A refrigerator includes: a cabinet; a front panel door part; a drawer part configured to be connected to the front panel door part and to insert into and withdraw from the cabinet based on movement of the front panel door part relative to the cabinet; a support member located in the drawer part and configured to seat an object stored in the drawer part; and an elevation device that is located at each of a first side surface of the drawer part and a second side surface of the drawer part, that is configured to be coupled to each of a first side of the support member and a second side of the support member, and that is configured to elevate the support member relative to the drawer part in a state in which the drawer part is withdrawn from a lower storage space defined in the cabinet.

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.
In general, refrigerators are home appliances for storing foods at a low temperature in a storage space that is covered by a door. For this, refrigerators cool the inside of the storage space by using cool air generated by being heat-exchanged with a refrigerant circulated through a refrigeration cycle to store foods in an optimum state.
In recent years, refrigerators have become increasingly multi-functional with changes of dietary lives and gentrification of products, and refrigerators having various structures and convenience devices for convenience of users and for efficient use of internal spaces have been released.
The storage space of the refrigerator may be opened/closed by the door. Also, refrigerators may be classified into various types according to an arranged configuration of the storage space and a structure of the door for opening and closing the storage space.
The refrigerator door may be classified into a rotation-type door that opens and closes a storage space through rotation thereof and a drawer-type door that is inserted and withdrawn in a drawer type.
Also, the drawer-type door is often disposed in a lower region of the refrigerator. Thus, when the drawer-type door is disposed in the lower region of the refrigerator, a user has to turn its back to take out a basket or foods in the drawer-type door. If the basket or the foods are heavy, the user may feel inconvenient to use the basket or may be injured.
In order to solve such a limitation, various structures are being developed in which the drawer-type door is capable of being elevated.
Representatively, a structure provided with an elevatable storage container on a rear surface of a withdrawable door is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0101335. However, in this structure, a connection portion between the door and the storage container may be exposed, and electrical devices and structures for the elevation may be exposed to cause serious problems of safety in use.
In addition, force for the elevation is substantially applied to a front end of the storage container. Also, when foods are stored in the accommodation container, it is difficult to perform stable elevation of the accommodation container due to an eccentric load applied to the storage container, and serious deformation and breakage of the door and the storage container may occur.
Also, a structure in which a basket is elevated by an operation of a support member provided on a door is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0053420. In this structure, a support member is exposed directly from a rear surface and a bottom surface of the door to cause problems in safety in use.
Also, a structure for lifting a basket is provided on a front surface of the door. Thus, if a load exists at a lower portion of the basket, the basket may be separated. Thus, it is difficult to provide an effective and stable supporting and elevating structure.
Also, a structure in which a fixed frame and a movable frame are disposed on a rear surface of a door, and a pneumatic cylinder is provided on each of both sides of the fixed frame to elevate a basket by elevating the movable frame fixed to the basket is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0031113.
However, if the pneumatic cylinder disposed on each of both the sides is not accurately controlled, the basket may be tilted. Particularly, when an eccentric load is applied to the basket, the basket may not be elevated due to the eccentricity of the basket.
Also, in this structure, since the pneumatic cylinder is exposed to each of both left and right sides, there may also be safety issues. In addition, a volume within the basket may be reduced by the pneumatic cylinder and the movable frame, which are disposed on each of both the sides.
Also, according to the related art, the basket having the accommodation space or the entire structures corresponding to the basket are elevated. In this structure, the load may be eccentric according to the arrangement of the foods in the accommodation space. Thus, when being elevated, an unbalance may occur.
Also, the basket has to be completely withdrawn from the accommodation space within the refrigerator so as to elevate the entire basket. Also, the insertion and the withdrawal of the basket may be unstable due to an increase in a draw-out distance of the entire door including the basket, and thus, a reinforcement structure such as a rail for supporting the door may be required. Particularly, such a limitation may be exacerbated when the structures for the elevation are provided on the door side.


The present invention provides methods for stimulating the formation of inner ear cells, including inner ear sensory hair cells and inner ear support cells. The methods of the present invention damage and/or kill inner ear cells, and stimulate the formation of new, inner ear cells.

Sensorineuronal hearing loss (SNHL), also called "nerve deafness," is a significant communication problem that affects tens of millions of people in the U.S. alone. Loss of the inner ear sensory hair cells that detect sound is thought to be a major cause of this deficit. The anatomy of the inner ear is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art (see, e.g., Gray's Anatomy, Revised American Edition (1977), pages 859–867, incorporated herein by reference). In brief, the inner ear includes three sensory portions: the cochlea, which senses sound; the semicircular canals, which sense angular acceleration; and the otolithic organs, which sense linear acceleration. In each of these sensory portions, specialized sensory hair cells are arrayed upon one or more layers of inner ear supporting cells. Supporting cells underlie, at least partially surround, and physically support sensory hair cells within the inner ear. In operation, the sensory hair cells are physically deflected in response to sound or motion, and their deflection is transmitted to nerves which send nerve impulses to the brain for processing and interpretation.
In mammals, the inner ear is normally incapable of regenerating damaged or dead inner ear sensory hair cells. Thus, hearing disorders that result from the death or deterioration of sensory hair cells typically result in a permanent hearing impairment. Sensorineuronal hearing loss can be caused by a multitude of events including age-related loss (presbycusis), noise exposure, drug exposure (e.g., antibiotics and anti-cancer therapeutics), infections, genetic mutations (syndromic and non-syndromic) and autoimmune disease.
Currently, the treatment for acquired sensorineuronal hearing loss involves the use of external hearing aids and cochlear implants. Both devices have rather limited therapeutic potential and more importantly, do not address the problem of restoring structure or function to the auditory sensory epithelium.
A more recent approach to the problem of regenerating sensory inner ear hair cells is disclosed in published international application serial number PCT/US99/24829 which discloses methods for stimulating the regeneration of inner ear cells (including sensory hair cells) that include the step of introducing into inner ear cells nucleic acid molecules that encode a transcription factor capable of stimulating the regeneration of inner ear cells.
The present inventors have discovered that destruction of existing inner ear sensory hair cells promotes the re-entry of normally quiescent inner ear supporting cells (that express reduced levels of one or more cell cycle inhibitor proteins, or in which cell cycle protein activity has been reduced) into the cell cycle to yield progeny cells that can be induced to form inner ear sensory hair cells, as disclosed herein. In some instances, destruction of existing inner ear sensory hair cells is sufficient to stimulate underlying and/or surrounding inner ear support cells to develop into sensory hair cells. In other instances, efficient regeneration of sensory hair cells from support cells requires destruction of existing inner ear sensory hair cells in combination with at least one other stimulus, as described herein. Additionally, the present inventors have discovered that stimulating the proliferation of inner ear support cells (with or without stimulating the regeneration of inner ear sensory hair cells) improves the auditory function of the inner ear.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stimulation of cellular regeneration and differentiation in the inner ear


An energy management system identifies one or more energy-load components, and generates an energy-disutility graph for the identified components. The energy-disutility graph can include, for each of a sequence of discrete time instances, one or more vertices that each corresponds to an alternative operating state for a component. Further, an arc that couples two vertices indicates an energy-disutility model corresponding to energy and disutility costs for the component. The energy management system also communicates an energy-demand bid to the energy provider, such that the energy-demand bid includes the energy-disutility graph.

1. Field
This disclosure is generally related to power management. More specifically, this disclosure is related to generating an energy-demand bid that indicates an energy cost and a disutility cost for alternative operating states across time.
2. Related Art
In traditional electricity markets, economic mechanisms are frequently used to arrive at accurate incentives and to dispatch services. For example, an operator of a power system, such as an independent system operator (ISO), may request bids up to 24 hours in advance of a desired service. In response to the request, one or more suppliers, such as a power plant, may bid to supply power or ancillary services. Based on the received bids, the ISO may select or dispatch the services it needs to operate the power system or grid. In the case of contingency services (e.g., spinning reserve), the ISO may dispatch the services and compensate the corresponding suppliers for being available, even if these suppliers are not subsequently required to provide power. Therefore, the ISO can reduce overhead by being able to predict energy demand to dispatch only the necessary services.
The ISO's challenge in operating the grid, balancing supply and demand, is made more difficult by the uncertainty of the demand of loads, and the chance that suppliers of power may fail to deliver earlier contracted services. In traditional electricity markets this is addressed on the supply-side, for example, using price incentives, an ISO can elicit more supplies of power, and by purchasing ancillary services an ISO may have additional contingent reserves available to address imbalances in power. Traditionally the demand is less predictable and less controllable, contributing the problem rather than the solution of the imbalance. However, the integration of additional renewable sources of power, such as wind and solar, has brought additional uncertainty to the operation of the grid, and created an opportunity to improve operation of the grid through contributions from the demand-side.
With the deregulation of electricity markets, and the increased integration of communication and control technology in power systems, it is increasingly attractive for flexible electricity consumers (such as individual residences and businesses, which are hereinafter referred to as 'participants' or 'consumers') to contribute to grid stability in a manner similar to the supplier of power, either by responding to price signals and adjusting their consumption or by offering demand-side energy services to an ISO. Because individual loads are typically much smaller than suppliers of power, aggregators in the power system can combine the energy demand of multiple participants to provide large demand-side service to the ISO. An aggregator may be either an existing electric utility or it may be a third-party providing services independent of the electric utility supplying power.

