The present invention relates to an X-ray tube with a structure, by which the charging of an insulating member, disposed inside a container, is effectively prevented to enable stable operation to be secured. This X-ray tube has an electron source that emits electrons, a target that generates X-rays in response to the incidence of the electrons, first and second electrons, each having a side face portion that extends along the direction of incidence of the electrons and forming a predetermined electric field between the electron source and the target, and an insulating support member, for supporting the first and second electrodes, being disposed along the side face portions of the first and second electrodes. The second electrode, of the first and second electrodes, is positioned closest to the target and has an anti-charging edge portion that is positioned at an X-ray generating surface end of the side face portion and that extends toward the exterior of the container so as to cover over the support members from the target.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray tube that generates X-rays.
2. Related Background Art
An X-ray tube has a container that houses an electron gun in a space depressurized to a high degree of vacuum, and generates X-rays by making electrons, generated by the electron gun, incident on a target. As such an X-ray tube, for example, a compact X-ray tube described in Patent Document 1, described below, is known. In this X-ray tube, a cylindrical accelerating electrode is mounted on a support plate that is fixed to an inner side of a side face of a glass tube, and an electron gun is disposed at one end and a target is disposed at the other end of the accelerating electrode. X-rays are generated by electrons being emitted from the electron gun and being made incident onto the target upon being accelerated by the accelerating electrode.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-14515
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-325853
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-265602


Apparatus for extending a vehicle cargo area is provided which includes a main panel having a first end adapted for pivotally attaching to a tailgate, the main panel including non-planar sections formed therein; and a pair of side panels pivotally attached to opposite sides of the main panel, the side panels including non-planar sections formed therein, wherein the apparatus is positionable in a stowed position having the side panels folded into abutment with the main panel such that the non-planar sections of the side panels nest with the non-planar sections of the main panel. Also provided is an apparatus for extending the vehicle cargo area of a vehicle is provided for a vehicle having a side-swing style tailgate having a first end and a second end, the first end pivotally mounted to a vehicle body, the apparatus including a main panel having a first end and a second end, the first end pivotally mountable to the second end of the side-swing tailgate, the main panel having an operative position at about a right angle with the side-swing tailgate and a closed position abutting the side-swing tailgate; a side panel having a first end pivotally mounted to the second end of the main panel, the side panel having an operative position at about a right angle from the main panel, and a closed position abutting the main panel; the side panel having a second end attachable to the vehicle; and a floor panel disposed within the area defined by the side-swing tailgate, the side panel, the main panel and the vehicle when the apparatus is in the operative position.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for extending vehicle cargo areas. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an easily storable assembly of a cargo area extending apparatus that is adaptable to either drop-down or side-swing tailgates.
2. Description of Related Art
It is common to provide drop-down and side-swing type tailgates for motor vehicles, for example, trucks, station wagons, etc. Such vehicles can be used for moving a wide variety of objects. On occasion, the cargo are may be insufficient in size to carry a desired object. In these situations, some individuals may leave the tailgate open and let the object extend beyond the length of the horizontal gate, or in the case of a side-swing gate, the end of the vehicle cargo area. In such instances, the objects are susceptible to falling out of the vehicle creating a hazard to other vehicles on the road.
Previous attempts have been made to extend vehicle cargo areas. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,872,239 to Bowness et al.; 4,531,773 to Smith; 4,778,213 to Palmer; 5,468,038 to Sauri; and 5,478,130 to Matulin et al., disclose various extending devices for fold-down type tailgates. However, none of these devices features a streamlined apparatus that will not add significantly to the overall thickness of the tailgate assembly itself and which maintain optimum structural integrity of the various components which make up the assembly.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved vehicle tailgate extending apparatus to extend the length of the cargo area and allow for the safe transport of objects larger then the original cargo area size while maintaining optimum structural integrity of the overall apparatus. Such an improved apparatus, when installed on a vehicle compliments the existing tailgate assembly geometry so as to appear as though the vehicle has not been modified significantly from the factory condition. Further, there exists a need for a tailgate extending apparatus which is simple to set up and to stow when not in use.

Apparatus for extending vehicle cargo areas


A moisture sensitive device includes a polymer capacitive moisture sensitive element and a heater. The polymer capacitive moisture sensitive element is formed by sequentially stacking a lower electrode, a moisture sensitive film made of an organic polymer resin material, and an upper electrode on an insulating substrate. The heater serves to heat the moisture sensitive film to restore the original characteristics thereof.

The present invention relates to a moisture sensitive device using a moisture sensitive element consisting of an organic polymer resin as a moisture sensitive material.
If a conventional polymer capacitive moisture sensitive element is exposed to a high temperature and a high humidity, an organic solvent atmosphere, cigarette smoke or a gas, or the like, the actual characteristics of the element drift from adjusted characteristics (a shift in characteristics of a moisture sensitive film). Once the characteristics drift, it takes much time to restore the original characteristics.
If the moisture sensitive element whose characteristics have drifted in this manner is replaceable, the element itself may be replaced with another element. Otherwise, an oscillator including an adjusted moisture sensitive element must be replaced.
In addition, an oscillator which includes an adjusting trimmer needs to be adjusted in situ by referring to an Assmann draft gage.
The replacement of a moisture sensitive element or an oscillator including a moisture sensitive element requires extra expenditure. Furthermore, such readjustment in situ by means of an Assmann draft gage demands an adjustment cost, and poses a problem in terms of adjustment precision.

Polymer capacitative moisture sensitive device comprising heating means


An electronic system such as a processor or computer system includes circuitry that supports a plurality of clock modes. The clock modes may be used for, for example, testing for critical paths. The clock modes include a variety of clock signal variations that may be utilized such as cycle stretch clock mode, pulse or delay fault mode, and stop mode which provide substantial flexibility in support of a multitude of tests. In one embodiment, a processor of an electronic system includes test clock mode circuitry to support and utilize test clock modes without dependence on an external bypass clock signal operating at processor operational frequencies. Furthermore, the processor implements the test clock modes at full processor operational frequencies. Additionally, a phase-locked loop is utilized to synchronize test mode clock signals with a reference clock signal to, for example, facilitate realistic operational conditions and acquisition of accurate test results. Additionally, in some test clock modes, the phase-locked loop may be synchronized prior to issuing test clock signals to, for example, further support realistic processor operational conditions during, for example, testing operations.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic systems utilizing a clock and more particularly relates to implementing one or more test clock modes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic systems such as computer systems have become ubiquitous. Computer systems typically include one or more processors and a bus to connect each processor to each other, if applicable, to memory, and to various input/output devices. These components of the computer system and other computer system circuitry typically include integrated circuitry which responds to an external clock signal supplied to the processor.
One method of increasing electronic system performance involves increasing the clock frequency at which the electronic system components operate. However, as frequencies increase, it has become difficult to externally supply a clock signal at the operational frequencies of all components due to, for example, electromagnetic emission problems and input circuit reactances. Thus, the external clock frequency is typically multiplied by, for example, 2, 3, or 4 using internal processor circuitry.
In many instances, the maximum operational frequency of an electronic circuit is dictated by critical paths i.e. circuit paths where combinational delays are greater than the time allocated for data transmission at the operational frequency. Critical paths may be identified with a "debug tester" that provides known input data to a processor and compares the processor output data with expected output data. If no errors occur, the processor operational frequency may be increased by increasing the external clock frequency, and the debug test may be repeated until an error in the processor output data occurs. Once the debug tester detects an error, debugging software attempts to identify the critical path among the many paths between the input terminal and output terminal. One clock cycle is generally used to propagate data from one path to the next. Thus, N clock cycles are generally utilized for data to propagate through N paths, where N is an integer. To identify the critical path, the debugging software may manipulate the external clock input signal to slow down the clock frequency during a predetermined cycle of the N clock cycles or stretch predetermined cycles. The particular altered cycle may be repeatedly changed both in identification and characteristically according to well-known algorithms until the output data contains no errors. Once the output data is error free, the critical path associated with the altered clock cycle may be isolated.
However, as device operating frequencies continue to increase, allowing manipulation of the external clock frequency to identify critical paths has become unsuitable for many high operational frequency devices.


An integrated airborne broadband data and television system is disclosed. The integrated system includes an aircraft mounted pointable antenna unit. Further, the integrated system includes pointing command electronics providing pointing commands to the antenna unit. The pointing commands are based on requested access to one of data services and television services. Further, the disclosed integrated system includes a processing unit directing signal information to one of a data transmitter receiver and a television signal receiver decoder unit.

