An image forming system includes image forming means for forming toner images on toner receiving resin layers of respective sides of a recording material; fixing means for heat fixing the toner images on the recording material in a fixing nip; and smoothing means for smoothing the toner receiving resin layers of the recording material having the toner images formed by the fixing means; wherein the system is operable in an image formation mode in which the toner images formed on the respective sides of the recording material are fixed by the fixing means sequentially, and then the toner receiving resin layers of the recording material are smoothed by the smoothing means sequentially.

An image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic image forming method has long been widely known. Not only various electrophotographic black-and-white image forming apparatuses, but also, various electrophotographic full-color image forming apparatuses have been commercialized. As an image forming apparatus has come to be widely used in various fields, the level of quality at which an image forming apparatus is required to form an image is becoming higher and higher.
More specifically, it has been desired to continuously improve an image forming apparatus in terms of the level of glossiness at which it is capable of forming a print (an image). Glossiness is one of the print (image) properties which gives a print (image) an impression of higher quality. Further, one of the primary factors which affects the glossiness of a print is the smoothness of the image bearing surface of a print.
As the means for accommodating the above described need, an apparatus has been proposed, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications H04-216580 and H04-362679, which yields a highly glossy print (image) by using a sheet of recording medium whose surface layer (toner reception layer) is formed of a transparent resin, and embedding a toner image into the surface layer, that is, the transparent layer formed of the transparent thermoplastic resin (this type of recording medium hereafter may be referred to as resinous medium).
In this apparatus, after the formation of a toner image on the transparent resin layer, the toner image is fixed by a fixing device. Then, the transparent resin layer, and the toner image thereon, are thermally melted with the highly glossy belt of a smoothing apparatus. Thereafter, while the resinous recording medium is conveyed through the smoothing apparatus, with the transparent resin layer in contact with the highly glossy belt, the resinous medium is cooled by a cooling apparatus. Then, the resinous medium is separated from the belt. Thus, after the separation of the resinous medium from the belt, the surface of the resinous medium, which is bearing the toner image, is as smooth as the highly glossy surface of the belt. Incidentally, the reason for cooling the resinous medium before separating it from the belt is to preventing the smoothed surface of the resinous medium from being rendered uneven again, by preventing the toner and the resinous layer of the resinous medium from offsetting onto the fixation roller.
Sometimes, it is required to produce a highly glossy two-sided print, that is, a highly glossy print having an image on both its front and back surfaces. In such cases, recording medium having a transparent resin layer on both of its two surfaces is used.
However, this method of yielding a highly glossy two-sided print by employing recording medium having a transparent resin layer on both of its surfaces sometimes suffers from the following problems:
That is, when an image is formed on both surfaces of a sheet of resinous recording medium having a transparent resinous layer on both of its surfaces, through the first step in which an image is transferred onto one (first) of the two surfaces of the resinous recording medium, fixed, and smoothed, and the second step in which another image is transferred onto the other surface (second) of the resinous recording medium, fixed, and smoothed, the smoothed first surface of the medium becomes unsmooth during the step; one of the two surfaces of the finished highly glossy two-sided print is not as glossy as desired.
This problem seems to occur for the following reason. That is, a fixing device in according with the prior art separates recording medium from the fixation belt (smoothing belt) while the recording medium is still hot; in other words, it does not allow the recording medium to cool before it separates the recording medium from the fixation belt (smoothing belt). Therefore, the smoothed first surface of the recording medium becomes unsmooth while the image on the second surface is fixed. Thus, the resultant unevenness of the first surface of the highly glossy two-sided print made with the above described two-sided resinous recording medium is more conspicuous when a fixing apparatus which is relatively high in fixation temperature is used.
Further, an image is formed on both surfaces of a two-sided resinous recording medium through the above described image formation sequence, each sheet of two-sided resinous recording medium is conveyed through the fixing apparatus—the smoothing apparatus—the fixing apparatus—the smoothing apparatus. Therefore, it is possible that the first surface, that is, the smoothed surface, of the two-sided resinous recording medium will be scarred by the pairs of conveyance rollers and pairs of conveyance guides disposed along the recording medium conveyance passage. This is another reason why the first surface side of a highly glossy two-sided print produced using an image formation method in accordance with the prior art is likely to be inferior in glossiness.

Image formation system, smoothing apparatus, and image forming method


At least one plane blank (20) is cut out from a sheet of metal material, the blank comprising a main part having the developed shape of the wall of the structural element and at least one additional overlap and fixing tab (26, 27, 28), the cutout blank (20) is folded along a plurality of lines (23) so as to form the wall of the structural element comprising a plurality of annular segments that are not in axial alignment out of folded portions (22, 24, 24′, 25) of the main part of the cutout blank (20), and welding is used to fix at least one additional overlap and fixing tab (26, 27, 28) on at least one of a folded portion (22, 24, 24′, 25) and a second overlap tab. During welding, at least one overlap tab (26, 27, 28) and the folded wall portion (22, 24, 24′, 25) or the second overlap tab are maintained bearing resiliently one against the other in a superposed disposition, welding is perfectly performed by means of a laser beam, in transparency, the structural element of the invention has numerous applications in a very wide variety of industries.

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a structural element having a metal wall of generally tubular shape with at least two segments that are not in axial alignment, and it also relates to a tubular metal-walled structural element suitable for being made in a very wide variety of shapes and for a very wide variety of applications.
In numerous industrial sectors, it is necessary to have structural elements of generally tubular shape, that comprise successive segments that are not in axial alignment, and that are of cross-section that is more or less complex in shape, and in particular that is polygonal.
Such structural elements may be curved or may present successive segments that are rectilinear in angular dispositions, for example extending at right angles to one another, when providing structural elements in the form of square or rectangular frames.
In certain applications, it is necessary to have frames presenting high stiffness and mass that is as low as possible, with these two conditions generally being difficult to reconcile when making frames by assembling together tubular section members of polygonal section. In order to assemble and weld together the sides of the frame at its corners, it is necessary to use tubes having walls of sufficient thickness. As a general rule, it is difficult to make frames by assembling tubes together, e.g. tubes of square section, if they have wall thickness that is less than 1 millimeter (mm).
In certain applications, for example in making metal doors, it can be desirable not only to obtain good stiffness and mass that is as light as possible, but also to obtain qualities making the door appealing to the eye, for example when the door is used in a building where a particular decorative style is implemented. Under such circumstances, it can be necessary to provide framework structures with different sides presenting sections of various shapes. It is therefore necessary to have tubes with sections of different shapes and possibly shapes that are most unusual. This makes the construction of such doors very expensive.
In certain industries, for example the automobile industry, the aviation industry, or the ship-building industry, structural elements or "chords" are used that are light in weight, that have tubular metal walls, that are complex in shape, and that may be curved or even looped back onto themselves in order to constitute an annular piece. Such structural elements whose tubular structure serves to obtain savings in weight must be built in a manner that is extremely stiff and strong.
In order to make such complex structures, it is generally necessary to assemble together a large number of pieces that have previously been shaped by a forming and/or cutting-out method. Assembling pieces together to make a structure of complex shape, and to do so with good precision both in shape and in dimensions, is an operation that is expensive, and the various welds used to build the assembly must be inspected thoroughly.
In addition, when the metal material used is difficult to weld, such as aluminum and its alloys, it is even more difficult and expensive to make complex structures, and it may be necessary to use assembly methods that are difficult to implement in order to avoid the presence of welding.
When making structural elements from flat materials such as metal sheets, blanks are generally cut out and assembled together by being welded along their edges, which generally requires the use of jigs and supports for holding the blanks in their assembly position. Such structures are therefore complex to make and require the use of tooling that is expensive. In addition, in certain circumstances, it is not even possible to use a jig placed in a hollow portion of the tubular structure because the shape of the structure would prevent the jig from being removed after the structure has been assembled and welded together.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Structural element having a metal wall of generally tubular shape


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for bending elongated metal elements. The apparatus includes a bending station provided with a first contrasting pin, a bending support defining a first bending plane on which the elongated metal elements are positioned and advance, and a first bending pin mounted mobile around the first contrasting pin, in order to bend the elongated metal elements on the first bending plane in cooperation with the first contrasting pin. The bending station further includes a second contrasting pin mounted on the first bending pin, and a second bending pin disposed mobile with respect to a bending support in a slanting direction with respect to the first bending plane, in order to bend the elongated metal elements in cooperation with the second contrasting pin on a second bending plane, angled with respect to the first bending plane.

Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an apparatus for bending elongated metal products, such as for example metal bars, round pieces, wire or other, both pre-cut or fed from a roll. In particular, the apparatus according to the present invention is applied to make stirrups, or other reinforcement elements for the building trade, having a three dimension conformation, that is, with at least a portion bent back on an orthogonal plane, or in any case angled, with respect to the normal bending plane of the other portions.
The present invention also concerns a method for bending elongated metal products in order to obtain stirrups with a three dimension conformation.
Description of Related Art
Bending machines are known, also by the name of stirrup-making machines, which are configured to bend a metal bar, round piece, wire or other similar metal product, in order to make stirrups for reinforcement cages.
One example of these machines is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,836,502.
Two types of reinforcement stirrup are substantially known, that is, the so-called two-dimensional stirrups and the so-called three-dimensional stirrups, both able to be disposed in succession with respect to each other and connected by longitudinal bars so as to define the reinforcement cage.
Two-dimensional stirrups are more widespread on the market and define the transverse profile of the reinforcement cage substantially on the same bending plane.
Three-dimensional stirrups have their shape defined on a first bending plane coinciding with the feed plane and at least a portion, or segment, angled with respect to the first bending plane, for example with the function of spacer, or reference element, with respect to another stirrup or another existing structure.
This type of stirrup is made by means of automatic bending machines which provide, as well as a drawing station and a shearing station, a first bending station which makes the bends on the first bending plane, in order to define the two-dimensional shaping of the stirrup, and a distinct and subsequent second bending station which makes the bends in order to define the portions or segments angled with respect to the first bending plane.
In general, the first bending station essentially consists of at least a bending support, or mandrel, generally in the shape of a disc, rotating around a normally central axis, defining the first bending plane and provided centrally with a contrasting pin. On one spoke of the mandrel a bending element is provided, substantially coplanar to the contrasting pin.
The bending element can be rotated both in a clockwise direction and in an anti-clockwise direction, around the contrasting pin, so that the elongated metal object is shaped by plastic deformation around the contrasting pin, in one direction or the other.
In the same way, the second bending station, normally distanced and autonomous with respect to the first bending station, provides a contrasting member disposed at a distance from the feed plane of the bar, in order to allow the elongated metal element to be bent to be positioned between it and the feed plane, and a movable bending element exiting from the feed plane in order to intercept a segment of the elongated metal element, so that the elongated metal element is shaped by plastic deformation around the contrasting member.
This type of known bending machine, providing two distinct bending stations, needs a double line of command and control, both mechanical and electronic, in order to guarantee the management and operating coordination of the two bending stations.
This management need entails an increase in production times and costs of the apparatus, as well as maintenance times and costs.
Moreover, by providing two distinct stations, the number of mechanical components which participate in the individual movements is also high, and the apparatus is bulkier than traditional machines, with consequent increases in installation bulk, and the bending precision can also be compromised.

Apparatus for bending elongated metal elements, such as metal bars, round pieces or wire, and relative bending method

M.E.P. MACCHINE ELETTRONICHE PIEGATRICI SPA


A composition for multi-color display material, including a periodic structure having a void structure inside that communicates with the outside, and a mobile particle that is selectively disposed inside or outside of the void structure of the periodic structure.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a composition for multi-color display material that makes use of a periodic structure and a manufacturing method thereof. In addition, the present invention relates to an optical device that is applied in, for example, a display device or a light modulating device and a displaying method thereof.
2. Related Art
In recent years, displaying and color controlling devices that use color generation mechanisms based on "structural color" that utilizes a sub-micro scale periodic structure (regular structure) have been proposed. To date, color generation of structural colors that use periodic structural structures utilizing colloidal crystals that use monodispersed particle of silica or a polymer, a micro-domain structure of a block copolymer, and a lamellar structure of a surfactant have been reported.
In particular, there are many reports on periodic structural structures utilizing colloidal crystals, and they can be categorized into two kinds of structural structures, namely, a loosely-packed type that makes use of the repulsive force between particles, and a closest packed type where particles are closely packed.

Composition for multi-color display material and manufacturing method thereof, and optical device and displaying method thereof


A device may receive ticket information associated with one or more service tickets. The ticket information may include a ticket category and ticket data associated with the one or more service tickets. The ticket data may be associated with the ticket category. The ticket data may describe information related to resolving the one or more service tickets. The device may identify, based on the ticket category or the ticket data, an association between the ticket category and an analysis category. The analysis category may be used to analyze the ticket information. The device may generate categorized ticket information based on the analysis category and the ticket information. The categorized ticket information may include the ticket data, and the ticket data may be associated with the analysis category. The device may provide the categorized ticket information.

An application provider (e.g., a business, an organization, or the like) may provide an application (e.g., an online application, a computer application, or the like). The organization may manage the implementation and operation of the application, or may outsource management of the implementation and operation of the application to an application manager. The application manager may process various formats, types, and amounts of data while implementing and operating the application.

Service ticket analysis using an analytics device


A method and system for identifying object information of an information page is provided. An information extraction system identifies the object blocks of an information page. The extraction system classifies the object blocks into object types. Each object type has associated attributes that define a schema for the information of the object type. The extraction system identifies object elements within an object block that may represent an attribute value for the object. After the object elements are identified, the extraction system attempts to identify which object elements correspond to which attributes of the object type in a process referred to as “labeling.” The extraction system uses an algorithm to determine the confidence that a certain object element corresponds to a certain attribute. The extraction system then selects the set of labels with the highest confidence as being the labels for the object elements.

Web pages accessible via the Internet contain a vast amount of information. A web page may contain information about various types of objects such as products, people, papers, organizations, and so on. For example, one web page may contain a product review of a certain model of camera, and another web page may contain an advertisement offering to sell that model of camera at a certain price. As another example, one web page may contain a journal article, and another web page may be the homepage of an author of the journal article. A person who is searching for information about an object may need information that is contained in different web pages. For example, a person who is interested in purchasing a certain camera may want to read reviews of the camera and to determine who is offering the camera at the lowest price.
To obtain such information, a person would typically use a search engine to find web pages that contain information about the camera. The person would enter a search query that may include the manufacturer and model number of the camera. The search engine then identifies web pages that match the search query and presents those web pages to the user in an order that is based on how relevant the content of the web page is to the search query. The person would then need to view the various web pages to find the desired information. For example, the person may first try to find web pages that contain reviews of the camera. After reading the reviews, the person may then try to locate a web page that contains an advertisement for the camera at the lowest price.
The person viewing the web pages would typically like to know whether the web pages contain information for the same object. For example, a person would like to know whether a certain product review and a certain product advertisement are for the same object. In the example of a camera, a person would like to know which reviews and products are for the camera of interest. It can, however, be difficult for the person viewing the web pages to determine whether a review and an advertisement are for the same product. In many cases, a web page does not include a unique identifier for the product for which it is providing information. For example, a product review may identify the manufacturer and model of a camera, but not a sub-model number, and an advertisement may identify the manufacturer, but only include a general description of the camera. A person viewing the product review and the advertisement may not be able to ascertain whether they are for the same camera.
It would be desirable to have a technique that would automatically identify when information of web pages relates to the same object. The knowledge that different sources of information relate to the same object can be used in many different applications. For example, a search engine may use the knowledge to determine the relevance of or to group the web pages of the results. As another example, a shopping portal may use the knowledge to identify the web-based vendor with the lowest purchase price. As another example, a repository of scientific papers may use the knowledge to identify additional information about the authors of the papers.

Method and system for identifying object information


A system for controlling pressure flow and concentration Of O.sub.3 /O.sub.2 positions a thermal MFC upstream from an ozone generator to avoid the adverse effects of ozone on the thermal MFC. A flow restrictor diverts a precise amount of flow to an ozone monitor so that the flow to a CVD chamber is precisely controlled. In other embodiments a full-flow ozone monitor and non-thermal MFC are utilized.

