A golf bag alarm that is removably attached to a golf bag. The alarm provides an audible signal when a club is removed from the bag, or the bag is removed from its resting place. Interconnecting straps run between the clubs and a pin on the alarm. When the pin is removed from the alarm, the alarm sounds an ear piercing signal. The interconnecting straps are fixed to a predetermined length that causes the pin to dislodge from the alarm, activating the alarm if any one of the clubs or the bag is moved any distance beyond the predetermined length of the interconnecting straps, thereby drawing attention to the attempted theft.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to anti-theft alarms. More particularly, the present invention relates to an alarm system for a golf bag triggered by an attempt to remove a golf club from the golf bag.
2. Description of Prior Art
The golf club securing devices of the prior art can be categorized into two areas; securing devices and indicating devices. Golf bag and club securing devices secure the individual clubs to the bag, or the bag to a stationary object. The indicating devices utilize an audible alarm or visual alarm to either deter theft or remind a golfer that a club has not been replaced in the bag.
Regarding the first area, securing devices, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,863,019 to lewis et al. and 4,538,728 to Lewis each disclose a device for securing golf clubs within the golf bag. Both of these prior art references disclose a member that is attached to the open top of the golf bag that secures the clubs, preventing their removal from the bag. These devices do not include any provision for securing the bag to a stationary object. A thief can easily remove the entire bag, and use a bolt cutter, or similar device, to remove the securing device and access the clubs. Neither of these references utilizes an audible alarm.
Also categorized as a securing device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,043 to McCue et al. that discloses a clip member anchored to the golf bag. The anchoring structure has a lock assembly that has a strong cable wire for securing the bag to a stationary object. The golf bag and club securing device disclosed in McCue et al. further includes a cover comprising a flexible hood which extends over the open top of the golf bag. The hood has a chain enclosed in its hem. The chain engages with the lock assembly of the anchoring structure. The clubs are secured within the golf bag, and the golf bag is secured to a stationary object. However, no audible alarm is included in the system.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,772 to Schuhlen et al. discloses a locking device that has a plurality of elongated shackles that lockingly receive the club shafts. Schuhlen et al. further disclose a cable that can be used to secure the locking device and golf bag to a stationary object. No audible alarm is included as a part of this system.
In each of the prior art references cited thus far, the devices fail to draw any attention to the bag giving the thief ample opportunity to conduct his business. The thief will have time to cut cables or pick a lock without any attention being drawn to his activities.
Referring now to the second area of prior art devices, the indicating devices, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,041,815 to Newton and 5,493,274 to Long each disclose an audible alarm used in conjunction with a golf bag in order to deter theft of the bag or clubs therein. Newton discloses a switch housed in the bottom of the golf bag that will sense either weight or movement of the bag. In the weight sensitive embodiment, removing a single club from the bag will cause the alarm to sound. In the movement embodiment, the alarm is actuated when the bag is moved from its original resting position. The alarm works in the weight sensitive embodiment or the movement embodiment in the alternative depending on how it is set to operate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,274 to Long discloses an alarm that is camouflaged as a golf club. The upper end of the alarm assembly resembles a club head. The siren is hidden in the false club head. A motion sensor and CPU are located further down the shaft of the false club and are hidden in the bag. The CPU will sound an audible alarm when the sensor detects movement of the bag. However, the alarm assembly takes up valuable bag space, eliminating room for playable clubs.
Other indication type golf bag alarm systems are directed to reminding a golfer to replace a club within his bag. These devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,028,909 to Miller, 4,042,918 to Klitzman, 5,565,845 to Hara, and 5,194,856 to Zijlstra. In particular, each of these devices senses and monitors individual clubs, providing a signal, either audible or visual, when a club is missing. Each of these devices is designed to be used during play to remind a golfer when he has forgotten to replace a club.
The devices mentioned above, other than the false club, are an integral part of the golf bag itself. The complex switches, sensors and processing units must be mounted within the golf bag to detect the presence or absence of a club and notify the golfer. Many golfers use more than one bag, i.e. one for carrying, and one for riding, depending on whether or not they are walking a course. In the references discussed above, the alarm is bag specific and not readily movable from one bag to another.
What is needed is an audible alarm system that will draw attention to the bag, and thereby draw attention to a thief who is attempting to remove a club from a bag, without the need for complicated switches and central processing units. The device must be simple enough to transfer from one bag to another so a golfer does not have to invest in expensive golf bag technology to attain the advantage of security for their golf clubs without taking up valuable space in the bag for playable clubs.


A device which attaches to the non-vibrating part of specific string(s) of suitable stringed musical instruments and which enables the musician to repeatably apply alternative predetermined tension states to the string(s), so as to selectively apply a known increment in pitch without the continual need for discerning re-tuning processes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a means of easily applying alternative pre-determined tension states upon the strings of various types of fretted or unfretted stringed musical instruments such as electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, lap-steel guitars, banjos and many others.
Stringed musical instruments, such as guitars, employ a plurality of strings which are anchored and tensioned so as to produce, when plucked, a corresponding series of open notes for which customary tunings have evolved. Such tunings are known to musicians and largely determine the fingering patterns for those strings so as to produce the desired combinations or progressions of notes.
Musicians may occasionally choose to alter the relative tuning of the strings for the purpose of expanding their musical capability. Conventionally, such alterations of pitch would involve readjusting the tension, and thus pitch, of the specific string(s) either by ear, or with the assistance of a tuning fork or electronic tuner. In order to avoid this critical readjustment process, various means of applying alternative pre-determined tension states upon the strings have been developed and are known in the prior art.
2. Description of the Related Art
Despite offering the benefits of applying alternative pre-determined tension states, the various devices known in the prior art all require installation of specialist equipment upon a given instrument so as to provide this function. For the purposes of this document, the word 'installation' is taken to mean an attachment process which, at the very least, requires a string to be de-tensioned and released from the instrument but may also mean the requirement for the use of a tool and may further mean the requirement for some modification to the host instrument, such as the drilling of a hole for example. Installation is thus undesirable because: it may be time-consuming and inflexible; it may require the use of specialist tools or skill, and; it may impair the host instrument in such a way that it can not be returned to it's original condition.
Similarly, the devices known in the prior art may only be suitable for certain types or models of instrument, may be limited in use to designated strings, may be rather obtrusive when fitted or, may introduce tuning instability in service.
Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide a means of repeatably applying alternative pre-determined tension states upon the strings of suitable musical instruments: which requires no installation upon the host instrument; which may be readily fitted and removed as preferred; which may be used on virtually any type or model of instrument; which may be used on any string, or multiples of strings, and; which would be unobtrusive when in use.

Alternative tuning device for stringed musical instruments


A method for eliminating noises collected by an electronic device when voice recordings are being taken detects whether the electronic device is in a voice recording mode. A first acquiring device is controlled to acquire the speaking voices of at least one user, when determining that the electronic device is in the voice recording mode. A determination is made as to whether the speaking voices of at least one user acquired by the first acquiring device include noises produced by the vibration device, and eliminating noises produced by the vibration device, when the speaking voices of at least one user acquired by the first acquiring device include the noises produced by the vibration device.

Instant interaction technology allows users more interested in voice calls in instant messaging than in making telephone calls to use software such as WECHAT. When using instant messaging software for the voice calls, noise made by poor hardware quality of electronic devices can lower audio quality. For example, the noise produced by vibration of the electronic device itself can be recorded, and the voice quality is thus affected.

Electronic device and method for eliminating noises from recordings

HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS (ZHENGZHOU) CO., LTD.


