Aspects relate to zero-emission propulsion systems and generators using ammonia (NH3) as fuel for engines and power plants. While ammonia has poor flammability, mixing hydrogen with ammonia (NH3) may improve flammability and thus facilitate the ignition of an air/ammonia mixture in engines or power plants. Alternatively, hydrogen (H2) may be supplied in a separate fuel system as a pilot fuel for pilot ignition of an air/ammonia mixture. Hydrogen can also be used in air independent systems along with oxygen (O2) from an oxygen tank. In addition to hydrogen, other bio or fossil fuels can be used as pilot fuel for pilot ignition of an air/ammonia mixture. An advantage of using existing bio or fossil fuels for pilot ignition is that engines or power plants will have a pilot fuel system with sufficient capacity to maintain normal operations if ammonia is not available.

Zero emission systems are defined as energy systems that do not release CO2. Propulsion systems of this kind have become relevant since establishment of the relationship between the atmospheric CO2 content and global warming.
The problem with using pure hydrogen (H2) as fuel is that, for most purposes, hydrogen (H2) must be stored as compressed gas. This makes the energy density relatively low. Leakage from tanks also becomes relatively large due to the size of the hydrogen atom which allows it to penetrate through most materials. In gas form, the density of hydrogen (H2) is low, resulting in low energy density. Hydrogen's (H2) boiling point (−252.9° C.) and smelting point (−259.2° C.) makes it inconvenient to use hydrogen (H2) in liquid or solid form as fuel for most propulsion systems. Aerospace is one of the exceptions where both liquid and solid hydrogen (H2) are used.
Ammonia (NH3) is therefore a better energy carrier. The main drawback is that it is toxic. But it could be a better alternative than pure hydrogen (H2) as it can be stored in liquid form at approx. 10 bar at room temperature (25° C.), or approx. −33.4° C. at a pressure of 1 atm. There is a large global production of ammonia (NH3), so it is readily available. The problem with ammonia (NH3) is that it is not a very flammable fuel. It is possible to split ammonia (NH3) into hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) either through catalytic high temperature cleavage using ruthenium (Ru), or through chemical cleavage using sodium (Na) in accordance with chemist Arthur Titherley's process. Alternatively, ammonia (NH3) can be ignited by pilot ignition using hydrogen (H2) or another bio or fossil fuel. It is also possible to blend in other gases like hydrogen (H2), CNG/LNG or LPG into ammonia (NH3) to improve ignition.
Pilot ignition of an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine is used in both Otto and diesel engines. With diesel engines, diesel injection is used to ignite an air/fuel mixture that has been mixed in the engine intake system and is sucked in and compressed in the engine cylinder. The disadvantage of this system is that using ammonia (NH3) as a fuel, the oxygen (O2) content of the mixture will be low and if diesel or biodiesel is used for pilot ignition of an ammonia (NH3)/air mixture, it will be difficult to achieve complete combustion of the diesel or biodiesel.
One solution to this problem is to use the CVCC combustion system developed by Honda. This ensures a separate supply of fresh air to the pilot ignition, which makes ignition easier and combustion more complete.
With submarines, ammonia (NH3) can be used directly or by cleavage to hydrogen (H2) for an AIP (air-independent propulsion) system.
Known technology in the field includes:
US 2010/0288249 A1—"Internal combustion engine with ammonia fuel," which describes the use of ammonia as fuel from cleavage of ammonia to nitrogen and hydrogen by means of high temperature.
US 2009/0120385 A1—"Method And Apparatus Of Fuelling An Internal Combustion Engine With Hydrogen And Methane," which describes the use of methane mixed with hydrogen (hytan) to improve ignition.
US 2011/0011354 A1—"Methods and apparatus for using ammonia as sustainable fuel, refrigerant and NOx reduction agent," which describes the use of ammonia as fuel in conjunction with cooling by evaporation of ammonia, as well as cleavage of ammonia to nitrogen and hydrogen, through thermal cleavage, catalytic cleavage and a combination of these two.
US 2013/0319359 A1—"System And Method For Energy Recovery In A Hydrogen Or Natural Gas Engine," which describes the use of hydrogen or methane as fuel for hybrid operation, where the pressure in the fuel tank is used to drive a turbine.
US 2013/0340710 A1—"Injection apparatus," which describes an ammonia injection system specially designed for 2-stroke engines, but which can also be used with 4-stroke engines where high pressure gas is used to inject fuel into the cylinder.
US 2012/0280517 A1—"Stable hydrogen-containing fuels and systems and methods for generating energy therefrom," which describes the use of hydrogen peroxide or other oxygen carriers as a reducing agent for preferably inorganic fuels such as ammonia.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,857 A—"Combustion engine system," which describes a methanol catalyst for converting methanol to hydrogen and carbon monoxide for use as fuel in engines. The system uses methanol or preferably diesel as pilot ignition for diesel engines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,474 A—"Mechanical arrangements for Stirling-cycle, reciprocating thermal machines," which describes the design of a Stirling engine.
WO 2012/170003 A2—"A system for making and using liquid fuels and fertilizer from electricity and designs and uses of linear electric machines," which describes Wood's Electric Machines which preferably run on Ammonia.
US 2011/0265463 A—"Ammonia burning internal combustion engine," which describes the use of a plasma jet or several sparkplugs to ignite ammonia in a normal Otto engine.
US 2013/0247867 A1—"Internal combustion engine using a water-based mixture as fuel and method for operating the same," which describes hydrogen used as an additive to improve ignition of a fuel mixture with water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,212 A—"Method and apparatus for operation of combustion engines" which describes a method for improving energy utilisation in an engine, and
WO 2013/172141 A1—"Ammonia engine," which describe a method for improving energy utilisation in an engine that runs on ammonia.

Zero emission propulsion systems and generator sets using ammonia as fuel


A cooler bypass valve, located in a hydraulic circuit between the discharge side of a torque converter and lubrication circuit, includes a valve spool urged by feedback pressure acting in opposition to the force of a compression spring to a bypass cooling mode position where the converter discharge fluid flow is connected to the lubrication circuit bypassing the oil cooler. The bypass valve includes a viscosity-sensitive pressure divider, which includes a series arrangement of a laminar orifice and a sharp-edged orifice located between the converter discharge and an oil sump. As oil temperature increases, flow through the laminar orifice produces a control pressure in opposition to the feedback pressure and additive to a spring force, which combine to move the valve spool to a cooling mode position where substantially all of the converter discharge is directed through the oil cooler. In a predetermined temperature range, the valve maintains a position where a portion of the converter discharge is directed to the oil cooler, and the residual to the lubrication circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hydraulic circuits for automatic transmission control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A hydrokinetic torque converter, which forms a hydrokinetic torque flow path from the engine crankshaft to the input elements of a gear ring of an automatic transmission, includes a turbine and an impeller arranged in a toroidal fluid flow circuit. It includes also a friction bypass clutch adapted to connect the impeller to the turbine to establish a mechanical torque flow path in parallel with respect to the hydrokinetic torque flow path of the torque converter.
The hydrokinetic torque converter of our invention includes a bypass clutch controlled by an hydraulic valve system. The bypass clutch has features that are common to the control system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,087, and the hydrokinetic torque converter control system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,616. These patents are assigned to the assignee of our present invention. The '087 patent describes a torque converter control system having a lock-up clutch for establishing a controlled mechanical torque flow path between the engine and the transmission gearing and for modifying the bypass clutch capacity during shift intervals. That patent discloses an electronic control strategy for effecting a control slip in a torque converter bypass clutch, whereby the bypass clutch is actuated by modulated converter clutch solenoid pressure from a clutch solenoid valve to effect varying clutch capacity so that the resulting control slip results in an actual slip that approaches a target slip determined by the operating parameters of the driveline.
The '616 patent describes a torque converter control system having a lock-up clutch for establishing a controlled mechanical torque flow path between the engine and transmission gearing and for modifying the bypass clutch capacity during gearshift intervals.
The system of this invention permits two fixed displacement pumps to operate in several distinct modes: combined delivery, secondary pump supercharged, and clutch pump boosted. A feature of this system is the supercharge circuit that regenerates waste hydraulic power to raise the inlet pressure of the secondary pump above atmospheric pressure.
In a conventional hydraulic circuit for an automatic transmission, the fluid from the torque converter and cooler provides most of the fluid to the lubrication system because the converter, cooler and lubrication system are arranged in series. In some conventional hydraulic systems, one or more separate circuits are fed from a source of line pressure so that during periods when pump flow demand is high, such as when torque converter and cooler flow is throttled or dead-headed, not all of the fluid directed to the lubrication system is throttled or closed.

Hydraulic temperature compensated cooler bypass control for an automatic transmission


An AlN single crystal Schottky barrier diode including: an AlN single crystal substrate having a defect density of 106 cm−2 or less and a thickness of 300 μm or more; a first electrode formed on one surface of the AlN single crystal substrate; and a second electrode formed on one surface of the AlN single crystal substrate while being spaced apart from the first electrode, the AlN single crystal Schottky barrier diode being provided with: a rectifying property such that an on-off ratio at the time of applying 10 V and −40 V is at least 103 even at a high temperature of 573 K; a high voltage resistance such that a voltage can be applied at least within a range of −40 V to 10 V; and a low on-resistance characteristic such that a current begins to flow at no greater than 5 V.