The present invention relates to the processing of substrates. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for precisely controlling the mass flow rate of an oxygen/ozone mixture introduced into semiconductor substrate processing chambers for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and other processing steps.
Many CVD processes require precise control of the flow rates of precursor gases utilized to deposit films. For example, high quality subatmospheric chemical vapor deposition (herein "SACVD") oxide films are formed from the thermal reaction of tetraethylorthosilicate (herein "TEOS") and ozone. The properties of the film are affected by the amount of ozone flowing into the chamber. As is well-known in the art, thermal mass flow controllers (MFCs) are utilized to measure and control the flow rate of precursor gases supplied to a CVD chamber. Because the output gas flow rate of the MFC is precisely controlled, the MFC output is typically placed adjacent to the input port of a CVD chamber to assure that flow into the chamber is of the same magnitude as the desired flow from the MFC output port.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical existing ozone supply system 10. A flow of oxygen is supplied from an oxygen source 12 to an ozone generator 14 which converts a percentage of the oxygen to ozone. The pressure at the input port of the ozone generator 14 is controlled by a pressure regulator 15. A small part of the gas flow from the ozone generator 14 is diverted to a low flow ozone monitor 16 which measures the relative proportions of oxygen and ozone supplied by the ozone generator. The main flow from the ozone generator 14, however, is directed to an MFC 18 which supplies a precisely controlled flow of the ozone/oxygen mix to a CVD chamber 20. Because the mass flow of the ozone/oxygen gas into the CVD chamber 20 is precisely controlled by the MFC 18, and the relative proportions of the oxygen and ozone gases in the flow are measured by the low flow ozone monitor 16, the flow of ozone into the CVD chamber is precisely controlled.
The ozone generator 14 is controllable to convert a specified amount of the input oxygen flow into ozone. The accuracy of the ozone generator 14, however, is not sufficient for many CVD processes. Accordingly, a part of the output flow from the ozone generator 14 is diverted to the low flow ozone monitor 16 to precisely measure the amount of ozone generated as a proportion of the total output flow of the ozone generator. In the system depicted in FIG. 1, the gas flow diverted to the low flow ozone monitor 16 is dumped from the system because of contaminants introduced by the low flow ozone monitor 16.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a typical thermal MFC. The MFC includes a mass flow meter (MFM) 30 and a proportional controller 40. The MFM 30 includes a heated sensing tube 32 where the mass flow is measured and a bypass 34 through which the majority of flow passes. The proportional controller 40 includes a displacement valve 42 and control electronics. The operation of the MFC is well known and will not be further described.
The performance of the heated sensing tube 32 deteriorates when ozone flows through the tube, making the magnitude of the mass flow difficult to precisely control. Although the precise reasons for this deterioration are not fully understood, it is believed that corrosion of the heated sensing tube 32 and conversion between ozone and oxygen within the heated sensing tube 32 may be contributing factors.
One possible method of reducing or altogether preventing the deteriorating performance of tube 32 is to place the mass flow controller upstream of the ozone generator. Such a placement would eliminate the flow of ozone through the heated sensing tube 32 but, because the remoteness of the MFC from the CVD chamber creates uncertainty that the precise flow to the chamber is being measured, is unsatisfactory for many applications unless other measures to regulate and monitor the flow into the chamber are taken.

Pressure flow and concentration control of oxygen/ozone gas mixtures


A compact and easy-to-use walking assisting device capable of reducing constrained feeling given to a user and allowing a free swing of the arms of the user in walking. The walking assisting device comprises one or more leg links to which ground contact members are connected at their lower ends respectively and a load transfer portion connected to the upper ends of the leg links, in which at least a part of the weight of the user is supported by the leg links via the load transfer portion, wherein the load transfer portion includes a seat member for the user to sit astride, wherein connecting portions with the upper ends of the leg links connected thereto are attached to the undersurface of the seat member, and wherein the connecting portions have a degree of freedom allowing the forward/backward and lateral swings of the leg links.

The present invention relates to a walking assisting device for assisting walking by reducing load on user's legs.
Conventionally, as this type of walking assisting device, there is known one including a pair of left and right leg links connected to ground contact members attached to the user's left and right feet at their lower ends respectively and a load transfer portion connected to the upper ends of the leg links, wherein at least a part of the user's weight is supported by the leg links via the load transfer portion to reduce load on the user's legs so as to assist the user in walking (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-220102). In this structure, the load transfer portion includes a waist support belt attached around the user's waist with the left and right leg links connected to the load transfer portion via first joints corresponding to human hip joints on both sides of the waist support belt in the lateral direction. The leg links are each formed of a freely bending and stretching link having a second joint corresponding to a human knee joint midway in the vertical direction. Moreover, a driving source for the second joint is provided to generate an assist force for supporting a part of the user's weight by means of a rotational drive of the second joint caused by the driving source.
In the conventional embodiment, however, there is a need for the user to wear the waist support belt tightly around the waist in order to transmit the assist force to the user's body reliably, and therefore the user easily has constrained feeling. Furthermore, the first joints of the left and right leg links project on both sides of the user's waist, and therefore the user easily hits his hands against the first joints or the upper parts of the leg links connected to the first joints when swinging his arms in walking, thereby reducing usability.
Furthermore, there is conventionally known a walking assisting device wherein a frame enclosing a user from the back to both sides in the lateral direction is provided with four leg links attached vertically and having wheels at lower ends and a saddle-shaped seat member which the user sits astride is mounted on the frame and wherein, after detecting a force that the user applies to the seat member, the wheels are driven so that the force becomes equal to a predetermined target value (for example, refer to Japanese Patent No. 3156367).
In this conventional embodiment, however, the device is large in size and cannot be used in a small place though the user's constrained feeling can be reduced. In addition, the user easily hits his hands against the frame when swinging his arms in walking, by which good usability is not provided.


The invention is concerned with a method and an apparatus for working a clad material used as a reed frame for a flat package type integrated circuit. When metal foils of a predetermined size is superimposed at a predetermined position on a strip-like material, press contacted and rolled to produce a continuous clad material, and reference holes are bored in the clad material, not only the relative position between the reference holes but also the relative position between the reference holes and the metal foils previously applied to the clad material may be set accurately. Even if the pitch distances between the reference holes provided in the clad material differ from one another, press working by the metal mold may be continuously performed using these reference holes.

Production Process of a Clad Material
A reed frame for an integrated circuit may be usually fabricated by press working a strip like material W shown in FIG. 26. Those portions of the reed frame which will be used later as bonding sections need to be coated with a metal, such as Al or Ag, for improving adhesivity. For this reason, metal foils S, such as Al or Ag foils, are clad on those portions of the strip-like material W which will be used later as the bonding sections. This material is known as a partially or spot clad material, and, as the methods for producing such spot clad material, methods of "vacuum deposition", "plating" and "rolling-pressure contacting" have hitherto been used.
The method of "vacuum deposition" is however inconvenient in that a costly equipment is necessitated, those portions that are not coated by vacuum deposition need to be masked, and a relatively long time is involved in the operation of vacuum deposition. Namely, productive efficiency is lowered.
The "plating" method is also inconvenient in that certain species of metal to be clad cannot be formed by plating and a limit is imposed on the thickness of the metal layer produced efficiently by plating. Namely, it lacks general applicability.
The "rolling and pressure contacting" method consists in depositing an Al or Ag foil as a stripe on a strip-like reed frame material and mechanically or chemically eliminating unnecessary portions, so that spots of a desired shape will be left, as shown for example in JP Patent KOKAI Publication No. 59-1078 (1984). This method also is not satisfactory in that the yield of metal deposition is low, and an equipment is necessitated for eliminating unnecessary portions by masking. Namely, it causes elevated production costs.
Although the JP Patent KOKAI Publication 60- 227456 (1985) teaches a reed frame which may be produced by spot welding an Al foil on a reed frame material and processing the resulting assembly for cladding, this method has not been practically used because of the lack of an appropriate method for positioning and tacking the metal foil at a predetermined pitch. That is, although metal foil pieces of a predetermined length may be applied in position on a sheet material of a predetermined length and processed by pressure contacting and rolling to produce a spot-like or partial clad material of a predetermined length, the clad material can not be produced industrially.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for producing a clad material whereby metal foils of a predetermined size may be superimposed on a strip-like material at a constant pitch to enable mass production of a spot or partial clad material with higher accuracy.

Method and apparatus for working a clad material


A vehicle headlamp structure includes a light distribution pattern having a horizontal cutoff line formed by a first reflecting optical system. The structure includes a first light source including a light emitting diode in which a rectangular light emitting chip is covered with a hemispherical mold lens, and a first reflector for reflecting a light emitted from the first light source toward a front part of a lighting unit. In that case, the first light source is provided in such a manner that the light emitting chip is turned in a horizontal direction with one side of the light emitting chip set horizontally. The horizontal cutoff line is formed by selectively utilizing a light emitted from the first light source and reflected by the first reflector, which is reflected in a reflecting region Za positioned in an almost front direction of the light emitting chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp that forms a light distribution pattern having a horizontal cutoff line by a reflecting optical system comprising a light source including a semiconductor light emitting unit.
2. Background of the Related Art
In a related art marker lamp for a vehicle, such as a tail lamp, a light emitting diode has often been used as a light source. For example, JP-A-2001-332104, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a marker lamp for a vehicle in which a plurality of lighting units using light emitting diodes as light sources are arranged.
In recent years, the luminance of the related art light emitting diode has been enhanced. Therefore, there is a growing tendency to employ the light emitting diode as the light source of a headlamp for a vehicle.
However, a large number of light emitting diodes have such a structure that an almost rectangular light emitting chip is covered with an almost hemispherical mold lens as described in the above-referenced JP-A-2001-332104. When the light emitting diode is employed as the light source of the vehicle headlamp, various related art problems occur.
For example, but not by way of limitation, in the related art vehicle headlamp, it is necessary to employ a structure in which a light distribution pattern having a horizontal cutoff line can be formed so as not to produce glare to a driver in an oncoming car. In that case, the light distribution pattern is formed as the aggregate of the inverted image of a light source in a headlamp for a vehicle having a reflecting optical system that reflects a light emitted from the light source toward the front part of a lighting unit by a reflector.
At this time, the image of a light emitting chip is greatly deformed, depending on the position of a light incidence on the reflector by the convex lens action of a mold lens. Therefore, a horizontal cutoff line cannot be formed clearly. For this reason, there is a related art problem in that the generation of glare cannot be suppressed effectively.