A method of resolving mutex contention within a network interface unit which includes providing a plurality of memory access channels, and moving a thread via at least one of the plurality of memory access channels, the plurality of memory access channels allowing moving of the thread while avoiding mutex contention when moving the thread via the at least one of the plurality of memory access channels is disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to networking and more particularly to resolving mutex contention in a network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known networked computer systems, the network interface functionality is treated and supported as an undifferentiated instance of a general purpose Input Output 15 (I/O) interface. This treatment is because computer systems are optimized for computational functions, and thus networking specific optimizations might not apply to generic I/O scenarios. A generic I/O treatment results in no special provisions being made to favor network workload idiosyncrasies. Known networked computer systems include platform servers, server based appliances and desktop computer systems.
Known specialized networking systems, such as switches, routers, remote access network interface units and perimeter security network interface units include internal architectures to support their respective fixed function metrics. In the known architectures, low level packet processing is segregated to separate hardware entities residing outside the general purpose processing system components.
The system design tradeoffs associated with networked computer systems, just like many other disciplines, include balancing functional efficiency against generality and modularity. Generality refers to the ability of a system to perform a large number of functional variants, possibly through deployment of different software components into the system or by exposing the system to different external workloads. Modularity refers to the ability to use the system as a subsystem within a wide array of configurations by selectively replacing the type and number of subsystems interfaced.
It is desirable to develop networked systems that can provide high functional efficiencies while retaining the attributes of generality and modularity. Networked systems are generally judged by a number of efficiencies relating to network throughput (i.e., the aggregate network data movement ability for a given traffic profile), network latency (i.e., the system contribution to network message latency), packet rate (i.e., the system's upper limit on the number of packets processed per time unit), session rate (i.e., the system's upper limit on creation and removal of network connections or sessions), and networking processing overhead (i.e., the processing cost associated with a given network workload). Different uses of networked systems are more or less sensitive to each of these efficiency aspects. For example, bulk data movement workloads such as disk backup, media streaming and file transfers tend to be sensitive to network throughput, transactional uses, such as web servers, tend to also be sensitive to session rates, and distributed application workloads, such as clustering, tend to be sensitive to latency.
Scalability is the ability of a system to increase its performance in proportion to the amount of resources provided to the system, within a certain range. Scalability is another important attribute of networked systems. Scalability underlies many of the limitations of known I/O architectures. On one hand, there is the desirability of being able to augment the capabilities of an existing system over time by adding additional computational resources so that systems always have reasonable room to grow. In this context, it is desirable to architect a system whose network efficiencies improve as processors are added to the system. On the other hand, scalability is also important to improve system performance over time, as subsequent generations of systems deliver more processing resources per unit of cost or unit of size.
The networking function, like other I/O functions, resides outside the memory coherency domain of multiprocessor systems. Networking data and control structures are memory based and access memory through host bridges using direct memory access (DMA) semantics. The basic unit of network protocol processing in known networks is a packet. Packets have well defined representations when traversing a wire or network interface, but can have arbitrary representations when they are stored in system memory. Network interfaces, in their simplest forms, are essentially queuing mechanisms between the memory representation and the wire representation of packets.
There are a plurality of limitations that affect network efficiencies. For example, the number of queues between a network interface and its system is constrained by a need to preserve packet arrival ordering. Also for example, the number of processors servicing a network interface is constrained by the processors having to coordinate service of shared queues, when using multiple processors; it is difficult to achieve a desired affinity between stateful sessions and processors over time. Also for example, a packet arrival notification is asynchronous (e.g., interrupt driven) and is associated with one processor per network interface. Also for example, the I/O path includes at least one host bridge and generally one or more fanout switches or bridges, thus degrading DMA to longer latency and lower bandwidth than processor memory accesses. Also for example, multiple packet memory representations are simultaneously used at different levels of a packet processing sequence with consequent overhead of transforming representations. Also for example, asynchronous interrupt notifications incur a processing penalty of taking an interrupt. The processing penalty can be disproportionately large considering a worst case interrupt rate.
One challenge in network systems relates to scaling network workload, i.e., to parallelizing network workload. Parallelization via packet load balancing is typically performed outside of the computing resources and is based on information embedded inside the packet. Thus the decision may be stateful (i.e., the prior history of similar packets affects the parallelization decision of which computing node to use for a particular packet), or the decision may be stateless (i.e., the destination of the packet is chosen based on the information in the packet but unaffected by prior packets).
An issue relating to parallelization is that loose coupling of load balancing elements limits the degree of collaboration between computer systems and the parallelizing entity.
There are a plurality of technical issues that are not present in a traditional load balancing system (i.e., a single threaded load balancing system). For example, in a large simultaneous multiprocessing (SMP) system with multiple partitions, it is not sufficient to identify the partition to process a packet, since the processing can be performed by one of many threads within a partition. Also, the intra partition communication overhead between threads is significantly lower than inter partition communication, which is still lower than node to node communication overhead. Also, resource management can be more direct and simpler than with traditional load balancing systems. Also, a SMP system may have more than one networking interface.

Method for resolving mutex contention in a network system


A dynamic inventory tracking and transfer system is provided that, when in operation, keeps track of inventory by tracking vehicle positions and inventory transfers. A transceiver on a vehicle detects and transmits a signal to the tracking system whenever a vehicle latches onto inventory and/or releases (i.e., unlatches) inventory. Whenever latch and unlatch signals are detected close in proximity to one another, the system concludes an inventory transfer has been made between the two vehicles. The inventory monitoring takes place in real time, thereby allowing inventory to be tracked from the time it is removed from a ship/train to the time it leaves a sea port, rail terminal or industrial yard.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the tracking of inventory items including, but not limited to, shipping containers (such as those used in rail and marine terminals), steel coils, steel slabs, concrete slabs, and other such items used in industrial applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to the tracking of inventory in a rail or ship yard using navigation systems and computer software.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
The tracking of inventory while in transit is critical to many industries, businesses, and organizations. A single freight container may have over a million dollars worth of goods stored therein. If inventory is misplaced, lost, or delivered to the wrong location, it can result in significant lost value and cost expenditure for the shipper. With such significant economic exposure at risk, the tracking of inventory is considered a vital part of the railroad and shipping industry.
Numerous attempts have been made at tracking inventory within a railroad, shipping terminal, or industrial yard. Some of these attempts have used RFID tags, and barcodes. However, these systems may be prone to error if, for instance, dirt or grime obscures the scannable information. Additionally, these systems require RFID tags, and barcode information to be added to each piece of inventory or inventory container. Further, these tracking systems typically do not contemplate tracking the transfer of inventory between vehicles.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,055,554 and 7,344,037 ("the Zakula '554 and '037 patents") disclose a system that tracks a container's location while the container is traveling on a vehicle and when it is put into a storage location. The system disclosed in the Zakula '554 and '037 patents uses GPS, encoders, and latching signal data in conjunction with database information and computer logic to accomplish the task of tracking containers. The system disclosed in the Zakula '554 and '037 patents does not, however, contemplate determining and tracking the transfer of a container from one vehicle to another. There also does not appear to be any disclosure in either of the patents of the use of an inertial navigation system in conjunction with the tracking of the containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,916,026 (Johnson) discloses a system that tracks containers and vehicles within a terminal. The system uses specially designed "tags" to accomplish its tracking. The system may also be integrated with GPS. However, the system requires that the tags and/or GPS be mounted on a container in order to track the container.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2011/0052001 (Tan et al.) discloses a method for automatically detecting and handling errors in an inventory tracking system. The inventory tracking system uses ID Readers implemented through RFID, bar codes, and/or OCR to detect and ID containers and vehicles. Alternatively, identification data associated with an individual container may be provided by a terminal operating system. However, the Tan et al. publication focuses on error detection, and does not disclose the tracking of container transfers between vehicles. Additionally, while the equipment used in its inventory tracking system is disclosed, the Tan et al. publication does not disclose how its inventory tracking system is implemented.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2011/0017693 (Thomas et al.) discloses a system for tracking and locating shipping containers on a rail car in order to enable a gantry crane to locate a particular container more quickly. However, the system requires the use of cameras. Further, the Thomas publication does not contemplate tracking container handling vehicles or tracking container transfers between vehicles.

Dynamic inventory tracking and transfer system


The present invention relates to a cutting tool insert of a generally polygonal shape provided with a ceramic tip in a recess in at least one of its corners with a bottom surface and at least one side surface. At least the bottom surface of the recess is provided with rails with a height h being from about 50 to about 100 μm, width w being from about 100 to about 200 μm and spaced at distance 1 from about 0.75 to about 1.25 mm. The invention also relates to a method of making such an insert using a grinding wheel of a suitable profile before or after sintering or in the pressing operation.

The present invention relates to a cutting tool insert comprising a substrate and at least one ceramic sintered body preferably of polycrystalline diamond, PCD, or cubic boron nitride, cBN, bonded to the substrate with high strength and rigidity, and a method of manufacturing the same.
Cutting tool inserts for metal cutting purposes with edges of cBN, or a cBN-based material (hereinafter only referred to as "cBN"), or PCD are generally of polygonal shape provided with a PCD or cBN tip in a recess in at least one of its corners. The tips generally are of two different types. In the first type the whole tip is of cBN or PCD or a mixture of these. In the second type the tip is of cBN and/or PCD sintered onto a cemented carbide support. These tips are then brazed onto a regular cemented carbide insert and ground to the finished size. The tips are generally triangular but also more complicated shapes are known such as disclosed in WO 2004/105983. However, because of the high hardness of the PCD or cBN-materials the grinding operation should be restricted to a minimum. In addition, the geometry of the insert can make it very difficult to access some surfaces of the tip with a grinding wheel.

Metal cutting inserts with abrasive bodies


A device and method for use in taking a sample from an item of medical equipment for the purpose of microbiological testing. The device includes attachment mechanism for attaching about a region of the item of medical equipment in an air-tight manner; and collection mechanism for collecting fluid which emanates from the item of medical equipment.

