A method of controlling signal transmission in a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication system including selecting a modulation and code set (MCS) for each of M data streams transmitted via M transmitting antennas in a transmitting side of the MIMO system, and selectively selecting M−1 or fewer transmitting antennas from the M transmitting antennas for transmitting the data streams based on channel quality information indicative of a transmission performance of the selected MCS corresponding to each of the M transmitting antennas. In another example, the present invention provides a novel method of controlling signal transmission in a MIMO communication system including selecting M weight vectors for streams transmitted by each of M transmitting antennas in a transmitting side of the MIMO system, and selectively selecting M−1 or fewer streams and weight vectors from the M weight vectors for transmitting data streams based on channel quality information indicative of transmission performance of the selected weight vectors corresponding to each of the M vector spaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of signal processing applied to a Multi-Input/Multi-Output (MIMO) system, and more particularly to a signal processing method by which a data stream is transmitted selectively using only some of a plurality of available transmitting antennas or weight vectors based on channel quality information for each transmitting antenna.
2. Background of the Related Art
A V-BLAST (Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space Time) system is one example of a MIMO system, which includes M transmitting antennas and N receiving antenna (where N≧M). See, for example, P. W. Wolniansky, G. J. Foschini, G. D. Golden and R. A. Valenzuela, 'V-BLAST: An Architecture for Realizing Very High Data Rates over the Rich-scattering Wireless Channel', IEE Electronics Letters, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 14-16, January, 1999, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
In more detail, by transmitting different signals in parallel over different antennas, in an environment characterized by rich scattering and multipath, this technique can provide high data rates thanks to an efficient algorithm on the receiving end which includes interference nulling from yet undetected signals and interference cancellation from already detected signals. In this manner, the receiver is able to produce independent virtual subchannels, one for each transmitting antenna, leading to a channel capacity which grows approximately linearly with the number of antennas. However, an increase in the number of transmitting antennas also increases the amount of channel quality information fed back to the transmitting end from the receiving end. The overhead requirements for processing the channel quality information and the interference caused by excessive channel quality information negatively effects the overall system performance.

Method of controlling signal transmission in multi-input/multi-output system


A vertically adjustable hitch for an agricultural tractor includes a pair of guide rails and a retainer which moves up and down on the rails. A chain has fixed ends and a central region which engages a pair of pulleys which are rotatably mounted on the retainer. As the pulleys rotate, they roll along the chain and move the retainer. A drive mechanism is coupled to rotate at least one of the pulleys. A locking mechanism is releasably engageable with the chain to prevent movement of the retainer relative to the chain.

The invention relates to a vertically adjustable hitch for an agricultural tractor, wherein the hitch includes a retainer which is guided vertically and which can be locked.
DE-OS-29 10 164 discloses a trailer coupling for agricultural tractors. The coupling consists of a coupling socket and a support plate rigidly connected thereto, which is guided between two perforated rails fastened to the tractor and can be positioned vertically and can be locked in various positions by means of a pin penetrating the perforated rails and the support plate. Due to the relatively large weight of the trailer coupling, the trailer coupling is supported by two compression springs with a particular spring characteristic.
DE-A1-38 16 359 discloses a trailer coupling for agricultural vehicles that can be infinitely variably adjusted in height by means of a power drive consisting of two piston and cylinder arrangements. To position the trailer coupling, the vehicle drive must be operating so that the piston and cylinder arrangement can be supplied with operating pressure.
The European patent application EP-A1-0 294 509 also discloses a trailer coupling that can be adjusted in height with a coupling support that can be positioned by means of a spindle and nut drive. This configuration is costly to manufacture and requires frequent servicing of the spindle and nut drive.


This invention relates to a method of manufacturing heat cells which are based on a specific iron oxidation chemistry and having specific physical dimensions and fill characteristics. This method uses direct compaction of powdered ingredients into granules, pellets, tablets, slugs, and/or the like. These heat cells, which can be incorporated into disposable body wraps, provide a controlled and sustained temperature for consistent, convenient, and comfortable heat application for treating temporary or chronic pain. This invention also relates to said exothemic compositions incorporated into said heat cells.

A common method of treating temporary or chronic pain is by application of heat to the afflicted area. Such heat treatments are used as a means of therapy for conditions which include aches, stiffness in muscles and joints, nerve pain, rheumatism and the like. These treatments include the use of whirlpools, hot towels, hydrocollators, heating pads and elastic compression bands. Many of these devices employ reusable thermal packs containing, e.g., water and microwaveable gels. In general, such devices which require the thermal source to be replenished are inconvenient to use. Further, many of these thermal units or devices do not provide long lasting heat and also do not maintain a consistent temperature over long periods of time. The skin temperature needs to be maintained from about 38.degree. C. to about 41.degree. C. but not above 45.degree. C., as tissue damage occurs above 45.degree. C., to achieve the desired therapeutic benefits.
The beneficial therapeutic effects from this administration of heat diminishes after the heat source is removed; therefore, it is desirable to provide a sustained heat source to the afflicted area for as long as possible, preferably for about eight hours. Disposable heat packs based on iron oxidation, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,804, 4,649,895, 5,046,479, and Re. 32,026 are known and can provide long-lasting heat. However, such devices have proven not totally satisfactory. Many of these devices cannot maintain a consistent and controlled temperature and/or such thermal devices are bulky and have unsatisfactory physical dimensions which hinder their effectiveness. Specifically, such devices cannot be easily incorporated into wraps which can comfortably conform to various body contours and hence deliver inconsistent, inconvenient and/or uncomfortable heat application to the body.
A major reason these heating devices can not maintain a consistent and controlled temperature is due to the considerable empty space within the pack after the pack is filled with the heat generating composition, which inevitably causes uneven distribution or agglomeration of the composition in the pack, especially since these devices generally stand substantially perpendicular or at a slight slant when the heat pack is applied to the body. Uneven distribution of the heat generating composition makes the heat generation in the pack uneven and the agglomeration results in an unpleasant feel to the pack for the user. The agglomeration of the composition also causes uneven heat generation because it disturbs the supply of oxygen to the iron particles which is needed for the oxidation reaction to occur. In order for these heating devices to generate a uniform heat, the heat generating composition must be placed in the pack in a flat form, such as the heat packs of Usui in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,479. The heat packs of Usui have an air permeability, which allows oxygen to enter the bag while creating a reduction in the pressure within the bag as the oxidation reaction occurs, thereby holding the composition in place and maintaining the bags flat form while applied to the body. This, however, requires very careful selection of both, the components for the particulate composition and the material for the heat pack bag. Specifically, this method allows very little variation in the air permeability of the bag material, which can occur between different manufactured lots of the air permeable material. This method also does nothing to solve the problems associated with controlling the carbon dust or the uniformity of the composition during filling of the heat pack and/or the finished heat pack during use.
In Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. HEI 06-315498, Kodama discloses that, while heat packs having a low packing density have good oxygen permeability and are able to reach their maximum temperature quickly, the temperature decreases rapidly. This is primarily due to the uneven distribution of the heat generating composition within the pack. On the other hand, Kodama discloses that the heat generating composition cannot be packed too densely. If the packing density is high, the heat pack never reaches its highest temperature or maximum duration. This is due to the inability of oxygen to penetrate the heat generating composition beyond its surface, which results in the incomplete reaction of the entire composition, i.e., the center of the composition remains unreacted.
There are several major problems in the manufacture of disposable heat packs, utilizing the exothermic reaction of iron oxidation, wherein the ingredients are blended dry. For example, one major problem is the carbon powder tends to become airborne easily and therefore a problem, in that raw materials are lost and the working environment is hazardous, both for the health and safety of persons working in the manufacturing area of such heat packs. Special facilities must be maintained, as well as, special clothing and equipment must be worn by the manufacturing workers. A second major problem, related to the dry powdered carbon, occurs during the manufacture of the finished heat pack. That is, the powdered carbon tends to fly out of or overflow the intended fill space of the heat pack during the filling process such that the heat pack margins become soiled with carbon dust preventing effective sealing of the powdered exothermic composition inside the finished heat pack. A third problem is maintaining the uniformity of the dry powdered ingredients in the particulate exothermic composition after blending. That is, once uniformly blended, the composition, which contains particles of different weights and densities, may shift or settle during the manufacturing process such that the finished heat pack may not contain a uniform mixture of the composition, thereby reducing the performance of the heat pack. A fourth problem is the lack of fluidity of the dry powder mixture during the manufacturing process, largely due to the electrostatic adherence of the powdered particles to the containers and/or equipment.
One method of reducing these problems is disclosed by Hatsumoto in Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. HEI 06-241575, in which Hatsumoto adds a small percentage of the total water to the carbon before blending it with the other dry ingredients. While this method reduces the amount of carbon dust, it requires that the amount of water added to the carbon, prior to blending, be carefully and precisely measured, and the preferred embodiment requires that the wetted carbon stand for at least 24 hours before blending with the other ingredients. This method, still does not guarantee the uniform content of the particulate exothermic composition or address the other manufacturing problems mentioned above.
Another method of reducing these problems is disclosed by Watabe in Japanese Kokoku Patent No. HEI 05-081261. Watabe utilizes magnetic transfer of pre-wetted powdered ingredients, in the shape and thickness of the desired heat pack, to a sheet of material used for the pack. The remaining water is then sprayed onto the powdered ingredients immediately prior to a second sheet being placed on top of the magnetic sheet containing the wetted ingredients. The sheets are then sealed, enclosing the wetted ingredients to form the desired heat pack. The pack is cut out of the bonded sheets and quickly placed into an oxygen-impermeable protective package. This method is more efficient and less labor intensive than the method of Hatsumoto, but it still can not guarantee the uniform content of the particulate exothermic composition, and requires very specialized machinery.
In another method of reducing these problems Odama discloses, in Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. HEI 04-293989, using a wet granulation method wherein an adhesive binder, such as polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and polyvinylpyrrolidone, is added to water and dissolved, before the water is added to the other ingredients. When the water-binder solution is added to the other ingredients, pellets are formed. These wetted pellets are then packed into gas-permeable bags. This method requires a large amount of water, 55-70parts, by weight of the composition, and binder, 10-20 parts, by weight of the composition, to be added to the exothermic mixture. This reduces the carbon dust and increases the fluidity of the mix, as well as improves the uniformity of the mixture content, but requires careful maintenance of the water added to the composition, as well as an inert atmosphere during the manufacturing process.
The inventor of the present invention has developed dry-compacted heating elements comprising a specific iron oxidation chemistry for incorporation into heat cells having specific physical dimensions and fill characteristics, as well as methods of manufacturing said heating elements and heat cells. These heat cells can be easily incorporated into disposable body wraps and the like, which adapt to a wide variety of body contours, thus providing consistent, convenient, and comfortable heat application. The present invention uses dry agglomeration and/or a direct compaction technique, usually used in the tablet and slugging operations of pharmaceuticals, to overcome the aforementioned problems associated with the current heat packs and their manufacture. Content uniformity of the particulate exothermic composition is maintained through electrostatic and pendular agglomeration, i.e., the enhancement of normal electrostatic forces, by pre-treating the powder blend with low levels of liquefied polysaccharide(s) or modifiers prior to compaction. Once agglomerated, the ingredients are formed as slugs or tablets of a pre-measured, dust-free composition which requires only the on-line addition of water or brine for activation.
Agglomeration of the high surface area powder blend with the low levels of agglomeration aids, such as polysaccharide(s) or modifiers, required in the present invention is unexpected, i.e., the ratio of powder surface area to agglomeration aid is very large and therefore, the use of much higher levels of agglomeration aids should be required. The low levels of agglomeration aids allows for a more efficient use of dry binders, added to the exothermic compositions to aid in the binding together of carbon and iron, and produces a hard compaction without excessive dilution of the reactants.
Alternatively, direct compaction using a roller compactor and chelsenator, a tablet press slugging operation and chelsenator, or roller compactor modified to produce pellets, can be used to produce small granules/pellets, which are useful for a controlled, dust-free packing operation of the heat cells of large size or irregularly shaped configurations. The present invention, which is substantially free of water in the compaction process, reduces the carbon dust, eliminates various manufacturing problems, increases the line speed and fill weight accuracy, improves fluidity of the exothermic composition, eliminates the non-uniformity of the exothermic composition within the finished heat cell, improves the performance of the finished heat cell, and eliminates the need for specialized equipment and environments, all of which significantly reduces the labor required, health and safety hazards, and overall cost of manufacturing.
The heat cells, incorporating heating elements manufactured according to the methods of the present invention and based on a specific iron oxidation chemistry, have specific physical dimensions and fill characteristics, providing long lasting heat generation with improved temperature control. The heat cells contain a dry-compacted particulate heat generating material which substantially fills the available cell volume within the cell reducing any excess void volume thereby minimizing the ability of the heat generating material to shift within the cell. This is accomplished without the need for any differential pressure across the cell wall. These heat cells, because of their adaptable physical dimensions, can be easily incorporated into disposable body wraps and the like which adapt to a wide variety of body contours, thus providing consistent, convenient, and comfortable heat application.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide dry, compacted particulate heating elements, and methods of manufacturing said elements, using direct compaction of powdered ingredients, comprising carbonaceous material and iron, capable of reaching their maximum temperature quickly and providing a controlled and sustained temperature, for incorporation into exothermic heat cells. These heat cells are then easily incorporated into disposable body wraps which adapt to a wide variety of body contours providing consistent, convenient and comfortable heat application.
These objectives and additional objectives will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.


