Systems and methods for providing a user with information on spaces in which to park a vehicle are provided. A method for providing a user with information on spaces in which to park a vehicle, comprises identifying one or more spaces in which to park the vehicle, selecting valid spaces from the identified one or more spaces based on a validation criteria, and ranking the valid spaces and providing a ranked list of the valid spaces to the user, wherein the identifying, selecting, ranking and providing steps are performed by a computer system comprising a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory.

Looking for parking when in a vehicle, especially when parking on a street in a crowded city, can be a daunting and challenging task. There may be few parking spots available as there may be many vehicles already parked, and/or many spots with restricted parking, such as spots near school or loading zones or fire hydrants. In addition, certain spots may allow parking only at certain times of the day. Also, when there is an available spot, the spot might be too small for a first vehicle and/or a second vehicle may get to and take the spot before the first vehicle. Obstructions in the road (e.g., snow, construction, etc.) can further limit availability of parking spots.
Parking between vehicles with a small distance between the vehicles typically requires many repetitive movements in forward and backward directions before the vehicle being parked is placed in position between the other vehicles. The process of fitting a vehicle between other vehicles can be time consuming and may lead to damage to one more already parked vehicles, or to the vehicle being parked, due to bumping during the parking maneuvers.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods which aid drivers with finding and securing parking spots for their vehicle so as to minimize the time to park a vehicle.

System and method for minimizing the time to park a vehicle

International Business Machines Corporation


In-pipe inserts for piping systems and related methods are described herein. An example filter insert includes an end plate having a set of openings, a set of filter tubes extending from a first side of the end plate, and a set of support rods extending through respective ones of the channels of the filter tubes. The support rods extend through the openings in the end plate. The filter insert also includes a first retainer disposed on a second side of the end plate. The first retainer is coupled to the support rods at or near first ends of the support rods. The filter insert further includes a second retainer coupled to the support rods at or near second ends of the support rods opposite the first ends such that the filter tubes are clamped between the end plate and the second retainer.

Piping systems are used in many industries to transport fluid between two or more locations. The locations may be relatively close, such as within a plant or factory, or relatively far, such as across a city, a state, or a country.
The figures are not to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers or regions may be enlarged in the drawings. In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.
Descriptors "first," "second," "third," etc. are used herein when identifying multiple elements or components which may be referred to separately. Unless otherwise specified or understood based on their context of use, such descriptors are not intended to impute any meaning of priority, physical order or arrangement in a list, or ordering in time but are merely used as labels for referring to multiple elements or components separately for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor "first" may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as "second" or "third." In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for ease of referencing multiple elements or components.


Homogeneous, particulate composites are provided, of about 75-99.5 weight percent ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and about 0.5-25 weight percent of at least one filler compound, and wherein the composites have a surface area of at least about 4 m.sup.2 /g. The particulate UHMWPE is also provided without the filler. Dense, load-bearing articles of these materials are formed by cold-pressing and free-sintering procedures. Cold-pressable, free-sinterable blends of commercial UHMWPE containing at least 25 weight percent of the composites or unfilled UHMWPE of the invention are also provided.

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites are known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,097,447 (Howard), 4,126,647 (Howard), 4,151,126 (Adelman and Howard), 4,187,210 (Howard) and 4,104,243 (Howard) disclose homogeneous composites of polyolefins, including UHMWPE, with a variety of finely-divided particulate inorganic filler compounds, including alumina, calcium carbonate, kaolinite clay, mica and conductive carbon, and organic filler materials such as polyacrylonitrile, wherein the composites comprise at least about 25% by weight of filler. The aforementioned patents also disclose methods of preparing composites which permit relatively high loadings of filler without sacrifice of essential physical properties. In these processes ethylene is polymerized onto the surface of the filler particles such that the resultant composite is substantially free of polymer-free filler and of filler-free polymer. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,330,573 and 4,234,659 disclose composites wherein a polyolefin having a molecular weight not less than 300,000 is polymerized onto a solid porous inorganic carrier material to provide composites wherein the inorganic carrier content is 50 to 99.5% by weight.
One important advantage of these mineral/UHMWPE composites containing high levels of filler is that they can be fabricated into dense, homogeneous articles by the procedures of cold-pressing and free-sintering. By "cold-pressing" is meant forming an article under pressure at a temperature below the melting point of the polymer. By "free-sintering" is meant that no restraint is applied on the article during the hot-fusing (sintering) cycle.
Unfilled particulate UHMWPE in contrast cannot be fabricated into high density articles by this procedure unless its morphology and particle size meet stringent requirements. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,847,888 and 3,975,481 disclose UHMWPE powders which are cold-pressable and free-sinterable at temperatures well above the crystalline melting point of the polymer, the powders having particles of less than 100 microns mean particle size and a size distribution function of less than 0.80. The required fine powders were prepared by extensive grinding of coarse virgin polymer, a procedure known to degrade molecular weight and related properties of UHMWPE. K. S. Han et al., J. Macromol. Sci.-Phys., B19(3), 313 (1981) disclose that polyethylene morphology is at least as important as particle size in determining sinterability and that only UHMWPE powders having a fibrous morphology provide good mechanical properties after sintering. Han et al., also disclose sinterable composites of UHMWPE with fibrous fillers, glass and graphite.
Japanese Kokai 51-21910 describes a porous sintered product suitable for printer rollers prepared by sintering mixtures containing 50-95% of UHMWPE having an average particle size of 3-6 microns and an apparent specific gravity of 0.30-0.40 g/cc, and 5-50% of UHMWPE having an average particle size of 100-300 microns and an apparent specific gravity of 0.15-0.20 g/cc. The sintered product is highly porous with pore sizes of 15 to over 40 microns. This reference also discloses that the more finely powdered UHMWPE component is easily sinterable alone while the coarser component is not sinterable. The component UHMWPEs were prepared by a low-pressure, Ziegler-catalyzed process, but UHMWPE synthesized by other techniques are said to be suitable for preparing sinterable mixtures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,035 discloses UHMWPE fine powders having an average particle diameter of about 1-80 microns at least 20 weight percent of which passes through a 350 Tyler mesh screen. The products have bulk densities in the range of 0.1-0.5 g/ml and are said to provide molded articles having excellent physical properties. The UHMWPE powders are prepared by polymerizing ethylene in a dispersion of a special Ziegler catalyst comprising a titanium compound supported on magnesium chloride particles plus an organoaluminum co-catalyst. The requisite powder is formed by either shearing the UHMWPE product or by shearing the supported Ziegler catalyst to fine powder prior to polymerization. While the present invention employs a Ziegler type catalyst, the polymerization is homogeneous such that all catalyst components are dissolved in the polymerization solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,693 discloses a process for preparing UHMWPE by polymerizing ethylene with a supported Ziegler catalyst comprising titanium tetrachloride supported on a special alumina and an aluminum alkyl, e.g. triethylaluminum. A hydrocarbon solvent such as n-hexane is used. The special alumina support has a surface area of 200-400 m.sup.2 /g, pore volume of 1.5-3.5 ml/g and 85% of the pores exceed 100 .ANG. in size. The molar ratio of Al/Ti in the catalyst is in the range of 2.5/1 to 80/1. The UHMWPE products have a bulk density of at leas 0.3 g/ml and 85% of the particles are 13-32 microns in size. No information on processability of the products is provided.
V. Krishnamurthy et al., Poly. Eng. Sci., 29 (8), 564 (1989) disclose that problems of long process time and non-uniform heating in the sintering of UHMWPE powders can be overcome to some extent by employing a conductive iron filler and sintering by induction heating. Filler level was 10 volume percent, sufficient to completely coat all polymer particles with iron. Unexamined Japanese Kokai Patent Number 60-177047 discloses sinterable compositions comprising 100 parts by weight of UHMWPE, 5-100 parts by weight of an inorganic fiber of selected length and aspect ratio, and 0.005-0.2 parts by weight of an organic peroxide.
The references discussed herein suggest that highly-filled UHMWPE composites are readily processed without any significant loss of physical properties. While some references teach a limited processability of lightly filled or unfilled UHMWPE, it is apparent that such efforts have not been highly successful. Therefore there exists a strongly felt need for unfilled UHMWPE and lightly-filled UHMWPE composites that are as readily processable into articles by cold-pressing and free-sintering as is highly-filled UHMWPE, said articles exhibiting properties which equal or exceed those of articles prepared by extrusion or molding at high temperatures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide composites of UHMWPE and low percentages of filler compound that unexpectedly meet the aforementioned requirements. It is a further object of the present invention to provide non-fibrous, particulate, unfilled UHMWPE having a large surface area and that also unexpectedly meet the aforementioned requirements. A feature of the present invention is the provision for articles manufactured with the composites and UHMWPE herein using the well-accepted techniques of cold-pressing and free-sintering. An advantage of the present invention is the provision for dense, sintered articles exhibiting properties common to melt-processed UHMWPE. These and other objects, features and advantages will become readily apparent upon having reference to the description of the invention herein.

