A WEC includes a non-circular main central column positioned within a like non-circular central opening of a shell to contain the central column and prevent rotation or twisting of the shell relative to the column. In a particular embodiment, the central column is multi-sided (e.g., a square) and the central opening of the shell is likewise multi-sided (e.g., square). The facing sides of the column and shell are parallel to each other facilitating the layout of the components of a linear electric generator (LEG) between the facing sides and ensuring good magnetic coupling between the components of the LEG over the length of travel of the shell and column.

This invention relates to apparatus, systems and methods for converting energy present in ocean surface waves into electric energy.
Known wave energy converter (WEC) systems for capturing ocean surface wave energy include: (a) a first component (also referred to herein as a "shell" or "vessel" or "float") which, when placed in a body of water, is designed to move up and down, generally, in phase with the waves in the water and thus absorb and/or release energy; (b) a second component (also referred to herein as a "shaft", "spar", "column" or piston) which is either stationary or moves generally out of phase relative to the waves and the first structure; and (c) a power take off (PTO) device coupled between the first and second components which, in response to the relative motion between the first and second structures, is designed to produce electrical energy.
Due to the forces of the waves there tends to be twisting and turning (rotation) of the shell relative to the column when the WEC is in the water. That is, the body of water applies forces to the shell and column which tend to cause the shell to rotate or twist about the column (in addition to the desired vertical, up and down, motion). The twisting or rotational motion is potentially damaging and is highly undesirable.
A prior art solution for preventing twisting of the column 12 relative to the shell 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The top of the column is shown connected to a cross-shaped buffer 103 with vertical anti-rotational pipes 101 being located between the arm of the cross, at or close to their junction, to prevent rotation. Incorporating such restraining members adds to the complexity and cost of the design and still allows for some twisting along the column, if the anti-rotation mechanism is only introduced at one end of the column.

Antirotational structures for wave energy converters


The invention concerns amphiphilic compounds of general formula (I) ##STR1## with at least two hydrophilic and at least two hydrophobic groups based on diacarboxylic acid diamides. The amphiphilic compounds according to the invention are mostly surface-active and are suitable for use as emulsifiers, demulsifiers, detergents, dispergents and hydrotropic agents in industry and households, for example, in the treatment of metals, ore processing, surface finishing, washing, cleaning, cosmetics, medicine and food processing and preparation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to amphiphilic compounds with at least two hydrophilic and at least two hydrophobic groups based on dicarboxylic diesters.
2. Description of the Background
A wide variety of anionic, cationic, nonionic and zwitterionic compounds are known as amphiphilic substances. By far the most of these substances consist of a hydrophilic head group and at least one hydrophobic part.
With the amphiphilic substances there is a need, for ecological reasons, for example concerning the reduction in the cost of packaging and transport, to achieve an increasingly greater effect per mass of substance employed. Since optimization by mixing amphiphilic substances produces only very limited advances, novel amphiphilic substances with greater efficiency are required. It is therefore necessary in particular to find substances with lower critical micelle concentrations and/or lower surface and interfacial tensions in order to be able to reduce markedly the amounts of active substance used.
Initial approaches to a solution in this direction by doubling one part of the structure (hydrophilic head group, hydrophobic group) have already been disclosed. Thus, cationic surface-active compounds can be obtained by adding long-chain alkyl halides onto permethylated alkylenediamines [R. Zana, M. Benrraou, R. Rueff, Langmuir, 7 (1991) 1072: R. Zana, Y. Talmon, Nature, 362 (1993) 228; E. Alami, G. Beinert, P. Marie, R. Zana, Langmuir, 9 (1993) 1465].
Anionic surface-active compounds with at least two hydrophilic and at least two hydrophobic groups have to date been prepared only on the basis of diglycidyl ethers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,450, JP 01 304 033, JP 4 124 165). However, diglycidyl ethers are regarded as toxicologically objectionable and are rather costly. Furthermore, epichlorohydrin is used for their preparation, which leads to large amounts of residues so that these compounds are no longer in accord with the times from the ecotoxicological and economic viewpoints.

Amphiphilic compounds with at least two hydrophilic and at least two hydrophobic groups based on dicarboxylic acid diamides


A device for monitoring the temperature and pressure of a liquid coolant in a cooling system having a sealant which seals around a needle from a pressure or temperature probe and re-seals itself upon removal of the needle. The sealant is fitted within an axial bore within the monitoring device. The needles of the pressure and temperature probes puncture the sealant and are adapted to be in communication with the cooling system. The monitoring device further includes a pressure relief probe for rapid decrease of the cooling system pressure. The invention may be for testing a closed pressurized system using the pressure probe with a valve or other orifice for pressurizing the system.

This invention pertains to an apparatus for monitoring the internal pressure of a cooling system which uses liquid coolant to facilitate temperature reduction, such as automotive cooling systems, and for measuring the temperature of the liquid coolant. This invention also pertains to an apparatus for pressurizing systems and detecting leaks.
There are a variety of potential problems associated with cooling systems which use liquid coolant to facilitate temperature reduction. In order to diagnose these problems, it is useful to measure the temperature of the coolant and pressure of the cooling system during its cycle. It is also advantageous for the system to have the capability to pressurize the cooling system as needed. Also, because the cooling system is a closed system, these measurements should be taken while keeping the coolant isolated from the ambient environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,631 to Franks discloses a pressure/temperature indicating apparatus attached to a radiator cap with a sealing mechanism. This sealing mechanism includes a spring which bears against a metal washer, serving to seal the radiator with a rubber washer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,391 to Mansfield discloses a pressure and temperature indicator of an automotive cooling system. This system is adapted to fit over a radiator cap, and may pressurize the radiator cooling system by the use of a pump. Also, a valve stem can be used to pressurize the system with pressurized air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,620 to Ford discloses an electronic thermostat which monitors the temperature of the coolant in a radiator over time. A temperature sensor is inserted through a cap-like device adapted to fit over the opening of the radiator.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,776,170 to Thimblethorpe discloses a device for indicating the level and temperature of the liquid in radiators of automotive vehicles. The structure has a cap-like device which fits over the opening of a radiator, and includes a temperature sensor and a level sensor.
In these systems, it is important to properly and completely seal the coolant from the ambient atmosphere. Thus, the method of sealing the sensors which are inserted through the closure device is vital to the operation of the system. In cooling systems which are sealed and do not have an opening member for a cap, a need also exists to incorporate a modular unit for monitoring the temperature and pressure of the coolant, while maintaining seal integrity. Similarly, a need also exists to be able to conveniently pressurize and monitor the pressure of a pressurized system, while maintaining seal integrity.

Temperature and pressure sensor for cooling systems and other pressurized systems


Various methods for diagnosing and treating heart conditions are disclosed herein. According to one method, nitric oxide is delivered to a patient's lungs when the patient has one or more symptoms of a heart condition. The patient is diagnosed as suffering from a heart condition when a symptom of a heart condition subsides after nitric oxide delivery.

