Embodiments related to pressure sensitive structures are described and depicted.

According to one aspect, a method of manufacturing a pressure sensitive structure includes the generating of a plurality of trenches in a substrate, wherein adjacent trenches are separated from each other by a respective side-wall. After generating the plurality of trenches, material is removed to generate a cavity extending from a main surface of the substrate to at least one side-wall.
According to a further aspect, a method of manufacturing a pressure sensitive structure includes a generating of openings in a substrate, the openings extending from a first main surface vertically into the substrate, wherein a wall extending vertically into the substrate is formed between at least one pair of adjacent openings. Further material at a lateral side of a first opening of the at least one pair of openings is removed to laterally extend the first opening.
According to a further aspect, a device comprises at least one sealed opening extending from a main surface vertically into a substrate. The device includes a pressure membrane extending from the main surface vertically into the substrate and at least one further opening extending from the main surface of the substrate into the substrate to provide a pressure communication for the pressure membrane.
According to a further aspect, a pressure sensor includes at least one sealed opening extending vertical from a main surface of a semiconductor substrate into the semiconductor substrate, the at least one sealed opening being bounded on one side by a pressure sensitive wall. At least one pressure inlet is provided, the at least one pressure inlet extending from the pressure sensitive wall to the main surface from which the sealed opening extend into the substrate. The at least one pressure inlet is bound on an opposing side of the pressure sensitive wall by an inclined surface of the semiconductor substrate, the inclined surface being non-parallel to the pressure sensitive wall.


A disposable cup lid for placement onto the rim of a drinking cup has a cover portion having a drinking access port and a condiment opening, a rim portion, a reclosable and tearable fold-back condiment tab, a hinge, a post and a recess. The cup lid is structured in such a manner that when the condiment opening is not in use, the condiment opening is reclosable by the condiment tab.

With the ever increasing demands of our busy lives, more and more people are relying on the convenience of fast food and take-outs. Indeed, the fast food industry has significantly grown over the years, and this in turn has contributed to the growth of the manufacturing of the containers and lids used in holding and containing the food and beverages. One particular area of the fast food industry which has exploded in the recent decades is the sale of coffee, cappuccino, espresso, hot chocolate, tea and the like. These beverages are available both as hot beverages or cold beverages. They are usually sold at cafes, fast food restaurants, and drive-throughs, and are usually available to the consumers as take-away beverages. Beverages of this sort are typically contained in paper or polystyrene cups; and polystyrene plastic disposable cup lids are usually provided for placement over such cups.
Many variations of such disposable cup lids are available in today's market. The disposable cup lids may be relatively flat, or they may be domed or semi-domed. The domed or semi-domed type lids are particularly suitable for beverages such as cappuccinos, hot chocolates, and the like, which typically have some froth or foam at the top of the beverage when it is dispensed into the cup. In the case of cold beverages, the domed or semi-domed type lids provide additional volume for foam or for ice cubes which are floating in the beverage. Whether the lids are flat or domed, the lids are provided with a drinking opening so as to permit the consumer to drink the beverage contained in the cup without having to remove the lid. The opening may be a small drink-through opening that is pre-formed near the peripheral region of the cup lid. In another variation, the drink-through opening is defined by a tearable foldback tab. When the tab is torn and folded back, the drink-through opening is provided in the lid. In yet another variation, the tab may have to be torn off from the lid in order to create the drink-through opening.
A drawback of these conventional disposable cup lids is that the opening provided is not sufficiently large enough for the consumer to add condiments such as sugar, cream, milk and spices into the hot beverage. The opening is designed to serve solely as a drink-through opening, and thus the size of the opening is typically quite small so as to prevent spills or splashes of the hot beverage from the cup. If the consumer wishes to add condiments into the hot beverage, he or she would be required to first remove the lid from the cup, and then add the condiments into the hot beverage. Since most consumers like to enjoy such beverages with at least the addition of some type of condiments, the conventional disposable cup lids do not allow the consumer to add the condiments to the beverage without having to first remove the lid from the cup. Removal of such disposable cup lid from a cup containing a full amount of beverage is difficult, inconvenient, cumbersome, and possibly dangerous in certain circumstances, especially when the consumer is driving, riding in a vehicle, or walking. The difficulty of removing the cup lid is further exacerbated when the beverage contained within the cup is a hot beverage. The consumer purchased the beverage as a take-out item, and as such, the lid and the container provided need to be durable and spill-resistant so as to permit the consumer to be able to carry the beverage around safely.
Attempts have been made to provide disposable cup lids having not only a drink-through opening, but also another port for the consumer to add condiments into the beverage. However, disposable cup lids of this type which are currently available are not very effective, particularly the condiment opening is typically closed off by a resilient means, and thus making the condiment opening not easily accessible when the addition of condiments through the condiment opening into the beverage is desirable.
In United States Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0102312 published to HORNER on Jun. 5, 2003, a disposable lid with a cream and sugar port is taught. The disposable lid is structured in such a manner that when placed on a disposable cup, the user may add condiments to the beverage in the cup without having to remove the lid from the cup. The condiment port is on the opposite side of the lid from the drinking port. Furthermore, the condiment port is defined by a slit which is oriented perpendicularly to an imaginary line that runs through the center of the lid between the drinking port and the condiment port. When the condiment port is in use, the cap can be selectively deformed by the user to create an opening sufficient to allow the introduction of condiments into the cup. When the deforming pressure is removed, the cap is biased to return to its original closed position. In the closed position, the condiment port is substantially blocked by a resilient cap that is unitarily formed as part of the cover. While the cap substantially blocks the condiment port so as to prevent leakage of beverage from the cup, the cap partially obstructs the condiment port even when the condiment port is in use, which makes the addition of condiments through the condiment port difficult and cumbersome.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,952 issued to MENDENALL et al. on Apr. 20, 1999 teaches a spill-resistant cup lid with condiment funnel and stirring rod. The lid is adapted for use with a beverage container having a hot beverage held within. The lid has a drink-through opening in the form of an arcuately shaped spout, located adjacent the upper peripheral rim of the cup lid. A condiment funnel opening is located near the center of the lid which serves to channel excess beverage back into the cup, and also through which condiments may be poured into the cup. A stirring rod with a hemispherically shaped flange disposed near the upper portion of the rod is provided. The hemispherical flange rests in the condiment funnel opening and aids the consumer in stirring the beverage. The hemispherical flange helps thermally seal the cup lid to decrease heat loss from the hot beverage. Since the stirring rod with the hemispherical flange is a separate entity from the cup lid, the stirring rod could be misplaced or inadvertently discarded by the user after stirring the condiments into the beverage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,493 issued to HAN on Aug. 10, 1999, a lid for a beverage container is taught. The lid has a flexible disk-like body and a plurality of slot openings formed in the body. Each of the slot openings is adapted to receive a small container containing additives, such as sugar or cream. Upon application of pressure, the slot opening which is defined by a plurality of intersecting lines breaks open. Near the slot opening, the lid also has protrusions formed therein which create an opening in the container as the container is inserted into the slot opening. When the small additive container is inserted into the slot opening, a release opening is formed in the body of the additive container and the content contained therein is released. The lid as taught by HAN requires the condiments to be packaged in specifically sized additive containers which are compatible with the particular dimensions of such a lid. The consumer using the lid provided by HAN would not be able to use condiments contained in packages or containers currently exist in the market. If the specifically sized additive containers containing the condiments are not available, and the consumer need to use sugar and cream in existing packages or containers, the consumer nevertheless is required to remove the lid from the cup before adding the condiments to the beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,647 issued on Nov. 9, 1999 also to HAN is a Continuation-In-Part patent of the above noted United States Patent. In this Continuation-In-Part patent, the inventor teaches a disposable lid for a container in which the lid has pre-stored additives such as sugar or cream contained therein. The lid includes a base member sized to fit over the container where the base member has at least one compartment region with a sealed outlet, and a cover sealing the compartment region to prevent the content from exiting the compartment region. When the cover is actuated, the outlet breaks open and allows the additive in the compartment region to flow into the container. Since each of the compartments has a pre-determined amount of condiments contained therein, once the cover is opened, the entire amount of the condiments contained in the compartment is released into the beverage. Thus, the consumer is not permitted to add a desired amount of condiments into the beverage suitable to the consumer's taste. Further, as soon as one of the condiments contained in such a lid is passed its expiry date, the entire lid has to be discarded which is very uneconomical.
It will be apparent from the foregoing prior art that the disposable cup lids have condiment ports formed therein, and such condiment ports are typically not readily accessible. Further, it will be apparent from the foregoing prior art that the disposable cup lids have condiments pre-contained therein.


The invention relates to methods of treating diseases and disorders of the muscle tissues in a vertebrate by the administration of compounds which bind the p185erbB2 receptor. These compounds are found to cause increased differentiation and survival of cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscle.