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and lightly-filled composites thereof


The present invention includes a static random access memory cell and a method of forming the memory cell, wherein the memory cell may comprise an active region and a first layer. The active region including a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment, wherein 1) the first segment has an adjacent end and a distal end; 2) the second segment is generally parallel to the first segment, and has an adjacent end and a distal end; and 3) the third segment is generally perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the adjacent end of the first segment lies near one end of the third segment, wherein the adjacent end of the second segment lies near the other end of the third segment. The first layer has the a shape similar to the active region except that the first layer does not lie over the first and second segments near the distal ends. The present invention also includes a static random access memory cell and a method of forming the memory cell, wherein the memory cell may comprise shared gate electrodes that overlap one another without electrically contacting each other.

As semiconductor design rules become smaller, integrated circuits occupy less substrate area. In general, smaller integrated circuits typically form faster devices and have higher substrate yields. Memory devices, which are a type of integrated circuit, need to have their memory cell area minimized. Memory cell area is a function of among other things, the design rules and the memory cell layout. Smaller design rules cannot overcome inherent limitations that exist with an inefficient memory cell layout. More efficient use of substrate area is needed to improve the performance and yield of the integrated circuit. A static random access memory is a type of device that may include a memory array with memory cells each having two pass transistors, two latch transistors, and two load transistors. Preferably, the pass transistors have similar electrical characteristics to one another, the latch transistors have similar electrical characteristics to one another, and the load transistors have similar electrical characteristics to one another. A symmetric memory cell layout is one way of achieving similar electrical characteristics between the three pairs of transistors within the memory cell. Therefore, a small memory cell area is needed, and the memory cell layout should be symmetrical.
One attempt to reduce memory cell area and still have a symmetric memory cell layout is to split the word line over the memory cell. Regardless of the design rules, the amount of substrate area occupied by the split word line memory cell is inherently limited by the memory cell layout. Pass and latch transistors within a memory cell typically have about the same gate dielectric layer thickness. Because the ratio of the gain of the latch transistors to the gain of the pass transistors is typically greater than 1:1, the pass transistors typically have a large channel width to channel length ratio. The large channel width to channel length ratio typically occupies a large memory cell area.

Method of making a six transistor static random access memory cell


A joint portion is provided to an upper case of a mirror unit tilting mechanism so as to protrude therefrom. A fitting portion is formed on a pivot plate side so as to correspond to the joint portion. The joint portion is formed into a hollow hemisphere shape. A support shaft is provided upright at a center portion of an outer wall, and a spherical portion is formed in the outer wall. The fitting portion has a hollow hemisphere dome shape and includes a spherical side wall portion and a ceiling portion which has a wave shape in cross section. The fitting portion is lightly press-fitted to the joint portion through one-touch insertion operation. The fitting portion and the joint portion are swingably connected to each other under a state in which curved surfaces of the spherical portion and the side wall portion are held in contact with each other.

In a mirror for a vehicle for providing a driver or the like with rearward visibility, such as a door mirror for an automobile, in order to maintain an optimum mirror angle, a mirror unit tilting mechanism is housed inside a mirror body. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view illustrating a structure of a conventional mirror unit tilting mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 14, a door mirror 51 includes a set plate 52 fixed onto the vehicle body side of the automobile, and a mirror body 53 rotatably fitted onto the set plate 52. Inside the mirror body 53, a remote control unit 54 including a motor and the like is housed. The remote control unit 54 includes upper and lower cases 55a and 55b. A pivot plate 57 is fitted to the case 55a via a joint 56. A mirror 58 is fixed to the pivot plate 57.
The pivot plate 57 is swingably fitted between the joint 56 and the case 55a. With this, the mirror 58 is swingable in the arrow X direction, and the reflection angle of the mirror can be adjusted as appropriate. The pivot plate 57 includes a concave portion 59 formed into a spherical shape. Meanwhile, a concave portion 61 is also formed on an upper surface portion of the case 55a. The concave portion 61 has a spherical shape which enables mounting of the concave portion 59. The pivot plate 57 is fitted onto the case 55a in a manner so that an outer surface portion of the concave portion 59 is provided in sliding contact with an inner surface side of the concave portion 61. Onto an inner surface side of the concave portion 59, the joint 56 having a spherical lower surface portion is fitted. The joint 56 is fixed with a screw 63 to a cylindrical boss portion 62 protruding from an upper surface of the case 55a. A spring 65 is interposed between the joint 56 and a flange 64 of the screw 63. The pivot plate 57 is provided in press contact with the case 55a by an elastic force of the spring 65.
Further, generally, a mirror to be mounted on the door mirror for vehicle includes a mirror main body and a mirror holder for holding the mirror main body. The mirror holder is mounted on a mirror surface angle adjusting device provided to a door mirror housing via the pivot plate. FIGS. 15(A) and 15(B) are explanatory views illustrating a conventional mirror main body fixing structure. In the conventional door mirror, a mirror main body 81 is fixed to a mirror holder 82 by sandwiching the mirror main body 81 in a thickness direction thereof between a lip 84 formed at an end portion of a flange portion 83 of the mirror holder 82 and a protrusion member 85 formed on a bottom surface portion of the mirror holder 82. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 15(B), the protrusion member 85 has a shape of a cantilever J so as to easily cause elastic deformation (Patent Document 3).                Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Examined publication No. Hei 06-30563        Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 08-104172        Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-205785
However, in the conventional tilting mechanism illustrated in FIG. 14, the joint 56 is fixed with the screw 63, and the pivot plate 57 is sandwiched between the joint 56 and the case 55a. Therefore, there have been problems that the number of components is large and assembly man-hours increase. As a result, there has been a problem in that the manufacturing cost of the mirror for vehicle increases, which hinders manufacturing cost reduction.
Further, the protrusion member 85 formed on the bottom surface portion of the mirror holder 82 is generally formed into a cantilever shape. Hence, due to the deterioration over time thereof, the elasticity is liable to decrease, which makes it impossible to sandwich the mirror main body 81 at a predetermined pressing force in some cases. When the pressing force for sandwiching the mirror main body 81 decreases, the mirror surface deflection is easily caused, and thus there is a fear that, for example, the rearward image on the mirror main body 81 is disturbed. As a countermeasure, adhesive tape (for example, butyl tape) K is interposed between the mirror main body 81 and the bottom surface portion of the mirror holder 82 in a manner avoiding the protrusion member 85 of the mirror holder 82, so as to reinforce the fixing strength of the mirror main body 81 with respect to the mirror holder 82. As a result, problems of increase in number of components, cumbersome working, and increase in manufacturing cost have been caused.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of components and assembly man-hours of a mirror for vehicle, and further to reduce a manufacturing cost thereof.


The present invention provides a process for the preparation and purification of apixaban.

Apixaban, chemically known as 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7-oxo-6-[4-(2-oxopiperidin-1-yl) phenyl]-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxamide is represented by the structural formula,

Apixaban belongs to a group of medicines called anticoagulants. Apixaban is commercially available as Eliquis® in the form of pharmaceutical preparations. Eliquis® is a factor Xa inhibitor anticoagulant indicated to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,208 discloses apixaban and the process for its preparation which utilizes flash chromatography for product isolation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,919,451 discloses process for preparation of 1-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-7-oxo-6-[4-(2-oxo-piperidin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4,5, 6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo [3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester by flash column chromatography.
These prior art processes are not suitable for large scale productions because they require laborious chromatographic purification with subsequent low product yields.
Presently, we have developed a cost effective, industrially feasible process for the preparation and purification of apixaban which is less time consuming.

Process for the preparation and purification of apixaban


The present invention discloses a method of controlling torch height in plasma cutting arranged to monitor the cutting speed so that the optimum torch height is maintained and an excellent cutting quality is obtained even if the cutting speed changes. To this end, a base metal (2) is cut by a plasma arc (3) while a torch (1) is maintained at an optimum height (hc) from the base metal (2), and arc voltage (Vi) is read several times (i=1 to n) after the arc voltage becomes steady, their mean arc voltage (Vb) is calculated, a cutting speed (Fa) is read at the time of steady cutting, the means arc voltage (Vb) is corrected by this cutting speed (Fa) to obtain a target arc voltage (Vc) and the optimum height (hc) is maintained by this target arc voltage (Vc).

