An optical information storage unit for irradiating a light on a recording medium which has a recording surface with a land and a groove, and detecting a reproduced signal from a reflected light received from the recording medium, is constructed to include a first optical element separating the reflected light received from the recording medium into at least three bundles of rays, a second optical element compensating phases of the bundles of rays separated by the first optical element, and a third optical element detecting polarization states of the bundles of rays separated by the first optical element. An amount of phase compensation made by the second optical element is such that an absolute value of a difference between an amount of phase compensation required to reproduce a signal from the land and an amount of phase compensation required to reproduce a signal from the groove is greater than or equal to 60.degree. but less than or equal to 180.degree..

The present invention generally relates to optical information storage units, and more particularly to an optical information storage unit which is suited for a high density information recording and reproduction.
In this specification, an "information storage unit" refers to an apparatus which records information on and/or reproduces information from a recording medium.
Recently, there is much attention on a recording and reproducing technique which uses the near field when magneto-optically recording and reproducing information on and from a recording medium. Active research is made particularly in a technique which uses a solid immersion lens (hereinafter referred to as a solid immersion lens (SIL) technique), because the SIL technique can realize a super high density information recording and reproduction. The SIL technique itself is disclosed for example in "Current Status & Future of Magneto-Optical Disks" by Nobutake Imamura, MO DISK, Japan, Aug. 21, 1996, pp.54-55.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view for explaining the operating principle of the SIL technique. In FIG. 1, a bundle of rays emitted from a light source (not shown) is once converted into parallel rays by a collimator lens (not shown) or, is converted into a convergent spherical wave by a non-aberration lens 105 which can converge the bundle of rays to a diffraction limit in a state of a direct divergent light. The convergent spherical wave is incident to a spherical surface side of a hemispherical lens 106 which is made of a material having a large refractive index, and converges on a surface cut along a equatorial plane of the hemispherical lens 106.
A magneto-optic recording medium 107 is made up of a substrate 107a, a magneto-optic recording layer 107b, and a protection layer 107c. A gap between the hemispherical lens 106 and the magneto-optic recording layer 107b is maintained less than or equal to a wavelength of the bundle of rays irradiated due to an air flow. Because the refractive index of the hemispherical lens 106 is extremely large, a large portion of the bundle of rays undergoes a total reflection if no object exists in a vicinity of the convergent surface. However, if an object exists in the vicinity of the convergent surface, the bundle of rays is radiated due to an evanescent wave coupling.
A spot size of a light beam at an emission surface of the hemispherical lens 106 is inversely proportional to a product of the refractive index and a numerical aperture (NA) of the non-aberration lens 105. In other words, the larger both the refractive index and the NA are, the smaller the spot size of the light beam. For example, if the refractive index is 2, the spot size of the light beam becomes one-half by the provision of the hemispherical lens 106 as compared to a case where only the non-aberration lens 106 having the same NA is provided.
As described above, the SIL technique is an extremely important technique for realizing the super high density information recording and reproduction. For this reason, in order to further improve the recording density, it is desirable to apply the SIL technique to a magneto-optic recording medium having a land and a groove to be recorded with information.
When recording the information on the land, the groove exists between two adjacent lands, and the generation of a crosstalk in which the information recorded on the adjacent land mixes into the reproduced information is suppressed because the lands recorded with the information are separated from each other. Similarly, when recording the information on the groove, the land exists between two adjacent grooves, and the generation of a crosstalk in which the information recorded on the adjacent groove mixes into the reproduced information is suppressed because the grooves recorded with the information are separated from each other.
However, when recording the information on both the land and the groove, information recording regions become contiguous and the generation of the crosstalk from the contiguous recording regions is unavoidable, thereby greatly affecting the information reproducing characteristic.
A method of reducing the crosstalk from the land or the groove by appropriately setting a depth of the groove has been proposed in a Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.8-7357, for example. According to this proposed method, in a case where the wavelength of the light beam is 680 nm, the NA of an objective lens used is 0.55 and the widths of the land and the groove are 0.7 .mu.m, the crosstalk is reduced by setting the depth of the groove to approximately 1/6 the wavelength.
But even if the spot size of the light beam irradiated on the recording surface of the magneto-optic recording medium is the same, as the track pitch becomes narrower by the use of the SIL technique described above, there was a problem in that the crosstalk cannot be reduced sufficiently in the case of a groove having the depth on the order of approximately 1/6 the wavelength. In addition, compared to the normal case where the depth of the groove of the magneto-optic recording medium is 1/8 the wavelength, there also were problems in that a carrier level of the signal decreases and a level of a push-pull signal which is used as a tracking error signal also decreases in the case of the groove having the depth on the order of approximately 1/6 the wavelength.
On the other hand, it has been reported that the condition for reducing the crosstalk in the proposed method, that is, the setting of the depth of the groove of the magneto-optic recording medium, easily changes depending on the Kerr ellipticity, spherical aberration and focal error of the objective lens, and the like.
Furthermore, a Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.9-128825, for example, proposes a method of reducing the crosstalk by setting the width of the land approximately the same as the width of the groove having an optical depth of approximately 1/8 the wavelength when recording the information on the land and the groove of the magneto-optic recording medium. But in this case, it is necessary to provide two read channels, namely, a read channel for reproducing the signal from the land and a read channel for reproducing the signal from the groove, and it is also necessary to provide a plurality of wave plates and prisms or the like for separating the bundle of rays. Consequently, there was a problem in that the optical information storage apparatus according to this proposed method becomes expensive.
On the other hand, even in the case where the information is recorded on the land or the groove of the magneto-optic recording medium, a reflected light component from the adjacent groove or land increases thereby introducing a phase error as the track pitch is further reduced by employing the SIL technique. As a result, there was a problem in that the information cannot be reproduced satisfactorily from the magneto-optic recording medium because the polarized state changes due to the phase error.