Antennas and associated electronics systems for reception of satellite broadcasted signals designed for mounting on various vehicles such as but not limited to aircraft are known. Such systems may receive broadcast signals in the form of live television and radio and provide such data streams to passengers in the aircraft or other vehicle in the form of television broadcasts or radio broadcasts. Television broadcasts may be in the form of digital broadcast satellite (DBS) television service.
It has also been known to provide broadband data connectivity in the form of reception and transmission of radio signals to and from satellite systems from a vehicle such as an aircraft. Such broadband connectivity may provide connectivity to internet services such as the Worldwide Web, corporate internet services, virtual private networks (VPNs), etc. Further, broadband connectivity may provide passengers real time high speed data performance to all on-board users and may provide other data to both passengers and crew members of the aircraft or other vehicles.
Such systems require a significant amount of hardware as well as dedicated antennas on the vehicle or aircraft. In the case of an aircraft, it is desirable to minimize antennas and other equipment due to weight and space constraints.
Accordingly, there is a need for an integrated system which provides both broadband connectivity and DBS television service reception through an integrated system which does not require duplication of certain hardware portions.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

Integrated television and broadband data system for aircraft


A system and methods to incorporate, distribute, and execute associated links in online content is provided. The invention contemplates client side processing of online content received from one or more cooperating content servers to incorporate associated links by a client side computing application for display to participating users. The associated links when interacted offer one or more actions including but not limited to offering additional relevant content, executing cooperating applications, and performing searches. The processing of the online content is accomplished by parsing the content and comparing the content with a predefined list of associated links. If a match occurs, the associated link is incorporated for use. The invention further contemplates the automated update of the predefined list of associated links.

As online content delivery and interaction has become ubiquitous, online service providers have developed and are continuing to develop features to distinguish themselves from each other. From personalized content pages to highly interactive multi-media content, a variety of online features are currently being offered in the battle to attract new users and to retain existing users. These features are generally integrated within the offered content, however, some features may operate as independent applications (e.g. chat dialog boxes) that cooperate with offered content. These features are designed with the thought that in operation they engage participating users to request additional content.
Currently, several features are automatically integrated in offered content. These schemes have been implemented for automatically integrating associations for initiating these described online functions, features, and operations. Exemplary functions, features, and operations may include automatically addressing an e-mail message, performing a look up in a cooperating database, providing a hyperlink to one or more Internet web pages, and providing enhanced content.
One current scheme for employing an associated link involves user selection of individual words, phrases, or names in content offered by offline computing applications that is viewable on a display screen. In operation, a context sensitive menu is automatically provided to the user for the selected word, phrase, or name. However, the context sensitive menu is based on a predefined list of words, phrases and names that may be stored in a static data store cooperating with the offline computing application. For example, using this scheme, if a user selects the text "Barry Bonds" within generated or stored content, a short biography of the baseball player Barry Bonds may automatically be called up from a local, cooperating data file and displayed to the participating user. For words, phrases, or names not in the predefined list, when the user manually selects the word, phrase or name, this scheme may either initiate the execution of a cooperating application (e.g. online dictionary) but does not offer additional enhanced content.
The incorporation and execution of associated links in online content is generally realized through a string of communications between the computing application that displays the content (and corresponding associated links) and the content server housing and generating the desired content. In operation, content may be requested by a participating user through a computing application from a content server. The content server, in response, may aggregate relevant content for distribution to the requesting computing application. As part of request fulfillment, the content may be processed by the server before distribution to the requesting computing application to determine if associated links are to be incorporated into the content to be distributed. Stated differently, prior to distributing the aggregated and/or generated content to the requesting computing application, the content server may parse the content and compare the content to a list of predefined associated links to determine if these associated links are to be included in the distributed content. Additional communications subsequently occur between the computing application and the content server when participating users interact with offered associated links. These communications may result in a number of events including but not limited to the distribution of enhanced content, the execution of cooperating computing applications, the execution of a search feature, etc.
However, there are a number of limiting factors with current schemes to incorporate and execute associated links in online content. First, current schemes place a heavy burden on content servers to perform significant processing when offering associated links thereby draining valuable content server resources that may be better used to attend to additional content requests. Secondly, by having the content server process associated links, there is an increase in latency between the content request and request fulfillment. This latency directly impacts participating users' content navigation and interaction experiences. Lastly, current schemes don not allow for portability of content having associated links between cooperating client-side computing applications. That is, online content is generally displayed to participating users through a browser application. However, today's word-processing and email applications are now capable of displaying online content that was once viewable only on computer browser-type applications. In operation, these non-browser computing applications are capable of displaying and executing online content but are not in communication with the content server that offers the content. The online content may be imported into these non-browser type applications or in the case of an e-mail application may be included as part of an e-mail. In either event, under current schemes, associated links that would be displayable on browser-type computing applications are not displayable on non-browser-type computing applications as these latter type of computing applications are generally not in communication with the content servers processing such associated links.
Therefore it is appreciated that there exists a need for a system and methods that integrate and employ associated links in content that overcome the prior art.


A compressor can compress an image by reducing the amount of data while preserving the information. Some compressors use run length coding wherein image data is converted into a series of run length code words. The efficiency of run length coding can be increased with the introduction of differential run length code words. The differential run length code words can augment the original set of run length codes. Differential run length codes vary from current run length codes by encoding runs of differences.

When data is generated, it must often be stored or transmitted. Data compression is the art of reducing the amount of data while retaining the information contained within the data. Run length codes are a simple and effective means of data compression. U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,977 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,222, both awarded to Eldridge, et. al., disclose run length coding systems and are included here by reference.
An example of run length coded data is "20 Ps" to indicate the letter P repeated 20 times in a row. The data itself is "PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP". As can be seen, the coded information is five characters long and occupies 25% of the space of the data.
The Eldridge patents disclose specific run length codes and systems for image compression that enable reducing the amount of data without losing any information. Furthermore, they disclose systems for embedding hints and for selecting between data sources. As such, they also disclose the current methods and systems for run length coding of image data.
Greater data compression than that obtainable using current methods and system is possible and greater compression saves in storage costs and transmission time. A need therefore exists for systems and methods that can compress and decompress an image to a greater extent than current methods and systems allow.

Image compression and decompression using adaptive run length encoding


A method of producing metal chlorides is disclosed in which chlorine gas is introduced into liquid Cd. CdCl2 salt is floating on the liquid Cd and as more liquid CdCl2 is formed it separates from the liquid Cd metal and dissolves in the salt. The salt with the CdCl2 dissolved therein contacts a metal which reacts with CdCl2 to form a metal chloride, forming a mixture of metal chloride and CdCl2. After separation of bulk Cd from the salt, by gravitational means, the metal chloride is obtained by distillation which removes CdCl2 and any Cd dissolved in the metal chloride.

There is an ongoing problem concerning the development of a method of producing large quantities of metal chloride in a manner which is not corrosive to the containment vessel. The use of gaseous HCl or Cl2 as the chlorinating agent results in extensive levels of corrosion in ferrous metal containers and any associated ferrous components. To counter this, the use of non-corrosive reactants forms the basis for the present invention. It is known that CdCl2 is not a corrosive chlorinating agent for ferrous metals and can be combined with various more active metals to form a corresponding chloride. If CdCl2 is purchased in its commercial form and then purified, the metal process becomes too expensive and also creates Cd metal waste. Applicants developed an alternate method by combining gaseous chlorine with liquid cadmium to form pure CdCl2 for use as a chlorinating agent in combination with various metals to produce the desired metal chloride while not creating a large Cd waste residue. This occurs since the Cd is continually recycled in the process.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the production of a metal chloride in volatile CdCl2, using Cl2 as the chloride source in a manner which does not result in corrosion of the containment vessel and associate manufacturing apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus which produces metal chloride at a reasonable cost since corrosion is eliminated and Cl2, not CdCl2 is the primary chloride source.
Additional advantages, objects and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and by practice of the invention.

Apparatus and method for making metal chloride salt product

United States of America Department of Energy


An image display apparatus which employs a polarization-sensitive scattering element (PSSE). In the display, a light source is used to illuminate a panel which modulates light in order to form an image. Positioned between the light source and the panel is the PSSE which acts to effectively separate light of different polarizations. The PSSE provides a means for recapturing light energy which would otherwise be lost in the display, while reducing degradation and heat build-up due to light absorption.

