Light from a light source is provided to an optical coupler 14 via a beam splitter 25 having a 1:4 branching ratio and a polarizer 13. Two light beams split by the optical coupler 14 are provided as clockwise and counterclockwise light beams to both ends of an optical fiber coil 16 via phase modulators 15 and 26, respectively. In the phase modulator 15 said light beams are each phase modulated by a modulation signal .phi.(2.pi.f.sub.m t) and in the phase modulator 26 they are each phase modulated by a modulation signal .phi.(2.pi.f.sub.m t-2.pi..tau.f.sub.m) (where .tau. is the time for light to propagate through the optical fiber coil 16). The two light beams having passed through the optical fiber coil 16 are combined by the optical coupler 14 to interfere with each other, and the resulting interference light is provided via the beam splitter 25 to a photodetector 21, the output of which is synchronously detected by the modulation signal. By this, an angular velocity applied to the optical fiber coil 16 about its axis is detected. A frequency component f.sub.m is removed from the intensity-modulated components produced by the phase modulators 15 and 26, eliminating an error in the bias value of an optical interferometric gyro and hence enhancing zero stability of its bias.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional optical interferometric gyro. Light emitted from a light source 11 is split by a beam splitter 12 into two, one of which is provided via a polarizer 13 to an optical coupler 14 and the other of which is terminated at a terminating element 20. The light beam led to the optical coupler 14 is split into clockwise and counterclockwise light beams. The clockwise light beam is phase modulated by a phase modulator 15 immediately after being emitted from the optical coupler 14, and is provided to one end of an optical fiber coil 16 used as a looped optical transmission line. The clockwise light beam reaches the optical coupler 14 again after propagating through the optical fiber coil 16 clockwise. On the other hand, the counterclockwise light beam is provided to the other end of the optical fiber coil 16 and, after propagating therethrough counterclockwise, it is phase modulated by the phase modulator 15, immediately thereafter reaching the optical coupler 14 again. In the optical coupler 14 the clockwise and counterclockwise light beams having propagated through the optical fiber coil 16 meet and interfere with each other. At this time, a periodic phase difference occurs between the clockwise and counterclockwise light beams because they have been subjected to periodic phase shifts by the phase modulator 15. Now, assume that the frequency f.sub.m of the modulation signal for driving the phase modulator 15 is, for example, 1/(2.tau.) (where .tau. is the time for light to propagate through the optical fiber coil 16). In this instance, when the phase shift of the clockwise light beam is sinusoidal as shown in FIG. 2A when it has just returned to the optical coupler 14 after being subjected to a phase shift .phi..sub.cw by the phase modulator and then having propagated through the optical fiber coil 16, a phase shift .phi..sub.ccw to which the counterclockwise light beam is subjected in the phase modulator 15 lags behind the modulation signal of FIG. 2A by the time .tau., and hence is 180.degree. out-of-phase with the phase shift .phi..sub.cw as depicted in FIG. 2B. Accordingly, the phase difference .phi..sub.cw -.phi..sub.ccw between the clockwise and counterclockwise light beams, which are combined by the optical coupler 14, varies with a 2.tau. period as indicated by the curve 17 in FIG. 2. In consequence, the two light beams, which are combined into the interference light, strengthen and weaken each other repeatedly with a period .tau., that is, the interference light varies its intensity with the period .tau.. The intensity of the interference light varies with the phase difference .phi..sub.cw -.phi..sub.ccw between the two light beams as indicated by the curve 18 in FIG. 2, and consequently, the intensity variation is repeated with the period .tau. as indicated by the curve 19.
In FIG. 1 the interference light from the optical coupler 14 is provided via the polarizer 13 to the beam splitter 12, wherein it is split into two beams, one of which is converted by a photodetector 21 into an electrical signal. This electrical signal becomes a signal which varies at a frequency twice higher than the phase modulation frequency f.sub.m, i.e. 1/.tau. in the example of FIG. 2.
When an angular velocity is applied to the optical fiber coil 16 about its axis, a phase difference corresponding to the input angular velocity is introduced between the clockwise and counterclockwise light beams by the Sagnac effect. As a result of this, the phase difference based on the input angular velocity is superimposed on the curve 17 in FIG. 2. When the phase difference is superimposed on the curve DC-wise, a component of the phase modulation frequency f.sub.m appears in the output electrical signal of the photodetector 21 in accordance with the DC-wise phase difference. The output of the photodetector 21 is provided to a synchronous detector 22, wherein it is synchronously detected by a reference signal of the same frequency as the phase modulation frequency f.sub.m. When the input angular velocity is zero, the output of the photodetector 21 is only an even multiple component of the phase modulation frequency, mainly a twice component alone, and consequently, the output of the synchronous detector 22 is zero. When an angular velocity is input, a component of the same frequency as the phase modulation frequency f.sub.m is provided at the output of the photodetector 21, and an output of the polarity and level corresponding to the direction and magnitude of the input angular velocity is obtained from the synchronous detector 22 and is provided to an output terminal 23; thus, the input angular velocity can be detected. The phase modulation signal to be supplied to the phase modulator 15 and the reference signal to be supplied to the synchronous detector 22 are produced by a modulation signal generator 24.
When passing through the phase modulator 15, the light is subjected to intensity modulation as well as to phase shift by the modulation signal. The reason for this is as follows: The phase modulation is performed by changing the refractive index of the medium through which the light propagates, but when the refractive index of the medium varies, the confinement of light in the medium varies accordingly, so that the confinement of light in the medium varies in synchronism with the phase modulation signal and the intensity of light passing through the phase modulator 15 is modulated in synchronism with it.
Thus, the clockwise and counterclockwise light beams, which have passed through the phase modulator 15, are both intensity-modulated at the frequency f.sub.m, and the interference light into which the thus intensity-modulated-clockwise and counterclockwise light beams have been combined again by the optical coupler 14 also contains the intensity-modulated component of the frequency f.sub.m. On this account, even when the input angular velocity is zero, the component of the frequency f.sub.m is detected from the synchronous detector 22 and this becomes an offset error of a bias value of the optical interferometric gyro. When the offset error is large, zero stability deteriorates because if any factor changes owing to an external disturbance or the like, the zero point will vary at a fixed rate.
As described above, when the input angular velocity is zero, the interference light is intensity modulated at the frequency twice higher than that f.sub.m of the modulation signal, and the interference light is split by the beam splitter 12 into two, one of which is supplied to the photodetector 21 and the other of which returns to the light source 11. Based on the interference light having thus returned to the light source 11, the light to be emitted therefrom is intensity modulated at the frequency twice that f.sub.m of the modulation signal. Alternatively, the interference light having thus returned to the light source is detected by a photo diode which is provided to control the quantity of light to be emitted from the light source 11, and an automatic quantity-of-light stabilizer operates to keep constant the quantity of light from the light source, including the detected output, so that the light from the light source 11 is intensity modulated at the frequency twice that f.sub.m of the modulation signal.
When the light from the light source 11, thus intensity modulated at the frequency 2f.sub.m, is intensity modulated by the phase modulation signal in the phase modulator 15, it is intensity modulated at frequencies 2f.sub.m +f.sub.m =3f.sub.m and 2f.sub.m -f.sub.m =f.sub.m by a frequency mixing effect of the modulation wave in the phase modulator 15. Thus, the interference light, into which the two light beams having passed through the phase modulator 15 are combined, also contains the intensity-modulated component of the frequency f.sub.m, and as described previously, even if the input angular velocity is zero, the synchronous detector 22 yields an output, which becomes an offset error of the bias value.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical interferometric gyro in which even if intensity modulation by the phase modulator is present and even if the light from the light source is intensity modulated, no error is induced in the bias value and hence the bias zero stability can be enhanced accordingly.
Moreover, in the prior art the branching ratio of the beam splitter 12 for splitting the light emitted from the light source 11 is set to 1:1. Assuming that the loss by optical elements is zero and the quantity of light incident from the light source 11 is 100, the quantity of light which is branched to each of the polarizer 13 and the terminating element 20 is 50, and when the quantity of light 50 is split again by the beam splitter 12 after having propagated through the optical fiber coil 16, the quantity of light returning to the light source 11 and the quantity of light of the signal to the photodetector 21 are each 25. In this case, the signal-to-noise ratio of the optical system can be set to a large value, but the quantity of light returning to the light source 11 also becomes maximal, leading to the defect of deteriorated-performance of the optical interferometric gyro.
The light source 11 for use in the optical interferometric gyro is, in many cases, a light source which employs an optical resonator, such as a semiconductor laser. Usually, the semiconductor laser constitutes an optical resonator, using cleavage planes at both ends of the laser chip as reflectors, and utilizes, as laser light, light having resonated in the resonator. In the light source which utilizes the resonance of light, such as the semiconductor laser, if light reflected or returning from a portion other than the cleavage planes of the semiconductor laser chip is incident to the laser chip, another resonator will be formed in addition to that one formed by the semiconductor laser. This resonator is formed outside the semiconductor laser, and hence is called an external resonator. When the external resonator is formed, the spectral configuration, center wavelength and coherence of the light source undergo changes. It has been reported that such a phenomenon is caused also in a super luminescent diode (SLD) which is often used in the optical interferometric gyro.
The variation in the spectral configuration, center wavelength and coherence of the light source 11 are fatal to the optical interferometric gyro, and the variation in the center wavelength is particularly serious because it is related directly to a change in the scale factor of the optical interferometric gyro. The scale factor of the optical interferometric gyro is a function of the center wavelength of the light source 11, and hence the variation in the center wavelength leads to a change in the scale factor. Furthermore, the variation in the coherence of the light source 11 also poses a serious problem because it causes a change in the value of the bias error which is induced by reflected or scattered light in the optical interferometric gyro.
It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an optical interferometric gyro which suppresses the variation in the center wavelength of the light source which causes a change in the scale factor and induces a bias error and the light returning to the light source which causes a variation in the coherence of the light source, and hence is small in the scale factor variation and in the bias error.

