A gate assembly prevents keyless ingress into, and enables keyless egress from, a gated area. The gate assembly comprises a gate frame and a gate. The gate frame comprises rectangular or 360 degree frame structure for maintaining a planar gate-receiving area despite ground deformations and the like. The gate comprises rectangular gate structure that defines a planar frame-engaging area. The gate-receiving area is greater in magnitude than the frame-engaging area. The gate further comprises a state of the art interior push bar latch for enabling keyless egress, and state of the art keyed lock for preventing keyless ingress into the gated or secure area. An inferior frame member is anchored in subterranean media for positioning the gate frame during installation for maintaining the gate-receiving area should ground deformations occur.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gate assembly, and more particularly, to a high security gate assembly for preventing keyless ingress into, and enabling keyless egress from, a secure or restricted area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
So-called pre-exit gates suffer from misalignments due to ground deformations as resulting from frost-thaw cycles. Persons charged with activity within a secure area often require a safe egress route from the secure area in the event of an emergency. Misaligned gate assemblies can result in an unsafe egress route insofar as the gate may have become misaligned and thus difficult, if not impossible, to open in a short time required in the event of an emergency. Gate assemblies for use at secure areas should provide certain means for preventing unauthorized access or ingress to a restricted or secure area, and further provide reliable keyless or tool-less exit or egress from the secure area. Some of the more pertinent prior art relating to gates, gate assemblies, and associated latch means are briefly described hereinafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,280 ('280 patent), which issued to Godec et al., discloses a panic exit latch and actuator mechanism including an elongated latch bolt actuator element rectilinearly movable along its axis and disposed in an elongated horizontally extending housing traversing a door. A push plate is supported for movement outwardly and inwardly relative to the housing. A pair of bell cranks provides an operative connection between the push plate and the actuator element to move the actuator element from its latch projected position to its latch retracted position in response to inward movement of the push plate. The bell cranks are mounted for pivotal movement about their apices in the housing, one crank being mounted adjacent either end of the housing. The pivotal axes of the bell cranks extend generally transversely to the direction of motion of the latch bolt actuator element. Each bell crank includes an arm pivotally connected to the latch bolt actuator element and arm pivotally connected to the push plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,396 ('396 patent), which issued to Zvi et al., discloses a security gate apparatus for securing building openings in the nature of window and door openings are disclosed; and comprise a security gate including gate-carried locking means which, while of particularly sturdy construction and effective to render it extremely difficult if not impossible as a practical matter to open the security gate from without the building opening, are nonetheless virtually foolproof in operation, and which are very readily and conveniently openable from within the building, even by those of somewhat limited mental and/or physical capacities, in readily apparent manner to thereby insure virtually immediate exit from the building through the building opening for the building occupants in emergency situations. Fixed security means are operatively associated with the security gate, and are of readily and conveniently adjustable extent; to thereby enable the ready adjustment in situ of the size of the security gate apparatus, and provide for significant versatility of application of the security gate apparatus with regard to the range of sizes of the building openings which may be effectively secured thereby.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,528 ('528 patent), which issued to Handel et al., discloses an emergency exit device of the push bar type to control entry and exit of personnel, including a crossbar which may be pushed toward a door to actuate mechanisms which retract a latch bolt, and an alarm and key system for selective alarm actuation. The alarm and key system includes internal control mechanisms which are mounted in a tamper-proof housing, which may be accessed only by operating the push bar and actuating the alarm. A light emitting diode in the alarm assembly indicates alarm state, the presence of power, and a preset delay interval for alarm actuation. A variety of internal and external key operation configurations may be employed. A fastening arrangement for the exit device housing provides security against unauthorized manipulation of alarm components. Where mounting the alarm assembly within the exit device frame, an internal mounted guard member may include a protection flange to block access to the alarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,117 ('117 patent), which issued to Doxey, discloses a door locking system for attachment to an outwardly opening door which engages the door frame and which has a panic bar movable towards the door for disengaging the locking system. The locking device includes an outer sleeve fixedly mounted to the interior surface of the door and extending over one side of the door frame. An inner sleeve is provided within the outer sleeve which is pulled against a spring to a door frame engagement position, wherein inner sleeve extends over the other side of the door frame to prevent the door from being opened. A catch on the panic bar retains the inner sleeve in the engagement position, and movement of the panic bar towards the door causes the inner sleeve to retract into the outer sleeve, thereby allowing the door to be opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,451 ('451 patent), which issued to Merryman, discloses a door latch push bar assembly for providing a push bar for unlatching a door latch such as the type found on storm doors. The door latch push bar assembly includes a mounting bracket and an elongate rod having a pair of opposite ends. A first of the ends of the rod is pivotally coupled to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is designed for mounting to a door adjacent a first side of the door. A second of the ends of the rod is designed for extending towards a second side of the door and for receiving a free end of pivotable lever of a latch adjacent the second side of the door releasably engaging the second side of the door to an adjacent portion of a door frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,897 ('897 patent), which issued to Locher, discloses a push-bar for doors in general, which comprises a bar element provided, at its ends, with couplings for connection to a door; the particularity of said push-bar is the fact that it is provided with a threaded bar which is arranged inside the bar element, each end of said bar element being connected to lever means which are in turn pivoted at one end to the bar element and, at the other end, to a pusher whose rotation as a consequence of a pressure applied to the bar element causes the rotation of a pawl which is adapted to engage the pivot of the lock of the door in order to turn it for opening, an empty space being provided between the bar element and the surface of the door to which the bar element is connected
U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,411 ('411 patent), which issued to Rowan, discloses a security bar that can be retrofitted onto a gate used in a typical fence construction to prevent unauthorized tampering with or opening of the gate. The device includes a rigid locking bar that is firmly mounted to the gate, a T-shaped strike plate, and a key-actuated latchbolt mechanism mounted within the inside of the rigid locking bar so that the latchbolt and strike plate cannot be accessed for tampering. The strike plate is mounted to a conventional fence post with fasteners that are not accessible when the gate is closed. Using the present device, which can be retrofitted to any type of outdoor gate, a positive locking action insures that the gate is locked at all times and cannot be jimmied or pulled upward to a position that would allow it to be opened. The locking mechanism allows access from either side of the gate for actuation.
It may thus be seen that the prior art perceives a need for a gate assembly having means for preventing gate assembly misalignments as originating from ground deformations and the like. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a high security gate assembly having means for preventing gate assembly misalignments, for preventing keyless entry or ingress into a secure area, and for enabling keyless or tool-less exit or egress from a secure area as set forth in more detail hereinafter.


A ventilated fiber optic bushing includes a bundle of elongated, optical fiber light guides having generally cylindrical diameters, each light guide having a first end remotely emitting light and terminating in a convex second end in a common plane. The bundle is held in a desired shape receiving light through a transparent window having the same size and shape as the fiber bundle, the window being transversely disposed in an aperture of a light projector wherein a cooling fan within the projector draws external air through the aperture around the window. A rigid tube holds the bundle of light guides in the desired shape within the aperture projector with the convex second ends of the guides against the transparent window. A portion of the external air drawn through the projector aperture is drawn longitudinally through interstices between the light guides and transversely between the interstices formed by the convex light guide ends and the transparent window. The rigid tube holding the bundle is removable from the projector aperture.

This invention applies to the field of fiber optic light guides, and more particularly to a bundle of light guides held in an aperture and receiving light from a fiber optic projector.
A principal disadvantage of such currently known fiber optic light guides is that the intense illumination from a light projector causes the light guides to heat, age and often burn the surface of the fiber ends, destroying the light guide prematurely.
Glass optical fibers are very heat resistant, but the fiber ends are bundled together and potted with epoxy, making the entrance end of the light guide heat sensitive, as the epoxy ages and chars around the glass fibers at temperatures around 160.degree. C. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the temperature to the operating temperature of the epoxy, not the glass fibers.
Some plastic light guides have a soft, "solid core" construction, in which the flexible core is sheated in a thin-wall tube of heat-resistant plastic. The light-transmitting solid core can operated at temperatures as high as 150.degree. C., but in long-term use, the core ages, discolors, cross-links and embrittles.
Acrylic (polymethyl methacrylate) fibers are low cost light guides that have very accurate color transmission. This combination of low cost and true color transmission makes it very desirable to use acrylic light guides for commercial lighting applications. However, the maximum continuous operating temperature for acrylic optical fibers is only 70.degree. C. If operated at or below the continuous service temperature, acrylic fibers will last for more than a decade without aging or discoloring. However, above 80.degree. C. the acrylic plastic fiber ends begin to soften, distort and melt. Therefore, acrylic fiber manufacturers recommend that the light source not be focussed on the fiber bundle, so the light is not concentrated on the center of the fibers. This reduces melting and burning the fibers, but such defocussing throws much of the light outside the bundle, diminishing the optical efficiency of the system.
Since light guide temperature is critical for all types of fibers, many thermal control techniques are presently used to reduce the heat to protect the end of the fiber bundles. Thermal control techniques include the use of dichroic reflector lamps, defocussing the lamp image, cooling fans, infrared reflecting dichroic mirrors between the lamp and fiber bundle, and optically-tuned heat absorbers, such as seen in the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,399.
The center of a fiber optic bundle at the bushing receiving projector light tends to slowly increase in temperature over extended time periods, as there is a limited means for dissipating heat from the central fibers. Since fiber life expectancy varies inversely with temperature, there is a need for an efficient way to dissipate heat from the center of the fiber bundle.
The basic purpose of the present invention is to provide a fiber optics bushing in which cooling air from outside a fan-cooled fiber optic projector is drawn through interstices between the fibers and across the illuminated face of the bundle of fibers to maintain a suitably low operating temperature


In the case of a shaft for an open-end spinning rotor a supporting element is fixed in a concentric recess of the shaft. The supporting element is disposed with a radially extending supporting surface against a vibrating ball of a step bearing. A ball is used as a supporting element, a section of which ball projects out of the recess. The projecting section is radially flattened in relation to the shaft and thus forms the radially extending supporting surface. Because of its ball shape, the supporting element can be easily placed in the recess. In the case of a misaligned arrangement of the vibrating ball, the radial flattening prevents the axial position of the open-end spinning rotor from being displaced and undesirable radial forces being exerted on the shaft.