A patient presenting with chest pains, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating or lightheadedness is often encountered by an emergency response team and can be a frequent occurrence in a hospital emergency room. In order to treat the patient, one key question that needs to be answered quickly is whether or not the patient's symptoms are due to a myocardial infarction (i.e., heart attack) or other condition.
Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is one of two indications classified as part of the acute coronary syndromes (ACS), which includes both MI and unstable angina (UA). MI can occur when there is insufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscle (ischemia) caused either by a reduction in oxygen supply related to coronary artery occlusion, or an increase in oxygen demand related to an underlying pathology (such as severe anemia or tachycardia). There can be two forms of MI specified by the degree of ST-segment elevation observed in an electrocardiogram: ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI). NSTEMI generally occurs when preconditions develop and worsen slowly over time. A major cause of NSTEMI is the rupture of atherosclerotic plaque, resulting in clot formation and coronary artery occlusion. STEMI, in contrast, generally develops very rapidly as a result of clot formation induced by vascular injury facilitated by factors that include smoking, recreational drug use, hypertension and/or coronary artery fat accumulation. STEMI can be commonly associated with more severe oxygen deficiency, increased infarct size and more severe complications that carry an increased risk of death in the 30 days following the attack. However, compared to STEMI, NSTEMI carries an increased mortality in the year following the MI (Fauci et al., 2008, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 17th Edition. McGraw-Hill, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety).
While the major symptom indicating possible MI can be chest pain (angina), definitive medical diagnosis of MI is accomplished through detection and quantification of cardiac biomarkers in the blood, such as troponin; differentiation of STEMI from NSTEMI can require an electrocardiogram. Generally upon presentation of MI symptoms, the standard first line treatment includes inhaled oxygen and nitroglycerin (to increase vasodilation and oxygenation), beta-blockers (to normalize heart rate and rhythm), aspirin (to reduce coagulation) and morphine (to kill pain) (Braunwald et al. (2000) ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: executive summary and recommendations: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee on the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina). Circulation 102:1193-120, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety).
It can be important to distinguish the two forms of MI because the intermediate pharmacotherapeutic intervention for reperfusion in NSTEMI and STEMI are different. Since, NSTEMI is generally caused by clot formation resulting from plaque rupture, treatment includes anti-coagulant drugs (such as heparin or clopidogrel) to prevent further clot formation; STEMI, which is caused by coronary artery-occluding clot formation, can be treated with both anti-coagulants and clot-busting drugs (thrombolytics) such as tissue plasminogen activator. In contrast to STEMI, thrombolytics may be contraindicated as a treatment for reperfusion in NSTEMI (Wiviott et al. (2004) Unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: part I. initial evaluation and management, and hospital care. Am Fam Physician 70:525-532, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). For the longer-term invasive myocardial reperfusion, the strategy adopted for each case depends on the location of the occluded vessel(s), severity of vessel occlusion, the number of occluded vessels and possible comorbid conditions, and includes either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (i.e., coronary angioplasty with or without stent implantation) or surgical coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). These invasive interventions, while necessary with current medical practices, often cause reperfusion injury, which by some estimates increase myocardial infarct size by 50%.
It is of critical importance to minimize as much as possible the size of the infarcted region of the myocardium, which can be an important determinant of downstream complications and mortality. Serious long-term complications that increase the mortality associated with MI, particularly STEMI, can result from cardiac-remodeling-induced ventricular dysfunction, arrhythmias, heart failure and cardiogenic shock, etc (Fauci et al., 2008, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 17th Edition. McGraw-Hill, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). Thus, prompt treatment to minimize the infarcted region is of utmost importance and therapies to accomplish this goal constitute an major unmet need in high demand. In addition to treating MI, this could include the treatment of suspicious chest pain in which MI cannot be ruled out (Baldi and Ferrarini. (1995) Non-cardiac chest pain: a real clinical problem. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 7:1136-1140, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). An ideal therapeutic regimen would reduce the spread of the infarcted region both by increasing oxygenation and by reducing the injury associated with myocardial reperfusion, and would be implemented immediately upon diagnosis or suspicion of MI, or in cases where MI cannot be ruled out.
Early diagnosis and treatment of heart attacks and other serious complications of coronary atherosclerosis can improve the quality of life of the patient or even save the patient's life.

Methods for diagnosing and treating a heart condition in a patient


Air fuel ratios of exhaust gases of respective cylinders are estimated based on a detection value of an air fuel ratio sensor mounted in an exhaust-collector. Normal combustion and misfire are determined depending upon whether individual cylinder air fuel ratios of the respective cylinders are within a normal combustion range. Then, whether a fuel system causes misfire is determined based on a difference between an actual injection quantity of the misfire cylinder and an average value of actual injection quantities of all the cylinders. Whether an air system causes misfire is determined based on a difference between an estimated air quantity of the misfire cylinder and an average value of actual air quantities of all the cylinders.

When misfire is generated while an internal combustion engine is running, an engine rotating speed decreases momentarily. Misfire detection apparatuses detect variation in rotation every explosion stroke of respective cylinders to compare the variation in rotation with a predetermined misfire determination value to determine presence and absence of misfire, as described in JP-7-317586 A.
In some cases, however, a detected value of variation in rotation varies widely even at the time of normal combustion due to dispersion in combustion among cylinders, traveling on rough road, or the like. Alternatively, the detected value of variation in rotation varies widely due to fabrication tolerance in crank angle sensors, which detect an engine rotating speed. Furthermore, there is a situation, in which variation in rotation due to misfire decreases in a region of high rotation, so that these are responsible for degradation in accuracy for detection of misfire.
Also, with the misfire detection apparatus, a target air fuel ratio is corrected toward a rich side for that cylinder, in which misfire is detected, to suppress misfire. And failure in a fuel system or an ignition system is determined in the case where the misfire cylinder is not returned to normal combustion even when correction of a target air fuel ratio toward the rich side is successively repeated predetermined times.
With such construction, however, even when misfire is generated due to failure in an air system, there is caused a problem that failure in the fuel system or the ignition system is erroneously determined. A failure in the fuel system or the ignition system is not determined until correction of the target air fuel ratio toward the rich side is successively repeated predetermined times for the misfire cylinder. Thus, there is a disadvantage that unburned gas subjected to rich correction is discharged from the misfire cylinder until failure is determined and there is caused an increase in HC discharge.
Further, known documents, in which abnormality diagnosis techniques for internal combustion engines are described, include, for example, JP-7-34946 A, in which a technique for diagnosis of abnormality in a fuel system based on a fuel correction quantity by cylinder is described.
Since such abnormality diagnosis technique cannot detect abnormality in an air system, there is involved a problem that abnormality in the air system is erroneously determined to be abnormality in a fuel system. For example, in the case where an intake air quantity increases extraordinarily due to some reason when the fuel system is normal, a fuel increase-correction amount increases extraordinarily so as to maintain a target air fuel ratio, so that there is caused a problem that abnormality in the fuel system is erroneously determined. Besides, it is not possible to detect misfire from a fuel correction quantity by cylinder.
As described above, the prior art involves a problem that accuracy in detection of misfire is low, there is the possibility that the cause for misfire is erroneously determined, and the like.