In recent years, attempts have been made actively to improve the energy efficiency of the power elements such as a power diode. Examples of the power diodes include Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) for obtaining rectifying properties. Since the power elements made of silicon materials are approaching the theoretical limit, the search for other materials that are more suitable for the power elements has been actively conducted.
It has been shown, in theory, that the semiconductor materials having a wide band gap and which were regarded conventionally as insulating materials are suitable as power elements (Non-Patent Document 1). Examples of the semiconductor materials having a wide band gap include metal nitrides such as gallium nitride (GaN) having a band gap of 3.4 eV, and AlN having a band gap of 6.2 eV. At present, power elements using GaN have been researched and developed actively. In addition, there are also reported cases of diodes using AlGaN (Non-Patent Document 2).
There is a reported example of aluminum nitride (AlN) diode that emits ultraviolet light with the shortest wavelength of 210 nm (Non-Patent Document 3). However, the AlN used in the diode is one formed as a thin film on a SiC substrate through heteroepitaxial growth, and is not a bulk single crystal of good quality. Further, the AlN diode is a p-n junction diode, and is not suitable for power diodes, since the ON resistance theoretically increases as compared with the Schottky barrier diode which is a power diode.
Production of high quality AlN single crystals is difficult and the device integration thereof is difficult, and thus the AlN Schottky diode operation has not been conventionally confirmed. For this reason, AlN has not attracted attention as a power element material until now.
It has been reported that it is possible to grow a large AlN single crystal on a SiC substrate by a sublimation method (Non-Patent Document 4). However, the AlN single crystal has not been reported as having semiconductor properties which may be used to form a Schottky barrier diode.

AlN single crystal Schottky barrier diode and method of producing the same

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE


An advertising system is adapted to tracking consumer exposure to a number of different advertisements and to expose consumers to several different advertisements. The system simultaneously measures the number of consumers viewing different advertisements, while displaying different selected advertisements for viewing by the consumer. The system includes a display for displaying advertisements and other information. The system functions in either one of an idle mode, wherein potential consumers are not within a sensed proximity range, and an active mode, wherein the presence of potential consumers within the proximity range is detected. In the idle mode, the system displays programmed non-advertisement information. In the active mode, the display displays a programmed sequence of advertisements, that includes full-motion color commercials that may be interspersed with other information. A sound module may be provided for generating an audio portion of the advertisements. The time period of the active mode is sensed for determining the portions of the programmed sequence of advertisements that were displayed during the active mode, for determining particular advertisements that may have been viewed by the consumer to generate data. The data is retrieved from a host computer for determining what information in the active mode was displayed and the duration that the system was in the active mode for determining consumer presence and what portions of the active mode information may have been viewed by consumers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for tracking consumer exposure to promotional material.
2. Description of Related Art
Although electronic billboards and other forms of active advertising devices are known, an issue that presently exists in the advertising industry is the lack of accountability. Known advertising devices operate by projecting advertising information at large, regardless of the presence or absence of recipients of this information. However, simply issuing advertising information is no guarantee of the effectiveness of this information in reaching potential consumers and impacting the market for the product being promoted. Although the advertising industry is aware of this, current methods for measuring the number of consumers viewing an advertisement, which is important from many standpoints including marketing research and accounting purposes for the providers of the advertising service and their advertising clients, are arbitrary at best. Thus, there exists a need for a system that tracks consumer exposure to a number of different advertisements and that exposes consumers to several different advertisements.

System for tracking consumer exposure and for exposing consumers to different advertisements


Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a precoding configuration method, device, and system. The precoding configuration method includes: generating precoding configuration information, where the precoding configuration information is used to configure a width of a frequency band for same precoding; and sending the precoding configuration information. The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a transmit end device, a receive end device, and the precoding configuration system. In the precoding configuration method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the precoding configuration information is generated and sent, so that a receive end can determine, based on the precoding configuration information, the width of the frequency band for same precoding. In the prior art, the width of the frequency band for same precoding is determined based on only system bandwidth, while the width of the frequency band for same precoding can be flexibly determined in the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, so that requirements of a wireless communications system can be met in diversified scenarios, and system performance can be effectively optimized in different scenarios.

In a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system, by using multi-antenna precoding at a data transmit end, system performance may be effectively improved. To support a receive end in demodulating data, the transmit end usually needs to perform corresponding precoding on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), so that the receive end can estimate a precoded equivalent channel.
In a system based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), data is transmitted on a plurality of subcarriers in frequency domain. To avoid excessively consuming resources, the DMRS is transmitted on all subcarriers for data transmission, but is transmitted on some subcarriers corresponding to the DMRS. Therefore, data on a plurality of continuous subcarriers may be precoded by sharing one corresponding DMRS.
Usually, a plurality of DMRSs in adjacent frequency domain may also use same precoding to improve channel estimation performance and reduce channel state information (CSI) feedback overheads. Data that uses same precoding and a corresponding DMRS of the data are usually located on continuous subcarriers.
In an existing Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a precoding resource block group (PRG) is used to indicate a width of a frequency band for same precoding. The width of the frequency band for same precoding depends only on system bandwidth. Provided that the system bandwidth is determined, user equipment (UE) may determine, based on a convention of the LTE standard protocol, the width of the frequency band for same precoding.
In a 5G multi-scenario condition, the width of the frequency band for same precoding is determined based on only the system bandwidth, causing poor flexibility and difficulty in effectively optimizing system performance in different scenario conditions.

Precoding configuration method, device, and system


A magneto-optical recording/reproducing device which records information by irradiating a light beam of constant intensity on a magneto-optical recording medium while simultaneously applying a magnetic field thereon through a recording magnetic head; and which reproduces the recorded information through a reproducing magnetic head. The magneto-optical recording medium has a magnetic film formed on a translucent substrate and the magnetic field applied through the recording magnetic head reverses in response to the information to be recorded. The recording magnetic head and the reproducing magnetic head are integrally provided on a single magnetic core in order set their positions easily with respect to each other. By making a magnetic core end-face of the reproducing magnetic head smaller than a light beam spot, information recorded on areas smaller than the light beam spot can be reproduced. A large reproduced output may be achieved by using a magneto-optical recording medium which has a soft magnetic material layer made of soft magnetic material provided between the substrate and the magnetic film.

As shown in FIG. 9, a magneto-optical disk serving as a magneto-optical recording medium, essentially comprises a disc-shaped transparent substrate 44 and a magnetic film 45 formed on the substrate 44.
When information is recorded on the magneto-optical disk 43 by magnetic field modulation, a light beam 41 constant intensity is converged by an objective lens 42 and is irradiated as a light beam spot 47 on the magnetic film 45 through the substrate 44. Since the temperature of a portion of the magnetic film 45 whereon the light beam spot 47 is irradiated rises to a vicinity of the Curie temperature, the magnetic coercive force of the portion of the magnetic film 45 decreases. Here, a magnetic field is applied to the magnetic film 45 from a recording magnetic head 46, the magnetic field reversing in response to the information to be recorded. Accordingly, mutually reversed magnetization directions are formed (shown by arrows in FIG. 9) in the portions of the magnetic film 45 whereon the light beam spot 47 is successively irradiated. The information is thereby recorded.
On the other hand, when the information is to be reproduced, a light beam 41 having a constant intensity (which is weaker than the intensity during recording) is converged by the objective lens 42 and is irradiated as a light beam spot 47 on the magnetic film 45 through the substrate 44, in the same way as described above. Light is reflected by the magnetic film 45 and returns to the objective lens 42 where it is converged. Information is then reproduced by detecting a rotation of a plane of polarization of the reflected light which is converged by the objective lens 42.
When recording frequency is increased in the case where the information is recorded by magnetic field modulation, magnetic domains 49 serving as recording units and located on the magnetic film 45 become crescent shaped, as shown in FIG. 10. This was reported in the "Digests of the 13th Annual Conference on Magnetics in Japan 1989" (page 198). That is, in a case where a track 48 on the magneto-optical disk 43 moves leftwards (as shown by an arrow in FIG. 10) with respect to the light beam spot 47 due to a rotation of the magneto-optical disk 43, areas of the magnetic film 45 are successively heated up by the irradiation of the light beam spot 47 thereon and, subsequently, each of the areas begins to cool down progressively in the rightward direction. Along with the progressive fall in temperature in each of the areas, the magnetic coercive force in each of the areas also begins to progressively increase in the rightward direction. When the temperature falls below a point where the magnetic coercive force becomes greater than the magnetic field applied from the recording magnetic head 46, the magnetization directions in the areas which have cooled below this point can no longer align with a direction of the magnetic field. For this reason, information is recorded in each of the areas just before :he areas cool below this point. Accordingly, the shape of each of the magnetic domains 49 conforms to the shape of the left-hand side of the light beam spot 47, i.e., a crescent shape which is convex in the leftwards direction, as shown in FIG. 10.
The length (from left to right) of each of the crescent-shaped magnetic domains 49 is smaller than the diameter of the light beam spot 47. As the recording frequency is increased, the length of each of the magnetic domains 49 decreases further. Consequently, it becomes possible to achieve a high recording density by increasing the recording frequency.
However, in the conventional configuration described above, in the case where the recording frequency is increased, it becomes difficult to reproduce information by detecting the rotation of the plane of polarization the reflected light since a plurality of the magnetic domains 49 fall under the light beam spot 47.