Energy-disutility modeling for agile demand response


A modular power supply and a method of operating the same to accept either AC or DC input power. In one embodiment, the modular power supply includes an input module that accepts input power and employs at least one main power switch and a step-up transformer to provide intermediate power at an enhanced voltage at an output thereof. The modular power supply also includes a power transfer conductor coupled to the output. The modular power supply further includes an output module, having an input coupled to the conductor, that accepts the intermediate power and employs a step-down transformer and an output rectifier to provide DC output power at a voltage that is less than the enhanced voltage. The modular power supply still further includes a diode, coupled to the input and output modules, that prevents the step-up and step-down transformers from saturating.

Power supplies are used in many areas of industry to provide necessary electrical energy. Many of these power supplies take AC power from the power distribution grid and convert it into the specific voltages that are needed to operate specific equipment. The converted voltages are typically DC voltages needed to power computer systems, telecommunications or other electronic equipment. Many of the power supply systems used for larger computer or telecommunications environments require very high power density units, whereby the output power is provided by a very small packaged power supply. Many of these power supply systems employ switching devices in the power train and operate in a switching mode to achieve higher efficiencies and higher power densities.
In many cases, the physical packaging requirements of switching-mode power supplies (SMPS) are in direct conflict with an optimal circuit layout for the chosen topology. Several printed wiring boards are typically needed to mount all of the necessary power train and control circuits. The power train itself may need to be split into two or more sections, where each section may be located on a different printed wiring board. This presents many mechanical and electrical design challenges. Passing large, high frequency switching currents between these printed wiring boards can be particularly difficult, especially in DC to DC applications with lower input voltages.
In conjunction therewith, the circuit and packaging design should take into account the wiring and connector current ratings. The switching currents, in conjunction with a potentially large wiring loop area afforded by the interconnecting wiring, may generate large magnetic fields. These magnetic fields may couple with and disturb the control circuitry of the SMPS. Additionally, if these fields are not adequately contained, the unit may fail to meet radiated emission requirements. Also, the leakage inductance of the wiring loops could store sufficient inductive energy to cause excessive dissipation in the components of the power supply that may result in malfunction or even failure of the components, such as snubber networks or semiconductor components, therein.
Additionally, the mechanical interface is often predefined and a conversion from an AC powered unit to a DC powered unit or an input voltage range modification must be accommodated using as much of the existing environment and equipment as possible to contain costs. Under the constraint of maintaining or even increasing output power, increasing the magnitude of an input voltage may cause some of the component voltage ratings to be exceeded or their design margins to be reduced to an unacceptable level. Conversely, reducing the magnitude of the input voltage will typically cause the power supply currents to increase for constant output power. This may cause operating and redesign problems that are even more severe depending on the magnitude of the current increases. The increased switching currents and the fact that the current carrying capacity of the interconnects may be limited due to mechanical and packaging constraints provide design challenges that should be addressed.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a power supply that account for more stringent requirements such as higher switching currents and frequencies therein.

Modular power supply having an input and output module and method of operation thereof


A base material for a display device, a display device and a method for fabricating the display device are disclosed. One or more grooves are disposed on a bonding surface of the base material, the grooves are configured for accommodating at least a portion of adhesive coated to the bonding surface. The grooves on the base material can accommodate redundant adhesive, thereby effectively preventing the adhesive overflow and air bubble defects during the bonding process, and increasing the yield ratio of bonding.

As the newest input devices, touch screens are the easiest, the most convenient and the most natural means for human-machine interaction, and have enormous development potential. A touch screen typically comprises: a touch element for implementing the touch function, a liquid crystal device (LCD) panel for implementing the display function, and a protective cover glass. The touch element may be fabricated on the base substrate to form a separate touch screen, and then the touch screen is bonded to the LCD panel and the cover glass. Alternatively, the touch element may be fabricated on the cover glass directly, and then the cover glass is bonded to the LCD panel. As another alternative, the touch element may be disposed in the LCD panel, and then the cover glass is bonded to the LCD panel. Any of the above structures need to bond the cover glass to parts such as LCD panels in the end, and such a step is referred to as the bonding process. If optic clear resin (OCR) adhesives are employed in the bonding process, the adhesives are generally coated by way of slit coating. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a slit nozzle 12 sprays the OCR while moves from left to right relative to a cover glass 10, thus forming an OCR coating 11 with good flatness on a bonding surface of the cover glass 10. However, comparing with the middle stage of the coating process, the coating speed at the starting and ending stages of the coating process are relatively slow. Due to the residence of liquid, the thicknesses of the starting and the ending parts of the OCR coating are much larger than that the middle part, easily causing air bubbles to be generated and difficulties in controlling the adhesive overflow, thereby decreasing the free-defect ratio of bonding.

Base material for display device, display device and method for fabricating the same

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A method and an apparatus are disclosed for determining the position of a stimulus in two axes on a surface. The apparatus includes: a transparent waveguide panel with parallel top and a bottom surfaces and at least one edge that is perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces; a light source that is directed to the edge of the waveguide to produce light that is contained within the waveguide by Total Internal Reflection and a light detector for producing an electrical signal that is representative of an image of the light emitted by the waveguide. The light detector is positioned to receive light emitted by Frustrated Total Internal Reflection from the transparent wave guide when a physical stimulus is placed in contact with the top surface of the transparent waveguide.

Pointer input devices, such as mice, touch pads and the like have been integral parts of computer systems since the advent of graphical user interfaces. In many instances, such as self serve ticket vending terminals and automated teller machines, these devices are impractical and direct tactile contact with the computer screen is the preferred input mode. The variable display on the screen, coupled with the ability to sense the presence and position of a finger on the screen itself provides an efficient means for information entry, whether it is by display of a full keyboard for alpha-numeric entry such as ticket holder name or more limited "buttons" to press for selections, that can then be changed when a new screen is displayed. Use of such on-screen input, commonly termed "touch screen" technology eliminates moving parts and wearable contacts required for keyboards and physical buttons and switches and is ideal for many environments.
The touch screen as a tool for graphical user interface (GUI) with a computer is inherently more intuitive, and faster than alternatives such as the mouse or the light pen. The mouse or the light pen is precise but slow, translating the dexterity of the human hand to tedious positioning of a single indicator icon on a screen. The mouse or light pen is difficult to place briefly for high-speed applications such as music composition, game playing, and free hand drawing.
Touch screen technology has largely been implemented with transparent sheets placed over a display screen, wherein the sheets have variable electrical properties (capacitive, resistive, piezo-electric, acoustic, breakbeam IR) that can sense when pressure is applied to a particular area of the sheet. A drawback of the sensing sheets technologies is that the sheets are necessarily less hard and less durable than the glass or other clear panel of the underlying display. Hence these sheets are prone to wear and damage. The breakbeam IR gives false positives. Thus, there is a need for a reliable touch screen technology that works with a clear, sealed panel that is at least as durable as a typical display screen made of glass or acrylic.
Additional disadvantages of current touch screen technology are the high cost of large screens, degradation in screen clarity and excessive bulk that limits the ergonomic adjustment for access to large touch screens. The touch screens in current use are scalable to large size only with substantial increase in cost and bulk, and constrained in the number of simultaneous input positions that can be entered simultaneously, typically one.
Multiple-signal processing with rapid positioning would enable new applications such as rapid manual sorting and positioning of icons on the screen, game playing applications, document creation, music creation, art-work creation, multiple user use, and many other current and future applications.
The optical effect known as Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR) can be used to detect where an external object has touched a clear optical waveguide. Normally, light transmitted into the edge of a waveguide, which can be a simple flat piece of glass, will not escape the waveguide (e.g., the top or bottom surface of the transparent plastic or glass). When an object, such as a finger, is placed on the surface, however, the index of refraction (versus what was previously just air) is changed and the FTIR takes place. In such a case wherein light will now not be reflected at this point, and partly escapes from the wave guide. The light reflected from the finger is reflected in different directions, including through or out of the waveguide, and within the waveguide in different directions. For a flat piece of transparent plastic or glass, this effect would cause light to leave the surface of the transparent plastic or glass opposite of where a finger is placed. For example, if the edge of a sheet of transparent plastic or glass is evenly illuminated and one touched one surface of the transparent plastic or glass, the area under the point of contact would light up as viewed from under the point of contact. This optical phenomenon is well known, but to date, efficient, robust devices have not been developed to exploit FTIR to produce an effective touch screen input device. The wave guide can be flexible. So long as the material's flex stays within Snell's angle.

