Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to support structures for transportation systems. In some embodiments, the support structure comprises a self-supporting arch assembly. The self-supporting arch assembly can be configured to support one or more devices in a transportation system, such as an antenna assembly configured to communicate with a train. In other embodiments, the support structure can comprise a hinged mast assembly comprising a hinge assembly and mast coupled to the hinge assembly. A device, such as an antenna assembly can be disposed at a distal portion of the mast.

Field
The field relates to support structures for transportation systems.
Description of the Related Art
In some transportation systems, components such as antennas can be mounted directly to structures of the surrounding environment. For example, in train systems that include tunnels, the antennas can be mounted to the wall of the tunnel. The antennas can transmit data to and/or receive data from the train as it passes through the tunnel. The data can be processed to determine a status of the train. However, it can be difficult and/or expensive to assemble components directly into the surrounding environment, such as a tunnel.

Support structures for transportation systems


A digital data processing system having an index file containing a plurality of file headers includes an arrangement having a file header processing portion for iteratively retrieving file headers from an index file and for establishing in response thereto a descriptor defining a directory in a directory tree, each descriptor defining the relationship of the corresponding directory to a parent directory in the directory tree, and a group vector processing portion, responsive to processing of a file header by the file header processing portion, for generating a group vector comprising a plurality of pointers to said descriptors, each pointer defining the relationship of a directory to one or more child directories in said directory tree.

A digital data processing system includes three basic elements, namely, a processor, a memory, and an input/output (I/O) system. The memory stores information in addressable storage locations. This information includes data and instructions for processing the data The processor fetches information from the memory, interprets the information as either an instruction or data, processes the data in accordance with the instructions, and returns the processed data to the memory for storage therein. The I/O system under control of the processor, also communicates with the memory element to transfer information, including instructions and data to be processed, to the memory, and to obtain processed data from the memory. Typically, the I/O system includes a number of diverse types of units, including video display terminals, printers, interfaces to public telecommunications networks, and secondary storage devices, including disk and tape storage devices.
In a digital data processing system as described above which supports a number of users, each user has one or more accounts (also known as user directories) which he uses to store files relating to work on various projects. Some files might be very small, for example, a one page memo in a data file, while others might be very large, for example, a list of several thousand clients in a database application file. The number of files in a large system, one which, for example, supports several thousand users and/or accounts, can be quite large. For example, each account might contain between ten and 100 files. Thus a secondary storage device for the system might easily contain 50,000 to 100,000 separate files which must be managed efficiently to keep response times small and to optimize the use of the storage device. A system for managing such environment is typically organized in the following way, as shown in FIG. 5.
A volume on a secondary storage device, that is, the recording medium for the storage device, for example, a disk pack on a disk drive, contains a number of files of different types including directory files 502, i.e., files which identify other files, and non-directory file 504, for example, data or application files. Typically, these files are organized according to a structure known as a directory tree 500. In addition, structures known as file headers, one for each file, are typically listed in an index file. A description of the directory tree and index file follows.
Generally, a tree refers to a data structure having a number of nodes, each of which contains data and one of which is designated the root node 506. Associated with the root node, e.g., linked via pointer fields, are a number of child nodes of which the root node is the parent. The child nodes of the root can in turn be parents of a further number of child nodes. This parent/child association is referred to as branching. Each branch of the tree can be of a different length and continues these parent/child associations through a number of levels of the tree until reaching a level of the tree in which the nodes have no children, herein referred to as leaf nodes 504.
In the case of a directory tree, the root 506 of the tree represents a master directory file that identifies where on the disk the root directory and any subdirectories begin. The root of the tree is associated with a number of nodes, each of which represents either a directory file 502, for example, a user directory for an account (also referred to as a subdirectory), or a non-directory file 504, for example, a data or application file. Directory paths, that is, branches of the tree, lead from the root directory through user directories and subdirectories to a non-directory file.
Generally, an index file 510 is stored at a known location on the disk and comprises a number of file headers 512. Each file header 512 is a block of information relating to a specific file. The information depends on the particular computer system, but might include, for example, the following: file name, type, location, size, access control data, creation date, and access activity (number of read operations performed on the file, for example). Typically, both the directory tree and the index file are used together to manage directory files and their relationships to one another as described below.
It is known to use both the directory files and index file described above to extract relationships between directories. This is done by traversing each node of the directory tree and opening and examining each directory file represented by a node of the tree. Each time a directory file is opened, the index file is searched to locate the file header for the next directory file in the tree, for example, as is done in the VERIFY, DIRECTORY, and COPY commands of the VMS operating system of Digital Equipment Corporation. It is possible, however, for this approach to take an excessive number of I/O operations, cause the disk head to travel to distant portions of the disk to read a directory file and then back to another portion to read the index file, and also to cause excessive paging operations as portions of the index file are brought in and out of memory for each tree node visited.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system and method of extracting the relationships between directories that does not rely on a file by file traversal of the directory tree each time information regarding the relationship between directories is desired.

Method for creating a directory tree in main memory using an index file in secondary memory


The invention relates to oxazine derivatives by means of which a broad spectrum of material to be examined can be marked and identified using fluorescence techniques.

The present invention relates to oxazine derivatives, methods for their production and their application as fluorescent dyes for labelling biological and non-biological materials in the red spectral range.
Oxazine-based dyes are widely used. They are frequently found in the textile industry for dyeing materials of various kinds. Thus, EP-B-0 603 129 describes oxazine dyes which each have exo-amino groups at the benzene rings which can be substituted. The barely soluble salts of these basic oxazine dyes are suitable for dyeing or printing natural fibres and completely synthetic fibres.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,759 discloses a cationic oxazine dye which also has two exo-amino groups which can be substituted. The oxazine dyes which can be made hydrophobic by substitution of inorganic anions are especially used in the ink layer of an ink ribbon for thermal transfer printing.
EP-A-0 747 447 discloses oxazine dyes used as fluorescence markers in connection with biological molecules. The absorption range of these conjugate forms is situated at 645–700 nm and corresponds to the red spectral range. The linkable oxazine derivatives are at least tetracyclic systems in which at least one of the two exocyclic nitrogens is integrated in the ring structure. As a result of the complex polycyclic basic structure, however, the expenditure for synthesising these dyes is very high.
Especially for high-throughput screening using confocal fluorescence spectroscopy there is a need for dyes which have a high fluorescence quantum yield, high solubility in water, high solubility in organic solvents, high chemical stability, high photostability and the capacity to bind to biological and non-biological materials or molecules.
As a result of the cheap access to red-emitting laser light sources and the low background fluorescence (autofluorescence) of biological material excited in the red compared with the energy-richer exciting wavelengths, the use of fluorescence dyes excitable in the red, including among others the oxazine dyes, is acquiring increasing importance.
As a result of conventional labelling methods, especially protein labelling methods, for example, using fluorescent detection markers, multiple reactive groups of these molecules are being targeted so that the labelling reaction results in a statistical labelling i.e., some proteins possess no labels, others possess one, two or more. In highly sensitive analytical techniques the heterogeneous analyte mixture leads to undesirable heterogeneous signal distributions which falsify the measurement results or make them completely unusable. In addition, as a result of interaction between the individual labellings in multiply labelled proteins, for example, there is a weakening of the signal.
The object of the present invention is to provide fluorescent dyes which avoid the aforesaid disadvantages of known fluorescent dyes and exhibit said positive properties. It is a further object of the invention to provide methods for producing these fluorescent dyes and a method for labelling material or molecules using these dyes. The object especially consists in providing red-excitable fluorescent dyes which are highly soluble in water, wherein the photochemical properties are retained. Furthermore, the dye should be activated in a fashion such that it is made capable of linking to biological and non-biological materials or molecules without there being any negative interaction with the materials or molecules to be labelled.


A system and associated method for contextualizing a page turn in an electronic book pursuant to a snap gesture made by a user on a touch screen of a tablet device, as performed by an e-reader program running in the tablet device. The snap gesture is quantified with data elements including linger time and direction of the snap gesture. The quantified snap gesture is utilized in identifying a target page number to display on the touch screen responsive to at least one predefined data element of the quantified snap gesture such that the user is enabled to turn multiple pages of the electronic book by the snap gesture as turning multiple pages of a paper book.