Hitherto, the plasma cutting machine has been mounted on an XY table or the like and adapted to a method of controlling the torch height in plasma cutting in order to obtain quality cutting, the method being arranged to utilize a fact that "torch height h is in proportion to arc voltage Va" at a predetermined torch movement speed (hereinafter called a "cutting speed") in such a manner that the arc voltage Va isomonitored so that the torch is maintained at its optimum height hc (refer to, for example, DE2706232C3).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, an assumption is made that the arc voltage generated when the torch is positioned at the optimum torch height hc is a target arc voltage Vci (SO), the torch is set at the aforesaid optimum cutting height hc from a base metal (S5), and then the base metal is cut. Furthermore, after the arc voltage Va becomes steady (S6), the arc voltage Va is read (S93), and this arc voltage Va and the aforesaid target arc voltage Vc1 are subjected to a comparison (S10). If Va>Vc1, the torch is lowered (S101). If Va=Vc1, the existing torch height is retained (S102). If Va<Vc1, the torch is moved upwardly (S103). As result, the torch is maintained at its optimum torch height hc.
The aforesaid optimum torch height hc is a value which can be determined predictively by collectively considering various factors such as the thickness and the material of the base metal, the diameter of the nozzle of the torch, the cutting speed, and the torch height. The target arc voltage Vc1 obtained from the optimum height hc has been set into the control system of the subject plasma cutting machine as a fixed value.
Observing the actual cut surface, if the torch height is constant at its optimum, the quality of cutting is also constant (in other words, if the torch height is changed, the quality of cutting deteriorates). With the aforesaid conventional method, the cutting speed is changed at the time of cutting a corner, although an assumption is made that a constant cutting speed is maintained. Accordingly, the optimum torch height is also changed, causing the quality of cutting the corner to deteriorate as described in detail below.
FIG. 8 is a characteristic graph which illustrates the results of measurements of cutting speeds (axis of abscissa) and arc voltages (axis of ordinate) with respect to various torch heights h1 to h5 (h1<h5) . As shown in FIG. 8, an increase in the cutting speed Fa will lower the arc voltage Va (hereinafter called an "in inverse proportion") at each torch height h1 to h5. The reason f or this lies in the fact that an increase in the cutting speed causes the main positive point to come closer to the torch.
In a case where the predicted optimum torch height is h1 and the predicted optimum cutting speed is FL, the arc voltage Va is Vc1 (for convenience in description, an assumption is made that the arc voltage Va=the target arc voltage Vc1) . If the cutting speed is raised (FL.fwdarw.FH), the arc voltage Va is lowered (Vc1 .fwdarw.VL). Since the target arc voltage Vc1 is a fixed value, the aforesaid values are subjected to a comparison, resulting in VL<Vc1. Hence, the torch is raised to height h3. That is, there arises a problem in that the torch height has to be changed because the cutting speed has been changed.
In order to overcome the aforesaid problems experienced with the conventional technology, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling the torch height in plasma cutting which is capable of overcoming the deterioration of cutting quality due to a change in the cutting speed.

Method of controlling torch height in plasma cutting


Automated image analysis systems and methods are disclosed to quantify change in fibrosis and interstitial lung disease. The system generates scoring changes in Quantitative Interstitial Lung Disease (QILD) by filtering the uploaded images to minimize cross-site variability within images, sampling from a grid of pixels or voxels within the CT images, classifying individual pixels or voxels within downloaded images based on one or more selected texture features, generating a QILD score for each image based on selected features within the image, and calculating a transition between QILD scores within the plurality of CT images.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to diagnostic imaging, and more particularly to automated Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) scoring system and methods.
2. Description of Related Art
Increasing evidence is found that in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and scleroderma, the extent of interstitial lung disease is an important predictor of prognosis. The median survival of IPF patients is 2-5 years. Visual semi-quantitative scoring is a current standard to evaluate the disease. However, semi-quantitative scoring systems are limited by the requirement of expert radiologists and by moderate inter-observer variation so they tend to be unreliable for assessing change in disease status. To date, all prospective trials use a visual radiologist score, in terms of worsening or not-worsening in disease pattern.

Automated image system for scoring changes in quantitative interstitial lung disease

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


Methods of detecting proximity between a mobile terminal and a wireless accessory device having an associated support function for use with the mobile terminal include establishing a wireless communication connection between the wireless accessory device and the mobile terminal. The established wireless communication connection is utilized to provide the associated support function. In addition, a wireless signal having a limited range is communicated between the mobile terminal and the wireless accessory device. The wireless signal indicates a proximity between the mobile terminal and the wireless accessory device. An alert signal indicating that the proximity between the mobile terminal and the wireless accessory device has exceeded a predetermined range is provided responsive to the communicated wireless signal when the established wireless communication connection is not being utilized to provide the associated support function. Related devices are also provided.

Mobile terminals are widely used for voice, data, and/or multimedia communications. Due to the widespread use of mobile terminals, many users have experienced the inconvenience of misplacing or losing a mobile terminal, and/or having a mobile terminal stolen. For example, a mobile terminal user may inadvertently leave his or her mobile terminal behind at a restaurant, shopping center, and/or other public location. In addition, a thief, such as a pickpocket, may be able to steal a user's mobile terminal from the user's purse and/or pocket without the user's knowledge. In either scenario, unauthorized use of the mobile terminal may occur, which may result in additional charges to the user's account in addition to the cost of replacing the lost or stolen mobile terminal.

Methods, systems, and devices for detecting and indicating loss of proximity between mobile devices

Sony Ericssson Mobile Communications, AB


An adjustable work surface support for use with a primary work surface and a secondary work surface comprising primary work surface connector; secondary work surface connector; a parallelogram link support comprising a support bar mounted to the primary work surface connector to define a first axis; and a pair of parallel arms, each arm attached at one end to the support bar and a second end attached to the secondary work surface connector to define a second axis; a connecting plate; attached adjacent one of the parallel arms to the primary and secondary work surface connector; having a first pivot point rotatable about the first axis and a second pivot point being rotatable about the second axis; such that when the arm is pivoted about the first axis, an angular position of the secondary work surface with respect to the primary work surface is substantially constant.

In the field of traditional support mechanisms, there are many different types of adjustable work surface support mechanisms, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,579 to Allan. However, such support mechanisms generally require a large number of individual parts, making it expensive to manufacture and assemble.
Furthermore, there are other support mechanisms which are used in computer desks. The support mechanisms allow an adjustable secondary work surface, which generally holds a keyboard, to be manually moved from a first position to a second position in the vertical direction, in reference to a primary work surface which holds a computer monitor. However, many of these support mechanisms include parts underneath the secondary work surface which may cause injury when a user's legs coming into contact against it or a user's hands when they try to adjust the height of the secondary work surface.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an adjustable work surface support which overcomes some of the problems of the prior art.


A method for repairing stress-induced cracks in a generator rotor keyway is disclosed. The method comprises disassembling the retaining ring and ring key from the rotor, and machining away the crack and surrounding rotor metal from the rotor keyway. The machining step may be performed in a lathe or milling machine. This method diminishes the labor cost, equipment cost, and down time required for crack repairs because the slot contents may remain in the slots during the entire repair process. A spacer ring and an enlarged key that may be inserted into the machined, enlarged keyway are also disclosed.

Generator rotors have a cylindrical rotor body from which two shafts extend at each rotor end. The rotor is angularly divided into teeth regions and pole regions. The teeth regions have a series of teeth that are defined by longitudinal slots cut into the rotor. The slots contain field windings and wedges for holding the windings in place against centrifugal force caused by the rotor rotation.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/819,433, filed Mar. 17, 1997 (Assignee Docket No. P96-002), which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes such a generator rotor.
Thermal expansion of the windings, as well as other forces, often cause stress-induced cracking of the rotor. A long retaining ring attachment modification to repair such cracks is often part of a reconditioning program after prolonged rotor use. Such a modification requires replacing the retaining ring, often requires rewinding of the rotor, and requires significant down-time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,097 to Gardner et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes modifications to a rotor/retaining ring system.
There is a need for a method of repairing rotor stress cracking that diminishes the downtime and cost associated with the long retaining ring modification.

Generator rotor and method for eliminating keyway stress cracks in same


A power transmission mechanism for a vehicle includes a clutch assembly which includes a two-way clutch and an electromagnetic clutch. The two-way clutch includes three rows of rollers retained by a retainer and disposed between a clutch inner member, which is actually a stem of a constant-velocity joint mounted on the outboard end of a drive axle, and a clutch outer member, which is actually a hub ring of a hub bearing supporting a vehicle wheel. Simply by energizing and deenergizing the electromagnet of the electromagnetic clutch, the two-way clutch can be engaged and disengaged. Since the rollers are arranged in three rows, it is possible to increase the contact area between the rollers and the clutch inner and outer members and thus the maximum torque that can be transmitted through the rollers without the need to increase the number of rollers in each row or their length or diameter.