A hair cosmetic formulation, comprises (A) a fragrance ingredient comprising cis-3-hexenol; and (B) monoethanolamine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hair cosmetic compositions that contain cis-3-hexenol and monoethanolamine in which the cis-3-hexenol not only masks the unpleasant odor of monoethanolamine, but also the mixture of cis-3-hexanol and monoethanolamine imparts a desirable fragrance to the composition.
2. Description of the Background
In hair dye or coloring formulations (hereinafter collectively called "hair coloring formulations"), alkaline agents such as ammonia and monoethanolamine are frequently incorporated therein. The ammonia and amine smells, which these compositions inherently have, have remained unsolved as a serious problem for both those applying the hair coloring formulations and those treated with the formulations. In shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products containing ammonia or monoethanolamine, there also exists the same problem of smells as mentioned above. Thus, there has been a long-standing desire for the development of a method for masking ammonia and amine odors inherent to these formulations. In many hair cosmetic compositions with such hair coloring formulations incorporated therein, on the other hand, a penetration promoter of the aromatic alcohol type is added to promote the penetration of ingredients which act on hair. However, this penetration promoter also imparts a solvent smell to the compositions. These factors have led to a significant need for the development of a method by which the odor of such compositions can be masked.


A calibration method for at least one propulsion unit of a marine vessel, the at least one propulsion unit being arranged to provide a propulsive force to the vessel, the at least one propulsion unit being adjustable so as to change a respective steering angle of the at least one propulsion unit in relation to a hull of the vessel. The method includes controlling the at least one propulsion unit so as to provide at least one acceleration sequence, wherein the vessel is accelerated stepwise or continuously in each acceleration sequence, adjusting, continuously or repeatedly, during the acceleration sequence, the steering angle of the at least one propulsion unit, to keep the path of the vessel straight during the acceleration sequence, registering, during the acceleration sequence, a plurality of values of the respective steering angle of the at least one propulsion unit, and determining, based at least partly on the registered steering angle values, a respective reference steering angle of the at least one propulsion unit, which reference steering angle minimizes a deviation of an actual course over ground of the vessel from a desired course over ground of the vessel.

In a marine vessel production, one or more propulsion units of a vessel may need to be inspected so as to find a center steering angle of the respective propulsion unit, presumed to provide a straight path of travel of the vessel. Each center steering angle may simply be a respective angular position which is midways between two extreme positions of the respective propulsion unit. Finding this position may be done e.g. by laser positioning tools. The center steering angle may assist the control of the vessel in numerous operational situations, such as low speed operations, at sport fishing and/or a joystick control mode of the vessel.
A marine vessel propulsion unit calibration method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,890. The method involves changing a steering alignment of two propulsion units, by a known and symmetrical amount in order to identify and characterize the effect that such a change has on the operating efficiency of the marine vessel.
There is nevertheless a remaining desire to improve known marine vessel propulsion unit calibration methods.

Marine vessel propulsion unit calibration method


An apparatus and a method for determining a bit rate of audio content, and more particularly, an audio content bit rate determining apparatus and a method capable of quickly and correctly identifying audio content compressed at a constant bit rate from among audio content compressed at a variable bit rate and a constant bit rate, are provided. The apparatus includes a first bit rate determiner for determining a bit rate type of audio content having frames with the same frame size by skipping a predetermined number of frames with respect to the audio content, and a second bit rate determiner for determining a bit rate type of audio content having frames with different frame sizes by skipping a predetermined number of frames with respect to the audio content.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining a bit rate of audio content. More particularly, the present invention relates to an audio content bit rate determining apparatus and method capable of quickly and correctly identifying audio content compressed at a constant bit rate from among pieces of audio content compressed at a variable bit rate and the constant bit rate.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development and launching of portable audio devices have contributed to the quick spread in the use of MPEG Audio Layer-3 (MP3) files.
An MP3 compression scheme may adjust a bit rate in data transmission to obtain an excellent compression ratio while sound quality decreases. An MP3 format represents audio data as a sequence of frames, each frame having an independent bit rate. Each of the frames may have the same bit rate (Constant Bit Rate (CBR)) or a different bit rate (Variable Bit Rate (VBR)).
Since bit rates of audio frames of data compressed at a VBR are not constant, the bit rates of all of the audio frames should be identified to correctly obtain an average bit rate and a play time of the data. Because of this, the bit rate is important for acquiring audio information, such as a play time, or seeking for a song section to determine whether audio content, such as an MP3 file, has been compressed at a CBR or a VBR.
Accordingly, if the determination is not performed quickly, a method used for audio content compressed at a VBR should be used as well even for audio content compressed at a CBR that dominates most audio content, so an overhead is very large.
A very large overhead is consumed to distinguish a CBR from a VBR for play time information or seeking regardless of the fact that most pieces of audio content are compressed at a VBR. This causes a number of problems with popularization of smart phones having music playback functions, because a lot of resources and time are required for data scanning (e.g., an Android media scanning service, etc.) and management, as an amount of data to be managed increases in a geometric series. As a result, a song section seeking method is also based on a trial and error method for repeatedly seeking for a syncword at an incorrect position.