The performance potential and flexibility of polarized displays, especially those utilizing the electro-optic properties of liquid crystalline materials, has led to a dramatic growth in the use of these displays for a wide variety of applications. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) offer the full range from extremely low cost and low power performance (e.g. wristwatch displays) to very high performance and high brightness (e.g. AMLCDs for avionics applications, computer monitors and HDTV projectors). Much of this flexibility comes from the light valve nature of these devices, in that the imaging mechanism is decoupled from the light generation mechanism. While this is a tremendous advantage, it is often necessary to trade performance in certain categories such as luminance capability or light source power consumption in order to maximize image quality or affordability. This reduced optical efficiency can also lead to performance restrictions under high illumination due to heating or fading of the light-absorbing mechanisms commonly used in the displays.
In portable display applications such as backlit laptop computer monitors or other instrument displays, battery life is greatly influenced by the power requirements of the display backlight. Thus, functionality must be compromised to minimize size, weight and cost. Avionics displays and other high performance systems demand high luminance but yet place restrictions on power consumption due to thermal and reliability constraints. Projection displays are subject to extremely high illumination levels, and both heating and reliability must be managed. Head mounted displays utilizing polarized light valves are particularly sensitive to power requirements, as the temperature of the display and backlight must be maintained at acceptable levels.
Prior art displays suffer from low efficiency, poor luminance uniformity, insufficient luminance and excessive power consumption which generates unacceptably high levels of heat in and around the display. Prior art displays also exhibit a non-optimal environmental range due to dissipation of energy in temperature sensitive components. Backlight assemblies are often excessively large in order to improve the uniformity and efficiency of the system.
Several areas for efficiency improvement are readily identified. Considerable effort has gone into improving the efficiency of the light source (e.g. fluorescent lamps) and optimizing the reflectivity and light distribution of backlight cavities to provide a spatially uniform, high luminance light source behind the display. Pixel aperture ratios are made as high as the particular LCD approach and fabrication method will economically allow. Where color filters are used, these materials have been optimized to provide a compromise between efficiency and color gamut Reflective color filters have been proposed for returning unused spectral components to a backlight cavity. When allowed by the display requirements, some improvement can also be obtained by constricting the range of illumination angles for the displays via directional techniques.
Even with this prior art optimization, lamp power levels must be undesirably high to achieve the desired luminance. When fluorescent lamps are operated at sufficiently high power levels to provide a high degree of brightness for a cockpit environment, for example, the excess heat generated may damage the display. To avoid such damage, this excess heat must be dissipated. Typically, heat dissipation is accomplished by directing an air stream to impinge upon the components in the display. Unfortunately, the cockpit environment contains dirt and other impurities which are also carried into the display with the impinging air, if such forced air is even available. Presently available LCD displays cannot tolerate the influx of dirt and are soon too dim and dirty to operate effectively.
Another drawback of increasing the power to a fluorescent lamp is that the longevity of the lamp decreases dramatically as ever higher levels of surface luminance are demanded. The result is that aging is accelerated which may cause abrupt failure in short periods of time when operating limitations are exceeded.
Considerable emphasis has also been placed on optimizing the polarizers for these displays. By improving the pass-axis transmittance (approaching the theoretical limit of 50%), the power requirements have been reduced, but the majority of the available light is still absorbed, constraining the efficiency and leading to polarizer reliability issues in high throughput systems as well as potential image quality concerns.
A number of polarization schemes have been proposed for recapturing a portion of the otherwise lost light and reducing heating in projection display systems. These include the use of Brewster angle reflections, thin film polarizers, birefringent crystal polarizers and cholesteric circular polarizers. While somewhat effective, these prior art approaches are very constrained in terms of illumination or viewing angle, with several having significant wavelength dependence as well. Many of these add considerable complexity, size or cost to the projection system, and are impractical on direct view displays. None of these prior art solutions are readily applicable to high performance direct view systems requiring wide viewing angle performance.
Also taught in the prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,897) is the replacement of the rear pixel electrode in an LCD with a wire grid polarizer for improving the effective resolution of twisted nematic reflective displays, although this reference falls short of applying the reflective polarizing element for polarization conversion and recapture. The advantages which can be gained by the approach, as embodied in the prior art, are rather limited. It allows, in principle, the mirror in a reflective LCD to be placed between the LC material and the substrate, thus allowing the TN mode to be used in reflective mode with a minimum of parallax problems. While this approach has been proposed as a transflective configuration as well, using the wire grid polarizer instead of the partially-silvered mirror or comparable element, the prior art does not provide means for maintaining high contrast over normal lighting configurations for transflective displays. This is because the display contrast in the backlit mode is in the opposite sense of that for ambient lighting. As a result, there will be a sizable range of ambient lighting conditions in which the two sources of light will cancel each other and the display will be unreadable. A further disadvantage of the prior art is that achieving a diffusely reflective polarizer in this manner is not at all straightforward, and hence the reflective mode is most applicable to specular, projection type systems.

Method for making a polarization-sensitive optical element


A gas flowmeter capable of reducing a secular change comprises a silicon semiconductor substrate formed with a cavity and a heat element formed above the cavity of the semiconductor substrate by way of an insulating film. The heat element is a silicon (Si) semiconductor thin film impurity-doped at high concentration. Stoichiometrically stable silicon nitride (Si3N4) thin films as barrier layers which less permeate and less absorb hydrogen in the heat generating temperature range of the heat element are formed above and below the silicon (Si) semiconductor thin film.

The present invention relates to a gas flowmeter and a manufacturing method thereof and, more particularly, it relates to a thermal gas flowmeter in which a heat-generating resistor or heat element is made up of a silicon (Si) semiconductor thin film, as well as a manufacturing method thereof.
Heretofore, thermal gas flowmeters have been predominant as flowmeters for an amount of intake air provided in an electronic control fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine such as for automobiles, or a flowmeter for various kinds of gases used for the production of semiconductors and for hydrogen/oxygen for use in fuel cells since the thermal gas flowmeter can detect the amount of the mass gas directly. Among them, a gas flowmeter manufactured by semiconductor micro-machining technique has been noted since it can reduce the cost and can be driven at a low power.
As the gas flowmeters using existent semiconductor substrates, those using polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) instead of platinum used so far have been known in view of the heat resistance and the material cost as the heat element as describe, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 2880651.
However, where polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) is used as the heat element as described in this patent No. 2880651, there has recently been found a problem of secular change in which the resistance value of the heat element changes with lapse of time.

Method of manufacturing a gas flow meter


A modular vise system for holding working objects. The system includes a fixture plate and an adjustable vise member for coupling the working object to the fixture plate. The adjustable vise member is configured to locate and secure the working object in relation to the fixture plate. The adjustable vise member includes a body, a moveable assembly, and a gripper. The body has a fastener configured to allow the body to selectively translate relative to the fixture plate. The body has a cavity formed within it. The moveable assembly is housed at least partially within the cavity of the body and configured to selectively translate relative to the body, thereby allowing further precision locating of the working object. The gripper is configured to secure the working object. The gripper is coupled to the moveable assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to work-holding tooling equipment. In particular, the present application relates to a modular vise system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tooling fixtures are commonly used in the prior art. Tooling components are used to hold a work-piece to the fixture. One type of component is a dovetail vise. This component has some limitations. Typically, the dovetail vise has a relatively large rectangular body of fixed size containing multiple sliding pads used to secure the work-piece. The pads are typically parallel and slide in the same direction. The distance between opposing pads is limited as well. Thus the shape and size of the work-piece is limited.
Furthermore, the size of the vise does not change with respect to the size of the work-piece. If a small work-piece is used, only a portion of the pads may be used to secure the work-piece where the rest of the pads remain unused. This results in lower fixture plate efficiency because the vise consumes a larger surface area of the fixture than needed to secure the work-piece, thereby lessening usable fixture space.
Often the work-piece rests on the bottom of the vise and is secured from the sides with the pads. In instances where tooling requires holes drilled through the entire height of the work-piece, damage to the vise could occur. Therefore, sacrifice plates are typically used beneath or to the sides of the working-piece.
Although great strides have been made in the area of tooling vises, considerable shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.