Magneto-optical recording and reproducing device having integrally formed recording and reproducing magnetic heads


A rolling walker 1 comprises a first frame 3 supported by a front caster 2 at both ends thereof and a second frame 5 supported by a rear caster 4 at both ends thereof, and a handle 7 provided to either first frame 3 or second frame 5. The first frame 3 and the second frame 5 are foldably connected each other by a connecting shaft 6. The rolling walker 1 has a closed frame fixing means 11 which fixes the first frame 3 and the second frame 5 in a closed position and connects the first frame 3 and the second frame 5 to stand when the first frame 3 and the second frame 5 are rotationally folded around the connecting shaft 6, so that each frame 3, 5 can be kept folded to stand when the rolling walker 1 is not used. The rolling walker 1 also has a straight moving means 106 which fixes the front caster 2 in a back and front direction of the rolling walker 1 and the front caster 2 is a rotatable caster having the caster rotational axis CF around which the front caster 2 rotates so that all casters 2 and 4 can be fixed in a back and front direction, ensuring straightness in walking.

The present invention relates to a rolling walker. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvement of structure such as a frame and a seat of a rolling walker that can take various forms to be used, for example, an apparatus for enabling aged or disabled people to walk or to help them walk or as a walking trainer. It is noted that a term xe2x80x9crolling walkerxe2x80x9d is used in this specification as a general term for apparatuses having at least a frame, a caster and a handle particularly for helping aged people or disabled people to walk in order to walk easily, and is a concept including all kinds of lightweight cars called a walker, a walking trainer, a rolling walker for aged people or the like.
Conventionally, there has been known a rolling walker 200 having cross-type frames of a first frame 201 and a second frame 202 connected with each other by a connecting shaft 208 so that the frames can be folded, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30. The rolling walker is provided with a seat 205 and a handle (not shown) extending from either of the frames 201 or 202 and a user can sit on the seat 205 between the right and left handles only turning his or her body. Further, each frame 201, 202 is composed of longitudinal pipe portions disposed on both sides respectively and at least one lateral pipe portion connecting the longitudinal pipe portions with each other. A front caster 203 and a rear caster 204 that can not rotate are provided under the longitudinal frame of each frame 201, 202, respectively.
When the rolling walker 200 is used, each frame 201, 202 is rotated to open around the connecting shaft 208, as shown in FIG. 29. At this time, a hook fixed to the lateral pipe portion 209 of the second frame 202, for example, engages with the lateral pipe portion 207 of the first frame 201 so that the frames 201 and 202 link fixedly between themselves to keep them opened. That is, the hook 206 and the lateral pipe portion 207 engaging with the hook 206 form a frame fixing means. Here, the hook 206 is disposed in front of the seat 205 in order not to interfere with the seat 205.
The rolling walker 200 can be used by a user gripping the handles to walk and the rolling walker 200 also can be used as a chair to be sat on the seat 205 by the user when the user gets tired or so. The seat 205 is adapted to be pulled up when the user is walking with the users feet put in front of the rear caster 204.
Further, the rolling walker 200 can be folded to be compact when, e.g. it is not used, as shown in FIG. 30, by inwardly rotating each frame 201, 202 around the connecting shaft 208.
The above-described rolling walker 200, however, is not able to be fixed with the frames 201 and 202 folded and a grounding space X between the front and rear frames 203 and 204 becomes longer due to its own weight when the rolling walker is forced to stand itself by supporting the frames 201 and 202 with the front caster 203 and the rear caster 204. Because of this, the rolling walker 200 can not stand with the frames 201 and 202 folded but can be only laid down, resulting in causing problems of not only taking space and being inconvenient but also getting dirty.
Particularly since the front caster 203 can rotate, a rotational axis of the front caster 203 should be taken in the vertical direction when the frames 201 and 202 are opened. In this manner, a position of the front caster 203 becomes closer to the rear caster 204 to shorten the grounding space X between the casters 203 and 204 considerably when the frames 201 and 202 are closed, as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 30 and the whole body of the rolling walker inclines forward to easily fall down compared to a case in which the front caster 203 faces forward (indicated by a two-dash broken line in FIG. 30). Due to the reason, it was difficult for the rolling walker 200 to stand with the frames 201 and 202 closed.
Furthermore, with regard to the hook 206, a user operates it by holding it directly and operating the hook 206 becomes difficult when a seat 205 that is large enough to cover the upper portion of the hook 206 is employed. It could be possible to extend an operating lever of the hook 206 to the outside of the seat 205 in order to avoid this. However, another problem has been occurred that the seat 205 is interfered by the operating lever when the seat 205 is pulled up from the horizontal position.
Accordingly, the present invention is aimed at providing a rolling walker that can be folded to stand when it is not used and also can improve its operation to open the frames.
To achieve the purpose, in a rolling walker having frames including a first frame supported by front casters and a second frame supported by rear casters connected with each other by a connecting shaft so that the frames can fold, and a handle provided on either first frame or second frame, the rolling walker according to the present invention is provided with a closed frame fixing means which connects the first and the second frames when the first and second frames are rotatably folded around the connecting shaft to be closed.
Thus, the first and second frames are folded to fix with each frame in a closed position by the closed frame fixing means which fixes frames in a closed position. In this manner, the rolling walker can stand with its frames folded so that the rolling walker can be kept standing even in a small space when it is not used.
Moreover, the rolling walker according to the present invention may have a straight moving means which fixes front casters in a back and front direction of the rolling walker and the rear casters may be adapted to be an unrotatable caster.
In this case, all casters can be fixed in the back and front direction so that straightness in moving of the rolling walker can be attained. Namely, the casters can be prevented from rotating by fixing all the casters in the back and front direction, resulting in ensuring for a user to walk easily, though it is not easy to walk straight on a slope which inclines in the direction perpendicular to the direction to which the rolling walker moves because the wheels face downward if the front caster can rotate. The straightness in moving of the rolling walker can be ensured even on such a slope inclining in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the rolling walker""s moving.
In addition, in the present invention, the straight moving means which fixes front casters in the back and front direction may be provided with a lock member movably attached to the first frame and locking recesses formed in both of the first frame and the front casters to limit the front casters to rotate by engaging the lock member with both recesses. In this case, since the lock member engages with both of the first frame and the front casters, the locking force can be greater compared to a case in which the lock member engages with the front casters only.
Further, in the present invention, it is preferable to provide the rolling walker with a means for fixing front casters in an opposite direction to enable the front caster to rotate to be fixed in a position where the center of the front wheel is positioned in front of the rotational axis of the front caster. In this case, the grounding space between the front and rear casters becomes longer and the whole body of the rolling walker is prevented from forwardly tilting. Thus, the rolling walker does not easily fall down when it is folded, resulting in ensuring its stable standing.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the rolling walker may be provided with an open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position to connect the first and second frames with each other for fixing their positional relations when the first and second frames are in an open position. In this case, since the frames can be fixed in a position of being used by the open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position, the rolling walker can be prevented from folding unexpectedly when the rolling walker gets shock, for example, the front caster hits against an obstacle.
Moreover, in the present invention, the rolling walker is preferably provided with a seat facing backward. The seat is rotatably supported on the lateral pipe portion of a frame that is defined as a front frame during walking and the seat is rotatable between a position where the seat is sat by a user and a position where the seat is evacuated. In this case, the user""s feet can be put inside the rear frame when the seat is rotatably pulled up around the front lateral pipe portion so that the rolling walker can be used as a walker. Moreover, the appearance of the rolling walker becomes nicer since the seat and the frame overlap when they are laterally seen while the seat is pulled up. And, the user can sit on the seat just pulling down the seat and turning the user""s body.
In the present invention, the rolling walker may be provided with a seat facing backward, which is rotatably supported on the lateral pipe portion of a frame that is defined as a front frame during walking and is able to rotate between a position where the seat is sat and a position where the seat is evacuated, and an open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position provided under the seat. The open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position may have a release lever that can rotate between a position where the release lever protrudes from beneath the seat and the open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position can be operated and a position where the seat is not interfered even it is pulled up. In this case, the release lever of the open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position protrudes from beneath the seat so that operation to release the means can be easier since the user can easily hold the open frame fixing means which fixes frames in an open position. Also, the release lever can rotate to move to a position where the release lever does not interfere with the seat, enabling the seat to be prevented from interfering with the release lever even the seat is pulled up.
Further, the rolling walker according to the present invention preferably has grips consisting of the handle provided on the right and left side respectively and a back belt whose ends are connected with front portions of the right and left grips of the handle respectively to be leaned on by the user. In this case, the user can lean his or her back on the back belt during sitting on the seat so that the user can take a rest in a more comfortable and stable position. The appearance of the rolling walker can be nicer because the handle can be formed with its open ends facing backward. It is also possible to adjust a position of the back belt according to the user""s built. The belt can be adjusted according to the user if the user is fat or thin, and stability during sitting on the seat can be increased. Here, it is preferable to make a center portion of the back belt wider than other portions thereof. In this manner, the user""s back can be supported with a larger surface area when he or she leans on the seat and comfortableness in sitting on the seat can be increased.
Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable to provide the rolling walker with the back. In this case, the user can take a rest in a more comfortable and stable position since the user can lean his or her back on the backrest when he or she sits on the seat.
On the other hand, the rolling walker according to the present invention may be provided with a seat facing forward on the lateral pipe portion of a frame that is defined as a rear frame during walking and the seat is rotatably supported so that a front portion of the seat can be pulled up. In this case, a cart having a seat facing forward, e.g. a type of cart that the user can sit on the seat by just walking up to the front of the seat when he or she gets tired during pushing the cart and walking with baggage or the like on it, can fold and stand in a folded position.
Further, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, it is preferable to form a portion of the seat surrounding the user""s hip into raised higher than the center portion of the seat. In this case, the hip of the user sitting on the seat is supported being circumferentially surrounded so that the user can feel comfortable during sitting.
Furthermore, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, the right and left grips of the handle are preferably connected by the connecting portion. In this case, the user can hold the connecting portion between the right and left grips of the handle with comfortable width according to the size of the user""s hand instead of holding the right and left grips of the handle forcibly so that the user can push naturally the rolling walker in a comfortable and vertical position.
Moreover, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, it is preferable to attach a removable bag to the frame. In this case, a user can carry his or her things housed in the bag. Since the bag is removable, the user can remove the bag having valuables in it out of the frame to carry with him or her when the user leaves the rolling walker so that the baggage is not stolen and the rolling walker is safety and convenient to use.
It is also preferable to provide the rolling walker with a seat rotatably supported on a lateral pipe portion of a frame that is defined as a rear frame during walking. The seat also can rotate between a position where the seat is sat and a position where the seat is evacuated, and the seat is used as not only a seat but also a lid of the bag. This makes the number of assemblies smaller since a lid of the bag should not be prepared individually.
Here, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, it is preferable to provide each of the front and rear casters with a main portion of the caster and a connecting portion for connecting the main portion with the frame, and the connecting portion is provided with either a caster rotating means which enables the main portion of the caster to rotate with respect to the frame or a caster fixing means which unrotatably fixes the main portion of the caster to the frame. In this case, assemblies such as the main portion of the caster, the wheel or the tire, except the caster rotating means and the caster fixing means, can be used not only for the rotatable caster but also for unrotatable caster. This can decrease the number of kinds of the assemblies, resulting in cutting the cost of assemblies or members.
Further, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, the connecting portion may be provided with an attachment portion where a lock member for locking rotation can be attached when the caster rotating means is disposed and a brake mechanism can be attached when the caster fixing means is disposed. In this case, the attachment portion can be shared between the caster that can not rotate and the caster that can rotate and each caster can be attached with individual members, resulting in giving distinct function to each caster while attaining utilization of assemblies for the plural purposes.
Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable to provide the rolling walker with a brake mechanism to stop rotation of the wheel by pulling a wire and a brake operation device that can operate the brake mechanism by pulling the wire. The brake operation device includes a cam member rotatably supported with respect to the handle and attached with the wire, and a locking mechanism for locking an operation lever in a position in which the operation lever has been rotated to the second direction. The operation lever is also provided with a first pressing portion for rotating the cam member in the direction of pulling the wire when the operation lever is operated to the first direction and a second pressing portion for rotating the cam member in the direction of pulling the wire when the operation lever is operated to the second direction. The cam member is provided with a first receiving portion pressed by the first pressing portion of the operation lever and a second receiving portion pressed by the second pressing portion.
In this case, as the brake operation device connects the operation lever with the wire by the cam mechanism, the operation lever can be directly attached to the handle so as to rotate. In this arrangement, the rotational center of the operation lever is always fixed irrespective of directions to be operated and a user can obtain stable feeling of operation. Consequently, operating the brake of the rolling walker can be improved. Also, because of the provision of the lock mechanism for locking the operation lever in a position in which the operation lever has been rotated to the second direction, the locking of the operation lever can be kept even if the cam member becomes loose for some reason or other when it is locked and then the cam member engages again with the operation lever when the cam member returns to the original state, resulting in increasing stability of locking.
Here, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, it is preferable to dispose the operation lever, the cam member and the lock mechanism so that the operation lever being at the neutral position is stopped not to rotate by three points of the first and second pressing portions and the lock mechanism. In this case, since the operation lever being at the neutral position is stopped not to rotate by the three points, the operation lever stably stops without shaking. Consequently, the wire can be pulled without play when the operation lever being at the neutral position is operated to either the first direction or the second direction, and a brake response to the operation of the operation lever becomes better to obtain a nice feeling of operation.
Further, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, the operation lever may have a ring-shaped operating portion. In this case, the operation lever can be operated to rotate to either direction by putting one or more fingers of the user in the operating portion. In this manner, the user should not grip over again every time he or she changes the direction of operating the operation lever, and good operational feeling can be obtained.
On the other hand, in the rolling walker according to the present invention, the frame and the handle may be connected through a rise and fall portion. The rise and fall portion includes an outer pipe fixed to the frame, an inner pipe fixed to the handle and slidably fitted to the outer pipe, an outer hole communicating with the outer pipe and having a female screw, a plurality of inner holes communicating with the inner pipe, and a operating screw which is engaged with the female screw of the outer hole and piercing through the inner hole. The end portion of the operating screw presses the inner surface of the inner pipe.
In this case, since the bottom end portion of the operating screw comes into contact with the inner surface of the inner pipe, a damaged portion is not exposed outside even if a place contacting with the operating crew of the inner pipe is damaged, and the appearance of the rolling walker does not get worse. The appearance, therefore, becomes nicer comparing to a case in which the operating screw presses the inner surface of the inner pipe to damage it and the damaged portion is exposed.
Further, since the operating screw is pierced through the inner holes of the inner pipe, the inner pipe does not oscillate if the operating screw comes loose due to oscillation from an expansion and contraction mechanism, enabling the inner pipe to ensure its stable fixation. The inner pipe also has a plurality of inner holes formed therein so that the length of the expansion and contraction mechanism can be changed gradually. Thus, each length of the plurality of expansion and contraction mechanisms can be equal easily, comparing to a case using an expansion and contraction mechanism that does not expand and contract gradually.
Furthermore, the rolling walker according to the present invention has an armrest on the frame having a handle so that the rolling walker can be used as a walking trainer. In this case, the walking trainer can fold and stand.
The walking trainer is preferably provided with a load mechanism enabling the rear caster to constantly give a load to rotation of the wheel. In this case, the walking trainer can be prevented from moving with light force by adjusting the wheel of the rear caster to be always loaded, and therefore the walking trainer can be prevented from moving ahead of a user, for example, when a user, who lost the full use of the feet, uses the walking trainer, thereby increasing safety in using the walking trainer. Also, a user has to put the walking trainer forward to move the trainer, and this action trains the user for walking.