A composite component (1), such as a turbine airfoil, includes a conductive portion (2), and a non-conductive portion (5), such as a thermal barrier coating or a wear protection coating, or both. In machining the component, a laser machining step is applied for machining the non-conductive portion, and an electro-machining step is applied for machining the conductive portion. The laser machining step is performed by applying preferably a high-frequency pulsed laser. The focussed laser beam working diameter (DL) is essentially smaller than the size of the contour (16) to be machined. The contour is scanned by the laser beam (9) along a pre-defined trace (17) thus literally inscribing the desired contour into the workpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a composite component, to a composite component which is produced by applying said method, and to a turbomachine, in particular a gas turbine, comprising such a composite component.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Electro discharge machining (EDM) and electro chemical machining (ECM) are well-known methods of machining. EDM and ECM are generally used to machine a workpiece in which high precision is required in machining high-hardness materials, at the same time avoiding local thermal load during the machining step, such as, for example, in machining a component for a turbine. The methods are in particular used to produce cooling holes, such as the holes through which film cooling air flows during operation.
In EDM at least one electrode is held in close proximity to the workpiece and electrical sparks are generated between the workpiece and the electrode due to a difference in electrical potential. The sparks cause the material of the workpiece to erode. In ECM a workpiece acts as an electrode which is coupled electrically to a further electrode by means of an electrolyte. Especially with ECM freeform geometries can be machined.
It is thus clear that the surface of the workpiece must be electrically conductive in order to use EDM or ECM. Therefore, difficulties arise when it is necessary to machine a workpiece formed from a composite. Such composites often contain electrically non-conductive materials, such as ceramics. It is particularly common for one or more electrically non-conductive materials to be provided as a coating on or around a metal substrate in order to protect the metal substrate from, for example, heat, corrosion, chemical corrosion, and/or wear during use. This is highly relevant to industries such as the aerospace and power generation industries, where turbine blades are required to operate at very high speeds and temperatures.
Several methods have been proposed in the art to facilitate the use of electro machining methods with composites including electrically non-conductive materials, such as coatings.
EP 0 366 466 discloses a method of EDM in which a composite workpiece is first machined using ultrasonic drilling, in order to remove an amount of electrically non-conductive material, and so to provide access to an underlying electrically conductive material. EDM can then be carried out on the electrically conductive material in the usual manner. A disadvantage of this technique is that the ultrasonic drilling can only be carried out perpendicular to the surface to be machined, which limits its applicability to only certain structural configurations for the workpiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,037 describes types of composite ceramics which have been rendered electrically conductive by the inclusion of metal and/or carbon. It is also known to dope electrically non-conductive materials with a suitable electrolytic fluid, in order to render the materials electrically conductive. EDM can then be applied to the electrically conductive composite. However, doping of the material in this way can affect the integrity of the coating, which is obviously undesirable. Furthermore, substantial washing of the material is required to remove traces of the dopant. This complicates the manufacturing process considerably. The concentration and distribution of the dopant in the material is relatively difficult to control. Thus, it is possible that the inclusion of the dopant will not achieve the necessary electrical conductivity
From DD 274 999 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,834, among others, methods are known where laser drilling methods are used to machine a non-conductive ceramic coating to expose the conductive substrate, which is then available for electro machining, such as ECM or EDM. However, applying conventional laser drilling methods the achievable geometry is limited to basically circular cross sections, including an elliptical opening on the component surface, subject to the angle of incidence of the laser beam on the surface. Furthermore, with the known technique, the diameter of the hole to be produced is essentially restricted to the laser beam diameter in the working range. Moreover, due to the high thermal energy applied, and due to the fact that the working range of the drilling laser, may extend into the metallic substrate, also the metallic substrate is at least partly, subject to some extent to laser machining, and is at least subject to local thermal loading. As a consequence, the structure of a metallic substrate is subject to highly undesirable structural transformations. The adherence between a laser machined coating and a metallic substrate is locally severely weakened, giving rise to potential subsequent damages: In the end, current laser drilling methods are after all thermal machining methods, and this is exactly what shall initially be avoided in applying electro machining methods. The precision of the geometry is limited, and currently, for example in producing cooling air holes, tolerances in the cooling air mass flow through a hole due to the manufacturing process of the cooling holes, are in an order of magnitude of ±10% of a mean mass flow, in spite of the high precision achievable by electro machining.
Summarizing, although the combined manufacturing process described above, is widely used and was found to work all in all satisfactory, latest developments, in particular in gas turbine technology, have lead to increasing demands for precise cooling air control and best mechanical component integrity, and have thus triggered a strong desire for improvement to avoid or at least minimize the drawbacks related to the present art cited above.