Provided is a system for detecting a merchant point of compromise. More specifically, provided is a system for detecting a merchant point of compromise comprising a computer system in electronic communication with a transaction processing network containing transaction information, the computer system comprising a point-of-compromise detector, said point-of-compromise detector performing the steps of electronically receiving from the transaction processing network the transaction information; generating at least one of an undirected network or a directed network based on the transaction information; extracting features from the at least one of the undirected network or the directed network; and identifying one or more point-of-compromise merchants based on the extracted features.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for detecting points of compromise of accounts to identify fraudulent transactions, and more specifically, to a system and method for detecting merchant points of compromise using network analysis and modeling.
Related Art
It is estimated that credit card compromise fraud loss is over two billion dollars per year in the United States. Issuers, acquirers, and/or network associations have tried numerous ways to identify and detect credit card compromise fraud loss early. Conventionally, a group of rules for the authorization of transactions are applied in order to generate corresponding alerts. In some of the conventional approaches to credit card compromise detection, the relationship between different fraud transactions can be analyzed.
Recently, there has much research using network analysis in the field of fraud detection, such as anti-money laundering activities or assets and auto insurance fraud detection. This network analysis approach has had some success in identifying "hidden" relationships between different items in the fraud network. While network analysis has shown to be a promising tool in early identification and detection of fraud in some environments, there remains a need to further develop more robust and efficient approaches to detecting merchant points of compromise.

System and method for detecting merchant points of compromise using network analysis and modeling


A method of evaluating the absorbency of an absorbent article comprises the steps of: (i) providing an absorbent article comprising a topsheet and having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end; (ii) disposing the absorbent article in a flat configuration in a plane defined by the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis of the absorbent article; (iii) twisting the longitudinal ends in opposite directions in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; (iv) twisting the longitudinal ends in directions opposite that of step (iii); (v) applying artificial bodily fluid to the topsheet of said absorbent article during steps (iii) and/or (iv); and (vi) repeating steps (iii) and (iv) after the artificial bodily fluid is applied to the topsheet.

Absorbent articles, such as feminine hygiene articles, are important for consumers. In particular, comfort and protection against leaks are important benefits, especially for people who lead active lifestyles. Absorbent articles are therefore subject to many stresses during wear. Several factors can impact a consumer's perception of comfort and protection against leaks, such as flexibility of the article during wear, ability of the article to adapt to her movements during wear, and the ability of the article to absorb bodily fluids encountered in stress conditions during wear.
It is therefore desired to develop a method for evaluating the absorbency of an absorbent article under conditions that simulate the twisting that the article undergoes during wear and during which time the absorbent article absorbs bodily fluids.

Method for evaluating absorbency of an absorbent article


A semiconductor device includes a first vertical field effect transistor (VFET) formed on a substrate, and including a first fin and a first gate formed on the first fin, a second VFET formed on the substrate and connected to the first VFET, and including a second fin and a second gate formed on the second fin, and a third VFET formed on the substrate and including a third fin, the first gate being formed on the third fin.

The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor device and method of making the semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device which includes first and second vertical field effect transistors (VFETs) connected in parallel and third and fourth VFETs connected in series.
Related art devices such as NAND and NOR devices are formed using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. These CMOS devices may be formed, for example, by using a traditional (e.g., horizontal) transistor configuration.
For example, in forming a CMOS NAND device, an n-well is formed in a p-type substrate, and a pair of p-type field effect transistors (pFETs) is formed in the n-well, and connected in parallel. A pair of n-type FETs (nFETs) is then formed on the substrate adjacent to the pair of nFETs, and connected in series.
Thus, the related art CMOS NAND device has a physical layout that covers a large area of the substrate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor device and method of forming the semiconductor device


An adjustable material-conveying duct and a flow area adjustment device are described. The duct may include two wall sections, the second wall section having two mounting connections, oriented at an angle with respect to one another. When the second wall section is mounted to the first wall section via a first mounting connection, the wall sections form a first angle in a flow channel of the duct. When the second wall section is mounted to the first wall section via a second mounting connection, the wall sections form a second, different angle in the flow channel. A flow sensor, controller and automatic adjustment device may also be utilized to control the orientation of the wall sections.

In various instances it may be useful to provide a duct with a variable flow geometry for conveying material. One potential application for such a duct may be in the separation of cotton from green bolls and other debris. For example, in a harvester such as a cotton stripper, cotton and other material (e.g., green bolls and other debris, which may be generally referred to as "trash") may be gathered from a field and routed to a separation duct. The separation duct may direct the cotton and other material through one or more turns in the duct between the duct entrance and the duct exit, in order to deposit material into an attached basket or other receptacle. As the material moves through these turns the lighter cotton may trace paths of generally smaller radii than the radii of the paths of heavier green bolls and other debris. This may beneficially allow for separation of the heavier green bolls and other debris from the lighter cotton.
Depending on the characteristics of the gathered material (e.g., cotton, green bolls, and other debris), however, turns for separating material (as described above) may also present a choke point for the duct. For example, although a tighter turn in a duct may lead to more significant separation of the heavier debris (i.e., because the debris cannot trace a small enough radius to follow the turn), this may also lead to clogging of the duct as cotton and other material bunches together at the relatively tight restriction of the turn. It may therefore be useful to provide a turn in a separation duct that is tight enough to provide appropriate material separation, while not so tight as to result in clogging. The flow of material through a given duct, however, may vary depending on a variety of factors including the type of pick-up header utilized for harvesting, the speed of travel of the harvesting vehicle, the type and yield of the cotton, the arrangement of the relevant field, and so on. Accordingly, one particular duct geometry (e.g., a separation curve of particular cross-section and curvature) may be well-suited to prevent clogging under one set of conditions but not under others.
In this light, it may be useful to provide a duct of variable geometry, in order to provide for effective separation of cotton from other material under a variety of conditions. Further, such a variable geometry duct may be useful in a variety of other applications, including other material separation operations.

Material-conveying duct with adjustable geometry


A toner for electrostatic image development, comprising a resin binder comprising a crystalline polyester; a releasing agent comprising a wax having a melting point of from 60 to 85° C. and a penetration at 25° C. of from 4 to 10; and a colorant. The toner for electrostatic image development can be used, for instance, for the development of a latent image formed in electrophotography, electrostatic recording method, electrostatic printing method or the like.

Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-2001-222138 discloses a toner for electrophotography containing a resin binder containing a crystalline polyester, and a wax having a melting point lower than a softening point of the crystalline polyester by 10° C. or more, whereby improving low-temperature fixing ability, offset resistance, blocking resistance and durability of the toner.
Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-2000-131889 discloses a pulverized toner containing a mixture of a styrenic resin having a carboxyl group as a functional group, a paraffin wax having a melting point of 75° C., and a Fischer-Tropsch wax having a melting point of 105° C., whereby improving the plasticizing action and releasing action concurrently.
Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-Hei 1-161259 discloses a toner for electrostatic image development, containing a resin for a toner containing a specified binding substance of a crystalline polyester and a specified amorphous vinyl polymer, and a paraffin wax, whereby improving low-temperature fixing ability, hot-offset resistance, under-offset resistance, toner storage property, and toner fluidity in a two-component development method.