Optical interferometric gyro having reduced return light to the light source

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited


The present invention relates to a 2,3-diketopiperazine derivative or a salt thereof, which has inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation because of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonism and hence is useful as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent for diseases associated with platelet aggregation. General formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a protected or unprotected amidino group; R.sup.2 represents a hydrogen atom or a carboxyl-protecting group; A represents a substituted or unsubstituted lower alkylene group; B represents --O--, --CONH--, --NHCO--or --SO.sub.2 NH--; Y represents a substituted or unsubstituted lower alkylene group; and the broken line represents a single bond or a double bond.

Platelet aggregation plays an important role in thrombosis and blood coagulation. When a blood vessel is injured, platelets are activated, for example, by collagen under the vascular endothelium, so that binding of fibrinogen to the platelets, i.e., platelet aggregation is caused, resulting in thrombosis. As the final step in platelet aggregation, there is a step in which glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor on the platelet surface is activated and then bonded to fibrinogen. Therefore, an inhibitor capable of preventing the combination of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor and an adhesion protein such as fibrinogen is considered useful for preventing thrombosis and blood coagulation.
It is considered that in the binding of fibrinogen to glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor, the amino acid sequence Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (hereinafter referred to as RGDS) portion on fibrinogen is an active site. Therefore, RGDS analogues have been developed as antagonist for glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor. They are expected as agents for suppressing metastasis of cancerous cells.
As such competitors, peptide derivatives containing an amino acid sequence Arg-Gly-Asp are known. They, however, are not sufficient in ease of oral absorption, etc. when used as a pharmaceutical.

2,3-diketopiperazine derivatives or their salts


A front structure 1 of a vehicle body has a shock absorber receiver 13 projecting forward from a dash panel 3, which is located at a position corresponding to a shock absorber 8 in a vehicle width direction and in a vehicle height direction. In the front structure 1 of the vehicle body, the shock absorber receiver 13 restricts backward movement of the shock absorber 8 upon a collision of a vehicle 2, so that a collision load acting on the shock absorber 8 can be efficiently dispersed to a framework of the vehicle body while being transmitted through the shock absorber receiver 13 to the dash panel 3. When the shock absorber 8 moves backward upon the collision of the vehicle 2, the shock absorber 8 comes into contact with the shock absorber receiver 13, and the distance becomes shorter between support points of the shock absorber 8 than before, so as to enhance flexural rigidity and reaction force.

A conventional front structure of a vehicle body in various vehicles such as cars adopts a structure for absorbing impact upon a collision with another vehicle. A known front structure of a vehicle body of this type is one in which an energy absorbing part for absorbing a collision load acting on an engine is constructed of a bulge of a cross member located in front of a dash panel (e.g., reference is made to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-154969).


The invention relates to a compact low-pressure discharge lamp comprising a discharge vessel 14 having electrodes and supply leads 30, and having a mp cap 12 assembled from a cap 16, housing 18 and mounting plate 24 with a ballast arrangement. In this case, the mounting plate 24 with the ballast arrangement is fitted in the interior of the lamp cap housing 18. The mounting plate 24 also has terminals 26 for the electric connection of the supply leads 30. According to the invention, in this case the supply leads 30 are connected to the electric terminals 26 of the mounting plate 24 via an electrically conducting spring element 28 in each case.

The invention relates to a compact low-pressure discharge lamp comprising a discharge vessel having electrodes and supply leads and having a lamp cap assembled from a cap, housing and mounting plate with a ballast arrangement, the mounting plate with the ballast arrangement being fitted in the interior of the lamp cap housing and having terminals for the electrical connection of the supply leads to the mounting plate.
Known low-pressure discharge lamps are increasingly replacing the incandescent lamp in buildings and residential accommodation. In the known low-pressure discharge lamps, the discharge vessel mostly comprises a singly or multiply bent tube which is arranged in a lamp cap. In this case, a mounting plate constructed as a printed circuit board and on which there is soldered an electronic ballast arrangement is integrated in the lamp cap. Production costs for these compact low-pressure discharge lamps are relatively high, since many complicated manufacturing steps are required in the production. One of these manufacturing steps is the electrical connection between the supply leads of the discharge vessel and the corresponding terminals of the ballast arrangement. In order to produce this connection, the appropriate connecting wires are presently being brought together and, for example, crimped by means of a metal sleeve.
A development of this simple connection is described in EP-A-0 452 743. This printed publication discloses a low-pressure discharge lamp of the type described at the beginning, which has holding pins with the aid of which the ends of the supply leads are aligned perpendicular to the bow-shaped connecting wires of the ballast arrangement. When assembling the lamp cap housing and mounting plate with the lamp cap, the wires which are respectively to make contact are arranged approximately at a right angle one behind another and pressed against one another resiliently with the aid of the holding pin and the inner wall of the lamp cap housing, with the result that an electrical connection is produced between the electrodes of the discharge vessel of the ballast arrangement.
However, it is disadvantageous in this prior art that such an electric connecting system is very complicated. This increases the production costs. In addition, in order to ensure reliable contacting of the elements, the rate of production for such low-pressure discharge lamps is not very high.

Compact low-pressure discharge lamp with conductive spring element

Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft fuer elektrische Gluehlampen mbH


The invention describes a system, method and computer product to regulate user access to websites. The system receives a URL request by a user corresponding to a website that the user wishes to access. Thereafter, the system determines the associated group of the user and the associated category of the website. Subsequently, a message to be displayed to the user is determined based on the associated group of the user and the associated category of the website. The message is included in a block page and then displayed to the user.

The present invention relates, in general, to Internet access management. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for displaying customized messages to the user based on a requested website.
The Internet usage in various establishments, such as educational institutions, government and corporate offices, and individual households, has witnessed a rapid growth in the past decade and has become an important tool in daily life. This has increased the probability of its misuse, thus making it necessary to regulate it. Regulation is required for different purposes—to protect minors from inappropriate content, such as pornographic websites; to stop employees at work from accessing sites unrelated to work; to protect confidential information; and to protect unsuspecting users of the Internet from accessing harmful content, such as viruses, trojans, and the like.
There are several solutions available in the market to filter and control the Internet access of a user. These solutions allow network administrators to block access to websites based on predefined parameters. Based on these parameters, various websites are grouped into different categories, such as "Social Networking," "Streaming media," "Sports," and the like. These solutions block the websites which the user is not eligible to visit and provide a generic deny page stating only the organization's policy and the category under which the website was blocked. However, the deny page displayed by various solutions to the users can be used further to guide and help the users after they are denied access to the requested website.

System and method for providing customized response messages based on requested website


A SONET virtual tributary reformatter has a drop encoder that receives incoming data of a second VT size mapped according to first VT size and provides the data in a format designed for the first VT size and also has an add decoder that receives outgoing data signals of the second VT size in the format of the first VT size and provides the outgoing data of the second VT size mapped according to the first VT size.