Apparatus and method for determining bit rate for audio content


This is to provide an image processing apparatus and others capable of ensuring security by shortening the connecting time of an external recording medium when a plurality of jobs including target data pieces encrypted with shared keys and the shared keys encrypted with a user's public key are executed. A job including a target data piece encrypted with a shared key and the shared key encrypted with a user's public key are received and stored in a job storage. To execute the plurality of jobs stored therein, the encrypted shared keys included in the respective jobs are decrypted with a secret key by the external recording medium. After completely obtaining all the plurality of decrypted shared keys, the target data pieces are decrypted with their matching decrypted shared keys, and then the jobs are executed.

Conventionally, there has been known a technology to encrypt a target data piece included in a job from a security point of view, by using an external recording medium holding a public key and a secret key and having the function for decrypting data with this secret key, when the job is transmitted to an image processing apparatus, such as a MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that is a multifunctional digital machine, from a personal computer (hereinafter will be referred to as "PC") that is a user (client) terminal connected to a network.
To explain in other words, different shared keys are generated for respective data pieces by the PC. And a target data piece is encrypted with its shared key and this shared key is encrypted with a public key of the external recording medium. The encrypted target data piece and shared key are transmitted to the image processing apparatus. When the recording medium is connected to the image processing apparatus receiving the encrypted target data piece and shared key, the encrypted shared key is decrypted by the external recording medium with a secret key thereof. With this decrypted shared key, the target data piece is decrypted, and then the job is executed.
This technology appears in concrete form in Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-348250, as follows. An image processing apparatus encrypts a target data piece with a shared key, encrypts this shared key with a public key, and stores the encrypted target data piece and shared key with their connection. When the job data is printed out, the encrypted shared key is transmitted to an IC card holding a secret key, and the shared key decrypted with this secret key is obtained therefrom. With this decrypted shared key, the encrypted job data is decrypted.

Image processing apparatus, encrypted job execution method thereof, and recording medium

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


The present invention relates to a composition comprising (i) a layered clay material that has been cation-exchanged with an organic cation salt represented by Formula (I):

This invention relates generally to a polymer composite material having improved barrier properties. More particularly, the polymer composite material of this invention is useful for forming packages or containers that have improved gas barrier properties. Containers made from this polymer composite material are ideally suited for protecting consumable products, such as foodstuffs, carbonated drinks, fruit juices, medicines and the like.
A. Usuki, M. Kato, A. Okada, T. Kurauchi, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 63, 137(1997) describes a polypropylene composite that is made by melt mixing polypropylene with an organoclay that has been expanded with a polyolefin oligomer.
Y. Kurokawa, H. Yasuda, A. Oya, J. Mater. Sci Letters. 15, 1481 (1996) describes a polypropylene composite that is made by copolymerizing diacetone acrylamide and maleic acid modified-polypropylene in the presence of an organoclay and melt mixing with polypropylene.
T. J. Pinnavaia and Tie Lan, Chem. Mater. 6, 2216 (1994) describes oganoclays that have been expanded with epoxy resin monomers.
M. Kawasumi, N. Hasegawa, M. Kato, A. Usuki, and A. Okada, Macromolecules, 30, 6333 (1997) describes a polypropylene composite that is made by melt-mixing polypropylene, maleic anhydride modified polypropylene oligomers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,007 and 5,164,460 disclose polyamide composite materials containing a layered clay mineral intercalated with organic onium salts.
WO 93/04118 relates to a process for forming polymeric composites which are comprised of platelet particles containing organic onium salts dispersed in a polymeric matrix.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,336,647 and 5,429,999 describe the preparation of layered clays containing polyalkoxylated ammonium salts. Use of these clays in polyesters, however, is not disclosed.
Among the numerous patents that describe the preparation of layered clays containing ammonium salts are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,531,427; 2,966,506; 4,081,496; 4,105,578; 4,116,866; 4,208,218; 4,391,637; 4,410,364; 4,412,018; 4,434,075; 4,434,076; 4,450,095; 4,517,112; 4,677,158; 4,769,078; 5,110,501; and 5,334,241.
Polymers such as poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) are widely used in bottles and containers which are used for carbonated beverages, fruit juices, and certain foods. However, because of the limited barrier properties to oxygen, carbon dioxide and the like, PET containers, for example, are not generally used for products requiring long shelf life. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide improved gas barrier properties in polymer containers.
The present invention generally relates to a composite material comprising a polymer having dispersed therein at least one layered clay material that has been cation- exchanged with an organic cation salt. The composite material provides improved gas barrier properties in containers or bottles produced therefrom.
In accordance with the purpose(s) of this invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one aspect, relates to a composition comprising (i) a layered clay material that has been cation-exchanged with an organic cation salt represented by the formula (I):
wherein M is nitrogen or phosphorous, Xxe2x88x92 is a halide, hydroxide, or acetate anion, R1 is a straight or branched alkyl group having at least 8 carbon atoms, and R2, R3, and R4 are independently hydrogen or a straight or branched alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms; and (ii) at least one expanding agent, wherein the cation-exchanged clay material contains platelet particles and the expanding agent separates the platelet particles.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a composite comprising a polymer having dispersed therein (i) at least one layered clay material that has been cation-exchanged with an organic cation salt having at least one straight or branched alkyl group having at least 8 carbon atoms; and (ii) at least one expanding agent that is compatible with the polymer, wherein the cation-exchanged clay material contains platelet particles and the expanding agent separates the platelet particles, and wherein the platelet particles are dispersed in the polymer such that the basal spacing between the platelet particles is greater than about 3 nm.
In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a composite comprising a polymer having dispersed therein (i) a layered clay material that has been cation- exchanged with an organic cation salt represented by Formula (I):
wherein M is nitrogen or phosphorous, Xxe2x88x92 is a halide, hydroxide, or acetate anion, R1 is a straight or branched alkyl group having at least 8 carbon atoms, and R2, R3, and R4 are independently hydrogen or a straight or branched alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms; and (ii) at least one expanding agent that is compatible with the polymer, wherein the cation-exchanged clay material contains platelet particles and the expanding agent separates the platelet particles.
Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description, including the figures, which follow, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of preferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