This invention relates to a power transmission mechanism mounted on a vehicle for transmitting driving torque to a wheel of the vehicle, and an electric drive system including two such power transmission mechanisms for driving at least the front wheels or the rear wheels of a vehicle.
Because of their environment-friendliness, electric vehicles, which run on an electric motor alone, and hybrid cars, which use both a conventional internal combustion engine and an electric motor, are now being vigorously developed by many car manufacturers. Some of them are already hitting the market. The electric drive system of this type of vehicles has a power transmission mechanism in its drive train. Such a power transmission mechanism includes a clutch for selectively allowing and shutting off torque transmission between the driving motor and wheels to protect the motor against overloads from the wheels or prevent accidents due to runaway of the motor. Conventional such clutches include a dog clutch, which includes claws provided on the driving member and driven members and adapted to be meshed with each other, and a friction clutch, which includes friction surfaces provided on the driving and driven members and adapted to be brought into frictional contact with each other (see JP patent publications 11-91389 and 2001-287550 (both unexamined)).
When engaging a dog clutch, it is necessary to extremely accurately synchronize the rotations of the driving member and the driven member. Otherwise, the claws of the driving and driven members may fail to mesh with each other and/or shock may be produced when they are meshed with each other. Even if the claws are meshed with each other, they may be locked together due to torque resulting from friction in the motor. Once they are locked together, they may not easily separate from each other even when trials are made to disengage the clutch after the motor has been stopped.
A friction clutch is free of this problem. But it has another problem in that even when the clutch is disengaged, the driving member and the driven member cannot be completely separated from each other due to the presence of viscous fluid in the clutch. Thus, even when the clutch is disengaged, torque may be transmitted from the wheels to the motor, thus overloading the motor. Thus, such a clutch cannot sufficiently protect the motor.
Most of such conventional clutches are provided in the drive train between the motor and the power distribution mechanism. In a hybrid car, the electric motor and the engine are alternately or simultaneously used to drive the vehicle. When the vehicle is driven only by the engine, the abovementioned clutch is disengaged to separate the electric motor from the wheels. But even in this state, the elements of the drive train between the clutch and the wheels are rigidly coupled to the wheels. Thus, the driving torque from the engine has to be used to drive not only the wheels but also these elements (torque needed to drive these elements is hereinafter referred to as drag torque). This worsens fuel economy. If the clutch is a friction clutch, since such a clutch cannot be completely disengaged as described above, the engine torque will have to be used to drive the motor, too. Also, in order to transmit a sufficiently large driving torque to the wheels from the motor, the friction clutch has to have a large number of friction disks. Such a friction clutch is inevitably large in size and heavy in weight, and thus further worsens fuel economy.
The applicant of this invention has proposed an improved clutch assembly to be used as the power transmission mechanism of the above-described type. This clutch assembly comprises a two-way clutch and an electromagnetic clutch. The two-way clutch includes a driving member having cam surfaces on the outer periphery thereof, a driven member fitted around the driving member and having a cylindrical surface on the inner periphery thereof, a plurality of rollers disposed between the cam surfaces and the cylindrical surfaces, and a retainer disposed between the driving member and the driven member for retaining the rollers. The rollers are capable of engaging both of the driving member and the driven member when the retainer rotates in either rotational direction relative to the driving member. The electromagnetic clutch includes an electromagnet which can be selectively energized and deenergized, and a rotor coupled to the driven member and adapted to be nonrotatably coupled to the retainer when the electromagnet is energized or deenergized (see JP patent publications 2000-326749 and 2003-32806 (both unexamined)).
If such a clutch assembly is provided in the drive train of a vehicle, its two-way clutch can be far more easily engaged and disengaged than a dog clutch, and also, unlike a friction clutch, the motor can be completely separated from wheels. Thus, this clutch assembly can reliably protect the motor. In applying it to a hybrid car, two such clutch assemblies are preferably mounted in the drive train, each near the hub bearing of one of front or rear wheels to minimize drag torque and thus improve fuel economy. If such clutch assemblies protrude from the outboard ends of the respective hub bearings, they will pose safety problems and ruin the appearance of the vehicle. If they protrude from the inboard ends of the hub bearings, they will interfere with driving members such as constant-velocity joints, thus restricting the freedom of design of these members. Thus, at least the two-way clutch of each clutch assembly is preferably mounted radially inside of the hub bearing.
But in order to mount the two-way clutch radially inside of the hub bearing, it is necessary to use small-diameter rollers. The contact area between such small-diameter rollers and the inner and outer members (driving and driven members) of the hub bearing is small. Thus, the maximum torque that can be transmitted through such small-diameter rollers is also small.
In order to increase the contact area and thus the maximum torque that can be transmitted through such small-diameter rollers, it is necessary to increase the number of rollers in each row, or increase the length of each roller. But if the number of rollers in each row is increased, the circumferential area where each roller is disengaged correspondingly shortens. This increases the possibility of malfunction of the clutch. Specifically, this increases the possibility of the rollers inadvertently engaging or disengaging when the retainer rotates even slightly relative to the driving member due to vibrations or shocks. Also, if the number of rollers in each row is increased, it is necessary to correspondingly increase the number of cam surfaces. This increases the cost for forming the cam surfaces and also makes it more difficult to form the cam surfaces. If longer rollers are used to increase the contact area, the rollers are more likely to inadvertently engage or disengage when the inner and outer members of the clutch deflect due e.g. to impulse loads that act on the wheel and as a result, the shape of the gap between the inner and outer members changes.
An object of the invention is to provide a power transmission mechanism including a clutch which can be easily engaged and disengaged, which can completely shut off transmission of torque between the driving member and the driven member, and which can tranmit sufficiently large torque.

Power transmission mechanism and electric drive system using the same


An image processing apparatus is provided which includes a memory for storing plural photographic images, an input key for instructing a desired photographic image among the photographic images stored in the memory to be subjected to image processing, a determining section to determine whether a photographic image related to the photographic image which is instructed to be subjected to the image processing by the input key is stored in the memory, and an informing section to inform a user when the determining section determines that the related photographic image is stored.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method.
In image processing apparatus such as a digital camera, images of a photographed object are recorded/stored on a recording medium in order of taking the photographs. Therefore, in the case that a means for changing display order is not set up, the images are reproduced and displayed in order of taking the photographs or vice verse.
Hitherto, the order of reproducing recorded images has been changed by designating images individually and inserting, between certain images, other image. Among digital cameras, however, cameras have been sold which have various modes such as a continuous photography mode and a panoramic photography mode, as well as a normal mode in which images are photographed/recorded in an individual image unit.
In such cameras, according to the conventional method of changing reproducing order for individual images a part of images obtained by taking photographs continuously or by taking panoramic photographs may be inconveniently moved. As a result, there remains a problem that relevant images are dispersed.

Image processing apparatus and method for image processing relevant images


A syringe assembly having needle isolation features includes an elongate barrel having an open proximal end, a chamber for retaining fluid and a tip portion extending from a distal end of the barrel having a passageway therethrough include communication with the chamber. A valve housing extends outwardly from the tip portion of the barrel having a conduit therethrough in communication with the passageway. A needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end and a lumen therethrough is provided. The proximal end of the needle is connected to the housing so that the lumen is in fluid communication with the conduit. The housing includes internal valve for allowing liquid under pressure in the chamber to flow distally through the conduit and the lumen while preventing unpressurized liquid in the chamber from flowing through the aperture. The internal valve includes a one-way valve structure for preventing liquid flow through the conduit in a proximal direction toward the chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to syringes and more particularly concerns syringe assemblies having needle isolation features.
2. Description of Related Information
Generally speaking, a hypodermic syringe consists of a cylindrical barrel, most commonly made of plastic or glass, with a distal end adapted to be connected to a hypodermic needle and a proximal end adapted to receive a stopper or plunger rod assembly. One of the purposes of the stopper is to provide a relatively air-tight seal between itself and the syringe barrel so that the movement of the stopper up and down the barrel will cause liquid, blood or other fluids to be drawn into or forced out of the syringe through the distal end.
A wide variety of injectable medications are prefilled in syringe barrel assemblies by pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract packagers, hospital pharmacies and the like. Medication contained in these syringes may sit for many weeks or months before administration of the medication to the patient. Under these circumstances, it is desirable to isolate the medication from the environment as thoroughly as possible. This task is more easily accomplished at the proximal end of the syringe where, a resilient rubber stopper can effectively seal the barrel. At the distal end of the syringe barrel, the problem of isolating the medication from the environment is more difficult to solve. In rigid barrel syringes, without hypodermic needles attached, it is common practice to seal the tip at the distal end of the syringe with elastomeric tip caps such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,310 where the tip cap is removed at the time of use and the hypodermic needle assembly is placed on the syringe tip. This type of tip cap works very well but requires the installation of a hypodermic needle at the time of use. Also, this type of tip cap does not discourage or prevent reuse of the syringe barrel.
Another method of sealing the distal end of the syringe, having a hypodermic needle attached, is through the use of a needle shield having a resilient element which seals the distal end of the needle as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,818. This method of sealing also works very well but may not be desirable where contact between the liquid medication and the needle cannula during storage is not desirable. Also, needle shields of this type do not prevent or discourage reuse of the syringe.
The art has recognized the use of hypodermic syringes for the efficient storage and delivery of liquid medication and has provided structure for sealing the distal end of the syringe barrel which has been proven over time to be efficacious. However, there is still a need for simple prefillable syringe device which combines all of the delivery and storage advantages of prior art hypodermic syringes but with the ability to store medication without contact with a needle cannula and to prevent refilling of the syringe through the syringe tip after the contents of the syringe have been expelled.