A serial transport frame format method was previously disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,229 to Tyrrell et al. That format method involves interfacing a high speed parallel bus and a low speed serial bus in a network element that receives and sends high speed signals from and to similar network elements and that further switches low speed signals to and from the network. The switching matrix in the network element is responsive to high speed signals from two different directions and passes on some of those high speed signals to other network elements. It also switches others of the high speed signals down to local subscribers at a lower speed. Similarly, local subscribers provide low speed serial multiplexed DS-1 signals to the network element which in turn switches some or all of such signals on to the high speed busses for transmission to other network elements. In the network element disclosed in the above cited U.S. Patent, an internal serial transport frame format is described which is used to transfer data between the switching matrix and a plurality of serial bus interface modules. Each of these provide a number of DS-1 signals to a corresponding number of asynchronous modules for further decomposition or construction, respectively, into or from even lower speed DS-0 signals, corresponding to individual subscribers, each operating serially at 64 Kb/s. The DS-1 interfaces can incorporate up to 24 DS-0 channels and operate at the electrical telephony standard of 1.544 Mb/s. The signals between the serial bus interfaces and the switching matrix operate at about 8.192 MHz. The signals used to interface between network elements are operating at even higher speeds, e.g., 51.84 Mb/s (STS-1) and higher, according to ANSI standard T1.105 entitled "Digital Hierarchy Optical Interface Rates and Formats Specification". An STS-1 frame is shown in FIG. 1. The frame repetition rate is 8 kHz. The frame contains one byte of voice data from a large number of subscribers depending on how many bytes in the STS-1 SPE are used for non-voice purposes. For example, in the U.S., there are 672 bytes used of the 756 available in the SPE.
The serial transport frame format disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. patent defines a frame for the transfer of 32 channels of information between the switch matrix and each of the 28 DS-1 links on the other side of the serial bus interfaces. Each channel comprises 16 bits (8 data bits) and each frame is generated at a selected frequency of, e.g., 4.096 MHz. As may be seen in FIG. 2, a first portion of each channel contains the voice data while a second portion of the same channel contains associated control information., Each channel comprises 16 bits represented on 16 wires between the switching matrix and the serial bus interface. The control information may include timing information associated with that channel of data.
When the channels contain DS-0 data, the first 8 bits of each 16 bit channel contains the actual DS-0 data (such as voice data) with the remaining bits containing the signalling information (e.g., A, B or A, B, C, D information) and timing information associated with that DS-0, channel as well as channel parity information.
To facilitate the transport of lower rate digital signals, the SONET standard uses sub-STS-1 payload mappings, referred to as Virtual Tributary (VT) structures. There are currently 4 sizes of VT as shown in FIG. 3. This mapping divides the SPE frame of FIG. 1 into 7 equal sized subframes or VT blocks with 12 columns (108 bytes) in each. Thus, the subframes account for (7) (12)=84 columns with the path overhead column and 2 unused columns (reserved bytes R) accounting for the remainder of the 87 columns in an SPE. The rate of each VT structure is determined as (108) (8) (8,000)=6.912 megabits/s.
The VT structure described above is designed to facilitate consistent transport and switching of various payloads uniformly by handling only VTs. All services below the DS-3 rate are transported within a VT structure.
A VT group of 12 columns can be individually assigned to carry one of the four types of signals shown in FIG. 3. Depending on the data rate of the particular VT type, more than one signal may be carried in a 12 column VT structure as a VT group. Thus, the VT1.5 type group can carry four VT1.5s in a 12 column VT group. Similarly, three VT2.0s can be carried in a VT2 type group. Only two VT3.0s and only one VT6.0 can be carried in a group. When all seven VT groups in an envelope are VT1.5s, a total capacity of 28 DS-1's is provided-the same as a DS-3 signal. This approach is attractive in that the virtual tributaries are individually accessible for cross connect or add/drop multiplexer systems.
For VT1.5 groups, the serial transport frame format shown in FIG. 2 is conveniently designed to accommodate 24 DS-0's in channels 4-27 while the remaining channels are used for internal management purposes or are not assigned. One such frame thus accommodates one DS-1 signal and is called a link. There may be seven such links between each of, e.g., four serial bus interfaces and the switching matrix. Altogether, there will thus be 28 DS-1 links between the switching matrix and the serial bus interfaces. Additional links may also be added for control purposes, e.g., "VI".
The serial transport frame format of the above mentioned U.S. patent is particularly well suited to be used for transporting the VT1.5 size virtual tributary. There was a possibility, however, that we could adapt hardware designed for that format to other virtual tributary sizes, such as VT2, which might be desirable for application in countries in which that format is used.

Method and apparatus for translating differently-sized virtual tributaries organized according to a synchronous optical network (SONET) standard


In a computer system having virtual machines, one or more unused bits of a guest virtual address range are allocated for aliasing so that multiple virtually addressed sub-pages can be mapped to a common memory page. When one bit is allocated for aliasing, sub-pages can be virtually addressed at a granularity that is one-half of a memory page. When M bits are allocated for aliasing, sub-pages can be virtually addressed at a granularity that is 1/(2M)-th of a memory page. The granularity of page sizes can be selected according to particular use cases. In the case of COW optimization, page sizes can be set statically between 4 KB and 2 MB or configured dynamically among multiple page sizes.

Modern computers employ virtual memory to decouple processes, e.g., applications running on top of an operating system, from the physical memory addresses backing the address space of the processes. Using virtual memory enables processes to have a large contiguous address space, and allows the computer to run more processes than can fit simultaneously in their entirety in the available physical memory (i.e., to "over-commit" memory). To do this, virtual memory space is divided into pages of a fixed size (for example, x86 architectures use page sizes of 4 KB, 2 MB, or 1 GB), and each page of the virtual memory space may or may not be mapped onto a page within the physical memory of the same page size. Much of the description in this patent will be in terms of x86 architectures. However, a person of skill in the art will understand how to apply the teachings of the invention to other processor architectures.
Translation of a virtual memory address to a physical memory address is done by traversing page tables in memory that contain mapping information. To speed up translation, a translation look-aside buffer (TLB) is typically used. The TLB provides faster translation of virtual addresses to physical addresses than does accessing page tables in memory because the TLB can provide the beginning-to-end mapping in a single step, and because the TLB can be implemented in a small (and, therefore, fast to access) data structure closer to or in the CPU itself. However, the TLB is limited in size and it is possible that a virtual memory page cannot be found in the TLB. Whenever this happens, a "TLB miss" occurs, and the mapping must be performed by a traversal of the page tables, commonly known as a "page walk," a much slower process than look-ups in the TLB.
In virtualized computer systems, where multiple virtual machines, each having an operating system and applications running therein, can be configured to run on a single hardware platform, memory management for the virtual machines is carried out by the emulated memory management units (MMUs). One emulated MMU is provided for each virtual machine and the emulated MMU manages the mappings of guest virtual addresses directly to physical memory addresses, also referred to as machine memory addresses, using shadow page tables. Shadow page tables have the same structure as conventional page tables and, as with conventional page tables, shadow page tables need not be traversed if the guest virtual address that needs to be mapped has an entry in the TLB.
Memory management for the virtual machines may also be carried out by MMUs configured in CPUs that support nested page walks. In such systems, a first set of page tables, referred to herein as guest page tables (gPTs), map the virtual address space of each application running in the virtual machines, referred to herein as guest virtual address space, to a physical address space that has been emulated for a virtual machine, referred to herein as guest physical address space. Additionally, a second set of page tables, referred to herein as nested page tables (NPTs) (also known as extended page tables), map the guest physical address space to the address space of machine memory, referred to herein as machine memory address space. Both the first and second sets of page tables are hierarchically arranged and a pointer to the top-level, root table for each set of page tables is stored in a distinct register. In x86 architectures that support nested page walks, the register that stores a pointer to the root table of the gPTs is known as the gCR3 register and the register that stores a pointer to the root table of the NPTs is known as the nCR3 register. It should be recognized that non-x86 architectures employing guest page tables and nested page tables, or the like, may have different structures and accessed in a different manner.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates nested page walks in a virtualized computer system. In the example of FIG. 1, a guest virtual address 100 is being mapped by MMU 101 to a machine memory address of data 150 stored in machine memory 102 using gPTs 110 and NPTs 120, which are also stored in machine memory 102. Contents of gPTs 110 at all levels include pointers, expressed as guest physical addresses, to guest page tables or guest memory pages, and also permission bits, level bits, and other control bits, and in some implementations, accessed and dirty bits. Contents of NPTs 120 at all levels include pointers, expressed as machine memory addresses, to nested page tables or machine memory pages and also permission bits, level bits, and other control bits, and in some implementations, accessed and dirty bits.
The mapping begins with the guest page walker module of MMU 101 retrieving a pointer to the root table of gPTs 110 from the gCR3 register, which is an address in the guest physical address space. Bits [47:39] of guest virtual address 100 and 3 trailing bits of zeros define the index into the root table and are copied into the 12 least significant bits of this guest physical address. The resulting guest physical address, known as the gL4 address, is translated into a machine memory address using the nested page walker module of MMU 101 and NPTs 120, and the translated address is used to retrieve an address of the next lower-level (L3) table, which is also an address in the guest physical address space. Bits [38:30] of guest virtual address 100 and 3 trailing bits of zeros define the index into this L3 table and are copied into the 12 least significant bits of this guest physical address. The resulting guest physical address, known as the gL3 address, is translated into a machine memory address using the nested page walker module of MMU 101 and NPTs 120, and the translated address is used to retrieve an address of the next lower-level (L2) table, which is also an address in the guest physical address space. Bits [29:21] of guest virtual address 100 and 3 trailing bits of zeros define the index into this L2 table and are copied into the 12 least significant bits of this guest physical address. The resulting guest physical address, known as the gL2 address, is translated into a machine memory address using the nested page walker module of MMU 101 and NPTs 120, and the translated address is used to retrieve an address of the next lower-level (L1) table, which is also an address in the guest physical address space. Bits [20:12] of guest virtual address 100 and 3 trailing bits of zeros define the index into this L1 table and are copied into the 12 least significant bits of this guest physical address. The resulting guest physical address, known as the gL1 address, is translated into a machine memory address using the nested page walker module of MMU 101 and NPTs 120, and the translated address is used to retrieve an address of a data page, which is also an address in the guest physical address space. Bits [11:0] of guest virtual address 100 define the index into this data page and are copied into the 12 least significant bits of this guest physical address. The resulting guest physical address, known as the gPA address, is translated into a machine memory address using the nested page walker module of MMU 101 and NPTs 120, and the translated address is used to retrieve the desired content, i.e., data 150.
Copy-on-write (COW) is a commonly used optimization technique that operates at the granularity of pages. As mentioned above, x86 architectures employ page sizes of 4 KB, 2 MB, or 1 GB, and therefore COW may be implemented in x86 architectures using 4 KB page sizes, 2 MB pages sizes, or 1 GB page sizes. However, 4 KB page size may be finer granularity than what is needed in common workloads. A larger page size would be desirable because it would lower the pressure on the TLB. A 2 MB page size, however, is too coarse and cannot be easily shared to realize the benefits from COW optimization techniques. In addition, once a page is allocated as COW, a write to that page, even a single byte write, would force the entire page to be copied. From a computational efficiency point of view, smaller page sizes for COW optimization would be preferred because the computational overhead associated with such an event increases with larger page sizes. It may be possible to build x86 page tables with page sizes between 4 KB and 2 MB, but this might not be desirable because such a change could affect memory system performance adversely in other ways or be an implementation burden.