The present invention discloses a system and associated method for grouping multiple pages of an electronic book proportional to a gesture of a user interacting through a touch screen with an electronic book reader application, which improves user-friendliness of the e-book reader application by making browsing the e-book feel like browsing of traditional books. Conventional e-reader applications support sequential turning of pages one by one, forward or backward, going directly to a beginning or an end of a document, or directly turning to a specific page when the user provides a page number in a document.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Turning pages of an electronic document by means of a single snap gesture

International Business Machines Corporation


To provide an electro-optical device and an electronic apparatus which reduce directional viewing variation that occurs between the column and row directions and to provide an active matrix substrate suitable for the electro-optical device. In each pixel circuit arranged at a display panel portion in a matrix, the upper left side of the formation region is allotted to a green pixel-forming region having an organic EL element that emits green, the upper right side is allotted to a blue pixel-forming region having an organic EL element that emits blue, the lower left side is allotted to a dummy forming region having no light-emitting organic EL element, and the lower right side is allotted to a red pixel-forming region having an organic EL element that emits red. Two adjacent same-color organic EL elements are formed at regular intervals with one forming region interposed therebetween.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, an active matrix substrate, and an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
One type of driving system for a related art display having liquid-crystal elements, organic EL (electroluminescent) elements, electrophoresis elements, electron emitting elements, or the like is an active matrix drive system. An active-matrix drive system display includes a display panel that has a plurality of pixels in a matrix. The pixels have respective pixel circuits, each of which is constituted by electro-optical elements and driving transistors for supplying drive power to the electro-optical elements. The pixel circuits are arranged so as to correspond to respective intersections of data lines and scan lines (see Pamphlet of International Publication No. WO98/36407).
When the pixel circuits have different shapes and/or different pitches in the column direction (data-line direction) and the row direction (scan-line direction) of the display panel portion, directional viewing variation occurs between the column direction and the row direction of the display panel. As a result, an image displayed on the display panel portion may be distorted in the column direction (data-line direction) or the row direction (scan-line direction). In particular, for a full-color display, color irregularities occur in addition to the distortion of the image in the column and row directions. Thus, the display quality of the display is reduced.

Electro-optical device, active-matrix substrate, and electronic apparatus


A mirror positioning structure of a reflection mirror for correcting skew and bow and a laser scanning unit employing the same are provided. The mirror positioning structure includes a mirror holder, a fixing member, and a positioning cap. The mirror holder has a reflection mirror on one side and a guide bar disposed on the other side. The fixing member has a guide hole through which the guide bar passes, and the mirror holder is fixed on one surface of the fixing member. The positioning cap is disposed on the other surface of the fixing member and contacts the guide bar. The position cap has an inclined surface for contacting the guide bar to move the guide bar up and down inside the guide hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mirror positioning structure for correcting skew and bow in a laser scanning unit and a laser scanning unit employing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mirror positioning structure of a laser scanning unit and a laser scanning unit employing the same, in which a reflection mirror for correcting skew or bow can be easily rotated or moved in a straight line.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a laser printer is a printing device which scans laser light emitted from a laser diode onto a photoconductor to form a latent image, and transfers the latent image formed on the photoconductor onto a printing medium such as paper to produce a visual image. A laser scanning unit (LSU) is an image forming device which generates laser light in such a laser printer to form a latent image on a photoconductor. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional LSU 100. Referring to FIG. 1, the LSU 100 includes a light source 111, a collimating lens 112, an aperture 113, a cylindrical lens 114, a beam deflection mirror 115, a scanning lens 116, and a photoconductive drum 118. The light source 111, the collimating lens 112, the aperture 113, the cylindrical lens 225, the beam deflection mirror 115, and the scanning lens 116 are installed in a housing to protect them from dust generated inside the printer.
In such a configuration, a light beam emitted from the light source 111, such as a laser diode, is converted into a parallel beam. The parallel beam is restricted by the aperture 113, and passes through the cylindrical lens 114 to be converged into a linear light beam that extends horizontally in a sub-scanning direction. Then, the linear light beam is moved with a uniform speed in a main scanning direction, that is, the horizontal direction of the paper, by the beam deflection mirror 115, which rotates and passes through the scanning lens 116 and is reflected by a reflection mirror 117 (see FIG. 4) onto the photoconductive drum 118. The beam deflection mirror 115 can be a polygon mirror, for example. Further, the scanning lens 116 has a uniform refractive index with respect to the axis of the light and refracts the light beam reflected from the beam deflection mirror 115 at a uniform speed along a main scanning direction to focus the light on the photoconductive drum 118.
The light beam which passes through the scanning lens 116 in the LSU 100 must be scanned in a straight line along the main scanning direction onto a surface to be scanned, such as the photoconductive drum 118. However, referring to FIG. 2, the light beam deviates minutely in the sub-scanning direction due to assembly tolerances or other aberrations. Thus, the light beam is not scanned in a straight line in main scanning direction on the surface to be scanned. When the ends A and B of the scanning line formed by the beam spot deviate along the sub-scanning direction, the scanning path is skewed. When the scanning line is not straight but instead is bent, the scanning path is bowed.
Distortions in the scanning line such as skew or bow decrease the printing precision and image quality. In a tandem laser scanning unit used in a color laser printer, skew or bow are major problems. In a color laser printer using a tandem laser scanning unit, photoconductive drums for colors such as magenta, yellow, cyan, and black are separately installed, and when different distortions of scanning lines occur on the photoconductive drums, the quality of the produced color images deteriorates.
Conventionally, scanning line distortion is corrected by directly transforming the scanning lens or the reflection mirror, or by placing a reflection mirror between the scanning lens and the photoconductive drum to adjust the angle of the laser beam.
FIG. 3 illustrates a conventional correction apparatus for correcting scanning line distortion. The conventional correction apparatus of FIG. 3 fixes the scanning lens 116 to the housing 110 using two supporting members 131, and presses the scanning lens 116 using a screw 130 which is movably installed on the housing 110. Also, protrusions 131a are formed at an end of each of the supporting members 131. The conventional correction apparatus of FIG. 3 presses the scanning lens 116 using the screw 130 and the supporting members 131 and transforms the scanning lens 116 to correct the scanning line.
FIG. 4 illustrates a conventional structure in which scanning line distortion is corrected by adjusting the inclination of the reflection mirror 117. Referring to FIG. 4, a groove 125 is formed in the housing 110, and the reflection mirror 117 is inserted in the groove 125 so that it is inclined. A screw 122 is installed in a position on the frame 110 corresponding to the upper portion of the reflection mirror 117. A fixing spring 120 and a screw 121 fix the reflection mirror 117 in the groove 125. In such a configuration, the angle of the reflection mirror 117 is adjusted by rotating the screw 122 to adjust the insertion depth of the screw 122.
However, when the scanning lens or the reflection mirror is adjusted by force using a screw, secondary distortion can occur since stress remains in the scanning lens 116 or in the reflection mirror 117. Further, to effectively correct the scanning line distortion, not only the rotation angle of the reflection mirror between the scanning lens 116 and the photoconductive drum 118 need to be adjusted, but the incident location of the beam on the scanning lens 116 needs to be adjusted to correct the incident location of the laser beam on the scanning lens.
Accordingly, a new technique is needed to correct the scanning line distortion by adjusting the incident angle and location of the laser beam at the same time.