An endoscope is an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. They are most typically used to make inspections of the gastrointestinal tract, or the respiratory tract.
Following each use on a patient, the endoscope must be cleaned and reprocessed to achieve the recommended standard of sterilization or high level disinfection to reduce the risk of cross-infection of subsequent patients. Following reprocessing the scopes are to be stored in a manner applicable to the standard of sterilization or high level disinfection, the endoscope is wrapped in a protective wrapper or stored in a suitable scope cabinet ready for the next use.
In order to ensure that endoscopes are being properly sterilized, a microbiological surveillance regimen is typically adhered to. This involves routine testing of endoscopes at fixed time intervals, such as every 4 to 12 weeks. The endoscopes are tested by obtaining a sample from the endoscope channels, the sample is then cultured and analyzed for the presence of bacteria.
The sample is usually obtained using sterile water, a sterile container, and an endoscope brush in the following manner:                Sterile water is flushed into each of the channels to be brushed, and any water which emerges from the distal tip is collected.        The brush is inserted into the biopsy channel of the endoscope, withdrawn and swirled in the water in the sterile container        Remaining brushable channels such as the suction channel of the endoscope are brushed and brush swirled in collection device again.        Using a sterile syringe, sterile water is flushed under positive pressure through each of the channels in turn. Flushing is performed from the connection points in the light guide plug and flow to the distal tip. Fluid is flushed until it emerges from the tip.        Air is then syringed through to empty the remaining fluid from each of the channels. The total rinse fluid is collected in the sterile container.        The container is sealed, labeled, and sent for testing.
Throughout the sampling procedure, attention must be paid to preventing the tip of the endoscope from touching the container so as to avoid contamination. Furthermore, the body of the endoscope must be kept in a raised position with respect to its distal end to ensure that fluid flows in the intended direction, towards and out of the distal end. This means that the sampling procedure must be carried out by a team of two people. One person stands at a raised position, such as by standing on a chair, and introduces the sterile water. The second person holds the distal end of the endoscope at the mouth of the sterile container to collect water emanating from the tip of the endoscope.
Furthermore, the mouth of the sterile container is open to the air during the sampling procedure, which gives rise to a risk of false positive test results, which in turn necessitate a repeated and unnecessary test of the same endoscope.
Similar issues are experienced in sampling procedures carried out other types of medical equipment, such as dialysis machines.
There remains a need for improvements in procedures for obtaining samples from medical equipment.

Device and method of taking samples from medical equipment for the purpose of microbiological testing


A fuel cell stack includes a stacked body, a negative and positive terminal plates stacked on opposite ends of the stacked body, insulators disposed outside the terminal plates, and the end plates disposed outside the end plates. The insulator includes a first insulator plate, a second insulator plate, and a third insulator plate. Bypass passages are formed on the first insulator plate and the third insulator plate for discharging water in an oxygen-containing gas and water in a fuel gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell stack formed by stacking electrolyte electrode assemblies and separators alternately. Each of the electrolyte electrode assemblies includes a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte interposed between the electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various types of fuel cells such as a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell have been developed. The solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell employs a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) which comprises two electrodes (anode and cathode) and an electrolyte membrane interposed between the electrodes. The electrolyte membrane is a polymer ion exchange membrane (proton exchange membrane). Each of the electrodes comprises a catalyst and a porous carbon paper. The membrane electrode assembly is interposed between separators (bipolar plates). The membrane electrode assembly and the separators make up a unit of the fuel cell (unit cell) for generating electricity. A predetermined number of unit cells are connected together to form a fuel cell stack.
In the fuel cell stack, a fuel gas such as a hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the anode. The catalyst of the anode induces a chemical reaction of the fuel gas to split the hydrogen molecule into hydrogen ions (protons) and electrons. The hydrogen ions move toward the cathode through the electrolyte, and the electrons flow through an external circuit to the cathode, creating a DC electric current. An oxygen-containing gas or air is supplied to the cathode. At the cathode, the hydrogen ions from the anode combine with the electrons and oxygen to produce water.
Typically, the fuel cell stack has reactant gas supply passages for supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the fuel gas (reactant gases) to the anode and the cathode, and reactant gas discharge passages for discharging the oxygen-containing gas and the fuel gas from the anode and the cathode. The reactant gas supply passages include an oxygen-containing gas supply passage and a fuel gas supply passage extending in a stacking direction of the fuel cell stack. The reactant gas discharge passages include an oxygen-containing gas discharge passage and a fuel gas discharge passage extending in the stacking direction.
The water produced in the electrochemical reaction on the power generation surfaces of the electrodes flows into the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage, and the water may be trapped or retained in the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. Further, water vapor condensed into liquid water may be trapped in the fuel gas discharge passage. Therefore, the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage and the fuel gas discharge passage are likely to be narrowed or closed by the trapped water undesirably. Thus, power generation performance of the fuel cells may be degraded due to the insufficient flows of the oxygen-containing gas and the fuel gas.
In an attempt to address the problem, a fuel cell stack is disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. 2001-236975. In the fuel cell stack, an oxygen-containing gas supply passage connected to a supply port and an oxygen-containing gas discharge passage connected to a discharge port extends in the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack. A bypass plate is provided at a position remote from the discharge port of the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. A bypass passage formed on the bypass plate has an inlet port connected to the oxygen-containing gas supply passage at one end, and has an outlet port connected to the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage at the other end.
In the fuel cell stack, some of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the oxygen-containing gas supply passage flows into the inlet port of the bypass passage, flows out of the outlet port of the bypass passage, and jetted into the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. The water which is produced in the electrochemical reactions is likely to be trapped in the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage at locations remote from the discharge port. The oxygen-containing gas jetted from the bypass passage pushes the trapped water out of the discharge port of the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. Thus, the water (condensed water) is discharged from the fuel cell stack smoothly, and the desirable power generation performance of the fuel cell stack is maintained.
When the operation of the fuel cell stack is started, or when the operation of the fuel cell stack is restarted after a temporal interruption, condensed water may be present in the pipes for supplying the reactant gases (oxygen-containing gas and/or fuel gas) to the fuel cell stack.
In particular, the amount of condensed water present in the pipe for supplying the oxygen-containing gas to the fuel cell stack tends to be large, and the condensed water may flow into the fuel cell stack undesirably. If droplets of the condensed water cover power generation surfaces of unit cells near the supply ports of the reactant gases, the power generation performance of the unit cells may be degraded undesirably.
In the fuel cell stack, the unit cells are electrically connected in series. Therefore, the respective unit cells generate the same amount of electricity. If voltage drop occurs in some unit cells, the system is operated to limit the amount of electricity collected from the fuel cell stack for protecting the unit cells. If the voltage drop continues in the unit cells, a reverse current may be generated due to a large current beyond the outputting capability of the unit cells.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Embodiments of the invention provide for executing a batch process on a repository of information. According to one embodiment, executing a batch process can comprise presenting one or more aspects of records of the repository and receiving a selection of a criteria for at least one aspect of the records. Records matching the selected criteria can be identified and a summary of the information can be presented. The batch process can comprise one of a plurality of batch processes. In such a case, a selection of the batch process can be received and parameters of the batch process can be populated with the selected criteria. The batch process can then be executed with the parameters. For example, executing the batch process can comprise generating a report based on the parameters and the records of the repository.

The present invention relates generally to processing information in a data repository, and more specifically to executing a batch process on a database or other repository of information based on an analysis of the information in the repository.
A large repository of information can be acted upon or processed in different ways. For example, batch processes can be executed on or using the information of the repository to generate reports or perform other processes. However, as the size of the repository increases, i.e., the amount of information acted upon by the batch process increases, the time and overhead required to perform the process increases. For a very large repository, the time required for the process may be many hours. Furthermore, many such processes require selection or designation of one or more parameters used by the process. The parameters can designate, for example, ranges or types of information to be processed, processes to be performed, etc. If the wrong process is executed or executed with the wrong parameters, the time and overhead required to perform the process may result in a report or other result that is not what is desired or expected and may not be useful to the party executing the process. Thus the time and overhead required to perform the process are essentially wasted.
Currently, to avoid such wasted efforts, a party executing the process can rely on expert knowledge of the information in the repository. For example, an administrator or operator executing the process can have a detailed level of knowledge of the information and/or the population, processes, etc. that the information represents. Thus, the administrator or operator can designate parameters based on this knowledge to obtain the results desired. However, such a level of knowledge is not always available and is subject to being lost if the expert employee leaves. Another approach is to manually execute a series of queries against the repository to gain insight into the information therein prior to executing the process. However, such an approach requires that the queries be correctly targeted in order to provide results that are useful in selecting specific parameters. Thus, this approach still relies on some level of expert knowledge of the information and/or processes. Furthermore, since such an approach relies on manually specifying and executing the queries, it is not useful or efficient for performing a "what if," type of analysis. Additionally, this approach does not provide an overall view or summary of the contents of the repository. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for executing a batch process on a database or other repository of information.