System and method for supporting finer-grained copy-on-write page sizes


An additive manufactured structure and methods for making and using same. The structure includes a plurality of layers stacked in a stacking direction. The structure further includes at least one reinforcement structure affixed to the layers and extending at least partially in the stacking direction. The reinforcement structure can hold the layers together to stiffen and strengthen the structure. Mechanical strength of the structure in the stacking direction can advantageously be improved. Shape and spatial distribution of the reinforcement structure can be customized and adapted to the geometry of the layers to enhance strengthening effect. The reinforcement structure can be tension free or have a compressive stress induced by a preload applied during manufacturing. The compressive stress can be adjusted dynamically via a sensor. The structure and methods provide, among other things, a novel means for addressing the inherent weaknesses in parts created by large-scale extrusion deposition processes.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technique that deposits materials only where needed, thus resulting in significantly less material wastage than traditional manufacturing techniques, which typically form parts by reducing or removing material from a bulk material. While the first 3D printed articles were generally models, the industry is quickly advancing by creating 3D printed articles that may be functional parts in more complex systems, such as hinges, tools, and structural elements. Many of these parts may bear a mechanical load, and the stronger the load-bearing capabilities of the parts, the more generalized functional applications of the parts may be.
In typical additive manufacturing processes, a 3D object is created by forming layers of material under computer control. An arising mechanical challenge for more advanced 3D printed articles may be delamination due to poor surface adhesion between layers of the formed 3D printed article, especially when plastics are used in formation.
Additive manufacturing for making a 3D article on a large scale (typically with at least one dimension greater than 5 feet) can be referred to as large-scale additive manufacturing. A system (or technique) for large scale additive manufacturing can be referred to as large scale additive manufacturing system (or technique). Exemplary large scale additive manufacturing systems include, for example, the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) 100 ALPHA available from Cincinnati Incorporated located in Harrison, Ohio, or the Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) machine available from Thermwood Corporation located in Dale, Ind. An exemplary system that uses extrusion deposition for large scale additive manufacturing includes the BAAM 100 ALPHA.
Large-scale additive manufacturing has recently become an area of greater research, use, and technology advancement because of improvements in material properties and increased needs of customized large structures. For example, Local Motors located in Phoenix, Ariz., was the first to use large-scale additive manufacturing, or large-scale extrusion deposition, to print a vehicle. However, large-scale additive manufacturing also faces great challenges that cannot be resolved by directly adopting technology used in smaller-scale additive manufacturing. One of the challenges is interface adhesion between layers of a printed article.
Although smaller-scale additive manufacturing may alleviate the problem of interface adhesion, the problem of poor interface adhesion is especially severe and presents unique challenges in large-scale additive manufacturing. For example, in a large-scale extrusion deposition process, polymer beads are stacked or layered. During the large-scale extrusion deposition process, time for printing each layer is longer, so the surface of a previously-deposited layer may have a longer time to cool before deposition of a new layer on the surface, which leads to weaker bonding and adhesion between layers. The weak interface provides an unobstructed path for material defects, such as cracks, to propagate and further weaken the final part (or object). Mechanical properties in this layering direction are often significantly lower than those in the printing direction. In large-scale additive manufacturing, materials typically have very high mechanical strength in the x-direction. Thus, in comparison, material weakness in the z-direction becomes a more severe problem.
Furthermore, large-scale additive manufacturing can be used for making structural members, such as a body or framework of a vehicle or an architectural structure. Requirements of material strength for those structural members are high. In contrast, smaller-scale additive manufacturing produces smaller-scale parts which are not typically used as structural members, and the level of reinforcement necessary in smaller-scale additive manufacturing is typically minimal.
In addition, methods for improving interface properties for smaller-scale additive manufacturing often do not apply to large-scale additive manufacturing. For example, methods of reinforcement or improvement of interlaminar adhesion for smaller-scale additive manufacturing, such as stress relief through thermal cycling and hot isostatic pressing, can be very energy intensive and cannot be used for large-scale additive manufacturing in practice. Take thermal cycling as an example. In smaller-scale additive manufacturing, a small amount of energy is needed for a part with a volume on the order of one cubic foot. But in large-scale additive manufacturing, energy can be needed by a part with a volume on the order of one thousand cubic feet, which is a significant increase in cost and effort. Moreover, methods such as thermal cycling and hot isostatic pressing require ovens or equipment that are commensurate in size to the printed part. Ovens or equipment used for large-scale additive manufacturing will thus be large, costly, and energy intensive, and the printed part is difficult to handle for such processes.
To improve mechanical properties of the printed part in large-scale additive manufacturing, threaded rods can be inserted through the z-direction of the part and apply a compressive load to the layers. The threaded rod does not make contact with any of the polymer layers that the threaded rod passes through. The threaded rods can distribute contact stresses, and the tension in the threaded rods can impose a compressive stress in the layer direction. However, being rigid and uniaxial-shaped, threaded rods can only provide uniaxial strengthening in the z-direction and cannot provide reinforcement out of z-direction. For parts with complex geometry, reinforcement in multiple directions and tailored to specific geometry of the part is desirable for strengthening in the stacking direction.
Therefore, large-scale additive manufacturing introduces interface problems that are different from and greater than those problems in smaller-scale additive manufacturing. Further, any methods for solving interface problems in smaller-scale additive manufacturing may not be effective or practical in large-scale additive manufacturing.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improvements and/or alternative or additional solutions to improve mechanical properties in the stacking direction of the formed 3D printed article.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments. The figures do not illustrate every aspect of the described embodiments and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Additive manufactured structure having a plurality of layers in a stacking direction and method for making the same


Techniques for presenting content provided by a mobile device on a second communication device are presented. A content enhancer component (CEC) connects via a wired or wireless communication connection to the second communication device to communicate content to the second communication device, which has a larger display than or superior audio to the mobile device. The CEC captures content and interaction between the user and mobile device in a capture region of the CEC. The CEC reconstructs the content and the user-related interaction for presentation on the second communication device. The second communication device can have a 2-D or 3-D display. If a 3-D display, the CEC can convert captured video content into a 3-D format to provide 3-D perception when content is displayed on the second communication device. The captured audio signal can be processed to provide an enhanced stereo or 3-D sound effect.