The present invention relates to a shaft for an open-end spinning rotor, the free end of which shaft comprises a supporting element which is arranged in a concentric recess of the shaft, said supporting element having an essentially radially extending supporting surface for a vibrating ball of a step bearing.
It is known (U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,809) that a cylindrical pin is used as a supporting element and is arranged in a concentric recess of the shaft. The pin has an essentially radially extending supporting surface, with which it is supported on a vibrating ball of the step bearing. When the pin is inserted into the recess, the air present there must be displaced. The pin is therefore provided in a first variation with longitudinal grooves, by means of which the displaced air can escape to the outside. In another variation, the recess adjoins an additional hollow space, in which the air displaced from the recess is compressed.
It is known (German published patent application 19 01 453) that a supporting element is used which has the shape of a hemisphere, a section of which projects from the front end of the shaft. The supporting element is supported on a stationary, essentially plane component of the step bearing.
The problems with the displacement of air can be avoided to a great extent when instead of a pin a ball is used as a supporting element. However, the use of a ball as a supporting element of a shaft can cause new problems in the case of step bearings which comprise a vibrating ball for the disposed shaft. If the axis of the shaft does not exactly align with the ball of the step bearing, it can lead to a displacement of the axial position of the open-end spinning rotor and to undesirable radial movements of the shaft, in particular to a radial migration. Even small deviations in tolerance in the manufacture of the step bearing are sufficient to bring this about.
In order to achieve faultless spinning results it is very important that the rotor cup attached to the shaft continuously takes up an exact, predetermined axial and radial position. When not exactly aligned, the center point of the vibrating ball is displaced relative to the axis of the shaft, so that the ball-shaped supporting element lies eccentric thereto. The position of the rotor cup is then displaced in the direction of the step bearing. This results in a change in the geometrical arrangement in the spinning area. The feeding of fibers into the rotor cup does not take place at the intended place, and the withdrawal nozzle is too far away from the rotor cup.
The change in the geometrical arrangement results in an increase in end-breaks and a worsening of yarn quality, in particular with respect to strength and evenness. In addition, the eccentric position of the ball-shaped supporting element effects an uneven axial and radial operation of the open-end spinning rotor. This also has a negative effect on the spinning results.
It is an object of the present invention to provide in the case of a shaft for an open-end spinning rotor an easily installed supporting element which does not adversely affect the predetermined axial and radial position of the open-end spinning rotor.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention in that the supporting element is formed by a ball which projects out of the recess with a radially flattened section which contains the supporting surface.
A supporting element in the shape of a ball can be inserted into the shaft recess without any great difficulty. As, during insertion, the ball-shaped supporting element is disposed against the peripheral side of the recess with only a line extending in circumferential direction, the greater part of the air along the line can escape from the recess. With application of the usual tools for manufacturing the recess, it obtains a form such that the supporting element is not disposed against the entire peripheral surface of the recess, which leaves enough space for a possible compression of air.
Due to the radially extending supporting surface of the ball as a result of flattening, the contact surface, with which the supporting element touches the ball, extends also radially to the shaft. An axial displacement of the open-end spinning rotor is thus avoided. Also, radial forces at the step bearing, which could lead to undesirable migration and an uneven operation of the shaft, do not arise.
The supporting element can be arranged in the recess in different ways. The supporting element can, for example, be secured inside the recess by means of a suitable adhesive. Furthermore, it is also possible to use holding means which are effective from outside of the recess.
In an advantageous embodiment, the supporting element is made by removing material from the ball, for example by means of grinding. It is hereby advantageously possible to apply the supporting surface then when the supporting element has been inserted into the recess. It is also possible to insert the supporting element in its final form into the recess and for insertion to dispose it on its plane supporting surface.
The ball is made of a harder material than the vibrating ball and/or the shaft. The ball can be advantageously made of ceramic material.
In an advantageous embodiment, the recess has a stopping face for axially fixing the ball. It is hereby advantageous when the recess comprises a hollow conical section, whose peripheral surface forms the stopping face. Such a hollow conical section can be produced easily when the recess is manufactured using a drill.
In an advantageous way, the ball is held in the recess by means of a press fit.
In an advantageous embodiment the shaft is hardened at least in the area which borders the recess. Thus a widening of the shaft when pressing in the ball is avoided.
According to certain preferred advantageous embodiments, the supporting ball is received in a cylindrical bore of the shaft which has been extended by a bore with a smaller diameter. In this advantageous embodiment, the material which is removed from the ball is dimensioned so that the ball projects only approximately 0.4 mm beyond the end of the shaft. Also in this embodiment, the shaft is hardened to approximately 40 Rockwell hardness in the vicinity of the end of the shaft, which thereby prevents expansion of the shaft when the ball is pressed in and when the bore for accommodating the ball is produced.
In accordance with especially preferred embodiments of the method for manufacturing the rotor shaft assembly, the receiving bore for the supporting ball is drilled in the shaft after the shaft has been hardened.
According to advantageous features of preferred embodiments of the invention, the supporting surface of the ball projects with its supporting surface by an amount of no more than 1 mm beyond the end of the shaft. This ensures that the ball is largely protected during transportation and handling, so that alignment of the radial supporting surface of the ball is not altered inadvertently.
According to especially advantageous embodiments of the method of making the assembly, the ball is first placed in the bore and then fastened there, and thereafter the ball is machined to produce the supporting surface. Since the shaft and the ball form a unit before the supporting surface is produced, there is no problem to produce the supporting surface exactly radially to the shaft axis. In especially preferred embodiments, the supporting surface on the ball is formed following insertion of the ball in the receptacle of the shaft by grinding away the material of the ball. With the shaft being hardened, at least in the vicinity of the shaft end to a hardness of 40 Rockwell or more, the deformation that would otherwise be caused to the shaft when the ball is pressed in is limited.
Objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Shaft for an open-end spinning rotor and method of making same


A method of measuring strain in a test specimen comprises the steps of placing a pattern of marks on a surface of the test specimen, wherein the pattern of marks includes a plurality of target marks and a plurality of sets of coded marks, using the sets of coded marks to identify locations of at least two of the target marks, and using a change in distance between at least two of the marks to determine strain in the test specimen. An apparatus that performs the method is also provided.

During structural testing, it is often of interest to measure the imposed mechanical strains for either documentary purposes or for control of the test. The most common systems used for strain measurement are extensometers or strain gages, which are devices that are mounted in contact with the test specimen.
In some cases it is desirable to have a non-contact strain measurement system. Such systems are commercially available and typically require registration marks to be placed or projected onto the specimen. The limitation of these systems is that they can only provide strain measurement in a small area, or the strain is averaged over a large area and does not provide information about two-dimensional strain variations throughout the test specimen.
There are many commercially available electro-optical tensile testing strain measurement devices. However, they are not useful in large area measurements.
There is a need for a non-contact strain measurement system that overcomes the limitation of prior systems.