Mirror positioning unit of laser scanning unit and laser scanning unit employing the same


In a pneumatic booster, a front shell and a rear shell are connected by means of a rod. A stud bolt on one end of the rod extends through the front shell to the outside, and a support plate fitted around the stud bolt is engaged with the rod and abutted against an inner surface of the front shell. A seal member is provided in an annular groove formed in the support plate. A projection is formed in the support plate. When the support plate is reversely mounted on the stud bolt, the projection is abutted against the front shell, and the seal member is unable to provide a seal between the stud bolt and the front shell. In a leak inspection, air is flowed into a constant-pressure chamber through a cut portion formed in a distal end of the projection, to thereby detect reverse mounting of the support plate.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic booster used for a brake system of a vehicle. Specifically, the present invention relates to a through-rod type pneumatic booster comprising a shell body formed by a front shell and a rear shell which are connected by means of a rod so as to increase rigidity of the shell body.
Conventionally, as indicated in Japanese Patent Application Public Disclosure No. 56-163947, a through-rod type pneumatic booster comprises a front shell and a rear shell, which form a shell body. A power piston is provided in the shell body. The front shell and the rear shell are connected by means of a rod which extends through the power piston. A stud bolt is formed on one end of the rod, and extends through the front shell to the outside. A support member is fitted around the stud bolt. The support member is engaged with the rod and abutted against an inner surface of the front shell. An annular groove is formed in the support member. A seal member is provided in the annular groove so as to seal a space between the front shell and the stud bolt.
FIG. 7 shows a seal structure formed around the stud bolt in the through-rod type pneumatic booster. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a front shell which forms a shell body; 2 a rod connecting the front shell 1 and a rear shell (not shown); 3 a stud bolt formed on one end of the rod 2; 4 a support plate (a support member) fitted around the stud bolt 3; and 5 a seal member held by the support plate 4. The support plate 4 is engaged with an end face (a stepped surface) 2a of the rod 2, with a surface 4a thereof abutting against an inner surface of the front shell 1. The seal member 5 is provided in an annular groove 6 formed at a radially inner portion of the surface 4a of the support plate 4, to thereby seal a space between the front shell 1 and the stud bolt 3. The stud bolt 3 is used for mounting a master cylinder M on the pneumatic booster. A flange F of the master cylinder M and the front shell 1 are fastened between the support plate 4 and a nut N threadably engaged with the stud bolt 3.
After assembly, the pneumatic booster is subjected to a leak inspection prior to shipment. In the above-mentioned seal structure in which the seal member 5 is provided in the support plate 4, even when the support plate 4 is reversely mounted on the rod 2 as shown in FIG. 8, a space between the front shell 1 and the stud bolt 3 is sealed by the seal member 5, and the booster passes the leak inspection. In this case, however, as shown in FIG. 8, a space S is formed between the support plate 4 and the front shell 1, so that the support plate 4 is unable to support the front shell 1. Therefore, the front shell 1 is likely to be deformed due to application of external force, and therefore, a hermetic seal between the front shell 1 and the stud bolt 3 may be impaired.


This invention provides for a method for preventing or interrupting the transmission of anthropod and mosquito-borne diseases from a first actual or putative amplifying or incipient host to a second actual or putative amplifying or incipient host, which comprises applying or administering a formulation comprising an effective amount of at least one 1-N-arylpyrazole to said first actual or putative amplifying host and/or actual or putative amplifying or incipient host. This invention also provides for a method of using a bait placed in a bird station, the bait comprises an affective amount of at least one 1-N-arylpyrazole either alone or in combination with an antiparasitic, antihelmintic, or insecticidal agents. This invention also provides for an apparatus for delivering an effective amount of a formulation according to the present invention to a bird or animal in an environment where it resides.

Mosquitoes act as vectors for a number of viral and protozoal infections in the world. It has been reported that mosquitoes carry diseases that potentially compromise the health of one-eighth of the world's population and impact the health and economy of approximately 300 million people per year.
In addition to clinically significant diseases like malaria and yellow fever, mosquitoes are also implicated in the transmission of many arboviruses, infections with which cause symptoms ranging from nonspecific flu-like illnesses to encephalitis that may result in death. In addition to humans, domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, as well as wild animals and birds may become infected and experience clinical disease as a result of that infection.
Arboviruses that infect humans and other mammals are members of one of three virus families, Togaviridae, Flavividae, and Bunyaviridae, and include the agent responsible for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE), St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE), La Crosse Encephalitis (LCE), and infection caused by Dengue Virus, and West Nile Virus (WNV). Worldwide, other arboviruses of medical importance include viruses responsible for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis.
WNV has received significant attention in the United States since its outbreak on the East Coast in 1999 and 2000. Since that outbreak, CDC estimates that WNV has been documented in forty-three of the lower forty-eight states including areas as geographically diverse as Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and North Dakota. From 1999 through 2001, there were 149 cases of WNV human illness reported to the CDC, including 18 deaths (see www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/background.htm).
Transmission of WNV is similar to EEE, WEE, SLE viruses and may involve a cycle that includes mosquitoes and birds. Mosquitoes become infected with WNV when they feed on a bird carrying the virus in its blood. Birds act as amplifying hosts for the virus and, ten to fourteen days after initial infection, the virus can be transmitted to another bird, a human, or another animal host when the mosquito injects saliva containing the virus into that host during feeding. At present, the CDC reports that there are 110 species of birds that may act as amplifying hosts for WNV. Additionally, infected birds may facilitate the spread of the disease as birds can fly long distances after becoming infected.
While humans and other animals may become clinically ill after infection with WNV, they are considered to be incidental hosts since they do not develop enough of the virus in the blood to infect other hosts. Arboviruses other than WNV have different amplifying hosts. For example, the amplifying hosts for JE virus are domestic pigs and wild birds (www.cdc.gov/nicidod/dvbid/jecephalitis/qa.htm), while the amplifying hosts for the virus that causes La Crosse encephalitis are chipmunks and tree squirrels (www.cdc.gov/nicod/dsbid/arbor/ardet.htm).
Another emerging mosquito-borne disease of veterinary importance is heartworm disease, caused by infection with Dirofilaria immitis, and characterized by several developmental stages. Specifically, microfilariae are deposited by female heartworms into the bloodstream of a definitive host—primarily canines, but also felines and ferrets. Once ingested by a mosquito during feeding, the microfilariae develop into infective larvae which, when transmitted to the definitive host, migrate to heart where maturation into adult worms occurs. A number of drug treatments have been developed to treat heartworm. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,153 to Kerz discloses the use of Ivermectin for treating Dirofilaria immitis infection in canines.
Other research has been directed to the control of heartworm and other arthropod-borne diseases by interfering with transmission cycles. For example, the most common method for controlling mosquitoes that transmit harmful viruses or other microorganisms involves spraying insecticides into areas where the mosquitoes breed. This approach is not without risk, however. For example, the use of insecticides may have a harmful environmental impact, especially to the wetland areas where mosquitos often reside (see, e.g., US 2002/021045 A1). Thus, there is a need for simple, low cost methods to abate arthropod populations, including mosquitos and ticks, and to prevent or impair the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases without widespread environmental damage.
1-N-arylpyrazoles as a class of chemicals are well known in the art, as are methods for their use in controlling parasites including insects, such as fleas or ticks, in mammals, such as domesticated livestock or companion animals, either alone or in combination with other pesticides such as insect growth regulators. See, e.g., EP-A-295,217, EP 295 177, EP-A-840-686, EP-A-352,944, WO 00/35844, WO 98/39972, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,122,530 5,236,938, 5,232,940, 5,576,429 5,814,652, 5,567,429, 6,090,751 and 6,096,329 as well as Publication No. US 2002-90381-A1. See also copending applications U.S. Ser. Nos. 07/719,942; 08/933,016; 09/174,598; 08/863,182; and 08/863,692. The compounds of the families defined in these patents are extremely active and one of these compounds, 5-amino-3-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4-trifluoromethylsulfinylpyrazole, or fipronil, is particularly effective, but not exclusively effective, against fleas and ticks. However, specific results involving the effectiveness of these compounds against mosquitoes generally have not been reported.
Various methods of formulating antiparasitical formulations are known in the art. These include oral formulations, baits, dietary supplements, powders, shampoos, etc. Formulations for localized topical applications of antiparasitical formulations are also known in the art. For example, pour-on solutions comprising 1-N-phenylpyrazole derivatives, such as fipronil, are known in the art and are described in copending application Ser. No. 08/933,016, now U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,010,710, and 6,413,542, issued Jul. 2, 2002 and copending application Ser. No. 10/120,691, filed Apr. 11, 2002 and herein incorporated by reference. Other methods of formulating antiparasitic agents include spot-on formulations.
Spot-on formulations are well known techniques for topically delivering an antiparasitic agent to a limited area of the host. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,536 describes such formulations for ectoparasites. Other spot-on formulations include U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,333 and copending application U.S. Ser. No. 09/221,470, now allowed, and 10/155,397, filed on May 24, 2002. WO 01/95715 describes a method for controlling ectoparasites in small rodents as well as interrupting or preventing the diseases caused by arthropods of small rodents, which comprise applying topical formulations, such as spot-on compositions, to the skin, or hair of the rodents. WO 01/95715 further provides an enclosure having one or more peripheral openings, which allows the entry and egress of rodents, and an applicator, which comprises the topical formulation and is arranged to contact a rodent. However, WO 01/95715 does not describe a method for preventing or interrupting the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases, in general, or the transmission of WNV, in particular, by administering a formulation comprising a 1-N-phenylpyrazole to a host, in general, or birds, in particular, thereby affecting a simple, low-cost method to abate mosquito populations and to prevent or impair the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases without widespread environmental damage.
Baits are another method of formulating that is known in the art. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 4,564,631 to Elbert et al. relates to a process of preparing a bait containing Pyrethroids for combating Vermin. However, no methods are known to use a commercially available bird station (for example, see bird stations sold by Wild Bird Station, 2295 NW Broad street Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37129 or visit email@example.com) having baits comprising 1-N-arylpyrazole derivatives and/or an IGR either alone or in combination with a known antiparasitic, antihelmintic or insecticidal agent to prevent or to interrupt the transmission of arthropod- or mosquito-borne diseases by birds or other small mammalian hosts.