Photonic touch screen apparatus and method of use


A secure network architecture method and apparatus that provides security at all levels of the network. The system and method of the present invention provides communications profiles for all network resources that uniquely identify the individual network resources and provide for absolute object identity. Communications over the network are managed at all levels by the network resources themselves by virtue of individual communications profiles that are policed by arbitrators and network resources alike.

With the advent of computer networks has come the problem of secure communication over a network. In addition, it is important in networks dealing with critical transactions that an organization or individual have controls over who can send what information over the network and, as an added precaution, what network resources shall be permitted to accept what kinds of information.
Network architectures have been the subject of a great deal of inventive effort. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,726 to Pettus was granted for a "System For Activating New Service in Client Server Network by Reconfiguring the Multi-layer Network Protocol Stack Dynamically Within the Server Node." This patent allows a client, in a client server network, to access remote services by means of a communications directory located in each node of the network. The activities of the client are then controlled by the server which allows only certain activities to take place. Thus the client is effectively controlled by the server.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,209 to Boyle et al. was granted for an "Apparatus Invented for Providing Multi-level Security for Communication Among Computers and Terminals on a Network." This system is a multi-level security system employing a secure network interface unit between each host computer, user computer and the network. This system also provides for security management architecture for controlling operation and configuration of the secure network interface units. Each secure network interface unit is configured to perform certain defined activities. Thus, control in the network is achieved by virtue of a secure network interface unit. Presumably limitations on the activities of workstations on the network are also controlled by the secure network interface unit.
Other types of architectures have attempted to control processing on the network by imparting to servers or network computers certain controls over the processing taking place on the network. U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,453 to Rew et al. describes a system where all networks are connected to a network controller unit for controlling what traffic is permitted on the network.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,537 to Newmark et al was granted for "Distributing Processing System Having a Plurality of Computers Each Using Identical Retaining Information to Identify Another Computer for Executing a Received Command." This system causes a computer that receives a command to forward that command to another if the first computer can not fulfill the command. The emphasis here is on the ability to shift processing to computers that can perform the desired task.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,576 to Ramsay et al was granted for a "Method and Apparatus for the Transmission, Storage, and Retrieval of Documents in An Electronic Domain." This patent has a particular structure that facilitates processing time and achieves higher bandwidth over a network. Traffic on the network is concerned with maximizing the bandwidth of information that is sent over the network.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,385 to Tseung was granted for a "Guaranteed Reliable Broadcast Network." This patent introduces a concept of an "arbitrator node" which manages traffic over the network in order to guarantee that a message is received by a particular network resource even though the resource may be busy, slow, or temporarily out of service. Thus the arbitrator node performs the function of a "traffic cop."
Other patents in the network security arena relate to methodologies of encryption, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,188 to Wilson et al for "Public Encryption and Decryption Circuitry and Method," U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,293 to Michener et al for a "System Method and Apparatus for Authenticating an Encrypted Signal," and U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,079 to Holloway for "Non-repudiation in Computer Networks."
Other patents have been granted for authentication and signature verification. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,700 to Blandford was granted for "Devices to 1) Supply Authenticated Time and 2) Time Stamp and Authenticate Digital Documents," and U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,098 to Bouricius et al was granted for a "High Security System for Electronic Signature Verification." These and other tools provide certain software solutions whereby one party can sign a digital document and another party can authenticate from the source that the message is truly from a desired party.
These various approaches deal with control over the messages on a network as well as various forms of centralized control over traffic on the network.

Secure network architecture method and apparatus


Systems and devices configured to seal interfaces/gaps between stationary components of turbines and manipulate a flow of coolant about portions of the turbine during turbine operation are disclosed. In one embodiment, a seal element includes: a first surface shaped to be oriented toward a pressurized cavity of the turbine; a second surface oriented substantially opposite the first surface and shaped to sealingly engage a contact surface of the static components; and a first set of angular features disposed in the second surface, the first set of angular features fluidly connecting the pressurized cavity and the flowpath of the turbine.

Some power plant systems, for example certain nuclear, simple cycle and combined cycle power plant systems, employ turbines in their design and operation. Some of these turbines are driven by a flow of high temperature working fluid (e.g., steam, gas, etc.) which is directed over and/or through a series of stages and components (e.g., alternating stationary and rotary airfoils/buckets/blades) within the turbine to generate power. These components and stages may be located at close proximity (e.g., small clearances) relative to one another so as to decrease working fluid leakage through the system and improve turbine efficiency.
In some systems, working fluid may be contained within the flowpath and leaks reduced by passing a pressurized cooling fluid (e.g., compressor air) about the flowpath which is contained by a set of seals. Direct leakage of the pressurized cooling fluid into the flowpath and/or of the working fluid out of the turbine may reduce turbine efficiency and component and turbine lifespan. However, as a result of the high temperatures of the working fluid during operation, components (e.g., stators, blades, shells, etc.) may experience a significant increase in temperature, often rising across a temperature range of hundreds of degrees Celsius and resulting in thermal expansion which may require clearances between components which may cause leakage. As a result, some systems locate seals between segmented static turbine components (e.g., stator shells, shrouds, nozzles, gas path components, etc.). In most systems these seals are located away from the flowpath of the working fluid so as to reduce/limit exposure of the seal to the thermal extremes of the working fluid. This location however requires additional purge air to cool down the inter-segment chute region. Some other systems locate the seal at a closer proximity to the gas path, as a result these seals require active surface cooling to thermally withstand the impact of the hot working fluid flow proximate the seal surface. These seals may limit turbine design and operation, by requiring a large amount of coolant flow into the turbine system and subsequent leakage into the flowpath, thereby reducing turbine efficiency.

Seal system including angular features for rotary machine components


The invention relates to a permanent magnet rotor for an electric motor, in which the permanent magnets inside the rotor extend parallel to the rotation axis of the rotor, and in the area of the radially outer longitudinal edges of the permanent magnets, grooves that are open to the outside are formed on the outer periphery of the rotor. These groves are each, in a peripheral direction, slanted or curved with regard to the longitudinal edge of the adjacent permanent magnets. The center line of each groove intersects the longitudinal edge of the adjacent permanent magnet at least once. The grooves on the outside of the rotor have, in the peripheral direction, a smaller width than in an area of the groove situated radially further inside, and the cross-sectional shape of the groove is constant over the length of the rotor. The invention also relates to a method for producing a rotor of the aforementioned type.

The invention relates to a permanent magnet rotor for an electric motor, as well as to a method for manufacturing such a permanent magnet rotor.
With permanent magnet motors, permanent magnets are arranged in the rotor, distributed over the periphery. Block-like permanent magnets are applied for an as inexpensive as possible construction of the rotor, and these extend parallel to the rotation axis of the rotor in the inside of the rotor. This arrangement has the disadvantage, that the course of the torque of the motor has undesirable peaks or waves. In order to achieve a more uniform torque course, it is known to form free spaces or grooves in the rotor, in the region of the edges of the permanent magnets, and the magnetic flux is interrupted or reduced in their course. The grooves are designed in a helical manner or running in an oblique manner, in order thus to achieve a more uniform torque course. Grooves formed on the outer periphery of the rotor however lead to a larger air gap between the rotor and the stator, and thus to a loss of efficiency.