A CT scanner includes a gantry supporting an x-ray source and an x-ray detector. A motor in the gantry controls rotation of the gantry relative to a mounting plate from which the gantry is supported. The gantry also houses a computer for controlling the motor to rotate the gantry in a controlled, known manner. The computer also controls the x-ray source, including powering the x-ray source on and off and varying the intensity and frequency of the produced x-ray. The computer also collects data from the x-ray detector.

The present invention relates generally to computer tomography (CT) scanners and more particularly to a more compact CT scanner. Generally, computer tomography scanners are large enough to scan a patient's entire body. Typically, an x-ray source is mounted on a movable ring, which also includes an array of x-ray detectors opposite the x-ray source. The patient lies on a platform that moves through the ring. The ring is rotated so the x-ray source and detectors revolve around the patient, while the patient is moved through the ring on the platform. The x-ray slices through the body by taking a series of x-rays in a spiral pattern. The x-ray source is typically a "fan beam" x-ray source, i.e., it sends a fan-shaped beam that defines a single plane through the body and is received by the detectors.
These scanners are very large because they are capable of scanning an entire body and must include a platform movable through the x-ray source and detectors. An entire room is often dedicated to such a scanner and its associated equipment.
Because the scanner takes only narrow slices through the body, the x-ray source and detectors must make numerous revolutions just to scan a small area of the body. Further, because some of the internal organs that are being scanned may move, it is important that the scanner and detectors revolve very quickly and process the information very quickly. This greatly increases the cost and complexity of the current design.


The flutes of a drill bit (1) are constituted by helical portions (4) and rectilinear portions (5).