1-N-arylpyrazole derivatives in prevention of arthropod-borne and mosquito-borne diseases


Light emitted from a semiconductor laser (1) is split by a diffractive optical element (3a) into a main beam and sub-beams. The diffractive optical element (3a) is divided into four regions by a straight line parallel to a tangential direction of a disc (7) and a straight line parallel to a radial direction of the disc (7). A phase of grating in two regions arranged diagonally and a phase of grating in the other two regions arranged diagonally are different from each other by π. A focused spot of the main beam and focused spots of the sub-beams are located on the same track. A focusing error signal is detected by a differential astigmatism method, using the main beam and the sub-beams.

An astigmatism method is known as a detection method for detecting a focusing error signal in an optical head device incorporated in an optical information recording or reproducing apparatus. The astigmatism method has a feature that an optical system can be integrated with an optical system for detecting a tracking error signal by a push-pull method and a differential phase detection method and an optical system for detecting a reproduction signal, as compared with a knife-edge method and a spot-size method.
On the other hand, as a method for increasing the density of an optical recording medium, land/groove recording is known in which recording and reproduction are performed for both lands and grooves of the optical recording medium. A write-once optical recording medium and a rewritable optical recording medium typically have a groove used for tracking. The lands and grooves correspond to concave portions and convex portions, respectively, when the optical recording medium is seen from a side on which light is incident.
In a case where a focus error signal is detected by an astigmatism method for such an optical recording medium for land/groove recording, a focusing error signal obtained when light is reflected from the land is different from that obtained when light is reflected from the groove. In other words, interrelationship between the defocus amount of the optical recording medium and the level of the focusing error signal is different between a case where a focused spot formed on the optical recording medium by the optical head device is located on the land and a case where that focused spot is located on the groove. Thus, in a case where the optical head device makes an access between an inner peripheral portion and an outer peripheral portion of the optical recording medium, for example, when the focused spot formed on the optical recording medium by the optical head device crosses the grooves of the optical recording medium, the level of the focusing error signal changes between the level obtained when the focused spot is located on the land and the level obtained when the focused spot is located on the groove. This change is called as a groove-crossing noise. When the groove-crossing noise occurs, a focusing-servo operation becomes unstable and therefore prevents recording and reproduction from being performed normally.
Thus, as a detection method of a focusing error signal that can suppress the above-described groove-crossing noise, a differential astigmatism method has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 4-168631, for example). FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional optical head device that detects a focusing error signal by the differential astigmatism method. This optical head device is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 4-168631.
As shown in FIG. 5, this conventional optical head device is provided with a semiconductor laser 1. In this conventional optical head device, along a traveling path of laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1, a collimator lens 2 for collimating the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1, a diffractive optical element 3b for transmitting and diffracting light incident thereon, a beam splitter 11 for transmitting a part of light incident thereon and reflecting the remaining part of the incident light toward a predetermined direction, and an objective lens 6 for converging collimated light incident thereon are provided in that order. A disc 7 that is an optical recording medium is arranged at a focus of the objective lens 6. Please note that a direction perpendicular to the sheet of FIG. 5 is a tangential direction of a track in a region of the disc 7 which is irradiated with laser light (hereinafter, simply referred to as a tangential direction), while a vertical direction in FIG. 5 is a radial direction of the region of the disc 7 which is irradiated with the laser light (hereinafter, simply referred to as a radial direction). Moreover, along a traveling path of light reflected by the beam splitter 11, a cylindrical lens 8, a lens 9, and a photodetector 10 are provided in that order. The photodetector 10 is midway between two focal lines formed by a compound lens formed by the cylindrical lens 8 and the lens 9.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the diffractive optical element 3b. As shown in FIG. 6, the diffractive optical element 3b includes a diffraction grating 23 formed on its entire surface. A direction in which the diffraction grating 23 extends is approximately parallel to the radial direction of the disc 7, but it is slightly inclined with respect to the radial direction. The diffraction grating 23 has a pattern of straight lines arranged at equal pitches. Please note that a circle shown with broken line in FIG. 6 represents an effective region of the objective lens 6.
In the conventional optical head device shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the semiconductor laser 1 emits laser light, and this light is collimated by the collimator lens 2. Then, the collimated light is divided by the diffractive optical element 3b into three, i.e., zero-th order light as a main beam and plus and minus first order diffracted light as sub-beams. A part of these light beams passes through the beam splitter 11 and is then focused onto the disc 7 by the objective lens 6. Then, these light beams are reflected by the disc 7. The three reflected light beams from the disc 7 pass through the objective lens 6 in the reverse direction, and a part of those light beams is reflected by the beam splitter 11. The reflected part passes through the cylindrical lens 8 and the lens 9 and is then received by the photodetector 10.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing positions of focused spots on the disc 7. Focused spots 14a, 14d, and 14e are spots of the zero-th order light, plus first order diffracted light and minus first order diffracted light from the diffractive optical element 3b, respectively. The focused spot 14a is located on a track 13; the focused spot 14d is located on a right track adjacent to the track 13; and the focused spot 14e is located on a left track adjacent to the track 13. When the track 13 is a land, the right and left tracks adjacent to the track 13 are grooves. When the track 13 is a groove, the right and left tracks adjacent to the track 13 are lands.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a light-receiving portion of the photodetector 10 and positions of light spots on the photodetector 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the photodetector 10 has three square light-receiving regions 15x, 15y, and 15z each of which is formed by four light-receiving portions arranged in a matrix of 2×2. That is, the light-receiving region 15x is divided into four square light-receiving portions 15a through 15d; the light-receiving region 15y is divided into four square light-receiving portions 15e through 15h; and the light-receiving region 15z is divided into four square light-receiving portions 15i through 15l. When light transmitted by the lens 9 is incident on the photodetector 10, light spots 16a, 16d, and 16e are formed on the light-receiving regions 15x, 15y, and 15z, respectively. Each of the light-receiving portions 15a through 15l outputs an electric signal in accordance with the intensity of light incident thereon.
The light spot 16a is a spot of the zero-th order light of the diffractive optical element 3b and is received by the light-receiving portions 15a through 15d. The light spot 16d is a spot of the plus first order diffracted light of the diffractive optical element 3b and is received by the light-receiving portions 15e through 15h. The light spot 16e is a spot of the minus first order diffracted light of the diffractive optical element 3b and is received by the light-receiving portions 15i through 15l. Because of an effect of the cylindrical lens 8 and the lens 9, the intensity distribution in the light spot in the tangential direction and that in the radial direction are interchanged.
An extending direction of a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15e and 15f, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15g and 15h, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15a and 15b, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15c and 15d, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15i and 15j, and a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15k and 15l corresponds to the tangential direction of the disc 7 in the focused spots 14a, 14d, and 14e on the disc 7 shown in FIG. 7. Moreover, an extending direction of a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15e and 15g, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15f and 15h, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15a and 15c, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15b and 15d, a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15i and 15k, and a boundary between the light-receiving portions 15j and 15l corresponds to the radial direction of the disc 7 in the focused spots 14a, 14d, and 14e on the disc 7 shown in FIG. 7.
Assuming that electric signals output from the light-receiving portions 15a through 15l are represented by V15a through V15l, respectively, a focusing error signal FEM of the main beam by an astigmatism method is obtained by the following expression 1 .FEM=(V15a+V15d)−(V15b+V15c)  (1)
A focusing error signal FES of the sub-beams by an astigmatism method is obtained by following expression 2.
                    FES        =                              (                          V15e              +              V15h              +              V15i              +              V15l                        )                    -                                                                                (                          V15f              +              V15g              +              V15j              +              V15k                        )                                              (        2        )
Moreover, a focusing error signal FE by a differential astigmatism method is obtained by following expression 3, where a ratio of the light amount of the main beam to the sub-beams is represented by K.FE=FEM+K×FES  (3)
FIGS. 9(a) through (c) are graphs showing exemplary various focusing error signals that were calculated, in each of which the horizontal axis represents the defocus amount of the disc 7 and the vertical axis represents the level of the focusing error signal that was normalized with a sum signal. FIG. 9(a) shows the focusing error signal of the main beam calculated by the above-mentioned expression 1; FIG. 9(b) shows the focusing error signal of the sub-beams calculated by above-mentioned expression 2; and FIG. 9(c) shows the focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method calculated by above-mentioned expression 3. In FIGS. 9(a) through (c), a black circle (●) represents the focusing error signal in a case where the focused spot of the main beam is located on the land, while a white circle (◯) represents the focusing error signal in a case where the focused spot of the main beam is located on the groove. A condition of calculation that was set is as follows: the wavelength of the light source is 405 nm, numerical aperture of the objective lens 6 is 0.65, a track pitch (the width of the land and the groove) is 0.34 μm, and the depth of the groove is 45 nm.