Permanent magnet rotor having slanted or curved grooves


An engine and a first final drive are disposed proximate a first set of road wheels, while the transmission and a second final drive are disposed proximate the second set of road wheels. A torque tube which operatively interconnects the engine containing section with the section in which the transmission is disposed, houses a first propeller shaft which transmits engine torque to the transmission, and a hollow second propeller shaft which is disposed coaxially about the first one, and which transmits torque back from the transmission to the engine containing section for application to the first set of road wheels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automotive four wheel drive train which includes a transfer gear via which engine drive output is distributed to the forward and rear wheels and more specifically to a four wheel drive train which enables the engine, clutch and transfer gear to be disposed at one end of the vehicle and the transmission to be located at the other end, and thus improves the vehicular weight distribution.
Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that in order to improve the overall handling characteristics of a vehicle it is advantageous to distribute the weight of the drive train evenly between the forward and rear axles.
One attempt to achieve the above mentioned type of weight distribution in a high performance vehicle has been to dispose the engine at the front of the vehicle, dispose the clutch, transmission and final drive (which are arranged in that order) at the rear, and interconnect the engine and the clutch with a propeller shaft which is housed in a torque tube.
While this has met with success in pure F-R type gear trains, adapting this concept to 4 WD type drive trains has encountered some difficulties in that it is necessary to add a transfer gear and to connect this with the front final drive.
A 4 WD arrangement of the above mentioned nature is disclosed in JP-A-62-247924. However, in this instance a number of drawbacks are encountered. That is to say, the propeller shaft which interconnects the transfer gear at the rear of the vehicle with the front final drive becomes excessively long. Further, the propeller shaft is offset to one side of the vehicle center line and thus tends to broaden the tunnel which ends through the vehicle cabin to an undesirable degree.
JP-A-61-157437 discloses another prior art four wheel drive train which is also based on an F-R drive arrangement. In this arrangement the engine, transmission, transfer and front final drive are disposed at the front of the vehicle, while the rear final drive is disposed at the rear of the same. The engine torque is transferred directly to the front wheels and to the rear wheels via a transfer clutch.
However, with this type of prior art four wheel drive train, as the engine, transmission, transfer and front final drive are disposed at the front of the vehicle chassis and only the rear transfer is disposed at the rear, the distribution of the weight with respect to the front and rear axles of the vehicle is such that a disproportionate amount is located near the front axle. As a result, the desired weight distribution is not achieved and the handling characteristics of the vehicle tend to be accordingly impaired.
Thus, as will be appreciated, in the case it is desired to adapt basic F-R or F-F type drive trains to provide 4WD, it is necessary to contrive a position for the transfer and the propeller shaft or shafts. For example, in the prior art when the transfer is connected to the transmission output shaft with normal techniques wherein the transfer is disposed toward the rear of the chassis, the propeller shaft which extends from the transfer to the front final drive must be extremely elongated and at the same time positioned not to interfere with the engine.


A speed reduction device for steering devices comprises a first rotary shaft supported by a housing and rotatable by an external force, a second rotary shaft axially movably fitted to the first rotary shaft and nonrotatable relative thereto, a movable member attached to the housing axially movably but nonrotatably and fitted to the second rotary shaft axially movably and rotatably relative thereto, a first ball screw connecting the second rotary shaft to the housing, and a second ball screw connecting the movable member to the second rotary shaft.

The present invention relates to steering devices and speed reduction devices for use in motor vehicles and the like.
With electric motor-driven power steering devices of the rack-pinion type, the rotation of the motor needs to be transmitted to a rack shaft (movable member) upon speed reduction. With such a conventional power steering device having a d.c. motor incorporated therein, the rotation of the motor is delivered, for example, to a worm reduction gear mechanism for speed reduction and then to the rack shaft by a pinion and a rack.
Another power steering device is also proposed which comprises a housing for supporting a rack shaft, a tubular rotary shaft disposed inside the housing and rotatable by an electric motor, and a ball nut (nut having recirculating balls) disposed inside the housing and rotatably supported, the rack shaft extending through the shaft and the nut. The rotation of the rotary shaft is transmitted through a planetary gear reduction mechanism to the ball nut, the rotation of which is transmitted to the rack shaft via a ball thread mechanism (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication SHO 60-154955).
On the other hand, a hydraulic power steering device of the ball thread type is known which comprises a housing having a cylinder portion, a rotary shaft (output shaft) disposed in the cylinder portion and rotatable by the rotation of a steering wheel, and a piston member (movable member) disposed in the cylinder portion and partitioning the interior of this portion into front and rear oil chambers. The rotation of the rotary shaft is transmitted to the piston member through a ball thread mechanism to move the piston member forward or rearward and thereby rotate a pitman shaft.
However, in the case of the conventional motor-driven power steering devices of the rack-pinion type stated, the characteristics of the d.c. motor involve a high-speed rotation and a low torque and therefore require a great reduction ratio, which necessitates a complex reduction mechanism such as those mentioned and exterts a great adverse effect on the performance involving return of the steering wheel. Furthermore, the use of the worm or planetary gear reduction mechanism for reducing the speed of rotation of the motor entails a great transmission loss, so that the motor needs to have an increased capacity. In the case where the ball thread mechanism is used for speed reduction, the reduction ratio is dependent on the lead of thread of the mechanism, whereas it is impossible to greatly change the lead of thread of the mechanism in view of the construction. This presents difficulty in greatly altering the reduction ratio, leading to reduced freedom of design.
The hydraulic power steering device of the ball thread type similarly has the problem of reduced freedom of design since the ball thread mechanism is used for speed reduction.
The same problem as above is also encountered with steering devices other than power steering devices and with other speed reduction devices.

Steering device and speed reduction device


A polycrystalline structure film is formed on the surface of a substrate in a magnetic recording medium. The second magnetic layer has a saturation magnetic flux density Bs larger than that of the first magnetic layer in the polycrystalline structure film, so that the magnetic layer for recordation ensures a larger residual magnetization Br, as compared with the case where the first magnetic layer solely forms a magnetic layer for recordation. A sufficient magnitude of product tBr of thickness t and residual magnetization Br can be obtained even if the thickness of the overall magnetic layer for recordation is reduced. A sufficient magnitude of magnetic outputs can be ensured. A reduced thickness of the magnetic layer serves to minimize the magnetic crystal grains in the first and second magnetic layers. A higher resolution of recordation and reproduction can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic recording disk incorporated within a hard disk drive (HDD), for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In general, a magnetic layer for recordation is layered on the surfaces of a substrate in a magnetic recording disk. The magnetic layer may include magnetic crystal grains formed based on cobalt (Co) atoms. As conventionally known, chromium (Cr) atoms are usually forced to diffuse along the boundaries between the adjacent ones of the magnetic crystal grains in the magnetic layer. This local diffusion of the Cr atoms serves to generate non-magnetic walls between the adjacent magnetic crystal grains. The Cr non-magnetic walls function to prevent the magnetic interaction between the adjacent magnetic crystal grains. The prevention of the magnetic interaction between the adjacent magnetic crystal grains in this manner reduces noise in reading out magnetic bit data from the magnetic recording disk.
The size of the magnetic crystal grains should be minimized to improve the recording density in the magnetic layer. It is well known that reduction in the thickness of the magnetic layer leads to minimization of the magnetic crystal grains. However, a reduced thickness of the magnetic layer inevitably induces a reduction in tBr, the product of thickness and residual magnetization, so that the intensity is reduced in the magnetic field leaking out of the magnetic layer. It is accordingly difficult to obtain the magnetic output of a sufficient magnitude. In addition, a reduced thickness of the magnetic layer is accompanied with a reduction in the coercivity Hc. If the coercivity Hc gets reduced, the magnetic bit data on the magnetic layer tends to get broken due to a thermal disturbance or the like.