Method of producing a composite component


A method and a system for correction a patient's biological fluid containing various low-, medium- and high-molecular toxins. The biological fluid substantially continuously flows through an extracorporeal flow line interconnected between an outlet and an inlet means attached to first and second locations, respectively, on a patient's body. A substantially small amount of the biological fluid containing various xenobiotics occupies the flow line at any given time as compared to a whole amount of the biological fluid contained in the patient's body. The biological fluid containing the various toxins is mixed with a predetermined amount of magneto-conductive particles capable of adsorbing the various toxins. An obtained mixture of the biological fluid with the particles passes through a magnetic field effect region and substantially all of the magneto-conductive particles are retained therein. Particle-free biological fluid is then returned into the patient's body through the inlet means.

Methods of blood correction are known and widely used in particular for treatment of patients suffering from kidney and/or liver diseases. One of the conventional techniques, known as haemo- or lymph-perfusion, is based on passing the blood or lymph through an adsorbent such as granular activated carbon. Unfortunately, a relatively large amount of biological fluid, namely about 250-300 ml, is withdrawn from the patient's body at any given time and a duration of the whole process of purification is more than 2 hours. Actually, the carbon loses its effectiveness after 15-20 minutes from the beginning of the treatment because it slimes and, owing to the relatively large dimensions of the carbon particles, becomes formed with numerous channels which are formed therein by the blood during its passage therethrough. As a result, unpurified blood returns into the body.
Another conventional technique, known as haemodialysis, is based on the use of semipermeable membranes. Similarly to the haemoperfusion, this method also requires the withdrawal of about 400-600 ml of blood at any given time and more than 4 hours for the whole process of purification, wherein the blood passes through the apparatus typically more than 5 times. Both of the above described techniques disturb the blood's rheology. That is to say they traumatize the erythrocytes and thrombocytes. They also require bulky equipment.
Methods and devices for blood purification have been developed employing the so called haemoseparation technique which is based on the principles of magnetic separation. Generally, the magnetic separation procedure consists of retaining magnetic materials in a chamber disposed in a magnetic field. Systems of this kind typically provide mixing of the blood with a previously prepared magneto-conductive substance formed of paramagnetic beads having a coating which selectively binds a preselected pathogenic agent or endotoxin. Then, by passing a blood mixture containing the paramagnetic beads having the bound pathogenic agent through a magnetic field, the paramagnetic beads are magnetically separated from the blood.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,901 discloses a method and an apparatus for removing preselected cells or viruses from the blood. The blood is first tested for selection a preselected pathogenic agent and identifying an associated antigenic agent. A composition is then prepared, such as an immunoglobulin or an antibody, for coating a plurality of paramagnetic beads with outer layers so as to recognize and bind selectively to the preselected pathogenic agent. The paramagnetic beads have a smooth surface in order to minimize the amount of antibody necessary to coat the beads. The blood is perfused into a flow line and the coated paramagnetic beads are metered into the blood either before entering by the latter a mixing coil, or thereafter. A received mixture of blood and paramagnetic beads/pathogenic agent complexes flows into a chamber of a magnetic separator. A graded magnetic field is provided along the length of the separation chamber so as to adhere substantially all of the paramagnetic beads/pathogenic agent complexes to the separation chamber wall. However, both the mixing chamber and the separation chamber are bulky, namely each about 300 cm in length. About 600 to 700 ml of blood occupies the flow circuit at any given time, while the purging process is completed in approximately 6 to 10 hours of operation. Additionally, the magnetic field is graded such that it begins at 4,000 Gauss (0.4 T) and increases to about 10,000 Gauss (1 T), which is too much for such a biological fluid as blood. Indeed, it is known in the art that the magnetic field intensity which is suitable for intervention into a biological fluid is defined by the properties of the latter. This is more essential for such a multicomponent biological fluid as blood containing crythrocytes whose equidistance increases and membrane resistivity decreases with the increase of the magnetic field. As a result, the erythro-cytes grow old and break.
PCT Publication No. WO 94/21310 discloses a method and an apparatus for correcting a biological fluid typically based on mixing the latter with a biocompatible suspension of a magneto-conductive composition within a mixing chamber and, then, passing the obtained mixture through a filter disposed within a magnetic field. The biological fluid is corrected in a number of cycles. In order to provide more effective mixing, the mixing chamber is filled in with discrete doses of the biological fluid and the suspension of the magneto-conductive composition. The obtained mixture is left standing whilst being continuously mixed, and, then, each further dose is added to the previously obtained mixture. Then, the resulting mixture passes through a filter disposed in a magnetic field effect region. The time of passage of the mixture through the filter is preset so as to achieve an optimum effect in the magnetic field which does not exceed 120 mT. Unfortunately, such procedure is slow, requiring that about 100 ml of the biological fluid be withdrawn from the body during a cycle and resulting in about 10 hours of operation for complete correction of the whole amount of the patient's blood.
It should be noted that such parameters as the amount of biological fluid which is withdrawn from the patient's body at any given time and the duration of the whole treatment are very important and even determinant when dealing with endotoxic and/or exotoxic shocks which are usually caused by poisoning.

Method and system for correcting a biological fluid


A waterproof part including a top case, a bottom case and at least one pin is provided. The top case has at least one first through hole. The bottom case has at least one second through hole that corresponds to the first through hole. The pin includes a conductive bolt, a pad, and an elastic conductive component. The conductive bolt is disposed in the second through hole and fastened to the bottom case. The pad is disposed in the first through hole and has at least one first fastening element. The pad is fastened to the top case by the first fastening element. The elastic conductive component is tightly disposed between the conductive bolt and the pad so as to connect to the conductive bolt and the pad electrically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a waterproof part, more particularly, to a waterproof part having at least one pin.
2. Description of Related Art
With rapid advance in technologies, many types of handheld electronic devices such as mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), digital camera, digital recorder and MP3 player have been developed. As a result, modern day people not only are able to communicate with one another at any time and anywhere, but the process of making video recording also provides them with a lot of fun.
Most of the earlier handheld electronic devices are not designed with the waterproof function. Therefore, when a user uses the handheld electronic device in a rainy day or water is accidentally spilled on the handheld electronic device, water may seep into the internal circuit through the pins of the handheld electronic device. Consequently, the internal circuit may be damaged and the handheld electronic device may malfunction. In this way, the environment and the range of operation of the handheld electronic device by the user is severely restricted. To remove these restrictions, waterproof part suitable for protecting a handheld electronic device has been developed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a convention waterproof part. As shown in FIG. 1, the waterproof part 100 can be applied to handheld electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants and digital cameras. The waterproof part 100 includes a cover 110, a case 120, a plurality of pins 130 and a waterproof rubber 140. The cover 110 has a plurality of through holes 112 that corresponds to the pins 130, and the pins 130 are fastened to the case 120. Furthermore, a waterproof ring 122 surrounds the pins 130.
The waterproof rubber 140 is disposed between the cover 110 and the waterproof ring 122, and the pins 130 pass through the waterproof rubber 140 via a plurality of through holes 142 in the waterproof rubber 140. The cover 110 and the waterproof ring 122 clamp the waterproof rubber 140 tightly so that the waterproof part 100 is able to prevent water seeping into the interior of the handheld electronic device through any gap between the waterproof rubber 140, the cover 110 and the waterproof ring 122 (the area marked X in FIG. 1).
However, the slits S1 between the pins 130 and the cover 110 and the slits S2 between the pins 130 and the waterproof rubber 140 still allow some water to leak into the internal circuit of the handheld electronic device. Therefore, the internal circuit may be damaged and the handheld electronic device may malfunction.