When the focusing error signal is detected by a simple astigmatism method using the main beam only, as shown in FIG. 9(a), dependency of the focusing error signal on the defocus amount on the land is different from that on the groove. Thus, every time the light spot on the disc crosses the land and the groove, the groove-crossing noise is generated. On the other hand, when the focusing error signal is detected by a differential astigmatism method using the main beam and the sub-beams, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal on the land is the same as that on the groove. Thus, generation of the groove-crossing noise can be suppressed. This is because the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal of the main beam shown in FIG. 9(a) is opposite to that of the sub-beams shown in FIG. 9(b), namely, that of the land and that of the groove are opposite to each other. Thus, by adding both the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal of the main beam and that of the sub-beams, the difference between the land and the groove can be canceled out. In other words, the sum of the signal level shown with the black circle in FIG. 9(a) (signal level of the main beam when the spot of the main beam is located on the land) and the signal level shown with the black circle in FIG. 9(b) (signal level of the sub-beams when the spot of the main beam is located on the land) is substantially equal to the sum of the signal level shown with the white circle in FIG. 9(a) (signal level of the main beam when the spot of the main beam is located on the groove) and the signal level shown with the white circle in FIG. 9(b) (signal level of the sub-beams when the spot of the main beam is located on the groove).
However, in order to obtain a favorable focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method in the conventional optical head device shown in FIG. 5, it is necessary that the focused spot of the main beam be arranged away from the focused spots of the sub-beams by one track pitch in the radial direction on the disc 7. Thus, when there are a plurality of types of optical recording media each having a different track pitch, the conventional optical head device can obtain a favorable focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method only for one of the optical recording media.
By the way, in a case of detecting a tracking error signal by a push-pull method in an optical head device, when an objective lens moves in a radial direction of an optical recording medium, offset is generated in the tracking error signal, thus preventing recording and reproduction from being performed normally. As a detection method of the tracking error signal that can suppress the above offset, a differential push-pull method has been proposed. Moreover, a differential push-pull method that can accommodate a plurality of types of optical recording media each having a different track pitch, has been proposed. Therefore, as for the differential astigmatism method, in order to accommodate a plurality of types of optical recording media each having a different track pitch, respectively, employing the same structure can be considered.
As a conventional optical head device that detects a tracking error signal by a differential push-pull method for a plurality of types of optical recording media each having a different track pitch, an optical head device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-81942 is known. In this optical head device, the diffractive optical element 3b in the conventional optical head device shown in FIG. 5 is replaced with a diffractive optical element 3c described below.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the diffractive optical element 3c. As shown in FIG. 10, the diffractive optical element 3c is divided into two regions 12e and 12f by a straight line that passes through an optical axis of incident light and is parallel to the tangential direction of the disc 7. Each of the regions 12e and 12f has a diffraction grating 23 formed therein. A direction in which the diffraction grating 23 extends is the radial direction of the disc 7 and a pattern of the grating is formed by straight lines arranged at equal pitches. Moreover, the phase of the grating in the region 12e is shifted from that in the region 12f by π (corresponding to a half pitch). Thus, the phase of plus first order diffracted light from the region 12e and the phase of plus first order diffracted light from the region 12f are shifted from each other by π, while the phase of minus first order diffracted light from the region 12e and the phase of minus first order diffracted light from the region 12f are shifted from each other by π. Please note that a circle shown with broken line represents an effective region of the objective lens 6.
FIG. 11 is a plan view showing positions of focused spots on the disc 7. Focused spots 14a, 14f, and 14g are spots of zero-th order light, plus first order diffracted light, and minus first order diffracted light from the diffractive optical element 3c, respectively. These three focused spots are located on the same track 13. Incidentally, the track 13 is a land or groove. Since the phase in the sub-beam on the left side of a straight line, which passes through the optical axis and is parallel to the tangential direction of the disc 7, is different from that on the right side of the straight line by π, the intensity becomes zero on the boundary between the right region and the left region in each of the focused spots 14f and 14g of the sub-beams. Thus, on the right and left sides of the center line of the track 13, two peaks that are equal to each other in intensity appear.
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-81942, as for the tracking error signal obtained by a differential push-pull method, to shift the phase of the sub-beam on the left side with respect to the straight line, which passes through the optical axis and is parallel to the tangential direction of the disc 7, from that on the right side with respect to the straight line by π by shifting the phases of the gratings in the regions 12e and 12f in the diffractive optical element 3c from each other by π has equivalent effects to those achieved by arranging the focused spot of the main beam away from the focused spots of the sub-beams by one track pitch in the radial direction on the disc 7. Moreover, since three focused spots are located on the same track in this optical head device, relative positions of the focused spots with respect to the track 13 do not depend on the track pitch. Thus, this optical head device can accommodate a plurality of types of optical recording media each having a different track pitch.
The structure of the light-receiving portions of the photodetector 10 and the arrangement of the light spots on the photodetector 10 in this conventional optical head device are the same as those shown in FIG. 8. Please note that light spots 16a, 16d, and 16e are spots of zero-th order light, plus first order diffracted light, and minus first order diffracted light from the diffractive optical element 3c, respectively. In this optical head device, focusing error signals of the main beam and sub-beams by an astigmatism method and a focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method are calculated by the expressions 1 to 3 described above.
In addition, the inventors of the present invention developed and disclosed a technique for correctly detecting a tilt of an optical recording medium in its radial direction (radial tilt) by dividing a diffractive optical element into a plurality of regions in the optical head device (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-307358). This technique can detect the radial tilt correctly even if an objective lens moves in the radial direction of the optical recording medium. According to this technique, even if the objective lens moves in the radial direction of the optical recording medium, no offset is generated in a radial tilt signal and therefore the radial tilt can be correctly detected.
However, the aforementioned conventional optical head device has the following problems. FIGS. 12(a) through (c) are graphs showing exemplary various focusing error signals that were calculated, in each of which the horizontal axis represents the defocus amount of the disc 7 and the vertical axis represents the level of the focusing error signal normalized with a sum signal. FIG. 12(a) shows the focusing error signal of the main beam calculated by the above-mentioned expression 1; FIG. 12(b) shows the focusing error signal of the sub-beam calculated by the above-mentioned expression 2; and FIG. 12(c) shows the focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method calculated by the above-mentioned expression 3. Moreover, in each graph, a black circle (●) represents the focusing error signal when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the land while a white circle (◯) represents the focusing error signal when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the groove. Please note that the calculation condition that was set in this calculation is the same as that in the calculation of the focusing error signals shown in FIGS. 9(a) through (c).
As shown in FIG. 12(a), in a case of detecting the focusing error signal by a simple astigmatism method using the main beam only, the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the land is different from that when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the groove. Thus, the groove-crossing noise is generated. Moreover, in a case of detecting the focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method using the main beam and sub-beams, as shown in FIG. 12(c), the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the land is coincident with that when the focused spot of the main beam is located on the groove around the origin. However, they are different from each other in a region other than a region around the origin. Thus, generation of the groove-crossing noise cannot be sufficiently suppressed. Especially, in a region from −1.5 μm to +1.5 μm in which the defocus amount actually fluctuates, the levels of the focusing signal on the land and that on the groove are different from each other. This is because the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal of the main beam shown in FIG. 12(a) on the land and groove is not opposite to the defocus-amount dependency of the focusing error signal of the sub-beam shown in FIG. 12(b) on the land and groove in the region other than the region around the origin. Therefore, even if they are added, the difference of the defocus-amount dependency on the land and groove between the main beam and the sub-beams cannot be canceled out sufficiently.
As described above, as for a tracking error signal by a differential push-pull method, the conventional optical head device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-81942 has an effect that it is possible to obtain the correct tracking error signal that does not depend on the track pitch. However, this conventional optical head device does not have a sufficient effect as for a focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method.
Moreover, in the optical head device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-307358, as for the radial tilt signal, correct signal detection can be achieved even when the objective lens shifts. However, this optical head device does not consider a focusing error signal by a differential astigmatism method and cannot achieve a sufficient effect as for the focusing error signal like the optical head device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-81942.

