for forming a beverage. A container includes a closure arranged with a movable element that is movable to pierce a membrane and permit beverage material in the container to exit. The movable element can include a piercing element that pierces the membrane. Gas can be introduced into the container to force beverage material to exit the container. A gas inlet port can be provided with the closure and arranged to mate with a gas source of a beverage machine.

The exemplary system and methods described herein relate to containers for holding a beverage material and methods for accessing such containers.
Historically, a number of self-serve appliances have been developed wherein a user desiring to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee merely needs to insert a cartridge or capsule containing powder instant flavor into the self-serve appliance. The appliance then opens the cartridge or capsule internal to the machine and combines the flavored powder with water to generate the desired beverage.
A number of different piercing elements are used by the prior art to pierce the cartridges or capsules, thereby allowing for the generation of the desired beverage. U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,178 to Halliday et. al. teaches a beverage preparation machine for preparing a beverage from a cartridge containing one or more beverage ingredients including a first piercing element for forming an inlet in a cartridge received in the beverage preparation machine, and a second piercing element for forming an outlet in the cartridge. According to Halliday, the first and second piercing elements are formed as a single removable unit that forms a part of the beverage preparation machine. However, with Halliday and other traditional self-serve appliances, including the piercing element as part of the appliance creates a location susceptible to cross-contamination or reduced sterility.

Container and opening arrangement for beverage production


An image forming apparatus includes an attribute determining unit that determines an attribute concerning a hue of an original; a multi-page layout unit configured to arrange image data of a plurality of originals on a single sheet thereby obtaining a multi-page layout; and a cost calculating unit that calculates a printing cost of the originals. The cost calculating unit calculates the printing cost for the multi-page layouts of different combinations of the image data of the originals arranged by the multi-page layout unit based on an outcome of determination by the attribute determining unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for optimizing the expenses of the image forming process related to multi-page copying.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming process in image forming apparatuses, such as electrophotographic type copiers, is performed in the following manner. A light source, such as a lamp, illuminates a surface of an original. Light reflected from the surface of the original is guided to the surface of a photosensitive drum to form thereon a latent image corresponding to the image on the surface of the original. A developing device then adheres toner to the latent image on the photosensitive drum to convert the latent image into a visible image (or a toner image). A transfer device then transfers the visible image to a paper and a fixing device fixes the toner image on the paper.
Some image forming apparatuses have a function of multi-page copying. Multi-page copying includes forming scaled-down images of a plurality of originals on a single sheet of paper. Multi-page copying is economical, because it reduces the usage of paper.
Some color digital copiers are equipped with an automatic document feeder (ADF). An automatic document feeder (ADF) includes a document tray, and when a stack of originals is set in the document tray, originals set in the document tray are fed one by one to the color digital copier. Some color digital copiers are equipped with an auto-color-selection function. By using the auto-color-selection function, color digital copiers can automatically determines whether an original is a color original or a black-and-white original. In color digital copiers that are equipped with both the ADF and the auto-color-selection function, users merely need to set a mixed lot of color and black-and-white originals in the document tray of the ADF, and press a copy "start" button. The color digital copiers then perform appropriate processing depending on whether the original is a color document or black-and-white document.
Color printing is generally more expensive than black-and-white printing. The auto-color-selection function can be advantageous as the cost of printing will be commensurate with the type of processing selected according to the type of the original by the auto-color-selection function.
Color digital copiers also use great quantities of consumables and have very high running costs. Often users enter into a maintenance contract, and have to bear maintenance expenditure, which varies according to the print output. The maintenance expenditure also varies according to how much of the printing is to be done in color and how much in black-and-white.
The automatic black-and-white/color determination by the auto-color-selection function thus serves to assign rates according to the printing method selected based on whether the original is a color document or a black-and-white document in a mixed lot of originals.
A copying apparatus and a control method thereof are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-244365. In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-244365, prior to starting a copying operation, the cost is calculated according to the number of pages to be output, whether it is going to be color or black-and-white output, and the paper size, the calculated cost is presented to the user, and the copying operation is performed only if the user gives a command. Different rates are set for a full color copy and a black-and-white copy. Similarly, in color digital copiers with two-tone copying functionality (such as producing copies in black and red) or single-tone copying functionality (for example, producing copies in a single color other than black such as red), different rates are set for two-tone copy and single-tone copy. In other words, the cost of single-tone copy such as black-and-white, single-tone (other than black) copy, and two-tone copy, which have less toner consumption, is set less than for full-color copy. However, auto-color-selection function can only recognize a black-and-white original and a color original, i.e., it can not differentiate between a color original, a two-tone original and, a single-tone (other than black) original. Therefore, when auto-color-selection function is selected, a two-tone original is treated as a color original, and the cost calculated will be according to a full-color rate. Thus, the cost calculated and presented to the user for the two-tone copy is erroneously high, even though the user has the option of whether or not to give the copy command. Further, if the auto-color-selection function is used in combination with multi-page copying when there is a mixed lot of black-and-white and color originals, color printing has to be initiated even if there is only one color original among the originals to be printed on a single sheet of paper. Barring the case where all the originals are in color, the calculated cost will always be higher than what should be. Faced with such a situation, some users do not mind the cost calculated based to full-color rate for the sake of image quality, while others prefer cost-saving.
A solution for the above problem is provided in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-214794. In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-214794, based on the determination result of the auto-color-selection function, copies of the originals of the same type are put together on a sheet of paper, thus producing copies of the black-and-white originals and the color originals on different sheets of paper. Thus, cost control is achieved by segregating black-and-white copying and color copying. However, in this case too, the auto-color-selection function can only recognize a black-and-white original and a color original, i.e., can not differentiate between a color original a two-tone original. Therefore, if there is a mixed lot of black-and-white originals and two-tone originals, the cost for the two-tone copy is calculated based on full-color rate, even if the copies of all the two-tone originals are made on a separate sheet of paper from the black-and-white ones.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and computer program product