Today, numerous people may use one or more mobile devices in their everyday life. While mobile devices can be convenient to carry and access in an outdoor environment, the display screen normally can be too small to provide a desirable level of comfort and impact to the mobile device users, and the audio sound from speakers on mobile devices can be of relatively lower quality as compared to the audio sound provided by, for example, home video or audio equipment.
One solution that can be used to try to remedy such video and audio shortcomings of mobile devices can be to connect, through use of a communication cable, the video and audio output of a mobile device to a larger display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, which can have relatively higher quality audio capabilities as compared to the mobile device, and can be equipped with both audio and video inputs for use in creating a communication link with the mobile device. The communication link can be in the form of a set of electrical cables, or a means of data transmission through an Internet communication channel. However, such straightforward methods for connecting the mobile device with the larger display can have a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage can be that the mobile device may not have a video and/or an audio output that would enable the mobile device to interface with the larger display via an external communication link. Another disadvantage can be that, when a user activates a command (e.g., to play an electronic game) to the mobile device through physical buttons and/or on-screen touch, the user's attention may be diverted from the larger display device to the smaller display screen and/or controls of the mobile device. This can defeat the purpose of adopting the larger display device for presenting video and audio content associated with the mobile device as the user may not be watching the larger display when accessing the buttons or controls on the mobile device. This problem can be even larger in electronic game playing on the mobile device, while using the larger display device, as it can be desirable for the user's attention to be focused on the control mechanisms (e.g., buttons, controls, touch-screen control mechanisms, etc.) on the mobile device while playing the electronic game.
Still another drawback with conventional techniques can be that it may be unlikely that a single solution (e.g., a communication cable) can be adapted to different kinds of mobile devices. As such, a different connection device may have to be used for each class of mobile device(s) that are sharing identical audio and video interfaces. Yet another deficiency with conventional techniques can be that the video signal output by the mobile device may be generally represented in a limiting visual format, which can undesirably limit the visual impact when the video signal of the mobile device is presented on the larger display device when that larger display device does not suffer the same limitations as the limiting visual format of the mobile device.
Another deficiency of conventional techniques can be that the audio output of the mobile device may be in mono. This can limit the auditory impact when the audio signal of the mobile device is presented on a multi-channel sound system (e.g., associated with the larger display device). Still another deficiency of the conventional techniques can be that, even if the format of the audio signal of the mobile device is in stereo, the spatial effect may not be strong enough when played with a higher-fidelity external audio system (e.g., associated with the larger display device).
The above-described description is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of generating and displaying digital holograms, and is not intended to be exhaustive.

Capturing, processing, and reconstructing audio and video content of mobile devices


A method for measuring a film thickness of a film on an edge of a wafer, comprising: off-line detecting a film at a detection point on the wafer by a four-point probe method to obtain a real film thickness of the film at the detection point, and detecting a distance from the detection point to a center of the wafer using a length measurement, in which the detection point is located between the center of the wafer and a edge point of the wafer; detecting the film at the detection point using an eddy current transducer to obtain a detected film thickness of the film at the detection point; determining a film thickness measuring correction factor according to the real film thickness, the detected film thickness at the detection point and the distance from the detection point to the center of the wafer; and measuring the film on an edge of the wafer using the eddy current transducer to obtain a measured film thickness of the film on the edge of the wafer and correcting the measured film thickness of the film on an edge of the wafer according to the film thickness measuring correction factor to obtain a real film thickness of the film on the edge of the wafer.

With the wafer size being enlarged to 300 mm currently and even to 450 mm in the near future, the chips at the wafer edge have more influence upon the total output. Therefore, it is quite important for measuring the thickness of the film on the edge of the wafer (i.e. the film thickness of the edge of the film of the wafer) during a chemical mechanical polishing process.
Thickness and surface morphology of a copper film on the wafer are generally measured by using an eddy current transducer before or after the chemical mechanical polishing process. Generally a radius of an eddy current transducer probe is at least 6-8 mm. FIG. 1 shows a film thickness curve measured by the eddy current transducer in the prior art, in which curve 1 is a real film thickness curve, and curve 2 is a measured curve obtained by using the eddy current transducer. FIG. 2 illustrates a wafer measuring process in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 2, eddy current transducers 6 and 7 are arranged with opposing to each other, and a wafer 8 such as a silicon wafer gradually passes through the space between the eddy current transducers 6 and 7 so that the film thickness of the wafer may be detected by the eddy current transducers 6 and 7. The film thicknesses measured at positions a, b, c in FIG. 2 are corresponding to the points 5, 4, 3 on the film thickness curve of FIG. 1. In theory, the eddy current transducers receive a measuring signal so as to obtain the film thickness only when the wafer arrives at position b. However, in practical measuring processes, the eddy current transducers should have already received the measuring signal at the position a as shown in FIG. 2 before the wafer has approached the eddy current transducers. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately measure the film thickness of the film in an annular edge region within 15 mm from the outer periphery of the wafer, thus causing inaccurate film thickness measurement of the wafer.

Method for measuring thickness of film on wafer edge


A process for fabricating of an article by exposing a photoreactive composition to light under multiphoton absorption conditions. The light passes through an optical system having a final optical element having a numeric aperture in a range of from 0.65 to 1.25, inclusive.

Multiphoton photochemical processes generally involve the simultaneous absorption of two or more photons by an absorbing chromophore. In such processes, the chromophore typically does not absorb at the wavelength of the individual photons, but at sufficiently high intensity a simultaneous absorption of multiple photons by the chromophore occurs. For example, simultaneous absorption of two photons having a wavelength of λ has the effect of absorption of a single photon of wavelength λ/2. Whereas single-photon absorption generally scales linearly with the intensity of the incident radiation, two-photon absorption scales quadratically, and higher-order absorptions scale with a corresponding higher-order power of the intensity of the incident radiation. As a result, it is typically possible to perform multiphoton curing processes with three-dimensional spatial resolution. Furthermore, since the incident radiation is not attenuated by single-photon absorption within a reactive matrix or material, it is generally possible to selectively excite molecules at a greater depth within a material than would be possible via single-photon excitation.
Multiphoton induced photopolymerization, typically using a laser, has been used to fabricate three-dimensional devices with sub-micron resolution. Multiphoton fabrication has been used to manufacture mechanical and optical devices, such as cantilevers, gears, shafts, and microlenses.

Multiphoton photochemical process and articles preparable thereby


In a hybrid integrated circuit device that uses a metal substrate, a sound noise is prevented, which would otherwise be generated due to transmission, to the metal substrate, of vibration caused when a ceramic capacitor expands and contracts by switching ON and OFF a transistor. For improving a heat dissipation effect, a switching transistor driven by a driving pulse and a ceramic capacitor connected to the switching transistor are incorporated on a conductive path on an insulated metal substrate. Both ends of the ceramic capacitor are fixed to the conductive path by solders which are covered with a hard resin to be protected from a solder crack by thermal expansion of the metal substrate. The ceramic capacitor and the hard resin are wholly covered with a soft resin which absorbs noise due to expansion caused when the ceramic capacitor is switched, so that the metal substrate is prevented from resonating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid integrated circuit device in which a sound noise is prevented, which would otherwise be generated due to a pulse voltage applied to a ceramic capacitor for bootstrap when a switching transistor, used in a discharge maintaining circuit of a plasma display for large-sized flat televisions or the like, is turned ON and OFF by a driving pulse.
2. Description of the Related Art
The plasma display is used on large-sized televisions or the like.
As shown in FIG. 2, an image control circuit 13 of a plasma display sends control signals to an address driver and a scan driver, and maps a luminous unit (cell). Next, the image control circuit sends control signals, as shown in FIG. 3A, to discharge maintaining circuits 12A and 12B that constitute a hybrid integrated circuit, and makes the cell discharge at intervals of four microseconds. Mapping is performed in every gradation of brightness (subfield=one millisecond), an image of one shot is achieved by discharging, and the mapping and the discharging are repeated at 60 frames per second, thereby achieving moving pictures.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the discharge maintaining circuits 12A and 12B, a supply voltage E from a power supply circuit is applied to bootstrap capacitors C1, C3, and C4. Furthermore, pulse signals of 250 kHz are applied to a terminal HIN and a terminal LIN of a driver IC 17 from the image control circuit 13, so that pulse signals of 250 kHz are generated from a terminal HO and a terminal LO of the driver IC 17.
The high-level pulse signal generated from the terminal HO of the driver IC 17 is applied to bases of switching transistors Q1 and Q2 in a pre-driver 18, so that the switching transistor Q1 is turned ON and the transistor Q2 is turned OFF. Accordingly, the discharge voltage of the electric charge that is charged in the bootstrap capacitor C1 while the switching transistor Q1 is OFF, is superimposed on the supply voltage via the switching transistor Q1, and is applied to gates of IGBT1 and IGBT2 in a driver 19 via the switching transistor Q1, so that the transistors IGBT1 and the IGBT2 in the driver 19 are turned ON.
In this manner, the pulse signal of 250 kHz generated from the image control circuit 13 is driven with the cycles of 1 kHz and 60 Hz, and controlling the electric discharge of the plasma display is performed.
The above-described discharge maintaining circuits 12A and 12B are incorporated on an insulated metal substrate for improving a heat dissipation effect to form a hybrid integrated circuit, as is described in Japanese Patent No. 2951102 by the present applicant.
FIG. 6 shows this hybrid integrated circuit. A ceramic capacitor C1 and a switching transistor Q1 are incorporated on a conductive path 32 on a metal substrate 30 that is insulated by providing an insulating layer 31 thereon.
FIG. 7 is a view showing that electrodes 34, 34 of the ceramic capacitor CI are fixed on the conductive paths 32, 32 formed on the metal substrate 30 by solders 33, 33. When the ceramic capacitor C1 is fixed to the conductive path 32 by the solders 33, 33, a solder crack might be generated, which causes insulation failure. Thus, in order to prevent the insulation failure being occurred, the ceramic capacitor C1 is covered with a hard resin 35 such as an epoxy resin.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the ceramic capacitor C1. The ceramic capacitor C1 includes ceramic layers 35, 35 laminated between the electrodes 34, 34. Ceramic is widely used for capacitors, because of a high dielectric constant and a high reliability. However, when a driving pulse of 1 kHz and a driving pulse of 60 Hz are applied to the electrodes 34, 34, the ceramic layers 35, 35 will be distorted because of the piezoelectric effect. On the other hand, when the driving pulse is not applied, the ceramic layers 35, 35 will recover their original shape. Because such operation is repeated throughout the driving pulse signal application, the ceramic capacitor vibrates and generates a sound noise.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-201250 discloses that vibration is suppressed by using a ceramic capacitor in a chopper type boosting circuit.
However, in the hybrid integrated circuit used for a discharge maintaining circuit of a plasma display or the like, as described above, the ceramic capacitor is molded with an epoxy resin to protect from a solder crack. Because the epoxy resin is hard, vibration of the ceramic capacitor is transferred as it is. Furthermore, the hybrid integrated circuit used for the discharge maintaining circuit of a plasma display is attached on the metal substrate with the insulated surface in order to improve a heat dissipation effect. However, when the hybrid integrated circuit is formed on the metal substrate, the vibration of the ceramic capacitor resonates to vibrate the metal substrate, so that a sound noise is generated.