Misfire detector for internal combustion engines


A backlight driver and a method of driving the same are disclosed, which remove an unstable duty ratio by filtering an input PWM signal so as to prevent backlight flicker although the input PWM signal becomes unstable. The backlight driver includes a duty ratio detector for detecting a duty ratio of an input pulse width modulation (PWM) signal; a duty ratio filter for detecting a difference between a current duty ratio received from the duty ratio detector and a previous duty ratio, determining whether the detected duty ratio difference satisfies a preset reference condition, selecting one of the current duty ratio and the previous duty ratio, and outputting the selected duty ratio; and a PWM generator for generating an output PWM signal obtained when a selected duty ratio from the duty ratio filter is reflected in an input synchronization signal, and outputting the output PWM signal to a backlight unit.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight driver of a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a backlight driver of a liquid crystal display device and a method for driving the same so as to prevent backlight flicker by properly filtering an input pulse width modulation (PWM) signal.
Discussion of the Related Art
Representative examples of a flat panel display apparatus for displaying an image using digital data include a liquid crystal display (LCD) device using liquid crystal, a plasma display panel (PDP) using discharge of inert gas, a organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device using an OLED, and the like. Among these, the LCD device has been widely used in various application fields such as in a television (TV), a monitor, a laptop computer, and a portable phone.
An LCD device displays an image through a pixel matrix using the electrical and optical properties of liquid crystals having anisotropic properties with respect to refractive index, dielectric constant, and the like. Each pixel of the LCD device implements a gray level by adjusting optical transmittance with respect to a polarization plate using variation in liquid crystal orientation direction according to a data signal. The LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image through the pixel matrix, a drive circuit for driving the liquid crystal panel, a backlight unit for irradiating light to the liquid crystal panel, and a backlight driver for driving the backlight unit.
The backlight driver for drive of the backlight unit controls the brightness of the backlight unit by adjusting on/off time of the backlight unit according to a duty ratio of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal input from a TV set or a timing controller.
In this case, the backlight driver detects the duty ratio of the input PWM signal and reflects the detected duty ratio to a vertical synchronization signal input from a timing controller to generate and use an output PWM signal for control of the backlight unit in order to drive the backlight unit according to the liquid crystal panel.
However, since there occurs a specific period in which a duty ratio becomes unstable when a frequency of an input PWM signal is changed, the duty ratio of the output PWM signal is changed, resulting in backlight flicker.
For example, if a frequency of the input PWM signal having the duty ratio of 10% is changed from 60 Hz to 50 Hz as exemplarily shown in FIG. 1, there may occur a specific period having an unstable duty ratio of 8.35% during the frequency change process. In this case, the unstable duty ratio is reflected in the output PWM signal without change so as to change backlight luminance, resulting in the occurrence of image quality deterioration such as flicker on the screen.

Backlight driver of liquid crystal display device and method for driving the same to maintain stability of the duty ratio of the PWM signal driving the backlight


An apparatus includes a plurality of transceivers positioned to transmit and/or receive signals that pass through at least a portion of a structure of interest, wherein each of the transceivers receives a signal from at least one of the other transceivers, and a processor using the strength of the received signals, the locations of the transceivers, prior knowledge of building practices, and exterior characteristics of the structure to produce a map of the structure of interest and/or to detect movement of persons in the structure of interest. A method of producing a map of the structure of interest and/or detecting the movement of persons in the structure of interest is also provided.

Military personnel, law enforcement personnel, and first responders encounter a variety of dangerous situations on a regular basis. One specific dangerous situation involves the need to enter a building or structure, without knowing any details about the interior. The safety of the responders and the probability of success of the mission is improved if information about the interior space and its contents is known before entry.
Previous attempts to provide this capability are relatively imprecise. One example is the RadarScope, which is a 2.4 GHz handheld radar device that can detect movement of a person in the next room through up to 12 inches of concrete, but does not provide information about where in the room the person is.
It is especially desirable to have a method and apparatus for mapping the interior of a building and detecting the movement of its occupants that can be economically implemented so that it may be adopted by as many first responders as possible.


A device for and a method of dynamically refreshing presentation of icons for objects processed on an electronic device are provided. The method comprises: establishing a triggering event to initiate refreshment of a layout of the icons displayed on a display in the device; upon detection of the triggering event, creating a ranking of the objects processed by the device utilizing activity logs providing their recent levels of activity; identifying a most frequently processed object from the ranking; and automatically refreshing the layout of icons to highlight an icon associated with the most frequently processed object. The device incorporates modules to perform the method.

The world has grown accustomed to mobile telephonic devices (MTD) such as cell phones and phone-based Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). These devices function in a wireless network where one or more such devices communicate using voice or data to each other or to external services. Services can include making external phone calls to land-line voice networks, making phone calls to other cell phones, leaving or retrieving voice mail message or exchanging data messages, such as e-mails, text messages, pages and others.
As such devices become more predominant in usage, it is common for there to be a vast number of messages received by the device. For example, if a device is configured to receive a copy of all email messages from a user's main email account, then the device can be a central repository for all email messages, short message service (SMS) messages, instant messaging (IM) messages, voice mail messages and other communications. Prior art graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on such devices provide limited customization of displayed icons and text for the applications, e.g. the size of the icons can be changed. While icons can be manually moved to specific location in the display, the basic layout and appearance of the icons are static until further changes are made by the user to the GUI. There is no ability to dynamically or automatically control the layout or appearance of the icons.
There is a need to address deficiencies in the prior art.

System and method for organizing application indicators on an electronic device


This invention relates to a disposable sanitary napkin having longitudinal edges and transverse ends, having at least one compression line extending along and close to the longitudinal edges, such that the pressure of the user's thighs on the product will bring about a protuberance of absorbent material toward the perineal area when worn. The products of this invention thus bring the absorbent material closer to the point of discharge of menstrual fluid, which is the critical cause of leakage from the longitudinal edges of sanitary napkins.