Optical head device and optical information recording/reproducing apparatus


The outflow of coolers or water transport plates of a fuel cell stack (15) is fed to the inlet of a gas/liquid separator (12), the liquid output of which is connected through a primary pump (11a) to a liquid accumulator (21). A secondary pump (44) connected to the liquid output (20) of the liquid accumulator is fed to the principal inlet (31) of an eductor (32), the secondary inlet being connected to the gas output of the gas/liquid separator. The outlet (37) of the eductor is fed through a conduit (38) to a point below liquid level in the liquid accumulator. Thus, failure of the secondary pump (44) will not cause cavitation of the primary pump (11a) through the eductor so that coolant will continue to flow through the fuel cell stack. A demineralizer (26) is fed through a pressure reducing orifice (25) from the outlet of the secondary pump.

In fuel cell power plants, it is necessary to cool the fuel cell, either by means of porous water transport plates which allow diffusion of both water and reactant gases therethrough, or by means of coolant plates, or both. In fuel cell power plants employing proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, compactness and minimal parasitic power suggest the use of water transport plates.
It is also known to use a separator to separate air and frothy water from the main coolant supply prior to returning the coolant to a pump, in order to avoid pump cavitation. One form is illustrated in FIG. 1. Therein, the primary coolant pump 11 draws water through a separator 12 from a conduit 13 connected to the coolant outlet 14 of a fuel cell stack assembly 15. The coolant inlet 18 is connected by a conduit 19 to a coolant outlet 20 of a liquid accumulator 21, which has a conventional vent 29.
The outflow of the coolant pump 11 is provided by conduit 23 to the accumulator 21. Pump outflow is also provided over a conduit 24 through a pressure reducing orifice 25 to a demineralizer 26, so that some fraction of the circulating water is demineralized (has ions removed therefrom), continuously. The coolant water outflow of the pump 11 is also provided over a conduit 30 to the primary inlet 31 of an eductor (ejector) 32. The secondary inlet 33 of the eductor is connected to the separator 12, and serves to suction off frothy water and air from the separator 12. The outlet of the eductor 37 is connected by a conduit 38 to the accumulator 21.
Problems with this prior art system arise due to the difficulty of matching the water flow requirements of the pump 11 with the inlet pressure requirements of the eductor 32. It is essential that the eductor inlet pressure be properly selected to provide the desired function of clearing the separator 12. It is also essential that the pump 11 provide the proper water flow at a desired pressure at the water outlet 14 of the fuel cell stack 15.

Dual pump fuel cell temperature management system


A target object detection apparatus periodically executes a transmit/receive operation to transmit radar waves and obtain received signals from resultant incident reflected waves from respective target objects. An individual correlation matrix of received signal values is derived for each one of a fixed plurality of successive transmit/receive operations, with the transmission frequency being changed at successive operations. Individual correlation matrices derived from respective transmit/receive operations are time-averaged to obtain an average correlation matrix for use in obtaining target object information such as direction or velocity, with effects of correlation between respective incident waves being suppressed.

1. Field of Application
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting information relating to target objects that are scanned by electromagnetic waves, with the detection based upon a correlation matrix derived from received signals which correspond to reflected waves from the target objects.
2. Description of Related Art
A target object detection method referred to as the super-resolution method is known, which utilizes an array antenna formed of a plurality of antenna elements for estimating respective incoming directions of a plurality of electromagnetic waves that are incident on the antenna. The method is based on a correlation matrix which expresses correlation between respective received signals of the antenna elements, with the correlation matrix being used to generate an angular spectrum which relates received signal (power) values to angular directions (e.g., in azimuth), by methods which are well known in this field of technology. By analyzing the angular spectrum, the required directions of the received incident waves can be measured to a high degree of resolution.
To achieve accurate discrimination between directions of incident waves with such a method, it is necessary that correlation does not exist between the respective incident waves which arrive along these directions. For example in the case of a vehicle-installation radar apparatus which employs such a method to detect preceding vehicles and roadside objects, if all of these vehicles and objects (and the vehicle containing the radar apparatus, with that vehicle referred to in the following as the local vehicle) are stationary, that is to say, if there is no relative motion of theses target objects, then there will be strong correlation between respective radar waves which are reflected from these various target object and are received at the antenna of the radar apparatus of the local vehicle.
The term "relative motion of target objects", as used herein, is to be understood as motion with respect to a radar apparatus which receives reflected radar waves from these target objects.
Spatial averaging methods are known which can suppress such correlation. This is achieved by using a plurality of sub-arrays, which each constitute a part of the receiving antenna of a radar apparatus, with each sub-array formed of a plurality of antenna elements. Respective values of concurrently received signals from the antenna elements of each sub-array are used to derive a correlation matrix corresponding to that sub-array, and the respective correlation matrices thus obtained are averaged, to obtain an average correlation matrix. Such a spatial averaging method is described for example in "Adaptive Antenna Technology", Ohm Co., (Japan), 10 Oct. 2003, first edition, pages 114, 142, designated in the following as reference 1.
The phase relationship between a set of received incident waves having high correlation will differ in accordance with the physical positions at which the waves are received. Thus, by averaging respective correlation matrices that are derived from concurrently received signals of a plurality of sub-arrays located at respectively different positions, an average correlation matrix can be obtained in which the correlation between respective incident received waves is suppressed.
With that method, when such incident waves are received (as reflected waves from respective target bodies) in a transmit/receive operation, a set of data (generally referred to as a snapshot) to constitute a vector referred to as a received vector are obtained from the respective received signals of the antenna elements of a sub-array. The received vector is used to calculate a corresponding correlation matrix, i.e., a plurality of correlation matrices respectively corresponding to the sub-arrays are derived in each transmit/receive operation and are used to obtain an average correlation matrix.
However with that method, in order to attain a sufficient degree of suppression of correlation between respective received waves, it is necessary to use a large number of snapshots, i.e., it is necessary to use a large number of sub-arrays to obtain a sufficient number of covariance matrices for use in the averaging processing. Furthermore, with the spatial averaging method, the number of directions of incidence of received waves that can be detected is determined by the number of dimensions of a correlation matrix. That number of dimensions is determined by the number of antenna elements of each sub-array.
Hence such a method has the disadvantage that, by comparison with a conventional radar apparatus that is capable of detecting the same number of directions of incident waves, the number of antenna elements (and hence the overall size of the radar apparatus) becomes substantially greater.
For that reason, a method which applies time-domain averaging of correlation matrixes has been proposed. That method would be applicable for example to a vehicle-installation radar apparatus having a receiving antenna which is an array antenna, and which detects target objects by repetitive transmit/receive operations of transmitting electromagnetic waves and obtaining received signals from resultant reflected waves. Such a method is described for example in reference 1 above and in Japanese patent publication No. 2007-40806 (referred to in the following as reference 2). At each of these transmit/receive operations, a correlation matrix is obtained from the received signals of the respective antenna elements (i.e., of the entire array antenna). Correlation matrices are thereby successively obtained. A predetermined number of successive correlation matrices are averaged (time-averaged) to obtain an average correlation matrix, with this averaging operation being repetitively performed. Each average correlation matrix is used to detect the respective directions of incidence of received waves, as described above for the case of spatial averaging.
However a basic problem of such a known type of time-domain averaging method is as follows. When it is required to detect the incoming directions of reflected waves from one or more target objects which are each stationary with respect to the radar apparatus, it is not possible to achieve a sufficient degree of suppression of the correlation between the received incident waves. Hence, the resolution of direction detection is low.