Hand-actuated gimlets are known which enable the providing of lead holes, for example in wood. Likewise known, for piercing the actual hole, are drill bits or twist drills including one or several peripheral undercuts generally in the form of a helix and which begin at the penetrating end of the tool. Such peripheral undercuts, of a generally helical form hereinafter referred to as flutes, serve, on the one hand, to evacuate the chips removed by the cutting portions of the tool. On the other hand when the tool is at least partially conical they serve to enlarge the hole or lead hole by participating in the removal of material by means of their cutting profile. The experienced user of a drill bit takes care to restrain the advance of his tool in order to avoid the undesirable phenomenon of screwing in, by which the advance of the tool is determined simply by the speed of rotation and the pitch of the helix. A perceptible start of screwing in must be corrected by a stopping or reversal of the advance and by slowing, stopping or reversal of the rotation if the tool shows a tendancy to block. Blocking can cause breaking of the tool.
The screwing-in tendency becomes that much stronger to the extent that the tool exhibits a generally conical rather than cylindrical form.
In the special case of dental surgery, the boring of root canals must exhibit a conical profile in view of the filling which will follow. Consequently the tools used have such a strong tendency to screwing in that they are used above all for manually performed axial reaming. Their manipulation is delicate since breaking such a tool can be very detrimental.
Canal boring with continuous driving of the instruments in rotation at low speed is only recently recommended. Such procdure has as principal advantage that of not deforming the natural path of a tooth canal whilst enlarging it.
In such technique it has been attempted to eliminate the screwing-in tendency by blunting the cutting angles of the flutes. But not only is the efficiency of material removal diminished along with undesirable heating but there subsists a certain screwing-in tendency.


A circuit includes a first finger capacitor having a first bus line coupled to a first plurality of finger elements and a second bus line coupled to a second plurality of finger elements. The first bus line is parallel to the second bus line. The circuit further includes an inductor having a first leg oriented perpendicular to the first bus line and the second bus line. The first leg of the inductor is coupled to a center of the first bus line.

Modern integrated circuits (ICs) are often required to operate at frequencies well within the gigahertz range. With respect to frequencies of 10 GHz or less, a variety circuit structures are known to provide acceptable performance. Known inductor-capacitor (LC) circuit structures, for example, can be implemented that operate at 10 GHz or less with a suitably high quality (Q) factor. These LC circuit structures incorporate finger capacitors.
The Q factor of a circuit generally decreases as frequency increases. As frequencies increase beyond 10 GHz, performance of conventional LC circuit structures begins to degrade markedly. As an example, the Q factor of a conventional LC circuit structure that utilizes finger capacitors can be expected to decrease by as much as 67 percent when frequency is increased from approximately 10 GHz to approximately 32 GHz.
Techniques for improving the Q factor of an LC circuit structure at such high frequencies have included increasing the width of the bus line of the finger capacitors, increasing the width of the finger elements of the finger capacitors, or both. These techniques, however, consume significant area thereby reducing the area available within the IC for other circuitry and/or increasing the size of the IC itself. Further, increased widths of the bus line and/or finger elements increases parasitic capacitances in the LC circuit structure. Increased parasitic capacitance can degrade the tuning range of circuits such as voltage controlled oscillators and/or other circuits that typically rely upon or incorporate the LC circuit structure.

High quality factor inductive and capacitive circuit structure


The present invention is to provide a resin-forming mold having high releasability and permitting a production without increasing production costs. The resin-forming mold can be used to produce a resin-molded product having minute uneven portions on a front face thereof, such as a surface light source device-use light guide for a liquid crystal display, an aspherical micro-lens, micro-Fresnel lens and an optical disk. In the stamper (resin-forming mold) 10 provided with an electroformed layer 11 and a conductive film 12 formed on the electroformed layer 11, the front face layer 12c of the conductive film 12 is formed of aluminum and a back face 12d is formed of nickel as an electroconductive metal. In addition, the constituent composition of the aluminum and the nickel continuously changes from the front face 12c toward the back face 12d. The front face 12c may be formed of aluminum and oxygen. The aluminum may combine with the oxygen to form an oxide of aluminum.

A stamper 1 as shown in FIG. 7 is formerly known for producing resin-molded products having finely uneven portions on their surfaces, for example, light guides for the surface light source devices of liquid crystal displays, aspheric micro-lenses, micro-Fresnel lenses, optical disks, etc.
This stamper 1 comprises a nickel-electroformed layer 1a and a metal electroconductive film 1b formed on the nickel-electroformed layer 1a.
In order to produce such a stamper 1, a master plate 2 is used, which comprises a glass substrate 2a and a photoresist film 2b formed on the glass substrate 2a and having a minute uneven pattern. That is, an electroconductive film 1b of nickel is formed on a surface of the master plate, and the nickel-electroformed film 1a is formed as a stamper body (resin-forming mold body) through electroforming by using the metal-electroconductive film 1b as a cathode.
Then, the stamper 1 (resin-forming mold) is produced by peeling the electroconductive film 1b and the nickel-electroformed layer 1a from the master plate 2, while an interface between the electroconductive film 1b and the photoresist film 2b is taken as a boundary.
The stamper 1 is used as a part of the resin-forming mold to form a finely uneven surface of a molding resin for an optical disc or the like. The resin-molded product is produced by injection molding the molding resin onto the stamper 1.
The stamper 1 has not necessarily good releasability (mold releasability) to the resin-molded product.
This is considered to largely depend upon a chemical property that a peeling face (surface) of the electroconductive film 1b formed mainly with nickel only has not high mold releasability.
For this reason, particularly when the molding resin is for the light guide of the surface light source device, the light guide has a large area and in addition a height difference in the uneven pattern, so that a contact surface area between the molding resin and the stamper 1 is large to further deteriorate the mold releasability.
Therefore, there occur troubles that the resin is not smoothly molded and/or the uneven pattern shape is not reversely transferred onto the molded product faithfully. Consequently, the productivity of the resin molded products decreases and the product cost increases.
Under the circumstances, a stamper 3 shown in FIG. 8 is devised to improve mold releasability between the stamper 1 and the resin-molded product (For example, see JP-A 10-308040).
This stamper 3 comprises a nickel-electroformed layer 3a and a metal-electroconductive film 3b as in the case of the stamper 1. The stamper 3 further has an oxidized film 3c formed on the metal-electroconductive film 3b, and a mold-releasing layer 3d formed of an organic fluorine compound on the oxidized film 3c.
As another example of this type, a stamper is devised, in which a mold-releasing layer is provided on a surface of a base material having an uneven pattern formed thereon (For example, see JP-A 11-039730).
In this stamper, the base material made of silicon is provided with the mold-releasing layer formed of at least one kind of metals selected from nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag) or platinum (Pt) or compounds thereof so as to improve mold releasability between the resin molded product and the mold.
However, the mold releasability of the stamper 3 can be improved with the mold-releasing layer 3d made of the organic fluorine compound, but the production of the stamper 3 requires a step in which the mold-releasing layer 3d made of the organic fluorine compound is further formed by vacuum deposition or the like after a stamper body is released from the master plate 2.
Therefore, the stamper 3 has the problem that the number of producing steps increases to raise the production cost.
On the other hand, the stamper described in JP-A 11-039730 mainly assumes the base material made of silicon. It is feared that a base material made of the metal renders peeling between the base material and the mold-releasing layer easy.

Resin forming mold and production method for the resin forming mold


A position signal generating circuit which is operated by a position controller for generating first and second determining signals, a rotation direction selection signal and an enable signal, the circuit including: a pulse generator for generating a basic pulse; a gate circuit for logic-operating the basic pulse from the pulse generator and the first and second mode determining signals from the position controller to output signals indicating the logic-operated results; and a rotation direction determining unit for combining the signals output from the gate circuit according to the rotation direction selection signal from the position controller to generate a position control signal. A desired position control signal can be generated by using simplified hardware and software without an additional selection switch.

The present invention relates to a circuit for generating a position control signal, and more particularly, to a position control signal generating circuit which is operated by a position controller in a programmable logic controller (PLC), a robot or a computer-aided numerical control (CNC) system, and connected to a motor drive.
A typical position control mode of a system is largely divided into a CW/CCW (clockwise/counterclockwise) signal mode and a pulse/sign signal mode. FIG. 1 is a timing diagram showing the CW/CCW signal mode. As shown in FIG. 1, the L shapes of the CW signal and the CCW signal are the same and an object to be controlled, e.g., a motor is driven to rotate in a forward direction according to the CW signal and not the CCW signal. The motor is rotated in the opposite or reverse direction by the CCW signal. FIG. 2 is a timing diagram showing the pulse/sign signal mode. As shown in FIG. 2, a pulse signal is constantly applied to a motor drive and the directions of rotation of the motor are determined by a sign signal.
A conventional position control signal generating circuit is largely divided into the following two circuits.
One is a circuit which generates either the CW/CCW signal or the pulse/sign signal according to a corresponding driver. Such a circuit is advantageous in that it has a simple structure and control method, but it lacks compatibility for a position controller.
The other is a circuit which concurrently generates the CW/CCW signal and the pulse/sign signal and selects a desired signal using an additional selection switch.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional position control signal generating circuit having an additional selection switch.
Referring to FIG. 3, a position controller 1 including a microprocessor unit (MPU) (not shown) and a peripheral circuit (not shown) controls a pulse generator 2 in order to generate a predetermined pulse signal. The pulse signal output from the pulse generator 2 is converted to the CW/CCW signal-and the pulse/sign signal in a CW/CCW circuit 3 and a pulse/sign circuit 4, respectively. Then, a signal for rotation in a forward or reverse direction in the form of a CW/CCW signal is output from a first rotation direction determining unit 5, while a signal for rotation in a forward or reverse direction in the form of a pulse/sign signal is output from a second rotation direction determining unit 6. Next, the output signal of the first or second rotation direction determining unit (5 or 6) is selected by an operator using a selection switch 7 and input to an external drive connector 8. In such a position control signal generating circuit, it is inconvenient for an operator to operate the additional selection switch.
In the meantime, there is a circuit for selecting a desired position control signal using the controller 1 instead of the selection switch 7; however, hardware and software become complicated.