The invention relates to prophylactic or affirmative treatment of diseases and disorders of the musculature by administering polypeptides found in vertebrate species, which polypeptides are growth, differentiation and survival factors for muscle cells.
Muscle tissue in adult vertebrates will regenerate from reserve myoblasts called satellite cells. Satellite cells are distributed throughout muscle tissue and are mitotically quiescent in the absence of injury or disease. Following muscle injury or during recovery from disease, satellite cells will reenter the cell cycle, proliferate and 1) enter existing muscle fibers or 2) undergo differentiation into multinucleate myotubes which form new muscle fiber. The myoblasts ultimately yield replacement muscle fibers or fuse into existing muscle fibers, thereby increasing fiber girth by the synthesis of contractile apparatus components. This process is illustrated, for example, by the nearly complete regeneration which occurs in mammals following induced muscle fiber degeneration; the muscle progenitor cells proliferate and fuse together regenerating muscle fibers.
Several growth factors which regulate the proliferation and differentiation of adult (and embryonic) myoblasts in vitro have been identified. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is mitogenic for muscle cells and is an inhibitor of muscle differentiation. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) has no effect on myoblast proliferation, but is an inhibitor of muscle differentiation. Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have been shown to stimulate both myoblast proliferation and differentiation in rodents. Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) is also mitogenic for myoblasts and is a potent inhibitor of muscle cell differentiation. (For a review of myoblast division and differentiation see: Florini and Magri, 1989:256:C701-C711).
In vertebrate species both muscle tissue and neurons are potential sources of factors which stimulate myoblast proliferation and differentiation. In diseases affecting the neuromuscular system which are neural in origin (i.e., neurogenic), the muscle tissue innervated by the affected nerve becomes paralyzed and wastes progressively. During peripheral nerve regeneration and recovery from neurologic and myopathic disease, neurons may provide a source of growth factors which elicit the muscle regeneration described above and provide a mechanism for muscle recovery from wasting and atrophy.
A recently described family of growth factors, the neuregulins, are synthesized by motor neurons (Marchioni et al. Nature 362:313, 1993) and inflammatory cells (Tarakhovsky et al., Oncogene 6:2187-2196 (1991)). The neuregulins and related p185erbB2 binding factors have been purified, cloned and expressed (Benveniste et al., PNAS 82:3930-3934, 1985; Kimura et al., Nature 348:257-260, 1990; Davis and Stroobant, J. Cell. Biol. 110:1353-1360, 1990; Wen et al., Cell 69:559, 1992; Yarden and Ullrich, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 57:443, 1988; Holmes et al., Science 256:1205, 1992; Dobashi et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:8582, 1991; Lupu et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89:2287, 1992). Recombinant neuregulins have been shown to be mitogenic for peripheral glia (Marchionni et al., Nature 362:313, 1993) and have been shown to influence the formation of the neuromuscular junction (Falls et al., Cell 72:801, 1993). Thus the regenerating neuron and the inflammatory cells associated with the recovery from neurogenic disease and nerve injury provide a source of factors which coordinate the remyelination of motor neurons and their ability to form the appropriate connection with their target. After muscle has been reinnervated the motor neuron may provide factors to muscle, stimulating muscle growth and survival.
Currently, there is no useful therapy for the promotion of muscle differentiation and survival. Such a therapy would be useful for treatment of a variety of neural and muscular diseases and disorders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for treating muscle diseases and disorders


Methods, systems and computer program products for countering the effects of four wave mixing are described. In one implementation, a controller can be used to shift an operating wavelength of an optical transmitter away from a zero-dispersion wavelength through which signals of the optical transmitter are transmitted. The controller can perform the shifting process while allowing sufficient margin for division multiplexing and minimal dispersion. The controller may determine an appropriate offset to be used for shifting the operating wavelength without subjecting the signals to a significant increase in undesirable effects such as dispersion, crosstalk and signal distortion which can impact the overall bit-error rate.

Modem communication systems increasingly rely upon fiber optic networks to carry increasing amounts of data between networks and systems. For example, the use of multiple optical carriers (called channels) over a same optical fiber can increase signal bandwidth and capacity. Such communication systems include analog optical communication systems. The utilization of analog optical communication systems for analog applications previously associated with traditional technologies such as standard wire-based communication systems, and telephony and cable television (CATV) is driven in part by the increasing availability of broadband optical fiber networks in businesses and homes.
An analog optical communication system transmits an analog information signal over an optical fiber by modulating a carrier light beam with an information signal, and transmitting the modulated carrier over the optical fiber to an optical receiver. For long-distance applications, high optical power levels are needed to avoid the needs for compensational network components such as amplifiers and repeaters, which can substantially increase the overall cost and complexity for deploying the system.
However, the use of high optical power level (e.g., using a high-powered, narrow-linewidth optical source) in combination with the use of conventional optical fiber can lead to various non-linear effects that can cause signal degradation. Non-linear effects generally arise through interactions between optical carriers of relatively high power and the transmission medium through which the optical carriers are transmitted (e.g., optical fibers and other waveguides). One such non-linear effect includes four-wave mixing (FWM). FWM generally occurs between close, neighboring channels, and in optical fibers having low dispersion within the desired band (e.g., within the range of signal wavelengths).
Although FWM occurs generally in optical communication systems, FWM is most prevalent in high speed systems such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems and coarse WDM (CWDM) systems. FWM can place significant limitations on the deployment of these systems, and can degrade the desired signals being transmitted.


The present invention discloses a processing circuit for STM-based ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) cell physical layer.. In the present invention are disclosed a general circuit structure having a multiplex, demultiplex unit between a byte processing unit and a parallel processing unit, a real-time transform method between 16 bit UTOPIA format and a standard ATM cell format in a ATM cell processing unit, and a control circuit which is normally in 9.times.270 mode and drives all the circuit in 9.times.30 mode in a special test mode.

The Synchronous Digital Hierarchy(called "SDH" thereinafter) of ITU-T relates to a transfer mode in a synchronous transfer network and has a Synchronous Transfer Module 1 (called "STM1" thereinafter) having a format of 9.times.270 as a basic transfer unit. As such kind of transfer frame is transmitted 8000 frames every second, STM1 has a transfer rate of 155.52 Mbps. The STM1 has a Section Overhead(called "SOH" thereinafter, SOH.dbd.RSOH+MSOH) for operation and management onto a transfer line within its frame, and may contain one Virtual Container 4 (called "VC4" thereinafter) having a format of 9.times.261 in the unit except for the SOH or three Virtual Containers 3 (called "VC3" thereinafter) having a format of 9.times.90. These Virtual Containers may begin at a given position of payload portion on a frame and represent the beginning position of VC on the frame as one pointer of overhead on the frame. The pointer indicates the beginning position of VC as the offset from a pointer byte, and the pointer value may vary based on the processing delay at a transfer apparatus and the difference between the clock rates when one VC passes through various transfer apparatus. Though there exist three pointers for three VC3 in STM1 frame, the first pointer is used when only one VC4 is conveyed and the other two are Concatenation Indication(called "CI" thereinafter).
"Concatenation" means that any VC is concatenated to a forehand VC to be a single VC having a larger capacity. This concatenated VC is processed as one unit until it is terminated without being divided in the interim. The first row at the VC4 having a format of 9.times.261 is used to transmit a Path Overhead (called "POH" thereinafter) which is used for Operation and Maintenance (called "OAM" thereinafter) associated with a convey of VC4. The remaining 9.times.260 portions represent the portions for conveying real data and are called a Container 4 (called "C4 " thereinafter). The C4 has a format of 9.times.260, which has a convey capacity of 149.76 Mbps.
In addition, VC4-4c is consisted of VC having a single convey capacity in which four VC4s are included therein, and can convey C4-4c in which four C4s are included therein. This VC4-4c can be conveyed by STM4 having a format in which four STM1s are interleaved at a byte unit. In this case, as the STM4 can convey one VC4-4c, only one pointer among 12 pointers is used and the remaining 11 pointers are represented as CI.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing to illustrate a synchronous transfer module(STM4-4c) and the operation thereof will explained as follows by reference to Table 1.
In Table 1 is shown a format of SOH and pointer when VC4-4cis conveyed onto STM4.
The sum of VC4-4c and pointers H1 and H2 indicating a beginning position of VC4-4c is called AU4-4c. When ATM cell is contained within the VC4-4c, a continuous flow of ATM cells is contained. As the beginning location of the ATM cells within a C4-4c is not fixed, the ATM cells may be positioned over the boundary of the VC4-4c. Any prior technologies relating to a method for implementing a ATM cell physical layer circuit for a Synchronous Optical Network (called "SONET" thereinafter)/STM are not known.
TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ A1 A1 A1 . . . A1 A2 A2 A2 . . . A2 J0 C1 C1 C1 . . . B1 . . . E1 . . . F1 . . . D1 . . . D2 . . . 1* D3 . . . H1 Y Y . . . Y H2 1* 1* . . . 0 0 0 0 0 . . . 0 B2 . . . . . . . . . D4 . . . D5 . . . D6 . . . D7 . . . D8 . . . D9 . . . D10 . . . D11 . . . D12 . . . S1 . . . M1 . . . . . . 12 COLUMN 12 COLUMN 12 COLUMN __________________________________________________________________________
When using an improper structure to implement this kind of 622 Mbps ATM cell physical layer circuit, there is a drawback that implementing the circuit is difficult since the circuit operating rate of many units is as high as 77.76 MHz and the hardwares become complicated. In addition, as most functions are performed in a frame unit in view of STM circuit, when implemented by a Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit ("VLSI") such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuit("ASIC") etc., lots of time is required to verify most functions in a simulation during a design. Also, when testing a chip after processing, there is a drawback that the operation may not be tested in a real-like situation because too many number of vectors (the number of clocks) are needed to test the real-like operation with a test vector.