A guide carriage assembly that permits adjustment of a relative position of a bearing device, typically a guide wheel, relative to a carriage body is provided. The guide carriage assembly includes a carriage body, at least one support shaft and a guide wheel mounted to the support shaft. The support shaft provides a locating axis about which the support shaft may rotate when mounted to the carriage body. The support shaft further defines an offset bearing axis about which the guide wheel rotates. The offset relationship between the bearing axis and locating axis permits adjustment of the relative position of the guide wheel, or support surface, and the carriage body by rotating the support shaft about the locating axis. The guide carriage assembly may further including locking structure that applies opposing torques about the locating axis to secure the support shaft, and consequently the guide wheel, in the desired location.

Linear guide mechanisms, also known as linear guide systems, are used for literally thousands of applications. Some of the most basic applications are found in conventional furniture drawers wherein the linear guide mechanism is the mechanism upon which a drawer slides relative to the desk, countertop, or the like. In addition to such furniture applications, linear guide mechanisms are used in a number of industrial settings, particularly in conjunction with machine tools. Very often a machine bed will need to slide axially back and forth as the machine operation is performed.
With regard to the machine tool application, particularly, the linear guide mechanism may need to be manufactured to move along an axis with practically no play or deflection away from the axis of the linear slide. Any such play or movement would necessarily detrimentally affect the machining operation in that the machining operation is typically computer controlled, and any movement in the linear slide mechanism would therefore result in misalignment of the machine tool and the work piece.
With that background, attempts have been made to provide linear guide systems that include carriages or slide bodies that include guide wheels that can be adjustably positioned relative thereto to compensate for play or wear as well as to allow for broader tolerances during manufacture. More particularly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,149,308 and 6,450,687, both entitled "Linear Rail System Having Preload Adjustment Apparatus," and assigned to Pacific Bearing Company, the Assignee of the instant application, illustrate carriage bodies that have a plurality of guide rollers mounted thereto. At least one of the guide rollers is adjustable relative to the other guide rollers so as to allow mechanical adjustment of preloading of the rollers against a guide rail or to remove any play between the rollers and the corresponding guide rail. In these embodiments, the guide wheel or roller is mounted to an adjustment block that is linearly positioned relative to the slider or carriage body by linearly adjusting the position of a pair of set screw or other stop mechanism. The set screws are used to lock the position of the adjustment block relative to the carriage body once positioned in the desired location relative to the guide carriage.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,661,431 and 7,350,270 illustrate an additional means for providing adjustment of a guide wheel relative to a carriage or slider body. More particularly, these patents disclose a guide wheel assembly that includes a journal body that includes a mounting axis about which the journal body rotates as the guide wheel assembly is mounted to a carriage or slider body. The journal body also defines a guide wheel support axis about which the guide wheel rotates relative to the journal body. The guide wheel support axis and the mounting axis are parallel and offset from one another such that rotation of the journal body about the mounting axis will adjust the relative position of the guide wheel support axis. Thus, by rotating the journal body relative to the carriage body or slider block to which it is mounted the guide wheel can be adjusted to position it closer or farther from a guide rail.
The present invention relates to improvements over the current state of the art.

Linear rail system having preload adjustment mechanism


A game wherein a player is sprayed with water if the player does not correctly answer a question within a time interval. The game may include a spray unit and an electronic visual display that are attached to a housing. The spray unit and visual display are connected to a controller circuit. The controller circuit may generate a question that is displayed by the visual display. The question can be provided to a player of the game. Alternatively, the game may have a speaker so that the question is provided to the player in an audible form. The game may initiate a timer when the question is displayed. The controller circuit can actuate the spray unit to spray a fluid onto the player if the player does not correctly answer the question within a time interval. The game may also have a reset switch which can reset the timer if a correct answer is provided within the time interval. If a correct answer is provided by the first player the same question can be provided to a second player and so forth and so on.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game wherein a player is squirted with water if the player does not correctly answer a question within a time interval.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been developed a number of social activity games which require group participation. For example, there has been marketed a game under the trademark TRIVIAL PURSUIT wherein a player or team of players must correctly answer questions to move a token about a board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,369 issued to Hurst discloses a game board which has a water spray device that is attached to the board. The game requires that a player correctly answer a question printed on a card provided with the game. Another player may actuate a pump and spray the player with the spray device if the player provides an incorrect answer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,259 issued to Sands is a game board which also has a water spray device. The players take turns moving a token across the game board in accordance with instructions provided by a spinning dial. When a player reaches a certain position on the board, the player can actuate the spray device to spray another player.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,366 issued to Kenoun discloses an electronic water game that contains a turret which pivots about a stationary base. Each player position of the turret has a nozzle, a light and a switch. The switches are manipulated to spray water onto the other players, and to block water from being sprayed onto the player.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,838 and 4,991,847 issued to Rudell disclose a time released water toy. The Rudell toy includes two molded shells that form a foraminous ball that is assembled over a water filled balloon. Players pass the balloon filled ball to each other. The ball also contains an internal resettable timer that punctures the balloon when the timer times out. Puncturing the balloon releases water onto the player holding the ball.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,813,680 and 5,263,714 issued to Rudell disclose water release games which have members that can be selected to release or prevent the release of water.
Pressman Toys introduced "HYDRO STRIKE," a skill and action tabletop game for two players that involved opponents sitting at opposite ends of a molded game base and playing a double-ended pinball game against one another. Whenever a player successfully caused a ball to hit an opponent's target, a circuit was activated to emit a spray of water on the opponent.
Pressman has introduced a handheld game that requires a player to hold the unit and systematically press buttons to duplicate a lit pattern generated by the handheld unit. Failure to correctly press the buttons results in the player holding the unit getting himself sprayed.
Mattel Toys released a line of small keychain-sized LCD devices called "Thinklings" that display on their LCD screen scrolling trivia questions and then display the answers. As this product is positioned as "useless knowledge" for conversation and personal enjoyment, there is no provision for gamplay nor for any reward or penalty for correct or incorrect answers.


An apparatus for determining the pressure within the combustion chamber of an engine. The engine has a fuel injector seated within an opening of a cylinder head to inject fuel into the combustion chamber. Combustion chamber pressure acts upon the fuel injector to eject the fuel injector from the cylinder head. A clamping arrangement is provided to mount the fuel injector on the cylinder head and resist the force applied against the fuel injector by the pressure within the combustion chamber. A strain measuring transducer is associated with the clamping arrangement to measure the force that is exerted upon the clamping arrangement by the fuel injector, to thereby indirectly measure the combustion chamber pressure acting against the fuel injector.