Recording medium having magnetic layer of smaller thickness


A two-cycle internal combustion engine of the fuel injection type, which comprises a cylinder block provided with a combustion chamber and a scavenging passage; a scavenging passage cover constituting a portion of a wall of the scavenging passage; and a fuel injection nozzle mounted on and penetrating through the scavenging passage cover, a distal end portion of the fuel injection nozzle being directed into the combustion chamber so as to inject the fuel directly into the combustion chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a two-cycle internal combustion engine of the fuel injection type, and in particular to a two-cycle internal combustion engine of the fuel injection type which is relatively small in size and suited for use in a portable working machine such as a chain saw or a bush cutter.
2. The Prior Art
Because of the increasing concern in recent years of environmental problems, a reduction not only of the toxic substances in the exhaust gas but also of the engine noise is strongly demanded even in a small two-cycle internal combustion engine. In particular, there are pollution problems inherent to a two-cycle internal combustion engine, i.e. a problem of how to reduce the quantity of HC in the exhaust gas which is brought about due to a phenomenon of blow-by of unburnt air-fuel mixture from the combustion chamber, and a problem of how to prevent the discharge of the unburnt air-fuel mixture which is brought about due to a phenomenon of spitting of fuel toward the air-cleaner. These problems are also desired to be solved.
On the other hand, a lean burn engine or a direct injection engine, wherein fuel is directly injected into a combustion chamber, has been recently proposed as a four-cycle internal combustion engine. In these types of engine, the reduction of toxic substances in the exhaust gas by means of a lean-burning technique is taken into consideration Therefore, it is now studied how to apply this technique to a two-cycle internal combustion engine.
The conventional two-cycle internal combustion engine of relatively small size (total displacement. 60 cc or less) which is now employed in a portable working machine such as a chain saw or a bush cutter, is generally composed of a cylinder portion having a cylindrical inner wall, so as to allow a piston to be slidable fitted therein, a head portion provided with a combustion chamber of the so-called squish dome type, and a plurality of air-cooling fins formed on the outer peripheries of these cylinder and head portion. The cylinder portion is provided with a suction port and an exhaust port which are disposed respectively at the upper and lower portion of the cylinder portion so as to face to each other. A pair of scavenging ports are also formed in the inner wall of the cylinder portion so as to face to each other, the openings of these scavenging ports being located to intersect at a right angle with the suction port and exhaust port. There is also known an internal combustion engine which is aimed at facilitating the monoblock casting of the cylinder portion and the head portion by means of a high pressure die casting, wherein a pair of openings for casting are formed along each scavenging passage communicating with the scavenging port so as to expose each scavenging passage. In this case, a pair of scavenging passage covers, each having a smoothly curved inner surface in conformity with the scavenging passage and prepared separately from the cylinder portion, is attached to the openings-for-casting, respectively, so as to close the openings-for-casting, thereby forming smoothly curved scavenging passages.
On the other hand, a two-cycle internal combustion engine of the direct fuel injection type is also proposed, wherein a fuel injection nozzle is disposed at a cylinder head portion of the combustion chamber so as to permit the injection of fuel to be effected directly to the combustion chamber. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,391.) In this two cycle internal combustion engine, a fuel pump is actuated taking advantage of the fluctuation in pressure within a crank case. Through such actuation of the fuel pump, fuel is fed to the fuel injection nozzle and then directly injected into the combustion chamber, thereby allowing the fuel to be mixed with suction air that has been sucked via the scavenging port into the combustion chamber, the resultant air-fuel mixture being ignited and burnt.
There is also known another example of a two-cycle internal combustion engine of the direct fuel injection type, wherein a fuel injection nozzle is disposed midway of an air passage (scavenging passage) communicating with the combustion chamber. Fuel from the injection nozzle is injected toward a heat conductive wall constituting a cylinder wall and allowed to impinge thereon so as to be gasified and mixed with air passing through the air passage, the resultant air-fuel mixture being fed to combustion chamber (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,999).
However, in the case of the former engine of direct fuel injection type (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,391) wherein the fuel injection nozzle is mounted on the cylinder body and fuel is directly injected from the fuel injection nozzle into the combustion chamber, a hole for mounting the injection nozzle and communicating with the interior of the cylinder body is required to be formed in the cylinder body. Namely, a troublesome working of the cylinder body is required to be performed. At the same time, since the injection nozzle is mounted on the combustion chamber portion of the cylinder body, the heat from the combustion chamber is conducted through the cylinder body to the injection nozzle, thereby heating the injection nozzle with the result that the fuel in the injection nozzle may be excessively heated before being injected.
On the other hand, in the case of the latter internal combustion engine (U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,999), since the fuel from the injection nozzle is injected toward the wall of the air passage communicating with the combustion chamber so as to be impinged thereon and mixed with air, a phenomenon of spitting of fuel toward the air-cleaner, which is disposed for feeding air to the engine, may tend to occur. In such case, unburnt air-fuel mixture may be released through the air-cleaner to the ambient atmosphere, thus producing an environmental problem. Furthermore, since the fuel from the injection nozzle is injected toward a heat conductive wall constituting the cylinder wall, it is difficult to control the air/fuel ratio of the engine, such as the aforementioned lean burn combustion.


In an image pickup lens 1 composed three glass lenses, the glass lenses are composed of a first lens L1 having a convex surface facing a subject side and positive refracting power, an aperture S, a second lens L2 having a convex surface facing an image side and negative refracting power, and a third lens L3 having a concave surface facing the image side and positive refracting power which are disposed sequentially from the subject side as well as all the lens surfaces are composed of aspheric surfaces and the following conditional formulas (A0) and (A1) are satisfied.f/f2<−0.9  (A0)2<|R21+R22|/|R21−R22|<5  (A1)

Recently, as a personal computer and the like have become widespread, a digital still camera, digital video camera, and the like (hereinafter, simply referred to as "digital camera") that can easily capture image information to digital equipment have entered a period of proliferation targeting at individual users. It is anticipated that such digital cameras will be widely diffused hereafter as image information input equipment.
Further, since solid state image pickup devices such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), and the like make progress on the path to miniaturization, the digital camera is also required to reduce its size. Accordingly, it is strongly requested to make an image pickup lens, which occupies a maximum space in the digital input equipment, compact. The easiest method to reduce the size of the image pickup lens, is to miniaturize the solid state image pickup device. But, to miniaturize the solid state image pickup device, a light receiving device must be miniaturized, which makes it more difficult to manufacture the solid state image pickup device. Furthermore, miniaturization of the image pickup lens inevitably requires sophisticated performance.
In contrast, when the size of the image pickup lens is reduced while maintaining the size of the solid state image pickup device unchanged, the position of an exit pupil inevitably gets nearer to an image surface. When the position of the exit pupil gets nearer to the image surface, since off-axial light beams emitted from the image pickup lens are obliquely incident on the image surface at a large angle, the light converging performance of a microlens (array) disposed on the front surface of the solid state image pickup device cannot be sufficiently exhibited, from which a problem arises in that the brightness of an image is extremely different between the central portion of the image and the peripheral portion thereof. When it is intended to dispose the exit pupil of the image pickup lens at a far position to solve the problem, the size of image pickup lens cannot help being increased in its entirety.
Further, it is also strongly requested to reduce the cost of the image pickup lens due to recent price lowering competition. To cope with the above requests, there is proposed an image pickup lens composed of three lenses (disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-272598), Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-163849), and Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-52227).

Image pickup lens and image pickup device

Abstract: With this arrangement, there is provided a compact and less expensive image pickup lens having a good optical performance and used to a solid image pickup device and an image pickup device using the image pickup lens.


A high-voltage system including a high-voltage battery and a DC/DC converter, the high-voltage system having two different galvanically connected voltage levels with enabled DC/DC converters. A first measuring device detects the voltage of the high-voltage battery and a second measuring device detects the voltage at the output of the DC/DC converter. An insulation resistance measuring device may be configured to carry out insulation resistance measurements only when the DC/DC converter is disabled. A third measuring device may detect a voltage between a positive high voltage line and the ground and a fourth measuring device and a voltage between a negative high-voltage line and the ground. An insulation monitoring device may monitor the insulation resistances from data of the first to fourth measuring device at least when the DC/DC converter is enabled.

High-voltage systems are usually designed as IT systems and thus are not directly connected to ground. A problem with such systems is that a fault in the insulation on high-voltage lines could result in a short to ground, which could in turn lead to a surge of electrical current that damages other components in the high-voltage system, or damages other components in the equipment in which the high-voltage system is operating. Such a short could even cause a dangerous situation. Accordingly, the insulation used to insulate high-voltage lines is commonly monitored.
A technique for monitoring insulation is to cyclically charge Y capacitors (or CY capacitors) and then measure the capacitor's discharge to determine the insulation resistance. The Y capacitors are arranged between each of the high-voltage lines (positive and negative) and ground. The Y capacitors are typically used to conduct RF interference signals to ground, which are often generated by pulse inverters, but they also can be used to evaluate insulation resistance along the high-voltage lines. However, in high-voltage systems with a DC/DC converter where two different galvanically connected voltage levels exist, the Y capacitors cannot be measured during active operation of the DC/DC converter and thus they cannot be used to evaluate the integrity of insulation along the high-voltage lines.
A device is known for monitoring insulation between a low-voltage network and a high-voltage network that are not galvanically isolated from one another. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,891,262 discloses a device that can be connected to a low voltage network and then to positive and negative high-voltage connections in a high-voltage network. The device has a plurality of electrical contacts that can be electrically coupled to different sections of the high-voltage network for testing insulation of the section in the circuit to which the electrical contacts are connected.
A problem with known monitoring or testing systems is that they are not capable of monitoring insulation resistance in high-voltage systems having two or more voltage levels that are galvanically isolated from one another.