The purpose of the present invention is to increase the reliability of a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor element and a substrate are connected by solder and which is molded by resin.

From household appliances to infrastructure, a power semiconductor has been used for various products at the present time. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a semiconductor package. A semiconductor package 10b is often manufactured by a process for connecting a semiconductor element 104 and a substrate such as a lead frame 102 by solder 106 containing Pb and Sn, providing a wiring line using a wire 107, and covering an entire portion by a resin 101. Recently, it becomes necessary to use solder not containing Pb from a concern about an environment and the development of the Pb-free solder is promoted. As alternative materials substituting for the Pb solder, Bi, Au, Ag, and Zn solders are considered.
Meanwhile, when the semiconductor package is used for vehicle installation, the semiconductor package is placed in an environment more severe than a conventional vehicle interior, such as an engine room and on-engine. That is, high-reliability products in which performance is maintained for a longer time in a high temperature, high humidity, and high vibration environment are demanded.
The life of various bonding portions is important to the reliability of the semiconductor package, but the reliability of the semiconductor package is often limited by adhesion of the lead frame and the molding resin. For example, in the case in which a semiconductor package having insufficient reliability is used, if the semiconductor package is used during a long period in a high temperature and high humidity environment, the adhesion in a bonded interface of the lead frame and the molding resin is deteriorated and the lead frame and the resin are separated from each other. The separation causes the excessive thermal stress to be generated in a soldered portion of the semiconductor element, so that a crack extension of the solder is accelerated or water permeates into a separation portion to corrode the solder or the element. As a result, the semiconductor package is failed in time shorter than the original life. Therefore, improvement of the adhesion of the lead frame and the resin becomes important to improvement of the life of the product.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same

Abstract: Solder containing easily volatized metals (Zn, Mg, Sb) is used for a solder material 106, and after a semiconductor element 104 is connected to a lead frame 102 and wire bonding is carried out, vacuum heat treatment is applied, the easily volatized metals in the solder are volatized to adhere to a substrate surface, and an alloy 103 with the lead frame is formed, thereby roughening the substrate surface and improving the adhesive strength of a sealing resin 101 and the substrate.


A method and apparatus form a thermal barrier coating on a metal component. A molten thermal barrier coating powder is sprayed on the component in sweeping strokes. A plurality of overlapping solidified coating ribbons are deposited on the component and include a sequentially deposited surface ribbon forming sublayer ribbons therebelow. The surface ribbon is preheated at a spray site so that the sprayed molten powder remelts the surface ribbon at the spray site for sequentially welding the sequentially deposited surface ribbons to the sublayer ribbons.

In a gas turbine engine, compressed air is mixed with fuel in a combustor and ignited for generating hot combustion gases which flow downstream through one or more stages of turbine vanes and blades from which energy is extracted for producing output power. The vanes, blades, and flowpath bounding the combustion gases are therefore subject to substantial heat load, and are therefore typically cooled for obtaining a suitable useful life thereof.
In order to protect hot flowpath components such as vanes, blades, and turbine shrouds, they may be coated with a thermal barrier coating (TBC), such as ceramic zirconia for example, which provides an effective thermally insulating barrier between the base metal of the components and the hot combustion gases.
Thermal barrier coatings are typically applied to the base metal of the various components by spraying the TBC in powder form, melting the powder, and coating the component with the molten powder is a series of overlapping layers which solidify on contact with the component to produce a solidified thermal barrier coating of appropriate thickness.
A typical process uses a conventional plasma torch which produces a hot ionized plasma for melting the TBC powder injected therein which is then sprayed atop a conventional bondcoat on the workpiece. A typical TBC is yttria stabilized zirconia which has a melting temperature of about 2,700.degree. C. The plasma torch and workpiece are typically moved relative to each other so that the coating may be applied in layers over the entire surface of the workpiece. A suitable number of layers normal to the surface are deposited for achieving a desired thickness of the coating.
One problem experienced with jet engine components which are plasma spray coated with TBC is the high susceptibility of edge delamination of the TBC during grinding in the manufacturing process. And, TBC coated components are also subject to undesirable thermal shock damage in the gas turbine engine. Spallation is a condition wherein the TBC delaminates over time decreasing the effective useful life of the coated component.
These problems are attributed to the typical process of air plasma spraying the TBC during manufacture which requires that overlapping layers of the deposited coating meet the required thickness levels thereof. As coating thickness is increased, delamination problems correspondingly increase. Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved method and apparatus for depositing TBC atop metal components for improving the useful life thereof, and alleviating these problems.

Directionally solidified thermal barrier coating


To achieve downsizing and weight reduction of a derailleur shaft and the mounting structure thereof and to improve the rigidity of the derailleur shaft without increasing the thickness thereof more than necessary. A transmission case is divided into left and right halves, and the left and right halves are provided with bosses therein having holes opposing each other. The bosses are brought into abutment with each other and united by fitting tightening bolts to the holes of the bosses and tightening the same. A sleeve-shaped derailleur shaft is fitted on the outer periphery of the bosses to support and mount the derailleur shaft. The derailleur shaft includes a hole at the shaft end thereof. A mounting position of the derailleur shaft is achieved by a pin inserted into the hole and a hole provided on one of the cases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a transmission for a bicycle including a derailleur. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved structure of a transmission for a bicycle characterized by the mounting structure of the derailleur in the transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, a transmission for a bicycle provided with a derailleur is known. The derailleur has a supporting arm with a pantograph mechanism, which is adapted to shift a power transmission chain wound around a multi-stage sprocket wheel supported by a rear wheel hub and mounted to the rear wheel hub via a shaft step-by-step is known. The derailleur is provided with a guiding ring for shifting the chain and a tension ring for providing tension to the chain. The supporting arm, which is formed of a pantograph mechanism having a pair of links, supports a derailleur shaft of the derailleur. This support of the derailleur shaft has a substantially cantilevered structure (for example, see JP-A-59-2986, pages 1-2 and FIGS. 1-2).
The above-described document discloses a derailleur 05 of a transmission for a bicycle. The derailleur 05 has a supporting arm 04 of a pantograph mechanism, which is adapted to shift a power transmission chain 03 wound around a multi-stage sprocket wheel 02 supported by a rear wheel hub 01 and mounted to the rear wheel hub 01 via a shaft step-by-step. The derailleur 05 includes a shifting frame 09 having a guide ring 07 supported to the distal end of the supporting arm 04 of a pantograph type via a movable member 06 for shifting the chain. A tension ring 08 provides tension to the chain. The shifting frame 09, which constitutes a substantial body of the derailleur 05, is cantilevered by the movable member (derailleur shaft) 06.
According to the cantilever supporting structure of the derailleur (shifting frame) as disclosed in the above document, sufficient rigidity of the derailleur shaft (movable member) is difficult to secure. In order to secure sufficient rigidity, it is necessary to enforce the rigidity of the derailleur shaft itself. In order to do so, countermeasures such as increasing the thickness of the derailleur shaft have to be taken. However, when such a countermeasure is taken, increase in weight is inevitable, whereby upsizing of the derailleur shaft mounting structure itself cannot be avoided.


A face tracking apparatus includes: a face region detector; a segmentation unit; an occlusion probability calculator; and a tracking unit. The face region detector is configured to detect a face region based on an input image. The segmentation unit is configured to segment the face region into a plurality of sub-regions. The occlusion probability calculator configured to calculate occlusion probabilities for the plurality of sub-regions. The tracking unit is configured to track a face included in the input image based on the occlusion probabilities.

Field
One or more example embodiments of the following description relate to face tracking apparatuses and/or methods, and more particularly, to apparatuses and/or methods for tracking a face and a key point of the face.
Description of the Related Art
A face is effectively identified by main components, for example eyes, a nose, or a mouth. Face tracking may be performed using feature points corresponding to these main components. However, if the face is partially occluded, then accurately tracking the face may be more difficult. For example, when a user wears sunglasses, it may be more difficult to accurately track feature points corresponding to eyes. When a user wears a mask, it may be more difficult to accurately track feature points corresponding to a mouth. When a shadow appears over a face due to an uneven luminous environment, size and shape of a region of the face occluded by the shadow may be changed based on an expression of the face, and it may be more difficult to accurately track the face.

Apparatuses and methods for face tracking based on calculated occlusion probabilities


A moon chair includes front supporting legs, rear supporting legs and a rest frame connected onto the front and rear supporting legs. The rest frame is of the shape of a circular ring obliquely erected when the rest frame is unfolded. The front and rear supporting legs are connected with the rest frame through first and second connecting seats, respectively. Each of the first or second connecting seats comprises an integral bent metal sheet. The two ends of the metal sheet are respectively provided with pin holes for arranging connecting pins in a penetrating manner. The metal sheets on the first or second connecting seats are respectively and movably connected with the front or rear supporting legs and the rest frame through the connecting pins. One end of the metal sheet on a first connecting seat is bent to a U-shape to cover the corresponding front supporting leg.