A multiple-TV display channel setting method for synchronously a setting mapping relation between display channels and transmission channels to a first TV and a second TV is disclosed. The method includes setting the mapping relation between the display channels and the transmission channels to the first TV, allowing the first TV to display audio/video (A/V) signals transmitted over one of the transmission channels according to one of the display channels, wherein the display channel is mapped by the mapping relation onto the transmission channel; and transmitting the mapping relation to the second TV so that the second TV displays the A/V signals transmitted over the transmission channel according to the mapped display channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to TV display channel setting techniques, and, more particularly, to a multiple-TV display channel setting method and module for setting mapping relations between display channels and transmission channels of a plurality of TVs synchronously.
2. Description of Related Arts
These days, it is quite common for many TVs to be used in the same home or facility. In general, display channels of a TV are set by a remote control. For example, by pressing one or more of a plurality of keys on a remote control, a user can select the viewing channel of the TV as desired.
In a modern TV display system, a TV is designed to display audio/video (A/V) signals transmitted over as many as tens or hundreds of transmission channels, each of which corresponds to a display channel. A TV display system typically provides an automatic channel discovery and memory function for automatically setting up the display channels for convenient access. However, such a function cannot categorize the display channels according to attributes of those display channels. For example, the channel discovery function cannot categorize news channels, movie channels, and sport channels into a series of consecutively numbered or accessible display channels.
Therefore, a user of the TV still has to set the display channels manually one-by-one if the TV provides the functionality to reorder the channels as desired. As described above, a modern family can own more than one TV per household, so, although setting one TV is burdensome enough, setting multiple TVs is quite tedious. Moreover, these TVs may have a different order of display channels due to a different setting order caused by either user-inconsistency in setting the channels or by differences in the TVs.

Multiple-TV display channel setting method and module


A digital radio telephone comprises a radio portion for receiving a radio signal modulated by an encoded digital signal including control information, for demodulating and outputting the encoded digital signal, a control signal processing portion for decoding the demodulated encoded digital signal to obtain the control information, a telephone number information detecting means for detecting whether the decoded control information includes mate telephone number information, a memory for storing the telephone number information, a time information management means for specifying an incoming time of the telephone number information to output a time information, and a memory management means for recording the telephone number information corresponding to the time information into the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a digital radio telephone used in a digital mobile radio communication system such as a land mobile/portable phone system and a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) adopting a digital telephone system for example. The invention particularly relates to a digital radio telephone having a function of storing a mate telephone number (hereinafter, referred to as "incoming telephone number") and a function of calling the stored phone number (hereinafter, referred to as "incoming redialing function").
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 11 shows a system configuration of an analog radio telephone having a conventional incoming redialing function disclosed in a laid-open Japanese patent publication No. 5-14274. This type of conventional telephone receives mate telephone number information of an incoming call together with an analog audio signal via a radio channel using a communication channel in a form of a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) signal where a plurality of frequency signals are superposed, and then, stores the telephone number information in a memory.
An operation of the incoming redialing function of the analog radio telephone is explained below. First, a radio signal containing control information received via an antenna 6 using a control channel is demodulated by a radio portion 5 and outputted as a control signal which is an analog signal in a base band. Control information in the demodulated control signal is decoded by a decoder 15 and is processed by a microcomputer 10 to establish the radio communication channel. Then, a radio signal containing the telephone number information received via the antenna 6 using the communication channel is demodulated by the radio portion 5 and outputted as the DTMF signal which is the analog signal in 9 base band. The telephone number information in the demodulated DTMF signal is detected, judged, and decoded by a DTMF receiver 16. Then, the output receiver 16 from the DTMF signal is processed by the microcomputer 10 and stored in a memory 12. On the other hand, in case of calling by redialing, the telephone number information stored in advance in the memory 12 by the microcomputer 10 is read out, encoded by an encoder 17, modulated by the radio portion 5, then, transmitted from the antenna 6 as a radio signal.
Since the incoming redialing function in the conventional analog radio telephone constructed as explained above requires the DTMF receiver for detecting the telephone number information in addition to the construction for operating the telephone function itself, there is a problem that the conventional analog radio telephone construction is complicated. Also, since the conventional analog radio telephone redials using the telephone number information stored only in the memory, it is difficult to provide an incoming redialing function having high-performance or multifunction in consideration of user service.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital radio telephone having a high-performance incoming redialing function by maximally using the digital processing ability naturally included in a digital radio telephone.

Digital radio telephone for a digital mobile radio communication system


A mechanism to configure power save parameters of a wireless client station. When data frames carrying voice, video, or other multimedia traffic are received at the client station via a wireless link, a frame rate of the received data frames is measured for a period of time. Then a power save parameter of the client station is configured based on the measuring to adjust delivery of the data frames to the client station during a power save state of the client station.

Wireless local area networks ("WLANs") providing broadband wireless connectivity have become tremendously successful in the business and consumer marketplaces. Traditionally, the principal application for WLANs has been providing data connectivity (e.g., web browsing and email) to portable/mobile devices. However, the last few years have demonstrated a growing interest in using WLANs to support voice and video applications (e.g., Voice-over-IP ("VoIP") telephony, streaming video, and streaming audio).
Since power consumption is often an important constraint on the operability and desirability of portable/mobile devices, implementing VoIP or streaming audio/video in a power saving conscious manner is important. The 802.11 standard (IEEE-802.11, 1999 Ed. (ISO/IEC 8802-11:1999)) defines a legacy Power Save ("PS") mode of operation. However, the legacy PS mode of operation, which uses a regularly scheduled beacon and polling mechanism, is not well suited for VoIP and streaming audio/video applications where traffic load is very high. Accordingly, the 802.11e standard (IEEE Std. 802.11e/D13.0, January 2005 (Draft Amendment to IEEE Std. 802.11, 1999)) introduced a different delivery mechanism, known as Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery ("UAPSD"), which is also extended by the Wi-Fi Alliance ("WFA") as part of the Wi-Fi Multimedia ("WMM") including APSD Specification. The UAPSD delivery mechanism is implemented with trigger and delivery mechanisms. Due to its unscheduled nature, UAPSD is better suited to manage the periodic traffic characteristics typical of VoIP and streaming audio/video applications.
Even UAPSD alone may provide unsatisfactory performance for VoIP and streaming audio/video applications over WLANs, if UAPSD parameters are not appropriately selected for the anticipated traffic. Accordingly, the WMM including APSD Specification (WFA, Version X.X) defines an Admission Control Mechanism ("ACM") for negotiating UAPSD parameters in advance of anticipated traffic. ACM must be supported by applications on both sides of the wireless link between the wireless client station ("STA") and the wireless access point ("AP"). To configure the UAPSD parameters to optimize the delivery mechanism for the VoIP traffic, the STA and the AP exchange TSPEC frames (e.g., ADDTS and DELTS) to setup and tear down UAPSD parameters. However, the WMM including APSD Specification defines ACM as optional. Accordingly, if either the STA or the AP does not support ACM, the explicit traffic reservation mechanism cannot be used and default UAPSD parameters may be unsuitably selected for future traffic conditions.

Learning mechanism to configure power save parameters for automatic power save delivery


A system and appertaining method isolates a hardware or user error in a software controlled apparatus e.g., an NMR-apparatus. A diagnostic function is added to an event log that uses a causality model to analyze the event log. A series of events in the event log is evaluated by comparing the events with at least one of a number of root cause related patterns, and a best match of these patterns is used to assign a root cause for the error. Various repair actions may be associated based on a probabilistic model. Additional information may be utilized to modify or improve respective probabilities associated with causes and/or repair actions. This additional information may utilize other automated diagnostic information or may query users for additional information.