Nanocomposites for high barrier applications

Abstract: wherein M is nitrogen or phosphorous, Xxe2x88x92 is a halide, hydroxide, or acetate anion, R1 is a straight or branched alkyl group having at least 8 carbon atoms, and R2, R3, and R4 are independently hydrogen or a straight or branched alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms; and (ii) at least one expanding agent, wherein the cation-exchanged clay material contains platelet particles and the expanding agent separates the platelet particles. The present invention also relates to a composite comprising a polymer having dispersed therein a composition of this invention. Preferred polymers for use in the composite include polyesters. The composite of the present invention shows vastly improved platelet separation as evidenced by higher than previously reported basal spacing.


The residual chlorine content of a polyolefin-substituted carboxylic acylating agent formed by a halogen-assisted reaction of a polyalkene and at least one olefinic, monounsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acid, anhydride or ester, is reduced when the reaction is conducted in the presence of a controlled amount of a metal compound.

Compositions derived by reacting polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compositions with amines, alcohols and/or reactive metal compounds are known to be useful additives that provide fuel and lubricating oils with improved dispersing, detergent and/or viscometric properties. The polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compositions are themselves useful as emulsifiers. Such polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compositions are commonly formed by halogen-assisted reaction of polyalkene and at least one olefinic monounsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acid, anhydride or ester, most commonly maleic anhydride. Chlorine is the most commonly used and effective halogen. In a two-step process, as described for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,219,666, a polyalkene is chlorinated until there is on average at least one chloro group for each polyalkene molecule. Chlorination can be achieved by simply contacting the polyalkene with chlorine gas until the desired amount of chlorine is incorporated into the polyalkene, usually at a temperature of about 75 to about 125° C. In the second step of the two-step chlorination process, the chlorinated polyalkene product of the first step is reacted with a molar equivalent, or a molar excess of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester, usually at a temperature of about 100 to about 200° C. Alternatively, and as described for example by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,215,707 and 3,231,587, a mixture of polyalkene and α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester reactants can, in a single step process, be contacted with chlorine gas (e.g., by passing chlorine gas through the mixture with agitation) at an elevated temperature (e.g., 140° C. or above).
Polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compositions synthesized via halogen (usually chlorine)-induced condensation of polyalkene and α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compound conventionally contain a residual chlorine content of 0.5 to 1 mass %, which corresponds to 5,000 to 10,000 parts per million (ppm) of chlorine. Thus, additives derived from polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acid, anhydride or ester compounds (acylating agents) are a source of organochlorine in fuel and motor oils. Due to environmental concerns and regulations, it has become desirable to eliminate, or at least reduce, the level of chlorine and other halogens in fuel and motor oil additives and other industrial products. One way to address concerns regarding residual halogen is to avoid the use of halogen altogether by using a thermal process wherein a polyalkene and olefinic, monounsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acid, anhydride or ester are heated together without halogen assistance, optionally in the presence of a catalyst (a "thermal" or "ene" reaction). Such a method is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,673. However materials formed via the thermal route, in general, have a lower number of acylating groups per molecule. Another solution to the problem is to post-treat a halogen-containing product to remove halogen until the level of halogen in the product is at an acceptable level. Certain methods for accomplishing this are known. These methods, while capable of reducing the halogen content of the polyalkene substituted acylating agent, can also adversely reduce the number of acylating groups due to decarboxylation, manifested as a reduced saponification (SAP) number or level of active ingredient (AI), and can further increase the manufacturing time by requiring additional process steps (e.g., post-treatments or heat soaking).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,671 to Dockner et al, describes a reductive dehalogenation process for reducing the halogen content of an organic halogen compound with formation of a hydrogen halide in which the organic halogen compound is reacted with a hydrocarbon in the presence of elemental carbon at elevated temperature, in the presence of an iron powder or iron compound co-catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,390 to Sivik et al. describes a process for reducing the chlorine content of an organochlorine compound in which the organochlorine compound is mixed with (a) an acid selected from mineral acids other than HI and HBr, and organic acids having a pKa of less than about 2; and (b) a source of iodine or bromine, for a period of time sufficient to reduce the chlorine content of the compound. Chlorine levels in the compound may be reduced by treatment with iodine and bromine compounds. However, as a result, both halogens are present in the final product. Further, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the post treatment of dicarboxylic systems with mineral acids can lead to decarboxylation as well as the degradation of the polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,266 to Sivik et al. discusses a process for reducing chlorine content by post thermal treatment, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,390, using a relatively large amount of a Lewis acid, in the absence of elemental carbon. The Lewis acid is selected from salts of zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, boron, aluminum, tin, titanium and mixtures thereof, preferably in the presence of a source of iodine or bromine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,944 to Pudelski et al. describes a method of reducing the chlorine content of polyalkylene-substituted carboxylic acylating agents which contain chlorine remaining from the chlorine induced condensation of polyalkenes and α-, β-unsaturated carboxylic acid moieties by post treatment with elemental sulfur. The method disclosed results in the formation of hydrogen sulfide as a by-product and a sulfur-containing polyalkene-substituted carboxylic acylating agent having a relatively high kinematic viscosity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,909 to Pudelski et al. describes a method of providing polyalkylene-substituted carboxylic acylating agents having a reduced chlorine content, which method relies on the use of, as the polyalkene reactant, a polyolefin having a total of tetra- and tri-substituted unsaturated end groups in an amount up to about 90 mole percent, wherein the polyolefin is reacted with halogen on a molar basis up to an amount equal to the moles of tetra- and tri-substituted end groups.
EP 0 684 262 describes a process for reducing the chlorine content of chlorinated polypropylene or polyisobutylene, or a mixture of polypropylene and polypropylene succinic anhydride, or polyisobutylene and polyisobutylene and polyisobutylene succinic anhydride, in which the polymer, or polymer and succinic anhydride mixture, is treated with heat for a specified period of time.
EP 0 665 242 describes a method for reducing the chlorine content of polyalkene substituted carboxylic acylating agents which involve treatment with a halogen other than chlorine (e.g., iodine or bromine).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,904 to Barini et al. describe a method for reducing the chlorine content of polyalkene substituted carboxylic acylating agents in which a maleated polyalkene having a residual chlorine content is heat-soaked in an additional amount of maleic anhydride, in the absence of further added chlorine.