A moon chair is a leisure chair which is specially designed according to ergonomics for the sake of health of human. This chair is very comfortable, the area of the seat thereof is very large, the entire body of the human can be enclosed when the human sits on the chair, a feeling of being hugged by the chair is obtained and the chair is very comfortable and warm. In order to facilitate the use, generally the moon chair is designed to be in a foldable structure; since the moon chair generally uses a circular rest frame as a backrest and armrest rods, movement of more than two degrees of freedom is produced by the rest frame and the supporting legs during folding, i.e., connecting seats between the rest frame and the supporting legs can realize rotatable connection of at least two different degrees of freedom, so that the connecting parts of this kind are caused to be comparatively complex. Taking a moon chair structure disclosed by the specification of Chinese utility model patent CN202496762U as an example, the connecting seat thereof is formed by assembling two parts, the structure of the parts is complex and the production cost is comparatively high. In addition, the more component parts of the connecting seat are, the more easily fatigue failure is caused and service life is influenced.


A device for manufacturing a brachytherapy array having a planar base which includes a working area comprising at least one planar major surface defining a first array of apertures, and a holding mechanism for holding a planar surgical mesh over the working area of said planar base. Also, a method for forming a brachytherapy array using this device.

There are clinical applications of I-125 seeds that involve sewing Seed-In-Carrier (SIC) material into a surgical mesh before implanting into a patient. The SIC typically includes a plurality of brachytherapy seeds within an elongate carrier material. The clinical applications of these mesh products can include removal of a cancerous tumor and then the overlay of this surgical mesh for radiation treatment to further treat the patient. The surgical mesh is commonly prepared by hand in the operating room by the Radiation Oncologist, and is based on several pieces of information gained during the surgical procedure including: target site, size of the surgical margin, and many other factors.
The current preparation of the mesh is done by measuring the surgical mesh, marking the mesh for seed placement, placing the mesh on a soft and pliable surface, creating pocket holes for the weaving of the SIC material, sewing in the SIC, anchoring the SIC on each end of the mesh, and applying anchors (corners and center of mesh) for implant anchoring into the patient. This is a time-consuming procedure which prolongs the exposure to the radiation from the SIC.
There is therefore a need for a device and method for making a brachytherapy array which offers a convenience to physicians preparing a brachytherapy array. There is also a need for a device and method for easing the clinical requirements of developing lung therapy devices. There is further a need for reducing the time required for preparing a brachytherapy array and reducing the occupational radiation exposure when preparing a brachytherapy array.


An illumination device includes plural lamps, a prism, a first lens array, and a second lens array, wherein the first lens array is formed such that images of the lamps are formed a predetermined space apart from each other on a lens, which corresponds to a predetermined lens among plural lenses of a second lens array, by light from the lamps having passed the predetermined lens of the first lens array. All or a part of plural images formed by a lens separate from the predetermined lens of the first lens array are practically arranged among the formed images of the lamps. And the second lens array is formed such that the images formed on the second lens array are irradiated on a light-receiving surface in a predetermined relation.