Position control signal generating circuit


An insulated container having a canister can be sealed by a lid structure. The lid structure can be a multi-part insulated lid. The lid can include a vent configured to vent air from inside the canister. In addition, the container may be part of a container kit or container system where one or more inner containers, are nested and secured within the insulated container.

A container may be configured to store a volume of liquid, food, or any other item. In one example, an opening in the container may be sealed with a removable cap. Depending upon the items stored in the container, in some situations, the internal pressure within the container may become very high.


Described herein are fuel performance additives, fuels including such additive, methods of improving the demulsiliblity of fuels using fuel performance additives, and the use of a fuel performance additive to improve the demulsiliblity of fuel where such fuels are gasoline or diesel and further include a quaternary ammonium salt obtained from at least the reaction of a nitrogen containing compound having at least a tertiary amino group and a quaternizing agent.

Diesel and gasoline fuel often contain small amounts of water, typically from a few ppm up to several percent by weight. Such water may be the result of, for instance, condensation into the fuel while in tanks and pipelines during transport and storage. The amount of water may separate as a layer at the bottom of the storage tank and/or may be emulsified in the fuel. The presence of water is undesired as it can cause problems during transport and/or during use in combustion.
Water is separated from fuels typically through the use of various agents that demulsify or break the water-fuel emulsion in order to separate the water as a distinct layer in the fuel that can be removed by various applications. However, many common fuel additives tend to hinder or even limit the functionality of the conventional demulsification agents. Quaternary ammonium salts, for instance, are one such additive category commonly used in gasoline and diesel fuels as a detergent. A shortcoming of quaternary ammonium salts in the presence of conventional demulsification additives, however, is that such salts tend to have a negative effect on fuel demulsibility rendering it more difficult to separate and remove water from the fuel in tanks and transport lines.

Demulsifier for quaternary ammonium salt containing fuels


There is provided a method of capping mechanical fasteners from a web having an array of upstanding stems. A heated surface member is positioned opposite a support forming a nip into which the web is fed. The heated surface member has a series of laterally spaced elongated peak and valley structures such that more than one peak and valley structure contacts and deforms each stem structure. The peak and valley groove structures provided asymmetric elongation and deformation of top portion of the stem structures forming hook heads.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for capping upstanding stems to form mechanical fastener hooks. More particularly the invention relates to a method for forming asymmetrical capped hook shapes with greater uniformity and manufacturability.
Hook and loop mechanical fasteners are widely used for a vast array of products and applications. The methods for forming hook materials for use in these hook and loop type mechanical fasteners are widely varied. Over the years it has been found that hooks have different engagement mechanisms and characteristics with mating loop materials, depending on the hooks and/or the loop. This limits the practical applicability of any particular hook forming technique to producing hooks applicable for only certain types of uses or for use with only certain types of mated loop materials.
Some of the earliest hook materials were formed using the processes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,717,437 and 3,009,235 in which special warps of upstanding nylon thread are cut so as to form open ended nylon hooks and nonfunctional upstanding stems. Hooks formed by these types of methods are large (e.g., about 2 mm) requiring the use of large open pile loop materials and have a rather low number of hooks per unit area. These hooks are also quite abrasive and therefore not well suited for uses where the hooks would likely contact sensitive skin. Hooks of this type are still in use today due to their durability in long term use. Similar types of hook structures are formed in accordance with the method of U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,865 in which a thermoplastic material is directly formed into a J-shaped "wire" hook by use of shallow J-shaped dies. These "wire dies" are formed into a continuous loop of mold material which mold passes through an extruder. The extruder forces molten plastic, such as nylon, into the wire dies while also impregnating a fabric web immediately beneath the wire die mold material. On exiting the extruder, excess thermoplastic resin is stripped from the surface of the wire die molds. The resilient hooks remain on the backing when the die is removed by essentially just pulling the now solidified hooks and backing away from the wire die mold material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,863 relates to a similar apparatus for producing a hook bearing strip. Both these patents state that the methods described can produce a wide variety of shapes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,865 states that the traditional method for directly injection molding a hook is limited to shapes which must taper from base to tip. However, the hook shapes formed by these patents are relatively large and the hooks must taper from the outer face to the opposing face along the length of the hook.
The traditional molded type of hook shapes referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,865 are like those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,984,339 and 5,315,740. These patents disclose molded J-shaped hooks which have a profile defined by an inner smooth contoured, generally concave face and a generally convex shaped outer face. The hook tapers smoothly and continuously in width from the hook base to the hook free end. The hook allegedly is designed so that it will not deform to release a loop engaged with the hook in shear mode or at a desired applied force. The later patent discloses a similar hook which has a low displacement volume for the area defining the hook tip. This is described as desirable for use in applications such as disposable diapers and the like. Although these J-shaped hooks are generally adequately performing materials, they are extremely difficult to manufacture, particularly when very small hooks are made such as described in the '740 patent. Small complex shaped mold cavities are extremely difficult to manufacture and when forming extremely small hooks a proportionately larger number of J-shaped hook mold cavities must be formed. Small complex-shaped mold cavities are also much more susceptible to clogging and loss of mold cavity definition due to wear.
Extremely flexible and low cost methods for forming hooks of a wide variety of sizes and shapes are described in PCT Application Nos. WO 94/23610 and 92/04839 as well as U.S. Ser. No. 08/723,632. Using methods described in these patents and patent applications, a backing having a large number of upstanding thermoplastic stems is fed through a gap between a nip formed by, for example, two calender rolls. The upper nip is smooth and heated so that the distal ends or tips of the stems are deformed under heat and mechanical pressure, forming various types of cap structures depending on the nip conditions selected, the relative speed of the stems in the nip, and the size and shape of the stems. The undeformed stem portion and the formed cap together form a hook structure. The precursor material, a backing having upstanding undeformed thermoplastic stems, can be formed by molding techniques. However, the formation and use of mold cavities in the shape of upstanding stems is much simpler and less problematic than forming J-shaped hook molds. For example, these simple mold cavity shapes are much less likely to clog or adversely wear, depending on the selection of the mold materials. Further, it has been found that by using this method it is relatively easy to form large numbers of small closely spaced hooks per unit area, which is particularly desirable for engagement with relatively low loft woven or nonwoven loop materials. These low loft loop materials are generally also low cost making this hook structure extremely desirable for low cost limited use applications such as disposable garments. Also advantageous is the tactile feel of these hook materials. Due to the high density of hooks and/or the hooks having a relatively flat or planar upper surface, the hooks are extremely skin friendly, non-abrasive and have a film-like texture. The preferred hook materials are essentially not even discernible as having hooks with casual skin contact. This also makes the hooks useful for disposable garments used close to the skin (e.g., diapers or surgical gowns). The present invention is directed at a method for improving the above method of hook formation and the hooks formed thereby.

Superimposed embossing of capped stem mechanical fastener structures


The present invention provides a method for producing nano-sized Fe powder having a polymer coated layer on a surface thereof, so as to prevent the nano-sized Fe powder from being oxidized under atmosphere. The method includes: gasifying an iron pentacarbonyl (Fe(CO)5) or an iron acetate ((CH3CO2)2Fe) precursor in a ceramic bubbler; forming nano-sized Fe particles due to the crystallization of Fe gas while mixing the gasified precursor with Ar gas in a reactor; and precipitating the nano-sized Fe particles in a polymer solution in a chamber, before the nano-sized Fe particles are oxidized. According to this technique, Fe powder on the order of tens of nms in size, and having a polymer coated layer, are obtained from the Fe precursor. A system for producing the nano-sized Fe powder is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for producing nano-sized Fe powder, and in particular, to a system and method for producing nano-sized Fe powder having a polymer coated layer so as to prevent the powder from being oxidized under atmosphere.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fine powder with magnetic properties has been applied to various fields, such as a contrast medium for a magnetic resonator, a recording medium for a magnetic tape, and a raw material for a magnetic fluid. Oxide based powders such as Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Fe-ferrite, Co-ferrite, etc have been commercially used as powders with magnetic properties.
Meanwhile, a pure iron powder has magnetization that is two or three times higher than the oxide-based powder, and has a relatively low anisotropy. Accordingly, a coercive force of the pure iron-based powder is lower than that of the oxide-based powder. Additionally, when a particle size of the pure iron powder is reduced to a single magnetic domain size, the magnetization of the pure iron-based powder is refined to a predetermined value, and the coercive force of the pure iron-based powder is simultaneously increased. Thus, it is possible to use the pure iron-based powder as a magnetic recording medium. Furthermore, when the particle size of the pure iron powder is further refined to a smaller size to act as a super-paramagnet, it can be used as a magnetic fluid.
Conventionally, a fine powder with magnetic properties has been most commonly produced according to a liquid phase reaction process, such as a metal hydroxide reduction process or a metal salt reduction process. Particularly, in the case of the high quality contrast medium and the magnetic fluid for a sealant, the particle sizes are the same as the single magnetic domain sizes or less, and thus, it can be produced using only raw powder having a super-paramagnetic property. Therefore, recently, there is an increased demand to develop a technology for producing fine powder which has lower particle size and improved magnetic properties.
To meet the above demand, Korean Pat. Application No. 2003-77589 has been filed by the applicant of the present invention, which discloses a method of producing a pure iron powder with a particle size of tens nm according to a gas condensing process. According to the above patent, an Fe-containing liquid precursor is gasified, Fe gas is separated from the gasified precursor, and the separated Fe gas is condensed to produce nano-sized Fe powder. However, an explosion may occur under atmospheric air in the course of collecting the Fe powder, after the Fe powder is produced according to the gas condensing process. Hence, in order to avoid such an explosion, it is necessary to enable the Fe powder to be subjected to a passivation treatment which forcibly feeds a small amount of oxygen into a chamber. An oxide layer is coated on a surface of the Fe powder, thereby resulting in safe treatment of the Fe powder under atmospheric air. However, the magnetic properties of an iron oxide layer coated on the surface of the Fe powder are very different from those of a pure iron core. Accordingly, it is difficult to gain the desired and intrinsic magnetic properties of the pure iron. Another disadvantage of the above patent is that when the Fe powder is used as the contrast medium, the iron oxide layer coated on the Fe powder is toxic to humans.