Method of forming polyalkene substituted carboxylic acid compositions


A laser apparatus employing a semiconductor laser or the like, and a method of controlling the laser apparatus capable of controlling an driving a temperature control unit on the basis of the sum of the respective power consumptions of the temperature control unit and a driving means so that the laser apparatus operates at a minimum power consumption. The temperature control unit included in a laser oscillator heats or cools a nonlinear optical medium, a temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the nonlinear optical medium, a power consumption detecting unit detects the respective power consumptions of the temperature control unit and the driving means, and a processing means controls and drives the temperature control unit on the basis of the sum of the respective power consumptions of the temperature control unit and the driving means.

The present invention relates to a laser apparatus employing a semiconductor laser or the like, and a method of controlling the laser apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a laser apparatus capable of controlling and driving a temperature control unit on the basis of the total power consumption of the temperature control unit and a driving means so that the laser apparatus operates at a minimum power consumption.
Laser oscillators employing a semiconductor laser have been used in various fields. Laser technology has made remarkable advancement in recent years and battery-powered outdoor laser oscillators, such as survey instruments, are applied to various fields as well as laser oscillators which use a commercial power supply. However, conventional laser oscillators consume much power, and hence the batteries of conventional battery-powered oscillators are exhausted in a relatively short operating time.
Therefore, there has been an intense demand for the development of a laser apparatus capable of emitting a laser beam at a high efficiency, of operating at a low power consumption rate and of continuously operating for a greatly extended operating time.
A laser emits a laser beam at a maximum efficiency when the peak of the gain curve of the laser coincides with the position of the longitudinal mode. Even if an optical resonator is adjusted to a most efficient condition during the assembly of the same the optical resonator changes with time to an inefficient condition due to aged deterioration.
The refractive index of a nonlinear optical medium varies with temperature and hence the quantity of output light varies with the ambient temperature.

Laser apparatus and method of controlling the same


A validation scheme for use with a transaction card such as a calling card, et cetera, using personalized biometric profile data that is inherently coupled to the card owner/user. A configuration process is used for populating a profile database with sample voice or other biometric responses elicited from the owner/user in response to a plurality of questions relating to information uniquely linked to the user such as, e.g., name, age, hobbies, et cetera, or biometric responses such as fingerprints, retinal scans, and palm prints, or implanted ID chips. When a transaction is attempted using the transaction card, a determination is made if a voice profile validation is required for authentication. If so, a question from the plurality of questions used in the configuration process is randomly selected and directed to the user for a response. Access is provided only if a match between the response and corresponding sample is found. In a passive mode, the validation scheme may be utilized as an auxiliary fraud prevention scheme in addition to existing authentication systems.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to access control systems and methods, and more particularly, to a secure transaction card, e.g., a calling card, that uses biometric profiling for validation and access control.
2. Description of Related Art
Access control schemes are a key component in today's fraud detection systems used with respect to transactions that involve a transaction card and the like. For example, as is well known, calling or phone cards, credit cards, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards or debit cards, et cetera, typically require entering a correct Personal Identification Number (PIN) as an access control mechanism. To further increase security, some transaction cards have an integrated circuit (e.g., Smart Cards) which facilitates encryption of a legitimate cardholder's personal identity information and other data.
Although there have been impressive advances in the existing access control schemes designed to reduce costs to a card-issuing entity and its customers, current solutions are not entirely satisfactory. First, there is no sure way that any current system can guard against all forms of fraud, and there is no tangible means of determining what the actual fraud costs are. Moreover, the same technological advances that have increased security by means of encryption are also making it possible for illegitimately deciphering access codes etc.
In addition, current access control schemes are typically static, i.e., the same access code is used for each and every transaction by a user and, accordingly, the same verification scheme is also employed by the fraud detection system associated therewith. Thus, the probability of a successful attack by an unauthorized party to decipher an access code or password increases, thereby rendering the system vulnerable.
Those skilled in the art should appreciate that despite various improvements, transaction card-related fraud is still possible primarily because of two factors. First, cards and their PINs can still be easily stolen or misplaced. And, second, any access control scheme used in connection with a card can be reverse-engineered with luck and perseverance because the devices used as access control "gatekeepers" are typically alphanumeric codes, passwords, and the like which lend themselves to reproduction by somebody who does not own them.