A construction toy system comprises straight and curved tube beams and injection molded beams. The beams have joint end in the continuation of the bodies. The joint ends area separated from the bodies by flanges surrounding the edge of the beams. The flanges are created to prevent the beams from pushing through when connected to connectors. The connectors comprise plural cubes with six cylindrical receivers to where the beams are connected, creating structures from the beams. The receivers have an aperture equivalent to the joint ends of the beams and each receiver incorporates an interior surface for holding the joint ends of the beams.

A need exists for construction sets which children of all may construct toys and useful structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,253 discloses a construction connector system for creating structures from plastic bottles. Although plastic bottles are durable materials, they may not generally be perceived as reliable building materials for construction of toys or useful structures.
Collection or accumulation of a sufficient number of empty plastic soft drink or soda bottles requires time and space and delays the use of the construction set when a box is opened. Bottles are of varied sizes requiring imagination in assembling structures when different size bottles have been collected.
A need existed for devices which are immediately available for use in building systems.

Construction sets with injection molded and extruded tube beams


The invention relates to a fuel pump for a fuel system of an internal combustion engine, having a housing and a housing cap joined to the housing. In order to create a fuel pump which in its operation generates little airborne sound, structure-borne sound (vibration amplitudes) and pulsations in a low-pressure region of the fuel pump, it is proposed that the housing cap has at least one damping element, which is embodied as a sandwich construction having at least a first cover layer, a second cover layer, and a damping connection layer disposed between them. The damping connection layer has a markedly higher elasticity and/or higher material damping than the two cover layers, which may be constructed of sheet metal or the housing cap itself.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel pump for a fuel system of an internal combustion engine, having a housing and a housing cap joined to the housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fuel pump of this kind is known for instance from German Patent Disclosure DE 10 2005 033 634 A1. This fuel pump is a radial piston pump, that can be driven with the aid of an eccentric or cam portion and that can pump fuel from a low-pressure region into a high-pressure region of a fuel system of an internal combustion engine and subject it to high pressure. The fuel pump furthermore has a housing that is closed with a housing cap. In the operation of this radial piston pump, pulsations occur fundamentally in the low-pressure regions and they are damped using a pressure damper disposed in the low-pressure region.
Fuel pumps are also generally known that to vary a pumping rate have a quantity control valve which an be actuated to set an open or closed state. In these fuel pumps, as a result of mechanical contacts that occur in particular upon actuation of the quantity control valve between the parts present in the quantity control valve, structure-borne sound also occurs, which is transmitted to the housing of the fuel pumps.