STM-based ATM cell physical layer processing circuit

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


One method embodiment executes a director. The director invokes at least one “active stamp” when processing data, where each of the active stamps relates to a different data manipulation method. The active stamps comprise specialized, portable and dynamic logic processes generically applicable to a plurality of different directors such that each of the active stamps can be individually invoked by each of the different directors to perform the same operation for each of the different directors. The invoking of the active stamps by the director calls the active stamps from a resource in a structure that allows each of the different directors to individually access each of the active stamps that correspond to a current data manipulation process being invoked by each of the different directors. Because the director calls the active stamps at run time of the processing of the data, the active stamps avoid having to be compiled with the director. The active stamps can also subscribe and listen to events as they occur during the processing of the data.

Embodiments herein generally relate to systems and methods for rendering bit map data. This includes previously received images encoded in any format convertible into bitmap data and text data to be converted into bitmap data.
There are several approaches available to produce printed material from digital sources (i.e., LCDS, PostScript, IPDS, PCLx, etc.). All those methods have a common goal to generate a bitmap that represents the printable image. In general, all these methods are incompatible with each other. Furthermore, most of the methods impose rules/restrictions on the way they achieve their results. For instance, a method might recognize only certain image encoding subset. Or the method can perform line spacing in a particular manner. The user cannot change, or will have little influence on, those behaviors.

Portable bitmap rendering systems and methods


A pair of eyeglasses includes a frame unit and a lens unit. The frame unit has a downwardly flaring projection protruding integrally and downwardly from a middle portion thereof, and two constricted slots which are located on two sides of the projection and which have inner end portions that are adjacent to the projection. The lens unit has two upwardly flaring upper portions which define a constricted hole therebetween and which are snap fitted respectively within the constricted slots of the frame unit so that the projection of the frame unit is snap fitted within the constricted hole of the lens unit, thereby retaining the lens unit on the frame unit. The engagement of the projection of the middle portion of the frame unit within the constricted hole in the lens unit facilitates firm connection of the lens unit and the frame unit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pair of eyeglasses, and more particularly to a pair of eyeglasses including a frame unit and a lens unit which has an upper portion snap fitted within the frame unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a pair of conventional sunglasses 1 is shown to include a frame unit 2, a lens unit 3 and a generally inverted U-shaped nose bridge unit 4. The frame unit 2 has an elongated front frame 5 coupled to two temples 7 by bolts 6, and a lens-retaining slot 8 in which the upper portion of the lens unit 3 is confined. The nose bridge unit 4 consists of a nose support 10 and a nose pad 11 which is attached to the nose support 10. The nose support 10 has a slot 12 in which a middle portion 9 of the lens unit 3 is inserted tightly. The lens-retaining slot 8 of the frame unit 2 has two generally triangular end portions 13 in which two triangular projections 14 of the lens unit 3 are engaged within, thereby preventing the removal of the lens unit 3 from the frame unit 2. The conventional sunglasses 1 suffers from the following disadvantages:
(1) Upon mounting the lens unit 3 on the frame unit 2, because the triangular projections 14 are sharp and have a relatively large area, it is difficult and energy-consuming to insert the triangular projections 14 into the triangular end portions 13 of the lens-retaining slot 8. Furthermore, the tips 15 of the triangular projections 14 are easily broken during the mounting operation.
(2) The untimely removal of the middle portion 9 of the lens unit 3 from the frame unit 2 easily occurs due to the fact that it is remote (far) from the triangular end portions 13 of the slot 8 in the frame unit 2, thereby resulting in an unstable connection.

Eyeglasses comprising frame unit and snap fitted lens unit


A cylindrical fuel reforming apparatus covered with a thermal insulating layer 16 comprises a fuel flow passage 1 contoured by a cylindrical contour wall 2 in its central axial direction and a reforming catalyst bed 3 in the middle of the flow passage for reforming gas to be reformed flowing from the upstream of the fuel flow passage 1 into a proper reformed gas. A cooling jacket 10 is arranged in the upstream of the reforming catalyst bed 3 so as to surround the fuel flow passage 1 and to be supplied with steam 11 for cooling the cylindrical contour wall 2. There are provided in the cylindrical contour wall 2 in the upstream of the reforming catalyst bed 3 a plurality of injection nozzles 15 communicating the cooling jacket 10 with the fuel flow passage 1 so that the steam 11 introduced into the cooling jacket 10 is allowed to flow into the fuel flow passage 1.

The present invention relates to a fuel reforming apparatus and an electric power generating system having the fuel reforming apparatus, and more particularly to a fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type which is suitable for a gas turbine electric power generating system and a electric power generating system having the fuel reforming apparatus.
A fuel reforming apparatus of the indirect heat exchange type, a fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type and the like are known types of fuel reforming apparatuses for reforming a raw fuel, such as hydrocarbon, into a hydrogen enriched gas.
For example, the fuel reforming apparatus of the indirect heat exchange type comprises a reactor pipe having a reforming catalyst therein and a burner for applying heat to the reactor pipe, in which a raw fuel which flows into the reactor pipe through one end of the reactor pipe is reformed into a hydrogen enriched gas using the reforming catalyst inside of the reactor pipe, while the reactor pipe is being heated with the burned gas from the burner.
On the other hand, the fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type comprises a fuel flow passage having a reforming catalyst inside, in which a part of a raw fuel is partially oxidized (burned) with air inside the flow passage, and the obtained high temperature gas to be reformed is reformed into a hydrogen enriched gas using a reforming catalyst bed. The fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type is used in the chemical industry.
Gas turbine electric power generating systems having a fuel reforming apparatus are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-286835 (1990), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-332166 (1993), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-332167 (1993).
Since a fuel reforming apparatus of the indirect heat exchange type described above has a burner for heating the reactor pipe, the size of the apparatus is rather large. Further, if the exhaust gas of the turbine is used for the heat source, it is difficult to obtain the reforming temperature of approximately 700.degree. C. required for the reforming reaction. In other words, taking efficiency into consideration, the exhaust gas temperature of the gas turbine is generally set to nearly 600.degree. C. in the highest case and around 500.degree. C. in a common case. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the reforming temperature of approximately 700.degree. C. required for the reforming reaction.
On the other hand, the fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type is small in size, since a part of the raw fuel is partially oxidized (burned) and the sufficiently high reforming temperature required for the reforming reaction can be obtained. Therefore, the fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type is better than the fuel reforming apparatus of the indirect heat exchange type.
The inventors have tried to apply the fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type to a gas turbine electric power generating system, but the following problem was revealed. That is, in the fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type, the fuel flow passage in which the partial oxidization (burning) occurs is formed of firebricks, and the heat load fluctuation applied to the firebricks is small in a fuel reforming apparatus in the chemical industry, where it is used for a long period of time under a constant operating condition. Therefore, cracks hardly occur in the firebricks under such constant load conditions. On the other hand, the heat load fluctuation applied to the firebricks is large in a gas turbine electric power generating system, and so cracks are apt to occur in the firebricks with such load fluctuation. Therefore, if the conventional fuel reforming apparatus of the direct heat exchange type is directly applied to a gas turbine electric power generating system, there is a possibility that cracks in the firebricks will result. In addition to this, there is a possibility that a secondary failure due to fracture of the broken firebrick will occur. The disclosed gas turbine electric power generating system described above therefore employs a fuel reforming apparatus of the indirect heat exchange type.

Fuel reforming apparatus and electric power generating system having the same


An etch process for etching copper layers that is useable in integrated circuit fabrication is disclosed which utilizes halides to react with copper, preferrably using photoenergizing and photodirecting assistance of high intensity ultraviolet light, to produce a product which is either volatile or easily removed in solution. The process is anisotropic.