Monitoring insulation faults in a high-voltage system


A chopper stabilized amplifier has differential inputs, an output, and a low frequency path and a high frequency path from the differential inputs to the output. Chopping occurs, at a chopping frequency, of a differential signal at differential inputs and outputs of an amplifier stage of the low frequency path to thereby produce a chopped differential signal that has a DC offset of the amplifier stage frequency shifted up to the chopping frequency. A continuous time filter embedded between a pair of further amplifier stages of the low frequency path is used to attenuate chopper frequency ripple resulting from the chopping at the chopping frequency. Additionally, a buffer is used to allow feedback through a compensation capacitor for the low frequency path, yet prevent chopper frequency ripple from feeding forward through the compensation capacitor to the output of the amplifier.

FIG. 1A shows a multipath hybrid nested Miller compensation amplifier 100 disclosed in FIG. 11 of an article by Eschauzier et al, entitled "A programmable 1.5 V CMOS class-AB operational amplifier with hybrid nested Miller compensation for 120 dB gain and 6 MHz UGF," Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of, Volume 29, Issue 12, Dec. 1994 Pages: 1497-1504. The amplifier 100 is a multistage amplifier, combining both forward nesting (C2) and backward nesting (C3) of inner Miller feedback inside the outer Miller compensation loop (C1). Both C2 and C3 are at the same nesting level, so the design equations are similar to the singly nested multipath Miller amplifier disclosed in an article by Eschauzier et al., entitled "A 100-MHz 100-dB operational amplifier with multipath nested Miller compensation structure," Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of Volume 27, Issue 12, December 1992 Pages: 1709-1717.
A problem with the amplifier 100 is that DC offsets in amplifier stage Gm1 adversely affect the output of the amplifier 100. As shown in FIG. 1B, choppers 112 and 114 can be placed at the input and output of Gm1 to attenuate such DC offsets. To facilitate chopping, the output of Gm1 is made differential, Gm2 is given a differential input, and the Miller compensation capacitor C1 is split into C1a and C1b. The resulting amplifier 101 of FIG. 1B is the same as the circuit shown in FIG. 7.1 of an Article by Huijsing entitled "Instrumentation Amplifier Developments" AACD 2008 Proceedings, 2008 Pages: 105-119. Referring to FIG. 1B, the chopper 112 at the input of Gm1 frequency shifts the input signal up to the chopping frequency. The chopper 114 at the output of Gm1 shifts the signal back to baseband, but DC offset and 1/f noise from Gm1 remain frequency shifted up to the chopping frequency.


An eddy current magnetic braking system that is based on drag created when a conductor moves through a stationary magnetic field. As the magnetic field increases the drag value also increases. The invention provides a magnetic braking system for use on zip line/cable rides and trolleys. Alternate designs of the present invention include a magnetic braking system having a trolley that moves on a zip line/cable to a brake block which is connected to a pulley cable, as the trolley pushes the brake block, the pulley moves the conductor into a magnetic field creating an eddy current brake that slows the trolley to a stop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to brake systems and, more specifically, to a trolley magnetic braking system comprising a magnetic member having a base with diverging arms having magnetic elements fixed thereto providing opposing spaced apart magnetic fields and a trolley mechanism having a conductive element fastened thereto and outwardly depending therefrom that is driven into the converging magnetic fields creating eddy currents that retard movement of the conductive element and attached trolley mechanism creating a braking system having no moving parts.
Alternate designs of the present invention include a magnetic braking system wherein the conductive member is removed from the trolley and attached via a zipline/cable to a brake block so that the trolley will engage the brake block at a predetermined point driving the cable attached conductive member into the magnetic field slowing the trolley to a stop. As the magnetic field increases the drag value also increases.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other braking systems designed for the same purpose. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 1,898,555 issued to McCune on Feb. 21, 1933.
Another patent was issued to Yoshio Nomura et al. on Apr. 14, 1970 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,862. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,795 was issued to Baermann on Mar. 27, 1973 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 31, 1978 to Baermann as U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,922.
Another patent was issued to Kroger et al. on Jan. 26, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,891. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,897 was issued to Saumweber et al. on Mar. 28, 2000. Another was issued to Pribonic on 25, Sep. 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,376 and still yet another was issued on Jul. 2, 2002 to Pribonic as U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,611.
Another patent was issued to Pribonic et al. on Mar. 18, 2003 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,083. Yet another France Patent No. FR2832114 was issued to Kroger Uwe on May 16, 2003. Another was issued to Yasuaki on Oct. 6, 2005 as Japan Patent No. JP2005271704.

Eddy current braking system for trolley zip line cable


A model-based system and method for global optimization that utilizes quantum mechanics in order to approximate the global minimum of a given problem (e.g., mathematical function). A quantum mechanical particle with a sufficiently large mass has a ground state solution to the Schrödinger Equation which is localized to the global minimum of the energy field, or potential, it experiences. A given function is modeled as a potential, and a quantum mechanical particle with a sufficiently large mass is placed in the potential. The ground state of the particle is determined, and the probability density function of the ground state of the particle is calculated. The peak of the probability density function is localized to the global minimum of the potential.

"Optimization" is a process of finding an "ideal" and/or "best" solution to a given computer problem, as defined by a mathematical function describing a specific problem. Many problems exist which can be described by a mathematical function, wherein the "ideal" or "best" solution to the problem is the global minimum of the mathematical function.
The art of finding the global minimum of a function is referred to as global optimization. Model-based global optimization techniques have been applied to determine the minimum value for complex functions. A well-known example of a model-based global optimization technique is simulated annealing, which is a physical interpretation of a global optimization problem. Simulated annealing utilizes the classical laws of physics to determine a solution. Briefly, the simulated annealing process derives from the roughly analogous physical process of slowly cooling a particle within a system until the particle reaches its ground state. In simulation, a minimum of the function corresponds to this ground state of the particle.
More specifically, as the temperature of the system is lowered, the particle will slide in and out of certain minima. If the temperature is lowered slowly enough, the particle will eventually slide into the global minimum and thus reach its ground state.
Simulated annealing, as well as other known global optimization techniques, decreases in efficiency as the dimensionality (and thus complexity) of a problem grows. For example, when using the simulated annealing method to factor an integer, the computational time to factor the integer can grow (e.g., exponentially) with the size of the integer.

Quantum mechanical model-based system and method for global optimization


Method for controlling a device for changing the spreading ring sector of a disc spreader including a controllable metering device, a distributor disc arranged underneath the metering device and provided with thrower blades, and the device for changing the spreading ring sector of the granular material on the ground. Functional dependencies of a setting parameter of the device for changing the spreading ring sector on a throwing parameter are stored in a database of a control unit assigned to the device for adjusting the spreading ring sector, and a set point value of the throwing parameter or of the setting parameter corresponding thereto is input in the control unit. An actual value of the throwing parameter is determined using a sensor, arranged near to the circumference of the distributor disc, and the actual value of the throwing parameter is compared with the set point value thereof in the control unit.