In-situ large area optical strain measurement using an encoded dot pattern


A plug with a replaceable fuse is provided. The plug includes an outer housing, an inner core, a pair of prongs and a pair of conductive cords. The outer housing includes a fuse uninstall button opening and an inner core install opening. The inner core is installed into the outer housing through the inner core install opening, and the inner core includes a fuse socket and a fuse uninstall button. The fuse socket has an uninstall opening. When it is intended to replace the fuse, the fuse uninstall button is pressed from the fuse uninstall button opening, the fuse is ejected or pushed out of the fuse socket by one end of the fuse uninstall button extending to the uninstall opening. When the fuse uninstall button is not pressed, the fuse uninstall button restores to the original position, such that a new fuse is installed into the fuse socket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plug with a replaceable fuse. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plug with an easily replaceable fuse.
2. Description of Related Art
A common plug may cause a problem that a conductive cord or an electrical appliance is burnt out due to the excessively large output power of the power source, which is caused by too many electrical appliances being externally connected with the plug. Therefore, many manufacturers start to manufacture a plug with a fuse. When too many electrical appliances are externally connected, the fuse in the plug will be burned out first, so as to prevent the conductive cord or the electrical appliance from being burned out, thereby further avoiding dangers.
The conventional plug with a fuse is usually designed as a plug with a replaceable fuse, such that after the fuse is burned out, the user can use a tool to uninstall the fuse and install a new fuse. FIG. 1 shows a plug with a replaceable fuse provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,607. The plug includes an outer housing 10, an inner core 11, a pair of prongs 12 and a pair of conductive cords 13. The pair of conductive cords 13 and the pair of prongs 12 are embedded in the outer housing 10, and extend from the inside of the outer housing 10 towards the outside. The outer housing 10 has a fuse socket opening 100, an inner core opening 101, two button openings 102A, 102B, and a fuse socket cover 103. The fuse socket cover 103 is used for opening or closing the fuse socket opening 100. The outer housing 10 is formed with an inner accommodation room, the inner core 11 is installed to the inner accommodation room of the outer housing 10 through the inner core opening 101. The inner core 11 includes a button 110A, a button 110B, and a fuse socket 111. The fuse socket 111 is used for installing a fuse 14. When the fuse 14 is installed in the fuse socket 111, the pair of prongs 12 is coupled to the fuse 14, and the pair of conductive cords 13 is coupled to the fuse 14. The pair of prongs 12 is used to be inserted into the outlet and receive the power. The pair of conductive cords 13 is used to transmit the power to the electrical appliances connected with the pair of conductive cords 13. The fuse 14 includes a metal wire with a low melting point, once the current load is excessively high, the metal wire is burned out, so as to prevent the electrical appliance and the pair of conductive cords 13 from being burned out. The fuse socket 111 is used for disposing the fuse 14. The fuse socket opening 100 is used to provide an opening for moving in or out the fuse 14. The button 110A extends out of the button opening 102A for pushing the fuse 14 installed in the fuse socket 111, such that the fuse 14 is uninstalled from the fuse socket 111. The button 110B extends out of the button opening 102B for pushing the fuse 14 to the fuse socket 111, such that the fuse 14 is coupled to the pair of conductive cords 13 and the pair of prongs 12.
Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a replacing method for the fuse 14 of the plug in FIG. 1. When it is intended to replace the fuse 14, a tool is needed (for example, an I-shaped screw driver) to open the fuse socket cover 103. Then, the button 110A is pressed to push the fuse 14 away from the fuse socket 111, and the fuse 14 is moved out of the fuse socket opening 100, such that the fuse 14 is uninstalled. Then, the new fuse 14 is disposed into the inner accommodation room, through the fuse socket opening 100, and the button 110B is pressed to push the fuse 14 to the fuse socket 111. The fuse 14 is coupled to the pair of prongs 12 and the pair of conductive cords 13. Finally, the fuse cover 103 is locked in the fuse socket opening 100 by using a tool, so as to accomplish replacing the fuse 14.
Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3A is a top view of a fuse socket cover 103; FIG. 3B is a side view of the fuse socket cover 103; and FIG. 3C is a bottom view of the fuse socket cover 103. The fuse socket cover 103 includes a groove 103A, a group of bumps 103B. The outer housing 10 is disposed with a group of bump grooves for being engaged with the group of bumps 103B, so as to fix the fuse socket cover 103 in the fuse socket opening 111. An I-shaped screw driver is used to rotate the groove 103A to open the fuse socket cover 103 from the fuse socket opening 100 or fix the fuse socket cover 103 in the fuse socket opening 100, so the fuse socket cover 103 can achieve a function of opening and closing the fuse socket opening 100.
FIG. 4 shows a plug with a replaceable fuse provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,627. The plug includes an outer housing 20, a pair of prongs 22 and a pair of conductive cords 23. The outer housing 10 is formed with a plurality of inner accommodation rooms for disposing a fuse 24 and for embedding the pair of prongs 22 and the pair of conductive cords 23. The outer housing is formed with a fuse socket opening 200, and has a fuse cover 203 for opening or closing the fuse socket opening 200. The fuse cover 203 includes two arc-shaped notches 203A and a pair of fuse engaging components 203B. The pair of fuse engaging component 203 form a fuse socket 211. The fuse engaging component 203B is used for fixing the fuse 24 in the fuse socket 211. The pair of conductive cords 23 and the pair of prongs 22 are embedded in the outer housing 20, and extend from the inside of the outer housing 20 towards the outside. When the fuse 24 is installed in the fuse socket 211, and when the fuse socket opening 200 is covered with the fuse cover 203, the pair of prongs 22 and the pair of conductive cords 23 are coupled to the fuse 24. The pair of prongs 22 is used for being inserted in the outlet and receiving power. The pair of conductive cords 23 is used for transmitting the power to the electrical appliances connected with the pair of conductive cords 23. The fuse 24 includes a metal wire with a low melting point, once the current load is excessively high, the metal wire is burned out, so as to prevent the electrical appliance and the pair of conductive cords 23 from being burned out. The fuse socket opening 200 is used to provide an opening for moving in or out the fuse 24. The fuse socket cover 203 is used for opening or closing the fuse socket opening 211. When it is intended to replace the fuse 24, a tool is used to pull up or pry the fuse socket cover 203 from the arc-shaped notch 203A, and thus the fuse socket cover 203 is taken off from the fuse socket opening 211. Then the fuse 24 on the fuse socket cover 203 is taken off from the fuse socket 211. Then, a new fuse 24 is disposed in the fuse socket 211, and the fuse socket opening 200 is covered with the fuse socket cover 203, so as to accomplish the replacing of the fuse 24.
Based on the above, a tool is required for the conventional plug with a replaceable fuse to replace the fuse in the plug. If the plug with a replaceable fuse is externally connected with excessive electrical appliances, the internal fuse is burned out, it is inconvenient for the user having no tools at hand, who needs to replace the fuse of the plug as soon as possible. Therefore, a plug with a replaceable fuse is provided in the present invention, which is capable of ejecting, pushing, pulling, dragging the fuse out of the fuse socket merely through simple pressing or directly dragging by hand, without requiring a tool for installing or uninstalling.

Yun Meng Yun Xi Lighting Products Co Ltd


Access time to data recorded on a tape in a tape cartridge is improved in a multi-tape cartridge and a drive for the multi-tape cartridge wherein a number of tapes having data recorded thereon are wound around hubs in the cartridge, and the tapes are separated as they traverse an opening in the cartridge. The drive system has multiple data transfer heads which are insertable into the opening in the cartridge and respectively engage the tapes in the cartridge. Data can be simultaneously transferred between the tapes and the heads. In comparison to a single tape having a given length, the multiple tapes in the cartridge can be shortened in length by a factor equal to the number of tapes, and the access to data recorded on the tapes is correspondingly faster by the same factor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a tape cartridge and a tape drive, such as a magnetic tape cartridge and a drive of the type known as a tape "streamer," and in particular to a tape cartridge containing multiple tapes and a drive having multiple data transfer heads respectively engageable with multiple tapes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need for storing all types of digital information is increasing rapidly. Magnetic tape is by far the least expensive high-capacity medium available today for digital information storage. The suppliers of tape drive and tape medium are always striving to develop new drives with increased storage capacity, shorter access time and higher data rates.
A primary advantage of tape, in addition to its low cost, as an information storage medium is its relatively large recording surface area.
A significant disadvantage of tape as an information storage medium is that tape is a sequential medium. This means that when a data transfer head, such as a read/write head being operated as a read head, is located at a beginning of a tape, it is necessary for the tape to pass along virtually its entire tape length in order to retrieve information at the end of the tape. The access time associated with tape is therefore much longer than the access time associated with hard disks, optical disks and flexible (floppy) disks.
Access time associated with a tape can, at least in theory, be improved by making the tape wider and shorter, so that it takes less time to transport the tape to reach the end of the tape in order to retrieve information located at the end of the tape. There are, however, practical limits to making a tape wider and shorter.
One problem is that the dimensions of the tape, and consequently the dimensions of the cartridge containing the tape, have an influence on the form factor of the drive. A wider tape requires an increased form factor. Consistent with current marketplace desires, the current trend in the industry, however, is to reduce the form factor. Moreover, in library systems the cartridges are stored in magazines, usually with ten cartridges per magazine. Such magazine storage would have to be reconfigured if wider tape, and thus wider cartridges, were employed.
Another problem is that increasing the tape width also increases the air cushion which is unavoidably created between the exterior surface of the tape on the take-up reel and the incoming tape which is being wound onto the take-up reel. In the confined V-shaped space at this location, air which is carried along the surfaces of the rapidly-moving tape becomes entrapped and forms a cushion which pushes the incoming tape slightly away from the wound tape. Increasing the width of the tape would make this trapped volume larger, and thereby increase the cushion effect. This may result in the tape not being firmly wound onto the take-up reel, which can subsequently result in a tape pack shift if the cartridge is subsequently subjected to shock and vibration. As is known to those of skill in this art, a tape pack shift can result in the occurrence of mistracking when the tape is subsequently unwound and read.
Another theoretical way to increase the data transfer rate is to use an increased number of write/read heads in parallel. It is well-known, however, that the manufacturing yield of conventional heads decreases, often dramatically, as the number of channels accommodated within the head increases. Employing a wider tape would require the use of an increased number of heads operating in parallel to adequately cover the increased tape width.
Another problem associated with increasing the tape width is that the head-to-tape contact pressure is very difficult to maintain uniformly from the lower tape edge to the upper tape edge. This is due to head tilt (zenith) tolerances and tape transverse cupping and tension.