Patterning of a relatively thick copper layer or a thinner seed copper layer has been a requirement of printed circuit fabrication techniques. More recently, it has been desired to pattern thin copper layers in integrated circuit fabrication technology. Aluminum has been commonly used successfully in integrated circuit technology to form conductive leads between and across active elements of the integrated circuits, partly because aluminum has been found to be easily patterned by several techniques. However, as discussed by Hu, et al., in "Diffusion Barrier Studies for CU", 1986 IEEE V-MIC Conference, Jun. 9-10, 1986, pages 181-187, copper offers several advantages over aluminum metallization layers in integrated circuits such as higher conductivity, better electromigration resistance, and reduced power consumption. As further discussed, however, in the same article, copper has a greater tendency to diffuse into silicon than aluminum. Satisfactory solution to this problem has, nevertheless, been found by the use of diffusion barriers between the silicon and other layers of integrated circuits and the copper metallization layers.
Patterned etching of copper films has been accomplished, primarily in printed circuit fabrication, by wet processes wherein a protective, patterned film, such as a photoresist is applied to a copper layer and then a strong liquid etchant, usually an acid, is applied to etch the exposed copper down to the base material. This process presents several problems when applied to integrated circuit fabrication, such as the following. The wet processes are inherently "dirty" in that contaminants in the etchant can be introduced to the integrated circuit wafer. The wet etchants required are generally hazardous to operators by contact and inhalation of vapors produced thereby. Etching of copper requires etchants, high temperatures, or both which may damage the other layers of an integrated circuit. Etching of copper by wet processes is isotropic, making copper metallization for VLSI circuits extremely difficult. Disposal of the waste products of wet etch processes is becoming more expensive.
Therefore, because of the increased desire to utilize copper metallization in integrated circuits and the problems inherent in known wet etch techniques, it has become more important to develop more effective etching processes and equipment for etching copper layers, especially as used in integrated circuit fabrication.
Sputtering techniques are utilized presently to remove copper from copper-doped aluminum films and therefore may have application to removing copper films. However, sputtering, the physical dislodging of copper atoms and clusters by high energy ion bombardment, does not exhibit selective removal of various films and will result in extreme build-up of residue in the reaction chamber, since copper is not converted to a volatile species. Also, sputter removal techniques are relatively slow, difficult to control, and exhibit insufficient selectivity to masking layers.
Dry etch processes involving a plasma to form reactive agents such as a halogen, an amine, or an organic radical which react and form volatile copper products could be an approach to an effective etch process for copper which solves some of the problems encountered in other processes, particularly the redeposit of residue on reaction chambers. However, due to the known high melting and boiling points of the copper compounds that would be formed, coupled with the normal range of substrate temperatures associated with these plasma processes, it has been thought that volatilization would not occur and that these processes would be unsuccessful. Moreover, a plasma discharge produces a wide range of disassociated, reactive products that can combine homogenously or heterogeneously to form a polymer residue. For example, hydrocarbon and chlorocarbon can produce heavy residues of polymer generating many particles. Also, if the reaction product of these processes does not volatize, it has been thought that the surface reaction would prevent further reaction of the copper bulk material below this surface. Some investigation of the reaction of chlorine with copper has been done as discussed by W. Sesselmann, et al., in "The Interaction of Chlorine with Copper", Surface Science, vol. 176(1986) pages 32-90. Some early investigation of ion etching of copper films is discussed by Schwartz, et al, in "Reactive Ion Etching of Copper Films", Journal of the Electochemical Society, Vol. 130, No. 8 (1983), pages 1777-1779.


The monitoring system includes a central unit for sending and receiving wireless information concerning events and conditions on a boat or components arranged on the boat. A portable remote manoeuvre unit is equipped to send wireless instructions to the central unit and to receive wireless information from the central unit. The portable manoeuvering unit includes a manoeuvering device and a gear changing device for sending wireless instructions to change the gears of the boat, to adjust the throttle controls of the boat and to control its steering.

The present invention relates to a monitoring system for boats, comprising a central unit installed on the boat which is equipped to send wireless information concerning events and conditions on the boat and/or components arranged on the boat and to receive wireless instructions to control the components arranged on the boat; and a portable manoeuvre unit which is equipped to send wireless instructions to the central unit installed on the boat.
When boats lie moored they are often left without supervision. It is therefore of interest that they can be monitored. According to current technology this can be done with a burglar alarm, which gives a warning signal if a break in or an attempted break in happens on the boat. Such an existing burglar alarm is activated and deactivated with a portable, hand held manoeuvre unit which sends instructions by radio to the central unit arranged on the boat.
It is also of interest to monitor other events and conditions on the boat or the components arranged on the boat. These events and conditions can be ingress of water into the boat, fire on the boat, battery voltage etc.
The events which occur and the conditions on the boat which are changed must often be attended to promptly, and for this reason it is important that the owner of the boat or other person responsible for the boat is informed as soon as possible.
If the owner of the boat or other person responsible for the boat is at some distance from the boat it is desirable that the events and conditions can be promptly attended to at a distance from the boat.
Monitoring systems for boats available on the market do not satisfy the need which currently exists of obtaining an overall monitoring of the boat.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for boats which gives information by radio concerning the events and conditions on the boat and which monitoring system permits the events on the boat to be acted on wireless.
Another objective is to provide a monitoring system for boats where the events and conditions on the boat can be acted on by a person who is located some distance from a steering area on the boat.
A further objective is to provide a monitoring system for boats which permits control of the boat or components arranged on the boat.
A further objective is to provide a monitoring system for boats which permits increased safety for users of the boat.
This is achieved by means of a monitoring system of the type presented in the introduction where the portable manoeuvre unit is equipped to receive wireless information from the central unit.
Such a monitoring system allows increased flexibility for the users of the boat. By sending instructions and receiving wireless information, the users of the boat are not restricted to be in the vicinity of the boat, or be located on board, in order to receive information about events and conditions on the boat.
By means of a preferred embodiment, a number of functions can be acted on or controlled with the portable manoeuvre unit. In addition to controlling a burglar alarm arranged on the boat, the portable manoeuvre unit can be used, for example, to start and warm up the boat""s engine. It is also possible to manoeuvre the boat via the portable manoeuvre unit. This means that the user does not need to be positioned at the steering area of the boat to manoeuvre the boat.
The monitoring system can advantageously operate in conjunction with a digital serial busbar arranged on the boat to form a network with the other components on the boat, such as a CAN-network (CAN-Controller Area Network). By coupling the monitoring system to the CAN-network, virtually all electrical installations on the boat can be reached. By providing the boat""s diesel engine with a control system of the EDC type (EDC-Electronic Diesel Control) and connecting this control system to the CAN-network, the engine can also be controlled by the monitoring system via the CAN-network. If the monitoring system is in contact with the EDC-system, a stalt-lock can be activated. When the start-lock is activated, the engine can not be started.


A screw positioning device for a screwdriver comprises a connecting rod assembly, a screw positioning sleeve and a magnetic member. The screw positioning sleeve is axially defined with a slide hole for insertion of an end of the connecting rod assembly, the magnetic member is installed on inner peripheral surface of a front end of the screw positioning sleeve, the screw positioning sleeve is axially positioned at the end of the connecting rod assembly, and the positioning sleeve can move back and forth a predetermined distance with respective to the connecting rod assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw positioning device for a screwdriver, and more particularly to a screw positioning device for a screwdriver that can be assembled and disassembled easily.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An automatic screw driving device is always provided with a connecting tube for connecting a screwdriver head to the screwdriving device, and this connecting tube normally has a screw positioning device for attracting and holding the screw to be driven. With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional screwdriver head connecting tube disclosed by TW Patent No. 94,103,623 is shown and comprises a connecting rod 11, a slide sleeve 12, a spring 13, a retaining ring 14 and a magnetic member 15. The connecting rod 11 is defined with a socket at either end thereof for insertion of the inserting rod 111 and a screwdriver head 112. The slide sleeve 12 is slidably mounted on the connecting rod 11. The spring 13 is installed on the connecting rod 11 and biased between the shoulder of the connecting rod 11 and the slide sleeve 12. The retaining ring 14 is installed on the connecting rod 11. The magnetic member 15 is fixed at an end of the slide sleeve 12 for retaining the fasteners (such as screw) to the screwdriver head 112 and has a hole for passage of the screwdriver head 112.
However, this conventional connecting tube still has the following shortcomings:
Firstly, the structure of the connecting tube is too complicated and its cost is high.
Secondly, the magnetic device for holding the screw of this conventional connecting tube only can be used on such a tool that comprises the inserting rod 111 and the rod 11, so it is too limited in applicability.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the screw positioning device for a screwdriver.

Screw positioning device for a screwdriver


A handheld electronic device mainly includes a first casing, a second casing and an image-capturing apparatus. The first casing has a first surface and a second surface. The first casing has a display screen on the first surface and a window extending through the first surface and the second surface. The second casing is pivoted to the first casing. The second casing is permitted to move over the second surface of the first casing. The image-capturing apparatus is set up on the second casing for capturing images. When the second casing is located on the second surface of the first casing, the image-capturing apparatus and the display screen both faces the same direction so that the image-capturing apparatus can capture images of a user of the handheld electronic device facing the display screen. At this position, the image-capturing apparatus is exposed to the user through the window.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handheld electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a handheld electronic device with an image-capturing apparatus which can capture image conveniently in two opposite directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Handheld electronic devices are compact, portable electronic products. Examples of handheld electronic devices include mobile phones, pocket personal computers (Pocket PCs) and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Because handheld electronic devices can be used for wireless communication and Internet connection, the device is a versatile and highly efficient means of processing communications. At present, handheld electronic devices have become one of the most sought-after high-tech products.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are front view and back view of a conventional mobile phone 100. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the mobile phone 100 has an image-capturing apparatus 102 capable of turning 180° around an axis 104. The image-capturing apparatus 102 is installed within a groove 112 in a top of a main body 110 of the mobile phone 100. The image-capturing apparatus 102 includes a lens 106 which can be rotated within a range of 180 degrees to take pictures of objects at different directions. When the lens 106 of the image-capturing apparatus 102 is positioned in the same direction as a display screen 120 of the mobile phone 100, an image of a user of the mobile phone 100 can be displayed on the display screen 120 of the main body 110. Thereafter, if the user presses a function key 116 on the main body 110, the image of the user can be captured by a photosensitive element (not shown) inside the image-capturing apparatus 102. When the image-capturing apparatus 102 is turned rearwards for 180° so that the lens 106 is now directed rearwards, images of objects or other persons facing the user can be displayed on the display screen 120. Thereafter, if the user presses the function key 116 on the main body 110, the images of the objects or other persons are captured by the photosensitive element (not shown) within the image-capturing apparatus 102.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,631 disclosed a swivel videophone whose image-capturing apparatus has a rotation shaft locatable between and pivoted to lateral beams of a main body of the videophone. Hence, the image-capturing apparatus is free to rotate to a desired direction.
The two aforementioned mobile phones each must provide a groove in a top of a main body of the mobile phone for accommodating the image-capturing apparatus. The groove extends through front and rear faces of the main body the mobile phone. The cost of molding and fabricating the main body of the mobile phone is relatively high. Moreover, it is difficult to precisely and reliably locate the lens of the image-capturing apparatus at forward and rearward directions, which are the mostly desired directions in use. In addition, the image-capturing apparatus undermines the visual feeling of integrity of the mobile phone since the image-capturing apparatus looks like an addition component attached to the mobile phone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,507 shows an image-capturing apparatus pivoted to one side of a main body of a mobile videophone so that an image of an object can be captured by turning the image-capturing apparatus to a desired aspect pointing toward the object. The image-capturing apparatus gives a user of the mobile videophone a visual feeling of being not integral and compact. Furthermore, it is not convenient to set the image-capturing apparatus fixed at a specific direction.