A laser annealer has a laser light source with at least one GaN-type semiconductor laser and is configured so as to form emission points that emit laser beams having a wavelength of 350 to 450 nm, and a scanning device for scanning an annealing surface with the laser beams. The laser annealer may have a spatial light modulator for modulating the laser beams, and in which pixel portions whose light modulating states change in accordance with control signals are arranged on a substrate. The invention is applied to a laser thin-film forming apparatus. The apparatus has a laser source that has at least one semiconductor laser and is configured so as to form emission points, and an optical system for focusing laser beams into a single beam in the width direction of a substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a laser annealer and a laser thin-film forming apparatus. Particularly, the invention relates to a laser annealer using a GaN (gallium nitride) type semiconductor laser as a light source and a laser thin-film forming apparatus for depositing a thin-film on a substrate that is accommodated in a closed space using products obtained by applying a laser beam to a material gas or a solid material in the closed space and causing a decomposing or synthesizing reaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
From the viewpoint of reduction in the size, weight, and cost of flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic EL (electroluminescence) displays, nowadays much attention is paid to system-on-glass (SOG) TFT technology. In this technology, not only thin-film transistors (TFTs) for pixel display gates but also driver circuits, a signal processing circuit, an image processing circuit and others are formed directly on a glass substrate of an LCD.
Whereas conventionally amorphous silicon has been used for TFTs for pixel display gates, polysilicon which exhibits a high carrier mobility is necessary for SOG-TFTs. The deformation temperature of glass is as low as 600° C., and crystal growth techniques utilizing temperatures higher than 600° C. cannot be used for formation of a polysilicon film. A technique commonly used for formation of a polysilicon film is an excimer laser annealing (ELA) method. In this method, an amorphous silicon film is formed at a low temperature (100 to 300° C.), melted thermally by applying to it pulse laser light generated by an XeCl excimer laser (wavelength: 308 nm), and then crystallized by a cooling process. By using the ELA, a polysilicon film can be formed on a glass substrate without giving thermal damage on a glass substrate.
The optical output power of the XeCl excimer laser is unstable and the output light intensity varies in a range of ±10%. When it is applied to ELA, the crystal grain size of a polysilicon film varies and the reproducibility is low. When the XeCl excimer laser is applied to ELA, the repetition frequency of pulse driving of the XeCl excimer laser is as low as 300 Hz. Thus, forming continuous crystal grain boundaries is difficult and high carrier mobility cannot be obtained. Also annealing cannot be performed at high speed in a large area. Further, the XeCl excimer laser has problems unique to gas lasers. They include the lives of a laser tube and a laser gas are as short as about 1×107 shots and the maintenance cost will increase, the laser apparatus becomes larger, and the energy efficiency is as low as 3%.
In the ELA, to produce a polysilicon film that is uniform in crystal characteristics, a laser beam that is emitted from an excimer laser is shaped by a homogenizer optical system into a line-shaped beam having a flat-top intensity profile. The use of the XeCl excimer laser causes that the profile of a line-shaped beam is not uniform because the optical output power of the XeCl excimer laser is unstable and the output light intensity varies in a range of ±10%. The wavelength 308 nm of the XeCl excimer laser is in the ultraviolet range, and an optical system using a special material is necessary to produce a line-shaped beam.
An example in which a high-output-power solid-state laser is used instead of an excimer laser is disclosed by HARA et al. in Singakugiho (Technical Report of IEICE) ED2001–10, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan, pp. 21–27, 2001. With this example, amorphous silicon does not absorb light sufficiently and the heat generation efficiency is low at a low-power oscillation wavelength 532 nm.
The annealing rate is serious in realizing mass-production and enabling processing of a large-side substrate.
Incidentally, among film forming methods using a laser is a method in which a thin film is deposited on a substrate by utilizing a decomposing reaction that is caused by applying a laser beam to a material gas or a solid material.
A thin-film forming method by CVD (chemical vapor deposition) is such that a thin film is deposited on a substrate by inputting a laser beam to a chamber as a closed space and decomposing, by optical energy, a material gas that is supplied to the chamber. A thin-film forming method by laser sputtering is such that a thin film is deposited on a substrate by inputting a laser beam to a chamber as a closed space and vaporizing a solid material in the chamber by applying the laser beam to it.
As such, methods using laser light as excitation energy are advantageous over other PVD (such as evaporation and sputtering) and CVD (such as thermal and plasma) method in that the temperature of a substrate on which a film is to be formed does not increase. Hence a thin film with weak internal stress can be formed, which can reduce a warp of a large-size substrate in particular.
As shown in FIG. 45, a thin-film forming method is known, in which an ArF excimer laser 140 (wavelength: about 193 nm) is used.
In the ArF excimer laser 140, the pulse width is fixed and a grain diameter for attaining desired properties cannot be obtained. The repetition frequency of pulse driving of the ArF excimer laser 140 is as low as 2 kHz and energy accumulation takes time. Hence the film formation rate is low and the production efficiency is low.
Furthermore, the ArF excimer laser 140 is expensive and its life is as short as about 5×107 shots. Its running cost is high.
Further, in the conventional laser sputtering thin-film forming method as shown in FIG. 45, a thin film is formed as follows. A laser beam emitted from the single ArF excimer laser 140 is deflected in the width direction (direction A) of a substrate 94 by an optical scanning system 142. A stage 144 mounted with the substrate 94 is moved in the length direction (direction B). Thus, this apparatus cannot be used for thin-film formation for a product having a large film formation area such as Si-TFTs for a liquid crystal display, a solar cell, or the like.

Laser annealer and laser thin-film forming apparatus


The present invention relates to a mutated tau protein fragment and a use thereof. The mutated tau protein fragment of the present invention consists of 12 amino acids and thus can easily be prepared. In addition, when the mutated tau protein fragment is injected into an individual as an antigen, a neutralizing antibody against the mutated tau protein is generated. Moreover, the mutated tau protein fragment reduces the aggregation of abnormal tau proteins. Accordingly, the mutated tau protein fragment of the present invention can be effectively used for the prevention or treatment of degenerative neurological diseases.

Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for about 50% of onset forms of dementia, is a degenerative cranial nerve disease with an increased onset rate since the age of 65, and is rapidly increasing all over the world as the population ages.
It has been believed that accumulation of β-amyloid, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, or increased β-amyloid production caused by presenilin 1 plays an important role in causes for onset of Alzheimer's disease. Among these, nerve cell toxicity caused by accumulation of β-amyloid has been thought to be a major cause for onset of Alzheimer's dementia (Hardy A J et al., Science, 256, 184-185, 1992). However, as a phase III trial for solanezumab which was an Eli Lilly and Company's new drug candidate for Alzheimer's disease failed, it has been found that nerve cell toxicity caused by accumulation of β-amyloid is not remarkable. Therefore, focuses are on the idea that abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau protein acts as a cause for onset of Alzheimer's disease.
Tau protein is a protein that stabilizes the microtubule which is a protein that transports a cellular material. The tau protein exists in six isoforms in the human body and is abundant in neurons of the central nervous system. In addition, in a case where a mutation occurs in the tau protein, it is known that the tau protein is hyperphosphorylated, which allows neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) to be abnormally accumulated in nerve cells, thereby causing a degenerative neurological disease such as dementia and Parkinson's disease (Dong Hee Choi et al., Brain & NeuroRehabilitation, 4, 21-29, 2011).
However, the human tau protein consisting of 441 amino acids has a wide variety of locations where post-translational modification may occur, which makes it difficult to find, in the tau protein, a target portion that exhibits a preventive or therapeutic effect on dementia. Accordingly, there is a need to develop vaccines or therapeutic agents for a degenerative neurological disease which target the tau protein.

Mutated tau protein fragment and use thereof


An ocular composition consisting essentially of purified water, PEG-80 sorbitan laurate, sodium trideceth sulfate, PEG-150 distearate, sodium lauroamphoacetate, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium laureth-13 carboxylate, sodium chloride, PEG-15 cocopolyamine, polyhexamethylene biguanide, potassium sorbate, 1,2 hexanediol, and caprylyl glycol. The composition can be applied to a fabric pad for use as an eyelid cleanser, where the fabric pad is pre-moistened with the composition and packaged for use. The composition may also be used in an eyelid treatment kit for convenient combination treatments to improve overall eyelid hygiene and adjunctive eyelid therapy.

Blepharitis is a common chronic inflammation of the eyelids characterized by a scaly crust on the lid margins. It can be caused by a bacterial infection, or it can be allergic in origin or associated with seborrhea of the face and scalp. Blepharitis can be treated and prevented by cleansing the eyelids on a regular basis and maintaining proper ocular hygiene.
Often associated with or secondary to blepharitis is a bacterial infection of the surface of the skin at the edge of the lid known as an external hordeolum or of the meibomian glands, either, commonly referred to as sties. Such conditions also are accompanied by pain, redness and tenderness of the lid margins. Although sties are often recurring, such conditions can be minimized by regular cleansing of the eyelid margins.
Glands in and around the lid margins secrete oil which in some individuals can build up in the eyelashes and on the lids. This build up of oil is usually accompanied with cellular debris, dust and the like. Obviously, if this build up is excessive, the likelihood of a bacterial infection will be increased.
Historically, blepharitis conditions have been treated by using "homemade" solutions of dilute baby shampoo. This required the patient to dilute the baby shampoo with tap water and then use the dilute solution with a cotton-tipped applicator pad or the like to cleanse the eyelids. Often simple skin cleansers are unsuited for use on the eyelid. Eyelid cleansers must be non-irritating to both the sensitive skin around the eye and the eye tissue itself, while having an antimicrobial effect.


To provide a loudspeaker broadcasting system and a loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus which can perform a loudspeaker broadcasting of appropriate contents at each block without reducing sound clearness. Bi-directional speakers 1 which performs sound-reinforcement having high intelligibility, and fire detecting sensors 3 which detect fire occurrence in a tunnel 10a, 10b and send fire occurrence signals are placed in the tunnel 10a, 10b in the tunnel extending direction. In an emergency such as a fire, emergency broadcasting is performed through each bi-directional speaker 1 at each of the predetermined blocks 5 in the tunnel 10a, 10b. The emergency broadcasting is different in contents at each block, and it is alternately performed at the adjacent blocks 5. Further, the frequency components having a long reverberation time is removed from the loudspeaker broadcasting through the bi-directional speaker 1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loudspeaker broadcasting system and a loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus which can precisely transmit, in a closed space such as a tunnel or an underpass where sound is difficult to damp and a reverberation time is long, broadcasting contents such as guide of shelter broadcasted in its space in an emergency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, in a tunnel and underpass (hereinafter referred to as a ┌tunnel┘ simply) and in an institution for managing them, there have been provided a loudspeaker broadcasting system and a loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus for performing emergency broadcasting of shelter guide when a disaster occurs. In an emergency, using speakers placed in emergency parking zones provided at regular intervals (at intervals of about 500 m) , an emergency broadcasting is given to only persons in the emergency parking zones. However, since sound is difficult to damp in the tunnel, a reverberation time becomes long, so that clear sound-reinforcement cannot be obtained. Namely, in case that the speakers are dispersively placed in the tunnel, due to such acoustic characteristic in tunnel that the amplified sound is difficult to damp for a long time, an interference phenomenon of sound occurs among the speakers placed dispersively in the conventional loudspeaker broadcasting system and loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus, and clear sound-reinforcement cannot be performed. Therefore, in JP-A-No. 130999/1985, delay of transmission sound among the speakers placed in the tunnel is corrected by a delay unit thereby to suppress reduction of sound clearness.
However, in the conventional loudspeaker broadcasting system and loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus, only shelter information of the same contents is provided in the tunnel, and it is difficult to perform broadcasting of the different contents according to the condition at each block in the tunnel. The broadcasting of the different contents is, for example, broadcasting for guiding persons, in blocks before a spot where a disaster occurs, to a front emergency exit or a front pithead and guiding persons, in blocks behind the spot, to a back emergency exit or a back pithead.

