A self leveling warning light for vehicles employing a light assembly that is pivotedly secured to an inner surface of a vehicle window by a mounting base suction cup. The light assembly has a plurality of LEDs whose intensity is amplified by a reflector and focused by an optical lens providing light emission in distances exceeding one mile with minimal battery drain. A control circuit having a power source is mounted within said light assembly and electrically coupled to the LEDs, the control circuit controlling four red LEDs separated by a centrally located yellow LED, the four red LEDs alternate on and off at sync rate of approximately 500 ms and the yellow LED turns on for about 750 ms and off for about 1 second. The light assembly maintaining directional pointing of the LEDs in a horizontal plane when the mounting base is moved between vertical and horizontal orientations by gravity weighting of the light assembly.

The use of warning lights is well known to indicate the stoppage of a vehicle or need of assistance. Such a warning light properly placed provides protection of people against injury such as a flashing light or flare would indicate an emergency situation. Conventionally, flares have been used and have an advantage of being easily visible at night. However, a flare is an incendiary device and is very dangerous at night especially to those that are untrained should the vehicle mishap include a spillage of gasoline. For this and other reasons, the use of a flare and its storage problems as well as disposal problems have been all but eliminated by the use of high intensity lighting that can be effectuated by the use of LED lamps. A properly pointed LED, which is a directional lighting device, can provide as strong as, if not stronger, lighting as a flare without the associated ignition and/or storage problems. One of the problems with the use of LED lights is that it is a directional lighting device and if not properly pointed provides little or no warning ability. For instance, if the LED light is pointed upwardly at a 45° angle it would be barely noticeable from a distance. However, if the LED light was pointed directly toward the approaching vehicle, the vehicle could easily spot the LED from over a mile away.
There is known prior art for the use of LED's, but as previously stated, unless the LED is properly situated it provides little or no benefit. A problem with properly situating the light is that during an emergency, an individual may not take the time to align the light or understand the need for aligning the light to provide the proper warning. Thus what is needed is a lighting device capable of attaching to a vehicle and automatically aligning itself with the horizon to provide the most effective warning indicator that can be viewed from the longest distance.
Publication No. 2002/0154512 discloses a warning light device including one or more suckers each having a housing extended from the rear portion for receiving one or more light bulbs which may be coupled together with electric wires. One or more batteries may be coupled to the light bulbs to generate the warning light through the sucker. One or more integrated circuits may be coupled to the light bulbs to energize or control the light bulbs simultaneously or alternatively. A cover may be engaged onto the housing for retaining the light bulb in the housing of the sucker.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,930 discloses a light emitting diode (LED) warning signal light, comprising a plurality of light sources constructed and arranged with a reflector or cullminator, the LED light sources being in electrical communication with a controller and an electrical source. The warning signal light provides various colored light signals for independent use or by an emergency vehicle. These light signals may include a strobe light, revolving light, an alternating light, a flashing light, a modulated light, a pulsating light, an oscillating light or any combination thereof. Additionally, the warning signal light may be capable of displaying symbols, reverse characters, or arrows. The controller may further be adapted to regulate or modulate the power intensity exposed to the illuminated LED's to create a variable intensity light signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,181 discloses a car locator comprising a base for attaching the locator to a car. A cantilevered support bar is pivotally connected with the base to permit pivotal movement and positioning of the bar relative to the base. The support bar is illuminated by a series of LEDS mounted on the support bar and connected to a power source and an optional switch, which may be mounted directly on the base, via electrical conductors. The power source may include batteries mounted to or contained within the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,167 discloses an auxiliary safety rear light assembly for vehicles which can be adhesively mounted at any position on the rear window of a vehicle or which can be adjusted along a horizontal axis so as to be mountable parallel to the road regardless of the angle which the vehicle rear window makes to the road.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,071 discloses a vehicle communication device wherein a display unit is selectively mountable onto a rear shelf of an automobile adjacent a rear window, including a safety switch to automatically de-energize the display unit when improperly oriented relative to the rear window. Suspension hooks are further included for selectively securing the display unit from rear or side windows of the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,082 discloses a visor-mountable emergency light system including a housing to be mountable to and carried by a vehicle sunvisor. One or two portions of the housing have a conformation receptive of a strobotron exposed for directing light outwardly away from the housing. Another portion of the housing is conformed to define a cavity within which is located a firing unit mounted and connected to cyclically ignite the strobotron. The strobotron includes a light-transmissive lens that has a central area which transmits light of one or more specific colors and a peripheral area which transmits at least primarily uncolored light.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,602 discloses a pair of conductive patterns, which are to be electrically connected to the battery of a motor vehicle, which are formed by baking on the interior surface of the rear windowpane of the vehicle. A pair of nuts or brackets of electrically conductive material are soldered to the conductive patterns. The lamp body of a supplemental high mounted stop lamp are fastened to the nuts or brackets, with the light sources of the lamp electrically connected in circuit therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,487 discloses a vehicle warning light assembly including 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.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,798 discloses a lamp assembly for illumination of a vehicle license plate including a substrate, a plurality of LED's mounted on the substrate, and a lens for directing the light emitted from the LED's onto the license plate. A housing encases the substrate and the lens. An attachment member fixedly secures the housing to a vehicle displaying the license plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,965 discloses a light bar containing one or more rows of light-emitting diodes (LED's) in a housing which extends across substantially the entire width of a windshield of a vehicle and is narrow in width to minimize interference with visibility through the windshield. The LED's are arranged in banks generally symmetrically arrayed about the center of the length of the housing. Two of the banks, preferably equidistant from the center, are tilted in opposite directions to each other so as to project light toward the right side and left side of the vehicle. A mechanism is provided for displacing and tilting the housing and may use pivotal arms attached to the end of the housing or adjustable Z-shaped hangers attached preferably to clamps such as visor clips already on the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,106,185 discloses a full function light bar mounted inside a vehicle against the windshield. The light bar is an assembly of several light sources. The light bar is not limited in application to one specific vehicular model and is adaptable and adjustable to conform to the windshield, rear window, or other interior cab surfaces of varying shape. The light sources are supported on a flexible support mount which has adjustable, flexible gaskets. End caps and the gaskets screen the inside of the vehicle from the light emitted by the light bar. The support mount is hung on adjustable brackets which allow the light bar to be raised, lowered and tilted to further facilitate conformance with the windshield.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,158,020 discloses a warning beacon including a transparent housing, having a triangular shape suggestive of a warning sign, the housing having a front face, a back face, and side edges. A mounting plate is disposed within the housing between the front and back faces, and a plurality of LEDs are supported by the mounting plate, and oriented to provide light in at least a forward direction through the front face.
U.S. Publication No. 2003/0016543 discloses a stop lamp for a vehicle comprising a substrate, a plurality of LED chips, at least one connecting wire and a cover. The substrate has a plurality of openings and a surface that faces towards a panel of a rear window of the vehicle. The substrate has an arrangement for fixing to an inner surface of the panel of a rear window of a vehicle. One LED chip is arranged in each opening on the substrate. The connecting wires are arranged on the substrate and electrically connect the LED chips to one another and to a voltage source. The cover is transparent and provided to protect the LED chips.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,441 discloses a safety lighting device which includes a base for attachment to an object and at least one elongated illuminatable section pivotably attached to the base. The elongated illuminatable section includes a light source and an illuminatable tube. The light source is circuitly connectable to an energy source to provide illumination, and the illuminatable tube includes a cylinder of scatter refractive material to refract illumination from the illuminatable tube. Methods for increasing visibility and apparent width are also provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,046 discloses a portable searchlight including an upper lamp housing, a lower base support unit and a releasable attachment device to attach the base support unit to another surface, such as, the roof of a motor vehicle. The apparatus and lamp housing can be tilted or rotated by remote-control from the interior of the vehicle. The releasable attachment device is such that the apparatus can be secured by a suction cup or by placing the base support unit in a shoe which is anchored to another surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,385 discloses a vehicle light having at least one vehicle light housing having an open end and configured to be arranged on an inner side of a vehicle. At least one illumination element is arranged in the vehicle light housing. The vehicle part has a light-transmissive area covering the open end of the vehicle light housing, wherein the light-transmissive area allows rays emitted by the illumination element to pass through to the exterior. The vehicle part can be the trunk lid or the exterior rearview mirror of the vehicle. The light-transmissive area is covered with a thick coating making it invisible from the exterior of the vehicle when the illumination element is switched off, such that light emitted by the illumination element passes through the coating when at least one illumination element is switched on.