Toner for electrostatic image development


A magneto-optical recording medium includes a substrate, a reproducing layer formed on the substrate, a recording layer formed on the reproducing layer, and an intermediate layer formed between the reproducing layer and the recording layer. The reproducing layer has an in-plane magnetization film at room temperature. The recording layer has a Curie temperature lower than that of the reproducing layer. The intermediate layer has a Curie temperature lower than those of the reproducing layer and the recording layer. The reproducing layer changes to a perpendicular magnetization film at a temperature between room temperature and the Curie temperature of the intermediate layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optical recording medium and a magneto-optical recording method, in which information is recorded by forming bits of reversed magnetic domains using a laser beam and an external magnetic field, and the information is read out by utilizing a magneto-optical effect by irradiating a polarized laser beam and, more particularly, to a magneto-optical recording medium and a recording method, which can improve the data transfer rate by verifying recorded information simultaneously with information recording.
2. Related Background Art
As a rewritable high-density recording system, a magneto-optical recording medium on which information is recorded by writing magnetic domains in a magnetic thin film using thermal energy of a semiconductor laser, and from which the information is read out using a magneto-optical effect, has received a lot of attention.
In recent years, a demand has arisen for increasing the recording speed of the magneto-optical recording medium.
In the magneto-optical recording method, the most basic technique of rewriting information includes the following three processes performed on a rotating disk-shaped recording medium.
(1) A DC external magnetic field is applied in an erasing direction, and a continuous laser beam is irradiated onto a position to be subjected to recording, thereby erasing old information. PA1 (2) A DC external magnetic field is applied in a recording direction, and a laser beam modulated in accordance with recording information is irradiated onto the position to be subjected to recording, thereby recording information. PA1 (3) Finally, a continuous weak laser beam is irradiated onto the position to be subjected to recording to read out recorded information, and it is confirmed if the information is normally recorded (verifying operation). PA1 a substrate; PA1 a first magnetic layer which is formed on the substrate and has an in-plane magnetization film at room temperature; PA1 a second magnetic layer which is formed on the first magnetic layer and has a Curie temperature lower than a Curie temperature of the first magnetic layer; and PA1 a third magnetic layer which is formed between the first and second magnetic layers, and has a Curie temperature lower than the Curie temperatures of the first and second magnetic layers, PA1 wherein the first magnetic layer changes to a perpendicular magnetization film at a temperature between room temperature and the Curie temperature of the third magnetic layer. PA1 a substrate; PA1 a first magnetic layer which is formed on the substrate and has an in-plane magnetization film at room temperature; PA1 a second magnetic layer which is formed on the first magnetic layer and has a Curie temperature lower than a Curie temperature of the first magnetic layer; and PA1 a third magnetic layer which is formed between the first and second magnetic layers, and has a Curie temperature lower than the Curie temperatures of the first and second magnetic layers, and PA1 in which the first magnetic layer changes to a perpendicular magnetization film at a temperature between room temperature and the Curie temperature of the third magnetic layer, PA1 the method comprising the steps of: PA1 irradiating a recording laser spot, PA1 wherein the first magnetic layer has an inplane magnetization in a low-temperature region in the spot, and the first magnetic layer has a perpendicular magnetization and a temperature of the third magnetic layer exceeds a Curie temperature to cut off exchange coupling between the first and second magnetic layers in a high-temperature region of the spot; PA1 applying an external magnetic field modulated according to recording information to record information in the second magnetic layer, and orienting a direction of magnetization, in the high-temperature region, of the first magnetic layer in a direction of the external magnetic field; and PA1 verifying the information by detecting reflected light, from the medium, of the recording laser spot.
In the magneto-optical recording medium, since information cannot often be normally recorded due to defects, deterioration, or corrosion of the recording medium, dust, failure of a magneto-optical recording apparatus, and the like, the verifying operation of recorded information in process (3) is indispensable.
As can be seen from the above description, rewriting information requires the time it takes for three revolutions of the disk. If this operation can be achieved by two revolutions of the disk or one revolution of the disk, a high-speed processing upon rewriting information can be realized.
In order to achieve this, various methods have been proposed. For example, in order to simultaneously perform processes (1) and (2) (i.e., perform them in one revolution of the disk), a method of irradiating a continuous laser beam under an external magnetic field modulated according to recording information (magnetic field modulation overwrite), a method of irradiating a laser beam which is modulated to high and low levels in accordance with recording information under a DC external magnetic field using a special medium (optical modulation overwrite), and the like have been proposed.
In order to perform process (3) simultaneously with processes (1) and (2), a method in which two laser beams are used in a single optical system, so that recording is performed by the first beam, and recorded information is verified by the second beam, has been proposed. When all the above-mentioned methods are used, processes (1), (2), and (3) can be completed within one revolution of the disk.
When the verifying operation of recorded information in process (3) is achieved by using two laser beams in a single optical system, the optical system is complicated. In addition, since the optical system requires high mechanical precision, it becomes bulky and complex, and its cost increases.
Thus, a method of performing the verifying operation in process (3) simultaneously with the magnetic field modulation overwrite using a single laser beam, thereby completing processes (1), (2), and (3) within one revolution of the disk, has been disclosed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-207040 or 5-20720 has proposed a method in which a magneto-optical recording medium comprising a two-layered magnetic film is used, and the verifying operation of recorded information is performed simultaneously with recording using light reflected by a magnetic layer having a high Curie temperature. On the other hand, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-182269 has proposed a method of similarly performing the verifying operation simultaneously with recording by arranging an intermediate layer with a low Curie temperature between a reproducing layer and a recording layer.
In recent years, a demand has arisen for a large-capacity recording medium by increasing the recording density in addition to an increase in recording speed of the magneto-optical recording medium. In order to meet such a demand, a technique for improving the recording density by magnetic super-resolution by modifying the structure of the recording medium and the reading method has been developed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-93058 has proposed to increase the line recording density and the track density in such a manner that a medium comprising a reproducing layer and a recording layer is used, and after the direction of magnetization of the reproducing layer aligns in one direction using an initialization magnetic field before reproduction of a signal, a signal held on the recording layer is transferred to the reproducing layer while applying a reproduction magnetic field so as to reduce any intersymbol interference upon reproduction, thus allowing reproduction of a signal having a period equal to or smaller than the diffraction limit of light.
However, with the above-mentioned verifying method, it is difficult to perform a reliable verifying operation, and to reproduce information recorded at a high density. The reasons for these problems will be explained below.
FIGS. 1A to 1C respectively show the light spot, magnetization state, and temperature distribution obtained when the verifying operation described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-207040 or 5-20720 is performed. FIGS. 2A to 2C respectively show the light spot, magnetization state, and temperature distribution obtained when the verifying method described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-182269 is executed. FIGS. 1A and 2A show a generally circular light spot incident on a recording track, with an old information detection region being shaded and a new information detection region being unshaded.
As shown in FIGS. 1B, 1C or 2B, 2C, the temperature distribution formed upon irradiation of a laser beam onto a magneto-optical recording medium normally extends in the traveling direction of a medium. FIGS. 1B or 2B show a laser beam incident on a reproducing layer side, while a recording magnetic field is incident on the recording layer side of the medium. More specifically, the temperature of a medium portion in a region, opposite to the medium traveling direction, in the light spot does not rise very much. It is difficult to raise the temperature of this low-temperature region to a temperature near the Curie temperature of the recording layer due to the upper limits of the thermal diffusion rate in the medium and the laser power. Therefore, the light spot always includes a region where the temperature of the recording layer portion does not reach its Curie temperature, as shown in FIGS. 1B or 2B, and magnetization of old information remains in this recording layer portion.
In order to realize a state wherein the direction of magnetization of the reproducing layer aligns in the direction of an external magnetic field to form a magnetic wall at an interface with the recording layer while the reproducing layer and the recording layer have interface magnetic wall energies high enough to apply an exchange coupling force capable of magnetic transfer therebetween, a magnetic field as large as 3 kOe or more is normally required as the external magnetic field. For this reason, the magneto-optical recording apparatus must have a large-size magnet, and it is impossible for a floating type magnetic head, normally used in the magnetic field modulation overwrite, to apply such a large magnetic field.
For this reason, in the magneto-optical recording medium and the verifying method described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-207040 or 5-20720, an exchange coupling force acts between the reproducing layer and the recording layer in the low-temperature region in the light spot, thus forming a region where old information is transferred to the reproducing layer, as shown in FIG. 1B. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the track width is decreased, the old information is detected simultaneously with new information as well as information or neighboring tracks in the verifying operation. For this reason, it is difficult to obtain a reliable verification signal. Furthermore, with this method, it is almost impossible to simultaneously realize the super-resolution effect.
In the magneto-optical recording medium and the verifying method described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-182269, as well, since old information is detected in the low-temperature region before the temperature of the intermediate layer reaches its Curie temperature, as shown in FIG. 2A showing old and new information detection regions, and in FIG. 2B showing the magnetization state, it is difficult to obtain a reliable verification signal. With this method, although the super-resolution effect for increasing the line recording density can be realized, it is impossible to increase the recording density in the track direction, and the magneto-optical recording apparatus becomes complicated.
Furthermore, in the method of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-93058 proposed as a method of realizing the super-resolution, an initial magnetic field as large as about 3 kOe before reproduction, and a reproduction magnetic field are required, resulting in a bulky, high-cost magneto-optical recording apparatus.

Information recording method capable of verifying recorded information simultaneously with recording, and magneto-optical recording medium used in the method


An implant for interbody fusion of vertebrae comprising a unibody cage structure having an enveloping cage volume and a minimized material volume. The cage structure comprises a first and a second generally planar ring member, each ring member formed from an opposing pair of lengthwise joists and an opposing pair of cross joists, the joists together forming a large opening through the ring member. The ring members are fixedly sandwiched on a plurality of support members, the support members holding the ring members in a spaced apart relationship to thereby provide a large void volume relative to the enveloping cage volume, to thereby allow for receipt of a large volume of bone graft within the cage structure.

Various implants have been developed for use in lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) and anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF), including cages. Current LIF and ACDF cages emphasize structural support over openness, which decreases options for the use of interbody graft to enhance fixation and fusion. There is a need for interbody fusion cages that overcome the shortcomings of the prior art. The present invention is directed primarily to improved fusion cage implants for transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), direct lateral lumbar interbody fusion (DLIF), anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), and anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF), together with methods of use and of manufacture of such implants.