Executing a batch process on a repository of information based on an analysis of the information in the repository


Disclosed herein is a multiband antenna for vehicles. The multiband antenna includes a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), at least one radiation unit, and a feeding unit. The PCB is formed within a radome that protects the antenna. The at least one radiation unit is formed on the PCB to be optimized as a Hilbert type meander line composed of a single pattern, and is configured to generate multiband resonant frequencies. The feeding unit is configured to apply signals to the radiation unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a multiband antenna for vehicles and, more particularly, to a multiband antenna for vehicles, in which at least one radiation unit is formed on a printed circuit board in optimized Hilbert type meander line form, two radiation units may be symmetrically formed on both sides of the printed circuit board, thereby implementing a high-gain antenna, and antenna characteristics for a fundamental resonant frequency band and antenna characteristics for the AM/FM, terrestrial DMB, PCS and Wibro bands are achieved using a single pattern and high-order harmonics, thereby enabling a user to receive multiband service via a single antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
With respect to the prior art integrated antenna, Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2005-0031949 discloses an integrated antenna to be mounted on a vehicle. The integrated antenna according to the Utility Model Application includes a board placed under a radome, a first antenna unit configured to include a radio broadcasting antenna and a terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) antenna that are integrated with each other, connected from the center portion of the board, and placed to be inclined backward, a second antenna unit configured to include a plurality of satellite DMB antennas placed on the board and a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna and a Personal Communication System (PCS) antenna placed between the satellite DMB antennas, and a radome configured to accommodate the board, the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit.
However, the prior art technology has a problem in that the Amplitude Modulation (AM)/Frequency Modulation (FM) antenna, the terrestrial DMB antenna, the satellite DMB antenna, the GPS antenna and the PCS antenna are combined with the radome for corresponding resonant frequency bands, so that the size of the external design thereof and the size of the radome thereof increase, and interference occurs between the respective antennas, thereby degrading the characteristics of the antenna.


A completely plastic LED tube light, may include plastic shell comprising wires embedded therein, wherein two or more projections having greater dimensions than that of the wires are formed on the wires, end caps located at two ends of the plastic shell, respectively, and LEDs positioned in a space enclosed by the plastic shell and the end caps. A method for manufacturing the completely plastic LED tube light is also disclosed.

There are two typical types of LED tube light in the market. The first type of LED tube light has a shell. Part of the shell is made of plastics forming a transparent portion for transmitting light to outside, and other parts of the shell is made of aluminum heat sink which is opposite to a mounting surface for mounting the LED tube light. The disadvantages of such LED tube light lies in its expensive manufacturing cost, limiting its wide application.
To reduce manufacturing cost, as the LED tube light develops, the second type of LED tube light emerges in the market, which uses a shell totally made of plastics instead of comprising a metal heat sink therein to reducing manufacturing cost. That is, it is a completely plastic LED tube light and it has become more and more popular. However, though it is not as expensive as the first type of the LED tube light, it has another undesirable defect. That is, as time goes, especially in cases when the light is on and a lot of heat is generated, the plastic shell will begin to deform. Such deformation may cause bad contact between some circuits in the tube light, and thus cause failure in the light. Moreover, because such deformation is irreversible, the amount of deformation becomes bigger and bigger as time goes by, which means users have to exchange it after a not long period of time, thus increasing the usage cost.
FIG. 1A is a side view showing the second type of completely plastic LED light 1 in the related art, in which the plastic shell 2 has not deformed, FIG. 1B is a side view showing the second type of completely plastic LED light 1 in the related art, in which the plastic shell 2 has deformed after being used for a period of time. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the tube light comprises a plastic tubular shell 2 and two end caps 3 at both ends of the plastic tubular shell 2.
The above defects of the completely plastic LED light in the related art result in that it cannot be a LED tube light of high quality and good performance. Currently, no completely plastic LED light which can prevent its plastic shell from deforming has been disclosed.

Completely plastic LED tube light and manufacturing method thereof


The apparatus is a light fixture with end reflectors inwardly adjacent to and at an acute angle to the shorter ends thereof. A U-shaped fluorescent bulb is inwardly adjacent to the end reflectors and at a similar acute angle to the shorter ends of the light fixture. Front reflectors rise at a gentle angle at points inwardly adjacent from the bulbs and meet at an apex therebetween. An upper reflector is inwardly adjacent from the top of the fixture.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a light fixture for a workspace wherein the light fixture is task-oriented and, by way of an angled U-shaped fluorescent bulb, achieves a desirable light distribution on the workspace.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, it is well-known that a task-oriented light fixture for a workspace requires a specialized light distribution pattern which is not found in typical ambient lighting. That is, a task-oriented light fixture for a workspace requires light to be concentrated within a particular space. This is usually accomplished, in part, by placing the light fixture close to the workspace in conjunction with high intensity bulbs and focusing lenses. However, such close proximity of the light fixture to the workspace can create harsh shadows and glare which can cause eye strain and fatigue in the worker.

Task-oriented light fixture for a workspace


The invention provides a solid polymer fuel cell separator that is molded or formed of a resin composition comprising a thermoplastic resin, a conductive carbon black having a bulk density of at least 0.3 g/ml and a DBP oil absorption of up to 150 ml/100 g and optionally a conductive filler having a volume resistivity of less than 1 Ω·cm. The invention also provides a solid polymer fuel cell separator production process involving injection molding of the resin composition.

In recent years, fuel cells have attracted attention as clean, convenient energy sources. A fuel cell is a device designed to obtain electric energy from hydrogen obtained by reforming of raw fuels such as natural gas, methanol and gasified coal gas, and oxygen in the air. In principle, the fuel cell works oppositely to the electrolysis of water; it receives hydrogen and oxygen to form water, yielding direct-current power.
A fuel cell has desirable properties; it has high generation efficiency, it can harness electricity and heat at the same time, it ensures satisfactory preservation of the environment due to reduced amounts of air pollutants and limited noises, and it can make the rate of energy recovery higher than could be achieved with internal combustion engines. Depending on the type of the electrolyte used, the fuel cell is typically broken down into a phosphoric acid type, a molten carbonate type, a solid oxide type, and a solid polymer type.
Among others, solid polymer fuel cells using ion exchange resin membranes as electrolytes, because of generating high output densities on low-temperature works of the order of 60 to 80° C., are now under development in the form of relatively small generators used in buildings or plants, small generators for residential use purposes, power sources for zero-emission vehicles, and any other dispersion type power sources.
As shown in FIG. 1, a solid polymer fuel cell incorporates an ion exchange resin membrane 1 comprising a solid polymer as a solid electrolyte that is a proton conductor, and has an overall solid structure wherein gas diffusion electrodes 2 and 3 are joined to both sides of the membrane 1. With hydrogen fed to the side of anode 3 and oxygen or air to the side of cathode 2, the hydrogen is oxidized on the side of anode 3 to generate protons and electrons. The protons migrate through the membrane 1 with water molecules to the opposite side of cathode 2 where they are used for reduction of oxygen together with electrons fed from an external circuit 4 (load 5) to create water.
Solid polymer fuel cells, now available, are of various types. In a common type, a membrane-electrode combination, as shown in FIG. 1, is closely laminated on both sides with conductive separators 6 and 7 having some functions of polar chamber separation and gas feed passage via sealing gaskets 8 and 9, as shown in FIG. 2. A solid polymer fuel cell is used in the form of a stack wherein a number of such single cell units are stacked together.
A separator is a basic component material for a module having, in addition to the function of polar chamber separation, a function of forming gas flow passages or manifolds, a cooling function and a function of distributing materials uniformly. More specifically, a solid polymer fuel cell separator is required to have functions of ensuring a flow passage for a reaction gas entering in the fuel cell, transmitting electric energy generated at the fuel cell unit to the outside, and dissipating heat generated at the fuel cell unit to the outside.
For separator materials, carbon plates having acid resistance as well as satisfactory electrical conductivity and gas impermeability are often used because the surfaces of the ion exchange membrane possess strong acidity, and are provided on the surfaces with gas flow passage-forming grooves. However, costly machining is needed for grooves by cutting or the like; a problem with the carbon plate separator is that the separator cost accounts of a substantial portion of the total cost of a solid polymer fuel cell. Thus, various approaches have been proposed for improvements in separators.
JP-A 5-109415 proposes that a pure copper plate with gas feed grooves or manifolds formed by etching therein is used as a gas separator for a fuel cell incorporating an ion exchange membrane. However, problems with the metal plate are that its weight is heavy, costs for forming flow passages are high, no sufficient output is obtainable because of increased contact resistance between electrodes and the separator, etc.
JP-A's 11-126622 and 11-126621 proposes a separator for a low-temperature type fuel cell wherein a plating layer comprising a metal or a metal alloy with carbonaceous particles dispersed therein is formed on the surface of a stainless steel substrate, and the carbonaceous particles are exposed on the surface of the plating layer. However, problems with this separator are again that its weight is heavy, costs for machining flow passages are high, and there is concern about long-term reliability due to possible peeling of the plating layer.
WO97/02612 proposes a separator for a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, which comprises a carbon composite material wherein expanded graphite powders having a specific particle diameter are dispersed through a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin or its fired product. However, the expanded graphite is poor in handleability, and so the cost of its mass production becomes unavoidably high. When the expanded graphite is extruded through a common extruder into a carbon composite material, it cannot be packed therein at a high density because it is prone to cleave, failing to ensure any sufficient electrical conductivity necessary for a solid polymer fuel cell separator. When a separator comprising a carbon composite material is produced by compression molding, productivity becomes worse with an increased cost, because grooves for feeding oxidizing agent gas and fuel gas have to be formed by machining.
JP-A 2000-243409 proposes a solid polymer fuel cell separator formed of a thermoset carbon-resin material comprising carbon powders and a thermosetting resin. However, the separator formed of the thermoset carbon-resin material costs much. Another problem is that when thinned for the purpose of weight reductions, its strength cannot meet the mechanical properties demanded for fuel cells.
A solid polymer fuel cell separator is required to have high electrical conductivity and low gas permeability as well as improved mechanical properties, heat resistance, chemical resistance and dimensional stability. In consideration of cost reductions, a separator production process for which costly machining such as cutting is not necessary is also desired. For this reason, it has been proposed to make use of composite materials comprising resins and conductive carbon substances, as already described, in anticipation of formation of grooves, manifolds, etc. by pressing, extrusion molding, etc. upon separator formation.
However, the resin/conductive carbon substance composite materials are prone to increase in electrical resistance although depending on resin components. It is thus desired to lower electrical resistance by decreasing the proportion of the resin component and form the separator in the form of a thin layer; however, this renders moldability or formability, fine machinability and mechanical strength low.