Software systems comprising various components frequently utilize log databases to track system and component operation for diagnostic purposes. An "event log" may be used to chronologically stores events that are generated by different software components in the system. Software components may generate events as responses to certain combinations of their internal state and stimuli from, for example, other software modules, the hardware, or the user.
The logged events typically fall into one of three categories: "Error Events" are generated when errors are found or exceptional or unexpected things occur; "Success Events" are generated as information indicating that aspects of the system are running properly; and "Information Events" are generated as information indicating that certain informational things occur.
Event can further more be assigned a severity level. Different Error Events may, for example, have different severity levels. The Success Events and the Information Events are usually indicated as having a lower severity level than the Error Events.
The event log can be broken down as having different access levels as well. For example, only system administrators may have access to certain secure logs ("Internal Event Log") or sections of the log or events (e.g., security violations, etc.), whereas software component users may have access to various logs ("User Event Log") or log sections pertaining to operation of the respective software component.
For the user, the User Event Log shows a filtered version of the Internal Event Log. The purpose of filtering the Internal Event Log is to avoid showing irrelevant and redundant information to the user. The User Event Log only shows events with a particular criticality level (this level being a configurable level). Events are displayed in the User Event Log until the user acknowledges them. The user interface may show a special icon as long as the User Event Log contains at least one unacknowledged event. The User Event Log shows the filtered events in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent one is displayed at the top in a list. Using a separate user interface, the user can view the complete User Event Log, that is, the user log that also includes the acknowledged events. Events in the User Event Log can be automatically acknowledged when Success Events are received.
Both the Internal Event Log (for systems personnel) and the User Event Log (for users) are provided to help diagnose problems in the system.
The problem with such log files, however, is that the User Event Log shows too many events or not the most relevant ones. Each significant problem that interests the user may generate more than one event. Because the events are shown chronologically, the most important ones are not necessarily at the top.
Furthermore, on such systems, the explanatory text shown for each event may describe the cause for the problem, but the event cause text is static and is not influenced by other events. Some events may have different causes. Because the explanation is static, it then must either describe all possibilities, or else omit some or all causes. This can be confusing, especially when multiple events are present in the User Event Log because of conflicting, redundant, or insufficient information.
The explaining text shown for each event may describe an appropriate repair action to solve the problem. The problem is that the event action text is static and not influenced by other events. For some events, it may not be possible to specify a single repair action because the appropriate repair actions depends on additional information. Since the explanation is static, it then must describe all possibilities, or omit some or all repair actions. This too can be confusing, especially when multiple events are present in the User Event Log because of conflicting, redundant, or insufficient instructions.
Software that automatically performs repair actions is lacking. Some problems can be repaired with software programs. Such repair actions could be performed automatically if a diagnosis can be automatically found, or perhaps allowed to run when acknowledged by the user.
Software is needed that tries to diagnose by analysing multiple events. Some problems can only be conclusively diagnosed by considering more than one event or additional information.
The Internal Event Log does not always contain enough information for a conclusive diagnosis. It would be useful if also other information sources could be used for diagnostic purposes. Such information sources could be log files, data or program module state information.
In some cases additional information necessary for a conclusive diagnosis could be collected automatically by calling test functions. This possibility does not presently exist. The technical problem is to find out when such test functions should be called. For performance reasons, it is not reasonable to execute them e.g., for each received event.
Necessary information for a conclusive diagnosis is not always possible to collect automatically without intervention from the user. Some things can only, or easiest, be checked by the user. The diagnostic capability of the system could be improved if the diagnosis software would prompt for or accept manual test results.
Some of the Wizards in modern Microsoft products are an example of efficient diagnostic tools. The user is guided through a series of dialogs that serves to collect information and home in on the problem cause.
It is known to have event logs where events are classified by severity and the most severe ones are shown at the top of a list. Usually they can be acknowledged and are then moved to a history list for later analysis, when required.

Model based diagnosis and repair for event logs


A cathode ray tube includes an electron gun having plural focus electrodes and an anode in its neck portion, a voltage-dividing resistor for producing an intermediate voltage applied to a first one of the focus electrodes adjacent to the anode by dividing an anode voltage, a metal conductor attached to a second one of the focus electrodes to surround the voltage-dividing resistor, and a metal film on an insulating substrate of the voltage-dividing resistor between the metal conductor and an intermediate-voltage terminal of the voltage-dividing resistor. The second one of the focus electrodes is disposed upstream of the first one of the focus electrodes, and the metal film extends at least 1 mm axially and is spaced at least 1 mm from the metal conductor.

The present invention relates to a cathode ray tube, and in particular to a cathode ray tube having an electron gun employing an internal voltage-dividing resistor.
Color cathode ray tubes used in TV receivers or information terminals, house an electron gun for emitting a plurality (usually three) of electron beams at one end of an evacuated envelope, a phosphor screen formed of phosphors coated on an inner surface of the evacuated envelope at the other end thereof for emitting light of a plurality (usually three) of colors, and a shadow mask which is closely spaced from the phosphor screen and serves as a color selection electrode. The electron beams emitted from the electron gun are deflected to scan the phosphor screen horizontally and vertically to form a rectangular raster by magnetic fields generated by a deflection yoke mounted externally of the evacuated envelope and display a desired image on the phosphor screen.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an exemplary configuration of a color cathode ray tube, and in FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a panel portion, 2 is a neck portion for housing an in-line type electron gun 9, 3 is a funnel portion for connecting the panel portion 1 and the neck portion 2, 4 is a phosphor screen, 5 is a shadow mask, 6 is a mask frame, 7 is a magnetic shield, 8 is a mask suspension mechanism, 10 is a deflection yoke, 11 is an internal conductive coating, 12 is a shield cup, 13 is a contact spring, 14 is a getter and 15 are stem pins.
In this color cathode ray tube, an evacuated envelope is formed by the panel portion 1, the neck portion 2 and the funnel portion 3, and electron beams 16 emitted from the electron gun 9 housed in the neck portion 2 scan the phosphor screen 4 two-dimensionally by being subjected to the horizontal and vertical deflection magnetic fields produced by the deflection yoke 10.
The electron beams 16 are modulated in amount by video signals supplied via the stem pins 15, are color-selected by the shadow mask 5 disposed immediately in front of the phosphor screen 4, and impinge upon the phosphors of the corresponding primary colors to reproduce a desired color image.
Such cathode ray tubes employ a multistage focus lens system to obtain sufficiently small electron beam spots over the entire phosphor screen.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-255682 (laid-open on Sep. 25, 1998), for example, discloses an xe2x80x9cextended field lensxe2x80x9d serving as a main lens formed by disposing an intermediate electrode between an anode and a focus electrode. FIG. 9 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of an electron gun of a cathode ray tube disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-255682 and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Xxe2x80x94X of the electron gun shown in FIG. 9. The electron gun is of the extended field lens type comprising three equally spaced coplanar cathodes 309 (one for each electron beam), a first electrode 301, a second electrode 302, a third electrode 303, a fourth electrode 304, a 5-1st electrode (a focus electrode) 305, a 5-2nd electrode (a focus electrode) 306, an intermediate electrode 310, a sixth electrode (an anode electrode) 307 and a shield cup 308 arranged coaxially in the order named from the cathodes 309, and the cathodes and the electrodes are fixed in predetermined spaced relationship on a pair of glass beads 311.
A voltage-dividing resistor 312 fabricated on a ceramic substrate is housed within the cathode ray tube to obtain a voltage to be supplied to the intermediate electrode 310 via a holder pin 313 within the cathode ray tube, and the voltage-dividing resistor 312 is fixed to one of the glass beads 311. A metal wire 314a surrounds the glass beads 311 and the voltage-dividing resistor 312 and is welded to the intermediate electrode 310 as shown in FIG. 10.
The electrons emitted from the cathodes 309 are focused by a prefocus lens formed by the cathodes 309, the first electrode 301, the second electrode 302 and the third electrode 303, next by a pre-main lens formed by the third electrode 303, the fourth electrode 304 and the 5-1st electrode 305, and then by a main lens formed by the 5-2nd electrode 306, the intermediate electrode 310 and the sixth electrode 307, onto a phosphor screen, and form an image on the viewing screen of the cathode ray tube.
The voltage applied to the intermediate electrode 310 is selected lower than anode voltage, but higher than voltages applied to the focus electrodes by dividing the anode voltage using the voltage-dividing resistor 312. Provision of the intermediate electrode 310 forms a lens of the extended field type in which the potential distribution along the tube axis is made gentle from the anode electrode to the focus electrodes, reduces spherical aberration and consequently the diameter of the electron beam spots is reduced.
As shown in FIG. 10, the amount of electrical charges accumulated on the inner wall of a neck glass 317 is stabilized by attaching the metal wire 314a to the intermediate electrode 310 such that the metal wire 314a surrounds the glass bead 311 and the voltage-dividing resistor 312.
After the completed electron gun is inserted into the neck glass 317, a portion of metal contained in the metal wire 314a is evaporated to form metal films (not shown) on the inner wall of the neck glass 317 and the surface of the voltage-dividing resistor 312 and the glass bead 311 by heating the metal wire 314a using an external high-frequency induction heater such that more stable potential is established on the inner wall of the neck glass 317.
In the manufacture of a cathode ray tube, after the cathode ray tube has been exhausted of gases and sealed, so-called spot-knocking (high-voltage stabilization) of applying a high voltage of about twice the normal operating voltage for the cathode ray tube to its anode is carried out to remove projections in electrodes of the electron gun or foreign particles within the cathode ray tube by forcing arcing between the electrodes and between the electrodes and the inner wall of the neck portion and to thereby prevent occurrence of arcing within the cathode ray tube during the normal operation of the completed cathode ray tube.
But, when high voltages for spot-knocking are applied to electrodes of a cathode ray tube employing the extended field lens formed by applying a voltage divided from the anode voltage using an internal voltage-dividing resistor to the intermediate electrode, arcing occurs between the anode electrode and the above-mentioned metal wire for suppression of discharge, and consequently, voltages sufficiently high for spot-knocking are not generated between the anode electrode and the intermediate electrode adjacent thereto, and between the intermediate electrode and another electrode facing the cathode side of the intermediate electrode, and consequently, there has been a problem in that sufficient effects of spot-knocking are not obtained, and as a result, satisfactory withstand voltage characteristics are not secured within the cathode ray tube.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cathode ray tube incorporating an internal voltage-dividing resistor and having withstand voltage characteristics improved by heightening effects of spot-knocking preventing arcing between the electrodes supplied with high voltages and the metal wire for suppression of discharge, during the spot-knocking procedure and thereby solving the above problem.
To accomplish the above object, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cathode ray tube comprising: an evacuated envelope comprising a panel portion having a phosphor screen formed on an inner surface thereof, a neck portion and a funnel portion connecting said panel portion and said neck portion; an electron gun housed in said neck portion comprising at least one cathode, a first grid electrode, a second grid electrode, a plurality of focus electrodes and an anode arranged in the order named for focusing at least one electron beam emitted from said at least one cathode on said phosphor screen, said at least one cathode, said first grid electrode, said second grid electrode, said plurality of focus electrodes and said anode being fixed in predetermined axially spaced relationship by at least two glass beads; a voltage-dividing resistor attached to one of said at least two glass beads for producing an intermediate voltage to be applied to a first one of said plurality of focus electrodes adjacent to said anode by dividing a voltage applied to said anode; a metal conductor facing and attached to a second one of said plurality of focus electrodes to surround said voltage-dividing resistor and said one of said at least two glass beads, said second one of said plurality of focus electrodes being disposed upstream of said first one of said plurality of focus electrodes; and a metal film disposed on a side of an insulating substrate of said voltage-dividing resistor facing an inner wall of said neck portion between said metal conductor and an intermediate voltage terminal of said voltage-dividing resistor for applying said intermediate voltage to said first one of said plurality of focus electrodes, said metal film extending at least 1 mm in a direction of a longitudinal axis of said cathode ray tube and being spaced at least 1 mm from said metal conductor.