Loudspeaker broadcasting system and loudspeaker broadcasting apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A roller hemming apparatus includes a receiving body including a receiving member coming into contact with an edge of a panel workpiece, a roller body including a roller member bending a panel flange at the edge of the workpiece toward the receiving member, and a movement unit moving the roller body along the edge and tilts up or down the roller body toward the flange. The roller member hems the flange through the tilting-up operation of the roller body. One of the receiving and roller bodies includes a guide recess and the other includes a convex curved surface coming into sliding contact with the recess. The recess and the surface have a same curvature. The roller body is tilted up to bend the flange or tilted down to move away from the flange around a center of curvature common to the surface and the recess that come into sliding contact.

There is known a hemming apparatus that performs hemming processing (or hem processing) by bending a flange formed on the peripheral edge of a door panel, a side panel, a hood, a quarter panel or other panel workpiece of a vehicle.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-14069, for instance, discloses a technique by which a receiving roller and a compaction roller provided at the end of an arm of one or two robots hold and compress a flange formed on the edge of a panel workpiece therebetween and, in such a state, they are rolled along the flange, thereby performing hemming processing on the edge.
When hemming processing is performed on a flange formed on the edge of a panel workpiece, the flange is first bent at a sharp angle in a preliminary bending stage and is then folded back in a final bending stage. The bending angle of the flange is determined by the shape of the compaction roller. This necessitates replacing the compaction roller with one of a suitable shape in each of the stages in which the flange is bent and folded back, which may result in disadvantages such as a longer setup time and an increase in production man-hours.
Likewise, when hemming processing is performed on a wheel arch formed in a rear quarter panel of a vehicle body, a given point on the wheel arch becomes closer to a tire as it moves closer to the top center position from either one of both ends of the wheel arch. Accordingly, the flange is bent at approximately 90 degrees at a position close to either one of both ends of the wheel arch in order to ensure bending strength, while the flange is folded back at a position close to the top in order to ensure an appropriate distance from the tire.
As described above, in cases where the bending angle of the flange differs from one region to another, it is necessary to replace the compaction roller with one of a suitable shape before starting hemming processing, which may result in disadvantages such as a longer setup time and an increase in production man-hours.

Roller hemming apparatus and roller hemming method


A developer comprising at least one carbonate, at least one hydrogen carbonate and at least one alkali silicate, wherein the ratio of the total molar concentration “a” of the carbonate and the hydrogen carbonate to the molar concentration “b” of the SiO2 component present in the alkali silicate: “a/b” ranges from 1:0.3 to 1:2, the total molar concentration of “a” and “b”: “a+b” ranges from 0.1 to 2 mole/L, and the pH value thereof ranges from 9 to 13; and an image-forming method which comprises the steps of imagewise exposing a negative-working image-forming material which comprises a substrate provided thereon with an image-recording layer comprising an infrared light absorber, a polymerization initiator, an ethylenically unsaturated bond-containing monomer and a polymer binder, and then developing the imagewise exposed image-forming material with the foregoing developer.

The present invention relates to a developer to be applied to an image-forming material and a method for forming images and more specifically to a developer effective for a negative-working image-forming material which can directly be converted into a printing plate by scanning the same with an infrared laser rays on the basis of digital signals outputted from, for instance, a computer or which can be applied to the so-called direct plate-making process as well as an image-forming method which makes use of the foregoing developer.
Considerable progress has recently been made in the laser technology and, in particular, a high power, small-sized laser capable of emitting light rays having a wavelength falling within the range of from near infrared to infrared has easily commercially been available. These lasers are quite useful as light sources for recording used when a printing plate is directly prepared on the basis of digital signals outputted from, for instance, a computer (Computer to Plate: hereunder sometimes referred to as "CTP"). For instance, a solid state laser and a semiconductor laser emitting infrared rays whose wavelengths fall within the range of from 760 to 1200 nm are quite useful because of their high power as compared with other lasers emitting light rays having wavelengths beyond the foregoing range. For this reason, there has recently been an increased demand for an image-forming material quite sensitive to such a laser or an image-forming material whose solubility in a developer would greatly be changed through the irradiation thereof with the laser light rays.
There has been proposed, as such an image-forming material, those which make the most use of a radical addition-polymerization reaction. The material is in general imagewise exposed to laser light rays and then developed with an alkaline aqueous solution to thus give desired images. In this respect, there have been proposed two kinds of developing methods or a method comprising the steps of heat-treating the imagewise exposed material and then developing the same and a method comprising the step of developing the imagewise exposed material immediately after the imagewise exposure without carrying out any heat-treatment. The former suffers from a problem in that it requires the use of a large-sized installation and that the production cost increases since an automatic developing machine to be used must be equipped with an oven for heating. On the other hand, the latter likewise suffers from a problem in that the radical polymerization of the material through the exposure is not sufficiently accelerated, the exposed area is insufficient in the degree of curing and therefore, the printing durability of the resulting printing plate is low as compared with that observed for the printing plate prepared according to the former method. However, there has been desired for the development of an effective plate-making or developing method free of any heat-treatment since it is quite advantageous for users to omit the use of any oven for heating in the plate-making method.
In order to impart satisfactory printing durability to the resulting printing plat using a non-heating plate-making process, it is desirable that damages of image areas during the step for developing the same should be reduced as low as possible. However, it has been reported that the development of, for instance, a negative-working image-forming material comprising a photopolymerizable composition requires the use of a strongly alkaline aqueous solution having a pH value of higher than 12.5 (Japanese Un-Examined Patent Publication (hereunder referred to as "J.P. KOKAI") Hei 8-108621) and the use of a developer having such a high pH value arises a problem such that the image area is greatly damaged and the resulting printing plate has insufficient printing durability. Moreover, if such developing treatment is continued over a long period of time, problems arise such that the activity of the developer may undergo a variation in, for instance, the concentration of absorbed carbon dioxide due to changes of environmental conditions such as the carbon dioxide concentration and that the quality of the resulting printing plate may correspondingly be changed due to the influence of such an increase in the carbon dioxide concentration.
To solve the foregoing problem or to control any reduction of the developing ability of a developer due to any change with time or aging and/or repeated use of the same, there has been proposed a method for developing a layer comprising a light-sensitive resin composition formed on the surface of a glass substrate with a mixed aqueous solution containing sodium carbonate and sodium hydrogen carbonate having a pH value of about 10 (see, for instance, J.P. KOKAI Hei 5-88377, J.P. KOKAI Hei 11-65126). However, the inventors of this invention applied these developers to a light-sensitive lithographic printing plate comprising an aluminum substrate provided thereon with a light-sensitive layer which comprises a thermally polymerizable light-sensitive resin composition and as a result, they found that the developers never showed any satisfactory ability of developing the non-image area thereof.
There has also been reported an alkaline developer to which an alkyl phenol type surfactant is added for solving the problem concerning the developing ability of a photoresist comprising a pigment dispersed therein (see J.P. KOKAI Hei 10-239858), but there have not yet been developed any developer having a sufficient developing ability and capable of providing a printing plate having sufficient printing durability.


A control element for a magnetomechanical EAS marker is formed of an amorphous metalloid that has been annealed so as to be at least partially crystallized while remaining substantially flat. The annealing is preferably a two-stage process applied to induce semi-hard magnetic characteristics in an amorphous metallic material that is magnetically soft as cast. The two stages include a first stage in which the material is annealed for at least one hour at a temperature that is below a crystallization temperature of the material. The first stage results in a reduction in the volume of the material. The second stage is carried out at a temperature that is above the crystallization temperature and for a time sufficient to crystallize the bulk of the material and give it semi-hard magnetic properties. The two-stage annealing process prevents deformation of the material which has resulted from conventional crystallization processes.