Self leveling warning light for vehicles


A new and distinct form of Agastache plant characterized by a small, compact habit, violet blue colored flowers in narrow, tight clusters, dark calyces, a low branching habit, a long bloom time, and excellent vigor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Agastache, given the name, 'Summer Sky'. Agastache is in the family Lamiaceae. This new variety originated from cross was between a dwarf form of Agastache sp. 'Pink Pop' (an unpatented plant) as the seed parent and Agastache rugosa 'Honey Bee Blue' as the pollen parent. Compared to the seed parent, Agastache sp. 'Pink Pop', the new cultivar has violet blue rather than pink flowers. Compared to the pollen parent, Agastache rugosa 'Honey Bee Blue' (an unpatented plant), the new cultivar has a much more compact habit, a larger and darker flower, and a less congested inflorescence. Compared to Agastache 'Blue Fortune' the new cultivar is shorter.
This plant exhibits the following characteristics that make it unique:                1. Small, compact habit,        2. Violet blue colored flowers in narrow, tight clusters,        3. Dark calyces,        4. A low branching habit,        5. A long bloom time, and        6. Excellent vigor.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (cuttings and micropropagation). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and micropropagation as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.


There is provided a sheet-shaped product of a thermoplastic elastomer provided with an embossed pattern on the surface thereof, comprising as a base material a component (II) comprising a thermoplastic elastomer, said elastomer being obtained by subjecting a composition (I) comprising the following components (A) and (B) to dynamic heat treatment carried out in the presence of an organic peroxide: component (A): from 10 to 75% by weight of an olefin resin containing 50 to 100% by weight of a crystalline propylene polymer resin, and component (B): from 90 to 25% by weight of an olefin copolymer rubber containing 10 to 100% by weight of an olefin-propylene copolymer rubber whose propylene content is from 65 to 90% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped product of a thermoplastic elastomer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sheet-shaped product of a thermoplastic elastomer provided with an embossed pattern on the surface thereof, which shows excellent uniform extensibility and emboss (embossed-pattern) retention when it is subjected to secondary forming such as vacuum forming, pressure forming, stamping forming or the like, and which is advantageously used for the skin of automobile parts, furnitures and the like.
2. Background Art
Heretofore, a polyvinyl chloride has been employed as a base material for a sheet for interior automotive trim, which is used for the skin of an instrument panel, a door trim and the like. However, due to the trend toward light-weight automotive parts and in order to meet the demand, from environmental viewpoints, for automotive parts which can be reused or thermally disposed without difficulty, it has begun to put a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer material (hereinafter may be simply referred to as "TPO") into practical use in recent years.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1888/1994 discloses a sheet-shaped product based on TPO comprising an olefin copolymer rubber, an olefin copolymer and a crystalline paraffin.
However, the conventional sheet-shaped products of olefin thermoplastic elastomer have the drawback that they show poor extensibility when subjected to secondary forming such as vacuum forming, pressure forming, stamping forming or the like, so that the product with a high draw ratio tends to become torn or become extremely thin.
Further, an embossed pattern is generally provided on the surface of skin materials for interior automotive trim, used for an instrument panel, a door trim and the like so as to impart thereto a leather-like texture. When the conventional sheets made of TPO which are provided, in advance, with such an embossed pattern are subjected to secondary forming such as vacuum forming, debossing (flatting out of the embossed pattern) is likely to occur due to heat applied or deformation caused in the course of the forming process. Thus, there has been a problem in emboss retention. In order to avoid such debossing, a method in which vacuum forming is conducted by using a female metal mold provided with an embossed pattern has been adopted. However, there is still such a problem that only an embossed pattern which is flatter than that of the metal mold is obtained.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a sheet-shaped product of thermoplastic elastomer which shows excellent uniform extensibility and excellent emboss retension.

Sheet-shaped product of thermoplastic elastomer


A bioprosthetic heart valve includes an outer frame configured to attach to a tissue annulus of a heart and an inner bioprosthetic valve having an exterior shape which substantially matches an interior shape of the outer frame. The exterior shape of the inner valve mates in substantial alignment with the interior shape of the outer frame. An outer frame-inner valve attachment mechanism is configured to couple the inner valve to the outer frame.

Implantable mechanical heart valves are used for replacement of defective valves in hearts of patients. One common method employs a sewing ring or suture cuff which is attached to and extends around the outer circumference of the mechanical valve orifice. The sewing cuff is made of a biocompatible fabric suitable for allowing a needle and suture to pass therethrough. The valves are typically sutured to a tissue annulus that is left when the surgeon removes the existing valve from the patient's heart. The sutures are tied snugly, thereby securing the valve to the heart.
Sewing cuffs are labor intensive, difficult to manufacture and may be difficult to secure to the valve orifice. Further, attaching the suture cuff to the tissue annulus is time consuming and cumbersome. The complexity of suturing requires a patient to be on cardiopulmonary bypass for a lengthy period. It is also desirable to provide a large lumen through the valve orifice relative to the overall valve diameter for blood flow. However, techniques for attaching the sewing cuff to the valve orifice typically require that the area of the valve lumen be reduced to accommodate an attachment mechanism. For example, the sewing cuff is typically retained between two rims of the valve orifice. One of the rims normally defines the outside diameter of the valve orifice and thus limits the size of the valve lumen.
Another technique for attaching heart valves uses a series of pins which pierce the tissue annulus of the heart. The pins are crimped or bent, thereby locking the valve to the heart tissue and preventing the valve from separating from the heart. This technique is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,865 and 3,546,710. Another technique for attaching a prosthetic heart valve to the heart tissue is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,516 in which an outer orifice ring is sutured to the tissue annulus and an inner orifice ring is then screwed into the outer orifice ring. However, the rings are not locked together and may become unscrewed after extended use.
Implantable heart valves can require fasteners to hold them securely to surrounding tissue in the body. Suturing has been used. However, the use of suturing is time consuming and increases the duration of the implantation surgical procedure. The use of helical fasteners or screws is disclosed in the above cited pending application. However, access one at a time to the multiple helical fasteners used with an implant can be difficult and time consuming. The fasteners face in different directions and a simple tool must be positioned multiple times to approach the implantable heart valve component from several difficult angles around the heart, some of which may be obstructed by adjoining tissue. There is a need for an improved technology for screwing helical fasteners through a heart valve component into a tissue annulus of the heart.

Two piece bioprosthetic heart valve with matching outer frame and inner valve


An improved method of processing random access procedures, wherein the network receives at least one access burst to allow a network to estimate uplink received timing, the access burst containing at least a preamble, and transmits information for responding to the at least one access burst, while the mobile terminal configures at least one access burst containing at least a preamble and transmits the at least one access burst to allow a network to at least estimate uplink received timing.