Secure transaction card using biometrical validation


A body implantable lead includes a lead body comprising an insulative housing containing at least one conductive polymer conductor terminating within a distal end portion of the lead body at an electrode structure carried by the distal end portion of the lead body. The electrode structure is positioned to contact body tissue to be electrically stimulated and/or sensed. The electrode structure electrically communicates with the at least one conductive polymer conductor by means of an electrically conductive interconnect penetrating the at least one conductive polymer conductor. The at least one conductive polymer conductor terminates within a proximal end portion of the lead body at a terminal contact adapted to be electrically connected to an electrically stimulating/sensing medical device.

A body implantable, transvenous lead may be used to electrically connect a pulse generator, such as a pacemaker, with body tissue, such as that of the heart, to be stimulated. A lead of this kind typically includes a lead body comprising a tubular, flexible insulative sheath or housing of silicone rubber, polyurethane or other suitable biocompatible, biostable polymer. In a conventional bipolar cardiac pacemaker lead having a tip electrode and a ring sensing electrode, a pair of metallic coil conductors arranged coaxially with insulation in between the conductors are carried within the insulative housing. One of the coil conductors connects the pulse generator with the tip electrode while the other coil conductor, somewhat shorter than the first conductor coil, connects the pulse generator with the ring sensing electrode positioned proximally of the tip electrode.
Transvenous pacemaker leads often combine a cardioverting and/or defibrillating capability with the pacing and sensing functions. Thus, besides pacing and sensing electrodes, a transvenous type lead may include along its distal end portion one or more cardioverting and/or defibrillating electrodes for shocking selected tissue, for example, the tissue of the superior vena cava (SVC) or the tissue of the right or left ventricle.
To reduce the outside diameter of transvenous leads, lead bodies comprising multilumen housings have been developed. In place of coil conductors, such multilumen housings may contain multistrand metal cable conductors to connect the pulse generator at the proximal end of the lead with the various stimulating and/or sensing electrodes along the distal end portion of the lead body. In some existing multilumen housing lead bodies, a combination of one or more coil conductors and one or more cable conductors is utilized.
A significant portion of the cost of leads utilizing metallic coil or cable conductors is associated with such metallic conductors that require labor-intensive fabrication processes and expensive termination techniques such as welding or crimping. Further, metallic conductors are subject to fatigue failure, even in coil form. In addition, changing electrode placement and/or spacing or changing the length of the lead requires the modification of several parts of the lead, making lead customization complex and costly.
Conductive polymers have been used in body implantable, tissue stimulation leads. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,514 discloses a body implantable lead comprising alternating layers of conductive and insulative thermosetting polymers with the conductive polymer layers serving as the electrical conductors of the lead. The lead is fabricated by extruding the alternating conductive/insulative polymer layers through successive, coaxially arranged heated nozzles of increasing outer diameter. The '514 patent describes conductive polymers as including polymers filled with electrically conductive particles, intrinsically conductive polymers, and doped polymers.
Body implantable stimulation leads carrying electrodes made of conductive polymers are also known. For example, the above-mentioned '514 patent describes the formation of conductive polymer tip and ring electrodes during the extrusion process by controlling the extrusion of the various layers independently to selectively expose portions of the conductive polymer, with the exposed portions of the conductive polymer serving as the electrodes. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,496 discloses a bipolar body implantable pacing lead including inner and outer, coaxial metal coil conductors. The inner coil conductor is electrically connected to a pacing/sensing tip electrode at the distal extremity of the lead. The coils are electrically isolated from each other by a first insulating sleeve disposed between the inner and outer coil conductors. The outer coil conductor is enclosed within a second insulating sleeve. A portion of the second sleeve is made of a conductive polymer engaging the outer coil conductor so as to provide electrical communication between the sleeve and the coil conductor. The conductive polymer portion of the second sleeve functions as the indifferent electrode of the pacing system. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,611 discloses an isodiametric body implantable lead incorporating a proximal cardioverting electrode constructed of a conductive, flexible silicone rubber material.
The advantages of providing pacing therapies to the left side heart chambers and to both the right and left heart chambers are well established. For example, in four chamber pacing systems, four pacing leads, typically bipolar leads, are positioned for both pacing and sensing in or on the respective heart chambers. To provide left side stimulation and sensing, leads are transvenously implanted in the coronary sinus region, for example, in a vein such as the great vein or the left posterior ventricular (LPV) vein proximate the left ventricle of the heart. Such placement avoids the risks associated with implanting a lead directly within the left ventricle which can increase the potential for the formation of blood clots which may become dislodged and then carried to the brain where even a small embolism could cause a stroke. (As used herein, the phrase "coronary sinus region" refers to the coronary sinus, great cardiac vein, left marginal vein, left posterior ventricular vein, middle cardiac vein, and/or small cardiac vein or any other vein accessible by way of the coronary sinus.)
The tip electrode of a lead implanted in the coronary sinus region can pace and sense left side ventricular activity. When such a lead includes a ring electrode proximal of the tip electrode and residing in the coronary sinus above the left ventricle closely adjacent to the left atrium of the heart, pacing and sensing of left atrial activity is made possible. Moreover, the lead may include one or more electrodes for the delivery of electrical shocks for terminating tachycardia and/or fibrillation. Such cardioverting and/or defibrillating electrodes may be used by themselves or can be combined with the aforementioned pacing and/or sensing electrodes.
The implantation of a lead through the coronary ostium and into the veins in the coronary sinus region is often difficult because of the extreme curvatures in the coronary vessels, their narrowness, anomalies in the vascular anatomy because of disease, and the number of veins which may communicate with the desired lead feed path. Some currently available leads, and particularly the distal end portions thereof, are too stiff and/or too large in diameter to permit easy maneuvering of the distal end portion within the coronary vessels.
Thus, there is a need for improved body implantable leads that simplify and reduce the costs associated with the conductive path or paths thereof, that facilitate the customization of electrode placement and spacing, and provide the flexibility and small diameters needed to enable the lead to be tracked through the coronary ostium and into the veins of the coronary sinus region for left side pacing, sensing and/or cardioversion/defibrillation.