Fuel pump for a fuel system of an internal combustion engine


Method for increasing corrosion resistance of substrate including an outermost chromium alloy layer, including                (i) providing substrate comprising an outermost layer, the layer having color space defined by CIELAB with lightness L* of 79 or more, including oxygen and carbon, and including iron in amount up to 1 atom-%,        (ii) providing an aqueous, acidic passivation solution, the solution including trivalent chromium ions, phosphate ions, one or more than one organic acid anion,        (iii) contacting the substrate with the passivation solution and passing electrical current between the substrate as cathode and an anode in the passivation solution wherein a passivation layer is deposited onto the outermost layer,        wherein in step (i) the outermost layer is electrolytically deposited from aqueous, acidic deposition composition, the composition including trivalent chromium ions, at least one organic acid comprising an isothiureido moiety and/or salts thereof, and chloride ions in amount of 0 wt-% to 0.1 wt-%.

Electrolytically deposited nickel and chromium layers on a metal substrate or plastic substrate are well known for decorative and functional purposes. It is also known that such substrates exhibit good and acceptable corrosion resistance, in particular if the outermost layer is obtained from hexavalent chromium.
However, hexavalent chromium, for example in chromic acid, is very toxic, carcinogen and an environmental hazard. In particular, waste water processing is very costly and requires a lot of effort. Therefore, it is desired to minimize the utilization of hexavalent chromium. As a result, outermost chromium layers obtained from hexavalent chromium, which typically exhibit a very good corrosion resistance and are manufactured by well-established procedures, are more and more replaced by outermost chromium layers obtained from trivalent chromium. Since then, there are ongoing efforts to optimize such chromium layers in order to arrive at properties being at least equivalent to chromium layers obtained from hexavalent chromium, for example in terms of corrosion resistance.
In order to optimize corrosion resistance of outermost chromium layers obtained from trivalent chromium, surface treatments such as immersion treatments and/or electrolytic passivation are typically applied.
US 2015/0252487 A1 relates to a method of imparting improved corrosion protection to chromium plated substrates, which have been plated with chromium from a Cr+3 plating bath, claiming a method of treating a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a plated layer comprising chromium deposited from a trivalent chromium electrolyte, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing an anode and the substrate as a cathode in an electrolyte comprising (i) a trivalent chromium salt; and (ii) a complexant;
(b) passing an electrical current between the anode and the cathode to deposit a passivate film on the substrate.
JP 2009-235456 A relates to (i) an electrolytic treatment solution for a chromium-plated film formed from a trivalent-chromium plating solution and (ii) a method for electrolytically treating a chromium-plated film formed from trivalent-chromium plating solution wherein the solution comprises a water-soluble trivalent chromium compound, for example chromium sulfate, basic chromium sulfate, chromium nitrate, chromium acetate, chromium chloride, and chromium phosphate. It discloses further that an article is electrolytically treated as a cathode.
JP 2010-209456 A relates to an immersion treatment solution for preventing rusting of a chromium-plated film, and to a method for performing a treatment to prevent rusting of a chromium-plated film (rust-preventing treatment method) in which the treatment solution is used wherein the method can be applied to a hexavalent chromium-plated film or a trivalent chromium-plated film.
WO 2008/151829 A1 relates to a method for creating an anticorrosive coating layer, wherein a surface to be treated is brought into contact with an aqueous treatment solution comprising chromium(III) ions and at least one phosphate compound, wherein the ratio of the concentration of the substance amount of chromium(III) ions to the concentration of the at least one phosphate compound (calculated in relation to orthophosphate) lies between 1:1.5 and 1:3. The method improves anticorrosive protection of metal surfaces, particularly metal surfaces containing zinc, provided with conversion layers. The chromium(III) ions are either provided by inorganic chromium(III) salts or by means of reducing suitable hexavalent chromium compounds.
WO 2011/147447 A1 relates to a process for producing essentially chromium(VI)-free corrosion protection layers on surfaces of zinc, aluminium or magnesium and also alloys of these metals. The surface to be treated is brought into contact in direct succession with two aqueous treatment solutions containing chromium(III) ions, metal ions of the substrate surface to be treated and at least one complexing agent. The first treatment solution has a pH in the range from 1.0 to 4.0, while the second treatment solution has a pH of from 3.0 to 12.0. Claim 12 discloses that the passivating treatment in step 1 is aided by connecting the substrate as cathode in the passivation solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,448 A relates to a soluble composition of matter and process for electrolytically depositing a chromium oxide coating on a metal substrate from a bath containing a trivalent chromium compound.
Metal corrosion is usually caused by various corrosive conditions and/or compounds. Typically, a substrate comprising an outermost chromium alloy layer responds differently to these various corrosive conditions and compounds. In many cases, a substrate and its outermost chromium alloy layer is not sufficiently protected against all sorts of corrosion.
For example, a well-known and aggressive type of environmental corrosion is caused by acid rain. Substrates comprising an outermost chromium alloy layer obtained from trivalent chromium and being naturally exposed to the environment, in particular articles utilized in automobiles, are typically susceptible to this particular type of corrosion. In a number of cases such outermost layers serve decorative purposes. Defects caused by corrosion quickly deteriorate the optical impression, and, thus, must be avoided to the best extent possible. However, in many cases this type of corrosion is not sufficiently suppressed. Furthermore, requirements in corrosion resistance are continually increasing in order to obtain long life times of respective goods. Thus, there is an ongoing demand to improve corrosion resistance; in the present case to increase corrosion resistance of outermost chromium alloy layers obtained from trivalent chromium against acid rain caused corrosion.