A radio (wireless) communication system may be comprised of an access network and a plurality of access terminals. The access network may include access points, such as Node Bs, base stations, or the like, that allow the access terminals to connect with the access network for uplink (UL: terminal-to-network) communications and downlink (DL: network-to-terminal) communications via various types of channels. The access terminals may be user equipment (UE), mobile stations, or the like.
Although the concepts described hereafter may be applicable to different types of communication systems, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) will be described merely for exemplary purposes. A typical UMTS has at least one core network (CN) connected with at least one UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) that has Node Bs acting as access points for multiple UEs.
FIG. 1 shows the radio interface protocol architecture according to the 3GPP radio access network standards. The radio interface protocol has horizontal layers comprising a physical layer, a data link layer, and a network layer, and has vertical planes comprising a user plane (U-plane) for transmitting user data and a control plane (C-plane) for transmitting control information. The user plane is a region that handles traffic information with the user, such as voice or Internet protocol (IP) packets. The control plane is a region that handles control information for an interface with a network, maintenance and management of a call, and the like.
The protocol layers in FIG. 1 can be divided into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the three lower layers of an open system interconnection (OSI) standard model. The first layer (L1), namely, the physical layer (PHY), provides an information transfer service to an upper layer by using various radio transmission techniques. The physical layer is connected to an upper layer called a medium access control (MAC) layer, via a transport channel. The MAC layer and the physical layer exchange data via the transport channel. The second layer (L2) includes a MAC layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a broadcast/multicast control (BMC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The MAC layer handles mapping between logical channels and transport channels and provides allocation of the MAC parameters for allocation and re-allocation of radio resources. The MAC layer is connected to an upper layer called the radio link control (RLC) layer, via a logical channel. Various logical channels are provided according to the type of information transmitted.
The MAC layer is connected to the physical layer by transport channels and can be divided into a MAC-b sub-layer, a MAC-d sub-layer, a MAC-c/sh sub-layer, a MAC-hs sub-layer and a MAC-m sub-layer according to the type of transport channel being managed. The MAC-b sub-layer manages a BCH (Broadcast Channel), which is a transport channel handling the broadcasting of system information. The MAC-c/sh sub-layer manages a common transport channel, such as a forward access channel (FACH) or a downlink shared channel (DSCH), which is shared by a plurality of terminals, or in the uplink, the Random Access Channel (RACH). The MAC-m sub-layer may handle the MBMS data. The MAC-d sub-layer manages a dedicated channel (DCH), which is a dedicated transport channel for a specific terminal. The MAC-d sub-layer is located in a serving RNC (SRNC) that manages a corresponding terminal and one MAC-d sub-layer also exists in each terminal.
The RLC layer, depending of the RLC mode of operation, supports reliable data transmissions and performs segmentation and concatenation on a plurality of RLC service data units (SDUs) delivered from an upper layer. When the RLC layer receives the RLC SDUs from the upper layer, the RLC layer adjusts the size of each RLC SDU in an appropriate manner based upon processing capacity, and then creates data units by adding header information thereto. These data units, called protocol data units (PDUs), are transferred to the MAC layer via a logical channel. The RLC layer includes a RLC buffer for storing the RLC SDUs and/or the RLC PDUs.
The BMC layer schedules a cell broadcast (CB) message transferred from the core network and broadcasts the CB message to terminals positioned in a specific cell or cells.
The PDCP layer is located above the RLC layer. The PDCP layer is used to transmit network protocol data, such as IPv4 or IPv6, efficiently on a radio interface with a relatively small bandwidth. For this purpose, the PDCP layer reduces unnecessary control information used in a wired network, namely, a function called header compression is performed.
The radio resource control (RRC) layer located at the lowest portion of the third layer (L3) is only defined in the control plane. The RRC layer controls the transport channels and the physical channels in relation to setup, reconfiguration, and the release or cancellation of the radio bearers (RBs). The RB signifies a service provided by the second layer (L2) for data transmission between the terminal and the UTRAN. In general, the set up of the RB refers to the process of stipulating the characteristics of a protocol layer and a channel required for providing a specific data service, and setting the respective detailed parameters and operation methods. Additionally, the RRC layer handles user mobility within the RAN, and additional services, e.g., location services.
The E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) system, also called a LTE (Long Term Evolution) system, is considered as involving the PS (Packet Switched) domain with only shared resources to be used. In this new context with faster delay and higher capacity requirements, the usage of LTE RACH (LTE Random Access Channel) should be somewhat different to the existing GSM and UMTS systems in order to meet access requirement specified for LTE.
The present disclosure proposes RACH use cases for LTE. Mainly, the LTE RACH is considered, as contention based uplink transmission, and may no longer be used to carry user data, control signaling or explicit request resources. Such may be used to indicate presence (when the terminal is unknown by the covered area) and to obtain and/or possibly to obtain/maintain uplink timing synchronization (at power on or after a certain period of inactivity) with collision resolution. The remaining information that was carried by the RACH in the related art, are carried by data non-associated control signaling resources (CSR) considered as shared uplink resources used by all terminals with uplink synchronized transmission which are either contention or scheduled based. The CSR can be also used instead of the LTE RACH to maintain uplink synchronization.
The procedure where the terminal (or UE: User Equipment) sends a first message to the network is referred to as initial access. For this procedure, the common uplink channel called RACH (Random Access Channel) is used. In all cases (GSM and UMTS systems), the initial access may start from the UE with a connection request message including the reason of the request, and an answer (or response) from the network indicating the allocation of radio resources for the requested reason.
There are several reasons, each called an establishment cause, for sending a connection request message and the following list shows some examples specified in UMTS (see 3GPP TS 25.331):
Originating Conversational Call,
Originating Streaming Call,
Originating Interactive Call,
Originating Background Call,
Originating Subscribed traffic Call,
Terminating Conversational Call,
Terminating Streaming Call,
Terminating Interactive Call,
Terminating Background Call,
Emergency Call,
Inter-RAT cell re-selection,
Inter-RAT cell change order,
Registration, Detach,
Originating High Priority Signalling,
Originating Low Priority Signalling,
Call re-establishment,
Terminating High Priority Signalling,
Terminating Low Priority Signalling.
Here, the originating call reason indicates that the UE wants to setup a connection, for instance, a speech (voice) connection. The terminating call reason indicates that UE answers to paging. The registration reason indicates that the user wants to register only to location update.
To send information over the air (or wireless) interface, the physical random access procedure is used. The physical random access transmission is under the control of a higher layer protocol, which performs some important functions related to priority and load control. These procedures differ between GSM and UMTS radio systems. The description of GSM random access procedure can be found in The GSM System for Mobile Communications, published by M. Mouly and M. B. Pautet, 1992. As the present disclosure is UMTS enhancement/evolution related, the W-CDMA random access procedure will be described in more detail as follows.
The transport channel called RACH and two physical channels called PRACH and AICH are involved in this procedure. Transport channels are the channels supplied from the physical layer to the MAC (Medium Access Control) protocol layer. There are several types of transport channels to transmit data with different properties and transmission formats over the physical layer. Physical channels are identified by code and frequency in FDD mode. They are normally based on a layer configuration of radio frames and timeslots. The format of radio frames and timeslots depends on the symbol rate of the physical channel. A radio frame is the minimum unit in the decoding process, consisting of 15 time slots. A time slot is the minimum unit in the Layer 1 bit sequence. Thus, the number of bits that can be accommodated in one time slot depends on the physical channel. The transport channel RACH (Random Access Channel) is an uplink common channel used for transmitting control information and user data. It is applied in random access, and used for low-rate data transmissions from the higher layer. The RACH is mapped to the uplink physical channel, called a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel). The AICH (Acquisition Indication Channel) is a downlink common channel, which exists as a pair with the PRACH used for random access control.
The transmission of PRACH is based on a slotted ALOHA approach with fast acquisition indication. The UE may randomly select an access resource and transmits a RACH preamble part of a random access procedure to the network. The preamble is a short signal that is sent before the transmission of the RACH connection request message. The UE repeatedly transmits the preamble by increasing its transmission power every time the preamble is sent until it receives an Acquisition Indicator (AI) on the AICH (Acquisition Indicator Channel), which indicates the detection of the preamble by the network. The UE stops the transmission of the preamble once it receives the AI, and sends the message part at the level of power equal to the preamble transmission power at that point, plus an offset signalled by the network. This random access procedure avoids a power ramping procedure for the entire message. Such ramping procedure would create more interference due to unsuccessfully sent messages and it would be less efficient due to the larger delay, since it would take much more time to decode the message before an acknowledgement could be given that it was received successful.
The main characteristics of the RACH is that it is a contention based channel, which means that due to simultaneous access of several users, collisions may occur such that the initial access message cannot be decoded by the network. The UE can start the random-access transmission (both preamble and message) at the beginning of an access slot only. This kind of access method is therefore a type of slotted ALOHA approach with fast acquisition indication.
FIG. 2 shows an example of access slots in relation to the transmission of a preamble, a message, and an acquisition indicator (AI).
FIG. 3 shows an example of the number of RACH access slots and their spacing.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the time axis of both the RACH and the AICH is divided into time intervals, called access slots. There are 15 access slots per two frames (one frame is 10 ms in length or 38400 chips) and they are spaced 1.33 ms (5120 chips) apart.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the reception of downlink AICH access slot by the UE and the transmission of uplink PRACH access slot by the UE. Namely, FIG. 4 shows the transmission timing relationship between the PRACH and AICH.
FIG. 5 shows a table with the available uplink access slots for different RACH sub-channels.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the information on what access slots are available for random-access transmission and what timing offsets to use between RACH and AICH, between two successive preambles and between the last preamble and the message is signalled by the network. For example, if the AICH transmission timing is 0 or 1, it will be sent 3 or 4 access slots after the last preamble access slot transmitted, respectively.
Also, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the timing at which the UE can send the preamble is divided by random access sub-channels. A random access sub-channel is a subset comprising the combination of all uplink access slots. There are 12 random access sub-channels in total. Random access sub-channel consists of access slots.
FIG. 6 shows an exemplary format of preamble signatures. The preamble is a short signal that is sent before the transmission of the RACH message. A preamble consists of 4096 chips, which is a sequence of 256 repetitions of Hadamard codes of length 16 and scrambling codes assigned from the upper layer. The Hadamard codes are referred to as signature of the preamble. There are 16 different signatures and a signature is randomly selected (from available signatures sets on the basis of ASC) and repeated 256 time for each transmission of preamble part.
FIG. 7 shows an exemplary structure of a random access message part. The message part is spread by short codes of OVSF codes that are uniquely defined by the preamble signature and the spreading codes as the ones used for the preamble signature. The message part radio frame of length 10 ms is divided into 15 slots, each consisting of 2560 chips. Each slot consists of a data part and a control part that transmits control information (pilot bits and TFCI). The data part and the control part are transmitted in parallel. The 20-ms-long message part consists of two consecutive message part radio frames. The data part consists of 10*2k bits (k=0, 1, 2, 3), which corresponds to the Spreading Factor (SF=256, 128, 64, 32).
FIG. 8 shows an exemplary format (structure) of the AICH. The AICH consists of a repeated sequence of 15 consecutive access slots, each of length 40 bit intervals (5120 chips). Each access slot consists of two parts, an Acquisition Indicator (AI) part consisting of 32 real-valued signals a0, . . . , a31 and a part of duration 1024 chips where transmission is switched off.
When the network detects transmission of an RACH preamble in an RACH access slot with a certain signature, it repeats this signature in the associated AICH access slot. This means that the Hadamard code used as signature on RACH preamble is modulated onto the AI part of the AICH. The acquisition indicator corresponding to signature can take the values +1, −1, and 0, depending on whether a positive acknowledgement a negative acknowledgement or no acknowledgement is given to a specific signature. The positive polarity of signature indicates that the preamble has been acquired and the message can be sent. The negative polarity indicates that the preamble has been acquired and the power ramping procedure shall be stopped, but the message shall not be sent. This negative acknowledgement is used when, due to a congestion situation in the network, a transmitted message cannot not be processed at the present time. In this case, the access attempt needs to be repeated some time later by the UE.
Regarding the random access procedure on protocol layer (L2), the network decides whether the mobile station is to be permitted use of a radio access resource based primarily upon the access class to which the UE belongs. A specified priority level is implied by the Access Class (AC) which is stored on the UE SIM card.
Hereafter, certain aspects of access control will be described. It should be noted that the relevant standard related to this matter is 3GPP TS 22.011.
Regarding the purpose of access control, under certain circumstances, it will be desirable to prevent UE users from making access attempts (including emergency call attempts) or responding to pages in specified areas of a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network). Such situations may arise during states of emergency, or where 1 of 2 or more co-located PLMNs has failed. Broadcast messages should be available on a cell-by-cell basis indicating the class(es) of subscribers barred from network access. The use of this facility allows the network operator to prevent overload of the access channel under critical conditions. It is not intended that access control be used under normal operating conditions.
For allocation, all UEs are members of one out of ten randomly allocated mobile populations, defined as Access Classes 0 to 9. The population number can be stored in a SIM/USIM for the UE. In addition, mobiles may be members of one or more out of 5 special categories (Access Classes 11 to 15), which also may be stored in the SIM/USIM. These may be allocated to specific high priority users as follows. (This enumeration is not meant as a priority sequence):
Class 15—PLMN Staff;
Class 14—Emergency Services;
Class 13—Public Utilities (e.g. water/gas suppliers);
Class 12—Security Services;
Class 11—For PLMN Use.
For operation, if the UE is a member of at least one Access Class which corresponds to the permitted classes as signalled over the air interface, and the Access Class is applicable in the serving network, access attempts are allowed. Otherwise access attempts are not allowed.
Access Classes are applicable as follows:
Classes 0˜9—Home and Visited PLMNs;
Classes 11 and 15—Home PLMN only;
Classes 12, 13, 14—Home PLMN and visited PLMNs of home country only.
Any number of these classes may be barred at any one time.
For emergency calls, an additional control bit known as Access Class 10 is also signalled over the air interface to the UE. This indicates whether or not network access for Emergency Calls is allowed for UEs with access classes 0 to 9 or without an IMSI. For UEs with access classes 11 to 15, Emergency Calls are not allowed if both Access Class 10 and the relevant Access Class (11 to 15) are barred. Otherwise, Emergency Calls may be allowed.
Hereafter, the mapping of Access Classes (AC) will be described. It should be noted that the relevant standard related to this matter is 3GPP TS 25.331.
In UMTS, the Access Classes are mapped to Access Service Classes (ASC). There are eight different priority levels defined (ASC 0 to ASC 7), with level 0 being the highest priority.
For mapping of Access Classes to Access Service Classes, the Access Classes shall only be applied at initial access, i.e. when sending an RRC CONNECTION REQUEST message. A mapping between Access Class (AC) and Access Service Class (ASC) shall be indicated by the information element AC-to-ASC mapping in System Information Block type 5. The correspondence between AC and ASC is indicated in FIG. 9.
FIG. 9 shows a table showing the correspondence between AC and ASC. The nth IE designates an ASC number i in the range 0-7 to AC. If the ASC indicated by the nth IE is undefined, the UE behaviour is unspecified.
For random access, the parameters implied by the respective ASC shall be employed. In case the UE is a member of several ACs, it shall select the ASC for the highest AC number. In connected mode, AC shall not be applied.
An ASC consists of a subset of RACH preamble signatures and access slots which are allowed to be used for this access attempt and a persistence value corresponding to a probability Pv≦1 to attempt a transmission. Another important mechanism to control random access transmission is load control mechanism which allows reducing of the load of incoming traffic when the collision probability is high or when the radio resources are low.
The present disclosure provides an improved method of processing random access procedures, wherein the network receives at least one access burst to allow a network to estimate uplink received timing, the access burst containing at least a preamble, and transmits information for responding to the at least one access burst. On the other hand, the mobile terminal configures at least one access burst containing at least a preamble and transmits the at least one access burst to allow a network to at least estimate uplink received timing. The features of the present disclosure may be applied to various use cases such as synchronization with (or without) collision resolution, synchronization in absence of user data, response to network request (paging), and the like to thus support unsynchronized, synchronized and synchronization stand-by communications.