Such disc spreaders are in widespread use, in particular, in agriculture for distributing granular material, such as mineral or organic fertilizer and the like, but also in the form of winter service spreaders for distributing gritting salt and/or grit. Their advantages are predominantly their ease of operation and high level of efficiency alongside comparatively low investment costs. In particular in the case of agricultural disc spreaders, for the most part two-disc fertilizer spreaders have become established, these spreaders being equipped with a pair of distributor discs with metering elements assigned thereto.
In order to ensure the granular material is distributed as desired on the ground, in modern disc spreaders of this type it is possible to perform open-loop or closed-loop control of, on the one hand, the metering of the mass flow of the granular material onto the distributor disc which is assigned to a respective metering device and, on the other hand, the distribution of the granular material by the distributor disc or discs. For the latter it is customary to provide devices for changing the spreading ring sector in order to provide the disc spreader for, for example, different working widths, granular materials and/or types of distribution.
Moreover, however, for the quality of the spreading result in the case of disc spreaders of the generic type which are equipped with rotating distributor discs a determining factor is also to distribute the granular material as uniformly as possible on the ground, such as, for example, the area of a field on which material is to be spread. After the granular material which has been placed on the rotating distributor disc by its metering device has been accelerated by said distributor disc towards its circumference, the granular material is ejected in a fan-like fashion over a specific ejection range, after which the granular material then drops to the ground at a distance from the distributor disc in an essentially annular-segment-shaped range, referred to as the spreading ring sector. In this context, the mass distribution of the granular material is transverse with respect to the direction of travel of the centrifugal spreader, that is to say not uniform over its spreading width but instead the mass distribution generally decreases from a maximum in the central area towards both sides, specifically the essentially radial boundaries with respect to the distributor disc. By arranging one next to the other two distributor discs which are driven in opposite directions, as is customary in the case of two-disc spreaders of the generic type, the transverse distribution of the granular material can be homogenized in the area between the distributor discs and at a short lateral distance from the same, but nevertheless it decreases towards both sides of the entire spreading pattern which is obtained in this way. In the case of fertilizer spreaders this is compensated by what is referred to as the overlap method in which the spreading patterns are overlapped at the edge area. This consequently results in what is referred to as a working width which corresponds to the distance between the lanes used in the overlap method and which is basically smaller than the (total) spreading width which can be, for example, approximately twice as large as the working width. In contrast, in other applications such as, in particular, in the case of winter service spreaders it is attempted to achieve a spreading pattern which has edges which are as steep as possible since an overlap method is not possible here.
In the case of a disc spreader the transverse distribution of the granular material is firstly determined decisively by the spreading ring sector which is generated by its—or by each—distributor disc, specifically by the geometry and spatial position thereof. These are properties which are in turn decisively influenced by the physical of the granular material, specifically on the one hand by the sliding behavior of the particles of the granular material on the disc, on the other hand by the flight behavior thereof after they leave the disc. In this way, particles which slide well, and are therefore relatively smooth and round, leave the disc earlier than relatively rough and sharp-edged particles. In a polar coordinate system with the axis of the distributor disc as a center point, the spreading ring sector therefore migrates in the direction of rotation the rougher and more sharp-edged the particles. On the other hand, the average flight distance of small, lightweight, sharp-edged or rough particles is shorter than that of large, smooth or heavy particles, with the result that in the first case the spreading ring sector is closer to the distributor disc and also has a shorter radial extent than in the second case.
Apart from the granular-material-specific influencing factors, structural parameters also play a role. For example, the centering angle of the spreading ring sector is influenced by the mass flow of granular material which impacts on the distributor disc, i.e. by the respective setting of the associated metering device, in the sense that it becomes larger the larger the mass flow of granular material or the greater the extent to which the metering device is opened. Furthermore, the point at which the granular material is placed on the distributor disc influences the position of the spreading ring sector to the extent that it migrates further counter to the direction of rotation the further the placing point is away from the axis. Furthermore, the spreading ring sector can be "rotated" about the rotational axis of the distributor disc if the placing point of the granular material is moved in the circumferential direction of the distributor disc. Finally, the rotational speed of the distributor disc or discs also determines the extent and position of the spreading ring sector, wherein the faster the distributor disc rotates, the larger the spreading ring sector and the further away it is from the distributor disc.
Since the granular-material-specific properties, that is to say, in particular, the sliding properties and flight properties of the particles of granular material (fraction) which are used, can be controlled the least and are most likely to be subject to fluctuations, in the fertilizing technology use is made of what are referred to as spreading tables, in which, for a specific granular material, corresponding settings for achieving specific working widths and spreading quantities at the disc spreader, that is to say for example the rotational speed of the distributor discs, the position of the point at which the granular material is placed on the distributor discs, the size of the metering opening of the metering device etc. can be read off in order to distribute a specific quantity of the granular material over a specific working width. These spreading tables are recorded in spreading trials and always apply only to the specifically investigated granular material and the spreader used in the context. Since, on the one hand, the granular materials are not standardized and consequently have changing properties (for example the physical properties of usually hygroscopic mineral fertilizer particles are therefore capable of changing hugely in the presence of moisture), and on the other hand the disc spreaders also differ from one another in structural terms it is frequently necessary, in certain circumstances before the spreading work, firstly to perform what is referred to as a turning off test in order to correct the setting of the metering opening of the metering device in accordance with the result of the turning off test and subsequently carry out a spreading test under operating conditions in order to optimize the spreading pattern or the actual distribution of the granular material on the ground in approximately annular-segment-shaped boundaries by means of setting measures at the disc spreader. However, even this often does not bring about a uniform transverse distribution of the granular material because the distribution is influenced by further factors during the spreading operation (subsequently), for example the inclination situation of the spreader on uneven ground, by influences of the wind, the exposure of the granular material to air humidity or even rain, by possible changes, mentioned above, in the physical properties of the granular material etc.
In the prior art it has already been recognized that eliminating these deficiencies is only possible by recording current spreading states during the spreading work in order to be able to intervene in a corrective fashion in the setting or control of the disc spreader when deviations are detected. It is therefore known, for example, to arrange two or more impact sensors on the circumference of the distributor disc in order to detect the general position of the ejection range, and to record a measurement variable which is representative of the number of particles per time unit (EP 0 682 857 A1). In a specific case, the impact sensors are embodied in a tubular shape and arranged on a carrier which can be adjusted manually in a transverse direction, wherein the sound emitted by the tube is measured with a sonotrode. In this context, it is assumed that a type of Gaussian normal distribution with a maximum quantity in the center is present within the spreading ring sector with the result that if the sensor is located in the region of the greatest particle density, which corresponds to the greatest number of impacts, the center of the spreading ring sector has been detected. By changing the setting of the spreader (moving the placing point, changing the rotational speed etc.), the maximum is moved into the desired position and it is then assumed that the spreading ring sector is also located in the desired position. However, in this way it is not possible to detect the transverse distribution of the granular material over the entire ejection range and this method ignores, in particular, the fact that the maximum quantity does not necessarily have to be located in the centre of the spreading sector. No conclusions whatsoever about the radial extent of the spreading ring sector, that is to say in the ejection direction, can be drawn from the number of impacts either. The centering angle of the spreading ring sector cannot be detected with only two positionally fixed sonotrodes either. Consequently, overall considerable inaccuracies occur when detecting the actual state by sensor.
In a similar but purely visually operating method (DE 14 57 863 A1), the sensors are embodied as pivotably suspended impact plates which are deflected when the particles of granular material impact, with the result that the user can determine visually whether the plate has been impacted by particles. In this way, the user can approximately gauge the radial boundary of the spreading ring sector and appropriately set the disc spreader when undesired deviations occur. Otherwise, what has been stated above with respect to EP 0 682 857 A1 very largely applies.
Furthermore, it is known (EP 0 303 325 A1) to distribute a plurality of sensors on the circumference of the distributor disc in order to display to the driver the position of the ejection range on the distributor disc and subsequently correspondingly intervene in the control in a manual or automatic fashion. The document leaves open how these sensors operate and which measurement variables are recorded in the process. In all the abovementioned cases, only the position of the ejection range, and in the case mentioned first the position of the maximum quantity, is determined and corrective intervention is carried out in the case of deviations. On the other hand, neither the actual position and extent of the spreading ring sector, i.e. that range in which the particles are actually deposited on the ground, nor the mass distribution which is present there is detected. Instead, it is assumed that the ratios which are present or detected directly at the circumference of the disc are equally present on the ground, which does not correspond to the facts.
In a two-disc spreader of the design mentioned last, which is also known, not only the ejection range is detected by means of sensors, but also the quantities of granular material which is actually spread are detected (EP 0 287 165 A1) in that the container with the granular material is weighed using a subtraction method, that is to say the granular material which is discharged per time unit is detected. As a result, although definitive information is obtained about the quantity of granular material discharged, such definitive information is not obtained about the quantity distribution in the spreading ring sector. Moreover, the detection of the weight is structurally very complex and also inaccurate on uneven ground because of the dynamic operation of the disc spreader.
In addition, in the case of a single-disc spreader it is known (EP 0 300 580 A1) to make the spreading ring sector wider or narrower by moving the point at which the granular material is placed on the distributor disc. In order to detect the current extent of the ejection range, optical light sensors or acoustic sensors, which operate according to the reflection principle, are arranged on the disc circumference. These sensors detect not only whether particles are actually located in the beam path, but also the density thereof. In the case of deviations of input set point values, the ejection range is correspondingly changed by moving the placing point and/or the quantity of granular material by controlling the metering opening. However, in fact only the ejection range at the disc and not the spreading ring sector is also determined here and the sensory detection of the granular material is subject to considerable inaccuracies.
DE 195 00 824 A1 discloses a further method in which the stream of fertilizer is recorded photooptically in terms of its direction and speed and the quantity of fertilizer is detected and the data which is determined is input into a computer for determining the transverse distribution and distribution accuracy. The fertilizer spreader is to be set according to predefined boundary limits on the basis of the calculated data. In this method, on the one hand measurement is carried out at a location in the ejection range which is not detected, on the other hand, the relationships between the measured values and the settings which are performed subsequently cannot be understood on the basis of the document.
DE 197 23 359 A1 describes a disc spreader of the generic type in the form of a two-disc spreader with a granular material container with metering openings which can be adjusted by means of metering devices, distributor discs which are arranged underneath the metering openings, run around an essentially vertical axis and have thrower blades which distribute the granular material in a spreading ring sector on the ground, as well as having devices for changing the spreading ring sector which are capable of adjusting the point at which the granular material is placed on the distributor discs and/or the thrower wings of the distributor discs or else of changing the inclination of the distributor discs with respect to the normal plane. A method for setting such a two-disc spreader for distributing the granular material in an adjustable quantity over an adjustable working width is described, according to which quantity of granular material (setting of the metering device) and at least one throwing parameter which characterizes the flight behavior of a specific granular material, such as the ejection range, the mass distribution in the ejection range and the average flight distance are stored as set point values in a computer for each working width. By means of a sensor which is arranged near to the circumference of the distributor disc and which is capable of detecting the ejection range in which the particles of granular material leave the distributor disc, the mass distribution of the granular material within the ejection range and the absolute mass of the granular material per time unit are detected as actual values in addition to the ejection range. The current value which characterizes the flight behavior can be determined on the basis of the actual value of the mass per time unit and the setting of the metering device or the size of the metering opening thereof and/or on the basis of the actual value of the ejection range and the mass distribution as well as the position of the device for changing the spreading ring sector. In evaluation electronics, the actual values are compared with the set point values and the metering opening of the metering device is set to the predefined quantity of granular material on the basis of the detected deviations, and the ejection range, the mass distribution within said range and the average flight distance are set to the set point values by means of the device for changing the spreading ring sector.
However, with such a disc spreader which is embodied in such a way it has also been found that the setting parameters of the device for changing the spreading ring sector, generated on the basis of the actual values, detected by sensor, for the respective throwing parameters are subject to considerable inaccuracies which result in correspondingly inaccurate setting of the device for changing the spreading ring sector of the disc spreader, which results in a transverse distribution of the granular material (over the working width) which is not optimum.