Handheld electronic device with image-capturing apparatus exposed through window


Connectors having a slim profile and that may be used for hard-disk drives and other devices. One example may provide a connector that provides a route path including a 180-degree turn while maintaining a slim profile. Another example may provide a connector having a slim profile that is easily manufactured.

The number and types of electronic devices available to consumers have increased tremendously the past few years, and this increase shows no signs of abating. Devices such as portable computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, desktops, all-in-one computers, storage devices, portable media players, televisions and other display devices, navigation systems, monitors and other devices have become ubiquitous.
The sizes of these devices have been shrinking over the last few years. For example, many of these devices have been getting thinner. The thickness of electronic devices such as all-in-one and laptop computers has become an important marketing concern as well as a highly visible feature to consumers.
While these devices have been getting thinner, their functionality has been increasing. For example, larger memories, WiFi and cellular interface capabilities, larger batteries for longer battery life, and others, have become common features of these devices.
These electronic devices may include various electronic components such as hard-disk drives, solid-state drives, optical drives, batteries, keyboards, trackpads, display screens, and other components. These components often need to be connected to a main-logic board or other substrate. These connections may include a connector to make electrical connections to contacts connected to the electronic component. The connectors may connect these contacts to wires, flexible circuit boards, or other conductors.
In some circumstances, the conductors may be routed such that they form a U-turn or 180 angle. But wires and such conductors can only be bent in the shape of a "U" above a certain turn radius. Below this radius, the conductors may become damaged. This limitation on how small a U-turn can be made increases the thickness of the profile of the connector, which thereby increases the space consumed by such a connector. Moreover, such conductors may be more likely to encounter device enclosures or components. During device lifetime, this contact may transmit vibrations from the enclosure or components to the connector and its electronic component, thereby reducing their lifetime.
Thus, what is needed are connectors having a slim profile and that may be used for hard-disk drives and other devices.


A new cultivar of Weigela florida plant named ‘VBL1’ that is characterized by its compact plant habit, its young foliage that is brown in color and mature foliage that is brown-green in color, its floriferous blooming habit that is moderately remontant; blooming in May with a second blooming period in August and September, and its flowers that are red-purple in color.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Weigela and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'VBL1'. 'VBL1' represents a new cultivar of Weigela, a deciduous shrub grown for landscape use.
The new cultivar is the result of a controlled breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hazerswoude-Dorp, The Netherlands. The goal of the breeder program is to develop new cultivars of Weigela that are floriferous with multi-colored flowers and compact plant habits. The Inventor made a cross in spring of 2013 between Weigela 'Verweig 3' (not patented) as the female parent and Weigela 'Velda' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,842) as the male parent. 'VBL1' was selected as a single unique plant from the resulting seedlings of the cross in spring of 2018.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood stem cuttings by the Inventor in July of 2017 in Hazerswoude-Dorp, The Netherlands. Asexual propagation by softwood stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A method for optimizing the jamming of P predefined zones or positions in a communications network of transmitters, jammers and receivers comprising several platforms, uses a local reception situation at the level of each friendly platform, a local jamming situation at the level of each friendly reception platform, and determines for each friendly transmitting platform and each friendly receiving platform, one or more parameters so as to minimize or to eliminate the fratricidal effects on the friendly reception platforms.

The joint use by one and the same force of transmission networks and of jammers (or of networks of jammers) in a theatre of operations in the broad sense, and particularly in terrestrial convoys, in flights of aircraft and in squadrons of ships, is often greatly penalized by the absence of precise control of the effects induced by the jammer or jammers on the transmission post or posts of the network or networks of the force.
The technical problem to be solved for the jointly used transmission networks and the jammers is to limit the fratricidal effects of the jammers on the transmission posts, while guaranteeing a minimum of effectiveness of the jamming on the targets or on the sectors of interest of the theatre.
A first optimization method described in the applicant's patent application FR 11 03578 relies on setting up closed-loop centralized control. This method addresses the problem by resorting to a master station for the jammers, this possibly not being appropriate for all technico-operational situations. A need currently exists for a method that solves the technical problem in open-loop, implementing decentralized decisions at the level of each transmitting and receiving station.

Method for jamming communications in an open-loop-controlled network


A cooling circuit through which coolant flows, for use with a refrigerated cabinet. The cooling circuit includes a compressor and a condenser with a flow path extending there between. The cooling circuit also includes an evaporator and a second flow path that extends between the evaporator and the condenser. The cooling circuit additionally includes a suction accumulator and a flow path extending between the evaporator and the suction accumulator, while a fourth flow path extends between the suction accumulator and the compressor. The cooling circuit also includes a coolant bypass and a switch that switches the cooling circuit between a cycling mode and a non-cycling mode.

Currently, refrigerated cabinets such as refrigerators and/or freezers, generally employ a single vapor-compression circuit to cool or maintain the temperature of the refrigerated cabinet. Typically, the refrigeration circuit uses a refrigerant or coolant gas which is cycled through the refrigeration circuit. During the cooling process, the refrigerant or coolant gas is compressed in a compressor unit causing the coolant to become hot. The heat generated by the aforementioned compression is then removed generally by passing the compressed gas through a water or air cooled condenser coil. The cooled, condensed liquid is then allowed to rapidly expand into an evaporating coil where the expanded gas becomes much colder, thus cooling the coil and the cabinet around which, or within which, the evaporating coil is placed.
Refrigerated cabinets employing vapor-compression circuits or systems similar to the circuit or system described above, are typically designed to cycle the vapor-compression circuit or system on and off in order to hold or maintain the cabinet temperature at a desired setting. Oftentimes, the aforementioned on and off cycling of the vapor-compression circuit or system may cause strain on the system's mechanical components such as the compressor. This cycling may also cause temperature fluctuations within the cabinet, and hence, air pressure fluctuations, within the cabinet. These temperature fluctuations often times cause undesired frost formation within the cabinet due to the pressure differential between the interior of the refrigerated cabinet and the outside environment, as a result of the varying cabinet air temperatures.
One current method for reducing the likelihood of the above-described temperature fluctuations includes adding a liquid refrigeration bypass circuit to the vapor-compression circuit. The bypass circuit allows for a portion of the liquid refrigerant or coolant to circumvent or bypass the evaporator, thus modulating the refrigerant or coolant flow capacity into the evaporator. This modulation of the flow of the liquid refrigerant or coolant into the evaporator causes the interior refrigerated cabinet temperature to be more stable thereby causing the air pressure within the cabinet to be more stable. Moreover, the aforementioned method allows for the compressor to run continuously and not cycle on and off.
The aforementioned method for addressing temperature fluctuation with refrigerated cabinets has drawbacks however. Due to the bypass circuit, the compressor runs constantly, causing the refrigerated cabinet to consume more energy than a refrigerated cabinet that employs a compressor that cycles on and off. Moreover, due to the constant operation of the compressor, operational noise levels of the refrigerated cabinet are increased.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a cooling circuit apparatus and method for use with refrigerated cabinets and the like, that allows for efficient, precise temperature control. Also, there is a further need for a cooling circuit apparatus and method for use with refrigerated cabinets that have a refrigerant or coolant bypass feature that may be activated and inactivated as desired.