Method and procedures for unsynchronized, synchronized, and synchronization stand by communications in E-UTRA systems


An input shaft 10 is connected rotationally with an intermediary shaft 20 through a main drive gear GMV, a connecting idle gear GCC and a connecting driven gear GCN and also connected rotationally with a countershaft 30 through the main drive gear GMV and a main driven gear GMN. A fourth speed drive gear G4V, which is provided on the countershaft 30, meshes with a fourth and sixth speed drive gear G46V, which is provided rotatably over the input shaft 10. Both the fourth and sixth speed drive gear G46V and a fifth speed drive gear G5V, which is provided rotatably over the intermediary shaft 20, mesh with a fourth, fifth and sixth speed driven gear G456N, which is provided on the output shaft 50.

Such parallel shaft transmissions are used in various powered machines including automobiles. In recent years, there has been a tendency that transmissions for use in vehicles are equipped with increasing numbers of speed change ratios because of demands for improvements in driving performance and of concerns on environmental effect. As a result, some transmissions that have more than five speed change ratios for forward drive have been developed for practical use. Generally, as the numbers of speed change ratios of transmissions increase, the numbers of gears disposed over the shafts also increase. This is said equally not only on vehicular transmissions but also on other types of transmissions. Therefore, transmissions tend to increase their sizes especially in the direction of their shafts. However, transmissions are designed to occupy certain limited amounts of space in specific machines or equipment in which they are intended to be installed. Therefore, various ideas have been applied to make the sizes of transmissions as compact as possible when the transmissions are designed to have increasing numbers of speed change ratios. Particularly in designing vehicular transmissions, whose sizes are limited by the sizes of respective vehicles accommodating the corresponding transmissions, it is important to take every measure that can make the transmissions as compact as possible.
Various such measures have been proposed to reduce the sizes of parallel shaft transmissions in axial direction. For example, a structural arrangement is known in which an extra shaft (intermediary shaft) is added between the input and output shafts of a transmission to reduce the number of gears per shaft (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-220700). In addition to this structural arrangement, another structural arrangement enables gears disposed on the output shaft to mesh with gears provided over the input shaft, to mesh also with gears provided over the intermediary shaft (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7(1995)-94854). In this arrangement, a gear on the output shaft is used commonly to establish two different speed change ratios, so that the number of gears disposed on the output shaft is made relatively small. Moreover, the gear on the input shaft and that on the intermediary shaft both meshing with such a commonly used gear on the output shaft are placed in a common plane in the transmission. As a result, the size of the transmission in the longitudinal direction of the shafts is much smaller than a similar transmission designed otherwise.
However, for recently developed transmissions with large numbers of speed change ratios, it is difficult to achieve a sufficient size reduction in axial direction by the above described structural arrangement in which a gear provided on the output shaft is used commonly for achieving two different speed change ratios. Therefore, there is a need for a new structural arrangement that can effect a size reduction in larger scale.