In the scope of the invention, one considers hygienic pads those absorbing devices intended to be used outside the feminine body, usually during her menstrual periods, to receive and retain menstrual and other vaginal discharges.
Disposable sanitary pads are designed to be abandoned after they have collected the fluids from the feminine body, without being used once again.
Sanitary pads are items of general consumption in modern society and, for explanatory purposes, they can be divided into three categories, namely:
tampons PA1 external pads PA1 hybrid pads, which have characteristics of the other two types.
Tampons are pads that have the capacity of intercepting menstrual discharge within the vaginal duct with little risk of soiling the user's clothes. They are considered superior protection means. In practice failures can occur in their functioning as regards their capacity of effectively having radial expansion in function of the fluid that causes expansion of the pad, thus sealing and creating occlusion within the vaginal duct. Besides, there are people who, for physical or psychological reasons, are incapable of using tampons as effective feminine protection means. Finally, they can present insertion or removal problems; sometimes they are sticky and difficult to handle, and in certain health cases there is some medical restriction.
The so-called hybrid Pads are those that incorporate characteristics of tampons and external sanitary pads. Sometimes they are called wads or labial pads or vestibule-type Pads, in which case a Partial or total insertion into the vulvar vestibule occurs.
In many of the cases described in the literature, one does not take into account the anatomical cooperation with the user's body to the effect that the sensitive tissues are often distended by the obstructive geometry of certain structural elements, that is to say, the so-called labial pads find their functioning in friction contact with very sensitive urogenital parts such as the vaginal orifice, the urethral orifice and/or the clitoris. In other cases, it is stated that a pad should be firmly fastened to the user's intimate clothes with a portion of the pad located inside the vestibule, and under most circumstances this creates a friction effect inside that sensitive part.
Thus, according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,092,342 and 3,905,372, an element inside the vaginal opening is physically connected to an external part, so that the relative movement between the user's body and the underlying structure of the Pad causes discomfort, irritation and even pain. In a similar way, U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,873 describes flaps that are supported against the walls of the labial space, in order to increase the retaining forces of the pad. There are other vestibule-type Pads which are designed to eliminate this irritation factor by relative movement involving body/product/user's clothes, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,245; however, the disclosed Product is extremely sophisticated and is expensive to manufacture.
External sanitary pads have been developed for use outside the body near the vulvar region, to collect the menstrual fluid, other vaginal discharges and possibly urine of incontinent women.
In their simplest and more traditional form, such Pads comprise an absorbent core placed between a fluid-permeable facing sheet (sometimes referred to as a "top sheet") and a fluid-impermeable backing sheet.
The absorbent core, sometimes referred to herein as the "absorbing element", is adapted to receive and absorb the menstrual discharge and other vaginal discharges. The absorbent core may comprise comminuted wood pulp fibers, Polymer foams, vegetable pulp, natural or synthetic fibers or any other material which can absorb menstrual fluids or the like body discharges. Wood pulp fibers are commonly used as the major constituent of the absorbent core of external sanitary pads.
The fluid-permeable facing sheet contacts the wearer's body when the sanitary pad is in use and permits the menstrual or other vaginal discharge to pass therethrough so as to be absorbed by the underlying absorbent core. This facing sheet usually comprises a fluid-permeable nonwoven fabric or a perforated plastic film. Although the facing sheet may be hydrophilic in nature, it is preferred that it be hydrophobic in nature. In the latter case, the menstrual or other discharge Passes through the fluid-permeable facing sheet but the sheet, owing to its hydrophobic nature, tends to remain dry to the touch, thus making the product more comfortable in use. Perforated Plastic films are usually inherently hydrophobic. Nonwoven fabrics, if they are not made of hydrophobic fibers, can be rendered hydrophobic by treatment with, e.g. a repellent finish such as that provided by fluorochemicals, wax emulsions or the like.
The purpose of the fluid-impermeable backing sheet, as its name suggests, is to prevent the fluid collected by the absorbent core from leaking from the sanitary pad and staining the clothing of the user. The backing sheet usually comprises a thin film of plastic such as polyethylene, although in some cases it might also comprise other materials, e.g. a nonwoven fabric, which has been suitably treated so as to be liquid impermeable. If desired, the backing sheet may be moisture vapor permeable, that is, it may allow moisture vapor to pass therethrough while at the same time preventing the passage of liquids.
Leakage, and the most most common is usually leakage of menstrual blood at the sides, even in very small amounts, is a great discomfort and embarrassment for the user. For those skilled in the art, the goal aimed at in developing such products is maximization of the flow of liquid in direction Z (taking into account that, in a graph for three-dimensional representation, axes X and Y represent the horizontal plane, and axis Z is perpendicular to them), since, in addition to the technical reasons that fully justify this objective, there are psychological reasons which show that a rapid Z-directional flow minimizes the stain effect on the pad and, associated with conditions of relatively dry top sheet, it has to do with the feeling of safety, thus reducing the possibility of embarrassment due to the failure of the pad, i.e. leakage.
The external pad of the traditional type is merely an elongated rectangular product, made without any worry about the user's anatomy. Thus, when in use, such a product may undergo deformation that detracts from its performance considerably and favors frequent leakage.
Starting therefrom the improvements have followed one another until the present prior art and have resulted, either directly or indirectly, in lesser possibility of leakage:
by forming the absorbing sheets more anatomical than a rectangle, for instance in the form of an hourglass;
by causing the pad as a whole to take on the form of a shell in order to fit between the user's legs in a better manner and be closer to her perineal area;
by using top sheets that optimize the passage of liquid towards the absorbing element and restrict the return thereof in the opposite direction;
by creating more elaborate structures, for instance, an absorbing element which is thicker in its central area to bring about more proximity between the point of discharge and the pad, side flaps that form barriers for leakage, overlapped structures such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,130, and others;
by creating more absorbency by utilizing either absorbing fibers or superabsorbing polymers, by varying the density inside and along the traditional absorbing sheet or with layers of varied materials, and others.
From this list of improvements it can be seen that the optimization of the product with increasing complexity and sophistication tends to make the product more and more expensive with respect to the benefit obtained, which consequently raises the price for the final consumer.
An examination of the reasons for the existence of leakage in external sanitary pads indicates that it is necessary to minimize the course of the vaginal discharge to the Point at which it meets the Product that will collect and retain such liquids. This is justified by the fact that any course allows the fluid to flow over the skin adjacent the place of discharge, to a greater or lesser extent, obviously depending, for instance, upon the viscosity and the surface tension of such a liquid. In this way, in some cases it can even fall out of the reach of the absorbing sheet and leak, thus causing discomfort, embarrassment and the consequent feeling of unsafety for the user. The conclusion is that a structure with an excellent intrinsic performance as regards absorption and leakage retention can function only from the moment at which the contact of the liquid with such a structure occurs, not before.


A curable composition including: (a) 100 parts by mass of a siloxane oligomer containing at least one radically polymerizable double bond, (b) 0.001 to 1 part by mass of a fluorine-containing highly branched polymer, (c) 0.01 to 40 parts by mass of a surface modifier containing a perfluoropolyether compound, and (d) 0.1 to 25 parts by mass of a polymerization initiator generating a radical upon active energy ray irradiation, wherein the fluorine-containing highly branched polymer (b) is a fluorine-containing highly branched polymer obtained by polymerization of a monomer A containing two or more radically polymerizable double bonds per molecule and a monomer B containing a fluoroalkyl group and at least one radically polymerizable double bond per molecule in the presence of a polymerization initiator C in an amount of 5 to 200 mol % with respect to the number of moles of the monomer A.

In recent years, polymer (macro-molecule) materials have been increasingly utilized in a variety of fields. Accordingly, characteristics of their surfaces and interfaces have become important as well as their polymer characteristics as a matrix in each field. For example, it has been expected that using a fluorine-based compound having low surface energy as a surface modifying agent improves characteristics related to surface and interface control such as water repellency and oil repellency, antifoulingness, nonadhesiveness, peeling properties, mold releasability, slidability, wear resistance, anti-reflection characteristics, and chemical resistance, and various technologies have been developed.
Various displays such as LCDs (liquid crystal displays), PDPs (plasma displays), and touch panels have, on their surfaces, various plastic films that contain an anti-scratch hard coating layer. The hard coating layer is easily tainted with fingerprints and smudges adhering thereto, and the adhering fingerprints and smudges cannot be easily removed. This makes images on the display appear seriously blurred and adversely affects appearance of the display. In particular, a touch panel comes into direct contact with fingers on its surface and is therefore strongly desired to have properties, in particular, to prevent fingerprints from easily adhering to the surface and to easily remove the adhering fingerprints.
Regarding films that have such a hard coating layer, for the purpose of making the surface of the hard coating layer flat (level or smooth) and applying anti-smudge properties to the surface, a technique has been developed in which a hard coating layer is formed by adding a silicon compound and a fluorine compound to a hard coating layer-forming coating solution that contains an active energy ray-curable composition. These compounds have anti-fingerprint properties such as protection against fingerprint adhesion and fingerprint wiping-off properties as well as functions to improve smoothness and anti-smudge properties against permanent marker ink or the like.
For example, a hard coating layer-forming composition is described that includes a fluorine-containing highly branched polymer and a perfluoropolyether compound or a silicone compound so as to obtain excellent surface properties such as anti-fingerprint properties and excellent resistance to solvent wiping-off properties (Patent Document 1).
By the way, the surface of a display with a capacitive touch panel function, which is typified by the surface of a smartphone, is generally glass from functionality and design standpoints. The glass surface has anti-scratch properties, anti-fingerprint properties, and anti-smudge properties. To the glass surface, however, the active energy ray-curable composition as described above does not have adhesion because the active energy ray-curable composition shrinks to a great extent on curing and does not form a chemical bond with the glass surface. Because of this, the glass surface is provided with a film that includes a hard coating layer having anti-fingerprint properties and anti-smudge properties so as to apply these functions to the glass surface.
As a method for improving adhesion of a hard coating layer that includes an active energy ray-curable composition to the glass surface, a technique is described in which a reaction product of a hydroxy group-containing multifunctional acrylate and an alkoxysilane compound is used as a component to promote adhesion of a multifunctional acrylate to the glass (Patent Document 2).