Method of producing nano-sized Fe powder having polymer coated layer

Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials


An asymmetric ultrasound transducer array may include multiple regions or groups of transducer elements. The regions may be configured to generate respective ultrasound beams with different capabilities, such as, e.g., focusing at varying focal depths and lateral steering, and/or focusing into different volumes.

Focused ultrasound (i.e., acoustic waves having a frequency greater than about 20 kilohertz) can be used to image internal body tissues or, at high intensity, to generate thermal ablation energy to treat tissue such as tumors. By way of illustration, FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic representation of an exemplary focused ultrasound system 100 used to generate and deliver a focused acoustic energy beam 102 to a targeted tissue mass 104 in a patient 106. The system 100 employs an ultrasound transducer 108 that is geometrically shaped and physically positioned relative to the patient 106 in order to focus the ultrasonic energy beam 102 at a three-dimensional focal zone located within the targeted tissue mass 104. The transducer 108 may be substantially rigid, semi-rigid, or substantially flexible, and can be made from a variety of materials, such as plastics, polymers, metals, and alloys. The transducer 108 can be manufactured as a single unit, or, alternatively, be assembled from a plurality of components. While the illustrated transducer 108 has a "spherical cap" shape, a variety of other geometric shapes and configurations may be employed to deliver a focused acoustic beam, including other non-planar as well as planar (or linear) configurations. The dimensions of the transducer may vary, depending on the application, between millimeters and tens of centimeters.
The transducer 108 may include a large number of transducer elements 110, arranged in a one- or two-dimensional array or other regular manner, or in an uncoordinated fashion. These elements 110 convert electronic drive signals into mechanical motion and, as a result, into acoustic waves. They may be made, for example, of piezoelectric ceramics or piezo-composite materials, and may be mounted in silicone rubber or another material suitable for damping the mechanical coupling between the elements 110. The transducer elements 110 are connected via electronic drive signal channels 112 to a control module 114, which drives the individual transducer elements 110 so that they collectively produce a focused ultrasonic beam. More specifically, the control module 114 may include a beamformer 116 that sets the relative amplitudes and phases of the drive signals in channels 112. In conventional focused ultrasound systems containing n transducer elements, the beamformer 116 typically contains n amplifiers 118 and n phase control circuits 120, each pair driving one of the transducer elements 110. The beamformer 116 receives a radio frequency (RF) input signal, typically in the range from 0.1 MHz to 3 MHz, from frequency generator 122. The input signal may be split into n channels for the n amplifiers and phase circuits 118, 120 of the beamformer 116. Thus, in typical conventional systems, the radio frequency generator 122 and the beamformer 116 are configured to drive the individual elements 110 of the transducer 108 at the same frequency, but at different phases and different amplitudes, such that the transducer elements 110 collectively form a "phased array."
The acoustic waves transmitted from the transducer elements 110 form the acoustic energy beam 102. Typically, the transducer elements are driven so that the waves converge at a focal zone in the targeted tissue mass 104. Within the focal zone, the wave energy of the beam 102 is (at least partially) absorbed by the tissue, thereby generating heat and raising the temperature of the tissue to a point where the cells are denatured and/or ablated. The location, shape, and intensity of the focal zone of the acoustic beam 102 is determined, at least in part, by the physical arrangement of the transducer elements 110, the physical positioning of the transducer 108 relative to the patient 106, the structure and acoustic material properties of the tissues along the beam path between the transducer 108 and the target tissue 104, and the relative phases and/or amplitudes of the drive signals. Setting the drive signals so as to focus the acoustic energy at a desired location is a process known as "electronic steering" of the beam 102. The amplification or attenuation factors α and the phase shifts φ imposed by the beamformer 116 and used to steer the beam are computed in a controller 124, which may provide the computational functions through software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. For example, the controller 124 may utilize a special-purpose digital signal processor or a general-purpose computer programmed with software in a conventional manner. In certain embodiments, the computation is based on image data obtained with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus or other imager (not shown). Further, the controller 124 may be in communication with a user interface 126 that facilitates the selection of the focus location or other treatment parameters.
Phased-array transducers provide the greatest beam-steering capability when each transducer element 110 can be controlled independently through a separate drive signal channel 112, as illustrated in FIG. 1. This flexibility comes, however, at a price, as large numbers of electronic channels are costly. Thus, as the number of elements increases, the ability to drive them independently becomes concomitantly less practical for complexity and cost reasons. To curtail cost increases resulting from larger numbers of transducer elements, many applications exploit system symmetries to drive multiple elements with a single channel. An axis of symmetry may be defined, for example, by the direction of the acoustic beam propagation when all elements of the array are driven in phase. The transducer elements may be connected to (a smaller number of) drive signal channels in a way that reflects, for example, a corresponding radial symmetry around the intersection of this axis with the transducer surface. Such symmetric transducers achieve a reasonable trade-off between high steering capability along one axis (e.g., steering of the focal length at the cost of very limited lateral steering, or vice versa) and low system complexity in many applications. However, they are unduly limiting when the transducer cannot be freely moved, e.g., as a consequence of certain anatomical barriers. Accordingly, there is a need for accommodating large numbers of small transducer elements in any array without the burden of separately driving them, but also without sacrificing the beam focusing and steering capabilities needed in specific clinical applications.

Asymmetric ultrasound phased-array transducer for dynamic beam steering to ablate tissues in MRI


The configurations of a commutation failure detection circuit for a back-to-back SCR circuit and the controlling methods thereof are provided. The proposed commutation failure detection circuit includes a first detecting signal generator coupled to the back-to-back SCR circuit for detecting a commutation at a negative half cycle of an AC input voltage and including a first non-conductive signal amplifier circuit generating a first non-conductive signal when the back-to-back SCR circuit is not conductive at the negative half cycle of the AC input voltage and a second detecting signal generator coupled to the back-to-back SCR circuit for detecting the commutation at a positive half cycle of the AC input voltage and including a second non-conductive signal amplifier circuit generating a second non-conductive signal when the back-to-back SCR circuit is not conductive at the positive half cycle of the AC input voltage.