This invention relates to magnetic elements and, in particular, to semi-hard magnetic elements and methods of making same.
As used herein, the term semi-hard magnetic element means a magnetic element having semi-hard magnetic properties which are defined herein as a coercivity in the range of about 10-500 Oersted (Oe) and a remanence, after removal of a DC magnetization field which magnetizes the element substantially to saturation, of about 6 kilogauss (kG) or higher. Semi-hard magnetic elements having these semi-hard magnetic properties have been used in a number of applications. In one particular application, the elements serve as control elements for markers in a magnetic electronic article surveillance (EAS) system. A magnetic marker of this type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,489.
In the marker of the '489 patent, a semi-hard magnetic element is placed adjacent to a magnetostrictive amorphous element. By magnetizing the semi-hard magnetic element substantially to saturation, the resultant remanence magnetic induction of the magnetic element arms or activates the magnetostrictive element so that it can magnetically resonant or vibrate at a predetermined frequency in response to an interrogating magnetic field.
This mechanical vibration results in the magnetostrictive element generating a magnetic field at the predetermined frequency. The generated field can then be sensed to detect the presence of the marker. By demagnetizing the semi-hard magnetic element, the magnetostrictive element is disarmed or deactivated so that it can no longer mechanically resonate at the predetermined frequency in response to the applied field. This type of marker is sometimes referred to as a "magnetomechanical" marker, and the corresponding EAS system is referred to as a magnetomechanical EAS system.
A technique for producing low-cost semi-hard magnetic elements usable as control elements in magnetomechanical markers was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,033, which is commonly assigned with the present application. According to the disclosure of the '033 patent, amorphous metalloid materials, such as Metglas.RTM. 2605TCA and 2605S2, which have soft magnetic properties as cast, are processed so that the materials develop semi-hard magnetic properties. The process disclosed in the '033 patent includes cutting the as-cast amorphous alloy ribbons into discrete strips and then annealing the strips so that at least a part of the bulk of the strips is crystallized.
When amorphous alloy strips are treated in accordance with the teachings of the '033 patent, there is a reduction in volume that accompanies the transition from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase. In general, the reduction in volume is anisotropic, and as a consequence, the alloy strips are subjected to warping which leaves the strips in a deformed or "rippled" condition.
There are a number of disadvantages which result from the rippled shape of the processed strips. Among these are difficulties in handling the strips and packaging the strips to form the EAS markers. Further, if the magnetic elements are used as control elements in their rippled condition, there are variations from element to element in terms of the effective bias field provided by the control element, which results in variations in the resonant frequency of the assembled markers. This can adversely affect the performance and reliability of the markers.

Annealing magnetic elements for stable mechanical properties


A coupling device for coupling a trailer to a vehicle includes a first channel adapted to be connected to the tongue of the trailer and a second channel adapted to be connected to a hitch member. The hitch member is adapted to be connected to the hitch of a vehicle. The first and second channels are joined together by a pair of links which are pivoted about two spaced apart vertical axes. The hitch member can swing about the links so as to permit alignment of the hitch member with the hitch on the vehicle.

This invention relates to a trailer coupler assembly.
One problem often encountered when trying to hitch a vehicle to a trailer is the proper alignment of the hitch on the vehicle with the hitch on the tongue of the trailer. This problem is particularly difficult in a situation where the trailer is not easily movable. Under those circumstances, the vehicle must be carefully aligned with the hitch on the trailer tongue, and this is often a long and time consuming process.
Therefore a primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved trailer coupler assembly.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved trailer coupler assembly which permits the hitch on the trailer and the hitch on the vehicle to be quickly and easily aligned without the necessity of moving the vehicle or the trailer.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved trailer coupler assembly which permits the hitch to be mounted to the trailer in a movable manner so that the hitch can be moved both to the left and to the right and forward and backward in order to properly align with the hitch on the pulling vehicle.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a device which can be easily adapted to hitch assemblies presently being used.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved coupler assembly which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.


In some preferred embodiments, an apparatus is provided that facilitates correction, such as, e.g., linearity correction, in imaging devices, such as, e.g., scintillation cameras. In preferred embodiments, a mask is implemented that can produce images for locating the actual position of a nuclear event based on its apparent position with high accuracy and reliability. In the preferred embodiments, the mask includes a non-uniform array of apertures that can achieve this goal.

The present invention relates to imaging devices and preferred embodiments relate, more particularly, to scintillation cameras used, e.g., in medical imaging and/or the like.
In various environments, such as, e.g., in medical environments, imaging devices can include detectors that detect electromagnetic radiation emitted from, e.g., radioactive isotopes or the like within a patient or the like. The detectors can involve, e.g., gamma scintillation cameras or the like that pick up, e.g., gamma rays emitted by the isotope. By way of example, while a patient lies motionless on a test table or the like, a gamma scintillation camera can be used to acquire images and record them on a computer for analysis.
Existing scintillation cameras experience spatial distortion that requires linearity correction (LC). A significant amount of effort has been made seeking to correct spatial or linearity distortion (along with, e.g., the companion energy and flood corrections). Existing methods can be divided into, e.g., two categories.
A first category is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,345 (the '345 patent) entitled Radiation Imaging Device, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Here, a camera head is covered by a lead mask having a grid of pinhole apertures. A sheet source of radiation causes each aperture to illuminate a scintillation crystal. The camera then records an apparent location of an event in the crystal. There is a difference between the actual pinholes and the apparent events as located by the camera that is representative of spatial distortion at the respective locations on the camera face. Accordingly, a correction factor is needed for each point in a stored array.
A second category is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,061 entitled Radiation Signal Processing and U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,257 entitled Dynamic Modification Of Spatial Distortion Correction Capabilities Of Scintillation Camera, which involve spatial correction. For calibration, a lead mask having slit apertures is used. The camera is exposed to a radiation source, first with the mask in x lines and then with the mask in y lines. For each such exposure orientation, a series of transverse peak measurements at select intervals is developed. An analytical expression is generated to represent event coordinates between calibration intervals. Each orientation exposure, thus, produces one of a pair of calibration coordinates, which in turn permit direct correspondence to associated spatial coordinates. Among other deficiencies in this method, this method can take more than one hour of time by itself. It also requires additional preparation such as 'centering and gain'. Moreover, this method requires use of multiple masks wastes time and money and increases equipment downtime.
Although there has been a significant amount of effort applied in the development of algorithms for LC, the lead masks used in the processes have received little attention. In fact, pinhole apertures utilized in existing devices have involved pinhole apertures arranged in a uniform and rectangular distribution (such as, e.g., depicted in FIG. 1 and depicted in FIG. 2 of the '345 patent). This existing design has a number of deficiencies, such as, e.g.: a) generating a low number of data points; and b) being less reliable where spatial distortion is more severe, such as, e.g., proximate edges and/or when thicker crystals are employed. In addition, existing lead masks do not enhance functionality in the overall calibration process, such as, e.g., to enable shorter calibration times and/or higher accuracies.
While a variety of methods and apparatuses are known, there remains a need for improved methods and apparatuses overcoming the above and/or other problems.

Imaging devices and methods employing masks with a non-uniform grid of pinhole apertures


An automated tie plate placement system preferably includes a vibratory feeder, at least one vertical translation guide, at least one knock down device, at least one rotary orientation device, at least one bottom orientation device and a programmable logic controller. The vibratory feeder is preferably mounted to a support frame of a hi-rail vehicle. The plurality of tie plates in the vibratory feeder are vibrated into the at least one vertical translation guide. A vertical guide extends past a vertical exit of the vertical translation guide. The knock down device is positioned above the vertical guide. The rotary orientation device rotates the tie plate to place a field end in front. An entrance of the bottom vertical guide may be located adjacent to the rotary orientation device. The programmable logic controller receives inputs from a plurality of sensors and actuates a motor and a plurality of actuators.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to railroads and more specifically to an automated tie plate placement system, which allows a plurality of tie plates to be oriented and placed, adjacent to a plurality of railroad ties.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
When railroad rails are replaced, tie plates are also replaced. Further, tie plates are also replaced when railroad ties are replaced. The tie plates are located between the railroad rails and the railroad ties. The tie plates distribute force from the railroad rails to the railroad ties; provide orientation; and establish a proper inward cant angle. The tie plates must be precisely placed, before installation on the railroad ties. Presently, the tie plates are manually oriented, before they are placed adjacent to the railroad ties. Tie plates weigh between 30-40 pounds. Currently, the tie plates are sorted by hand. Unfortunately, mishandling of the tie plates can result in injury to the fingers and hands of a worker.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for an automated tie plate placement system, which automatically orients a plurality of tie plates and places them adjacent to railroad ties.


A wafer processing laminate, a wafer processing member, a temporary adhering material for processing a wafer, and a method for manufacturing a thin wafer, which facilitates to establish a temporary adhering the wafer and the support, enables to form a layer of uniform thickness on a heavily stepped substrate, and is compatible with the TSV formation and wafer back surface interconnect forming steps, and the wafer processing laminate includes a support, a temporary adhesive material layer formed thereon and a wafer laminated on the temporary adhesive material layer, where the wafer has a circuit-forming front surface and a back surface to be processed, wherein the temporary adhesive material layer includes a three-layered structure composite temporary adhesive material layer.