An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to perform printing using a light source unit and a photosensitive medium, a registration unit to adjust an exposure time to correspond to a change in a power of a light source when the power of the light source changes, and a controller to control the image forming unit to perform printing according to the adjusted exposure time.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present general inventive concept relate to an image forming apparatus and method of image forming, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus and method of image forming which are capable of compensating for a variation in an exposure time, caused by a change in the power of a light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an image forming apparatus using electrophotography, such as a laser printer, a copy machine, a multi-functional peripheral device, and a facsimile machine, includes an optical scanner. The image forming apparatus prints a desired image by forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium by using a light beam output from the optical scanner, and transferring the electrostatic latent image onto paper.
An electrophotographic printer in the related art, such as a color laser printer, includes four photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk (not illustrated) prepared to correspond to four colors, e.g., yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, an exposure device that forms an electrostatic latent image of a desired image by scanning light on the photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk, a developing device that develops the electrostatic latent image using each of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black developing solutions, and an image forming medium (such as a transfer belt or an intermediate transfer belt) onto which developed images formed on the photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk are sequentially transferred to overlap with one another so as to form a complete color image, and via which the complete color image is then transferred onto paper.
Thus, in order to print a desired color image, an image is developed on the four photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk by using four colors, e.g., yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, respectively, and the developed images are transferred onto the same location on the image forming medium to overlap with one another so as to obtain a final color image. Then, the final color image is printed on paper.
However, in order to exactly form a desired color image by overlapping four colors on the same location on the image forming medium, all of locations on the respective four photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk on which transferring of images onto the image forming medium starts and ends should be the same for these four colors. This is because even if all of the images are clearly developed on the four photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk, a final color image obtained when locations on the image forming medium onto which these images are transferred do not coincide to even a small degree does not exactly exhibit the desired colors and image.
Thus, in order to exactly form a color image, it is important to precisely equalize points of time when the four photosensitive drums Dy, Dc, Dm, and Dk start to be exposed using the exposure device, in consideration of a time of driving the image forming medium. A process of equalizing such exposure start times such that a plurality of colors that are to be used to form one image exactly overlap with one another as described above is referred to as color registration.
However, conventionally, since a predetermined exposure start time is used even when the power of the light changes, a plurality of colors may not exactly overlap with one another even after color registration is performed.
Specifically, exposure start times of the respective photosensitive drums are determined based on a falling or rising edge of a horizontal synchronization signal. However, since a change in the power of the light may cause a change in the horizontal synchronization signal, a plurality of colors do not exactly overlap with one another when the rising or falling edge of the horizontal synchronization signal changes due to a change in the power of the light.

Image forming apparatus generating horizontal synchronization signals and method of image forming


A holder is pneumatically actuated to grasp and hold a plurality of sample containers during an analytical process which requires movement of the containers. The holder comprises a body having holes therein for receiving the caps and upper portions of the containers. Within each hole is a rigid cylindrical element and within each rigid element is a flexible tubular element. The outer diameter of the flexible element is smaller than the inner diameter of the rigid element so that a pneumatically sealed chamber is formed between the two elements when the ends of the flexible element are folded back over the ends and outer surface of the rigid element. The holder body and the rigid element are provided with holes forming a fluid passage through which positive and negative pressures may be applied to the chamber. When a negative pressure is applied to the chamber to draw the flexible element outward toward the rigid element, the cap and upper portion may move freely into the flexible element. When a positive pressure is applied to the chamber to expand the chamber by moving the flexible element inwardly, the flexible element grips both the cap and upper portion of a container thereby reducing the chances that the cap and container will separate.

Holders now used in the field of automated clinical analysis employ mechanical grip devices for gripping sample containers after the holders are lowered over the upper portions of the containers. In addition to often being complex and hard to clean, mechanical grippers have other disadvantages. They do not readily accommodate sample containers having different diameters or varying cap configurations. Furthermore, in the event of a power failure, a mechanical gripper may lose its grip thus dropping the containers and spilling their contents.
A further disadvantage exists when a holder with a mechanical grip device is employed in a mixer or shaker device which inverts the holder and the containers in order to mix the contents of the containers. Since a mechanical gripper grips the upper portion of the sample containers but not their caps, a cap may separate from a container during the inverting process thereby spilling the container contents.