Separator for solid polymer fuel cells, and production process thereof


A method for positioning at least one catheter on a body in which a fluid is present includes performing a body-specific detection of anatomical structure and/or tissue structure. A position of the fluid in the body and/or the amount of fluid in the body are detected and at least one catheter is positioned such that at least a part of the fluid can be drained from the body. A method for simulating drainage of a fluid from an interstice of a body includes performing a body-specific detection of anatomical structure and/or tissue structure. A position of the fluid in the body and/or the amount of fluid in the body are detected and a location of at least one catheter on the body is set.

An excess amount of fluid in a person's head, such as in the interstitial space, due to an accident or a disease may lead to positive pressure and, therefore, to pressure on the brain. In order to avoid damage to the person's health, such positive pressure should be reduced as quickly as possible. To this end, a catheter can be positioned at a location in order to allow the fluid to drain off from the head. For such a drainage, a catheter can be attached at a position considered to be favorable and the interstitial fluid can be removed from the head through the catheter.
It has not been possible up to now to ensure that, as far as possible, all of the undesired fluid can be removed. Due to person-specific differences in body and tissue structures, catheters can easily be unintentionally positioned at less suitable locations, such that drainage can only be performed partially and another catheter may have to be positioned, making further operations necessary.
Introducing medicines into a body is known, for example, by infusion or injection, for example via a catheter. In the case of infusion, this can lead to a build up of positive pressure in the body, for example, due to a substance introduced into the interstice. The distribution of a substance introduced by infusion can depend on anatomical circumstances, the infusion pressure, the catheters used or on the nature of the introduced substance itself. Once the substance has been introduced, infusion can substantially no longer be influenced, except by changing the injection/infusion pressure.

Method and device for preparing a drainage


An ultrasound imaging method includes the step of transmitting two ultrasonic transmit pulses into a region. First components of the transmit pulses are inverted with respect to each other while second components of the transmit pulses are not. Received ultrasound pulses associated with the transmit pulses are summed to selectively cancel the harmonic or fundamental components. By properly selecting the inverted and noninverted portions of the transmit pulses, the transmit pulses may be made unipolar, or they may be pre-distorted to further reduce second harmonic energy associated with system or tissue non-linearities.

This invention relates to ultrasonic imaging methods such as diagnostic medical ultrasonic imaging methods, and in particular to improved transmit signal generators for such methods.
Hwang U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,819 and Chapman U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,277 disclose additive inverse techniques for selectively removing fundamental components of an ultrasonic image. In the disclosed methods, two or more ultrasonic pulses are transmitted into a subject along the same beam direction, including first and second pulses of opposite polarity. The echo signals associated with the first and second pulses are summed, thereby causing linear components to cancel to a greater extent than non-linear components. For example, fundamental frequency components of the echo signal associated with linear propagation and scattering are selectively canceled, and second harmonic components of the echo signal due to non-linearities are enhanced.
The present invention is directed to improvements to such additive inverse processing methods.

Ultrasonic imaging method with multiple pulse cancellation


The present disclosure is directed to a method of converting green particles to form finished particles. The apparatus used for sintering incorporates an elongate hollow tube, an insulative sleeve there about to define an elevated temperature zone, and a microwave generator coupled through a wave guide into a microwave cavity incorporated the tube. The particles are moved through the tube at a controlled rate to assure adequate exposure to the microwave radiation. Another form sintered a solid part in a cavity or mold.

Microwave heating has demonstrated itself to be a powerful technique for sintering various ceramics, especially through the past decade. Microwave heating may decrease the sintering temperatures and times dramatically, and is economically advantageous due to considerable energy savings. However, one of the major limitations is the volume and/or size of the ceramic products that can be microwave sintered because an inhomogeneous microwave energy distribution inside the applicator which often results in a non-uniform heating. Considerable research has gone into making microwave sintering technology commercially viable.
This disclosure sets forth three different types of products which can be handled by microwave heating to obtain sintering. The three different types of products refers to the form of the products, not the chemical makeup of the products. Indeed, the products can be made of the same constituent ingredients. They differ however primarily in the shape and hence the cohesive nature of the respective products.
The three product formats or forms include loose particulate material, i.e., a powder of a specified size, a molded product or a precast molded product. The distinction in the latter is that it is precast sufficiently that it requires no mold during sintering. It can be precast with a sacrificial wax or other adhesive which glues the particles together into a precast form. During sintering, the form is not changed in terms of shape, but the form is sustained although this is accomplished free or devoid of a confining mold. The molded product is a product which is held in a mold during sintering. One of the advantageous aspects of the molded products is that initial mold shaping of the particles making up the product can be accomplished at very low temperatures and pressures, i.e., substantially at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Typically, a set of particles are joined in a mold again by a sacrificial wax or other material or alternately by the confines of the cavity mold itself. In either instance, the finished product is a structure which is sintered and yet which has a defined shape or profile. Examples abound as will be set forth below.
In all instances, it will be described so that the sintering process begins or acts on what are known as green materials. The term green materials refers to those which have been provided but have not been sintered. For particulate matter, they typically have the form of powders. Both in the molded and precast forms, one of the beginning materials is the requisite quantity of particles prior to molding, i.e., shaping into a desired form either by precast molding or sintering in a mold.
The preparation of loose material which is sintered defines small particles which can be used later in abrasive wheels and the like. Normally, these materials must be sintered to a specified grain size. In many applications, the quality or performance of the material is directly impacted by the grain size accomplished in the sintering process. In one aspect, grain size has an undesirable impact on the finished product. More specifically, this arises from the fact that additives often are placed in control quantities in the material prior to sintering so that the grain boundaries are defined by the additives. While there are additives available which do control grain size, the additives weaken or reduce the hardness of the finished product. Therefore such additives, while desirable in one aspect, are not desirable in other regards. The amount, nature, and dispersal of such grain boundary additives is a material factor, thereby providing a balanced mix of properties where the properties themselves result in some kind of compromise in the design of such sintered products. Effectively, grain boundary size is controlled only at a cost in sintered particle hardness.
Continuous microwave sintering of alumina is newly developed. One aspect of the continuous microwave sintering furnace is shown in FIG. 1. The microwave applicator is designed to focus the microwave field in the central area as uniformly as possible. A long cylindrical ceramic hollow tube contains the unsintered (or green) material which is fed into the microwave applicator at a constant feed speed. As the green material enters the microwave cavity, it is heated and gradually sintered while passing through the microwave zone. The heating rate, sintering time and cooling rate are controlled by the input microwave power, the feeding speed, and the thermal insulation surrounding the heated material. The ceramic hollow tube is also rotated during processing for uniform and homogeneous heating. As the green material passes through the high temperature zone, the particles are sintered entirely. Since the ceramic hollow tube is moved continuously in the axial direction during the processing, there is virtually no limitation to the length or volume of the product that can be processed by this technique. Consequently, it is, possible to scale up the volume of the ceramic products to be microwave sintered by this technique by implementing a continuous process.
This disclosure proves the continuous microwave sintering technique for small or large quantities of green material to make a desired shape or volume of material. The results show better physical properties than the conventionally processed material. The disclosure sets out three different product configurations. One form is a loose, unconsolidated particulate product, a second comprises a cold press shaped or configured particulate body shaped by a mold at minimal pressure, and a third form is a cold pressed, unconfined form of sufficient strength to hold its own shape. The three products are generally referred to below as sintered particles, molded products and precast products.
This disclosure is directed to a novel synthesis method for the manufacture of finished ceramics and/or ceramic/metallic composites utilizing the newly developed microwave processing. The process offers a faster, energy efficient route to manufacture extra hard products. Sintered particles prepared by this method exhibited greater micro Vickers hardness, even as much as 1500 kg/mm.sup.2, better crystalline uniformity and average grain size less than sintered materials processed in the conventional manner. One aspect of this invention relates to improved preparation of parts made of nitrides, carbides, and similar hard materials.
The present disclosure sets forth a sintering apparatus which can be used for sintered particles or for cast items (molded or precast). Examples will be given of all three. A molded part can be sintered by placing green particulate material in a mold or cavity. The mold is first filled with the green constituent materials. Hard wear parts can be made. As an example, tungsten carbide or silicon nitride particles are packed into a mold or cavity. An interspersed particulate binder metal, typically a cobalt alloy, is added in the mold or cavity. In the past, extreme heat with deleterious consequences was applied in the ordinary manufacturing process along with extremely high pressure to form a molded part. The resultant part is a matrix of hard particles which are held together by the melted alloy. The alloy serves as a binder which holds the shape of the finished part. By applying an adequately high pressure to the cavity and by also applying an adequately high temperature for a desired interval, molded parts were made in this fashion. Such wear parts have extremely long life. Examples of such wear parts include teeth (sometimes known as inserts) used in drill bits, nozzles for directing a flow or stream of fluid, deflector plates, scuff plates and the like. This process completely avoids such manufacturing equipment, thereby reducing cost and improving speed of fabrication.
The finished products are formed in a conventional manner using extreme heat and pressure. By contrast, such molded products can be made using the microwave sintering apparatus and method set forth in the present disclosure. The particulate materials are tamped into a cavity at a desired packing density without requiring any extremely high pressures. The cavity is formed in a tube of material which is transparent to microwave radiation. This transparent tube is then positioned in the microwave cavity of the sintering apparatus. Sintering occurs at a more rapid temperature increase yet is consummated at a lower temperature level. Moreover, the grain size within the solid part does not grow as great as normally occurs in a conventional liquid sintering process. Improved hardness and chip resistance is obtained with a smaller grain structure in the molded part. The alloy sinters the entire particulate mass in the mold to thereby furnish a wear part. Examples of this will be given below.
The particulate or green material is shaped at room or ambient temperature in a mold, a preliminary process called "cold pressing". The tamped or pressed particles are shaped by a low cost cavity or mold. If the particles are sufficiently adhesive, the precast particles (without mold). can be sintered; if crumbling occurs, the low cast mold can be exposed to the microwave field to sinter the mold contents.
By the use of the process of the present invention, it is possible to prepare a new variety of extra hard, shaped parts at considerably lower temperature with smaller grain size, higher hardness and density. The process of the present invention also uses microwave sintering to obtain higher heating rates to form better conventional products. In the process of the invention, microwave heat is generated internally within the material instead of originating from external heating sources and is a function of the material being processed. As temperature increases above a point, the dielectric loss begins to increase rapidly and the sintered part begins to absorb microwaves more efficiently. This also raises the temperature. Hence, heating rates are as high as 300.degree. C./minute. Both batch and continuous processing systems can be employed.
As a rule of thumb, the performance of the particulates with the same hardness, toughness and density improves with decrease in grain size. It is possible to achieve very small grain sizes with high hardness, toughness and density, using the microwave processes thereby improving the characteristics when compared to the conventional process. This process requires much lower temperature (less than about 1350.degree. C.) than conventional sintering techniques (around 1500.degree. C.).