Method for increasing corrosion resistance of a substrate comprising an outermost chromium alloy layer


A detecting method and a detecting apparatus for detection of a gate line disconnection. The gate line disconnection detecting method includes step 1: providing a first unit (41) at least capable of receiving signals at one end of a gate line to be detected (2), and providing a second unit (42) at least capable of transmitting signals at the other end of it; step 2: providing a first signal receiving unit (51) for receiving signals on a gate line other than the gate line to be detected (2). With respect to the gate line disconnection detecting method, whether disconnection occurs or not is judged depending on the signal strength received by the first signal receiving unit (51), and thus, the case that in a gate line disconnection detection of a bilateral drive type display device, whether a gate line is disconnected or not can be accurately detected, is realized. By it, technical supports are provided for getting rid of bad products timely, and a goal of promoting the yield of products is achieved.

As compared with traditional cathode ray tube display devices, flat panel display devices have the merits of being light and thin, low driving voltage, flicker-free, no dithering, long service life, and so on; and flat panel display devices are classified into active light-emitting display devices and passive light-emitting display devices. For example, Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Displays (TFT-LCDs) are a kind of passive light-emitting display devices. As they have the merits of stable picture, lifelike images, irradiation eliminating, space saving, energy consumption saving and so on, they have been widely applied to televisions, cell phones, display devices and other electronic products, and have played a leading role in the field of planar display.
A liquid crystal display device mainly includes a liquid crystal display panel and driving devices for driving the liquid crystal display panel; and the liquid crystal display panel mainly includes a first substrate and a second substrate that are disposed oppositely. In general, the first substrate and the second substrate are an array substrate and a color filter substrate, respectively, and the array substrate includes a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines that are arranged in a crisscross pattern. Pixel units are defined by the data lines and the gate lines one after another. The driving devices include a gate driving circuit for outputting a scan signal to a gate line and a source driving circuit for outputting a data signal to a data line.
In order to reduce the total size and manufacturing cost of a liquid crystal display device, a GOA (Gate Driver on Array) technology and a bilateral drive display technology get more and more attention. The GOA technology refers to such a process technology that a gate driving circuit is produced on an array substrate directly to replace a driving chip made by an externally bonded silicon slice; with the application of GOA technology, it is possible that procedures of the production process are decreased, the process cost of products is reduced, and integration level of the liquid crystal display panel is enhanced. The bilateral drive display refers to the case where all of pixel units in two adjacent columns share one data line, so that the number of data lines is decreased; pixel units in the same row are connected to two gate lines adjacent to each other, respectively, and gate driving circuits for supplying two scan signals that differ from each other to two gate lines are provided on two sides of an array substrate.
In the producing process of an array substrate, it is necessary for it to undergo many detecting processes, and gate-line disconnection detection is one of them. As illustrated in FIG. 1, when a bilateral display device is subjected to gate-line disconnection detection, in view of the fact that a short-circuited structure is contained on each of two sides of an array substrate, that is, both ends of each gate line 2 are connected to a first detection line 11 and a second detection line 12 on two sides of the array substrate, respectively, so as to form the short-circuited structure, gate disconnection cannot be detected by a gate-line disconnection detecting method in prior art. As specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, the gate-line disconnection detecting method in prior art is that, corresponding ones of signal transmitting/receiving units are provided at two ends of a gate line to be detected, respectively, and each of the signal transmitting/receiving units not only can transmit test signals, but also can receive test signals. In the disconnection detecting process of a gate line to be detected, supposing that one signal transmitting/receiving unit transmits a test signal (e.g., a first signal transmitting/receiving unit 41 in the figure transmits a test signal), even though the gate line to be detected is broken off, owing to existence of the above short-circuited structure, the test signal will be transferred to a second signal transmitting/receiving unit 42 through a gate line adjacent to the gate line to be detected, leading to incapability of detecting disconnection of the gate line.