It is desirable to measure the pressure within the combustion chamber of an engine. For example, such pressure can be used as an input to engine control systems, such as a fuel control system in a diesel or gasoline engine. However the combustion chamber is a very harsh environment for a pressure sensor and it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for the indirect measurement of the combustion chamber pressure.

Method and apparatus for indirect measurement of engine cylinder pressure


An apparatus for sealing and illuminating a balloon includes: a body element insertable into an opening of a balloon, the body element enabling inflation of the balloon through an intake tube thereof; a light module for illuminating an interior of the balloon; and a sealing element having a first end couplable to the body element and a second end extending freely from the body element, the second end of the sealing element sealable below the intake tube to prevent deflation of the balloon.

There are many types of light up objects and types of novelty items, such as headgear, necklaces, bracelets, drinking cups, etc. These types of devices are popular gift items and oftentimes may be found at amusement parks, parties and other types of social events. Another type of item is a device that is inserted into a balloon that illuminates the balloon from the inside of the balloon. These devices may contain a light emitting diode (LED) and a power source (battery) for powering the LED. The device is generally inserted into a neck of the balloon so that the LED is within the balloon. A switch may then be actuated to cause the LED to illuminate the balloon from within the balloon.

Apparatus for sealing and illuminating a balloon


In a magnetic head for writing/reading a magnetic disk comprising sliders (15, 16) having sliding surfaces which are brought into contact with a surface of the magnetic disk so as to slide relatively to the magnetic disk and a spacer (20) for adjusting height of the sliders (15, 16), each of the sliders (15, 16) is formed from a nonmagnetic material consisting of calcium titanate, and the spacer (20) is formed from a ferrite-group magnetic material, the ferrite-group magnetic material being selected to have substantially the same coefficient of thermal expansion as that of the nonmagnetic material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the configuration of a magnetic head and a magnetic head device for writing/reading a magnetic disk having a standard capacity (low density) magnetic head core and a high capacity (high density) magnetic head core.
2. Related Art
Generally, a magnetic disk device such as a floppy disk device or the like is configured such that information is recorded/reproduced by using a magnetic head. The magnetic head is held on a head carriage and the head carriage is moved between inner and outer circumferential edges of a floppy disk so as to move the magnetic head to a desired position on the floppy disk. Recently, it becomes possible to perform high-density recording/reproducing so that floppy disks having recording capacity of 100 MB (megabyte) or more have been developed in comparison with conventional low-density floppy disks having recording capacity of 1 or 2 MB.
In a conventional magnetic head for writing/reading a magnetic disk, both a slider having a sliding surface and a spacer for adjusting the height of the slider are formed from a nonmagnetic material of calcium titanate, and the sliding surface of the slider is brought into contact with a surface of the magnetic disk so that the slider and the magnetic disk slide relatively to each other. Thus, the slider and the spacer are formed from the same material as described above so as to prevent generation of thermal deformation in the slider and the spacer due to heat generation in the magnetic head which slides relatively to the magnetic disk when the magnetic disk is rotated at a high speed particularly in the case of performing recording/reproducing by using a high-density magnetic head.
In the thus configured magnetic head, however, there has been such a problem that since a nonmagnetic material is used, the magnetic head is apt to be influenced not only by external magnetic noises but also by external electrical noises, has no degree of freedom in selection of the material, and is high in cost.

Magnetic head having a spacer for adjusting a slider height


A wall lamp includes a lamp holder and a lamp cover. A lamp bulb is located in the lamp holder. The lamp cover is located on the lamp holder. A fixing plate is located on a bottom portion of the lamp cover. A pattern film defined in the lamp cover. A pattern is capable of being projected from the lamp cover when the lamp bulb is lighted. Patterns can be projected to the wall and can change follow the pattern film. The shape of the lamp cover can be simplified, instead of conventional complex shape.

Lamps are type of illumination, which can provide light in daily life. However, people is discontented with the lamp's ordinary use as demands change. Wall lamps with decorative function which can project decoration patterns on the wall come to our lives.
Conventional wall lamps are formed to different appearance, such as elk, or star. However, the configuration of these wall lamps are complex, and is difficult to manufacture and is hard to clean.


A dumbbell clamp for a barbell and dumbbell safety spotting apparatus [30] utilizes two spaced-apart plates [162] each having a notch [166] for retaining the grip [28] of a dumbbell [26]. A spring-biased lock bar [170] locks the dumbbell grip in the notches during normal use. A clamp bore [178] is provided for secure the dumbbell clamp to a cable [72] by use of a hook [86]. A hand switch receptacle [82] provides an electrical connector from a hand switch [88] on the dumbbell clamp to the safety spotting apparatus.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of exercise equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus which safely self-spots a weightlifter exercising with barbell or dumbbell assemblies.
II. Description of the Related Art
Athletes of many disciplines, including weightlifters, improve their strength and endurance by including weight training within their workout regimens. It is generally recognized that superior results occur when the athlete, or lifter, utilizes free weights in the weight training program, which provide the lifter with full range of motion and control. One common and effective program for lifters to increase overall muscle strength is to repetitively lift a predetermined weight for a predetermined number of sets. For maximum body muscle strength, the lifter attempts to exert all of his or her strength on the last one or two repetitions of each set. Another popular and effective program is for the lifter to repetitively lift a predetermined weight until the lifter's muscles reach a point of almost complete exhaustion. However, for the lifter to safely utilize either program with free weights, it is both desirable and generally necessary for the lifter to engage the assistance of one or more spotters to observe the lifter during his or her exercise program. The spotters help lift and remove the weight when the lifter no longer has sufficient strength or energy to place the weight back to a stored position, typically on support arms of a weight support or a weight bench. Conducting these programs without a spotter is extremely dangerous to the lifter. Muscle exertion and exhaustion may cause the lifter to lose control of the weights, leading to the weights being uncontrollably dropped onto and injuring the lifter. Commonly, the lifter is unable to obtain a spotter before commencing the repetitive weight lifting programs of these types. As a result, the lifter is faced with the dilemma of either ignoring proper safety procedures and conducting the weight lifting exercises without the use of spotters or not conducting the weight lifting program altogether. This dilemma can occur whether the lifter utilizes dumbbells or weights removably mounted on a barbell.
The weightlifting industry developed various devices that utilize motors to lift a weighted barbell for a lifter and eliminate the need for spotters. Typically, these devices have two movable cables traveling on respective, spaced-apart pulleys located at fixed positions on a frame. Distal ends of the cables are connected to the barbell, and proximal ends of the cables are operably connected to a single motor. The barbell is raised and lowered by respectively retracting and extending the cables by the motor. However, the motor must be activated for the cables to retract or extend, and the cables either extend or retract together, but not independently. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,949,959 and 5,048,826.
To provide independent travel of the cables, the weightlifting industry developed devices which utilize a separate motor for each cable. For example, each cable retracts and extends from a drum which is operably mounted to a motor, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,721. Although each motor can actuate independently of the other, the motors are under constant low-level actuation to maintain tension on the cables, which requires the use of sensors. Also, since the cables respectively suspend from drums located at fixed positions with respect to the frame, the distance between the cables cannot be varied to accommodate different sized barbells or permit the use of dumbbells as "free-weights" with the cables traveling along a substantially vertical path.
In an effort to alleviate the requirement of maintaining an actuated motor during a workout, the weightlifting industry enlisted the use of motor-clutch assemblies. For example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,394, two sets of chains are disposed on respective upper and lower sprockets. The lower sprockets are mounted onto a rotatable shaft operably connected to a motor through a clutch. An arm support assembly, which receives a barbell, is slidably mounted to vertical shafts and connected to the chains. While the lifter is exercising, the motor is not energized, allowing the shaft to freely spin as the arm support assembly moves along the vertical shafts. Once the lifter desires the device to lift the barbell, the lifter causes clutch to engage the shaft which permits the motor to controllably rotate the shaft and lift the barbell. However, the arm support assembly is not capable of providing "free-weight" full range of motion. Additionally, the chains can not move around their respective sprockets independently of the other.
Thus, there remains a need for a free-weight device which self-spots a lifter with the benefit of an unactuated motor or winch. Further, there remains a need for a free-weight device which self-spots a lifter that provides independent reciprocating movement of a pair of cables which are securable from movement to support the weight of the weight assembly. In addition, there exists a need with such a device for a clutch which provides independent reciprocating movement of the cables which are operably connected to the motor. As well, there remains an need for such a device capable of varying the distance between the cables for various sized barbells or for the use of dumbbells. Still, there remains a need for such a device which is capable of securing the dumbbells for a free-weight workout by the lifter. Accordingly, it is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.