Provided is an information processor which detects factors, in a video, influencing health, and which includes: an image input unit which receives a series of image data to process a plurality of consecutive still images constituting the video; a feature-quantity calculation unit which calculates a feature quantity of each still images on the basis of the image data; a conditional-expression storing unit which stores a conditional expression, for each factor, to determine whether each of the still images produces the factor on the basis of the corresponding feature quantity; a factor determination unit which determines, for each factor, whether each of the still images produces the factors on the basis of the corresponding feature quantity and the corresponding conditional expression; and an image-list display unit which displays, for each factor, a list of information indicating the still images determined to produce the factor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processor, and a method and a program of detecting a factor influencing health.
2. Related Art
It is known that flickering light and a rapid change in brightness as seen on videos of television or the like have an influence on health. Against this influence, proposed is a mechanism to display an image which produces such a factor influencing health. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,937,764 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,593.
When a list of images producing the factor influencing health is displayed, nevertheless, it may be difficult to grasp what kind of problem exists in the images thus displayed. Moreover, it may be difficult to determine how to edit the images only on the basis of the displayed list of images.

Information processor, method of detecting factor influencing health, and program


After a two-dimensional bar code is scanned to provide a stored image, the location (i.e., bounds, including orientation) of the bar code image within the scanned area image must be determined to enable decoding. Methods for locating the bar code image include the steps of sampling the stored image, identifying sampling traversals of bar code start and stop patterns, and correlating the identified start and stop pattern traversals to a common bar code image. The correlating data is then used to identify a nominally rectangular area bounding the bar code image. A bounding box may be identified as the smallest area capable of encompassing all of the start and stop pattern traversals related to a common bar code image. Output location data may specify the coordinates of the four corners of a bounding box for use in subsequent decoding. Related systems are described.

The application and use of the essentially ubiquitous one-dimensional bar code are well established. Such bar code symbols are provided as images having two physical dimensions, however the bar code includes information coded in only one dimension (e.g., left to right). While such one-dimensional bar codes have found innumerable applications, their usefulness is ultimately limited by amount of information which can be encoded in each such bar code.
Two-dimensional bar codes, enabling encoding of greatly increased quantities of information, have now been proposed. FIG. 1 shows an example of a two-dimensional bar code. Such bar codes typically include a few to many rows of coded data grouped in parallel alignment between start and stop patterns which bound the group of rows of coded data transversely to the rows. Coded row data, also typically included in the bar code, may provide information identifying and distinguishing individual rows of data, information regarding the data coded in such a row, information enabling error correction, etc. While such two-dimensional bar code images also have two dimensions, they differ from one-dimensional bar codes in providing two-dimensions of coded information. An example of a two-dimensional bar code is given in the present inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,455, entitled "System For Encoding Data in Machine Readable Graphic Form", issued May 12, 1992. Another example, described as the "PDF417" symbol, has been proposed in a PDF417 Specification, dated October 18, prepared by the present inventor for Symbol Technologies, Inc. and submitted for review by the Technical Symbology Committee of the Automatic Identification Manufacturers, Inc.
One-dimensional bar codes have come into wide usage on the basis of permitting application to supermarket items, vehicles, inventory parts, etc., of an image representing a multi-digit identifying number which is readily machine-readable. A variety of devices and applications of technology using lasers or charge coupled devices, for example, have been made available and are in wide use for reading such bar codes. On the one hand, two-dimensional bar codes make possible a wide-variety of new uses and applications in which a much wider range of information and data may be encoded and distributed by mail, facsimile transmission, etc., alone or in combination with other graphic or textural images, as well as being affixed to products, vehicles and inventory items, for example. On the other hand, two-dimensional bar codes require more complex capabilities for accurately reading the greatly increased amount of encoded data. Actual location and orientation of the bar code image within the scanned image (assuming the scanning device, as a practical matter, actually scans a somewhat larger image area which includes at least one bar code image) may entail a substantial data processing capability.
The result of the foregoing is that extension of use of two-dimensional bar codes to all logical applications may be restricted on an economic basis in the absence of efficient and economical methods and arrangements capable of implementing the required scanning and decoding of the bar code images, including methods and arrangements for locating and determining the bounds and orientation of two-dimensional bar code images within scanned image areas in order to enable such decoding of the bar codes.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide methods and systems capable of both locating and determining the bounds and orientation of two-dimensional bar code images within a scanned image area.
Additional objects are to provide new and improved methods and systems for locating bar code images and particularly such methods and systems for providing bounding coordinates of a bar code included in scanned image data.


An image forming apparatus includes a moving member for conveying a recording member on which an image is to be formed, image forming units for forming marks for detection of a position of the image on the moving member, an illuminating device for illuminating the marks for detection of the position, which includes a LED light source, a detecting device for detecting the marks, and a control device for controlling the image forming units with detection signals detected by the detecting device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multicolor image forming apparatus with two or more image forming units juxtaposed, such as plane paper copiers, laser beam printers, printing apparatus, and so on.
2. Related Background Art
The conventional multicolor image forming apparatus are generally so arranged that different color images are formed at a plurality of image forming units, a sheet of paper is conveyed by conveying means, for example such as a conveying belt, and the images are transferred one over another on the sheet to form a multicolor image. Particularly in the case where a full color image is obtained by development of multiple colors, even a slight overlap deviation will degrade the image. For example, in the case of 400 dpi, even an overlap deviation of a fraction of a pixel (63.5 .mu.m) will appear as changes in color and tone, so as to extremely degrade the image.
The conventional technology employed the way of relieving the overlap deviation of images by performing the multicolor development with a single image forming unit, that is, with a same scanning lens system, i.e., performing optical scanning under same optical characteristics. This method, however, had a problem that a considerable time is needed in outputting a multicolor image or full color image.
There is a method for solving this problem, in which separate optical scanning apparatus form images to obtain images of respective colors independently of each other and the images of respective colors are superimposed one over another on a sheet of paper conveyed by a conveying unit. A concern in this method, however, is a color deviation in superimposing the images.
A method effective against this color deviation is one as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-281468, in which marks for detecting a position of an image (image position detection marks), formed on a belt of the conveying unit, are detected and the image forming units are controlled to output the images of respective colors according to detection signals of the marks. Since the belt in the conveying unit generally moves up and down because of undulation etc., the detecting units of the marks for detection of image position need to detect accurate written positions even with up and down movement of the belt. Further, spectral reflectances of color toners etc. change depending upon colors in the case of light in the visible range. It is thus necessary to obtain stable outputs regardless of colors. Additionally, it is necessary for a light source in an illumination optical system for illuminating the marks for detection of image position to permit stable, high-quality detection of the marks.


A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (A) applies appropriate magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio frequency pulses across an examination region to generate magnetic resonance signals or views indicative of the properties of a volume of a subject examined in the examination region. The views are reconstructed (B) into voxel values V(x,y,z) and stored in a volumetric image memory (C). A relative angle and position of a viewing plane (10) relative to the image volume are selected. A plurality of rays (14), each corresponding to a pixel P(i,j) of a resultant projection image, are projected from the viewing plane into the volumetric image data. Each ray retrieves a corresponding vector of voxel values V.sub.1, V.sub.2, V.sub.3, . . . V.sub.n. Bright voxel values indicate blood. Dark pixel values indicate non-blood tissue. Intermediate voxel values have a greater uncertainty whether the pixel value represents blood or non-blood tissue. Probability ranges are determined (30) and used to select powers or exponents N which are used to expand the dynamic range of the voxel values non-linearly. The normalized partial sums of each ray are weightedly averaged (56 ) to produce the corresponding angiographic projection pixel value for storage in an image memory (F).