Using back-to-back connected SCRs as a static switch in between an AC power supply and a load is quite common nowadays. For example, please refer to FIG. 1, it shows a schematic circuit diagram of a conventional tap changing transformer including six pairs of back-to-back SCRs (SCR1 to SCR6) for line voltage regulation (with input supply: 240-520V and output supply: 220+/−10% V). In which, each pair of the back-to-back SCRs has a first terminal (k1(1) to k1(6)) and a second terminal (k2(1) to k2(6), and each of the SCRs has a gate (G1(1) to G1(6) and G2(1) to G2(6)). In such an application of SCRs, a commutation failure detection circuit is required to avoid a dramatic damage to the transformer caused by a malfunction of the SCRs.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a block diagram of a conventional commutation failure detection circuit using bridge and opto-coupler for a back-to-back SCR circuit. In which, it shows a back-to-back SCR circuit and the failure detection circuit including a resistor bank coupled to the back-to-back SCR circuit, a full-bridge circuit coupled to the resistor bank and the back-to-back SCR circuit, and an opto isolator having an opto-coupler (not shown) coupled to the full-bridge circuit, receiving a DC supply and outputting an output.
Assume that the first SCR of a SCR pair of the back-to-back SCR circuit (not shown) is triggered at some firing angle in a positive half cycle of an AC input voltage (not shown) of the back-to-back SCR circuit. A forward voltage is present across the SCR pair until any one of the SCR starts conducting. This forward voltage is applied to the full-bridge rectifier through the resistor bank. The resistor bank serves the purpose of limiting the current flowing into the full-bridge circuit. The rectified voltage turns on a light emitting diode (not shown) in the opto-coupler and this signal is transmitted to the output.
When any one of the SCR pair starts conducting, the voltage across the opto-diode is zero. Therefore, there is no signal on the opto-coupler output. A similar operation follows in the negative half cycle of the AC input voltage.
The advantages of the aforementioned conventional failure detection circuit using bridge and opto-coupler are that the components count of which is relatively low. And the disadvantages of the aforementioned conventional failure detection circuit using bridge and opto-coupler are that the total applied voltage is dropped across the series-connected resistor bank around the zero crossing of the AC input voltage. Therefore, a forward current available to turn on the full-bridge including four diodes builds up slowly. Thus, there is always some delay present in commutation failure detection of the SCR.
Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a block diagram of a conventional commutation failure detection circuit using opto-couplers for a back-to-back SCR circuit. In which, it shows a back-to-back SCR circuit and the failure detection circuit including a resistor bank coupled to the back-to-back SCR circuit and two opto isolators each having an opto-coupler (not shown) and outputting an output, one opto isolator is coupled to the resistor bank, and the other is coupled to the back-to-back SCR circuit and receives a DC supply voltage.
Assume that the first SCR of a SCR pair of the back-to-back SCR circuit (not shown) is triggered at some firing angle in the positive half cycle of the AC input voltage (not shown) of the back-to-back SCR circuit. The forward voltage is present across the SCR pair until any one of the SCR starts conducting. A maximum voltage drop appears across the series resistor bank, which serves to limit the current flowing into the opto-couplers. One opto-coupler is connected in reverse direction to allow conduction during a negative half-cycle of the AC input voltage. An input voltage of each of the opto-couplers turns on an opto-diode (not shown) presents in each of the opto-couplers and transmits a signal to the opto-coupler output.
When any one of the SCR pair starts conducting, the voltage across the opto-diode is zero. Therefore, there is no signal at the opto-coupler output. A similar operation follows in the negative half cycle of the AC input voltage.
The advantages of the above-mentioned conventional failure detection circuit using opto-couplers are that the components count of which is also relatively low. But the disadvantages of the above-mentioned conventional failure detection circuit using opto-couplers are that the total applied voltage is dropped across the series-connected resistor bank around the zero crossing of the AC input voltage. Therefore, the forward current available to turn on the opto-diodes builds up slowly. Thus, there is always some delay present in commutation failure detection of the SCR.
Keeping the drawbacks of the prior arts in mind, the applicant proposes a commutation failure detection circuit for a back-to-back SCR circuit and the controlling methods thereof having relatively better efficiency.

Commutation failure detection circuit for back-to-back SCR circuit and controlling method thereof having relatively better efficiency


Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods, apparatuses, storage media, and systems for determining dynamic power sharing in a dual-uplink E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)—new radio dual connectivity (EN-DC) network, and/or other new radio (NR) related networks. Various embodiments describe how to determine or configure respective transmission (TX) power levels for LTE and NR uplink signals in the dual-uplink EN-DC network. The NR uplink signal may or may not be transmitted based on a certain timeline threshold and/or power scaling threshold. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

The background description generally presents the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The Fifth Generation (5G) new radio (NR) may be implemented in Non-Standalone (NSA) networks that incorporate both long term evolution (LTE) and NR, for example, E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)—NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) networks, and NR—E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC) networks. In a dual-uplink EN-DC network, both NR and LTE are allowed to transmit data simultaneously to boost uplink throughput and improve network efficiency. However, one of the challenges is how to determine the transmission powers for NR and LTE signals in order to fulfill all the transmission related requirements while providing sufficient performance. Thus, a conventional equal power sharing between the LTE and NR, or power configuration based on single-uplink operations, may not be sufficient and may sacrifice performance while facing an increasingly complex dual-uplink EN-DC network.

Techniques in inter-band and intra-band dynamic power sharing in dual connectivity communications


Headlight for a motor vehicle comprising a reflector with an optical axis and at least one focus, a light source placed close to a focus of the reflector, and a transparent optical deviation element placed in front of part of the reflector, this element consisting of a module comprising a so-called “square lens” and the reflector placed behind the said lens, the module being able to provide an essentially horizontal spread of the light. The wall of the reflector comprises at least one scallop on one side of a plane passing through the optical axis of the reflector, and at least one additional reflector is disposed on the side of the scallop opposite to the optical axis, this additional reflector being designed to collect at least some of the light coming from the source emerging from the scallop, and to produce an additional beam which is not intercepted by the lens.

The simplifying expression "square lens", for reasons of conciseness, is taken to mean in the context of the invention a lens which has at least one cylindrical face (input and/or output) with vertical generatrices. The contour of the lens is therefore not limited to the square shape, but may be rectangular, circular, oval, ovoid or ogival, or have a contour of the square or rectangular type but with rounded edges or bevels, or with any other contour.
A headlight comprising such a square lens is known from EP-A-1 243 846. This headlight has the advantage of a relatively shallow depth (that is to say dimension in the direction of the optical axis) and a high light flux. However, the range of the light beam is small. In addition, this headlight does not make it possible to easily produce a cut-off of the beam inclined to the horizontal, for example by 15°, in order to produce a dipped headlight.
The aim of the invention is in particular to provide a headlight which, whilst keeping a shallow depth and high light flux, makes it possible to obtain a long range of the beam and, if so desired, to produce a cut-off of the beam inclined to the horizontal, in particular for a dipped headlight function.

Headlight for a motor vehicle comprising a reflector and an optical deviation element


The object is to provide a network printing system in which printing may be executed using stable print modes regardless of the printer operating environment. When the printer receives a print job, if (i) any of the printing parameters in the print mode associated to the print job is registered as prohibited and (ii) the current time is within a designated time frame in which no one is expected to be near the printer, printing using prohibited printing parameters is not performed. The situation in which the printer is kept on suspended for a long period of time is prevented by changing such printing parameters to other available printing parameters, or by deleting the print job.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a network printing system capable of transmitting to a printer through a network a command to operate, in order to cause the printer to begin a printing operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing system of this sort, when a print request is input to the printer through an operation on the side of the host comprising a personal computer (PC), for example, and a print command and image data that correspond to the print mode are transmitted to the printer, the printer sets the print mode in accordance with the print command and prints out the image data. Upon receiving the print command, the printer displays messages in its operation panel or the personal computer's display screen requesting, for example, paper supply when the A4-size paper cassette is empty, or toner supply when the toner has been consumed.
However, in an environment in which paper or toner cannot be immediately replenished because the printer is used through a network and there is no one located near the printer, such as at a print shop at night where the manager is not present, or when a large number of computers are connected through a network to the printer, which is located in a remote place in an office, the problem arises that the printing operation may be suspended after printing is requested, and printing may not be performed.

Network printing system that operates based on the environment


A damascene MIM capacitor and a method of fabricating the MIM capacitor. The MIN capacitor includes a dielectric layer having top and bottom surfaces; a trench in the dielectric layer, the trench extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the dielectric layer; a first plate of a MIM capacitor comprising a conformal conductive liner formed on all sidewalls and extending along a bottom of the trench, the bottom of the trench coplanar with the bottom surface of the dielectric layer; an insulating layer formed over a top surface of the conformal conductive liner; and a second plate of the MIM capacitor comprising a core conductor in direct physical contact with the insulating layer, the core conductor filling spaces in the trench not filled by the conformal conductive liner and the insulating layer. The method includes forming portions of the MIM capacitor simultaneously with damascene interconnection wires.

Metal-insulator-metal capacitors (MIM or MIM cap) are integrated into various integrated circuits for applications such as analog-logic, analog-to-digital, mixed signal and radio frequency circuits. Current methods of integration of MIMs into integrated circuits require multiple extra photolithographic and etching steps beyond those required for all other components of the integrated circuits thus adding considerable cost and time to the manufacture of integrated circuits incorporating MIMs.
Thus, there is a need for a simple and inexpensive integration scheme for fabrication of integrated circuits utilizing MIMs.

MIM capacitor and method of fabricating same

International Business Machines Corporation


A vehicle warning light assembly includes an elongated hollow casing having an open front, a lamp unit extending longitudinally between two sides of the casing adjacent to the open front, a wheel member that is mounted rotatably in the casing on one of the two sides of the casing, an elongated reflector plate which is disposed in the casing on one side of the lamp unit and which has one end secured to the wheel member, a driving mechanism which is activatable to rotate the wheel member to rotate correspondingly the reflector plate around the lamp unit, and a transparent pane that is mounted on the casing at the open front of the casing.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle warning light assembly, more particularly to a vehicle warning light assembly which generates a light output that is visible at a relatively long distance under heavy fog or rain conditions.
2. Description Of The Related Art
An auxiliary brake light assembly for a vehicle is generally installed at a lower central portion of a rear window of the vehicle and operates when the brake pedal is activated so as to provide a warning signal to the driver of a following vehicle. Conventional auxiliary brake light assemblies generate either a bright constant red light output or a blinking red light output. The light outputs of the conventional auxiliary brake light assemblies can affect the visibility of the drive of the following vehicle due to the strong intensities thereof. Furthermore, the light outputs of the conventional auxiliary brake light assemblies are visible only at a short distance under heavy fog or rain conditions.