Curable composition including fluorine-containing highly branched polymer and siloxane oligomer


A sub-piston 19 is supported movably in the upward and downward direction on an upper end of a main piston 4 to define an air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 between the pistons 4 and 19. The air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 communicates with a peripheral edge of a combustion chamber 12. The sub-piston 19 is connected to a cam member 23 which is supported on a crankshaft 7 through a subsidiary connecting rod 21. The volume of the air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 is increased and decreased in operative association with the rotation of the crankshaft 7. The air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 has an increased volume in a phase from a compression stroke to a point immediately after ignition, and the generation of a knocking is prevented by cooling an air-fuel mixture filled in such air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20. The volume of the air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 is decreased from the instant immediately after ignition, thereby causing the air-fuel mixture in the air-fuel mixture cooling chamber 20 to be pushed into the combustion chamber 12 and burned therein. Thus, even if the compression ratio is increased and the ignition timing is advanced to provide an enhancement in thermal efficiency, it can be ensured that a knocking is difficult to occur.

A broken line in FIG. 15 indicates a theoretical thermal efficiency in an Otto-cycle engine, and it is known that the thermal efficiency is a function of only a compression ratio and is increased with an increase in the compression ratio. However, if the compression ratio is increased, a knocking is liable to be generated. For this reason, the actual circumstances are that the engine is operated with a thermal efficiency lower than the theoretical thermal efficiency by retarding the ignition timing to lower the maximum pressure and temperature. The knocking is liable to be generated in a lower-speed rotational range and hence, the thermal efficiency is significantly reduced in the lower-speed rotational range as illustrated in FIG. 15. This is one of factors which impede the development of the engine in which a sufficient torque is produced at a lower speed.
The knocking in the lower-speed rotational range means a phenomenon in which an unburned air-fuel mixture is adiabatically compressed into a higher temperature and a higher pressure by the expansion of a combustion gas in an already burned area with progression of a surface of flame after ignition, and such unburned air-fuel mixture is self-fired before arrival of a normal surface of flame. The lower the number of rotations, the lower the burning speed, and the longer the time expired up to the arrival of the normal surface of flame and hence, the knocking is liable to occur. In this case, if the knocking is avoided by retarding the ignition timing to lower the maximum pressure and temperature, as described above, a reduction in thermal efficiency is brought about.
Therefore, there is a proposed technique for inhibiting the knocking without reducing the thermal efficiency, wherein the burning speed is increased so that a normal combustion is completed in a time as short as possible. In this case, for example, a squish area is provided to supply an intense flow to the air-fuel mixture and to supply a swirl or a tumble flow to intake air. There is also a proposed technique in which in order to reduce the burning distance to complete the normal burning in a short time, a spark plug is disposed in a central portion of a combustion chamber, and the combustion chamber is formed into a shape near a spherical shape.
However, if the speed of burning of the air-fuel mixture is increased in order to inhibit the knocking, the following problem is encountered: A combustion gas having a higher temperature is brought into contact with a wall surface of the combustion chamber and an upper surface of a piston at a higher speed and hence, the heat loss is increased due to an increase in heat transfer rate to reduce the thermal efficiency as a result. For this reason, an enhancement in thermal efficiency corresponding to an increment in compression ratio cannot be obtained.


An optical device includes a refractive prism including a first surface facing an object, a second surface facing a first lens, and a third surface configured to reflect incident light to change a path of the incident light, one of the first surface, the second surface, or both the first and the second surface includes a pattern such that the refractive prism is a diffractive optical element; and a plurality of lenses including the first lens.

The present inventive concept relates to an optical device, a camera module including the optical device, and/or an apparatus including the camera module.
Recently, high-performance camera modules may be mounted on various apparatuses such as smartphones, and the like. In addition, such apparatuses may have a relatively thin thickness. Therefore, there may be a desire for a technology that allows a high-performance camera module to be mounted in an apparatus having a relatively thin thickness.

Optical device, camera module including the optical device, and apparatus including the camera module


This invention relates to a method of dynamically changing tables used for the generation of user specific index terms in a document interchange system. The tables supply such things as validation rules, synonym provisions, and standardization information and must be easily changed to reflect the changing needs of the user. This invention provides the INSTALL, FETCH, and UNINSTALL commands to meet this need. The INSTALL command permits quick installation to tables while the UNINSTALL command provides for their removal. Users are permitted to copy and view the tables through use of the FETCH command. The commands provide a method of altering tables to meet the vary needs of the user.

Electronic office systems frequently provide for the sharing of information. One technique for meeting this need is through the use of data repositories called electronic libraries. These electronic or shared libraries are capable of being accessed not only by users of a common network, but also other users of networks of interconnected pieces of equipment and programs. A user (end user) may be any person, device, program, or computer system that utilizes the systems for data processing and information exchange. With the increase in the number of users able to retrieve and store information in these libraries, the problem of retrieving information once it has been stored has increased. Enterprises storing and retrieving information in these shared libraries require quick and rapid access. An enterprise may be any economic organization. An enterprise may be a conglomerate, a company, a set of departments within a company, or a single department within a company. One prior art method for handling the exchange of information between an enterprise and a shared library is the Document Interchange Architecture (DIA).
DIA is a program-to-program communication architecture which defines the protocols and data structures, which when followed or used by programmers, enables programs to interchange information such as documents and messages in a consistent and predictable manner. DIA is independent of the type of information that is stored in a shared library and provides a defined set of parameters that describes the contents of information being transmitted such as the name under which the information is filed, the authors, the subject of the information, the date the information was filed, and keywords. These DIA architected descriptors enable a document to be searched in the library by an enterprise or other end user.
However, the current definition of DIA does not allow an enterprise or end user to add unique descriptors to information stored in the shared library beyond DIA architected descriptors. As a result, an enterprise such as a bank is limited to searching the shared library using such DIA architected descriptors as author, subject matter, or date filed. The enterprise cannot issue searches using search terms with the semantics of "Bank Account ID" or "Loan Identifier". In the same way, a manufacturing enterprise cannot access the library using search terms with the semantics of "Parts" or "Inventory".
Consequently, what is needed is a method to allow an enterprise to define the syntax and semantics of search terms that are specific to that enterprise.

Table manipulations for enterprise specific search terms

International Business Machines Corporation


Help implementation feature for video games. A two-tiered approach for offering guidance and assistance to the user of a computer software program. Event-generated help is activated when the user first initiates an event within the video game software program. Context-sensitive help is always available to the user but remains inactive until help is requested by the user. The event-generated help and context-sensitive help act in tandem to fully support the user at all times during game play. The invention can be implemented via a stand-alone computing system or such a system interconnected with other platforms or data stores by a network, such as a corporate intranet, a local area network, or the Internet.

Engaging in a video game experience that is new to the user can be frustrating due to a lack of understanding of how the game operates and how to navigate therein. When a user decides to play a video game, the user is most often looking for a fun and enjoyable experience. If the user is faced with a video game software application that is difficult to learn and use, the user will not likely return to that game the next time he or she wishes to play.
Most video game software programs, like nearly all software programs, include a "help" feature. With traditional help features, the user must go to a menu and choose from a series of so-called drop down box choices (wherein each drop down box consists of a preset list of choices presented to the user) until he or she finally reaches the topic area in which the question lies, if the topic area is included in the help function at all. Further, this type of help must be initiated by the user, and the user must be able to recognize the appropriate terminology to find the desired help topic.
Context-sensitive help was later created to help users at the time they required the help during use of the software. This type of help function is form based and not task based. This means that the user must access the desired part of the software application via a menu and then choose a portion of the form they need help with. This help function therefore also presupposes user knowledge of the appropriate terminology.
When interne video gaming became popular, many games presented learning scenarios in which the user could play in a protected environment to learn how the game operated, and could then play the real game using what they had learned in the protected environment. With this kind of help function, the protected environment is separate from the real game environment, so that a user embedded in a real game may not have access to a help feature. Online gaming further introduced a chat feature so that users could receive live help from other users when they needed it. While this type of help feature is effective, it is also too resource intensive to be used for many software applications, such as those utilized in a corporate environment.
All of the above takes on even greater importance when taken in the context of the use of video games to educate or train people. Such training practices are gaining traction as schools and businesses begin to appreciate the power of using a video game environment to engage learners and train them to work their way through a decision-filled process. However, users undergoing training are even more in need of effective help functions than those who play for pleasure, as the users undergoing training are probably novices at using the video game, and their training time may be either paid work time or may be part of an educational requirement. Thus, it is imperative that such users be able to navigate through a video game software program efficiently on their own.