Target object detection apparatus for acquiring information concerning target objects based on correlation matrix derived from signal values corresponding to reflected electromagnetic waves


A job processing apparatus connectable to another job processing apparatus via a network, and if an instruction is given to execute a job including a first job and a second job using the job processing apparatus itself and a second job processing apparatus, then the first job is executed and history information on the first job is created by the job processing apparatus itself, and an instruction to execute the second job is given to the second job processing apparatus via the network. Then, if the history information on the second job executed by the second job processing apparatus is received by the job processing apparatus itself via the network, the history information on the first and second jobs are stored in a log database in association.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a job processing apparatus, a method for managing a job log in the job processing apparatus, and a system for managing a job history, the system including a plurality of job processing apparatuses connected via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital multi-function peripherals (MFPs) having the functions of a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and the like have rapidly become popular recently. Various types of such digital MFPs are available, and it is becoming common to install a plurality of digital MFPs having different functions in an office.
Meanwhile, history information relating to operations on these MFPs, printing and data transmission using these MFPs, and the like is becoming very important in terms of security, for example, preventing the leaking of information, and tracing information. In such circumstances, a method that is accurate and that does not impair convenience for the user and for the device administrator as much as possible has been demanded in terms of methods for managing job logs and operation histories in respective MFPs as well.
Generally, history information on the operations of a digital MFP and printing therewith, called a "job log", is created and managed in respective digital MFPs. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-078160 aims to manage job history information including whether or not a print job has been executed. To be specific, a print job management apparatus that is connected to a plurality of MFPs and that gives notification via an e-mail to the user who executed printing in an MFP after the elapse of a predetermined period of time has been proposed. This is to appropriately notify the user of the history information, that is the result of the operations and print instructions from the user on a digital MFP. However, this method is for managing and giving notification of the history information on user operations and print instructions executed by individual digital MFPs and, for example, if an operation that uses the functions of a plurality of digital MFPs in a cooperative manner is executed, notification of the history information is not accurately given to the user.
In another example, a case where an image of an original document is read by scanning with a first digital MFP and then printed with a second digital MFP is assumed. History information relating to such an operation by a user is comprised of a scanning operation by the first digital MFP, and printing by the second digital MFP. Therefore, because the history information in a single digital MFP is obtained using the above-described conventional method, it is difficult to obtain history information integrating a series of operations using these two MFPs. That is, it is necessary that a user or a device administrator separately obtains and manages history information on the scanning operation with the first digital MFP and history information on the printing with the second digital MFP.

Job processing apparatus, method for managing job log in the job processing apparatus, and system for managing job history


An independent mouse or trackball device assembly uses a keyboard as an operational relay providing for the wired or wireless coupling of the mouse or trackball device to the keyboard assembly.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated computer system input made up of an independent mouse or trackball device and a keyboard, the keyboard serving as an operational relay for the mouse or trackball device to provide a rational, clean desktop layout. The mouse or trackball device may be a conventional electro-mechanical, optical, inductive, piezoelectric, capacitive, or static device, with or without a ball.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Keyboard, mouse, or trackball devices have long provided a convenient interface for the input of computerized data. Conventionally, coupling of the main computer with a keyboard, mouse, or trackball is made through a wired or wireless coupling. A wired coupling is usually in the form of an independent lead or cable extending from the keyboard, mouse, or trackball to the main unit, or alternatively in the form of a common construction integrating the main with the keyboard, the mouse, or the trackball. A wireless transmission coupling conventionally involves an independently built or common utility receiver, incorporated internally to provide cursor operation, scroll, or key-in capability. A disadvantage of the conventional wired coupling construction in which a main unit is associated with a keyboard, mouse, or the trackball, is that due to wire multiplicity and prolonged wire distance, what will happen easily and often is that wires get tangled with each other or kinked. In the case of wireless coupling, disadvantages include higher cost and component to component interaction that gives rise to interference.

Assembly of independent mouse or track ball device using keyboard as an operational relay with keyboard


Disclosed herein is a position indicator that includes: an enclosure forming a hollow and rod-shaped tubular body; a substrate disposed in the hollow portion of the enclosure and having a circuit configured to process signals exchanged with a position detection sensor; and a film-shaped capacitor having first and second conductor layers. The first conductor layer is formed on one side of a sheet-shaped dielectric, and the second conductor layer is formed on another side of the sheet-shaped dielectric and is opposed to the first conductor layer with the sheet-shaped dielectric provided therebetween. The film-shaped capacitor is fastened to the substrate in such a manner as to make up part of said circuit, and the size of an area over which the first and second conductor layers of the film-shaped capacitor are opposed is changeable by changing the size of the film-shaped capacitor to specify a constant for said circuit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic circuit such as time constant circuit or resonance circuit including a capacitor. Further, the present invention relates to a pen-shaped position detector used together with a coordinate input device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electronic circuit such as time constant circuit or resonance circuit including a capacitor, the capacitance of the capacitor is adjusted in an early stage for adjustment as a product. This adjustment is intended to set a time constant so as to provide constants unique to electronic equipment or set a resonance condition so as to match the resonance frequency with a unique frequency. At this time, the capacitance of the capacitor is adjusted, for example, using a trimmer capacitor.
On the other hand, an electromagnetic induction coordinate input device includes a sensor and pen-shaped position indicator as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-244806. The sensor includes a number of loop coils disposed in the directions of the x and y coordinate axes. The position indicator has a resonance circuit that includes a coil and capacitor. The coordinate input device detects the coordinates in the x- and y-axis directions of the position indicated by the position indicator based on electromagnetic induction taking place between the position indicator and sensor. The x- and y-axis directions are respectively the horizontal and vertical directions of the substrate on which the many loop coils are disposed, for example, in the sensor.
The resonance frequency of the resonance circuit of the position indicator is selected to ensure that the resonance circuit resonates with the frequency signal from the sensor. In related art, a trimmer capacitor including an adjuster adapted to adjust the capacitance thereof is used at least as part of the capacitor making up the resonance circuit for selecting the resonance frequency. This adjuster is manipulated to adjust the electrostatic capacitance of the trimmer capacitor to a desired resonance frequency.
Alternatively, a plurality of chip capacitors are provided in advance rather than using a trimmer capacitor. Of the plurality of chip capacitors, the number of the chip capacitors to be enabled is selected in such a manner that those chip capacitors to be disabled are disconnected from the circuit, thus achieving a predetermined resonance frequency.

Electronic circuit and position indicator


An integrated circuit comprising at least one group comprising having multiple arithmetic/logic units arranged in sub-groups. In the sub-groups at inputs of multiple arithmetic/logic units, in each case a single one of the first selection units is connected on the input side, wherein no other selection unit is connected directly on the input side of this selection unit. The first selection units are coupled to each other such that a horizontal and/or vertical logical interconnection of the arithmetic/logic units within a group, and/or a logical interconnection of arithmetic/logic units to an upstream group can be implemented. Second selection units are in each case connected on the output side of a column of arithmetic/logic units. The second selection units of a group are connected on the output side to one bus each, and a microprocessor is coupled to this bus.