Process and apparatus for the preparation of particulate or solid parts


A method and apparatus are provided to map the shape or thickness of a surface. Thickness estimates across a distance are received, and Fourier analysis is performed to generate Fourier amplitude coefficients and phase values for a number of frequency components. Linear discriminant functions are used to characterize the resulting shape as normal or not. Discriminant functions are provided that aid in the diagnosis of glaucoma when the thickness measured is the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.

Many conditions and diseases are associated with abnormalities of a surface. The existence and severity of the condition can be diagnosed by plotting data measurements of thickness of the surface layer, that is, height from a chosen base layer and comparing the results to a normal surface, that is, one that is not diseased. These conditions may include coronary artery disease, abnormal angiogenesis as in diabetic retinopathy and blood vessel thrombi. The eye disease glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is characterized by alterations in the retinal nerve fiber layer.
It is well known that the necessary point measurements can be obtained by scanning laser polarimetry (SLP), ocular coherence tomography (OCT), ultrasound, photogrammetry or the like. However, the reliability and power of such methods are dependant on the mathematical analysis of the data. Some previous methods selected a normal value for the thickness of the surface in question and determined individual variations from normal values.

University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.


A magnetoresistive element generally includes consecutively an antiferromagnetic layer, a first ferromagnetic layer, a non-mangetic layer, and a second ferromagnetic layer. Instead of the non-magnetic layer, the magnetoresistive element may include a combination of a Co layer, a non-magnetic layer, and a Co layer. The antiferromagnetic layer is made of nickel oxide, a mixture of nickel oxide and cobalt oxide, or a laminate of nickel oxide and cobalt oxide. The ferromagnetic layer has a thickness of 1 to 10 nm, and the element has a height of 0.1 to 1 um. The non-magnetic layer has a thickness of 2 to 3 nm, and the antiferromagnetic layer has a thickness of 5 to 30 nm. The magnetoresistive element has an appropriate cross point, outputs an excellent reproduced signal, and has a desirable half-width with respect to the output signal.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetoresistive element, and to a magnetoresistive sensor using such an element.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A so called magnetoresistive (MR) sensor or MR head has been known in the form of magnetic read sensor, which can read out data from a magnetic layer at a large linear density. The electric resistance of an MR sensor varies as a function of the strength and direction of magnetic fluxes sensed by a read element, whereby a magnetic field signal corresponding to the resistance is output from the MR sensor. In such a conventional MR sensor, the read element operates based on the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect in which the resistance of the read element varies in proportion to the square of the cosine of the angle between the magnetization and the direction of sense current flowing through the element. The AMR effect is described in detail in "Memory, Storage, and Related Applications," by D. A. Thompson, et al., IEEE Trans. Mag. MAG-11, p. 1039 (1975).
Another paper has reported a more remarkable magnetoresistance effect in which the resistance of a layered magnetic sensor varies due to both spin-depending transfer of conduction electrons between magnetic layers via a non-magnetic layer, and spin-depending scattering at the interfaces between the layers accompanying the transfer of conduction electrons. This magnetoresistance effect is variously referred to as "giant magnetoresistance effect" or "spin valve (SV) effect." Such an MR sensor fabricated of the appropriate materials provides improved sensitivity and greater change in resistance than observed in sensors utilizing the AMR effect. In this type of MR sensor, the in-plane resistance between a pair of ferromagnetic layers, separated by a non-magnetic layer, varies in proportion to the cosine of the angle between the magnetization in the two ferromagnetic layers.
Patent Publication No. JP-A-90-61572 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,039) discloses a layered magnetic structure which yields enhanced MR effect caused by anti-parallel alignment of the magnetizations in the magnetic layers. In this patent publication, ferromagnetic transition metals and alloys are listed as possible materials for use in the layered structure. The patent publication also discloses a structure having an antiferromagnetic layer added to at least one of two ferromagnetic layers separated by an intermediate layer, as well as suitability of FeMn for use as the antiferromagnetic layer.
Patent Publication No. JP-A-92-358310 (priority claimed from a U.S. application filed on Dec. 11, 1990) discloses an MR sensor having two thin layers of a ferromagnetic material separated by a thin film layer of a non-magnetic metallic material. When no magnetic field is applied to the sensor, the magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic thin film layers intersect each other substantially at right angles. When a magnetic field is applied to the sensor, the resistance between the two magnetic layers varies in proportion to the cosine of the angle between the magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic layers, independent of the direction of the current flowing through the sensor.
Patent Publication No. JP-A-94-203340 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,079) discloses an MR sensor which has two thin film layers of a ferromagnetic material separated by a thin film layer of a non-magnetic metallic material and which operates based on the effect similar to that of the sensor disclosed in the above patent publication. However, in this MR sensor, when no magnetic field is applied to the sensor, the direction of magnetization in an adjacent antiferromagnetic layer adjacent to one of the two ferromagnetic thin film layers is maintained perpendicular to the others of ferromagnetic layers.
When a magnetoresistive element utilizing the SV effect is used as a magnetoresistive sensor, it is necessary to optimize the operational point (or cross point) for zero applied magnetic field, as in conventional magnetoresistive sensors utilizing the AMR effect. In the magnetoresistive element utilizing the SV effect, the shape of the element affects a playback output from a head. Moreover, in an SV element utilizing a non-conductive material as an antiferromagnetic material, the thickness of the antiferromagnetic material affects the gap length of a shielded magnetoresistive element, and also affects the waveform of a signal reproduced by the shielded magnetoresistive head.