A hydrofoil sailboard comprising a conventional sailboard, without the usual tail skeg, equipped with two hydrofoils arrayed in a canard configuration, the combined lift of the foils being sufficient to hold the board clear of the water at operational speeds. The main foil, mounted beneath the rear of the board is designed to ride fully submerged and to support the bulk of the weight of the board and sailor. The much smaller canard foil, mounted beneath the front of the board is designed to ride at or near the water surface, and its purpose is control and balance. The main foil is connected to the board by a supporting foil which is provided with ventilation fences. The canard is rigidly connected to the board by a support comprising a rod about which a streamlined fairing is free to swivel. A seal between the fairing and the rod prevents airflow to the canard along the inside of the fairing. The purpose of the swiveling fairing is to eliminate canard ventilation along the outside of the support, to reduce drag, and to enhance steering. The canard is designed to rapidly shed air bubbles that may lodge on it when it is submerged.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to hydrofoils, and to sailboards, specifically to those equipped with hydrofoils which are capable of lifting the board clear of the water surface.
2. Description of Prior Art
Hydrofoils are appended to sailboards for the purpose of increasing speed or improving handling characteristics, or both. Higher speed comes essentially for free, since submerged hydrofoils can easily provide adequate lift while operating at much lower drag than planing hulls. The problem in the design of hydrofoil sailboards is that of providing rapid automatic corrective response to a number of destabilizing hydrodynamic effects, so that the sailor is able to control the craft. Automatic height control in waves is particularly important.
Providing this automatic response has proven so difficult, that despite widespread speculation among board sailors about hydrofoil sailboards, only a few patents have been issued and there is currently no example on the market. The typical board sailor has never seen hydrofoils actually attached to a sailboard.
I have found four prior designs for sailboard hydrofoils: two are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,508,046 (1985) to Coulter et al. and 4,715,304 (1987) to Steinberg, one is disclosed in German patent 3,130,554 Al (1983) to Jankowski, and one was manufactured by the Harken Company without patent. These designs cover the range of known hydrofoil configurations. Each has significant drawbacks which I shall discuss presently.
In contrast to the sparse hydrofoil sailboard prior art, that for other (larger) types of hydrofoil craft is extensive. Basic engineering is well covered; such topics as attitude stability, altitude determination, lateral force balance, and turning, at least in the absence of important surface effects, are completely developed. The subject of foil ventilation has been heavily researched. Much of this knowledge can be applied to hydrofoil sailboards.
However, the most vexing questions for the hydrofoil sailboard designer are not addressed in the art of other craft, as they derive expressly from two features of hydrofoil sailboards which distinguish such sailboards from larger hydrofoil craft.
First, by the nature of the sport, control must be obtained by simple operator movements, and preferably by mere weight shifts and sail position manipulations. Thus, much of the panoply of modern techniques for controlling larger hydrofoils, which involves active, powered, often computed, sensing and feedback to drive hydrodynamic flaps or pneumatic valves, is not available to the hydrofoil sailboard designer. In particular, hydrofoil sailboard stabilization must come readily from the interaction of hydrodynamic forces, operator and board mass forces, and board and foil configuration.
Second, there is the fact that sailboards are so small. Consequently, foils for them must necessarily operate very close to the water surface. In waves, proximity between the foils and the surface implies that sailboard hydrofoils penetrate the water surface as a matter of course, and even in flat water, such proximity leads to instabilities that do not exist for foils operating more deeply submerged. For instance, ventilation is a severe problem even for fully submerged hydrofoil configurations--a problem to which larger craft are resistant. Broaching--the movement of a foil through the water surface from below--is another problem. Broaching has severe hydrodynamical implications, and graceful recovery after broaching is crucial to successful design. The specific difficulty for small hydrofoil craft derives from the fact that a foil, having just broached and resubmerged, often carries down with it an air bubble stuck to its top surface. This bubble seriously reduces the lift produced by the foil compared to the lift produced at the same depth in the absence of the bubble. Typically, the result of this loss of lift is a radical sinking of the affected foil, which continues until either the bubble sheds spontaneously or the board itself hits the water. I call this phenomenon plunging.
All control problems in hydrofoil sailboards, and especially that of height maintenance, are exacerbated by the need for very quick correction, before the board falls the small distance from its normal operating height to the wave crests.
I now turn to specific hydrofoil art that relates to features of the present invention. I begin with knowledge related to the ability of a foil to track the water surface. Such tracking is useful in itself, but is more often used to control one or more other foils.
It has long been known that proximity to the water surface modifies the behavior of a fully submerged hydrofoil. To a first approximation, it loses lift as it approaches the surface. This effect is significant at depths of less than a chord length or so. It can be used in suitable circumstances to stabilize foil depth. It is called, simply, the surface effect. A whole class of flat water hydrofoil ferries have been built based on the surface effect.
It is also known that, in flat water, a hydrofoil can operate so as to remain on, or just slightly below the water surface. This mode of operation is called hydroplaning. It is characterized by the fact that the foil top surface is largely or completely exposed to the open air. There is conflicting evidence available on the effect of depth on lift, and hence, on the height stability of a hydroplaning foil. Certainly there is some range in which lift increases with depth, since hydroplaning is observed in practice. At greater depth, this situation may reverse. At best, the situation is not clearly understood. I have found two academic papers that mention the problem. One is work of Dobay on surface ventilation in the proceedings of the Hydrofoil Symposium held at the 1965 spring meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and the other is by French et al. in the Proceedings of the Hydrofoils and Air Cushion Vehicles meeting, Washington, D.C., Sep. 17-18, 1962.
It is generally believed that for a foil operating at a given speed, angle of attack, and depth, it will develop far less lift if it is hydroplaning than if is fully submerged. Consequently, the expectation is frequently voiced that there should be an equilibrium depth where a foil can remain, suspended as it were, between hydroplaning and fully submerged. This logic is faulty. Hydrodynamics does not provide any basis for the expectation that there is a stable state between the two separate and distinct states. Which state prevails at any given moment depends on the previous history. In practice this often leads to very erratic behavior. Erratic behavior, of course, is precisely the opposite of what is wanted for control. On the positive side, since hydroplaning is unknown below very shallow depths, generally thought to be of the order of one chord at least the vertical amplitude of motion of a foil alternating between hydroplaning and fully submerged is limited.
The plunging phenomenon described earlier is a worsening of the erratic behavior discussed in the previous paragraph. Plunging involves, in addition to hydroplaning and full submerged, a third foil state in which the top surface is not exposed to the open air, but rather, to air enclosed in a compact volume, which I called a bubble. The new feature, the attached bubble, which can exist at considerable depth, greatly increases the possible vertical amplitude of motion of a foil that experiences all three states of surface wetting. A plunging foil is useless for control.
I have found one prior description of plunging. It is in U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,912 (1985) to Jones. Jones discloses a control means for hydrofoils for a sailing catamaran in which the attitude of a main foil is to be controlled by the depth of submersion of a smaller sensing foil, in consequence of which, the depth of the main foil, and hence the height of the craft itself, are kept constant. He notes in a single paragraph, that in chop, as the sensing foil approaches the surface, the water flow on its upper surface separates, decreasing the foil lift and causing it to dive. He then notes that what he calls the separated cavity tends to hang on to the foil, and that the foil continues to drop. He does not attempt to resolve the difficulty posed by the cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,076 (1986) to Chaumette discloses a mechanism similar to Jones' for automatic height regulation of individual hydrofoil elements. In both devices, because of the short horizontal distance between the sensing foil and the foil it controls, control will tend to be abrupt. This abruptness will become especially acute in waves.
Jones states that his sensing foil should track at a small depth below the surface. He bases his analysis on the incorrect equilibrium depth expectation which I mentioned above.
Chaumette states that his sensing foil would track the surface itself, arguing simply that when the foil is in the air the lift would be negative, and when it is submerged it would be positive, and so in between there would be an equilibrium.
Because of plunging, neither Jones' nor Chaumette's sensing foil will stably track the surface.
Theoretical considerations associated with bubble attachment and shedding may be related to those associated with the high speed phenomenon of cavitation. I have found U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,946,688 (1976) to Gornstein, 4,949,919 (1990) to Wajnikonis, and 5,022,337 (1991) to Caldwell that speak to ventilation and cavitation. In addition, there is a considerable academic literature on these phenomena. Calculations of cavitation resistant foil sections are given by Shen and Eppler in the Journal of Ship Research, Vol 23, No 3, Sep. 1979, pp 209-217, and Vol 25, No 3, Sep. 1981, pp 191-200. However, in none of this work have I found any discussion specifically about foils that do not form air bubbles or that shed them rapidly if they form.
I next describe prior art related to yaw and roll stability, and to steering.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,890 (1973) to Hubbard contains an excellent discussion of the theory of yaw stability and turning for hydrofoil craft. In the context of a small ship, the patent discloses a modification of a canard configured hydrofoil craft that leads to improved steering during takeoff and in waves. The improvement is effected by use of a rigidly joined canard and streamlined support assembly that pivots on a bearing at the junction of the support and the ship hull in such a way that the support is able to swivel freely into alignment with the incident water flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,048 (1974) to Cline discloses a method for roll stabilization, which in Cline's embodiment is the same physical device as disclosed in Hubbard.
Both these disclosures are silent on the possible effect that the free trailing of the canard assembly might have on ventilation, either of the canard foil, or of the support.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,496 (1976) to Mirande discloses another modification of the standard canard assembly, in which the canard foil and support are, as is usual, rigidly attached to the watercraft hull, but where the support is surrounded by a streamlined fairing mounted on bearings so that the fairing can rotate around the support. Mirande's disclosure pertains to large hydrofoil ships, and the rotating fairing is specifically meant to be power actuated as a means of steering. The disclosure contains a critique of the prior steering art, including Hubbard's device, in which Mirande concludes that force requirements of known steering methods would be too great for application to large ships. Mirande makes no mention of the possibility that the fairing be left free to trail.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,468 (1969) to Newsom discloses a pedal powered watercraft that includes a sort of bow rudder that apparently comprises a fairing that rotates on a support. Here, too, no mention is made of possible benefit from free trailing.
Finally, I turn to the prior hydrofoil sailboard art itself. Of the four designs listed previously, only one, Coulter et al, deals adequately with the issue of height control or addresses the problems associated with ventilation, and that design has drawbacks that severely degrade performance.
Coulter et al. use a tandem pair of surface piercing hydrofoils, which control height automatically as a function of speed. These surface piercing foils also provide automatic roll stability. However, surface piercing foils in general have a number of disadvantages compared to fully submerged lifting foils: wave-making resistance where the foils pierce the surface is significant; ventilation of the lifting portions of the foils by air flow from the surface along the diagonal foil members must be blocked, usually by fences, which add drag; the same well known hydrodynamic considerations that lead to the height control and roll stability also lead to a rough ride in waves. This last is a significant problem in the context of a hydrofoil sailboard, since one of the great potential performance advantages, a very smooth ride in moderate sized waves, is lost at the outset. This advantage is realisable only with submerged, or submergible, foils. Coulter's design has another more specific problem, which becomes overwhelming in waves: if the tandem foils are mounted close together as illustrated in his disclosure, pitch stability becomes insufficient; if the foils are spread wider apart fore and aft, steering becomes impossible since each of the four surface piercing foil regions has a continually varying degree of immersion and consequent varying response to yaw.
The Harken Company offered a hydrofoil conversion kit for conventional windsurfers, but it did not catch on and was withdrawn from the market. This kit consisted of a main lifting foil and a pair of smaller, auxiliary lifting foils attached to the main foil by a fuselage mounted substantially parallel with the board. The main foil was attached to a streamlined strut that was inserted into the daggerboard slot of the windsurfer. There was no automatic height control at all, and successful operation required the sailor to make constant attitude adjustments to keep the foils properly submerged. When the sailor failed to do this, the foils alternately broached the surface into the air and crashed back into the water in a cyclical instability called porpoising. (Porpoising is a much less subtle instability than the plunging analysed previously, although both result in the inability of the sailor to control the craft. Porpoising behavior might well be complicated by a degree of plunging.) Avoiding porpoising turned out to be too great an effort for enjoyable long term use of the board.
The patent of Steinberg discloses an airplane foil configuration but implements no automatic height control, and so like the Harken design, is liable to porpoising. Steinberg's disclosure emphasises mechanical means for swiveling, pivoting, or hinging the foils to allow them to be positioned for attitude stability and to be retracted from the operational position.
In addition to ignoring height control, both the Harken design and Steinberg's take no precautions against the various difficulties associated with foil ventilation.
One embodiment of the disclosure of Jankowski is a canard design with the canard mounted on a thin rod and the main foil on a streamlined strut. The canard is about half the size of the main foil. The supports for main foil and canard are substantially the same length, and the foils are mounted on these supports at the same attack angle, which according to the disclosure is meant bring both main and canard to the surface at sufficiently high speed. At still higher speeds, Jankowski envisions rolling the board and foils to reduce wetted surface, and thus drag. This embodiment has some attractive features, but fails in the details necessary to make a stably workable craft.
Since the foils are supposed to fly on the water surface, the design would, of course, if it worked as described, provide height control.
A minor problem with the design as disclosed is that Jankowski's insistence on mounting the main and canard at the same attack will lead to attitude instability when both foils are submerged. This can easily be corrected by increasing the attack of the canard beyond that of the main.
More significantly, the design overlooks the problems of ventilation of foils operating at or near the water surface. The most obvious of these is that, before take off, when the canard is still submerged, the thin rod that supports it provides a perfect ventilation path, running along its trailing stagnation line, to the canard. The resulting ventilation of the top of the canard severely reduces its lift, and, since the main lifting foil with its streamlined support and absence of fences will suffer ventilation as a rather poorly determined function of yaw, the resulting system will suffer eratic losses and resumptions of pitch stability. If the foils are somehow brought to the surface, they will not stay there. Penetration of even a small wave will cause the canard to dive. Some means of blocking this ventilation path along the canard support is necessary.
As with all the prior hydrofoil sailboard designs, Jankowski does not recognize nor circumvent plunging.
In addition to these ventilation problems, which prevent steady operation of Jankowski's hydrofoil as disclosed, his design is liable to an entirely independent disadvantage stemming from the fact that both lifting foils are meant to operate on the water surface. Since hydrofoils are most efficient when flown substantially submerged, he must pay a considerable price in increased drag and consequent lessened speed relative to what would be possible if one or both foils were kept submerged. We shall discuss this issue further in subsequent sections of the disclosure.
The reason that Jankowski uses a thin rod to support the canard rather than the more obvious streamlined strut is unexplained in the disclosure. A good reason, however, is known in the prior art, and is discussed, for example, by Hubbard. It is that the rod provides relatively little lateral force when the board yaws, hence does not interfere with the normal steering control and yaw stabilization that comes with an aft location of the center of lateral resistance.
Jankowski clearly means to use the main and canard foils primarily for lift, and he discloses a daggerboard and skeg combination to balance lateral sail force. This leads to other problems since these vertical foils, exposed to the air after board takeoff, will ventilate. This must be prevented. His notion of rolling the board (presumably to windward) at higher speed would have the effect of unloading the originally vertical foils and transferring a portion of their lift to the main and canard. The daggerboard 12 shown in FIG. 1 of Jankowski becomes superfluous when the lateral resistance is provided by rolling the board.
Thus, all of the hydrofoil sailboard prior art suffers from one or more of the following deficiencies:
(a) poor pitch stability PA1 (b) lack of automatic height control; PA1 (c) poor steerability; PA1 (d) poor yaw stability; PA1 (e) poor roll stability; PA1 (f) succeptibility to foil ventilation; PA1 (g) severely degraded behavior in waves; PA1 (h) low foil efficiency.
Even in the more general hydrofoil prior art, the important topic of air bubble shedding and its relation to foil plunging is not addressed to any useful degree.