The present invention relates to the diagnostic imaging arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with magnetic resonance angiography and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the invention may find application in other imaging areas in which image values have a wide dynamic range and varying degrees of uncertainty associated with different pixel brightness levels.
In x-ray angiography, x-rays which pass through the patient are used to expose photographic film. One or more shadowgraphic or projection x-ray image is taken through a region of interest of the patient. In order to improve contrast between the patient's blood vessels and surrounding tissue, the patient is commonly injected with a contrast agent. The x-ray contrast agents commonly cause the patient's blood to attenuate the x-ray beam 200-300 times as much as comparable volumes of surrounding tissue. The resultant angiographic film image has a dark background where there are no blood vessels, and the blood vessels clearly delineated in white. There is a characteristic translucent appearance where blood vessels cross.
Analogous projection or shadowgraphic angiographic images can be created from magnetic resonance imaging. Most commonly, pixel values are determined for each pixel in a volumetric region defined by a plurality of parallel, planar magnetic resonance images. A viewing plane is defined outside of the volume orthogonal to a direction from which the radiologist wishes to view the material in the volume. The viewing direction is generally parallel to the direction that the x-ray beam would have been directed in x-ray angiography. The viewing plane is divided into pixels corresponding to pixels of a resultant video angiographic image and a ray is projected from each pixel orthogonal to the viewing plane (parallel to the viewing direction) into the volume. A value for each pixel of the image is derived from the brightness or voxel values of each voxel that the corresponding ray intersects as it passes through the volume region.
One difficulty with the magnetic resonance data is that the blood vessels are only 2 to 3 times as bright as the surrounding tissue. This small differentiation between the blood vessels and surrounding tissue causes the MR angiographic images to lack the definition and contrast characteristic of the x-ray angiographic images.
In one technique for imparting the visual image characteristics of an x-ray angiography image into a magnetic resonance angiography image, the pixel values along each projected ray are examined to find the pixel with the maximum intensity. This technique is often called the "Maximum Intensity Projection" or MIP technique. This causes the brightest object along each ray to be displayed on the resultant projection image at full intensity. This improved the brightness of the blood vessels. See Laub, et al., "3D MR Angiography Using Bipolar Gradient Echoes" SMRM Book of Abstracts, p. 52, 1987. The surrounding tissue also tends to become bright or more gray, reducing the blackness of the background. Another difficulty with the resultant images resides in the visual representation of blood vessels which cross over or pass by each other. Both crossing blood vessels are displayed with a continuum of substantially the same intensity. This makes the cross over region look like an intersection or interconnection between the blood vessels. The characteristic translucent appearance of conventional x-ray angiograms along the cross over is missing.
In one technique for attempting to achieve the translucence where vessels cross each other, the pixel values of each ray are examined to determine whether the ray passes through a significant blood vessel, i.e., is in a brighter region of the image. If the ray passes through at least two pixels above a preselected threshold, then the pixel values along the ray are integrated. For rays without two pixels above the threshold, the maximum intensity or brightness pixel is selected as described by Laub. For a more pleasing result, the integrated pixel values are scaled between the threshold and an arbitrary maximum intensity. See Keller, et al. "SIMP: An Integrative Combination With MIP", SMRM Book of Abstracts, 1986. Although this improved the appearance of MR angiographic images, the images were still significantly lacking in the appearance characteristics of x-ray angiographic images.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved technique for producing magnetic resonance angiographic images with the visual characteristics of x-ray angiographic images.

Weighted ray projection imaging for MR angiography


An image sensor including a semiconductor substrate integrated with a plurality of photo-sensing devices and a nanopattern layer on the semiconductor substrate, the nanopattern layer having a plurality of nanopatterns, wherein a single nanopattern of the plurality of nanopatterns corresponds to a single photo-sensing device in the plurality of photo-sensing devices.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to an image sensor and an electronic device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photoelectronic device converts light into an electrical signal using photoelectronic effects, and may include a photodiode and/or a phototransistor. The photoelectronic device may be applied to an image sensor and/or a solar cell.
An image sensor including a photodiode requires relatively high resolution and thus a relatively small pixel. At present, a silicon photodiode is widely used, but the silicon photodiode has a problem of deteriorated sensitivity and has a relatively small absorption area due to relatively small pixels.
On the other hand, a color filter selectively absorbs light in a given (or alternatively, predetermined) wavelength region in each pixel when light enters an image sensor. A red filter, a blue filter, and a green filter are respectively disposed on a red pixel, a blue pixel, and a green pixel and selectively absorb red, blue, and green light, and the selectively absorbed light may be transferred to a photodiode of each pixel.
However, the color filters may not only absorb light by themselves, and thus bring about loss of a relatively large amount of light delivered to the photodiode, but are also formed through a process of spin coating, UV exposure, and/or wet etching, and thus have a limitation of reducing the pixel size of an image sensor to less than or equal to a given (or alternatively, predetermined) size.

Image sensor and electronic device including the same


A process for coating the inner wall surface of a thin tube having an inside diameter of 0.2 to 5 mm with a resin. The tube is first filled with a resin particulate dispersion. The dispersion filling the tube is held therein by its surface tension and does not flow out. A heater is positioned about the upper end of the tube and is moved down toward its lower end to heat the tube and thereby cause minute resin particles to adhere to its inner wall surface. Then, the tube is heated in a furnace and is cooled to have its inner wall surface coated with the resin.

Resin lining is known as one of the methods of coating the surface of a material with a resin. Resin lining is usually employed for coating the inner surface of a pipe having a large diameter or a can with a resin for purposes including corrosion proofing, surface smoothing and life prolongation.
A method in which a resin powder is applied to the inner surface of a pipe having a large diameter, is dried, is melted under heat and is solidified by cooling to form a resin coating thereon is known as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-10-160090. It discloses in Example 2 a resin coating formed on the inner surface of a steel pipe having a diameter of 2,000 mm and a length of 4,000 mm by applying thereto a slurry composed of a resin powder and a solvent (hereinafter called the resin powder dispersion), melting the dispersion under heat and cooling it.
Attempts have been made to have a resin powder or minute resin particles adhere to the inner wall surface of a thin tube having an inside diameter of, say, 0.2 to 5 mm by filling the tube with a resin powder dispersion composed of the resin powder and a solvent, or a resin particulate dispersion composed of the minute resin particles and a solvent, and placing it in a position allowing the solvent to fall by gravity so that the solvent may be removed from the tube, leaving the resin powder or minute resin particles on the inner wall surface of the tube. The surface tension of the solvent is, however, so strong as not to allow it to fall down the inner wall surface of the tube and thereby leave the resin adhering thereto.
Therefore, it is hoped that technology be developed for coating the inner wall surface of a thin tube having an inside diameter of, say, 0.2 to 5 mm with a resin by having minute resin particles adhere thereto uniformly, melting them under heat and cooling them.

Process for coating inner wall of a thin tube with a resin


A multimedia delivery engine and associated database for accessing and displaying varied multimedia content, whether stored on local storage devices or stored remotely on an Internet server, as one seamless multimedia application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to multimedia methods and devices, and more particularly to a multimedia delivery apparatus and method where media content from varied sources is accessed as a single seamless application.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many multimedia presentations rely on the use of computers. The computer may access and display media content from a single source, or from a variety of sources such as multiple mass storage devices and the Internet. Where media content from a variety of sources is displayed, however, the computer typically relies on individual components or programs operating independently to display the media content, and does not provide for any integration of the applications. Therefore, the simultaneous presentation of content elements is not seamless, and is displayed in a non-integrated fashion. In order to make content from a variety of sources appear as though it was from a single multimedia application for providing a more effective presentation, there is a need for a multimedia presentation engine for delivery of multimedia of varied content, wherein high-bandwidth media can be stored on local devices, and current and time-sensitive content can be stored remotely, such as on an Internet server, and wherein the varied content can be pulled together as one seamless multimedia application. The present invention satisfies that need, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies found in conventional multimedia presentation systems and methods.

Method and apparatus for accessing and displaying multimedia content

The Regents of the University of California


A flexible shaft coupling has first and second hubs, each of which is provided with flanges and connected to a transmission shaft. The flange of the first hub has spring holes extended therethrough. A cover is fixed to the second hub so that the flange of the first hub is held between the cover and the flange of the second hub, and the cylindrical part of the first hub extends through the cover. A plurality of coil spring sets each comprises multiple barrel-shaped coil springs. Each of the coil springs is supported in the spring hole so that the adjoining end faces thereof are in contact and in series with each other.

This invention relates to a flexible coupling that effectively accommodates shaft misalignments, absorbs shock and damps vibration using coil springs as the flexible member in the torque transmitting mechanism.
One type of flexible shaft coupling uses coil springs as its flexible member. In one variation of this type, the coil springs are disposed to change their shape in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof. This type of flexible shaft coupling comprises a first and a second hub each having a flange at one end thereof and adapted for connection of the transmission shaft, a cover fastened to the flange of the second hub in such a manner as to allow passing therethrough of a cylindrical part of the first hub and accommodate the flange of the first hub, and coil springs passing through each of multiple spring holes provided along the periphery of the flange of the first hub. The first and second hubs are disposed so that the flanges thereof face each other with a clearance gap and the coil springs are compressed between the flange of the second hub and the cover. Torque is transmitted between the first and second hubs via the coil springs. Japanese Provisional Patent Publication S59-212528 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,237) discloses this type of flexible shaft coupling.
Requiring no spring seat, flexible shaft couplings of this type have advantages such as a simple and small structure and a small moment of inertia. However, the coil springs, which resist the load at each center portion of their springs perpendicularly to each spring axis, therefore receive great stress and are not allowed to deflect greatly. When the coupling is installed in some equipment, the permissible allowance of shaft misalignments, driving torque, absorbing shocks and reducing vibration is comparatively smaller than required.
To eliminate the smaller allowance of shaft misalignments, driving torque and reducing vibration, the inventor invented the flexible shaft coupling described below. The coil springs are barrel-shaped coil springs whose largest outside diameter portion is closely fit in the spring hole in the first hub and the smallest inside diameter portion is closely fit over the spring supporting pin held between the flange of the second hub and the cover. The barrel-shaped springs are interposed, in a compressed state, between the flange of the second hub and the cover so that, when torque is transmitted, the barrel-shaped coil springs deform and come into contact with adjoining coils thereof. Japanese Provisional Patent Publication H6-213247 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,231) discloses this type of flexible shaft coupling.
The barrel-shaped coil springs in the flexible shaft coupling described above increases in outside diameter as transmitted torque increases. This, in turn, results in increased coupling outside diameter and increased moment of inertia.