Three-dimensional semiconductor packages become essential for a higher density and larger capacity. The three-dimensional packaging technology is by thinning semiconductor chips, and laminating them in multilayer structure while providing through silicon via (TSV) interconnects. For realizing the above, it is required to conduct the steps of thinning a substrate having a semiconductor circuit formed thereon by grinding its non-circuit-forming surface (it is also called as "back surface"), and further forming electrodes including TSV on the back surface. In the prior art, prior to the step of grinding the back surface of a silicon substrate, a protective tape is adhered to the back surface of the substrate opposite to the surface to be ground for preventing the wafer from breakage during the grinding step. However, this tape uses an organic resin film as a base material, it is flexible, but is insufficient in strength and heat resistance to withstand the TSV forming step and the step of forming interconnects on the back surface so that it is not suitable.
It is then proposed to bond a semiconductor substrate to a support such as silicon and glass via an adhesive layer whereby it becomes a system to sufficiently withstand the steps of grinding a back surface, and forming TSV or electrodes on the back surface. The adhesive layer is important for this system to bond the substrate to the support. The adhesive layer is required to bond the substrate to the support without leaving gaps, to have sufficient durability which can withstand the subsequent steps, and eventually allow the thin wafer to be easily delaminating from the support. The adhesive layer is thus finally removed so that, in the present specification, the adhesive layer is referred to as a temporary adhesive layer (or a temporary adhesive material layer).
With regard to the conventionally known temporary adhesive layers and a removing method thereof, there have been proposed a technique in which high intensity light is irradiated to an adhesive material containing a light absorbing substance to decompose the adhesive material layer whereby the adhesive material layer is peeled from the support (Patent Literature 1), and a technique in which a heat fusible hydrocarbon type compound is used as an adhesive material, and bonding and delaminating are carried out in a heat-molten state (Patent Literature 2). The former technique involved the problems that it requires an expensive tool such as laser, and a treatment time per one substrate is longer. The latter technique is simple because of control only by heat, but the applicable range is limited since thermal stability at high temperatures exceeding 200° C. is insufficient. Further, these temporary adhesive layers are not adequate to form a layer with uniform thickness on a heavily stepped substrate and to provide a complete adhesion to the support.
It has also been proposed to use a silicone adhesive agent as the temporary adhesive material layer (Patent Literature 3). This is to bond a substrate to a support using an addition curable type silicone adhesive agent, and on removal, the assembly is immersed in a chemical solution capable of dissolving or decomposing the silicone resin, whereby the substrate is separated from the support. Thus, this method takes a very long time for removal and is difficulty applicable to the actual manufacturing process.

Wafer processing laminate, wafer processing member, temporary adhering material for processing wafer, and manufacturing method of thin wafer


Hydrophilic organic colloids such as collagen or gelatin are modified for use in photographic elements such as film or paper, or for use as reagents in automated dry chemical analyzers. The modification comprises reaction of some of the carboxy groups attached to the polypeptide with (i) a amide bond forming agent, e.g. 1-pyrrolidinylcarbonylpyridinium chloride, and (ii) a di- or triamine, such as piperazine, diethylenetriamine or ethylenediamine. Such modification enables that colloid to react faster with a gelatin hardener such as bis(vinylsulfonyl)methane (BVSM). When coated over an equal amount of unmodified gelatin, and both layers imbibed with BVSM, a modified gelatin layer showed an enzyme resistance greater than that of the unmodified gelatin. This demonstrates that the modified gelatin hardened preferentially. This discovery of a method for differential hardening can be utilized to prepare multilayer photographic elements or multilayer reagents for chemical analyzers that contain one or more layers which are hardened preferentially, i.e. to a greater degree than other layers.

In the manufacture of photographic films and papers, a support is commonly coated with multiple layers. The different layers have different individual functions in the final product, and in many instances it is necessary that the layers remain distinct and not mix with one another. For example, a simple color photographic film can have a subcoating, a blue-sensitive layer, a green-sensitive layer, a red-sensitive layer, one or more color filtering coatings, etc. Films with about 15 layers have been described, e.g. in EP 257,515.
In forming photographic elements, the layers can be applied to the support by various procedures known in the art. For example, the layers can be applied by dip coating, roller coating, spray coating, bead coating, and the like.
Two or more layers can be simultaneously applied as illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,761,791, 3,508,847, 3,539,644, and such other patents cited in Research Disclosure No. 308, December 1989, pp. 1007-8. There, coating and drying procedures are discussed.
It is well known that gelatin is a common matrix for multiple layer products of the type discussed above. Over the past recent decades, simplifications in photographic processing have been made through the use of higher solution temperatures, and the combination or elimination of one or more steps in the process. The application of hardeners to photographic gelatin and advances in hardener technology have made many such improvements possible.
The hardening of gelatin is a crosslinking process. It produces (i) a reduction of swelling in water and aqueous systems, and (ii) and increase in the temperature required for solution in water. Various materials have been suggested for hardening proteinaceous colloids like collagen or gelatin. For references relating to suggested hardeners, reference is made to Research Disclosure, supra, pages 1004-1005.
This invention comprises a modification of gelatin or similar polypeptide that makes it react much faster with a hardener. The modification process involves reaction of some of the --COOH groups attached to the polypeptide(s) with (i) an amide bond forming agent, and (ii) an amine having two or more amino groups. In the method of this invention, only some of the carboxy groups along the peptide chains of the starting colloid are reacted.
The reaction of only a partial number of the --COOH groups with the selected reagents to prepare photographically suitable gelatins is unknown in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,480, all of such groups are reacted to prepare a collagen or collagen-like substance with a more electropositive surface, which is used to control or terminate blood loss.
The process of this invention provides materials having unobvious, desirable properties useful in photographic arts and in other technological areas. Accordingly, the processes and the compositions provided by this invention are deemed to be significant advance in the art.


An automated core drilling device comprising a rigid drilling tower, a floating chuck assembly, and a drill bit. Rigid drilling tower comprising at least three vertical column members, a lower perimeter frame, and an upper perimeter frame. Floating chuck assembly comprising a drill bit axis-of-rotation vertical clearance channel, at least three horizontal support arms, at least three feed motor platforms, at least three feed motors, a hub casing, a hollow-centered bit driveshaft, a bit driveshaft sprocket, an offset spindle driveshaft sprocket, an offset spindle driveshaft, and an offset spindle motor. An automated core drilling device further comprising a computer with custom software, a monitor point for the electric current draw of said offset spindle motor or a monitor point for the revolution rate of said offset spindle driveshaft, and a control point for the electric current draw of each of said at least three feed motors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to core drills that remove core specimens or cylindrical-shaped solid masses or plugs from a target solid, and, more specifically, to a core drill that is capable of mating with a core-catching device with a support member running through the center or longitudinal axis of the core specimen and connected to a core supporting means positioned underneath the core specimen, so that the core-catching device may catch and balance the core specimen, upon the successful drilling and detachment of the core specimen from the target solid.
2. Description of Related Art
Many endeavors require core specimens for the purpose of ascertaining physical and/or chemical properties of a target solid. Specimens are necessary because thorough laboratory testing must be conducted at laboratories located some distance from the target solid, so specimens must be detached from the target solid and then transported to the laboratory for testing. Cylindrical-shaped specimens are commonly used for this purpose because the physical procedure of drilling out a core sample is the easiest and fastest method to detach specimens. A hollow cylindrical drill bit is used to drill into the target solid in order to create a solid cylindrical-shaped plug of the target solid lodged in the center of the drill bit. The plug is removed from the drill bit and from there forward it is called a core specimen or core sample. Core samples are transported back to the laboratory for analysis. There are many core drilling devices for this process in the prior art.
This invention is a core drilling device that functions to "open" a hazardous waste container made of cement, concrete, metal, rock, or other solid material, by removing a portion of the top of the hazardous waste container, in the form of a "core sample", in order to create a hole or void in the top of the hazardous waste container, to provide access to the interior of the hazardous waste container. Hazardous waste containers are large man-made liquid-tight containers that may be placed underground and may hold hundreds of gallons of hazardous liquid material, such as liquid nuclear waste. Importantly, this invention functions to drill a core sample and then catch the core sample to prevent it from falling into the hazardous waste container or into the interior of the hazardous waste container where the hazardous waste is located. If the core sample were to fall into the hazardous waste container, this could cause the hazardous liquid inside to splash up or otherwise spread from the interior of the hazardous waste container to the outside, thereby causing harm to humans, property, and nature. This invention prevents that from happening. The core sample created with this invention is not sent for laboratory analysis because it is hazardous waste so it must be contained as such.
Access to hazardous waste containers is required because of failures in the containers. There are hazardous waste containers in service currently that are leaking or leaching hazardous liquid into the ground, thereby causing harm to humans, property, and nature. This invention will be used to help gain safe access to failing liquid hazardous waste containers, so that the hazardous liquid inside may be extracted or removed to prevent further harm to humans, property, and nature. The removed hazardous liquid will then be turned into a solid form and re-stored in another hazardous waste container.