Multiple tape cartridge and drive for concurrent recording with the tapes disposed in the cartridge


A method of producing a material library of surface areas having different properties is described, in which mixtures of substances are applied to a substrate by a combinatory method so that a combinatory system is obtained. At least two suspensions are used to produce the mixtures.

Conventional sputtering methods, among others, are used in combinatory chemistry for the synthesis of single-phase and multiphase surface systems, where materials of different chemical compositions are applied to a disk-shaped substrate, for example, a wafer, using an automated process known as high-throughput process. In this manner, surface systems having a plurality of areas with different surface compositions may be manufactured. The individual areas may be characterized regarding their physical and/or chemical properties by customary analytical methods, so that the surface composition best suited for the given application may be selected from among the differing and separately situated areas.
Conventionally, a sol/gel method for the synthesis of ceramic or metallic single-phase or multiphase systems. In this method different salts and salt mixtures are used as precursors, for example, and are converted to the desired coating materials using a sol/gel process. The sol/gel is then applied, using a dispensing process, to a substrate, which may be manufactured from a ceramic material. By applying different sols/gels in areas separated from one another, a combinatory library is produced, which may be evaluated analytically for its physical and/or chemical properties.


A power conversion device includes a plurality of cascaded converter cells. In each of the converter cells, each of a plurality of arms forming a bridge circuit is provided with a plurality of semiconductor switching elements in parallel. A drive controller of each of the converter cells is configured to, when none of a plurality of predetermined abnormality modes is detected, control the bridge circuit in accordance with an externally provided command. The drive controller is configured to, when at least one of the plurality of abnormality modes is detected, turn on all semiconductor switching elements provided in at least one of the plurality of arms forming the bridge circuit, to thereby establish a short circuit between first and second input/output nodes.

A modular multilevel converter (MMC) is known as a large-capacity power conversion device connected to an electric power system. The modular multilevel converter includes, for each phase of AC, an upper arm circuit connected to a high-potential-side DC terminal and a lower arm circuit connected to a low-potential-side DC terminal. Each arm circuit is formed of a plurality of cascaded converter cells.
The converter cells are hereinafter also referred to as sub-modules.
A converter cell includes a capacitor serving as an energy storage device, first and second input/output nodes, and a bridge circuit for switching between connection and disconnection between these input/output nodes and the capacitor. The bridge circuit used is of half-bridge-type, full-bridge-type or the like.
When a failure occurs for some reason in one of converter cells forming each arm circuit of an MMC, the entire MMC stops operating normally. In order to avoid such inconvenience, a bypass switch is provided in parallel with each converter cell (see paragraph 0003 of WO 2014/148100 (PTL 1), for example). In the event of a failure in a converter cell, the parallel-connected bypass switch is turned on to short-circuit the output of this converter cell. Operation of the MMC can thereby be continued.


The invention relates to mutants and alleles of the coryneform bacterium mqo gene which encodes malate quinone oxidoreductases which contain any amino acid apart from L-serine at position 111, or a comparable position, in the amino acid sequence, and to processes for fermentatively preparing amino acids, preferably L-lysine, L-tryptophan and L-proline, using bacteria which comprise these alleles.

Amino acids are used in human medicine, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the foodstuffs industry and, very particularly, in animal nutrition.
It is known that amino acids are prepared by fermenting strains of coryneform bacteria, in particular Corynebacterium glutamicum. Because of their great importance, efforts are continuously being made to improve the preparation methods. Methodological improvements can concern measures relating to fermentation, such as stirring and supplying with oxygen, or the composition of the nutrient media, such as the sugar concentration during the fermentation, or the workup to the product form by means of ion exchange chromatography, for example, or the intrinsic performance properties of the microorganism itself.
Methods of mutagenesis, selection and mutant choice are used for improving the performance properties of these microorganisms. This results in strains which are resistant to antimetabolites or auxotrophic for metabolites of regulatory importance and which produce amino acids. A known antimetabolite is the lysine analog S-(2-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine (AEC).
For some years now, methods of recombinant DNA technology have also been used for improving L-amino acid-producing strains of corynebacterium by amplifying individual amino acid biosynthesis genes and investigating the consequences of this for amino acid production. A review of a wide variety of aspects of the genetics, the metabolism and the biotechnology of Corynebacterium glutamicum can be found in Pü hler (chief ed.), Journal of Biotechnology 104 (1–3), 1–338, 2003.
The nucleotide sequence of the Corynebacterium glutamicum malate quinone oxidoreductase-encoding gene was determined by Molenaar et al. (European Journal of Biochemistry 254: 395–403 (1998)) and is available to the public in the database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (Bethesda, Md., USA) under the accession number AJ224946.
It is furthermore to be found in patent application WO 01/00844 as sequence No. 569 and sequence No. 571 as well as in patent application EP-A-1108790 as sequence No. 3478, sequence No. 7065 and sequence No. 7066.
EP1038969 describes an improvement in the fermentative production of L-amino acids by coryneform bacteria which results from amplifying the mqo gene.
On the other hand, WO 02086137 describes the beneficial effect on L-amino acid production by coryneform bacteria which is achieved by attenuating the mqo gene. A mutation of the mqo gene which is described in the application and which is designated "allele 672" carries the nucleotide adenine in place of the nucleotide guanine at position 672 in the DNA sequence of the mqo gene, with this resulting in the formation of a stop codon at position 224 in the amino acid sequence of the Corynebacterium glutamicum malate quinone oxidoreductase. The "allele 1230", which, in addition to the mutation in allele 672, also contains a cytosine to thymine transition at position 1230 in the nucleotide sequence of the mqo gene, is also described. The application furthermore describes the elimination of the mqo gene as a result of gene interruption brought about by integration mutagenesis, with this leading to an increase in the production of L-lysine by the corresponding strain.
The microbial biosynthesis of L-amino acids in coryneform bacteria is a system which is complex and multilayered, being interlinked with a variety of other metabolic pathways in the cell. It is therefore not possible to make any prediction as to whether complete elimination of, or a reduction in, the catalytic activity of the malate quinone oxidoreductase will improve the production of L-amino acids at different steps. It is therefore desirable to also have available malate quinone oxidoreductase variants which differ in the degree of their activity.
For the sake of greater clarity, the nucleotide sequence of the Corynebacterium glutamicum malate quinone oxidoreductase-encoding mqo gene (wild-type gene) in accordance with the information supplied by the NCBI database is depicted in SEQ ID NO: 1 while the ensuing amino acid sequence of the encoded malate quinone oxidoreductase is depicted in SEQ ID NO: 2 and 4. Nucleotide sequences which are located upstream and downstream are also given in SEQ ID NO: 3.

Alleles of the mqo gene from coryneform bacteria


A battery unit is designed for battery-operated appliances such as cordless telephones, notebook computers, video cameras, etc., and comprises an envelope within which one or several electrochemical cells are accommodated as well as electrical connection contacts, which envelope has at least approximately the shape of a closed rectangular block. To provide a satisfactory and stable guiding, ridges and/or grooves are present at least adjacent the side surfaces of the envelope for mating with corresponding grooves and/or ridges of a housing of a battery-operated appliance to provide a sliding possibility for the battery unit. The envelope is further provided with external asymmetrical locating portions for cooperating with correspondingly shaped and positioned locating portions of the battery-operated appliance so as to prevent an incorrect insertion of the battery unit. The connection contacts are present adjacent the lower surface of the envelope.

The invention relates to a battery unit for battery-operated devices such as cordless telephones, notebook computers, video cameras, etc., provided with an envelope within which one or several electrochemical cells are present and which comprises electrical connection contacts, said envelope having the shape at least approximately of a closed rectangular block with a rectangular upper surface, a rectangular lower surface opposite thereto, long side surfaces, and short side surfaces.
The invention further relates to a battery-operated device provided with such a battery unit.
The use of electrical appliances which are not supplied through the mains, i.e. battery-operated appliances becomes more and more common. The use of portable telephones has particularly increased during the past years, as a result of which a considerable increase in the use of rechargeable batteries has taken place. The mass of the battery accounts for a considerable portion of the total mass of the appliance especially in light portable equipment such as said cordless telephones, but also, for example, notebook computers. It is an object on the one hand to give the appliance the longest possible period of use independently of the mains, while on the other hand it is the object to make the appliance as light as possible. These two objects are mutually conflicting because a long period of use implies a greater battery mass, i.e. a greater weight of the appliance. Considerable research is accordingly devoted to the possibilities of realizing batteries of very small mass but nevertheless high power. Work is going on, for example, in the development of very flat batteries provided with one or several electrochemical cells.