Full time on-screen assistance for video games and other computer software


Disclosed is an optical film that comprises certain radiation cured (meth)acrylate binders and, desirably, irregular semicrystalline asymmetric particles.

LCDs and CRTs are widely employed in a variety of typical display devices such as television sets, computer terminals and the like. A key problem is improving the quality of the display devices in keeping with the trend for increased image resolution. With the advent of multimedia including, in particular, a variety of portable terminals of communication systems represented by mobile telephones and the like, innovative display systems are expected to play a very important role in the interface between man and machine. Among the concerns is improved abrasion resistance for such displays. U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,073 suggests an adhesively applied laminate of a clear resin overcoated with a polyol acrylate resin that is UV cured. U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,041 suggests a three layer hard coating with a middle buffer layer overcoated with an antireflection coating. U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,060 suggest including an inorganic filler in a hardcoat film.
LCDs play a big role in this market of portable terminals since they are light in weight and can be made compact along with their versatility for many types of displays. Since these portable terminals are frequently used outdoors, it is important to ensure good visibility of their images even in bright sunlight by suppressing glare or specular reflection as completely as possible. In order to ensure this, an antiglare film is preferably provided on the surface of the display for diffusing external light and suppressing specular reflection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,013 discloses an antiglare film formed by coating a resin, containing fillers such as agglomerated silicon dioxide, onto the surface of a transparent substrate film. Another method of achieving the same is by texturing or roughening the surface of the substrate. For example, the surface of a substrate can be directly roughened by sandblasting, or embossing or the like, or by employing a method in which a porous film is formed on the surface of the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,940, describes a glare-proof layer comprising a resin with coarse and fine particles and a refractive index of 1.4-1.6. The fine particles are hydrophilic and have moisture contents of greater than 0.5 percent. U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,176 describes an antiglare film comprising a resin containing two types of light-transparent fine particles to control the index of refraction of the layer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,741 describes an antiglare material comprising a roughened surface layer derived from an ultraviolet curable resin containing an epoxy compound and a photo cationic polymerization initiator and two different populations of resin beads. U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,871 describes an antiglare layer comprising two resin coated layers wherein the, top layer contains particles smaller in size than those in the bottom layer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,865 relates to a non glare film onto which a low refractive index film is laminated resulting in suppressed degradation of contrast and whitening.
More recently, displays such as those with touch screens have gained prominence. Hence there has been an increasing demand for development of display screens that have good abrasion resistance and resistance to handling defects in general while providing antiglare properties.
While the prior art describes the use of resin beads and particles in antiglare coatings there is no teaching directed towards the morphology of the particles. Whereas spherical symmetric polymer particles can provide the desired antiglare properties, their highly curved surfaces can potentially disadvantage the system. When abraded, such spherical particles have a tendency to come off from the coating due to poor adhesion at the particle/binder interface. This leads to dusting and microscopic pitting of the surface resulting in increased transmission haze and reduced image contrast and sharpness. Additionally, when antiglare coatings and hard coats are coated on flexible substrates such as cellulose triacetate, adhesion to the substrate becomes increasingly important in light of the fact that such flexible substrates are often handled in wound roll form.
It is well known in the industry to use aggregated silica particles in coatings to provide antiglare properties. While these particles provide controlled haze and gloss, they can contribute to cinch abrasion in such wound rolls of flexible substrates.
Further, it is well known in the industry to use radiation curable monomers and oligomers for an abrasion resistant coating. Most of these are coated from organic solvents. While the prior art goes on to list various solvents that provide good adhesion of the coating to the base material there is no mention of the adverse effects produced by some of the listed solvents in the abrasion resistant properties of the final coating. When solvents are used that can penetrate the base support material and release additives present therein such as plasticizers, into the coating, the modulus of the coating is compromised resulting in less than excellent abrasion resistance and pencil hardness. Therefore, selection of solvent from which to apply the hard coat onto the substrate of choice is very critical.
In spite of the teachings in the arena of antiglare abrasion resistant screens, there exists a continuing need for developing a robust display screen for the reasons discussed above with either antiglare characteristics which prevent specular reflection of external light from sources such as the sun, fluorescent lamps and the like on them or excellent abrasion resistance or both since the antiglare film is coated on the outermost surface of the polarizer in the LCD.


A laser telemeter is driven on two mutually orthogonal axes by stepper motor assemblies to acquire targets mounted at predetermined points on a vehicle. The distances to the targets and the angular orientations are obtained. A computer equipped with a microprocessor controls the movement of the stepper motors by storing in memory the number of steps made during rotation about each axis, and calculates, from the distance between the telemeter and each point, and from the angles of rotation of the beam between the various points measured, the distance between at least two points. These are automatically compared with known standard distances to obtain discrepancies which indicate the deformation of the vehicle. The targets can be disks with back-reflective material thereon as a peripheral ring and a central dot.

The present invention relates to a device for checking the position of various points of a vehicle, the term vehicle being taken in a broad sense and covering both automotive vehicles and other types of vehicles such as boats, motorcycles, aircraft or parts thereof.
In order to ensure the safety of road users, it would be advantageous to make systematic tests of the vehicles, by periodically inspecting the symmetry of the vehicle with respect to its longitudinal axis as well as the proper position of a certain number of characteristic points.
It is nowadays only after a vehicle has been in a serious accident that an exact check thereof is made, by "putting it through on the surface plate."
When an automotive vehicle has been in an accident, it is desirable to make a controlled alignment of the deformed parts, so that they will be brought back to their original positions. To this effect, one conventionally uses a surface plate comprising a rectangular chassis of metal on which the vehicle is mounted by means of four jaws which clamp the underbody. The longitudinal, lateral and vertical dimensions of the four jaws is a function of the type of vehicle to be repaired. After the vehicle has been correctly positioned and fixed on the surface plate, a measuring frame with longitudinal graduations is positioned on the surface plate and under the vehicle. After the frame has been positioned relative to the vehicle with respect to three adjustment points serving as references, taken in an undeformed part of the vehicle, the chassis is blocked on the surface plate. On the measuring frame, graduated rulers are intended to be fixed transversely, on which can slide vertically adjustable cursors carrying measuring fingers or posts ("towers") whose height position is marked by a graduated index.
For each type of vehicle the repairman has available the three dimensions of a certain number of characteristic points, as well as accessory ones intended for measuring each point. The various values are read, respectively, on the longitudinal rulers, on the transverse rulers, and on the posts.
This procedure is not entirely satisfactory, for a number of reasons. First of all, it necessitates purely manual measuring, sometimes done in zones difficult to reach, which may cause errors. Also, in view of the deformations of the vehicle and the presence of the means for securing, aligning and checking it, it is not possible to get to all points of the body and of the chassis. Then, it is necessary to calculate, from the reference coordinates, the coordinates of the points identified on the technical data sheet, which is lengthy and tedious and may be another source of error. Also, the operator must compare the values of the measurement performed to the values of the measured point appearing on the reference sheet.