Cathode ray tube having an internal voltage-dividing resistor


A method to deposit a thin film on a flexible polymer substrate at room temperature comprising heating source vapor, which is vaporized by an evaporator, in a shower head in a reaction chamber so that the source vapor is thermally decomposed to be converted into the nano-size single phase; and depositing the source vapor in the nano-size single phase on the flexible polymer substrate which is not separately heated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for room temperature chemical deposition on a flexible polymer and an apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
As rapid operation and small-size trend of micro-systems, electronic equipments and apparatuses also seek high speed and small size. Also, due to the increase of the need of such equipments and apparatuses, the miniaturization are further required. The apparatuses should be manufactured in a smaller size while the whole functions remain or are improved. Therefore, concerns about cheap and reliable compact packages are increased.
In a general electric circuit, 80% of the electronic components are passive components (capacitor, resistance and inductance) and occupy 50% of the print-wiring-board area. Therefore, it has been attempted to embed the passive components on PCB (printed circuit boards) or compact the package using LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramics).
By embedding of the passive components, in addition to the miniaturization, the signal path is very increased and consequently, noise is reduced, thereby improving performance of electronic products, particularly high frequency apparatus.
As an embedding capacitor processed at a temperature where the PCB can stand, Bi2O3—ZnO—Nb2O5(BZN) thin film has been reported by Park et al.
Organic thin film transistors (OTFT) are spot-lighted in application fields requiring structural flexibility, applicability at a large area, low temperature processibility and low expense. The OTFT mounted on low voltage operating/high output polymer substrate is expected to enable us to develop various techniques including low price digital logic apparatus, electronic book, electronic paper, wearable electronic products and large size flexible display.
Also, the electronic apparatuses are combined and miniaturized by using thin film technique suitable at a temperature near room temperature and miniaturized by providing a dielectric thin film having a high dielectric constant. The physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique such as sputtering and pulse laser deposition allows deposition without heating of the substrate though the film is not crystallized.
Generally, the hetero nucleation and growth in the film deposition by CVD are accomplished by adsorption, chemical reaction, desorption on the substrate surface at a high temperature. Therefore, the substrate should be heated to decompose precursors near the surface.
Meanwhile, in case of the flexible polymer substrate such as polyimide film which can realize small-size and light weight is readily applied to small size electronic equipments including mobile phone, PDA, notebook and the like and is well used in printer, HDD and the like because of practicability of three-dimensional wiring and excellent flexibility. Also, unlike the conventional silicone based substrates, it can be advantageously produced continuously by the roll-to-roll fashion. However, in spite of such advantages, it has a difficulty in handling due to low mechanic strength and a limit in production process due to high contraction rate and weakness to heat (limit temperature resistance of about 200° C.). Particularly, the flexible polymer substrate had a difficulty in application to the conventional chemical vapor deposition, in which the substrate is heated over the critical temperature to decompose precursors. Also, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) which has recently developed for preparation of ultra thin film cannot be operated at a temperature under 200° C. which is temperature limit of the thin film on the flexible substrate.
In order to overcome the limits in treatment temperature, it is possible to reduce the temperature of the substrate for deposition of thin film by applying the plasma-enhanced CVD method. However, there may be defects such as poor conformal deposition or damage in the substrate by plasma.
Therefore, it is demanded to develop a novel room temperature CVD technique on a flexible polymer substrate which meets the small size and light weight trend of electronic parts and products and is readily performed.

Method for room temperature chemical vapor deposition on flexible polymer substrates

The Industry & Academic Cooperation in Chungnam National University (IAC)


In a method of encoding lines in a print from the skin and particularly a fingerprint, one line at a time is encoded by means of vertices, which include the starting point and the end point, that are situated on the line, in which case segments of connecting line between adjacent vertices are no more than a preset distance away from the line.

To allow fingerprints to be identified, images of the fingerprints are analyzed, this being done by extracting characteristic features, particularly endings and branchings of the ridges on the skin, and comparing them with reference features that are held in store.
To enable the characteristic features to be extracted, it is necessary for the images to be pre-processed and the details produced by the pre-processing to be pre-processed and stored. A step that is frequently taken as part of the pre-processing is so-called skeletonization, in which the ridges, which are a plurality of picture elements (pixels) wide, are reduced to lines only one pixel wide. Before this is done, the brightness levels are turned into binary values. To store a line of this kind, all the raster dots that go to make up the line therefore have to be stored in the memory together with their co-ordinates. Given the large number of lines that there are, this takes up a considerable amount of space in the memory.
It is therefore an object of the invention to encode the lines in a manner that reduces the data without there being any loss of the information required for structural analysis.


A retention system is provided for use with a ground engaging tool. The tool retention system may have a generally C-shaped clamp configured to be disposed within an aperture of a work implement and to engage apertures in a tool adapter. The retention system may also have a wedge configured to be disposed within the apertures of the tool adapter and the work implement and against the generally C-shaped clamp. The retention system may additionally have a generally C-shaped slider configured to be disposed within the apertures of the tool adapter and to engage the aperture of the work implement. The C-shaped slider may have an opening oriented away from the generally C-shaped clamp, and the retention system may further have a fastener configured to connect the generally C-shaped slider to the wedge.