Battery-operated device and battery unit


A thick group of cells classifier. Image data acquired from an automated microscope from a cytological specimen is processed by a computer system. The computer applies filters at different stages. Obvious artifacts are eliminated from analysis early in the processing. The first stage of processing is image segmentation where objects of interest are identified. The next stage of processing is feature calculation where properties of each segmented thick group object are calculated. The final step is object classification where every segmented thick group object is classified as being abnormal or as belonging to a cellular or non-cellular artifact.

One objective for Papanicolaou smear analysis is to emulate the well established human review process which follows standards recommended by The Bethesda System. A cytologist first views a slide at low magnification to identify areas of interest, then views those areas of interest at high magnification where it is possible to distinguish cells according to their structure and context.
The prior art has found it difficult to extract information from thick groups of cells, and, until the present invention, has not used information from thick groups of cells as a diagnostic tool.
It is therefore a motive of the invention to provide a method and apparatus to identify thick groups of cells on a biological specimen.

Apparatus for automated identification of thick cell groupings on a biological specimen


A back plane lock down for fastening one or more circuit boards and/or cover plates to the back plane of a computer chassis. The back plane lock down is made of non-electrically conducting material such that the computer need not be powered down when fastening the circuit boards and/or cover plates to the back plane. The back plane lock down includes one or more sections that can be pivotally connected together by using a bracket for accommodating a wide variety of back plane configurations. Each section includes one or more tabs disposed within openings formed by ribs. Each tab includes a downwardly extending projection for insertion into an opening in the back plane to easily fasten each circuit board and cover plate to the back plane without the need for tools.

This invention relates in general to computer hardware, and in particular, to securing circuit boards or cover plates to a back plane of a computer chassis.
A lock down is used to secure a computer circuit board, for example, a modem card or sound card, or cover plate to the back plane of a computer chassis. Typically, the lock down is made of metal and requires a screw or other means for fastening the circuit board in place. However, this practice requires that the computer power be turned off in order to avoid risk of electrical shock to the technician and/or damage to the computer. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a lock down that fastens one or more circuit boards and/or cover plates in place without using tools and without the need to power down the computer.


To provide an output data controller which is capable of protecting the secrecy of print data and enhancing operability and where the degree of freedom of system constructability is high. In a file server, ID data is added to the header file of the print data stored in a first queue, and data representative of copy printing is added to the header file stored in a second queue. In security print mode, print data is not output to a printing device, if an ID and a password number collate with each other in a print server. In copy print mode, print data with data representative of copy printing is selected and output to the printing device.

The present invention relates to an output data controller that receives output data generated on archived by a data processor directly or through a line and transmits the received data to an output unit and also relates to a data output system using this data output controller.
For example, the print data, generated or archived by personal computers (PCs) or file servers, is generally printed out by a printing device. In data output systems, which is equipped with a plurality of PCs or a plurality of printing devices, a data output controller called a print server is interposed between a PC or a file server and a printing device.
In the case where a plurality of PCs are present, the PCs are interconnected through a network such as a local area network (LAN), and a file server and a print server are provided on this network. Furthermore, a plurality of kinds of printing devices are connected to this print server.
It is possible in a system such as this to print out desirable print information from any PC to any printing device connected to the print server. In that case the print data is temporarily stored in the file server and then is transmitted from this file server through the print server to a specified printing device, by means of which the data is printed out.
However, if a request to print is performed from a PC, data will be unconditionally printed out from a printing device, as described above, and consequently, when the secrecy of print data is high, there is the problem that others can view the data printed out from the printing device.
Then, there is, for example, a printing device described in Japan Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-4238. If the user of a work station selects a password protection mode and outputs print data, command data representative of the password protection mode will then be output from the work station to the printing device. The printing device, if receiving this command data, will inquire of the user about the password number. The user sends the password number to the printing device by using the indication section of the work station, and data is not printed out until this user operates the confirmation section of the printing device (i.e., until passwords match with each other).
However, in the aforementioned Japan Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-4238, when a network system is constructed, a printing device with functions meeting various demands cannot be freely selected because the printing device must have a function of confirming whether or not password numbers match with each other, and there is the problem that the degree of freedom of the constructability of the network system is low.
Also, there is the problem that the work stations connected to the network system all have to be equipped with a function of issuing a command representative of a password protection mode.
In addition, in conventional printing systems (including the case where a printing device is connected to a work station without a line), in order to generate a plurality of copies of a print, a plurality of print requests must be output from a work station, or a necessary number of copies of the print generated by a printing device must be made by a copying machine, so there is the problem that the operability is reduced.

Data output controller and data output system using this output controller


Disclosed is a method of inhibiting the growth of marine organisms on a marine structure, by applying dihydropyridazinone and pyridazinone compounds onto or into the marine structure. These compounds may be directly incorporated into the marine structure during manufacture, directly applied to the structure, or applied to the structure by means of a coating.

This invention relates generally to a method of inhibiting the growth of organisms on a marine structure. In particular, this invention relates to the use of dihydropyridazinone and pyridazinone compounds as marine antifouling agents.
Marine antifouling agents are used commercially to prevent growth of organisms on marine structures. Tributyltin oxide and other organotins have been the major marine antifouling agents in use for many years. There is currently much concern over the effects of tin on marine environments. For example, high levels of tin in harbor waters have been linked to shell deformation in some bivalve species, such as oysters.
Some organic compounds have been suggested as marine antifouling agents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,479 (Gruening) discloses the use of 3-iodopropargyl N-butyl carbamate as a marine antifouling agent. These types of compounds have not achieved commercial prominence because they do not meet the same performance requirements as tin based antifouling agents.
EP 478195 (Egan, et al.) discloses certain dihydropyridazinone and pyridazinone compounds as medical and agrochemical fungicides. EP 478195 also discloses these compounds to be useful as wood preservatives effective against wood decay organisms. Such wood decay organisms are fungi. There is no disclosure of these compounds as marine antifouling agents.
The organisms controlled by agricultural fungicides or wood preservatives are very different from those controlled by marine antifouling agents. Marine antifouling agents control multicellular organisms and slime, such as diatoms, barnacles, hydroids, grassy brown felt algae, and the like. The effectiveness of agrochemical fungicides useful in combating fungi on plants cannot be used to predict the effectiveness of these compounds as marine antifouling agents in sea water and brackish water.
The problem addressed by this invention is to provide marine antifouling agents having increased performance and little or no harmful effects on marine environments.

Pyridazinones as marine antifouling agents


A method for preparing spherical phosphor particles is disclosed, wherein a precursor solution of phosphors is decomposed to solid particles by aerosol pyrolysis and rapid cooling and subsequently the solid particles are heat-treated at a temperature of 1000.degree. C. to 1600.degree. C. for a period of 1 hour to 9 hours.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preparing phosphor particles which may be used in a broad range of display applications, such as FED, PDP and CRT screens, and more particularly a method for preparing spherical phosphor particles, in which a precursor solution of phosphors is decomposed to solid particles by aerosol pyrolysis and rapid cooling and subsequently the solid particles are heat-treated at high temperature so that phosphor particles exhibiting improved luminance property can be formed in spherical shape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The phosphors are conventionally prepared by the combustion method which involves pulverizing process, such as grinding and ball milling. Though the combustion method has the advantage in cost and efficiency in mass production, the phosphors produced thereby contain some raw materials due to the incomplete reaction among different solid materials and further are apt to be contaminated by impurities mixed during the pulverizing process. In addition, the phosphor surface is damaged during the grinding and milling process, resulting in the loss of the emission intensity. Since the properties such as high purity and high luminescent efficiency are required for the phosphors used in HDTV display applications, several alternative synthetic methods, such as sol-gel method or hydrothermal method, have been experimentally tried for achieving the above properties, but those methods have the disadvantage in cost and efficiency in mass production. Recently, pearl-like spherical phosphor particles were prepared by the induction thermal plasma method (Asia Display '95, p 643.about.646), in which raw phosphor particles produced by the combustion method were introduced into the plasma flame at the temperature of several thousand degrees, where the particles are melt, partly evaporated, and then resolidified on subsequent cooling. However, the plasma method may lead to not only change of phosphor composition, but also uneven distribution of luminescent centers in host lattices, resulting in decrease of luminescent efficiency. Furthermore, additional equipments are needed to adopt the plasma method for mass production of the pearl-like spherical phosphor particles.

Method for preparing spherical phosphor particles

Korean Information & Communication Co., Ltd.

Department of Electronics Engineering College of Engineering, Seoul National University, Shin Lim-dong, Kwanak-ku


A highly secure instrument adapter includes a handle with an internal locking and release mechanism which does not use a pushing release and which requires little physical effort to lock and release, yet provides a stable and secure connection between an instrument and the handle. The locking mechanism is comprised an ergometric handle having an open handle cavity, a receiver having an internal threaded tubular body and a plurality of locking apertures, and a rotating collar having a limited range of rotation, a plurality of fingers that project outward from the flattened surface on a spacer structure, and a plurality of circular apertures placed alternately between said fingers.