Method for controlling a device for changing the spreading ring sector of a disc spreader and disc spreader designed to carry out such a method


A process and an apparatus which allows, while an input focus is located in a first input area on a display screen, an input of information through a second input area on the display screen. First, it is determined whether or not there is a key input from a keyboard, where the key input is predefined for inputting information through the second input area, and is not predefined for inputting information through the first input area, while the input focus is located in the first input area. When it is determined that there is the above key input, the information designated by the key input, is input through the second input area, while maintaining the location of the input focus in the first input area.

1.Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to process and apparatus, to be used in or as a portion of a man-machine interface system, for allowing or assisting an operator to input information into an input area among a plurality of input areas, respectively provided for a plurality of information items, in a display screen. A typical example of such an input area is a "control", which is defined by Microsoft Corporation, for example, in "Windows 95 Software Development Kit For Far East, .alpha. version". Namely, the "control" may be a child window in a dialog box or another window, and the child window may be an "edit control (text box)", into which a text (sequence of characters, numbers, and/or symbols) can be inserted; or a "list box" or a group of "option buttons", or a group of "check boxes", where in each of the "list box", a group of "option buttons", and a group of "check boxes" a plurality of optional items are listed for an operator to select one among the plurality of optional items. The process according to the present invention comprises a series of specific operational steps to be performed on or with the aid of a computer, and the apparatus according to the present invention is a computer or other programmable apparatus whose actions are directed by a computer program or other form of software (for example, hardware logic circuitry). The present invention also relates to a computer-readable memory (or computer-readable data storage medium) which stores a program such that a computer used with the computer-readable memory executes the above process according to the present invention, and functions as the above apparatus according to the present invention. Although all of the explanations in this specification are provided for the Windows system, it will be apparent that all of the matters explained in this specification based on the Windows system, can be easily applied to another graphic user interface (GUI) system, for example, used in the Macintosh system, the UNIX system, the OS/2 system, and the like.
2.Description of the Related Art
In the Windows system, when a dialog box contains a plurality of controls such as edit controls and/or list boxes, an input focus is given to one of the controls (in other words, one of the controls is designated as a control which can receive information input from an operator) by clicking an area of the control by a mouse, or pressing a TAB key on a keyboard, where the location of the input focus cyclically moves from one control to another when the TAB key is pressed. Namely, in the conventional Windows system, when an operator wishes to change the location of the input focus, an operator must repeatedly press the TAB key until the location of the input focus reaches the control into which the operator wishes to input information, after the cyclical moving of the input focus, or the operator must move his or her hand away from the keyboard to find, move and click a mouse, and move the hand back to the keyboard for keyboard operations following the mouse operation for changing the location of the input focus.
Therefore, according to the conventional Windows system, the operators are bothered with troublesome operations to change the location of the input focus in a dialog box or in a window.

Man-machine interface system allowing input of information by operator into non-input-focused control among more than one controls on display screen with minimum key operation


A portable device includes a data file storage device, a camera section with an image pickup function and a schedule management section that manages a user's schedule. The data file storage device includes a picture file storage region for storing picture files and a schedule storage region for storing schedule data. When storing a picture file of a picture picked up by the camera section in the picture file storage region, schedule data that matches the file creation date and time of the picture file is searched among the entire schedule data stored in advance in the schedule storage region. When there is schedule data that matches the file creation date and time, schedule character data that represents the content of the schedule is obtained and a filename and/or a folder name is created based on the schedule character data obtained, or the schedule character data is embedded in EXIF data and stored.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data file storage device, a data file storage program and a data file storage method, for storing data files such as picture files.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recently, among portable equipment such as portable telephones and PDAs (personal digital assistants) with schedule management functions that can store users' schedule, there are some that are being developed with built-in image pickup functions such as with digital cameras or movie cameras, and there are some that are being developed in the opposite configuration, where the schedule management functions are built-in in digital cameras.
Conventionally, in these equipment, filenames with serial numbers assigned, such as "0001.jpg," or filenames of random character strings are automatically set for picture files of imaged pictures that are picked up (or text files); alternatively, filenames in which a plurality of character data, such as "980310-suzukitaro-003.jpg," in which a date "980310," a user name "Suzuki Taro," and a serial number "003," are combined are automatically set.

Data file storage device with automatic filename creation function, data file storage program and data file storage method


A method of forming substrate vias in a GaAs wafer begins with a GaAs wafer in which all top side processing steps are complete. The top surface of the GaAs wafer includes top surface via contacts, which are in electrical contact with the bottom surface ground plane once the ground vias are complete. A protective layer is formed on the top surface of the wafer to protect the finished integrated circuitry. A portion of the substrate is removed from the bottom surface to achieve a thin layer of substrate material. The bottom surface of the thinned substrate is metalized with a first metal layer. Laser via holes are drilled into the thinned substrate from the bottom surface of the wafer to within a few microns from the top surface metal via contacts. The laser holes are drilled by emitting a controlled number of single pulses over the selected via location. The substrate vias are subsequently wet etched to remove the remaining substrate thickness and the bottom surface of the wafer and the substrate via holes are metalized with a second metal layer. The second metal layer fills the via holes and establishes electrical contact between the top surface via contacts and the bottom surface ground plane. In a final step, the protective layer is removed from the top surface of the wafer.

This invention relates generally to a method of forming substrate vias for connecting a top surface via contact in an integrated circuit to a bottom surface ground plane and, more particularly, to a manufacturable method of forming the substrate vias in a thinned GaAs wafer.
Monolithic microwave integrated circuit ("MMIC") manufacturers are well aware of the need for low inductance source grounding to achieve high RF gain. Traditionally, source grounding was achieved by etching vias through the substrate and subsequently metallizing the vias with gold, providing a conducting path between the ground plane on the back of the die to front side interconnect of the die. The conductive paths through the semi-insulating GaAs substrate are known to improve the RF gain of MMIC amplifiers and therefore play a critical role in the circuit's electrical performance.
Until recently, the process for fabricating substrate vias in GaAs wafers has been accomplished with wet chemical etching or dry plasma etching. However, both of these techniques have undesirable characteristics. Dry chemical etching imposes increased safety risks, and wet chemical etching does not produce the uniform results needed for dependable, high yielding circuits. In addition, production throughput is limited by the etching rates using either of these techniques.
Production throughput can also be limited by the physical handling of the GaAs wafer. The top surface of the wafer must be protected during bottom surface processing. Typically, this is accomplished by coating the top surface of the wafer with a protective coating, or creating a sandwich of the GaAs wafer with a carrier wafer. As wafer sizes have increased to a four inch diameter, removing the protective coating or carrier wafer can be a difficult and slow process with attendant risks of damaging the wafer, thus limiting production throughput.
Accordingly, a need remains for a manufacturable method of fabricating vias in GaAs wafers that does not impose a safety risk, produces uniform results, has a well controlled depth, and does not limit production throughput or damage the wafer.

Method of forming substrate vias in a GaAs wafer