Magnetoresistive element and sensor having optimal cross point


An electrical connecting member for use in an electrical connection for connecting a first electrical circuit component on a side thereof and a second electrical circuit component on another side thereof, said electrical connecting member comprising: a plurality of layers each layer having a plurality of conductive members and an insulative holder for holding said plurality of conductive members, wherein said plurality of conductive members are arranged such that each conductive member has one end exposed on one surface of said layer and another end exposed on another surface of said layer, and makes electric contact with at least one of a conductive member immediately below and a conductive member immediately above, but does not contact conductive members laterally offset thereof, and wherein said conductive members have diameters that are substantially equal to each other, between said one surface of said layer and said another surface of said layer; and said plurality of layers are stacked such that said plurality of conductive members in one layer are connected with said plurality of conductive members in another layer, and are held by said insulative holder with a different pitch shifted slightly from said plurality of conductive members in another layer. It is a further object to provide an electrical member and an electrical circuit device which employ such an electrical connecting member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connecting member for electrically connecting electric circuit parts, and to an electric circuit member and an electric circuit device using the connecting member.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, various methods have been known for constructing an electrical circuit member by electrically connecting a plurality of electric circuit components. These methods are exemplarily shown below.
(1) Wire bonding method
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a typical example of a semiconductor device having components connected and sealed by the wire bonding method. The wire bonding method will be explained hereinunder with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
According to the wire bonding method, a semiconductor element 4 is fixed to and supported by an element mounting portion 2 by means of, for example, an Ag paste 3. Subsequently, the bonding portions 5 of the semiconductor element 4 and the desired connecting portions 6 of a lead frame 1 are bonded through ultra-fine metallic wires 7 such as gold wires.
After the connection is completed, the semiconductor element 4 and the lead frame 1 are sealed by means of a resin 8 and, thereafter, the unnecessary portion of the lead frame 1 extending outward from the sealing resin is cut and bent, whereby a semiconductor device 9 is obtained.
(2) TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) Method (see, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 59-139636)
FIG. 3 shows a typical example of a semiconductor device having elements connected and sealed by the TAB method. Briefly, this method is an automatic bonding method making use of a tape carrier system. Referring-to FIG. 3, after the carrier film substrate 16 and a semiconductor element 4 are located, the inner lead portion 17 of the carrier film substrate 16 and the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 are heat-bonded. Thereafter, the inner lead 17 and the semiconductor element 4 are sealed by resins 20 and 21.
(3) CCB (Controlled Collapse Bonding) Method (see, for example, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 42-2096 and Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-57944)
FIG. 4 shows a typical example of a semiconductor device having elements connected and sealed by the CCB method. This method, which also is referred to as the flip chip bonding method, will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. A semiconductor element 4, which is beforehand provided with solder bumps 31, is located and placed on a circuit board 32. Thereafter, the solder is heated and molten so that the semiconductor element 4 is connected to the circuit board 32. Then, after washing away the flux, the semiconductor element 4 is sealed so that a semiconductor device 9 is obtained.
(4) Method Illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6
An insulating film 71 of, for example, polyimide is formed on the portion of a first semiconductor element 4 other than the connecting portion 5, while a metallic member 70 such as Au is placed on the connecting portion 5. Then, the exposed surfaces 73, 72 of the metallic member 70 and the insulating film 71 are flattened. Similarly, an insulating film 71' of, for example, polyimide is formed on the portion of a second semiconductor element 4' other than the connecting portion 5', while a metallic member 70' such as Au is placed on the connecting portion 5. Then, the exposed surfaces 73', 72' of the metallic member 70' and the insulating film 71' are flattened. Thereafter, the first semiconductor device 4 and the second semiconductor device 4' are located with respect to each other as shown in FIG. 6 and heat and pressure are applied to both semiconductor devices, whereby the connecting portions 5 and 5' of the first and second semiconductor elements 4 and 4' are connected to each other through the metallic members 70, 70'.
(5) Method Illustrated in FIG. 7
A first circuit board 75 and a second circuit board 75' are located with respect to each other through the intermediary of an anisotropic conductive film 78 having conductive particles dispersed in an insulating material 77. Then, pressure or pressure and heat are applied to the first and second circuit boards, whereby both circuit boards are connected at their connecting portions 76 and 76.'
(6) Method illustrated in FIG. 8
A first circuit board 75 and a second circuit board 75' are located with respect to each other through the intermediary of an elastic connector 83 composed of an insulating material 81 and metallic wires of Fe, Cu or the like unidirectionally disposed in the insulating material 81. Then, pressure is applied to both circuit boards, whereby both circuit boards are connected at their connecting portions 76, 76'.
These known bonding methods, however, suffer from the following drawbacks.
(1) Drawbacks of wire bonding method
(a) When the design is such that the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 is within the area of the semiconductor element 4, the ultra-fine metallic wires 7, due to their extremely small diameters, tend to contact the outer peripheral portion 10 of the semiconductor element 4 or the outer peripheral region 11 of the element mounting portion 2. Such contact of the ultra-fine metallic wire 7 with the outer peripheral regions 10 and 11 causes a short-circuiting. Such a design also requires that the ultra-fine metallic wire 7 has an increased length, which in turn increases the risk for the ultra-fine wires 7 to be deformed during the transfer molding.
In order to obviate these problems, the connecting portions 5 have to be disposed on the restricted areas along the peripheral sides of the semiconductor element 4, with the result that the freedom in the circuit design is impaired.
(b) In forming a device by the wire bonding method, it is necessary that the pitch of the connecting portions 5 on the semiconductor element 4 in terms of the distance between the centers of the adjacent connecting portions must be greater than a predetermined value, in order to eliminate any possibility of interference between adjacent ultra-fine metallic wires 7. This means that the maximum number of the connecting portions 5 is essentially determined by the size of the semiconductor element 4. According to the wire bonding method, therefore, the above-mentioned pitch is as large as about 0.2 mm, so that the number of the connecting portions 5 is undesirably limited.
(c) The height h of the ridge of the ultra-fine metallic wire 7 as measured from the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 is usually from 0.2 to 0.4 mm. It is rather difficult to reduce this height to a value below 0.2 mm. Thus, the reduction of the thickness of the whole device is difficult to achieve.
(d) Wire bonding is generally time-consuming. Thus, an impractically long time is required particularly when the number of connecting points is large, resulting in a reduction in the production efficiency.
(e) The ultra-fine metallic wire 7 tends to be deformed or, in the worst case, broken when the transfer molding condition is exceeded for any reason.
(f) At each connecting portion 5 on the semiconductor element 4 is exposed A which is not alloyed with the ultra-fine metallic wire 7. This increases the tendency for A to be corroded, with the result that the reliability is impaired.
(2) Drawbacks of the TAB Method
(a) If the design is such that the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 is within the area of the semiconductor element 4, the length of the inner lead 17 of the carrier film board 16 is increased so that the inner lead 17 becomes liable to deform, with the result that the connection of the inner lead 17 to the desired connecting portion 5 is broken or the inner lead 17 contacts a portion of the semiconductor element 4 other than the connecting portion 5. In order to obviate this problem, it is necessary that the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 is positioned on a peripheral portion of the semiconductor element 4, which undesirably restricts the freedom in design.
(b) The pitch of the connecting portions on the semiconductor element 4 has to be as large as 0.09 to 0.15 mm also in the case of the B method. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the number of connecting portions, as in the case of the wire bonding method as explained in (2)(b) above.
(c) In order to prevent the inner lead portion 17 of the carrier film board 16 from contacting any portion of the semiconductor element 4 other than the connecting portion, the inner lead 17 is strictly required to have a predetermined connecting form, resulting in an increased production cost.
(d) In order to connect the connecting portions 5 of the semiconductor element 4 and the inner leads 17, it is necessary that gold bumps be provided either on the connecting portions 5 of the semiconductor element or on the inner lead 17, so that the cost is raised uneconomically.
(3) Drawbacks of CCB Method
(a) Cost is raised due to the necessity of forming solder bumps 31 on the connecting portions 5 of the semiconductor element 4. A too large amount of the solder bump causes bridging between adjacent solder bumps, while a too small amount of solder bump may cause insufficient electrical connection between the connecting portion 5 of the semiconductor element 4 and the connecting portion 33 of the board 32, thus impairing the reliability of the electrical connection. In addition, the reliability of the electrical connection is influenced by the amount and shape of the solder bump. In this regard, reference is made to Technical Report of Brazing Technic Association No. 017-'84, issued from Brazing Technic Association. The fact that the amount of the solder bump affects the reliability of the electrical connection means that the amount of the solder bump has to be delicately controlled.
(c) When the solder bumps 31 are located within the area of the semiconductor element 4, it is very difficult to visually check whether the connection has been achieved in good manner.
(d) The semiconductor element exhibits inferior heat radiation characteristics. In this regard, a reference may be made to Electronic Packaging Technology 1987, 1 (Vol. 3, No. 1) p. 66-71, NIKKEI MICRODEVICES, May 1986, pp. 97-108. Various measures have to be taken for the purpose of improving the heat radiation characteristic of the product.
(4) Drawbacks of Method Illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6
(a) The number of steps of production process is increased and the production cost is raised correspondingly due to the necessity for flattening the exposed surface 72 of the insulating film 71 and the exposed surface 73 of the metallic member 70, as well as the exposed surface 72' of the insulating film 71' and the exposed surface 73' of the metallic member 70'.
(b) The state of connection between the metallic members 70 and 70' is impaired if there is any irregularity or unevenness in the exposed surface 72 of the insulating film 71 and the exposed surface 73 of the metallic member 70, or the exposed surface 72' of the insulating film 71' and the exposed surface 73' of the metallic member 70'. In consequence, the reliability of the electrical connection is reduced.
(5) Drawbacks of Method Illustrated in FIG. 7
(a) Bonding is achieved by applying pressure to the bonding portions 76, 76' after locating two members. It is very difficult to apply this pressure uniformly on all the bonding portions. In consequence, the states of connection fluctuate greatly, with the result that the value of contact resistance also fluctuates greatly. Consequently, the reliability of the electrical connection is impaired. In addition, this bonding method is not suited to the production of devices which requires electric current to be supplied at a large rate, because the supply of such a large electric current inevitably causes a large heat generation.
(b) The fluctuation of the resistance value is inevitable due to the orientation of the conductive particles 79 of the anisotropic conductive film 78, even when the pressure is uniformalized. In consequence, the reliability of the connection is impaired, and the product produced by this bonding method cannot have a large electric current capacity.
(c) The value of the resistance between adjacent bonding portions is reduced when the pitch of the bonding portions is decreased. Thus, this bonding method is not suited to a high connecting density.
(d) The resistance value varies depending on the amount of fluctuation of the projection height h.sub.1 of the bonding portions 76, 76' of the circuit boards 75, 75'. It is therefore necessary to accurately control the amount of fluctuation of the projection height h.sub.1.
(e) When the anisotropic conductive film is used for the purpose of bonding between a semiconductor element and a circuit board or between a first semiconductor element and a second semiconductor element, a problem is encountered in that the cost is raised due to the necessity of provision of bumps on the bonding portions of the semiconductor devices, in addition to the drawbacks (a) to (d) mentioned above.
(6) Drawbacks of Method Illustrated in FIG. 8
(a) A specific pressing jig is required for applying the bonding pressure.
(b) The electric resistance across the points of contact between the metallic wire 82 of the elastic connector 83 and the bonding portion 76 of the first circuit board 75, as well as between the metallic wire 82 of the elastic connector 83 and the bonding portion 76' of the first circuit board 75', varies depending on the pressure applied and the states of the contact surfaces. Thus, the reliability of the connection is not so high.
(c) The metallic wires 82 of the elastic connector 83 are rigid. When the pressing force is large, therefore, the risk is increased for the surfaces of the first and the second circuit boards 75 and 75' to be broken. On the other hand, a too small pressing force impairs the reliability of the connection.
(d) The values of electric resistance at the contact portions, as well as the tendency for the mechanical breakdown, are largely affected by fluctuation in the amount h.sub.2 of projections of the bonding portions 76, 76' of the circuit boards 75, 75', as well as by fluctuation in the amount h.sub.3 of projection of the metallic wire 82 of the elastic connector 83. It is therefore necessary to take a suitable countermeasure for eliminating such fluctuation in the projection amounts.
(e) Drawbacks similar to (a) to (d) above are encountered also when the elastic connector is used for the bonding between a semiconductor element and a circuit board or for the bonding between a first semiconductor element and a second semiconductor element.