Medical instrument handles utilize adapters to securely connect a variety of different instruments during surgical procedures. Most handles use adapters with locking and release mechanisms having intricate designs and multiple moving components. To prevent the locking and release mechanisms from damage and from exposure to bodily fluids and other debris, locking and release mechanisms are made interior to the handle.
Most internal release mechanisms use an external collar which is pushed inward towards the handle to release the shaft of an instrument. One limitation of these internal release mechanisms, however, is the stability of the external collar. When an external collar is bumped at a certain position with enough force, instruments are inadvertently released from the handle. A positive locking device would not cause an instrument to accidently release from the handle because of bumping or other vibrations.
Internal adapters known in the art also contain many components and moving parts which need to be manufactured separately and assembled. Additional parts mean additional manufacturing time and cost, as well as additional opportunities for parts to break and wear.
It is desirable to develop an internal release mechanism that does not use a pushing release.
It is desirable to develop an internal release mechanism that requires little physical effort to lock and release, yet provides a stable and secure connection between an instrument and the handle.
It is desirable to develop an internal release mechanism that uses positive, impact-proof locking.

Surgical instrument adapter with highly secure locking shaft mechanism


A hosted virtual social network includes a plurality of users that each have a digital profile. The users are each within a predetermined distance of a venue. The users communicate with other users of the virtual social network via their respective mobile computing devices. The users include a first user and a second user. From a mobile computing device of the first user, a request is received to make a digital profile of the first user appear invisible on a mobile computing device of the second user. In response to this request the digital profile of the first user is hidden from the mobile computing device of the second user. The hiding is performed without notifying the second user and without affecting a display of the digital profile of the first user on mobile computing devices of remaining users of the plurality of users of the virtual social network.

Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to using mobile computing devices to engage in social networking.
Related Art
In recent years, the rapid advances in computer technology and broadband telecommunications have enhanced the popularity of mobile computing devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Among other things, these mobile computing devices can be used to browse the web, play games, music, or videos, take pictures, send/receive emails, etc. However, the capabilities of these mobile computing devices have not been fully explored within a social networking context. For example, users with these mobile computing devices have not been fully able to take advantage of the abilities of the mobile electronic devices' to conduct telecommunications display visual objects, and make payments, within the social networking context.
Therefore, while existing mobile computing devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.

Causing a disappearance of a user profile in a location-based virtual social network


Conveyors, chutes, skids, guides, and ways for the transporting of material are formed of a conductive loaded resin-based material such that fragments of these structures can be detected by a metal detector. The conductive loaded resin-based material comprises micron conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination of conductive powder and conductive fibers in a base resin host. The ratio of the weight of the conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination of conductive powder and conductive fibers to the weight of the base resin host is between about 0.20 and 0.40. The micron conductive powders are formed from non-metals, such as carbon, graphite, that may also be metallic plated, or the like, or from metals such as stainless steel, nickel, copper, silver, that may also be metallic plated, or the like, or from a combination of non-metal, plated, or in combination with, metal powders.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to conveyor belts and, more particularly, to food processing belts and other conveyances molded of conductive loaded resin-based materials comprising micron conductive powders, micron conductive fibers, or a combination thereof, homogenized within a base resin when molded.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Conveyors, chutes, skids, guides, and ways for the transporting of material and articles of manufacturing are well known in the art. In the food processing industry, conveyors are used for warming and cooling food products, slicing and bagging, in-feed and discharge. The conveyor belts are generally constructed of a plastic resin such as Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Acetal, or the like, or may be constructed of a metal wire frame with an over-molded plastic resin. The conveyor belts allow processed material to be transported while remaining level and flat. Conveyors, chutes, skids, guides, and ways may be fabricated to be electrically conductive to dissipate static electricity, may be heat resistant for use in high temperature processing of food, may be moisture tolerant for wet environments, may be impact resistant to prevent breakage of glass food packaging, and may be flame retardant to prevent sustaining a flame.
A problem that may occur with plastic resin belts or with metal wire frame belts that are covered in plastic resin is wear-out induced contamination. As the plastic resin material wears out, particulate material from the plastic resin may brake away from the belt. As a result, it is possible for this material to contaminate a food item being processed on the belt. This contamination is undesirable both in terms of food safety and of consumer acceptance.
Several prior art inventions relate to Conveyors, chutes, skids, guides, and ways and to items comprising conductive plastics. U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,704 to Murata, et al provides a conductive paste that exhibits a high thermal conductivity (a low thermal resistance) after adhesion and hardening that enables an adhesive layer to be thinly formed and provides an electronic part that has an excellent radiating capability that enables the film's thickness to be reduced. U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,303 to Foulger describes conductive polymer composite materials. The conductive polymer composite material includes a minor phase material that has a semicrystalline polymer. The composite material further includes a conductive filler material dispersed in the minor phase material in an amount sufficient to be equal to or greater than an amount required to generate a continuous conductive network within the minor phase material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,218 to McKaveney describes electrically conductive articles. The articles are formed of a non-conductive matrix containing an electrically conductive dispersion of finely divided ferroalloy, silicon alloy, or mixtures. U. S. Pat. No. 6,602,446 to Ushijima provides an electrically conductive paste made up of an electrically conductive filler and a conveyor belt adapted to generate heat by electromagnetic induction are compounded with a resin.
INTRALOX Inc. USA, 201 Laitram Lane, Harahan, La. 70123, Ammeraal Beltech, 75011 N. St. Louis Ave., Skokie, Ill. 60076, and Siegling America, Inc., 12201 Vanstory Road, Huntersville, N.C. 28078 are manufacturers of conveyor belting. Each manufacturer describes conductive belting manufactured of plastic resins with embedded conductors. Cassel Messtechnik GmbH, Carl-Giesecke-Str. 3, 37079 Göttingen, Germany manufactures a metal detector for the food industry. The metal detector operates on the basis of an inductive measuring principle. A high-frequency electromagnetic alternating field is generated by a transmitter coil. If a metal piece passes through the metal detector, the field experiences a change corresponding to the magnetic and electrical properties of the metal piece. In the article by McCluskey, et al., "Nanocomposite Materials Offer Higher Conductivity and Flexibility", Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Adhesive Joining and Coating Technology in Electronics Manufacturing, 1998, pp: 282–286, the mechanical and electrical characteristics of a conductive polymer made with conductive silver flake nanoparticle fillers is described. In the article by Fan et al., "Fundamental Understanding of Conductivity Establishment for Electrically Conductive Adhesives," Proceedings of the 52nd Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 2002, pp: 1154–1157, several epoxy resin based curing systems are described.

Low cost food processing belts and other conveyances manufactured from conductive loaded resin-based materials


Polymeric compounds of general formula I EQU (M).sub.n A (I). in which. M stands for the radical of a macrocyclic complexing agent, PA1 A stands for a backbone molecule, which shows a deficit of n amino groups, n hydroxy groups or n carboxy groups, PA1 n stands for the numbers 1 to 400, characterized in that PA1 M, independent of one another, stands for complexing agents of general formula IA ##STR1## in which all variables are defined herein.

The invention relates to new macrocyclic polymer complexing agents and complexes, agents containing these compounds, the use of the complexes in diagnosis and treatment as well as processes for the production of these compounds and agents.
Magnevist.RTM. (GdDTPA/dimeglumine) is the first recorded contrast medium for nuclear spin tomography (MRI=Magnetic Resonance Imaging). It is especially well-suited for the diagnosis of pathological areas (e.g., inflammations, tumors, etc.). The compound is eliminated through the kidneys after intravenous injection; an extrarenal elimination is practically not observed.
A drawback of Magnevist.RTM. is that after intravenous administration it is uniformly distributed between the vascular and the interstitial space. Thus, defining the limits of the vessels relative to the surrounding interstitial space when using Magnevist.RTM. is not possible.
A contrast medium which is distributed exclusively in the vascular space (vessel space) would be desirable especially for the representation of vessels. Such a blood-pool agent is to make it possible to differentiate, with the help of nuclear spin tomography, tissue that is well supplied by blood from tissue poorly supplied with blood and thus to diagnose an ischemia. It would also be possible to differentiate infarcted tissue because of its anemia from the surrounding healthy or ischemic tissue, when a vascular contrast medium is used. This is of special importance if it is, e.g., a matter of differentiating a myocardial infarction from an ischemia.
Therefore, there is a need for contrast media which can label the vascular space (blood-pool agent). These compounds are to be distinguished by a good compatibility and by a high effectiveness (high increase of the signal intensity with MRI).
Macromolecules are generally suitable as contrast media for angiography. But albumin-GdDTPA (Radiology 1987, 162: 205), e.g., in the rat shows a concentration in hepatic tissue, which constitutes almost 30% of the dose, 24 hours after intravenous injection. Further, only 20% of the dose is eliminated within 24 hours.
The macromolecule polylysine-GdDTPA (European patent application, publication no. 0 233 619) proved suitable as blood-pool agent. But it shows the drawback that the openchain complexing agent DTPA in the desired prolonged retention times of the contrast medium in the body does not optionally bind the metal ions. This applies also to the carbohydrate complexes claimed in European patent application 0 186 947, as well as to the macromolecules labeled with radioisotopes described in J. Med. Chem. 1974, Vol. 17, 1304.
Recently, amides of macrocyclic complexing agents for bonding to macromolecules were proposed in PCT WO 90/12050. But, as is generally known, by conversion of one of the carboxy groups of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to an amide group, the stability constant of the gadolinium complex is reduced by four orders of magnitude (A. D. Sherry et al., Inorg. Chem. 1989, 28, 620), so that the problem of cleavage of toxic metal ions from the macromolecular complexes was still not able to be satisfactorily solved in this way.