Automated core drilling device capable of mating with a center-mounted core-catching device


Disclosed is an automatic locking apparatus used in a guide rail for a drawer. The automatic locking apparatus is provided at an end portion of a fixing slider to lock a movable slider when the drawer is closed. The automatic locking apparatus prevents the drawer from being opened and smoothly locks the drawer. A stopper ring is attached to the movable slider, and the automatic locking apparatus is provided on the fixing slider to cooperate with the stopper ring. The automatic locking apparatus includes a fixing plate attached to the fixing slider, a body fixed to the fixing plate while protruding toward the movable slider, an elastic member having a substantially “C” shape and being rotatably coupled to one end of the body, and a rotating member having a substantially “reverse-L” shape and being rotatably coupled to the other end of the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a guide rail for a drawer. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic locking apparatus used in a guide rail for a drawer, in which the automatic locking apparatus can slidably lock the drawer on the guide rail even if a user touches the drawer with little force.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a drawer is installed in a cabinet, a desk, and the like so as to allow a user to store various materials, such as personal things, documents and various office supplies, in the drawer according to applications thereof. Such a drawer slidably moves along a guide rail including fixing sliders attached to both inner side surfaces of a drawer receiving section, and movable sliders attached to both outer side surfaces of the drawer.
In detail, as shown in FIG. 1, a conventional guide rail 1 includes a fixing slider 10 and a movable slider 20, in which at least one coupling hole 11 is formed in the fixing slider 10 such that the fixing slider 10 can be coupled with a side surface of a drawer receiving section A (see, FIG. 2) by means of a bolt and a screw, a first stopper 13 is provided at one end of a recess section 12 of the fixing slider 10 so as to limit the movement of the drawer, and a first convey slot 14 having a predetermined depth is formed on outer portions of upper and lower bending sections of the fixing slider 10, and in which the movable slider 20 has a size sufficient for receiving the fixing slider 10, second and third stoppers 23 and 24 are provided at both ends of a recess section 22 of the movable slider 20 so as to limit the movement of the drawer, a second convey slot 25 having a predetermined depth, which is corresponding to the first convey slot 14 of the fixing slider 10, is formed on inner portions of upper and lower bending sections of the movable slider 20, and a plurality of screw holes 21 are formed at the bottom of the recess section 22 of the movable slider 20 so as to couple the movable slider 20 with the drawer B (see, FIG. 2) while supporting the drawer.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, when the fixing slider 10 is accommodated in the movable slider 20, the upper and lower bending sections of the fixing slider 10 are spaced apart from the upper and lower bending sections of the movable slider 20 by a predetermined distance, so that a roller bracket 30 equipped with at least one roller 31 can be provided between the fixing slider 10 and the movable slider 20.
In a state in which the guide rail 1 including the fixing slider 10 and the movable slider 20 makes contact with the side of the drawer B and the drawer receiving section A, if the user pulls or pushes the drawer to open or close the drawer, the drawer slidably moves smoothly according to the movement of the roller bracket 30 installed in the first and second convey slots 14 and 25.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, if the user pulls the drawer in a state in which the drawer has been accommodated in the drawer receiving section A, the roller bracket 30 and the movable slider 20 are slidably moved in the moving direction of the drawer along the first covey slot 14 of the fixing slider 10. At this time, if the drawer is fully pulled, both end portions of the roller bracket 30 make contact with the first and third stoppers 13 and 24, so that the movement of the drawer is restricted without separating the movable slider 20 and the roller bracket 30 from the fixing slider 10.
In addition, if the user pushes the drawer to close the drawer, the second stopper 23 makes contact with one end of the fixing slider 10, so that the movement of the drawer is restricted.
However, the drawer having the above structure represents problems when the user pushes or pulls the drawer close or open the drawer, especially, when the user pushes the drawer to close the drawer. That is, if the desk is inclined, the drawer may not be closed, but may be automatically opened due to the tare thereof.
In order to solve the above problem, a guide rail equipped with a locking device has been suggested. However, according to the guide rail equipped with the locking device, the user must push the drawer with strong force in order to lock the drawer, so that not only is noise generated, but also the drawer or the guide rail is broken when it is used for a long period of time.

Automatic locking apparatus used in guide rail for drawer


An image forming apparatus in which developers are detachably coupled to a main body. The image forming apparatus includes: a developer mount member on which the developers are mounted and that is attachable to and detachable from the main body; an input contact member disposed on the developers; a power supply unit that is provided in the main body; an output contact member that is disposed in the main body to face a front end of the developer mount member in a mount direction in which the developer mount member is mounted and is electrically connected to the power supply; and intermediate contact members disposed on the front end of the developer mount member in the mount direction and are electrically connected to a respective input contact member, and electrically contacts the output contact member as the developer mount member is mounted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus in which a developer member including a plurality of developers is detachably coupled to a main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus, particularly, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, forms an electrostatic latent image on a surface of a photosensitive member by emitting light modulated to correspond to image information to the photosensitive member, develops the electrostatic latent image into a visible toner image by supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image, and prints an image on a recording medium by transferring and fixing the toner image to the recording medium.
The photosensitive member and the toner may be provided in a cartridge, which is defined as a 'developer'. Herein, the use of the term 'developer' refers to a cartridge in which a photosensitive member and toner are contained. Rollers such as a charging roller and a developing roller are disposed on the developer, and bias voltages are applied to the rollers. An electrical contact member for electrically connecting the rollers to a power supply device disposed in a main body of the image forming apparatus is provided.
In particular, an image forming apparatus designed for a user to more easily attach or detach a developer and repair the developer has recently been developed. In such an image forming apparatus, at least one developer may more easily be attached or detached by mounting the developer on a developer mount member, and pushing the developer mount member into a main body or separating the developer mount member from the main body.
If a developer is directly mounted on a main body without using a developer mount member, it is not difficult to manufacture an electrical contact member for applying a voltage to the developer. However, if a developer is mounted on a developer mount member and the developer mount member is coupled to a main body, an electrical contact member has to be connected to the main body through the developer mount member.
Examples of a method of electrically connecting a developer and a main body (specifically, a power supply device) include a method of connecting a developer and a main body by using an intermediate member and a method of directly connecting a developer and a main body.
A conventional method of connecting a developer and a main body by using an intermediate member has problems in that since the intermediate member is disposed in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which a developer mount member is withdrawn, a contact force is reduced, and since a structure for extricating the intermediate member in order to prevent damage to the intermediate member when the developer mount member is withdrawn or mounted is required, the number of parts is increased.
Also, a conventional method of directly connecting a developer and a main body has the following problems. It is necessary to prevent damage to an output contact member for applying a bias voltage to the developer due to a developer mount member or the developer when the developer mount member is withdrawn or mounted. To this end, since an interlocking member that interlocks with a door portion and extricates the output contact member when the door portion opens is required, many parts such as a link member are required. Also, since a user may be inconvenienced using the door portion because of the link member that interlocks with the door portion, user convenience may be reduced.


A PWM generation circuit is set so as to generate a PWM pulse signal having a frequency that is an odd number times a vertical synchronization frequency. A frequency division circuit frequency-divides the PWM pulse signal generated by the PWM generation circuit. An AND gate calculates the logical product of the PWM pulse signal generated by the PWM generation circuit and a frequency-division pulse signal outputted from the frequency division circuit. An OR gate calculates the logical sum of the PWM pulse signal generated by the PWM generation circuit and the frequency-division pulse signal outputted from the frequency division circuit. A selector outputs an output signal of the OR gate as a dimming pulse signal in a case where the set duty ratio is not less than 50%, while outputting an output signal of the AND gate as a dimming pulse signal in a case where the set duty ratio is less than 50%. Consequently, the frequency of the dimming pulse signal is five-second the frequency of a vertical synchronizing signal.

Generally in video equipment using liquid crystals, for example, liquid crystal televisions or liquid crystal display apparatuses, images are displayed by light emission of backlights composed of cold cathode-ray tubes. Inverters are used so as to generate driving signals for controlling and driving the backlights.
Generally in order to control the luminances of backlights, there are current or voltage dimming systems for changing input DC voltages or input DC currents of inverters to change currents flowing in cold cathode-ray tubes and PWM dimming (burst dimming) systems for controlling light emission and extinction at an oscillation frequency by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) pulses.
The current or voltage dimming systems have advantages in that noises (audible sounds) generated from the inverters are small and stable but have disadvantages in that the dimming ranges are narrow.
On the other hand, the PWM dimming systems have advantages in that the dimming ranges are wide and are used in the functions of adjusting backlights by users, for example.
Generally, PWM pulse signals for driving inverters are asynchronous with the vertical synchronization frequency of video signals to be inputted. When the PWM pulse signals are asynchronous with the vertical synchronization frequency, however, there occur phenomena in which noises move on screens or phenomena in which interference stripes appear on screens.
Therefore, it has been proposed that the PWM pulse signal is synchronized with the vertical synchronization frequency (see Patent Document 1, for example).
When the frequency of the PWM pulse signal is set to integral multiples of the vertical synchronization frequency, however, a flicker is generated due to the change in time of the light transmittance of a liquid crystal (see Patent Document 2). In order to prevent the generation of the flicker, there is provided a PWM dimming driving circuit that causes a fluorescent tube to flicker m times (m is an integer more than n and other than multiples of n) during a display period for n pictures (n is an integer of not less than 2) in a liquid crystal display apparatus with a backlight control function in the Patent Document 2.
[Patent Document 1] JP 11-126696 A
[Patent Document 2] JP 7-325286 A

Backlight control device and display apparatus