Circuit member and electric circuit device with the connecting member


There is provided an ink jet printing apparatus capable of printing an image having few joining stripes. Dot count is performed regarding an image printed in the vicinity of the joining stripe, and print duty is judged. Next, a dot count value is determined from the print duty. Then, a print data correction rank is determined beforehand in accordance with properties of the printing apparatus, and image data to be printed in the vicinity of the joining stripe is added or thinned out. Thus, an image can be printed which has few black and white stripes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method and an ink jet printing apparatus, more particularly, it relates to an image processing method and ink jet printing apparatus for performing image processing for reducing a joining stripe caused by scans of a printing head in image printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the need for high speed printing has increased in printing to a print medium by a printing apparatus. In an ink jet printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink droplets, in order to print one line of dots constituting an image, a multi-pass printing method is employed for printing by making a printing head scan to a line a plurality of times.
The multi-pass printing method has an advantage that high image quality printing can be realized. However, in order to realize high speed printing, it is effective to reduce the number of passes that is the number of scans of a carriage necessary for completion of printing for one line. That is, since a paper conveyance amount per one time becomes small as the number of passes becomes large, the printing speed per one line is decreased. On the other hand, since the paper conveyance amount per one time becomes large as the number of passes becomes small, the printing speed per one line is increased. For example, comparing four-pass printing with two-pass printing, about two times the speed is realized if two-pass printing instead of four-pass printing is performed. Accordingly, as the number of passes becomes small, the number of scans of the carriage required for printing to a predetermined region of a piece of print paper or the like is decreased, and the paper conveyance amount per one time becomes large, and consequently a time required for a predetermined printing is shortened.
In the multi-pass printing method, since printing is performed to a region for one band, which is a band-shaped image region, by multiple scanning, a joining stripe is likely to be caused at a joining part between the bands.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an image region in which the two-pass printing is performed. In the ink jet printing apparatus, the carriage scans in a direction orthogonal to an arrangement direction of ink ejecting ports so that printing is performed, and thus a band-shaped image print region is formed every scanning. When printing is performed on the print medium, for example, plain paper on which ink easily bleeds, a black joining stripe caused by the bleeding of the ink at the joining part between the bands can be visually checked although the degrees of the stripes are different from each other depending on the properties of ink droplets or print mediums. In particular, when the number of passes is reduced and printing is performed, a clear joining stripe can be visually checked, and print quality is lowered. That is, the number of dots to be printed on the print medium by the scanning in two-pass printing becomes about twice that in four-pass printing, and consequently duty, which is the rate of dots to the region, also becomes approximately twice. Therefore, a clearer black joining stripe can be visually checked as the number of passes becomes smaller.
As a method for realizing a high image quality by removing the black joining stripe, a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-036524 is conventionally known that printing is performed per a band by repeating main scans of the printing head, and that print data is subjected to a thinning-out processing corresponding to a print amount of a region in the vicinity of the joining part. More specifically, dots printed on the region in the vicinity of the joining part are counted, and the thinning-out processing is performed corresponding to the counted value.
Additionally, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-025693 (1996), it is disclosed that the joining stripe is reduced in a one-pass printing method for printing to a certain region by making the carriage scan only once. That is, a printing method is disclosed that images to be each printed by scanning are partly overlapped with each other, and complement the overlapped region by a random mask pattern between scanning.
However, the conventional method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-036524, is applicable to the case where the joining stripe is black, but not applicable to the case where the joining stripe is white. The joining stripe is caused by low precision of the paper conveyance, end nozzle dot deflection or the like unique to the printing apparatus in addition to the ink bleed, and the white joining stripe is sometimes caused at the joining part. However, the conventional method cannot solve the above problem. Here, the end nozzle dot deflection indicates a phenomenon that ink droplets landing position by a nozzle arranged on both ends of a plurality of arranged nozzles deviate toward a center axis of the printing head. Regarding the end nozzle dot deflection phenomenon, it is observed that the deflection of the landing position of the ink droplets is large as the duty in each scanning is high, or the size of the ink droplets is small. In particular, when the ink droplets are not more than 2.8 pl, the end nozzle dot deflection becomes large. Accordingly, the end nozzle dot deflection becomes large in the two-pass printing since duty of ink in the two-pass printing is larger than that in the four-pass printing. Thus, the white joining stripe is likely to occur at the joining part between the bands. In particular, a clear white joining stripe can be visually checked on a print medium such as photo-paper on which the ink hardly bleeds, and the image quality is lowered.
Additionally, in the conventional methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2002-036524 and 8-025693 (1996), image data for the nozzles is corrected, the nozzles being arranged at both ends of the nozzle arrangement line. In this case, since the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles arranged at both ends are affected by the end nozzle dot deflection, a desired correction is hardly applied to the image data, and the joining stripe is not always reduced. In particular, such precision is insufficient for printed images such as photographs and graphics for which a high quality image is required.

Image processing method and ink jet printing apparatus


The present disclosure provides an electronic device and system that include an electrode interface that can be brought in contact with the body of a user, a memory, and a processor operably coupled to the electrode interface and the memory, in which the processor is set to obtain user information through user authentication, generate a user authentication signal on the basis of the user information, and transmit the user authentication signal or a signal including at least a portion of the user authentication signal through the body of a user being in contact with the electrode interface.

Recently, various electronic devices such as a mobile communication terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), an electronic notebook, a smartphone, a tablet PC (Personal Computer), and a wearable device have been popularized with the development of digital technology. Such electronic devices have been developed in terms of hardware and/or software to support and improve functions. For example, electronic devices are equipped with a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or a biometric sensor.
Meanwhile, as interest in health has increased, an interest in exercise has also increased. To follow this trend, electronic devices are provided with various services for obtaining and monitoring users' biometric information and exercise information, using biometric sensors.

Electronic device for authenticating biometric data and system