Method for detecting disconnection of gate line and detection apparatus

BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A capacitive sensor includes a rotor and a stator. The rotor includes at least one rotor sector, and the stator plate includes a plurality of stator sector plates. A dielectric is located between the stator and the rotor. The rotor sector plate, the plurality of stator sector plates and the dielectric form a plurality of capacitors when the rotor plate is in a plurality of positions. The plurality of stator sector plates are coupled to an external multiple voltage source which applies multi-phase voltage signals to each of the stator sector plates in which each multi-phase voltage has a different phase. The multi-phase voltage signal is coupled from the rotor to the stator through the formed capacitors so that the coupled signal through the capacitors is indicative of the angular position of the rotor. A second sensor comprises a movable plate assembly and a non-movable plate assembly that form a plurality of capacitors when the movable plate assembly is in a plurality of positions. Such capacitors couple primary information between the non-movable plate assembly and the movable plate assembly. The primary information may be indicative of the linear displacement between the movable and the non-movable plate assemblies.

Control of electrical drives requires determining the position and speed of a rotor. There are several ways to determine such parameters. First, the position of the rotor may be determined by an array of phototransistors and a special shutter coupled to the rotor shaft, or by using Hall-effect sensors. Such systems are described in T. Kenjo, Electrical Motors and Their Controls, Oxford University Press, (1994), 176 pp. Second, the speed signal may be obtained by using a small permanent magnet tachometer generator, attached to the drive, or by using magnetic or optical sensors generating pulses for each angular increment of the rotor. Such systems are described in W. Leonhard, Control of Electrical Drives, 2.sup.nd ed., Springer (1966), 420 pp. Third, a resolver may determine the position of the rotor by a two-phase (sine/cosine) signal at a carrier frequency modulated sinusoidally by the rotation of the rotor. Such a system is described in J. R. Hendershot, Jr. and T. Miller, Design of Brushless Permanent-Magnet Motors, Magna Physics Publishing (1994), p. 1-19. These methods require precise mechanical placement of sensors or mechanical contact between moving parts.
It would be advantageous to form and deliver signals to or from the rotating parts of mechanical or electromechanical devices without either mechanical or galvanic contact and complex sensor supporting systems.
Transferring both the amplitude and the phase of a signal is problematic in an inductive coupling system, because the phase is the primary source of information about angular position of rotor. In existing systems, this phase is obtained by the winding on the rotor placed in the rotating electromagnetic field, formed by the stator windings which are excited by a multiphase voltage. Inductive coupling provides the primary information (phase shift proportional to the angular position of the rotor). However, systems using inductive coupling typically have windings that are difficult to implement by current methods of microelectronics. It is desirable to receive primary information in the form of a phase shift or a linear displacement in a simpler but more "technological" way.

Capacitive sensor for indicating position