Macrocyclic polymer complexing agents, their complexes, process for their production and pharmaceutical agents containing these compounds


A handsfree video phone system includes a video phone terminal and a car device in which a microphone, a speaker, and a camera are connected with an instrument panel via a cable. The video phone terminal is connected with the instrument panel via a wireless communication medium. When the video phone terminal is brought into the vehicle, the instrument panel informs the video phone terminal of the attribute information on the system structure. According to the attribute information, the video phone terminal switches the paths of multiplexed audio-video data so as to replace a microphone, a speaker, a camera, and a display that have been built in the video phone terminal with the microphone, the speaker, the camera, and a display of the instrument panel when the status changes to the communication status.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handsfree system for making a handsfree telephone call in an automobile, and especially relates to an on-vehicle handsfree system that is realized in combination with car devices such as a camera, a microphone a speaker, and a display.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
For the safe use of a mobile phone in an automobile, on-vehicle handsfree systems have become popular.
The conventional on-vehicle handsfree system will be explained with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 schematically shows the structure of a conventional on-vehicle handsfree system.
The conventional handsfree system includes an adapter 1201, a microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202, a mobile phone 1203, and an external antenna 1204. The adapter 1201 is equipped with connectors to be connected with the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202, the mobile phone 1203, and the external antenna 1204 by cables. The external antenna 1204 is positioned outside of the vehicle, for instance, on a rear part of the vehicle. The external antenna 1204 is connected with the adapter 1201 by a cable that is brought into the vehicle.
Here, the operational procedure and the operations of the conventional handsfree system will be explained.
When getting in the vehicle, the driver connects the mobile phone 1203 with the adapter 1201 by a cable. Then, the driver turns on the power of the adapter 1201. When making a telephone call, the driver presses a button on the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202 to select the receiver of the call. When the driver presses the up or down button on the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202, the adapter 1201 reads the telephone book that has been stored in the mobile phone 1203 in order and guides the driver by sounds from the speaker that is built in the adapter 1201. In this way, the driver confirms and selects the receiver of the call. Then, when the connection button on the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202 is pressed, the telephone call is made to the person selected. After that, the telephone call takes place using the microphone that is built in the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202 and the speaker in the adapter 1201. When the telephone call is completed, the break button on the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202 is pressed.
On the other hand, a telephone call is received only by pressing the connection button on the microphone-built-in control switch assembly 1202. As in the case of finishing a telephone call, a received telephone call is completed by pressing the breaking button.
As has been described before, the driver needs to connect the mobile phone to the adapter by a cable after getting in the vehicle according to the conventional handsfree system. This is troublesome.
Also, the peripheral devices such as the microphone, the speaker, and the control switch assembly that are included in the handsfree system are exclusively used for the handsfree system. This is problematic. More specifically, a vehicle is generally equipped with an audio device and a video device such as a car navigation system, a car audio system, a TV set and a car camera. Although these audio and video devices also include peripheral devices such as a microphone, a speaker, a display, and a remote controller, these peripheral devices cannot be easily used for the handsfree system. Accordingly, the peripheral devices of the handsfree system coexist with the peripheral devices of the audio and video devices in a small internal space of the vehicle. As a result, the limited internal space is inefficiently occupied.
In addition, a video phone compatible mobile terminal (i.e., the video phone terminal) that realizes real time audio and video communication has recently become popular. The video phone terminal may also be used for communication in the vehicle. The video phone terminal, however, has a small display that is not useful to watch the screen. Furthermore, the direction and the position of the video phone terminal needs to be adjusted when the picture of the driver is taken with the built-in camera, for instance. This is also troublesome.

On-vehicle handsfree system and mobile terminal thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A vehicular mirror assembly comprises a base, a mirror housing, and an actuator. The mirror housing has a reflective element therein, and is coupled with the base for at least a normal path of movement between a retracted position where the mirror housing is adjacent the base and an extended position where the mirror housing is distal to the base. The actuator is operatively mounted between the base and the mirror housing for selectively moving the mirror housing with respect to the base through the normal path of movement. The actuator comprises a motor having a rotatable motor shaft, a gear assembly coupled with the motor shaft and rotatable with rotation of the motor shaft, and a rotatable drive shaft coupled with the gear assembly and the mirror housing for moving the mirror housing through the normal path of movement with rotation of the drive shaft. The mirror housing can be moved between the extended and retracted positions by rotation of the drive shaft and the gear assembly independent of the rotation of the motor shaft, and torque developed by the gear assembly resulting from the rotation of the motor shaft is comparable to the torque developed by the gear assembly resulting from the rotation of the drive shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an external vehicle mirror and, more particularly, to an external vehicle mirror having powered extension between laterally-retracted and laterally-extended positions. In one aspect, the invention relates to a slip clutch for the powered extension function that enables the mirror to be manually extended or retracted without damage to the motor or the transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
External mirror systems are ubiquitous for contemporary vehicles and have long been used to aid the driver in operating the vehicle, especially in improving the rearward view of the driver. Over time, more and more functionality has been incorporated into the mirror system. For example, it is common to extend the reflective element assembly of the mirror system away from the vehicle, which is useful when towing a trailer. Mirror systems incorporating both a powered fold and powered extension functionality are well-known. Examples of such mirror systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,276,808 and 6,213,609, assigned to the assignee of the current application, and are incorporated herein by reference.
In one embodiment of the powered extension function, the reflective element of assembly is extended away from the vehicle by the motor-driven rotation of an elongated drive screw which causes a threaded nut driver to travel longitudinally along the drive screw. The nut driver is connected to a movable frame piece to which is attached the reflective element, which translates relative to the drive screw with the movement of the nut driver. Depending upon the direction of rotation of the drive screw, the reflective element is either extended away from the vehicle or retracted toward the vehicle.
At times it may be desirable to manually translate the reflective element assembly between the extended and retracted positions. For example, after leaving the vehicle, the owner may wish to retract the reflective element assembly without having to reenter and restart the vehicle to do so. Similarly, it may be desirable to accommodate inadvertent forcing of the reflective element assembly into the retracted or extended positions with minimal damage to the motor, transmission, drive shaft, or other mirror system components. A conventional powerextend assembly having a tightly interlocking configuration of components (including the interlocking of motor gears or a drive screw) will generally be unable to accommodate such manual translation without damage to the components, particularly the motor and drive screw.

Powerextend mirror with manual override clutch assembly

Magna Donnelly Mirrors North America, L.L.C.


An improved apparatus for staging solid-vapor complex compounds comprises heat exchange means for transferring heat from super-heated refrigerant vapor from a desorbing reactor to cooled refrigerant vapor directed to an adsorbing reactor. In another embodiment a liquid subcooler is used to cool liquid refrigerant passing from a condenser to an evaporator with cold refrigerant gas directed to an adsorbing reactor from the evaporator.

In the aforesaid-application there are described apparatus and methods for staging sold-vapor compounds, the descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The use of compounds comprising solid-vapor compositions formed by adsorption, sometimes referred to as absorption, of gas molecules on a solid adsorbent as heat pump working materials is known in the art. Heat pump systems using such materials have a number of advantages over other heat pumps for residential and commercial space conditioning, industrial heat pumping and refrigeration. Such advantages include higher temperature lift created by the solid-vapor media as compared to other sorption media thus eliminating the need for cooling towers or lift staging. Moreover, the apparatus used for the solid-vapor compound heat pumps require few, if any, moving parts, resulting in simple and reliable hardware. Additionally, such systems do not use the objectionable CFC'S.
The solid-vapor compounds suitable for heat pumps include complex compounds which are materials which adsorb molecules of gas to form coordinative bonds in which the gaseous reactant coordinates via electron displacement with the solid adsorbent, commonly a solid metal inorganic salt. The adsorption/desorption process releases significant heat during adsorption and adsorbs energy during the desorption phase. Unlike most other sorption processes, the entire adsorption or desorption reactions may occur at constant temperature thus eliminating problems with hot and cold sorber ends. Useful gaseous reactants include water, ammonia, methanol, methane, ethane and the like. A number of such materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,822,391 and 4,848,944. Such compounds and their uses described in the aforesaid patents are incorporated herein by reference.
Heat activated heat pumps consist of a heat engine subsystem which generates high pressure refrigerant vapor, essentially a thermal compressor, and a heat pump subsystem which uses high pressure refrigerant to produce cooling or heat pumping. The thermal compressor, heat pump, and their combination in a heat activated heat pump comprise useful thermodynamic systems which make advantageous use of solid-gas reactions. In the aforesaid application there are described apparatus and methods using continuous constant pressure staging techniques resulting in improved heat activated heat pump systems. It is an object of the present invention to use such reactions and staging techniques to even greater advantage and efficiency.