Body implantable lead comprising electrically conductive polymer conductors

Abstract: Also disclosed are connector assembly, tip electrode and ring electrode structures adapted to be coupled to an implantable lead body containing a conductive polymer conductor.


The present disclosure is directed generally to cosmetic compositions comprising EPA free acid and GLA free acid. In some embodiments, the cosmetic compositions have a cosmetically acceptable odor.

Compositions which include free fatty acid components—including those for topical and/or cosmetic use are well-known to develop unpleasant odors. It is believed that decomposition (e.g., oxidation) of the free fatty acid component(s) is the source of the odor. One strategy to avoid odor formation has been to use derivatives of the fatty acids, for example esters, triglycerides, etc. However, preparing derivatives of free fatty acids from source materials is time-consuming, costly, and in some cases attenuates the desired activity of the compounds. On the other hand, offensive odors in personal care products contributes to non-compliance with a recommended treatment schedule. In addition, derivatives of free fatty acids such as alkyl esters are generally much less soluble in aqueous compositions. Especially for cosmetic compositions, then, the decreased hydrophilicity of fatty acid derivatives is undesirable as organic co-solvents tend to be harsher on the skin than water-based compositions. Accordingly, there exists a need for compositions comprising free fatty acids without an associated unpleasant odor.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cosmetic compositions comprising EPA and GLA and methods of making and using same


An assembly includes a knob, a lever, and a spring clip. The knob includes a substantially cylindrical hollow part having a first inner diameter, and an accommodating groove extending along the hollow part and having a second inner diameter larger than the first diameter. The lever includes a substantially cylindrical body part having a diameter corresponding to the first diameter, and a seating groove formed in the body part at a position of the body part facing the accommodating groove when the knob is assembled to the lever. A spring clip is fitted onto the seating groove of the lever such that the spring clip is disposed in a space formed between the accommodating groove and the seating groove when the knob is assembled to the lever. The spring clip provides a coupling force between the knob and the lever.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a knob and a lever, and more particularly, to a knob assembly configured be readily and securely assemble a knob to a lever without requiring additional components.
2. Description of Related Art
A transmission lever unit generally includes a knob and a lever disposed at a lower portion of the knob.
The knob and the lever generally have structures that enable them to be screwed to each other. However, since it takes a lot of time to perform the screwing, assembling productivity is low. Furthermore, because the screw-based assembly does not provide a fixed orientation for the knob, a subsequent process is required in order to adjust the orientation of a front surface of the knob.
Various assembly structures including a knob and a lever have been proposed, including one-touch assemblies such as those described in Korean Patent Application No. 2006-37798, Korean Patent Application No. 2007-96261, Korean Patent Application No. 2009-70128, and Korean Patent Application No. 2006-115205. However, in each of the described assemblies, the number of components required to assemble the knob to the lever is large, shapes of the knob and/or lever are complicated, and the knob and the lever may be separated from each other in situations in which a large external force is applied thereto.
Thus, while the e one-touch assembly structures provide a straightforward method of assembly, they require large numbers of components and the resulting knob and lever assemblies can become separated from each other.


A flare stack with increased control of flow velocity of gases. The flare stack includes a pipe having a flare tip. The flare tip is provided with orifices and a sliding sleeve that opens and closes at least some of the orifices under control of an actuator. The actuator is pressure controlled. Nozzles extend from the orifices, parallel to each other. A central nozzle produces a stabilized flame. The nozzles which are controlled by the sliding sleeve are arranged in rings axially offset from each other along the pipe, so that the sleeve may open or close the nozzles in a ring as desired. The nozzles are symmetrically disposed, and terminate at the same plane, with the nozzles being disposed sufficiently close to each other that gas exiting any nozzle tends to draw in and merge with gas exiting from any adjacent nozzle.