Device for checking the position of various points of a vehicle


The invention relates to a shaft of a tool or the like with an adjustable length, the shaft comprising a first shaft section (2) and a second shaft section (10) which are attached to each other by adjusting means and move telescopically with respect to each other when the shaft length is adjusted. In that case, the adjusting means for adjusting the shaft length comprise a sleeve (4) provided in the second shaft section (10) and an at least partly toothed spindle (6) provided in the first shaft section (2), the first end of the spindle being taken through the sleeve (4). The sleeve (4) and the spindle (6) attach the first (2) and the second (10) shaft section adjustably to each other so that the sleeve (4) and the spindle (6) can be turned with respect to each other into a position preventing the adjustment of the shaft length and into a position allowing the adjustment of the shaft length where the spindle (6) can move in the sleeve (4) in the longitudinal direction.

The invention relates to a shaft of a tool or the like according to the preamble of claim 1.
Tools provided with shafts are used in various spheres of life from work to hobbies. What is relevant to the function and use of equipment provided with long shafts is the length of their shafts. Different applications and users require different shaft lengths, and thus it is often advantageous to provide a tool with an adjustable shaft, which allows each user to adjust the shaft length to suit him/her and the application. The use of adjustable shafts in tools provided with long shafts is a prior art solution. Adjustable shafts are used, for example, in shovels, mops and crutches. Furthermore, sticks and poles with long shafts are used in various sports, such as floorball sticks, ski poles and Nordic walking poles which have an adjustable length. Adjustability of the shaft length allows the length of equipment to be adjusted according to each user and application, which facilitates carrying out of the task at hand. Traditionally, problems associated with the shaft length have been solved by interchangeable handles of different lengths or by mechanisms enabling the adjustment of the shaft length.
When the shaft length is adjusted by means of adjusting mechanisms, the sections of the shaft consisting of two separate sections move inside each other so that the tool shaft can be shortened by pushing one section of the shaft inside the other and lengthened by pulling the sections within each other apart in opposite directions. The shaft length can be adjusted and the shaft locked at the desired length by an adjusting mechanism which is provided in the shaft and by which the shaft sections can be locked into the desired position and released for the adjustment of the shaft length. An example of a mechanism for adjusting the length of a tool shaft is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,411,195. The length of the shovel shaft described in this publication can be adjusted by a movable upper shaft. The upper shaft is partly provided inside a hollow tubular lower shaft, and it can be tightened to the desired position by a clamping band. An example of another adjusting mechanism based on friction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,458. U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,000 describes an adjusting mechanism based on a spring pin arrangement where the outer shaft section is provided with appropriately spaced holes and the user arranges the spring pin provided in the inner shaft section in the desired hole when adjusting the length of the tool shaft.
A problem associated with the solutions described above is that adjusting mechanisms based on friction cannot usually hold the tool shaft in place sufficiently tightly during use or they loosen during use. Furthermore, such tools are often stored outside, and therefore the metal parts of the spring pin arrangement may rust and become useless.


A fishing rod holder for casting and spinning reels including a holster portion for receiving a rod and a flexible clamp rotatably mounted in a recess on one end of the holster for retaining a reel within the holster. The flexible clamp is discontinuous with an opening less than the diameter of the circumferential slot whereby the opening must be widened by flexing the clamp when assembling the clamp in the recess. The holster includes support flanges extending therefrom and straddling the recess for supporting the clamp in the recess and for providing stops to the rotation of the clamp when locking a rod in the holster or when releasing the rod from the holster.

This invention relates generally to fishing equipment, and more particularly the invention relates to a holder for a rod and either a spinning or a casting reel.
Disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,654 is a fishing rod holder for casting and spinning reels in which a holster for supporting the rod and reel has a rigid clamp or locking ring for locking the rod and reel in the holster. The rigid clamp is rotatably positioned in a recess in the holster for locking and releasing the rod and reel. The clamp is semi-circular in cross section which allows the rigid body to be positioned on the holster in the recess. A screw engaging the holster and riding in a slot in the clamp maintains the clamp on the holster.
The present invention is an improvement to the fishing rod holder described in my patent.

Fishing rod holder having a flexible clamp for casting and spinning reels


An appliance is provided for installation within the mouth of an individual to prevent obstruction of the natural airway of the individual and to enhance natural ventilation during sleep. The appliance is hollow and is custom-molded to the oral cavity for biasing tissues surrounding the user's natural airway to keep the airway open. An external positive air supply is also provided which connects to a tube extending from the appliance and forces air through the hollow appliance to a rear opening of the appliance in the user's retroglossal area. A sensor provides control information to the positive air supply by sensing relative pressure in the user's oral cavity. The natural breathing cycle is thus enhanced but not controlled by the appliance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to appliances for preventing airway occlusion during sleep in individuals who suffer from sleep apnea or snoring, or both. More particularly it relates to an appliance that is inserted into a user's oral cavity for providing an air pathway through the oral cavity.
Airway occlusion during sleep may cause cessation of breathing (apnea) and lead to undesirable physiologic changes of hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Persons suffering from sleep apnea are at risk for systemic and pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias leading to sudden cardiac death, and accidents due to hypersomnolence.
Airway occlusion may be caused by decline in upper airway dilator muscle tone, especially the genioglossus muscle. Redundant pharyngeal tissue and edema may be contributing factors. Sleeping on the back may exacerbate airway occlusion due to the added effect of gravity on the tongue. Sleep apnea is most pronounced during the inspiratory phase of breathing (inhalation). In patients suffering from sleep apnea or snoring, or both, the retroglossal area is usually the most obstructed part of the airway.
2. Related Art
Various devices have been developed to facilitate breathing for those suffering from airway occlusion. One such device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,240, issued to Gardy on Jun. 30, 1987, provides a mechanism which holds the tongue forward in a vacuum chamber. Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,230, issued to Nelson on Oct. 9, 1979, which allows the user to breathe through his or her mouth without drying out the mouth. Another device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,967, issued to Dror on Apr. 22, 1980, teaches a method of holding the tongue in an unconscious or semi-conscious individual as an adjunct to resuscitation of the individual.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,179, issued to Williams on May 1, 1973, discloses a combination resuscitating, aspirating and gastric draining apparatus which includes a tube extended down the throat of a victim in combination with a draining apparatus. This apparatus uses a conventional resuscitating supply source acting through a demand valve and an elongate tube extending down the throat
Appliances are also known which provide for nasal delivery of a positive air supply during both inspiration and exhalation. None of these inventions compensate for redundant pharyngeal tissue and laxity of airway dilator muscle tone or provide a positive air supply via an oral appliance.