In recent years, as a projection video apparatus capable of performing large-screen display, various projection display apparatuses (projectors) using an optical modulation device have been attracting attention. These projection display apparatuses use light emitted from a light source serving as light generating means to illuminate a liquid crystal of a transmission type or a reflection type or an optical modulation device, which can perform optical modulation, such as a DMD (digital micro-mirror device) which can change a reflection direction with micro-mirrors arranged in array, form an optical image, which corresponds to a video signal supplied from the outside of the optical modulation device, on the optical modulation device, and enlarge and project the optical image, which is illumination light modulated by the optical modulation device, on a screen with a projection lens.
Examples of an important optical characteristic of a large screen projected in this way include brightness and uniformity of the brightness. It is important to condense light, which is generated from a lamp serving as a light source, on an optical modulation device serving as a light-receiving surface and illuminate the optical modulation device with light beams having little unevenness of brightness. It has been strongly requested to improve efficiency of an illumination device of illuminating the optical modulation device and make brightness uniform.
In order to meet such a request, for example, an illumination device, which has a lens array constituted by irregular-shaped aperture lenses, has been proposed. FIG. 9 shows a structure of the illumination device. Beams of light emitted by a lamp 101 provided in a parabolic mirror 102 are divided by a first lens array 110 in which lenses having substantially the same shaped aperture are arranged two-dimensionally. Thereafter, the light reaches a light-receiving surface 106 via a second lens array 112 which has lenses of the same number as the divided light beams, that is, the same number as the lenses of the first lens array 110. In other words, the second lens array 112 is arranged such that the light beams, which have reached thereto from a predetermined lens of the first lens array 110, pass through a corresponding lens on the second lens array 112 to reach the light-receiving surface 106 (effective area). The divided light beams reach the light-receiving surface 106 and are superimposed one on top of another.
For example, FIG. 9 shows a state in which light passing through a second lens from the above of the first lens array 110 passes through a second lens from the above of the second lens array 112, which is in a correspondence relation with the lens of the first lens array 110, and is irradiated on the light-receiving surface 106. The respective light beams divided by the first lens array 110 pass through respective lenses of the second lens array 112, which are in a correspondence relation with the lenses of the first lens array 110, and are superimposed one on top of another on the light-receiving surface 106. Thus, even if a distribution of luminance of light emitted from the lamp 101 is uneven, uniform brightness can be obtained on the light-receiving surface 106.
In addition, at this point, light substantially parallel with an optical axis made incident on the first lens array 110 is condensed by the respective lenses in the first lens array 110 and forms light source images on the corresponding respective lenses of the second lens array. At this point, due to optical characteristics of the light source and the parabolic mirror, light close to an optical axis 7 is focused as a relatively large image, and light distant from the optical axis 7 is focused as a relatively small image on the second lens array 112. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, on the second lens array 112, lenses with a large aperture are arranged in the central part close to the optical axis, and lenses with a small aperture are arranged in the peripheral part distant from the optical axis. Consequently, the lens array constituted by the irregular-shaped aperture lenses as described above is adopted as the second lens array 112, whereby improvement of efficiency of the illumination device can be realized.
In the above-described method, in order to further improve efficiency, an arrangement of the light source images formed on the second lens array 112 is changed by adjusting (decentering) positions of center of curvature of the respective lenses in the first lens array 110. For example, in order to eliminate overlapping of light sources images in the vicinity of the optical axis, the positions of center of curvature of the respective lenses in the first lens array 110 are adjusted such that large useless spaces are eliminated by increasing spaces among the light source images in the vicinity of the optical axis and decreasing spaces among the light source images in the peripheral part. In addition, on the second lens array 112, light overflowing from the apertures can be reduced by, for example, increasing sizes the apertures through which light beams in the vicinity of the optical axis are passed while keeping sizes of the apertures through which light beams in the peripheral part are passed. Higher efficiency of use of light could be obtained by optimizing a shape of the second lens array such that the respective lenses in the second lens array 112 include the respective light source images in this way (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-346557). FIG. 10 shows an example of an image which is formed on the second lens array 112 obtained as described above.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, there is also an illumination system with which high efficiency can be obtained by using plural light sources (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-171901). In this case, the second lens array 112 is not formed in an optimal shape as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-346557, but a second lens array (with apertures of the same shape) having substantially the same shape as the first lens array 110 is used.
Also, in a constitution described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-171901, and in a constitution in which a method of synthesizing plural light sources described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-171901 is applied to a constitution described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-346557, as in the case in which the single light source is used, light source images formed in the central part of the lens array 112 are light source images which are large compared with light source images formed in the peripheral part. This phenomenon will be hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 11.
Since an ellipsoidal mirror 2 has a focusing action like a lens, light beams irradiated from a light-emitting portion 16 of a first focus 15 are condensed in the vicinity of a second focus 17 to form an image of the light-emitting portion 16 on the second focus 17 side on a prism 4. However, an action of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 is different from an action of a lens in the following point. That is, if a lens is used instead of using the ellipsoidal mirror 2, in the case of the lens, a ratio of a distance from a position of the light-emitting portion 16 to a lens surface having the focusing action and a distance from the lens surface to a position, where an image is focused, is always fixed whichever position of the lens light passes On the other hand, in the case in which the ellipsoidal mirror 2 is used, if a distance from the first focus 15, where the light-emitting portion 16 of the lamp 1 is arranged, to a reflection surface of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 having the focusing action is short, a distance from a position of the reflection surface to a second focus 17, where a light source image is formed, is long. In such a case, a relatively large light source image is formed on the second focus 17 side on the prism 4. Conversely, as the distance from the first focus 15 to the reflection surface of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 becomes longer, the distance from the reflection surface of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 to the second focus 17 becomes shorter. In such a case, a relatively small light source image is formed on the second focus 17 side.
Therefore, in the optical system shown in FIG. 11, when a light beam irradiated from the light-emitting portion 16 of the lamp 1 is reflected in the vicinity of the optical axis of the ellipsoidal mirror 2, the distance from the reflection surface of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 to the second focus 17 side on the prism 4 becomes relatively long. As indicated by a single arrow in FIG. 11, a light beam made incident on a synthesis mirror 6 of the prism 4 through such a path has a large outgoing angle and is made incident in the vicinity of an optical axis of a lens 8. As a result, this light beam passes through a lens 109 in the vicinity of the optical axis 7 of the first lens array 110 and focuses a relatively large light source image on a lens 111 in the central part of the second lens array 112.
On the other hand, when a light beam irradiated from the light-emitting portion 16 of the lamp 1 is reflected in a position distant from the optical axis of the ellipsoidal mirror 2, the distance from the reflection surface of the ellipsoidal mirror 2 to the second focus 17 side on the prism 4 becomes relatively short. As indicated by a double arrow in FIG. 11, the light beam made incident on the synthesis mirror 6 of the prism 4 through such a path has a small outgoing angle and is made incident in a position distant from the optical axis of the lens 8. As a result, this light beam passes through the lens 109 distant from the optical axis of the first lens array 110 and focuses a relatively small light source image on the lens 111 in the peripheral part of the second lens array 112. Note that the above description is true for a lamp 1′ and an ellipsoidal mirror 2′.
In this way, on the second lens array 112, relatively large two light source images are formed in the central part and relatively small two light source images are formed in the peripheral part. In addition, since a size of the light source image is different in the central part and the peripheral part, there is almost no space or there is a small space between two light source images on the second lens array 112 in the central part, but a relatively large space is formed in the peripheral part. FIG. 12 shows an example of a light source image on the second lens array formed as described above. FIG. 12 shows an example in which there are thirty-six lenses 9, there are two light sources, and seventy-two light source images are formed on the lens array 12.
In the illumination optical system using the first lens array 110 and the second lens array 112, only in the case in which a light source image condensed in the respective lenses 109 has passed through the apertures of the corresponding respective lenses 111 of the second lens array 112, the light source image is irradiated on an area, which should be illuminated, as an effective light beam. Therefore, in order to increase light beams which are irradiated on an area which should be illuminated, as in the case of the single light source, it is conceivable to increase a size of the apertures of the respective lenses 111 in the central part of the second lens array 112.
In addition, in another optical system, in the case in which an optical system of separating two polarized components inherent in natural light is arranged between the first lens array 110 and the second lens array 112 even if one light source is used, or in an optical system of making two optical axis substantially agree with each other by the time when light beams reach the second lens array 112 after the light beams are emitted from two light sources and reach the separate lens arrays 110, compared with the number of lenses NLA1 included in the first lens array 110, the number of lenses NLA2 included in the second lens array 112 is made equal to a number found by multiplying the number of light beams from one light source, which is divided by a polarized component or a wavelength band, or the number of light source N=2 by the number of lenses NLA1 of the first lens array as indicated by the following expression,NLA2=2×NLA1  (Expression 1)whereby an illumination device using plural light beams or light sources is constituted (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-66926 and Japanese Patent No. 3301951).
However, when plural light sources are provided and the second lens array is provided with regular-shaped apertures or irregular-shaped apertures, since a gap exists between a pair of light source images formed on lenses in the peripheral part of the second lens array 112, there is a problem in that further improvement of efficiency cannot be attained. In this case, if a light source image, which is formed by a lens separate from the predetermined lens 109 of the first lens array 110, is arranged in the gap between this pair of light source images, since a light beam of a light source image, which is formed by the separate lens 109′, inserted between the pair of light source images is not condensed in an area which should be illuminated from the second lens array, after all, efficiency of use of the illumination device is declined.
This will be hereinafter described specifically. FIG. 13 shows an arrangement of images of two light sources on the second lens array 112 in the case in which irregular-shaped aperture lenses are used as the second lens array 112. As it is evident from FIG. 13, compared with light source images in the central part, light source images in the peripheral part of the second lens array are small images with spaces formed among the images.
FIG. 14(a) shows paths of light beams passing through the first lens array 110 and the second lens array 112 to reach the light-receiving surface 114 in the case in which irregular-shaped aperture lenses are used as the second lens array 112. Light having passed through a predetermined lens 109 of the first lens array 110 reaches the entire light-receiving surface 114 serving as an area, which should be illuminated (an effective area shown in FIG. 14(a)), via the lens 111 on the second lens array 112 corresponding to the lens 109. Then, similarly, light having passed through separate predetermined lens 109′ of the first lens array 110 reaches the entire light-receiving surface 114 serving as an area, which should be illuminated, via a lens 111′ corresponding to the lens 109′.
Next, it is considered to arrange another pair of light source images in order to make use of the gap between the pair of light source images in the peripheral part of the lens array 112 shown in FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 14(b), the decentering of the lens 109′ is adjusted so as to cause a light beam having passed through the lens 109′ of the first lens array 110 to reach the lens 111 instead of reaching the lens 111′.
In other words, the decentering of the lens 109′ is adjusted so as to insert at least one light source image of a pair of light source images, which are condensed by the lens 109′ separate from the predetermine lens 109 on the lens array 110, between a pair of light source images condensed by the predetermined lens 109 of the lens array 110. Therefore, at this point, the lens 111, which is one aperture having one center of curvature, includes at least three light source images.
The center of curvature of the lens 111 in the second lens array 112 is set so as to irradiate a light beam having passed through the lens 109 of the first lens array 110 on the light-receiving surface 114 via the lens 111. Therefore, a light beam, which passes through the lens 109′ to reach the lens 111 having a correspondence relation with the lens 109, cannot reach the entire light-receiving surface 114 serving as an area which should be illuminated (effective area). In other words, the light beam reaches an ineffective area shown in FIG. 14(b). Due to such reasons, with the conventional design method and constitution of decentering the first lens array 110 such that a light source image formed by the lens 109′ separate from the predetermined lens 109 of the first lens array 110 is arranged in a gap of light source images formed by the predetermined lens, efficiency of use of the illumination device is declined on the contrary.
Note that the lenses included in the second lens array 112 in FIG. 14 and the lenses included in the second lens array 112 shown in FIG. 9 are shown in the figure in different numbers and shapes. However, this does not relate to the essence of the description.
The constitutions described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-346557 and Japanese Patent No. 3301951 have the same problems as the above-described examples. Note that the entire disclosure of the above-described documents is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Illumination device and illumination method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Apparatus, and associated method, converts real-time multimedia information generated pursuant to an RTP protocol into a form amenable for transmission upon a radio channel, such as a radio channel defined in a cellular communication system. When converted, the informational content of the multimedia information is transmitted in a manner that achieves spectral efficiency and low, constant delay. Once transmitted over the radio channel, the multimedia information is converted back into form corresponding to the RTP protocol before being sent to the receiving station.

Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the introduction of, and popularization of, new types of, and improvements in existing, communication systems. Increasingly large amounts of data are permitted to be communicated at increasing thruput rates through the use of such new, or improved, communication systems. As a result of such improvements, new types of communications, requiring high data thruput rates, are possible. Digital communication techniques, for instance, are increasingly utilized in communication systems to efficiently communicate digital data, and the use of such techniques has facilitated the increased data thruput rates.
Multimedia communications, for instance, are exemplary of new types of communications permitted as a result of the improvements in communications technologies. Multimedia communications refer, generally, to the communication of more than one type of data between a sending station and a receiving station. Typically, the communication of such more than one type of data appears, to a user, to be simultaneous. Multimedia communications include, for instance, voice-over-data applications. Audio signals overlaid upon video signals used to effectuate teleconferencing is an example of a multimedia communication application. Two-way white board communication is exemplary of another multimedia communication application.
The different types of data exhibit different communication requirements. For instance, voice data must be communicated in real-time. That is to say, voice data must be communicated without significant delay and must be communicated in a manner which permits its reconstruction at a receiving station in a manner which introduces minimal time distortion. Otherwise, the voice data shall appear to be noticeably distorted. Conversely, non-voice data is not as time-sensitive. However, more stringent accuracy requirements are associated with non-voice data.
Multimedia communications can be effectuated utilizing packet data communication techniques. With the popularization of the Internet and communication thereon, standardized, multimedia protocols have been set forth by which to communicate multimedia information in a form amenable to its transmission by way of the Internet. An example of multimedia protocol is H.323. H.323 is a widely used ITU standard which uses RTP.
According to the H.323 protocol, when multimedia data is to be transmitted by a sending station, logical channels upon which to transmit the data are assigned. The data channels are allocated responsive to requests made by the sending station. Separate logical channels are requested for separate types of data. For instance, a first logical channel is requested upon which to transmit voice data, and allocation of a second logical channel is requested for transmission of non-voice data. A subset of the H.323 protocol, referred to as the H.245 protocol, defines the manner in which the channels are requested. Packets of data are thereafter transmitted upon the logical channels. In conventional manner, the individual packets include header information, such as IP, UDP and RTP information, to identify to where the packet is to be directed and to provide a time stamp with the packet. The information of a packet of data, referred to as the payload, is appended to the header information.
The H.323 protocol was intended originally for wireline communications, such as between communication stations, connected by wireline connections including those of the Internet. But, advancements in communication technologies have also permitted the widespread usage of radio communication systems. A cellular communication system is exemplary of a wireless communication system which has achieved wide levels of popularity and usage. Telephonic communication by way of a cellular communication system mimics communication by way of a conventional wireline, telephonic system. However, because a radio-link is utilized in a cellular, or other radio, communication system, bandwidth considerations are generally more significant than when wireline networks are utilized for communications. That is to say, the radio-link upon which communication is communicated in a radio communication system is of a limited bandwidth capacity. And, by reducing the bandwidth requirements of information communicated thereon, the information capacity of the radio-link can be increased. So, efforts are made to minimize the bandwidth requirements of signals transmitted over the radio-link.
Information communicated pursuant to an H.323 protocol is predicated upon a packet-data configuration. The header information required of each packet of data is relatively bandwidth-consumptive. As a result, communication of multimedia information by way of a radio-link, such as that formed in the operation of a cellular communication system, is a relatively inefficient manner by which to communicate multimedia information. However, because the RTP-based protocol has become a de facto standard by which to format multimedia information, multimedia stations shall likely continue to be operable pursuant to such protocol irrespective of the bandwidth inefficiency of communication of packet data by way of the radio-link.
If a manner could be provided by which more efficiently to communicate multimedia information by way of a radio-link, while still utilizing the RTP-based protocol at the sending and receiving stations, improved multimedia communications by way of a radio communication system could result.
It is in light of this background information related to multimedia communications that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Apparatus and associated method for communicating multimedia information upon a communication link


The present invention is to be utilized as a safety device for a passenger riding a vehicle in tandem with the vehicle's operator. The invention is a safety belt device that allows for the passenger to securely grasp one or two handgrips attached to a belt worn around the operator's waist. This invention allow for the passenger to better maintain and stabilize their balance, preventing possible accidents or injury.

The present invention is intended to be used as a safety device for passengers riding in tandem with the operator of an open-air vehicle, where the term "riding in tandem" refers to the practice where the passenger is situated directly behind the operator of the vehicle. The primary intention of the present invention is that it be used by passengers riding on a motorcycle, but this device may also be used in conjunction with other vehicles such as snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles (ATV's), wave runners or similar sports vehicles. The operator of such a vehicle, having the vehicle's handlebars to hold onto, has little problem in stabilizing their balance or maintaining their position on the vehicle. The passenger, not having handlebars to hold onto, must wrap their arms around the operators waist, or cling to the adjacent sides of the vehicle's seat to stabilize their balance. This practice is both cumbersome and inefficient.
The present invention is intended to solve this problem by allowing a passenger riding in tandem on a motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV, wave runner or similar sports vehicle, a more convenient and effective means to stabilize their balance and secure their position on the vehicle. This invention will not only increase the passengers comfort, but should also result in the reduction or prevention of significant weight shifts during travel.
The use of a safety belt device, allowing a passenger riding in tandem better weight stabilization, is not a new concept. There have been other attempts made in the past to create such a device, some of which have been successful. However, the present invention contains advantages not found in the prior art.
One advantage of the present invention can be found in its simplicity. In one preferred embodiment, the present invention is an adaptation of a common device, known as a carabiner. These devices are readily available at a low cost, and may be adapted to form a part of the present invention. These factors make the present invention economical to manufacture, giving it a commercial benefit over the prior art.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that its compact size allows for easy storage. One disadvantage of a motorcycle, as compared to other automotive vehicles, is that it lacks storage space. Prior art systems employed specialized belts and cumbersome gripping mechanisms, requiring significant storage space. The belt or straps used in the present invention may be the same as any other belt or strap except that it is preferably modified with two laterally placed sets of holes (one on each side of the operator's waist) used for connection with the carabiner's sliding pins. While not being used as a stabilization device the carabiners may be easily removed from the belt or strap and stored. The operator may elect to wear the belt or strap(s) while off of the vehicle. The ability of the safety belt or strap to be worn by the operator while off the vehicle eliminates having to store a specialized belt on the motorcycle. Summarizing, the belt or strap(s) and the carabiner handles may be stored with the vehicle or taken with the rider/operator of the vehicle after the vehicle is parked.
The present invention, in one preferred form, consists of at least one carabiner, a handgrip, a sliding pin, and a locking mechanism. A passenger, riding in tandem on a motorcycle, clips preferably two carabiners around a belt worn by the operator. Each carabiner may be secured to the belt through the sliding pin through a hole in the belt. The exact location of these holes may vary, but they are preferably located near the operator's hips. Once the sliding pin has been inserted through the belt, the locking mechanism may be used to secure the position of the sliding pin, ensuring that the carabiner handles remain in place. With the carabiner handles securely attached to the belt worn around the operator's waist, the passenger grasps onto the handles and the vehicle is operated in normal fashion. As the vehicle accelerates or changes momentum the passenger uses the handles to maintain their balance, stabilize their position and insure a more secure ride.

Vehicle safety belt weight stabilization device


A method for transmitting measurement data includes receiving measurement data in a first communication module, time stamping the measurement data in the first module with a time tag, transmitting the measurement data to a second communication module via a packet switched data network, and outputting the transmitted measurement data after a predefined delay time ΔtD after the time stamping of the measurement data.

In line differential protection, an electrical power line is protected by two line differential protection relays placed at two distant locations or ends of the power line. By comparing phase information of the current in the power line at the different locations, a differential protection relay may detect critical situations on the power line like short circuits and may isolate the power line from the electrical grid before damage to the electrical equipment will occur.
At each of the different locations of the power line, a measurement device is located that measures the actual current through the power line. The data of each measurement device may then be sent to the differential protection relay, which compares data from different measurement devices, for example, to determine a phase shift between the two currents at two different points of the power line. Here, a problem arises that data measured at the same time needs to be compared, and that a protection relay may therefore need to know the time delays caused by the communication link.
In many cases, electric power utilities use circuit switched SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) or SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) networks for wide area communication of mission critical operational data like teleprotection signalling or SCADA control and supervision data. Alternatively, data communication between distant locations of an electrical utility may rely on packet switched data networks like Ethernet. However, packet switched data networks may have a variable packet latency, or packet delay variation, for example, the transmission times of packets sent from a first device to a second device may vary over time. Furthermore, the transmission time of a packet sent from a first device to a second device may differ from a transmission time of a packet sent from the second device to a first device. Hence, synchronizing data transmitted over a packet switched network may prove difficult.
An article by W. A. Montgomery entitled "Techniques for Packet Voice Synchronization", IEEE Journal Vol. SAC-1 No. 6, December 1983, describes ways to transmit packetized voice over a packet switched network and to reconstruct a continuous stream of speech from a set of packets arriving with varying transit delay and even out of order. In long-haul networks, the propagation delay may exceed 100 ms, while significant inter-packet delay variation is caused by packet queuing in the switches. In an embodiment deemed disadvantageous for cost reasons, packet sender and receiver are synchronized to the same absolute time reference, and each packet carries an indication of its production time. For an arriving packet, a target play-out time is determined as a fixed interval after the packet production time. Synchronization of the clocks at the sender and receiver involves a reliable separate channel with known propagation delays.

Data transmission over packet switched network


A universal paint grid for attachment to either the internal ledge of a container or the external ledge of a different container comprising a paint grid member having a porous plate for rolling a paint roller thereon to remove excess paint from the paint roller with the universal paint grid including a pair of internal lips located on the grid member for engaging an internal ledge of a first container to hold a paint grid therein and a flexible panel integrally connected to the grid member with the flexible panel having a pair of flexible ears each having an external lip for engaging an external ledge on a different container to hold the universal paint grid therein.

Today paint rollers are being used more and more to apply paint to surfaces. Oftentimes, small paint rollers are dunked directly into the cylindrical paint container. To roll off excess paint, a paint distribution plate or paint grid is inserted into the paint container.
Briefly, a paint grid comprises a porous plate which is held in the container so that the user can roll the paint roller on the paint grid to remove excess paint from the roller. One of the problems is that paint containers, and particularly gallon containers, have different shapes which preclude the paint grids from being used with all containers, that is, plastic containers typically have an external ledge, while metal containers usually have an internal ledge, and since the paint grid must be held in the paint container, a paint grid which is usable with a container having an internal ledge is not generally usable with a container having an external ledge.
The present invention provides a universal paint grid which is usable with paint containers having either internal or external ledges.