The invention relates to a circuit architecture for an integrated circuit, and in particular to an arrangement of arithmetic/logic units, selection units, and control units in such an architecture.
As the use of integrated circuits has been growing for years in all areas of electronics, tremendous efforts have been made by manufacturers to achieve efficient realizations of integrated circuits in the shortest possible time. The electronics industry has been continually driven by the need to increase performance and reduce costs, while improving the features of the integrated circuits. Additional requirements include the need to optimize the circuit architectures offered—implemented, for example, as integrated circuits—in terms of surface area requirement, power consumption, and power loss.
Many of the requirements are met through the use of newer, faster, and cheaper technologies. These new technologies enable a larger number of functions and features to be combined on a single piece of silicon. Functions previously located on separate chips can now be offered in a single system integrated within a single chip. Due to the complexity and high degree of specialization within the various areas of application for integrated circuits, increasing use is being made of application-specific integrated circuits. Application-specific integrated circuits can then be subdivided into user-programmable components and components fabricated for specific applications, where the latter, although highly specialized, are nevertheless fabricated to execute fixed specified functions and are not configurable by the user.
In many areas, however, there exists precisely the need to supply integrated circuits, the architecture of which provides the user with the flexibility of reacting quickly to new requirements. These integrated circuits, also identified as user-programmable components, involve universal elements, the fabrication of which is implemented by the manufacturer on a standardized basis, but which are defined in terms of their ultimate function only by a programming or configuration performed by the user. See reference: G. Umbach, 1966, Kaiserslautern, dissertation, "Optimization of Macrocell-Based Sea-of-Gates Architecture for Communications Technology."
One representative example of a field of application for these components configurable by the user is the automotive industry which demands even shorter product development cycles. For example, even today there are more than seventy control systems in use in a luxury-class automobile. As a result, the share of electronics and software has risen to over 30% within the value-added chain. However, design tasks have also become even more demanding as a result of the increasing complexity and number of functions to be performed by an electronic system. Then there is the additional demand for a short time span between the start of development and market maturity (time-to-market) which must succeed without costly supplemental corrections to the final product within its application environment. This results in corresponding requirements in terms of high flexibility and simultaneous inexpensive fabrication of these components. Examples of control systems using these types of components in automotive engineering include control devices for the engine, transmission, ESP, air suspension, automatic climate control, sound system, parking aids, instrument clusters, and data buses.
The integrated circuits fabricated for specific applications can be further subdivided into designs completely configurable by the user and designs partially configurable by the user. In the case of designs completely configurable by the user, all the design steps are accordingly parametrized and optimized, and there are no restrictions on the design or on the configuration of the subsequent interconnection circuitry based on individual customer requirements. In the case of these designs which are partially configurable by the user, as are those covered by this patent, the user exploits prefabricated and pre-wired basic structures which can then be further interconnected in a configurable manner by the user according to his requirements. It is obvious that these designs, which are partially configurable by the user, have advantages in terms of their surface area requirement on a chip, power consumption, and production costs relative to designs that are completely and freely configurable for which implementation as an integrated circuit is significantly more complex and thus, among other things, more cost-intensive.
One example of integrated circuits with prefabricated basic structures involves hardwired hardware solutions in which the configurability is restricted to parametrization by registers. Additional examples include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Application-Specific ICs (ASICs) which have, in part, basic structures in macrocells to increase efficiency in terms of the required silicon surface of the chip, power consumption, and cost. Another example that could be mentioned for the use of prefabricated basic structures involves so-called streaming units which, however, in many cases do not have the requisite flexibility.
One disadvantage of the listed examples of prior art integrated circuits having prefabricated basic structures according to the prior art is that, while these largely fulfill the requirements in terms of small surface area on the chip, low power consumption, and low cost, from the perspective of most current requirements, they do not adequately meet the ever-increasing demands for flexibility in terms of the configurability of these inexpensive integrated circuits.
Therefore, there is a need for an arrangement of arithmetic/logic units, selection units, and control units in a circuit architecture which, while retaining the advantages of small surface requirement on a chip, low power consumption, and low cost, has an increased degree of flexibility of configurability relative to the prior art.

Circuit architecture for an integrated circuit


A gear case assembly for a marine propulsion system has a gear case having a first end adapted to connect the gear case to a remainder of the marine propulsion system, and a second end disposed opposite the first end. A driveshaft is disposed at least in part in the gear case. A propeller shaft, operatively connected to an end of the driveshaft, is disposed at an angle thereto. The end of the driveshaft and at least a portion of the propeller shaft are disposed in a transmission chamber defined in the gear case. An expansion port is defined in the gear case. A container, defining an expansion chamber, is disposed outside the gear case. The expansion port fluidly communicates the transmission chamber with the expansion chamber. An outboard engine is also disclosed.

Marine propulsion systems, such as marine outboard engines, typically include a gear case assembly for transmitting torque from the engine to the propeller or impeller of the propulsion system. The gear case assembly includes a gear case housing various components, such as shafts, gears and the like, that are used to achieve this torque transmission. At least some of these components, which may be housed in different interconnected chambers and passages formed within the gear case, are immersed in lubricant. During operation of the propulsion system, the lubricant is circulated through various chambers and passages of the gear case and around the various components. The operation of the engine causes heating of the lubricant in the gear case. The heated lubricant expands, occupying more space than the cold lubricant. In a sealed gear case filled with oil, this would raise the pressure therein significantly. It is therefore common to provide a certain amount of air within the gear case that can be compressed so as to compensate for the expansion of the lubricant and to prevent the pressure within the gear case from reaching an unacceptably high level.
Most gear case assemblies have sufficiently large volumes and a sufficient amount of compressible air therein to accommodate the expansion of the lubricant. The expansion of the lubricant during operation of the engine can however be a problem in some gear case assemblies where the overall volume of the chambers and passages is relatively small. One example of such a gear case assembly where the overall volume of the chambers and passages is relatively small is a gear case assembly which includes an electric actuator for controlling the shift between forward and reverse operation of the propeller. The electric actuator is housed inside the gear case but isolated from the chambers and passages in which lubricant is present, thus reducing the volume that could otherwise be available for lubricant and air.
There is therefore a need for an outboard engine and a gear case assembly that can accommodate a sufficient amount of lubricant as well as expansion of the lubricant without also increasing the overall volume of the gear case or the propulsion system.

Marine propulsion system gear case assembly


A reverse osmosis product water storage tank having first and second molded shells coupled together to form an enclosure, a bladder within the enclosure and coupled to separate product water from squeeze water within the enclosure, a first port through a wall of the enclosure to provide water access to the product water side of the bladder, a second port through a wall of the enclosure to provide squeeze water access to the squeeze water side of the bladder and wherein the inner surfaces of the enclosure having a topography configured to define a plurality of channels between the inner surfaces of the enclosure and the bladder when the bladder is full of product water for accommodating squeeze water flow into the enclosure between the enclosure and the bladder when the bladder is full of product water.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of reverse osmosis filtration systems.
2. Prior Art
Reverse osmosis water filtration systems pressurize one side of an appropriate membrane with source water, causing the water to slowly pass through the membrane, leaving impurities therein on the source water side of the membrane for flushing away by controlled flow of excess source water past the membrane. The filtered or product water passing through the membrane is accumulated in a storage tank having a flexible bladder separating the storage tank into a product water storage area and a squeeze water area. Normally when the product water storage tank area defined by the bladder is filled, the bladder lies flat against the tank wall. Now when the product water is to be dispensed, squeeze water is coupled to the region between the bladder and the tank wall. However, because the bladder is flat against the tank wall, it takes a moment for the squeeze water to seep between the bladder and the tank wall. Therefore there is an initial hesitation in squeeze water flow, and accordingly in product water pressurization, providing an undesired hesitation and uncertainty in the initial product water dispensing.

Reverse osmosis filtration system storage tanks