An optical apparatus includes: a light source outputting light; a head disposed so as to face a disk on which a signal is recordable, the head being capable of condensing a light from the light source onto the disk as near-field light; an distance adjusting mechanism adjusting a distance between the head and the disk; first control means for causing the head to approach the disk and controlling the head to nearly stop at a position where a distance from the disk is a first distance at which the light is condensed on the disk by the head as the near-field light; detection means for detecting if the distance is the first distance; and second control means for controlling the distance adjusting mechanism based on the detected signal so as that the distance is a second distance under near-field light condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus for performing at least one of recording and reproducing of signals by using near-field light, and to a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, to enhance a recording density at which signals are recorded on an optical disk by using laser light, there has been proposed an optical disk apparatus that records or reproduces signals by using near-field light. In the optical disk on which signals are recorded by using near-field light, it is necessary to control the length of the gap between an optical disk and an end surface of an SIL (Solid Immersion Lens) installed in a head including an objective lens section in such a way as to be reduced to a distance at which the generation of near-filed light is enabled. Generally, this distance is half the wavelength of input laser light. For example, in the case of using 400 nm wavelength blue-violet laser beams, this distance is about 200 nm.
Thus, an overshoot, which is not problematical for far-field optical systems, such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), and which is caused if the length of the gap is equal to or less than 1 μm at the starting of the control of the gap, is problematical for optical recording/reproducing apparatuses using near-field light. In other words, even if an overshoot occurs if the gap is equal to or less than 1 μm at the starting of control of the gap, the SIL collides with the disk. This causes damage to both the SIL and the disk.
To solve this problem, a method of controlling the gap based on a quantity of return laser light, which is reflected by the disk, is used. For instance, in a case where 400 nm wavelength laser light is used, generally, the length of the gap, at which a near-field condition occurs, is equal to or less than half the wavelength thereof. Therefore, if the length of the gap is more than 200 nm, that is, in a far-field condition, all light from a laser light source, which is incident upon the end surface of the SIL at an angle at which total reflection thereof occurs, is reflected on the end surface of the SIL so that a quantity of return light is constant. However, if the length of the gap is equal or less than 200 nm, that is, in the near-field condition, a part of light being incident upon the end surface of the SIL at the angle, at which total reflection occurs, penetrates through the end surface of the SIL. Thus, a total-reflection return-light quantity decreases. Further, if the length of the gap between the SIL and the disk is zero, that is, when the SIL touches the disk, all the light being incident upon the end surface of the SIL at the angle, at which total reflection occurs, penetrates through the end surface of the SIL, so that the total-reflection return-light quantity is zero. According to this technique, this total-reflection return-light quantity is detected by a photodetector. Then, a gap servo operation is performed on the SIL by feeding back the detected total-reflection return-light quantity to an actuator (for example, a 2-axis device for performing a focusing servo operation and a tracking servo operation) for the SIL (see, for instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication 2002-76358, Paragraph 0026 and FIG. 3).
Furthermore, there is another method used. According to this method, a threshold (a gap servo starting threshold value) for identifying a near-field condition is set. Then, the SIL is made to slowly approach the disk. A gap servo operation would not start until the total-reflection return-light quantity becomes smaller than a gap servo starting threshold value. In other words, the gap servo operation would not start until the distance therebetween becomes equal to a near-field distance.

Optical disk apparatus and control method for controlling distance between a head and a disk


A curbside management system and method for managing curbside use by connected and/or autonomous vehicles that includes one or more computing devices that execute instructions. One or more processors integrate at least a navigation component, an asset verification component, and a curbside management component, configured to generate recommended curbside access destinations for a vehicle associated with the customer and one of which is selected as the final curbside destination for the vehicle.

The future of the curb space on streets is not to park automobiles, it will be for docking an array of vehicles. No technology/management system exists for street owners to manage this change. The allocation of curbside space to vehicles presents a challenge to infrastructure owners and operators. Curbside space allocation technology has historically been limited to a) curbside regulations posted on physical signs and b) parking meters, including multispace meters and 'virtual' multispace meters more commonly known as pay-by-phone systems. These systems have distinct limitations because they are not dynamic (unresponsive to demand at a specific time) and do not communicate with vehicles or drivers until the driver arrives at the desired destination.
As curbside demand has increased, the result has been dysfunction at the curb, with problems, such as double-parking, lane blockages, and related issues multiplying across the U.S. Vehicles competing for curb space extends beyond the private automobile and app-hailed transportation services, with demand from emergency vehicles, vending trucks, transit vehicles, taxis, commercial loading, and other modes. Further, space must be preserved for access to fire hydrants, crosswalks, pedestrians, handicapped parking, parklets, peak demand travel lane capacity (such as curb running turn lanes), and on-street docking for shared mobility modes (bicycles, scooters, etc.).
The focus of the transportation industry has been on maximizing access by travelers, as seen in the rise of app-hailed and electrified transportation services, carshare, bikeshare, scooters, and similar reservable fleets. However, these services all compete for the same, physically limited docking space along the curb, and currently do not pay for the docking time spent occupying the curb during drop-offs and pickups. The urban curbside, where vehicles are permitted to stop, is therefore a highly sought-after congestible resource. This competition and dysfunction will be magnified exponentially by connected and autonomous vehicles.
An autonomous vehicle is an autonomously directed vehicle that receives and executes, without human action, commands to make a sequence of movements. The received commands may be supplied by sensors and may be the result of processing equipment or controller that is part of the vehicle. Examples of the conventional methods for navigating and routing autonomous vehicles may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,473,470 and 9,519,290; and U.S. Published Application Nos. 2018/0105174, 2017/0132334, 2017/0123429, 2016/0370194, and 2015/0006012, the subject matter of each of which is herein incorporated by reference.
Autonomous vehicles will exacerbate these congestion problems further because, by default, the least expensive option for an automated vehicle operator or owner will be for it to simply wait in the place where it last dropped off a passenger, thereby causing congestion with other vehicles and/or passengers trying to reach the same destination. As such, vast inefficiencies in the use of curbside space is anticipated.
Consider, for example, an urban area with countless autonomous vehicles programmed towards a popular destination, such as a major transit hub or special event during a limited time window (start or end of a special event, morning peak hour traffic, etc.), saturating desired premium curb space, disrupting vehicular traffic, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicle access to stops/shelters. Combine that programmed layer of autonomous vehicles with app-hailed transportation services and the other demands listed above, and city streets simply cannot function. And while traveler mobility and functionality is essential, emergency vehicle access is critical. Emergency vehicles must have direct, timely, and sufficient access to curb space, functioning in real-time. Together, this specific form of congestion—the congested curb—leads to safety risks (including visibility and sightlines), inefficiency in the use of space, and loss of potential jurisdiction revenue unless this space is prioritized by cities, priced to control demand and create turnover, or other limits are placed on their use.
Therefore, a need exists for technology that combats curbside vehicle congestion and that provides infrastructure owners with the ability to prioritize the use of curb space dynamically, sell time at the curb to potential customers in real-time, and allow potential customers to reserve time at specific curbside spaces.

Curbside management system for connected and autonomous vehicles


In one embodiment, a system can include a centralized storage module, for example a database, that stores data relating to petroleum, natural gas and other related products taken from several different sources and entities. The entity storing and maintaining this data can be an entity independent from the operators, producers and/or other working interests. This system can use automated techniques to reconcile distributions to all entities associated with a well due to the removal of a mineral, for example, petroleum, natural gas and/or other related products, from that well, on a periodic basis. These automated techniques include, for example, reconciling all agreements associated with the well, reconciling the amount of mineral removed at the well, reconciling the spot market price associated with the well at the time of removal, automating approval by the removing entity, automating payment and the like.