Earth-working machines, such as excavators, wheel loaders, electric cable shovels, and front shovels, include implements generally used for digging into, ripping, or otherwise moving earthen material. These implements are subjected to extreme abrasion and impacts that causes them to wear. To prolong the useful life of the implements, various ground engaging tools can be connected to the earth-working implements at areas experiencing the most wear. These ground engaging tools are replaceably connected to the implements using a retention system.
An exemplary retention system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 2011/0072693 of Knight that published on Mar. 31, 2011 ("the '693 publication"). Specifically, the '693 publication discloses a fork-shaped tool body that fits over the edge of an excavator bucket. A clamp passes through the body and the bucket, and a wedge is inserted alongside the clamp to hold the clamp in position. The wedge has a U-shaped axial recess, and a threaded rod is received within the recess and oriented at an angle relative to the clamp. A threaded block is mounted to the rod, and the rod is rotatable to move the block along the rod. The block includes teeth that engage the clamp upon insertion of the wedge into the body, such that as the rod is rotated and the block moves along the rod, the wedge is forced further into the body. As the wedge is forced further into the body, the clamp is urged tighter against the body and the bucket. A resilient cap makes a friction fit with an end of the rod after assembly, thereby inhibiting inadvertent rotation of the rod. With this configuration, the fork-shaped tool body can be removably connected to the excavator bucket by rotation of the rod.
Although acceptable for some applications, the retention system of the '693 publication may be less than optimal. In particular, the toothed engagement between the block and the clamp may be a costly feature that has geometry that is difficult to control during manufacturing. In addition, after a period of wear, the clamp may become loose, requiring further adjustment of the rod. In some situations, the amount of adjustment required to tighten the joint may require replacement of the clamp with a different size of clamp, which can be expensive for an owner of the machine. Further, as the retention system wears and is adjusted, it may be possible for the wedge to be moved too far into the tool body, making replacement difficult.
The disclosed tool retention system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A system for conducting a telephonic speech recognition application includes an automated telephone device for making telephonic contact with a respondent and a speech recognition device which, upon the telephonic contact being made, presents the respondent with at least one introductory prompt for the respondent to reply to; receives a spoken response from the respondent; and performs a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a capability of the respondent to complete the application. If the speech recognition device, based on the spoken response to the introductory prompt, determines that the respondent is capable of competing the application, the speech recognition device presents at least one application prompt to the respondent. If the speech recognition device, based on the spoken response to the introductory prompt, determines that the respondent is not capable of completing the application, the speech recognition system presents instructions on completing the application to the respondent.

In the new, connected economy, it has become increasingly important for companies or service providers to become more in tune with their clients and customers. Such contact can be facilitated with automated telephonic transaction systems, in which interactively-generated prompts are played in the context of a telephone transaction, and the replies of a human user are recognized by an automatic speech recognition system. The answers given by the respondent are processed by the system in order to convert the spoken words to meaning, which can then be utilized interactively, or stored in a database.
In order for a computer system to recognize the words that are spoken and convert these words to text, the system must be programmed to phonetically break down the words and convert portions of the words to their textural equivalents. Such a conversion requires an understanding of the components of speech and the formation of the spoken word. The production of speech generates a complex series of rapidly changing acoustic pressure waveforms. These waveforms comprise the basic building blocks of speech, known as phonemes. Vowel and consonant sounds are made up of phonemes and have many different characteristics, depending on which components of human speech are used. The position of a phoneme in a word has a significant effect on the ultimate sound generated. A spoken word can have several meanings, depending on how it is said. Speech scientists have identified allophones as acoustic variants of phonemes and use them to more explicitly define how a particular word is formed.
While there are several distinct methods for analyzing the spoken word and extracting the information necessary to enable the recognition system to convert the speech to word-strings, including Hidden Markov modeling and neural networks, these methods generally perform similar operations. The differences in these methods are typically in the manner in which the system determines how to break the phonetic signal into portions that define phonemes. Generally, a speech recognition system first converts an incoming analog voice signal into a digital signal. The second step is called feature extraction, wherein the system analyzes the digital signal to identify the acoustic properties of the digitized signal. Feature extraction generally breaks the voice down into its individual sound components. Conventional techniques for performing feature extraction include subband coding Fast Fourier Transforms and Linear Predictive Coding. Once the signal has been analyzed, the system then determines where distinct acoustic regions occur. The goal of this step is to divide the acoustic signal into regions that will be identified as phonemes which can be converted to a textual format. In isolated word systems, this process is simplified, because there is a pause after each word. In continuous speech systems, however, this process is much more difficult, since there typically are no breaks between words in the acoustic stream. Accordingly, the system must be able not only to break the words themselves into distinct acoustic regions, but must also be able to separate consecutive words in the stream. It is in this step that conventional methods such as Hidden Markov modeling and neural networks are used. The final step involves comparing a specific acoustic region, as determined in the previous step, to a known set of templates in a database in order to determine the word or word portion represented by the acoustic signal region. If a match is found, the resulting textual word is output from the system. If one is not, the signal can either be dynamically manipulated in order to increase the chances of finding a match, or the data can be discarded and the system prompted to repeat the query to the respondent, if the associated answer cannot be determined due to the loss of the data.
In customer service applications, it is important for service providers to be able to obtain information from, or to provide information to their customers. Oftentimes, service providers will need to contact customers via the telephone to obtain or provide the desired information. In order to reduce the costs associated with such information exchanges, many service providers utilize automated telephone calling devices to contact customers. While the automated telephone calling devices are extremely capable of converting spoken words into text phrases and thereby obtaining valuable information from respondents, in some cases, the respondents are not capable of providing adequate responses to the posed questions, or do not understand what is involved in an automated telephonic application. Prior art speech recognition applications are not able to identify that the respondent is having trouble with the application and then adjust the application accordingly. This results in wasted time and money for the company in charge of the survey and in frustration on the part of the respondent.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of and system for providing adaptive respondent training in a speech recognition application


A tower ionizer air cleaner is provided. The tower ionizer air cleaner includes a tower chassis, with a base of the tower chassis including a small footprint, one or more airflow inlet openings in the tower chassis, one or more airflow outlet openings in the tower chassis and substantially opposite to the one or more airflow inlet openings, and an ionizer element positioned within the tower chassis. The tower ionizer air cleaner further includes one or more fan units substantially vertically located within the tower ionizer air cleaner and affixed to the tower chassis. The one or more fan units are configured to provide an airflow between the one or more airflow inlet openings and the one or more airflow outlet openings and through the ionizer element.

Air cleaners and purifiers are widely used for removing foreign substances from air. The foreign substances can include pollen, dander, smoke, pollutants, dust, etc. In addition, an air cleaner can be used to circulate room air. An air cleaner can be used in many settings, including at home, in offices, etc.
One type of air cleaner is an electrostatic precipitator. An electrostatic precipitator operates by creating an electrical field. Dirt and debris in the air becomes ionized when it is brought into the electrical field by an airflow. Charged positive and negative electrodes in the electrostatic precipitator air cleaner, such as positive and negative plates, attract the ionized dirt and debris. The electrodes can release the dirt and debris when not powered, allowing the accumulated dirt and debris to drop into a catch basin. In addition, the electrostatic precipitator can typically be removed and cleaned. Because the electrostatic precipitator comprises electrodes or plates through which airflow can easily and quickly pass, only a low amount of energy is required to generate the airflow. As a result, foreign objects in the air can be efficiently and effectively removed without the need for a mechanical filter element.
One type of electrostatic precipitator includes an electrostatic air moving mechanism that creates electrical field pulses in order to charge (i.e., ionize) the air. The device alternatingly charges and repulses the surrounding air in order to create air movement. However, although the resulting airflow is quiet, it is also very weak, and such air cleaner systems take a very long time to cycle through an average room air volume. In addition, an electrostatic air movement does not allow much control over the airflow volume, and is an on or off type of air movement system.
Another type of electrostatic precipitator is offered for sale by Brookstone, Inc., Nashua, N.H. The Brookstone air cleaner includes a single fan that draws air in at the base, ducts the airflow to the top of the tower, and draws the airflow down through an elongate electrostatic precipitator. The Brookstone electrostatic precipitator is tall and narrow, and the downward airflow travels the height of the electrostatic precipitator. The airflow is ultimately exhausted at a port in the base.
This prior art device has several drawbacks. The long, serpentine airflow path results in airflow energy loss due to its length and its corners. In addition, the long, looping airflow path can cause increased noise of operation. Moreover, the airflow is constrained to travel the full height of the electrostatic precipitator, reducing the contact of the electrostatic precipitator with the airflow and impairing the efficiency of the prior art device.