A new and distinct Anisodontea capensis plant named ‘IB609-3’ which is characterized by a compact, densely-foliaged growth, an abundance of light red-purple flowers with a dark red-purple center, dark red-purple floral veins, and the stability of these characteristics from generation to generation.

Parentage: 'IB609-3' is a seedling selection resulting from the controlled cross pollination of Anisodontea capensis 'Dryspell Raspberry' (not patented), the seed parent, with Anisodontea capensis 'El Royo' (not patented), the pollen parent. In the late summer of 2016, the above pollination occurred at the breeding site located in Wonga Park, Victoria, Australia. Seeds were collected from 'Dryspell Raspberry', sown, and seedlings were grown out to maturity, during the spring of 2016. One of the resulting plants was observed to exhibit medium to dense foliage, and shorter plant height, as well as an abundance of two-toned flowers. The seedling was isolated for further evaluation to confirm the distinctness and stability of the characteristics first observed. Upon confirmation of distinctness and stability, 'IB609-3' was selected for commercialization.
Asexual Reproduction: 'IB609-3' was first asexually reproduced by way of softwood stem cuttings in the spring of 2016 at the inventor's nursery in Wonga Park, Victoria, Australia. Through eight subsequent generations, the unique features of this cultivar have proven to be stable and true to type.


A method and system for generating, inventorying, storing and managing records and record forms is disclosed. The record management system and method utilizes a system record generator which generates a plurality of policies, record forms and the like in response to a questionnaire record. Customized record forms and policies are generated and stored in a unique record receiver having indicia for clearly identifying forms therein. A record holder is also provided for storing, inventorying, and managing the record forms used. The method and system are particularly useful for managing and insuring that record forms are completed for employees in a company by providing convenient means for visually identifying record forms, such as employment applications and the like, for ascertaining when one or more forms is missing by the presence of an empty compartment in the record holder.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a record management system and method and, more particularly, to a system and method for generating customized policies, forms and for providing a record management system for receiving and storing both unused and used record forms.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, many companies have spent considerable amounts of time, effort and money generating policies and appropriate forms for use in their business. It was not uncommon, for example, to have a single employee fill out numerous forms prior to, during and after employment with the company. Typically, the forms were not organized into a single record receiver. Also, after the forms were used, there was no convenient means for identifying the forms or for storing them for a single employee. For example, for a single employee of the company there would simply be a single folder with any forms associated with that employee simply being situated therein. Typically, there was no way of identifying which forms were in the folder. Also, the forms were not organized into any coherent or convenient order. Unfortunately, this sometimes resulted in forms which were required to be completed to be overlooked.
What is needed therefore, is a record management system and method which will conveniently generate the necessary forms, provide storage for the necessary forms prior to use and subsequently store the necessary forms into a convenient storage receiver.

Method and system for generating, storing and managing records


The invention relates to a soft-magnetic material comprising a micro fraction composed of particles of a soft-magnetic material having a particle size in the range from 1 to 100 μm and a nano fraction composed of particles of a soft-magnetic material having a particle size in the range from 100 to 200 nm, where the proportion of the nano fraction based on the total mass of micro fraction and nano fraction is from 5 to 70% by mass and the particles of the micro fraction and the particles of the nano fraction optionally consist of the same material, and also a process for producing an article composed of the soft-magnetic material.

Materials to shield against electromagnetic fields are becoming increasingly important in industry. Electromagnetic waves can, for instance when used in high-frequency electronic components, lead to interference in nearby components. Furthermore, there is a general desire to reduce electromagnetic radiation.
In recent years, composites, in particular, have been found to be useful for these purposes. Such composites generally comprise a magnetically active material, usually a ferrite, in a polymer matrix. Thus, for example, the German patent application DE 102 22 459 A1 discloses such a composite comprising a modified ferrite powder, electrically conductive nonmetal particles and a magnetic binder in a polymer matrix. A preferred ferrite for this purpose is manganese-zinc ferrite.
Similar materials are now also commercially available and are marketed, for example, by EPCOS AG under the name C350 or C351 ("Ferrites and Accessories"; EPCOS AG; Edition 09/2006), by Vogt (product catalogue "Inductive Component and Modules"; Vogt Elelctronic Components GmbH; Edition 2005) and by Kerafol GmbH (safety data sheet "Keratherm Typ 86/XX"; 6 2000).
However, the known materials have a series of disadvantages. One important aspect is that the density of the known materials is generally below 2.5 g/cm3 because of a very high proportion of polymers. A considerable volume is therefore necessary for effective shielding.
A further disadvantage is that these known materials have to be processed by injection moulding and usually have a very low mechanical strength. Thus, the tensile strengths are generally below 2.5 N/mm2.
Ethylene-vinyl copolymer or polyamide is predominantly used for the polymer matrix in the known composites of this type. This limits the use temperature to regions significantly below 200° C., which leads to the materials not being able to be used for all purposes.
In respect of the magnetic properties, too, the materials were not yet fully satisfactory. Although it was possible to realize initial permeability values μi of from 7 to 20 by means of these materials, it was not possible to achieve values below this range nor to establish a targeted setting of the value in advance. The materials were also unsatisfactory in respect of the achievable saturation magnetization or the coercivity Hc.
A further composite and a production process for this are disclosed in the patent application EP 1 564 767 A2. This patent application proposes sieving a magnetic powder material in order to obtain two fractions. The one fraction which remains on the sieve is subsequently coated with an insulating and binding dielectric material. The fine fraction which passes through the sieve is subsequently mixed with the coated magnetic powder again and the mixture is pressed at a temperature below the glass transition temperature. The compressed product is heated and baked with a thermoplastic resin. The magnetic permeability μi attains values of about 350. The citation starts out from particle sizes in the range from 0.1 mm to 0.125 mm.
Finally, the European patent application EP 1 669 408 discloses a composite and a processing or production process for this material. This document states that processing by spray drying is possible for a suitable mixture of water, polymer and the magnetic powder, for example manganese-zinc ferrite. The mixing ratios of magnetic particles to polymer given in the examples lead to a density below 3 g/cm3. The ferrites used had particle sizes in the range from 1.6 to 8.5 μm. In this patent application, a resin having unsaturated vinyl units is used as polymer material. This leads to hard and relatively brittle particles being obtained after spray drying. These can then be used further in unprocessed form as powder, dissolved as paint or by means of casting techniques. However, dry pressing is ruled out because of the brittleness of the particles.
Furthermore, EP 1 790 460 A1 discloses an insulating coating for an electrical component which comprises a thermoset polymer and a filler material in the nano range.
DE 10 2004 041 649 A1 discloses a magnetorheological elastomer whose mechanical properties vary with the applied magnetic field, which comprises magnetizable particles having a bimodal size distribution.
US 2007/0102663 A1 discloses a magnetic paste having multimodal magnetic constituents.
US 2002/0190236 A1 discloses a magnetic granular material which is produced by means of spray drying and contains polymer constituents in addition to a magnetic constituent. The granular material is sintered at 1300° C., with the polymer vaporizing completely. A simple process is disclosed in EP 1 818 954 A1.

Soft-magnetic material and process for producing articles composed of this soft-magnetic material


An electrical connector for mating with a plurality of contacts separated from one another by a nominal pitch value includes an array of contact surfaces having a first dimension measured in a direction perpendicular to a mating direction between the plurality of contacts and the array of contact surfaces. The first dimension is greater than the nominal pitch value, thereby assuring electrical contact between the contacts and the contact surfaces despite an actual deviation from the nominal pitch.

This invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more specifically, to electrical connectors which mate with contacts having varying centerline spacing due to design variations.
Certain electrical systems, such as, for example, cable to memory board interconnection systems, board to board interconnections, and back-plane connection systems include a large number of interface contacts arranged in line with one another. The interface contacts are designed to be positioned relative to one another with a predetermined centerline spacing between the contacts. The centerline spacing between the interface contacts, however, may vary in actual practice due to manufacturing tolerances in constructing and assembling the system, and over a large number of contacts the accumulation of tolerances is problematic to interfacing the in line contacts with a connector assembly. Specifically, the tolerances may result in misalignment of the in line contacts with corresponding contacts of the connector, which are also aligned with one another on a predetermined centerline spacing. Such misalignment of the interface contacts may result in one or more of the in line contacts touching the same contact in the connector, thereby shorting the interface contacts to one another. Misalignment of the interface contacts may also result in some of the contacts not making electrical connection with any of the contacts of the connector.
Such problems may be particularly acute in applications having stacked components and a large number of corresponding contacts to mate with a connector. Such constructions are employed in existing and emerging technologies, and are introducing new demands on electrical connectors. For example, fuel cell technology utilizes a large number of conductive plates arranged in a stack, and it is desirable to monitor a voltage on the plates during operation. Thus, an electrical contact is provided for each plate, and the contacts are interfaced with a circuit board which processes the voltage on the plates in the stack for monitoring purposes. The contacts are fixed to each plate along an end edge thereof, but the width of the plates in the stack is subject to manufacturing tolerances which may accumulate over a large number of the plates in the stack. Due to the accumulation of tolerances, the actual centerline spacing of some of the contacts in the plates of the fuel cell stack may vary by up to 100% or more of the nominal centerline spacing of the plates in the stack. Such variance of the centerline spacing of the contacts in the stack frustrates the use of conventional connectors to connect the contacts of the plates to the circuit board. The varying contact centerlines will either prohibit mating of the connector to the plate contacts entirely, or cause shorting of the contacts and/or open circuits between the connector and the contacts of the stack.
Conventionally, such tolerance issues have been addressed with tighter control of the manufacturing tolerances. However, reducing the tolerances can become cost prohibitive in certain applications.

Electrical connector and system having contact array interface for engaging contacts at varying centerline spacing


An isolating connector between a first work piece and a second work piece each defining a hole therein includes first and second spring members that capture the first work piece between flanges of the spring members and establish a column between the second work piece and a head of a bolt extending through the first and second spring members and anchored in the second work piece.

It is sometimes desirable to isolate a fastener from two components the fastener connects to inhibit the transfer of a condition such as heat, vibration or sound from one of the components to the other of the components. For example, steel wool isolators have been used as washers, grommets or sleeves to reduce heat transfer from one component to another component through the fastener connecting the components. Metal wool isolators can be used in conditions such as heat or the like in which rubber or synthetic elastomers are unsuitable.
Direct injection fuel delivery in automobile engines is achieved through large pressure drops in the fuel injectors. A fuel rail under high pressure, such as, for example, approximately 25,000 psi is subjected to a rapid decrease to approximately 0 psi when the ejector is opened to release fuel for combustion. It is known to provide a mounting boss on the fuel rail, and a bolt extended through the boss and anchored in the engine head. The sudden pressure drop at the tip of the injector upon opening creates a force vibration pulse that transmits from the injector tip back through the injector, through the fuel rail and into the engine head via the mounting bosses and connectors that secure the fuel rail to the engine. Thereafter, the vibration can travel in various directions in the engine. The transmitted vibration can result in the audible detection of an unsatisfactory clicking sound to the vehicle operator. Often the clicking sound can lead to an erroneous assumption of malfunction in the engine.
Accordingly, it is desirable to isolate the structures that interconnect the injector and the engine head via the fuel rail. The use of the aforedescribed mesh or metal wool pieces can work effectively; however, such barriers are relatively expensive to manufacture. Installation of the barriers can increase and complicate assembly time.
Generally, there are needs for isolating connectors that allow one work piece to be securely and safely mounted to another work piece, and that are economical to manufacture and assemble, and efficient to install; yet will isolate the transfer of a condition from one of the work pieces to the other of the work pieces.


Provided is a low-cost and compact super-wide-angle anamorphic lens having small number of lenses and exhibiting excellent lens performance when the lens is used for an onboard camera, capturing of an unwanted portion is minimized. The super-wide-angle anamorphic lens has an angle of view of 180° or more in the horizontal direction, and includes a first lens having a negative power, a second lens having a negative power, a third lens having a positive power, a fourth lens having a positive power in that order from an object side. One of the aforementioned third lens and fourth lens is provided with at least one non-rotationally symmetric aspherical surface.

One of the proposals made in recent years is a super-wide-angle lens with an angle of view of 180° or more used for a surveillance camera and onboard camera using a solid-state image pickup device (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-276185 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-292800).
The super-wide-angle lens system disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-276185 has a problem that, when used as the onboard camera or others, the unwanted portions such as sky and ground surface are often captured in the direction of the shorter side of the image pickup device, i.e., in the vertical direction, due to its super-wide angle lens structure.
The lens system disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-292800 is made up of six lenses, and an increased size of the lens has been the problem of this system.


A data access arrangement (DAA) circuit for an item of customer premise equipment (CPE, i.e., telephone terminal equipment) utilizes RF coupling across an isolation barrier between two sides of the DAA circuit.

Telephone system regulatory requirements in the United States and elsewhere call for customer premise equipment (e.g., telephones, modems, facsimile machines, etc.) to provide galvanic isolation between the circuitry of the customer premise equipment (CPE) and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) if the CPE is to qualify for connection to the PSTN. Consequently, CPE customarily includes a circuit, known as a data access arrangement (DAA) circuit, which provides the required galvanic isolation.
Conventional DAA circuits are of one of three types: transformer coupled, capacitive coupled, and optically coupled. Each of these types of DAA circuits has disadvantages.
Transformer coupled DAA circuits typically employ a discrete external transformer (i.e., a transformer provided as a discrete component that is separate from the integrated circuitry that is part of the DAA circuit and/or the CPE equipment as a whole). The external transformer provides signal coupling to the telephone line while also providing up to 1500 Vrms or greater of isolation from the CPE side (e.g., the modem side of the CPE; the CPE side of the equipment will also sometimes be referred to as the "home side" of the equipment, regardless of whether the CPE is installed in a residence or business). The transformer may provide good common mode rejection. However, the useful bandwidth of the transformer may be limited. For example, a transformer that is suitable for a voice-band modem may not be appropriate for a broadband DSL (digital subscriber line) modem (e.g., a modem for asymmetric DSL, symmetric DSL or very high capacity DSL). Conversely, a transformer that is suitable for a DSL modem may not be suitable for a voice-band modem. As a result, it may be difficult to provide a transformer coupled DAA for a modem to be used for both voice and data. Moreover, the external transformer may be large and expensive.
Capacitive coupled DAA circuits customarily use external high voltage capacitors for coupling to the telephone line with galvanic isolation. Up to three capacitors may be employed: one for the receive path, one for the transmit path, and one for the AC coupling return path. The capacitors may add significant cost to the DAA circuit, while also occupying a substantial amount of space on the circuit board.
Optically coupled DAA circuits may employ either external or integrated optical couplers. Integrated optical coupling may be accomplished by using multi-chip module packaging techniques to include the optical components in the IC package. Alternatively, externally located off-the-shelf opto-coupling ICs may be used. In either case, optical coupling may be significantly expensive. Furthermore, the optical couplers may be limited in performance and features.
In short, conventional DAA circuits add significant cost to CPE, while also often limiting the capabilities of the CPE.

RF coupled data access arrangement circuit for telephony customer premise equipment


Method and apparatus for use with televisions having an internal Java engine are included among the embodiments. In exemplary systems, a PCMCIA port allows the Java engine to load and execute Java applets selected by the viewer. Provision is made for system-aware applets to run concurrently with platform-independent applets on different Java display planes that are merged for display. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Television receivers have long had the capability to create simple "On Screen Display" (OSD) graphics that overlay a received video program. Such graphics can display video and audio settings for interactive television adjustments, closed captioning, current channel/input selections, etc. A simple graphics generator or television processor provides the graphics in such systems.
Recently, television receivers such as the Sharp Aquos™ have been introduced with more sophisticated graphics capability that allows a richer menu experience. These graphics are programmed as a fixed routine that is run by a television processor when the user selects a menu function with a remote. The fixed routine is stored in a ROM at the time of manufacture and called as needed based on viewer input, e.g., with a remote control.
Some computers have the capability to run Java applets in one application window and display digital video (e.g. from a DVD-ROM inserted in an attached drive or Internet-streamed video) in another application window. Such a computer is not a "television" but a multi-tasking computer platform that can run video display software as merely another graphical application controlled by the operating system. Current televisions do not have a capability for a viewer to select and run different Java applets, and more specifically, have no provision that would allow a viewer to load and run applets on the television that were not part of the television at the time of manufacture.