The removal of a mineral such as oil or natural gas from a well involves settlement among multiple ownership interests (e.g. the producer, royalty owners, joint venturers). Determination of settlements for any of the multiple owners that are owed portions of the extracted minerals may involve determining prices and quantities associated with a mineral flow. In the past, distribution of the mineral was generally controlled by one large entity. This entity had knowledge of the mineral flow, including prices and quantities and thus could readily determine settlements for any of the multiple owners that were owed portions of the extracted minerals. Since the advent of deregulation, the distribution chain of the mineral has been broken up and controlled by several different entities, resulting in different entities having their own controls and procedures. In addition, different ownership interests and distribution entities may have different price realization points. This has led to the multiple owners receiving inconsistent settlement payments from the different entities.

Electronic settlement of petroleum and gas distributions


A droplet discharging method includes: forming a plurality of dots on a first region of a medium, on a second region which is positioned in a −Y direction from the first region, and on a third region which is positioned in the −Y direction from the second region. The dots are formed on the first region by using a first head, the dots are formed on the second region by using the first head and a second head so that a second head use ratio is increased from a value less than a first set value to a value greater than a second set value greater than the first set value in the −Y direction, and the dots are formed on the third region by using the first head and the second head to cause the second head use ratio to be constant.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a droplet discharging method and a droplet discharging apparatus.
2. Related Art
As an example of a droplet discharging apparatus, an ink jet printer which records (prints) an image by discharging ink droplets on various recording media such as a sheet or film is known. The ink jet printer alternately repeats, for example, a dot forming operation of, while moving (scanning) a head provided with a plurality of nozzles in a main scanning direction, discharging ink from each of the nozzles onto a recording medium and a transporting operation of moving (transporting) the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction to form dots (dot rows) which are lined up in the main scanning direction to be lined up in the sub-scanning direction, thereby forming an image on the recording medium.
In this type of ink jet printer, as a method for further increasing a recording speed, a method of increasing the number of nozzles has been employed. Specifically, this is a method of increasing the number of dots discharged in a single scanning process by increasing the number of nozzles per head or lining up a plurality of heads to increase a recording speed. As a high-speed recording method, for example, there is a method (band recording method) of forming an image by completing image formation of a region (band) having a width corresponding to the length of a row constituted by a plurality of nozzles through a single scanning process, transporting a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction by the width, forming bands to be lined up in the sub-scanning direction so as to allow the end portion of the formed band to abut the end portion of the band formed by the subsequent scanning process, and repeating the above operations. In the case of the band recording method, there may be a case where striped patterns (banding) are formed along the boundary between the bands. This is caused by variations in accuracy of transport in the sub-scanning direction, an effect of the difference between the characteristics of switching parts of nozzle rows, and the like.
In JP-A-6-47925, as a method of suppressing the degradation in image quality due to the banding, a method of performing partial overlap is suggested. POL control is a method of dispersing variations in characteristics or accuracy, and specifically, as the simplest example, is a method of causing the lower end region of a band formed by a scanning process of a head and the upper end region of a band formed by the subsequent scanning process of the head to overlap each other and forming dots of a part of the lower end region of the initially formed band and dots of a part of the upper end region of the subsequently formed band to overlap each other in the same region. In JP-A-10-323978, a method of forming a high-quality image by using a plurality of nozzle rows is suggested.
However, in the case where the plurality of heads provided with a larger number of nozzles are configured to be lined up in the sub-scanning direction in order to achieve higher speed, there is a problem in that there is a difference (for example, difference in concentration or the like) between images of the regions of the upper and lower end portions of the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction (recording start portion and end portion) and an image of the region of the center portion thereof, and as the difference is visually recognized, image quality deteriorates. Specifically, since the heads are configured to be lined up in the long region in the sub-scanning direction, there may be a case where partial overlap between the plurality of heads cannot be performed on the upper and lower end portions of the recording medium although partial overlap between scanning processes is possible. That is, there is a problem in that POL control between heads having different characteristics may not be performed on the upper and lower end portions. As a result, there may be a case where there is a difference between images of image regions formed only by the heads corresponding to the upper and lower end portions and an image of an image region subjected to the POL control between the plurality of heads. In addition, there is a problem in that, in a transition region between the regions of the upper and lower end portions and the region of the center portion, the difference between the heads in characteristics affects the image as the number of heads being used is increased (the difference between the upper and lower end portion regions and the center portion region cannot be smoothly transitioned).

Droplet discharging method and droplet discharging apparatus


A wearable device that is worn on a user body includes a motion sensor to recognize a motion of the wearable device, a bending sensor to sense bending of the wearable device, a controller to generate a control signal according to a movement that is sensed by the motion sensor and the bending sensor, a communication unit to transmit the control signal to an external device, and, when an audio reproducing operation is adjusted according to the control signal in the external device, to receive a result of the adjusting from the external device, and a display to display the result of the adjusting. Accordingly, a content of the external device is easily adjusted.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a wearable device and a method of controlling an external device using the same, and more particularly, to a wearable device that senses a user's movement and controls an external device according to the movement, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advancements in electronic technologies have resulted in development of various types of electronic devices. As such, development of games, music, multimedia contents, and applications that can be used in various kinds of electronic devices has been accelerated.
In particular, users require enhancements in audio and video contents, as well as advanced editing and creating capabilities of various multimedia contents.
However, since a device to perform such functions is generally expensive and complicated to use, an average user has difficulty acquiring and using such an advanced device. Accordingly, there is a need for a more inexpensive and user-friendly multimedia creating and editing device.

Wearable device to control external device and method thereof


A system for associating documents with articles in a shipping container. The system includes an envelope having a generally flat body portion with an open end, first and second overlying flap portions extending from the open end and having oppositely facing exterior surfaces. The system also includes a shipping container having a main body and at least one cover portion that cooperates with the main body to enclose the articles. The envelope is receivable between the at least one cover portion and the main body of the shipping container and at least one of the first and second flap portions is affixable to an exterior surface of the container.

Every day various articles are shipped domestically and internationally in sealed containers, such as, for example, containers, boxes, and envelopes. Along with the articles, it is sometimes necessary to include various documents to provide evidence of the contents of the sealed containers or to provide additional information. These documents may include bills, invoices, and documentation required by Customs, among others.
Typically, these documents are either affixed to the outside of the sealed container or placed inside the container along with the articles to be shipped. Each arrangement has its own drawbacks. For example, when the documents are affixed to the outside of the sealed container, there is an increased risk that the documents will be lost during the shipping process. This may occur because the containers come in contact with other containers or objects, thereby stripping the documents from the container. In these instances, the person or other entity shipping the container may be required to provide copies of the documents to either the receiver or Customs before the sealed container is accepted/delivered. If the documents are placed inside the sealed container, the container must be opened to determine its contents or else the shipper will have to provide additional copies of the documents.

Method and apparatus for associating documents with shipping containers


Disclosed is a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery and a preparation method of the same that can improve cycle-life characteristics and storage characteristics at a high temperature by improving structural safety characteristics and electrochemical characteristics, by forming an overlayer comprising an oxide glass phase on the surface of the positive active material, and a lithium secondary battery comprising the positive active material.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery and a preparation method of the same, and more particularly, to a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery and a lithium secondary battery having improved storage characteristics and cycle-life characteristics at a high temperature, and improved safety characteristics, and a method of preparing the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A lithium secondary battery is required to have good cycle-life characteristics, safety characteristics, and storage characteristics at a high temperature. An important factor in cycle-life characteristics of a battery is the characteristics of positive and negative active materials. Recently, colossal improvements have been made in the field of negative active material, but there are still a lot of problems in the field of positive active material. Research on positive active material is particularly required, because safety and storage characteristics of a battery at a high temperature are dependant on the characteristics of the positive active material.
Representative positive active materials of a lithium secondary battery include LiCoO2, LiNiO2 and LiMn2O4. Among them, LiNiO2 has the largest capacity but it cannot be easily utilized because of safety problem, LiMn2O4 has the smallest specific capacity and is thus not suitable for a positive active material, and LiCoO2 has poor storage characteristics at a high temperature.
A lot of research is underway to overcome the above-mentioned problems. There are three representative research approaches. One of them is improving storage characteristics at a high temperature by coating LiMn2O4 with metal carbonate; another is improving cycle-life and safety characteristics by coating LiCoO2 with metal oxide; the third is improving the safety of the battery by enhancing structural and thermal characteristics by the use of various dopants.
Although the above-mentioned methods improve cycle-life characteristics at room temperature, they don't improve storage characteristics and cycle-life characteristics at a high temperature.

Positive active material for a lithium secondary battery with higher performance and preparation method of the same