Barbell and dumbbell safety spotting apparatus


A restoration process for restoring surface porosity defects resulting from the casting process in metal cast products. The areas of a cast product having surface porosity defects are identified and the areas not containing surface porosity defects are masked using an adhesive, reusable, rubberized mask. The masked surface is subsequently cleaned and a metal spray is applied to the surface porosity defects. The mask is removed and the restored surface porosity defects are hand finished to create a cast product having less than 0.05% surface porosity.

High pressure die casting (HPDC) of engine blocks is well known in the industry. However, the HPDC process inherently yields a higher level of porosity then other metal mold casting processes, such as, low pressure die casting, squeeze casting, or semi-solid metal casting (SSM). While these other casting processes require a much higher manufacturing cost, they are often preferred over the HPDC process as the cost of repairing surface porosity defects in engine blocks offsets the low cost of the HPDC process.
The high pressure die cast process produces products with a typical porosity of 0.5 percent. Such a porosity level yields a significant amount of surface porosity defects which prevent the use of the high pressure die cast process in certain instances, especially with respect to the casting of engine blocks. For example, such surface porosity defects are not adequate for a four stroke engine block comprised of an all aluminum or hypereutectic aluminum silicon alloy that must use less than one quart of oil per 6,000 miles. In this instance, the surface porosity allows oil to penetrate past the piston ring causing "oil burning".
The 0.5 percent porosity level is also inadequate for high pressure die cast engine blocks comprised of a hypoeutectic aluminum silicon alloy requiring chrome plating of the bores. In fact, it has been found that it is nearly impossible to chrome plate over high pressure die cast surface porosities and still have a durable chrome bore that will perform for 100,000 miles.
Further, it has been found that the O-ring seal between the combustion chamber and the water cooling chamber of an internal combustion engine is not adequately sealed if there is the typical 0.5 percent porosity resulting from the high pressure die cast process on the head deck of an engine block. This is due to the fact that the surface porosities interface with the O-ring seal. Even surface porosities as small as 0.010 inches in diameter may cause inadequate sealing.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the surface porosity problem may be remedied by a highly efficient restoration process that eliminates surface porosity on an exposed machined surface. The restoration process of the present invention allows the use of high pressure die casting in applications formerly thought to be not economically amenable to the high pressure die cast process and is superior to the restoration processes that currently define the state of the art.
In the current state of the art, surface porosity repair is achieved through the use of polymer matrix repair putty such as Devcon®, or the like. This approach to the repair of surface porosities is termed the "putty solution." The disadvantage of the use of polymer matrix repair putty is that it may not be used on surface porosity smaller than 0.080 inches in diameter. As proper O-ring sealing requires elimination of surface porosities as small as 0.010 inches in diameter, the putty solution is an imperfect restoration process.
In order to remedy the deficiencies in the putty solution, surface porosities between 0.010 inches and 0.080 inches are drilled out so that they reach the 0.080 inch requirement and are subsequently filled with the polymer matrix repair putty. Still, the solution is imperfect as the drilling increases the surface porosity before the Devcon® repair putty is able to effectively fill the porosity with a sufficient bonding patch. The drilling step also requires the use of additional resources making the process less efficient. Additionally, the patch is not aesthestically pleasing to consumers and may convey a message that the blocks are substandard. Further, although long term life of polymer matrix repair putty patches themselves are presumed acceptable, it does decrease heat transfer locally and the long term interaction with the aluminum interfaces are in question.
Another drawback of the putty solution is that manufacturing restrictions only allow three polymer matrix repair putty patches per engine block. Only allowing three repair patches is challenging when taken in combination with high pressure die casting. The HPDC process in conjunction with the putty solution still may result in rejection rates ranging between 5 percent and 50 percent. This range of rejection rates completely disturbs plant efficiencies and productivity. The putty solution further complicates plant productivity efficiencies insofar as the putty requires curing for 24 hours before final finishing of the engine block surface. Therefore, a combination of the high pressure die cast process along with the putty solution requires a significant que for an engine block line that requires continuous seven day production to keep up with a five day demand.
An additional secondary operation utilized in the current state of the art is the use of a metal soldering patch in replacement of the polymer matrix repair putty. This "soldering solution" requires the application of a low melting point alloy on top of the identified surface porosity. Conceptually, this solution has three main advantages: 1) the patch would not be visible after cleanup; 2) it could be utilized on more than three repair sites per engine block head deck; and 3) it would not require any curing time between application and finishing, thus eliminating the need for a que of blocks.
However, the soldering solution has a major drawback in that a Galvanic couple exists between the dissimilar base metal and soldering patch. The Galvanic couple is problematic when it comes into contact with salt water, because salt water corrodes the soldering patch. As many of the engine blocks produced by this process are for marine applications, and specifically for salt water marine applications, such a problem is quite disadvantageous. Further, the soldering solution requires a heat input to the engine block surface which may result in heat distortion defects, discoloration, and overaging of the precipitation strengthened aluminum engine blocks.
As a result of the concerns about the putty solution as well as the soldering solution, alternative solutions have been explored. Surprisingly, a metal spraying restoration process captures the three noted advantages of the soldering solution without having a bonding problem, a Galvanic corrosion problem, nor a heat input problem. This novel restoration process efficiently and economically restores for use high pressure die cast engine blocks having surface porosity defects revealed by machining of the blocks. The restoration process of the current invention provides a better bond with an aluminum silicon substrate surface than either the polymer matrix repair putty or the solder material. The use of aluminum oxide grit blasting in the process further substantiates the bond. Further, there is no need to make smaller porosity defects "bigger" for applying the metal spray nor is there a limit to the number or size of porosity defects that may be repaired. Further, there is no heat distortion imparted to the engine blocks nor do Galvonic corrosion concerns exist because the spray metal applied is very similar to the substrate metal. As a result of these advantages, there is significantly less scrapping, resulting in a much more efficient production process. The restoration process of the current invention also does not require any waiting or curing time between the application of the restoration process and the final finishing of the block. Thus, no production que is needed and level loading of the blocks may be planned through the production and machining process, further increasing the efficiency of production compared to the putty solution or the soldering solution. Finally, the aesthetic problem associated with the putty solution is eliminated as repaired porosity defects are not visible after clean up.
Metal spraying ceramic materials for wear resistance has been commercialized in the enhancement of crank pin journals, as well as in metal spraying of complete cylinder bores. However, neither of the above stated uses of metal spraying have been contemplated for the restoration of surface porosity defects.
Crank pin journals are defined as the area where a connecting rod attaches to a crankshaft in an engine. The use of metal spray enhances the durability of crank pen journals to wear by building up the area of attachment. Similarly, the aircraft industry has used metal spraying of complete cylinder bores to produce a coating that reduces wear problems.
With the metal spraying being utilized to create a wear surface, the noted processes require a large capitalized systems approach. This is significantly different from the restoration of miniscule surface porosity defects to allow the use of the high pressure die casting process. Further, the process of the current invention is also quite different from any "rapid prototyping" process that builds entire articles, for the same reasons already cited. The use of this micro-area, restoration process to add value to the high pressure die cast process therefore is a new and significantly useful addition to the state of the art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Restoration process for porosity defects in metal cast products


A wireless communication system capable of communicating by a frequency hopping method, having a base unit that can be connected to an external telephone circuit and multiple handsets that can communicate wirelessly with the base unit. The system generates predetermined hop frequency data In sequence, which is used to transmit and receive signals. The base unit transmits control signals to all the handsets at predetermined intervals, while the handsets transmit control signals to the base unit one by one at predetermined intervals. In this way, the exchange of control signals between the base unit and multiple handsets can be performed more quickly than when the base unit sends control signals to each handset one by one in order to match the individual receiving frequencies of those handsets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system provided with at least two handsets that connect wirelessly to a base unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cordless telephones that perform spread spectrum communications between a base unit and handset using a frequency hopping method are well-known in the art. In this type of cordless telephone, the frequency switching sequence (hereinafter referred to as "hopping pattern") used during communications is predetermined, and the base unit and handset always follow the same hopping pattern.
Hence, control signals are being passed back and forth between the base unit and handset at all times, and normally the base unit transmits control signals to the handset, which in turn transmits control signals to the base unit in response.
However, if two or more handsets are provided with one base unit, all of the handsets would respond to signals transmitted from the base unit at the same time, making it impossible for the base unit to properly receive the control signals.
Further, although it is possible for the base unit to transmit control signals to a specific handset by including a specific code in the transmitted control signals, exchanging control signals with each of the handsets in order could take a considerable amount of time, depending on the number of handsets. Hence, the number of handsets must be restricted in order to complete all exchanges of control signals within a limited time.

Wireless communication system communicable among a base unit and a plurality of handsets