An apparatus for inspecting a pattern shape of a magnetic record medium or its stamper includes: a moving mechanism, on which an object to be inspected where a pattern is formed is placed and which moves the object to be inspected in a radial direction while rotating the object; an irradiating optical system that applies illuminating light of a wide band including far ultraviolet light to the object to be inspected moved in the radial direction while rotating the object by the moving mechanism in a polarized state suitable for the object to be inspected from an oblique direction; a detecting optical system that detects zero-order reflected light generated from the object to be inspected irradiated by the irradiating optical system; and a shape inspection unit that inspects a pattern shape formed on the object to be inspected based on a spectral reflectance waveform obtained by dispersing the detected zero-order reflected light, thereby inspecting the pattern shape at a high speed and with high sensitivity.

This invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a pattern shape of a magnetic record medium formed of a patterned medium or a bit patterned medium as an object to be inspected, its stamper or a master as a die of the stumper at high speed and with high sensitivity, and a method thereof.
In recent years, the spread of a mobile device, a digital AV apparatus and so on has been accelerated in addition to a PC and a server, so that the demand toward a hard disc drive (HDD) has been increased, and the quantity of information treated by the HDD has been remarkably increased. On the other hand, miniaturization of the HDD is required to heighten the recording density of the magnetic record media of the HDD. With an increase in recording density of the HDD, vertical magnetic recording system has been developed, but even in the vertical magnetic recording system, with an increase in recording density, the influence due to mutual magnetic interference of adjacent tracks becomes larger, so that it reaches the limitations. Therefore, as a system for recording and reproducing only an object track, development on the discrete track media adapted to physically work a track and magnetically discrete it has been performed. Further, in order to increase the recording density, development on the bit patterned media adapted to record one bit on one magnetic particle has been progressing.
In the discrete track media and the bit patterned media, differently from the conventional magnetic record medium, it is necessary to form the track and the bit pattern. The sizes of the track and the bit pattern are extremely small as much as tens of nanometers, and photo nano-imprint is used as a method of manufacturing a micro-pattern at a low cost.
Then, when variation in size and shape of a pattern, a defect or short-circuit is caused in a pattern formed by the photo nano-imprint technology, the magnetic record medium does not normally operate, and it becomes sometimes defective. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect whether or not a pattern shape is suitable formed. When a defect is found in a stamper serving as a die of the pattern, the defect is copied. Therefore, higher-accuracy inspection is needed. Although SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) are cited as a system for inspecting a defect of a micro-pattern, they cannot be applied to inline inspection from a viewpoint of throughput. On the other hand, as a device for detecting a pattern shape defect with high throughput, an optical surface inspection device and an optical critical dimension (OCD) measuring device are cited.
The conventional surface inspection device and OCD measuring device are known in JP-A-2007-304062, JP-T-2007-526444, JP-A-2003-149159 and "Line-profile and critical dimension correlation between a normal incidence optical CD metrology system and SEM", Proc. SPIE Vol. 4689, 2002, pp 966-976.
In JP-A-2007-304062, it is described that polarized light is applied obliquely to a periodic step pattern on a semiconductor wafer, in reflection, orthogonal polarized light is detected, and the linearity of the periodic step pattern is detected from the intensity of detected light to determine the quality of a focus and the light exposure in exposing a resist pattern.
JP-T-2007-526444 describes an inspection system including an illuminating system, which illuminates a specimen, a condenser configured to condense light scatted from the specimen, a segmented detector, which individually detects different parts of the light to store azimuth and polar angle information on the different parts of the light and generates signals representing the different parts of the light, and a processor, which detects a defect on the specimen from the signal.
JP-A-2003-149159 describes a system for inspecting the surface of a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer, including an illuminating system, which directs a first light beam at a slant incidence angle to the surface of a specimen and directs a second light beam at a substantially vertical angle to the surface of the specimen, a collecting system, which collects at least some of the first and second light beams returning from the surface of the specimen, and a detecting system, which processes the collected parts of the first and second light beams.
"Line-profile and critical dimension correlation between a normal incidence optical CD metrology system and SEM", Proc. SPIE Vol. 4689, 2002, pp 966-976 describes measurement for CD (Critical Dimension) of a recessed and projecting pattern of a resist film on the poly-Si in the Si substrate by applying scatterometory having the vertical incidence and vertical detection optical system.
JP-A-2007-304062, however, relates to defect detection using linearity detection, and JP-T-2007-526444 and JP-A-2003-149159 relate to defect detection using detection of scattered light, and the inspection of a pattern shape is not taken into consideration.
"Line-profile and critical dimension correlation between a normal incidence optical CD metrology system and SEM", Proc. SPIE Vol. 4689, 2002, pp 966-976 relates to the technology of measuring CD (Critical Dimension) of a recessed and projecting pattern of a resist film on poly-Si in a Si substrate by applying scatterometory having the vertical incidence and vertical detection optical system, and the inspection of a pattern shape at high speed and with high sensitivity concerning a recessed and projecting pattern of a magnetic record medium such as a patterned medium or a bit patterned medium and a recessed and projecting pattern of a stamper in forming the recessed and projecting pattern of the magnetic record medium by nano-imprint is not taken into consideration.

Method and apparatus for inspecting a pattern shape


In an embodiment of the invention, a system for assessing vulnerabilities includes: a security management system; a network device in a system under test (SUT), wherein the network device is privy to traffic in the SUT; and wherein the SMS is privy to traffic that is known by the network device and/or to one or more traffic observations that is known by the network device.

Securing of internet applications (and intranet and web applications) and/or other applications involves some combination of "black box" scanning of the application in order to search for vulnerabilities, scanning the source code to identify vulnerabilities, using a firewall or a suitable intrusion prevention system to detect and block certain vectors and malicious behaviors, and/or modifying the infrastructure or implementation of the application to correct the vulnerabilities. One example of such scans for searching for vulnerabilities is by injection of vectors.
Developments in network technology also include Application Delivery Controllers and Web Application Firewalls. These two developments can access the network traffic to and from web servers and can provide more vulnerability protection than the traditional firewall. The accessed network traffic includes decrypted data.
Other network technology developments include deep packet inspection capabilities and other application assessment capabilities, tunneling methods, data sharing methods, and cloud-based services.
As network technology advances, there is a continuing and important need to also improve security of internet applications and improve discovery methods of vulnerabilities. There is also a continuing need to motivate an advancement in the blocking of vulnerabilities.

System and method for managed security assessment and mitigation


An accessory mounting system for mounting an accessory such as an overhead console to a vehicle opening such as a sunroof opening includes a pair of spaced, opposed mounting sockets being adjustable with respect to one another to span and engage opposite lower edges of the vehicle opening. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the sockets is mounted on a rail which is telescopically adjustable with respect to the other socket and an incrementally adjustable locking mechanism allows the sockets to be finally locked into compression for removably holding the console in place. The sockets, in a preferred embodiment, include concave sockets with relatively thin upper members to engage the sunroof opening without interfering with its normal operation.

The present invention relates to an overhead console and one which can be added to a vehicle having an existing sunroof opening.
Many vehicles include, either as standard equipment or as an option, an overhead console which provides for storage of sunglasses and other items and vehicle accessories such as garage door opening transmitters, overhead lights, compass displays and the like. Typically, vehicles with sunroofs are limited to a relatively small area between the windshield and the forward edge of the sunroof opening in which maplamps can be mounted but which space is relatively small and cannot accommodate features of larger overhead consoles available in vehicles without a sunroof. In some areas of the country, such as in the northern climates, sunroofs are typically usable only during summer months. Thus, during a large portion of the year, individuals having vehicles with sunroofs are deprived of the convenience of an overhead console which is generally available in vehicles not having a sunroof option.

Overhead console for a vehicle with a sunroof