Television having a java engine and a removable device port


A method and apparatus for improving the sensing of a physical parameter using a distributed optical waveguide and scattering. The optical waveguides have improved scattering efficiency and/or improved light capturing capability provided by multi-cladding layers and a tightly confining core waveguide. The core can be highly doped with a material such as germanium to improve scattering. The cladding layers provide a multi-mode waveguide for capturing scattered light. Such optical waveguides are useful in systems that rely on Rayleigh, Raman and Brillouin scattering.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to distributed optical waveguide sensors. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to distributed optical waveguide sensors having optical waveguides with multiple cladding layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light propagating in a medium can undergo a variety of scattering events, both linear and non-linear. Three types of light scattering are Rayleigh, Raman and Brillouin. In Rayleigh scattering, incident light is elastically scattered at the same wavelength. In Raman scattering, incident light is scattered by the vibrations of molecules or optical phonons and undergoes relatively large frequency shifts. In Brillouin scattering, incident light is scattered by acoustic vibrations (phonons) and undergoes relatively small frequency shifts.
Rayleigh, Raman, and Brillouin scattering can be used in distributed optical waveguide sensors to measure a measurand such as temperature or stress over the length of an optical waveguide. Since optical waveguides can be over 30 kilometers long, distributed optical waveguide sensors are suitable for measuring physical parameters over large distances. Distributed optical waveguide sensors that use Rayleigh, Raman, or Brillouin scattering are typically based on either Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) or optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR). In either case, high intensity laser light is propagated in the core of an optical waveguide. Light scattering occurs within the waveguide, part of which is captured in the backward propagating modes of the waveguide and can be detected by a receiver. By monitoring one or more variations in the captured light a physical parameter can be determined.
While useful, distributed optical waveguide sensors based on scattering have problems because scattering produces signals that are much weaker than the light that created them. In optical waveguides, the originating light, referred to as pump radiation, produces a relatively small amount of scattered light, only a portion of which is captured. Because the captured light is weak, a significant integration time is required to produce measurements with suitable resolution and accuracy.
Therefore, an optical waveguide with improved scattering efficiency would be useful. An optical waveguide that enables improved capture of scattered light would also be useful.


Systems and methods are disclosed herein for a three-fluid liquid-to-air membrane energy exchanger (LAMEE) to condition air (a first overall fluid). A liquid panel assembly used in the LAMEE can include a first fluid circuit for a first cooling fluid (a second overall fluid) and a second fluid circuit for a second cooling fluid (a third overall fluid). The first cooling fluid, also referred to herein as a desiccant, can be configured to circulate through the liquid panel assembly and condition an air stream passing through the LAMEE. The second cooling fluid, also referred to herein as a coolant, can be configured to also circulate through the panel assembly and reject heat from the first cooling fluid. The second cooling fluid can increase the cooling capacity and overall performance of the LAMEE. The first and second cooling fluids can be separate from each other during circulation through the panel assembly. Low operating pressures of the first fluid circuit can be facilitated by the design of the liquid panel to at least partially offset hydrostatic pressure gain with friction pressure loss of the first cooling fluid.

Enclosed structures, such as occupied buildings, factories and the like, generally include a heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) system for conditioning ventilation and/or recirculated air. The HVAC system includes a supply air flow path and an exhaust air flow path. The supply air flow path receives pre-conditioned air, for example outside air or outside air mixed with re-circulated air, and channels and distributes the air into the enclosed structure. The pre-conditioned air is conditioned by the HVAC system to provide a desired temperature and humidity of supply air discharged into the enclosed structure.
A liquid to air membrane energy exchanger (LAMEE) transfers heat and moisture between a liquid desiccant and an air stream in order to condition the temperature and humidity of the air flowing through the LAMEE. LAMEEs can be employed in a number of different applications, including, for example, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, dehumidification systems, evaporative cooling, industrial applications requiring treated air, etc. In another application, the exchanger transfers heat and moisture between the desiccant and air in order to condition the temperature and concentration of the desiccant by both releasing or gaining heat and releasing or gaining moisture in the desiccant in any combination.
Existing LAMEEs have a desiccant flow channel bounded by vapor-permeable membranes. The membranes prevent leakage of desiccant into the air stream (liquid cannot penetrate through the membrane), while allowing the transfer of heat and moisture vapor between the air and desiccant in order to condition the air. For example, the desiccant may absorb moisture and heat from the air in order to cool and dehumidify the air. The heat of condensation of water vapor, from the air, into the desiccant (in addition to any collected sensible heat) causes the temperature of the liquid desiccant to increase. As the liquid desiccant temperature increases, its water vapor pressure increases, which reduces its ability to absorb moisture from the air. Therefore, in existing LAMEEs, the mass flow of liquid desiccant can often be kept high enough to transport the required amount of energy (collected sensible and latent heat from the air) without producing a significant temperature increase in the desiccant flow. Electrical energy is consumed to pump the desiccant through the exchanger.

Three-fluid liquid to air membrane energy exchanger


An apparatus to expedite washing, drying and treatment of the skin between toes, having two resilient flexible arms attached to a handle, with sleeves of appropriate materials that can be easily secured on said apparatus.

The present invention relates to means to wash, debride, dry and treat the skin between toes.
As people age, skin normally becomes thin and dry, and the toes may be distorted by pressures from tight, high styled shoes and bunions, corns and hammer toes. In addition there may be manifestations of poor health and circulation, arthritis, Diabetes, stroke, etc. All of the foregoing cause toes to deform into substantially irregular square and triangular shapes that nest tightly against one another. This position locks in the moisture of perspiration and bathing as well as the debris of the normal shedding of the skin.
All of the above predisposes the skin to maceration, irritation and tearing, which permits the entry of fungus (athlete's foot), bacterial infections and/or may cause ulcerations. Debridement, gentle washing, thorough gentle drying and the insertion of proper medications are necessary to prevent and/or treat such problems.
As toe conditions vary, so must the kind of materials used in their hygiene. Debriding a dry skin is best done with a soft foam. Washing a macerated toe is best done with a soft soapy gauze. Drying is better done with a soft absorbent material, etc.
To achieve such proper hygiene the toes must be moved and separated as little as possible so as not to stretch and tear the tender skin, especially in the web areas. Often the use of one's fingers to separate toes is enough to cause such harm. The problems of proper hygiene are compounded as those most in need of such care, the elderly, the infirm and the obese, find it difficult and often impossible to see and reach the toes for the delicate necessary care.
A device to achieve care of the area between toes has been attempted. Soft foam pads have been firmly attached to an underlying skeleton formed by two parallel runs originating in a handle. Such device is entirely rigid and the skeletal arms which are inserted between the toes is a rigid plastic, one eighth of an inch square with sharply defined edges. The foam, which extends beyond the skeleton, is wedge shaped, designed to separate the toes and act as a guide for the remainder of the device.
The materials, size and shape of the device cited presents inherent problems that make its use difficult, inappropriate and often impossible. The wedge shaped front end of foam extending beyond the supportive backing of the rigid skeletal is itself too soft and limp to be forced between tightly packed toes. Further, the soft wedge is then squeezed back on to the front of the rigid arms adding its thickness to the one eighth inch arms and the foam already secured there, making penetration between toes impossible without the spreading apart of the toes by the fingers. Further, if penetration is achieved with the spreading apart of the toes, the rigidity of the skeleton does not permit it to bend and change its shape to conform to the bumpy irregular shape of the toes and could, in conjunction with the square shaped edges of the skeletal arms, initiate the irritation of the tender tissues it was meant to prevent.
Thinner plastic arms are precluded because the device would then be too weak to withstand the stresses of use and would break, as plastics do, with sharp edges. Further, use of a thinner gauge of the same plastic would not increase its bendability. If other stronger plastics are used, there would be no increase in bendabilty, and it would still not have the benefits inherent in other materials to be cited in the present invention. Finally, the use of stronger plastics would bring up the price of manufacture. As such a device is designed to be used mainly by older people, most of whom are retired with a restricted income, price is an important factor in their decision of whether they will take advantage of the benefits such a device provides.
Further, it should be noted that the above device is available with only one type of surface adhered to its plastic skeleton. If the use of materials other than soft foam was indicated and desired, an entire complete device would have to be purchased, if it was available.
Further, such devices with other materials attached, such as cloths, felts and the like, extended beyond the support of the skeleton would also be limp and would not ameliorate the problem of introducing the device between the toes. Further, the bunching of such materials, rougher than a soft foam, would increase the probability of doing harm to the skin of the toes.
It has been found that with the use of other materials for the skeleton arms, such as a resilient flexible wire, the area of the skeleton between the toes can be reduced by a factor of twenty five while the danger of breaking under the pressures it would be subjected to would be nil. Further, such a resilient flexible wire could easily change shape and accommodate itself to the various deformities and irregularities of toes. Further, use of such wire, or the like, would easily allow permanent changes in the shape of the skeleton that would permit different materials such as clothes, foams, felts etc., fabricated in the shape of a sleeve, to be easily changed and secured.
The object of this invention is to overcome the above stated deficiencies while including all possible benefits.