Oral appliance for delivering gas to the retroglossal area


A system for testing and evaluating driver situational awareness incorporates a device for displaying road and traffic images to a subject being tested, road and traffic image data for simulating operation of a vehicle to be outputted on the display device, instruction data to be outputted at least on the display device, input devices for inputting response data from the test subject in response to road and traffic image data generated on the display means, and a control device for controlling the operation of the system. The control device incorporates a vision test component for conducting a vision test of the subject and a driving reaction test component for conducting a driving reaction test of the subject. Each of the vision and driving reaction tests includes generating road and traffic image data for simulating operation of a vehicle, generating instruction data in coordination with the image data for providing instructions for the subject, monitoring for inputting of response data, and determining whether the inputted response data is correct or incorrect. The generated image data includes road and traffic video image data, test pattern image data and situation test image data. The test pattern image data is structured to test static visual acuity, static visual contrast sensitivity, dynamic visual acuity, dynamic visual contrast sensitivity and angular motion sensitivity. The situation test image data is structured to test divided attention capacity, selective attention capacity, attention switching, working memory functions, brake reaction time, and complex reaction time and decision making.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for the testing and evaluation of the situational awareness competencies and capabilities of drivers. In particular, the system is directed to testing and evaluating whether drivers exhibit minimum levels of visual detection and perception of moving as well as stationary targets and attentional/decision-making capability to remain competent in operating a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, when individuals apply for drivers' licenses, the testing of such individuals for their competency in operating a vehicle is generally limited to a written test, a summary vision test and a road test. As one would expect, the written test evaluates one's knowledge of the regulation and the established "rules-of-the-road." Conventional vision tests used by drivers testing agencies are typically limited to verifying an individual's static acuity and depth perception. When applicable, road tests under the supervision of a police officer or an examining official are used to check the individual's basic competence in maneuvering a vehicle and use of established conventions in operating the vehicle in traffic (e.g., using a signal when turning, following road signs.
However, there exists no system today that uses a standardized, objective procedure to test an individual's visual detection and perception of moving as well as stationary targets and attentional/decision-making capability in order to evaluate their situational awareness and responsiveness. As is well known, when driving, individuals are constantly bombarded by sensory inputs from the surrounding environment. The view of the road on which the individual is traveling, the sight of traffic lights and road signs, the readings on the instrument panel, the output of a radio, the temperature inside and outside the vehicle, the sound of the engine, the noise of other cars and pedestrians, conversation within the vehicle, etc. all contribute to the barrage of information that the driver must process and evaluate while operating the vehicle. Such sensory inputs do not even include unexpected occurrences such as another vehicle suddenly stopping, changing lanes or turning, pedestrians or animals stepping out in front of moving vehicles, and unnoticed road hazards (e.g., slick or icy patches on the road). Clearly, in order to operate the vehicle safely and successfully negotiate both common driving situations, unexpected hazards, the driver must have a sufficient level of situational awareness to understand the current circumstances and react accordingly. Generally, most licensed drivers possess what would be considered minimally acceptable levels of situational awareness.
Studies have shown that situational awareness, as described herein, is lowest among novice drivers, and also diminishes with age. Such declines in situational awareness stem from age-related declines in spatial vision, including static and dynamic acuity, and high-frequency spatial contrast sensitivity have been found to cause elderly individuals to experience delays in recognizing intersection features such as pavement width transitions, channelized turning lanes, island and median features across an intersection and non-reflectorized raised elements. Such individuals also experience delays in their comprehension of pavement markings and traffic signs, whereby information vital to the early stages of an individual's operation of a vehicle is, in effect, lost. When combined with attentional and decision making deficits that have been shown to increase with age, this loss of information is compounded resulting in a considerable slowdown in the driver's responsiveness. In other words, a decline in an individual's "useful field of view," selective attention and divided attention/attention switching capabilities will delay that individual's response to such situations as a change in heading or changing lanes for either avoiding a hazard or for accomplishing a desired maneuver. Such slowdowns in an individual's responsiveness are especially taxed when approaching intersections where the serial processing demands for conflict avoidance and compliance with traffic control messages and conventions increase.
Other factors that may affect the abilities of elderly individuals to effectively operate a vehicle include age-related degradations in working memory processing, and in judging distances and spatial positions. For example, a less efficient working memory process may translate into heightened degrees of risk for an elderly individual at intersections that either are geometrically complex or unfamiliar, whereby the individual having to search for and recognize navigational cues will disproportionately overburden that individual's current attention to lane-keeping and conflict avoidance. A diminished capacity to judge distances, such as the "least safe gap" ahead of oncoming vehicles, may result in the individual executing inappropriate maneuvers. Simple reaction time, while found not to be significantly slower for older drivers responding to expected stimuli under normal operating conditions, may suffer at operationally significant levels as the number and complexity of responses required to cope with unexpected stimuli (i.e., emergency situations) increases.
As a consequence, there exists a growing need to identify and evaluate the situational awareness capabilities of all those who operate vehicles on the road. This is especially important for the ever-growing population of elderly drivers, as well as novice drivers whose visual and perceptual skills suffer from lack of experience in operating a vehicle. The identification and evaluation of such persons would then aid in the process of developing countermeasures or improvements in our transportation system to compensate for such deficiencies, or mechanisms or procedures to limit or graduate the licensing of such individuals to conditions/circumstances in which their deficiencies will not be overburdened or contribute to any unacceptable hazards.
As noted earlier, there does not exist any non-driving system (i.e., excluding on-road tests) currently in use by which the full spectrum of factors that make up the situational awareness capabilities of individuals are effectively tested. Rather, current non-driving testing systems are generally limited to testing static visual acuity and depth perception. Other systems that may test for factors or abilities that are relevant to situational awareness in a driving environment are not designed or intended to test those factors or abilities in a driving application or simulation.
A need exists, therefore, for a system that effectively measures the situational awareness capabilities of individuals licensed or in the process of being licensed to operate a motor vehicle, without the exposure to risk of on-road testing unless specially warranted by diminished capabilities revealed in the non-driving testing system.
In particular, there exists a need for a system that measurably analyzes and evaluates the static and dynamic visual acuities, the static and dynamic visual contrast sensitivities, the angular motion sensitivity, the useful field of view, the divided attention and the attention switching abilities of individual drivers. That need is especially great for testing the growing elderly population, as well as novice drivers whose inexperience could compromise their ability to operate a vehicle safely.

System for testing and evaluating driver situational awareness


A centrifugal braking apparatus for a baitcasting reel comprises a spool, pivot shafts, brake levers, and a ring-shaped braking member. The spool is rotatably supported between both side plates of a reel main body. Each of the pivot shafts is disposed on the spool so as to be arranged apart from a rotation axis of the spool in a radius direction thereof and extended at right angles to a straight line parallel with the rotation axis of the spool. Each of the brake levers has a tip end portion and a root end portion that is pivotably supported by the pivot shaft so that the tip end portion of the brake lever is movable toward a standard plane, which includes a central axis of the pivot shaft and is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the spool, under a function of centrifugal force produced by rotation of the spool. The ring-shaped braking member is provided on the reel main body so that the tip end portion of the brake lever can be brought into contact with the ring-shaped braking member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a centrifugal braking apparatus for a baitcasting reel.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been known a centrifugal braking apparatus for a baitcasting reel, in which a spool is prevented from being overrun to avoid an occurrence of backlash by slidably disposing brake weights along guide pins or guide grooves which is radially provided on one end of the spool so that the brake weights can come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of a brake drum provided on a reel main body under a function of centrifugal force produced by rotation of the spool.
In such a conventional centrifugal braking apparatus, the contact position of the brake weights with the brake drum is limited due to the slide of the brake weights in a radial direction, thus causing a problem of uneasy adjustment of the braking force. The brake weights located in its lower position may fall out from the guide pins or grooves, when assembling steps of the baitcasting reel are carried out, thus causing an undesirable problem.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S57-22,637 discloses a baitcasting reel having a centrifugal braking apparatus, in which levers each having a pair of opposite outer and inner arms are disposed on one end of the spool by means of pivot shafts which are perpendicular to the rotation axis of the spool, respectively, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. The above-mentioned lever is swung, along with the rotation of the spool, around the pivot shaft located between the opposite outer and inner arms of the lever, under the function of its outer arm acting as a weight, so that the inner arm can come into contact with the braking member disposed on the reel main body, thus causing the braking force.
However, in the braking apparatus of the above-described Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S57-22,637, it is hard to make fine adjustment of the braking force, thus making it impossible to obtain an optimum braking force, since the contact position of the lever having the opposite outer and inner arms with the braking member is located in the vicinity of the rotation axis of the spool.

Centrifugal braking apparatus for baitcasting reel