Continuous constant pressure system for staging solid-vapor compounds


A solder alloy having an alloy composition consisting of, in mass %, Ag: 1% to 4%, Cu: 0.5% to 0.8%, Bi: more than 4.8% and 5.5% or less. Sb: more than 1.5% and 5.5% or less, Ni: 0.01% or more and less than 0.1%, Co: more than 0.001% and 0.1% or less, the balance being Sn. The alloy composition satisfies the following three relationships: 0.020%≤Ni+Co≤0.105%; 9.1%≤Sb+Bi≤10.4%; and 4.05×10−3≤(Ni+Co)/(Bi+Sb)≤1.00×10−2, where Ni, Co, Bi, and Sb each represent a content (mass %) thereof in the solder alloy.

In recent years, car electronics is advancing, and an automobile is transitioning from a gasoline vehicle to a hybrid vehicle or an electric automobile. In the hybrid vehicle or the electric automobile, an in-vehicle electronic circuit to which electronic components are soldered on a printed circuit board is mounted. Although the in-vehicle electronic circuit was disposed in a vehicle interior having an environment where a vibration is relatively small, the in-vehicle electronic circuit has been mounted directly in an engine room or an oil chamber of a transmission, and on a mechanical device, due to expansion of use.
As described above, the in-vehicle electronic circuit is mounted in a place which receives various external loads such as temperature difference, impact, and vibration due to expansion of a mounting region. For example, the in-vehicle electronic circuit mounted in the engine room may be exposed to a high temperature of 125° C. or higher during engine operation. On the other hand, when the engine is stopped, it is exposed to a low temperature of −40° C. or lower, e.g. in a cold place. When the in-vehicle electronic circuit is exposed to such temperature difference, stress concentrates on a bonding portion due to a difference in a coefficient of thermal expansion between the electronic component and the printed circuit board. Therefore, when a Sn—3Ag—0.5Cu solder alloy in the related art is used, the bonding portion may be fractured, and a solder alloy that can prevent fracture of the bonding portion is studied even in an environment where temperature difference is severe.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 5349703, Japanese Patent No. 5723056, Japanese Patent No. 6047254, WO 2014/163167 A1 and Japanese Patent No. 6053248 disclose a Sn—Ag—Cu—Bi—Sb—Ni—Co based solder alloy. In the invention described in Japanese Patent No. 5349703, presence or absence of a void, Cu leaching, and a solder life by means of a heat cycle test are evaluated in the case of an alloy composition in which the Sb content is 1.5% or less or 3.0% or more, and the Bi content is 2.7% or less. In the invention described in Japanese Patent No. 5723056, impact resistance before and after the heat cycle test is evaluated in the case of the alloy composition in which the Ni content is 0.1% or more or 0.04%, and the Bi content is 3.2%. In the invention described in Japanese Patent No. 6047254, presence or absence of a crack or void on a solder joint after the heat cycle is evaluated in the case of the alloy composition in which the Bi content is 3.2% or less or 3.5%, and the Co content is 0.001%. In the invention described in WO 2014/163167 A1, a crack incidence in a solder joint after the heat cycle is evaluated in the case of the alloy composition in which the Bi content is 3.2% or less. In the invention described in Japanese Patent No. 6053248, presence or absence of a crack on a fillet portion after the heat cycle is evaluated in the case of the alloy composition in which the Bi content is 4.8% or less.

Solder alloy, solder paste, and solder joint


An optical fiber cable assembly includes an optical fiber cable, an optical fiber connector and a strain relief member. The optical fiber connector has a housing supporting a plurality of optical fibers of the cable. The strain relief member has a flexible conduit, a first section and a second section spaced from the first section. The first section is connected to a rear end of the optical fiber connector and the second section is connected to a portion of the optical fiber cable.

The Present Disclosure relates generally to optical fiber cable assemblies and, more particularly, to a multi-fiber optical fiber cable assembly with an improved strain relief assembly.
When manufacturing optical fiber cable assemblies, is often desirable to arrange a plurality of optical fibers in one or more generally parallel rows or side-by-side arrays. Such arrays are terminated to one or more ferrules and then mounted in an optical fiber connector. In one example, the optical fibers within an optical fiber cable are pre-formed as a plurality of arrays or ribbons that extend the length of the optical fiber cable. Such ribbonized cables may be less desirable in some applications as they are typically larger and less flexible than cables having a plurality of loosely bundled optical fibers.
Cables having loosely bundled optical fibers require that the optical fibers be arranged and secured together to form the desired number of arrays of optical fibers. The process of creating the arrays as well as mounting the arrays within one or more ferrules and subsequently polishing the ends of the optical fibers requires that a length of the protective jacket that surrounds the optical fibers be removed. Accordingly, a structure for protecting the optical fibers is desirable.

Optical fiber cable assembly with improved strain relief


A method is disclosed for repairing a worn helicopter rotor blade made of composite materials by adhesively securing a supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strip made of nickel to the leading edge of the rotor blade. The periphery of the bonding surface of the leading edge of the rotor blade is masked. The bonding surfaces of the supplemental leading edge strip and the rotor blade are cleaned with a medium-grit scrubbing pad, grit-blasted with aluminum oxide and then rinsed with DI water. A strip of a structural adhesive film is hot bonded to the bonding surface of the supplemental leading edge strip using vacuum and a high temperature oven cure. The side of the structural adhesive film bonding surface which will be secured directly to the rotor blade bonding surface is first abraded and then wiped with a solvent. An epoxy adhesive mix is applied to the bonding surfaces of the rotor blade and the structural adhesive film of the supplemental leading edge strip. The supplemental leading edge strip is then placed in position upon the leading edge of the rotor blade, positive pressure is applied and the adhesive mix is cured using a lower temperature cure than that used for hot bonding the structural adhesive film to the supplemental leading edge strip. Adhesive run-out from the mix is then faired to smoothly contour the interface between the supplemental leading edge strip, the cured adhesive mix and the previous surface of the rotor blade.

A helicopter rotor blade has a leading edge at the forward end thereof. The outboard end of the leading edge of the rotor blade travels faster than the inboard portion of the leading edge since the inboard portion is closer to the axis of rotation of the rotor blade than the outboard end. The outboard end of the leading edge of the rotor blade is thus subjected to more abrasion and erosion than the inboard portion due to the faster rotational speeds at which the outboard end travels through air, such that the outboard end of the leading edge will wear much more rapidly than the inboard portion of the rotor blade. To compensate for the increased wear encountered on the leading edges of rotor blades, leading edge abrasion wear strips have been provided on the leading edges of prior art rotor blades. Prior art leading edge abrasion wear strips have been provided by stainless steel, titanium and electroformed nickel components which are mounted to the leading edges of the prior art rotor blades.
Prior art rotor blades have, in the past, been made of metal. Typically, structural components of prior art rotor blades were provided by blade spars, which were made of metal. The prior art leading edge abrasion wear strips were mounted directly to the blade spars, and in some cases, they were adhesively secured. These prior art abrasion wear strips provided erosion protection, extending the service life of the prior art rotor blades. In some cases, the leading edge abrasion wear strips were structural components of the rotor blades.
After a period of time, the prior art leading edge abrasion wear strips became worn due to abrasion and erosion, and required repair. One prior art repair procedure was to provide a supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strip which fit around the exterior of the outboard end of the original rotor blade leading edge abrasion wear strip. Some of these prior art supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips were electroformed of nickel, by electroplating the nickel onto a mandrel having the same contoured shape as the prior art rotor blade, such that the electroformed nickel abrasion wear strips would fit securely upon the original rotor blade leading edge strips without adversely affecting the aerodynamic performance of the prior art rotor blades beyond acceptable limitations. The supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips were typically adhesively bonded to metal blade spars. Structural adhesives were used to provide sufficient strength for securing the supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips to the outboard ends of the helicopter rotor blades in the presence of rotational forces which occur at the high rotational speeds at which the leading edges of the outboard ends of the blade tips of the helicopter rotor blades travel. In the prior art, the supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips were hot bonded to the prior art rotor blades, utilizing structural adhesives which were cured at high temperatures.
Recent developments in materials technology have resulted in the use of composite materials for rotor blade structural components. These composite rotor blade structural components cannot withstand the elevated temperatures that are required to adhesively bond supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips to rotor blades using high temperature, hot bond cures. In the past, since prior art rotor blades on which the supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips were used did not include composite materials, the structural adhesives used for securing supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips to the rotor blades were hot bonded, by curing within an oven operating at elevated temperatures, which were in excess of 185.degree. F. (85.degree. C.). However, with advanced composite materials, such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and the like, the rotor blade structural components cannot be heated to the high temperatures required to adhesively secure supplemental leading edge abrasion wear strips to the rotor blade leading edge surfaces using structural adhesives, which are cured with high temperature, hot bond cures.
Other components have been bonded to the aft ends, or trailing edges, of prior art helicopter rotor blades. Such components have been made of materials such as aluminum, and have had structural adhesives precured to the bonding surfaces thereof so that they may be applied in the field without need of cumbersome in-field surface preparation techniques for preparing bonding surfaces, as is typically required for components made of aluminum.

Supplemental leading edge wear strip for a rotor blade