An internal valve for pressurized fluid containment vessels having vessel ports. The valve includes a valve seat associated with the vessel port and a valve member movable between a closed position against the valve seat and an open position wherein fluid can flow through the vessel port. A control chamber positioned in the vessel is connected to the valve member. A motive mechanism acting on or in the control chamber, by a control system outside of the vessel, controllably moves the valve member to at least one of the open or closed positions. The control chamber is sealed from fluid in the vessel by a sealing system, which includes a flexing surface against which fluid pressure in the vessel acts to thereby bias the valve member towards one of the open or closed positions.

The present invention relates to internal safety valves for fluid containment vessels. It also relates to positive displacement metering pumps for fluid transport vessels.
Society today requires that numerous chemical materials be handled, many of which have hazardous or obnoxious properties. These materials include acids, alkalies, chlorine, ammonia, liquefied petroleum gases, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide, mercaptans, fuels, pesticides, radioactive materials, and industrial wastes. To insure that these hazardous, obnoxious, or valuable or sensitive materials do not escape into the environment during their processing, storage and transportation they must be contained in strong vessels or piping systems. These vessels and piping systems must not only provide satisfactory access to the contained materials, but must completely and safely contain them at all times when the escape thereof to the outside environment is unsafe or otherwise undesirable. In some cases, it is even desirable to protect the material itself from the environment.
The unintentional escape of such substances from their containers can have disastrous consequences, including the loss of life, damage to health or property, public inconvenience and even the mass evacuation of public areas. Accordingly, there is a strong need to provide safer containment systems. Although totally sealed vessels providing no access to the outside can be designed to be highly reliable, access to the materials stored in them is of course necessary. Valves with or without mechanical actuator devices to operate them are therefore provided. The containment vessels are typically reliably built, and it is the traditional valvings thereof which are the weak points in the system and thereby reduce the reliability and usefulness of the entire containment system.
In some instances, relatively large leaks or seepage rates from valves are tolerated by users and by society depending upon the particular location and the state, pressure and properties of the stored materials whether hazardous or nonhazardous. However, in the case of extremely toxic, reactive, obnoxious, valuable or sensitive materials even small failures of containment or seepages can be so objectionable as to discourage or even preclude the handling, transportation or storage of them. This problem is growing due to the public's increasing anxiety over the handling of chemical and radioactive materials by both industry and government. Materials which exist in normal conditions as high pressure or liquefied gases are particularly troublesome especially if the materials have a foul odor or corrosive properties. Seepages may not even approach hazardous levels before the users of the materials are exposed to adverse publicity, litigation and extremely stringent and costly regulations. When valve systems used with hazardous, obnoxious or valuable materials fail, the release of the materials can thus have potentially lethal and costly consequences. This failure can result from highway accidents, fires, explosions, earthquakes, storms, misuse, abuse and vandalism.
Known valve systems typically comprise a moveable plug assembly or port which can be manipulated relative to a valve seat to open or close the valve. This manipulation is usually done by transferring a mechanical force from outside of the valve to the plug or seat by means of a valve stem passing through a packing gland or a mechanical seal. These seals or glands are dependent upon tight mechanical closures, and they invariably leak to some measurable extent. These valves also are subject to relatively rapid friction wear causing the seals thereof to ultimately fail. Another known valve apparatus is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,640. The entire contents of that patent, of each of the references cited therein and any other patents mentioned anywhere in this disclosure are hereby incorporated by reference.
Most known valves are designed such that if they are to be operated in response to instrumentation or personnel, they must be installed outside of their containment vessel, usually on a nozzle or an attached pipe. While the valve body itself might be capable of withstanding external exposure to the contained material, the operators extant cannot withstand such materials or hard pressure. They characteristically are designed to operate in gentle conditions of temperature, pressure and atmosphere. Accordingly, valves and valve actuators are now usually placed outside of the containment vessel, accessible to personnel. This positioning means, however, that the valve is relatively vulnerable to mechanical damage and damage by impacts, fires, abuse and so forth which would not necessarily damage the containment vessel itself. Further examples of valves positioned generally inside of fluid vessels include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,474,297, 3,164,358, 3,199,534, 3,388,719, 3,986,525 and 4,280,679.
To make the valves less vulnerable and more resistant to some types of external hazards, such as fire, protective shielding is sometimes used. Its use is generally limited, however, and for transportation vessels, it typically increases the vehicle's weight unacceptably.
Specialized internal excess flow valves have been designed to at least partially remedy this vulnerability problem. These valves close automatically using the system or product pressure at preset flow rates. They do not communicate with the outside environment and cannot be controlled externally. By necessity they are designed not to close unless the rate of flow exceeds the maximum expected flow requirements of the system. They are not adjustable as to response without entry into the vessel. Unfortunately, the nonadjustability of these valves and the need to set a flow level higher than the maximum expected flow limits their usefulness. Further, unintentional escapes of material through leaky or partially broken external systems can result in dangerous or obnoxious releases to the environment at flow rates considerably less than the maximum expected flow rates. As a result, these valves protect only against unlikely circumstances involving total downstream failure.
The vulnerability problem has been addressed in a few cases by installing the seat and plug portions of the valve within the tank or vessel envelope and placing the mechanical linkage on the outside of the tank envelope. These valves have shaft or stem seals outside of the tank envelope, and they are vulnerable to physical impact as well as to stem seal seepage. The theory is that the external portions of the valve can be broken or shorn off in an accident and the internal plug and seat will remain intact. This is unlikely however due the actual mechanical stem linkage of the external system to the internal system. Furthermore, in actual practice, this mounting arrangement is easily damaged when impacted, leaving the system totally unprotected and apt to leak.
The seal or gland leakage problem has been partially addressed in some known devices by using bellows or diaphragm seals on the stems of otherwise conventional valves, or by using magnetically-transparent rigid seals through which magnetic forces are transmitted to mechanically manipulate the valve plug or seal; these valves are generally referred to as electromagnetic solenoid valves. In the case of the bellows or diaphragm seal, the seals are intrinsically weak to accommodate the low forces provided by conventional valve actuators and intrinsically small to fit into conventional valve geometries. They are therefore subject to damage by relatively small forces and cannot withstand the environmental rigors inside containment vessels.
Electromagnetic solenoid valves are limited to small sizes and low pressure operating ranges due to the practical limitations on the power or force output of reasonably small magnetic actuators. These devices attempt to solve the problem of limited force by means of pilot valves. The ports of these pilot devices though are very susceptible to plugging with foreign matter and require that the fluid being contained have a minimum pressure differential relative to the downstream pressure in order for the valve to move or even to reliably stay in one position. Electromagnetically generated forces, furthermore, utilize electric currents sufficient to generate sparks, and therefore are often not suitable for use around flammable or explosive mixtures. No known devices of this type have the stated ability to operate within high pressures or the high pressure containment vessel itself.
Valves which are to be operated or controlled from the outside of the vessel are typically designed to be installed outside of the vessel in whole or in significant part as previously stated. This leaves the valve highly vulnerable to accidental damage and susceptible to seal leakage particularly for high pressure systems. A practical solution to the problem of externally controlling the action of a valve when the valve is fully contained within a pressure vessel in a manner which prevents even seepage leaks from the control device itself was not previously known.

Internal valve for pressure fluid containment vessels


An apparatus and method for the treatment and preservation of wooden materials includes depositing wooden materials to be treated into a confined, thermally insulated container and introducing smoke from a charcoal oven into that space to heat that space and treat the wooden materials. After a pre-determined amount of time of exposure to the treatment smoke at a controlled temperature and humidity level, the wooden materials will exhibit increased resistance characteristics.

The use of wood as a building material has existed for centuries. Wood is a material that has been in abundant supply and has characteristics, such as durability, flexural, compressive and tensile strength, which make a nearly ideal material for structural constructions. However, wooden materials can be weather and time sensitive and can degrade, thus necessitating the need to treat the wood to enhance its natural characteristics and guard against this deterioration.
More specifically, one of the drawbacks of utilizing wooden materials is penetration by insects, microbial agents, and climatic conditions such as temperature and climate changes. Attempts to solve this problem included chemical treatments of woods using various chemicals such as creosote pressure-treated wood, pentachlorophenol pressure-treated wood, and inorganic arsenical pressure-treated wood. However, these treatments necessitate the handling and utilization of potentially hazardous chemicals, some of which are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Once such common chemical treatment of wood has been the use of chromate copper arsenate, also known as CCA or arsenicum. CCA has been used to pressure treat lumber used for decks, playgrounds (play-sets) and other outdoor uses since the 1930's. Since the 1970's the majority of the wood used in residential settings was CCA-treated wood. However, due to CCA containing arsenic, a known carcinogen, any exposure to such a chemical is potentially hazardous to human health.
Thus, what is needed is a method to extend the useful duration of wood without using chemicals to accomplish the treatment.

Apparatus and method for the treatment and preservation of wood materials