It is frequently necessary to burn gas at oil and gas installations. The gas is typically directed to a vertically standing pipe or flare stack. Gas exiting the top of the pipe is ignited with an igniter. It is important that the gas be kept burning. With high winds, the flame can easily be blown out. As a result, high gas flow rates may be required to keep the flame alive. As pressure varies within the flare stack, the flow rate of gas may vary. When the flow rate is low, the flame is more easily blown out. Kaldair of Houston, Tex., has provided a device which uses the Coanda effect and a pot valve to variably control the flow of gas from the flare stack in response to variation of pressure within the stack. While this device has had commercial success, the inventor has provided an improvement upon it.


A fire alarm system which radiates light towards a smoke detecting space. Scattered light resulting from smoke that may exist in the smoke detecting space is judged by a receiver with respect to the type of smoke that may prevail in the space. The presence of a fire is judged by comparing the light that has been received with a set threshold level. The threshold level is set to different levels in accordance with the type of smoke detected.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire alarm systems for detecting presence of a fire and type of smoke from the scattered light caused by the smoke at the time of fire. More particularly, it relates to a fire alarm system which, in view of the fact that the scattering angle and the degree of polarization are different by types of smoke, is designed to be capable of more accurately judging a fire by varying the threshold for judging a fire based on the difference in the types of smoke.

Fire alarm system which distinguishes between different types of smoke


A fixing roller has a heat source therein and has a rubber layer on an outer periphery of a metal pipe. Hardness of the fixing roller is set to a range from 70° to 85° (ASKER C). A pressing roller is come into pressure contact with the fixing roller and a silicone foam rubber is formed on an outer periphery of a core. Hardness of the pressing roller is set to a range from 55° to 70° (ASKER C). A fixing apparatus in which a pressure necessary for color fixing is obtained, a print medium is not wrapped, and heat insulating performance of the pressing roller is obtained is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fixing apparatus which is used for a printer, a copying apparatus, or the like to which an electrophotographing method is applied.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, a fixing apparatus is constructed by a fixing roller having a heat source therein and a pressing roller which is come into pressure contact with the fixing roller. FIG. 12 shows the conventional fixing apparatus. In FIG. 12, a fixing apparatus 1 is used for a monochromatic printer and has a fixing roller 2 and a pressing roller 3. The fixing roller 2 is constructed in such a manner that a fluorine mold releasing layer 5 for releasing toner is formed on a surface of a metal pipe 4 such as aluminum or iron having excellent thermal conductivity, and a heat source 6 is provided in the fixing roller. The pressing roller 3 is come into pressure contact with the fixing roller 2 by a pressing spring 7 and is rotated in association with the rotation of the fixing roller 2. A core shaft 9 is coated with a foam rubber layer 8 having excellent heat insulating performance, thereby forming the pressing roller 3.
When the pressing roller 3 is come into pressure contact with the fixing roller 2, a nip layer 10 is formed. When a print medium 12 which holds unfixed toner 11 passes through the nip layer 10, the unfixed toner 11 is fixed onto the print medium 12. Since the nip layer 10 is in such a shape that a portion on the side of the pressing roller 3 is dented, after the print medium 12 nipped by the nip layer 10 goes out of the nip layer 10, it is conveyed along an outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller 2 and can be easily wrapped around the fixing roller 2. Therefore, a separating nail 13 is provided on the surface of the fixing roller 2 in a contact state, thereby peeling off the print medium 12 from the fixing roller 2.
However, if the separating nail is in contact with the surface of the fixing roller, the surface of the fixing roller is damaged and an adverse influence is exerted on picture quality. To avoid such a problem, fundamentally, there is a case where no separating nail is provided in the color printer in which high picture quality is required in particular.
A fixing apparatus having no separating nail has been disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2000-56601. According to the technique disclosed in this Official Gazette, hardness of the pressing roller is set to be higher than that of the fixing roller, thereby forming such a nip shape that the pressing roller bites the fixing roller, so that a print medium is curved toward the pressing roller side.
However, in the above conventional apparatus, if the hardness of the fixing roller is reduced and the hardness of the pressing roller is simply increased, the nip width inevitably becomes narrow and an amount of heat necessary for fixing cannot be supplied to the toner and the sufficient pressure necessary for fixing cannot be obtained. Particularly, in the fixing apparatus which is used for the color printer, since a high pressure is necessary and a toner portion of a single layer and a toner portion of multilayers exist, the pressure cannot be uniformly applied to those toner portions. If the hardness of the pressing roller made of a foam material is increased, physical properties of the pressing roller have to be set to physical properties close to those of a solid rubber by further reducing the expansion ratio of the foam material, so that high heat insulating performance cannot be obtained.


A shim attaching/detaching tool for a tappet of an internal combustion engine includes as essential components an air supplying tube, an air blowing tube and a nozzle formed at an opening portion of the air blowing tube at the foremost end of the same. When compressed air is blown from the nozzle toward the shim while the air supplying tube is inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees and the nozzle is oriented toward the fitting portion of the shim fitted into a circular cavity, the shim is thrusted against the opposite side of the cavity and the compressed air is then introduced into the space below the shim through the gap appearing around the fitting portion of the shim, whereby the shim is floated up away from the cavity so as to enable it to be easily exchanged with another shim having a different thickness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a shim attaching/detaching tool for a tappet of an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shim attaching/detaching tool for properly adjusting a valve clearance for a tappet arranged in a direct-acting type valve driving mechanism for an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a direct-acting type valve driving mechanism hitherto employed mainly for a DOHC type engine will be described below.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view which schematically shows the structure of a direct-acting type valve driving mechanism. The valve driving mechanism includes an engine valve 101 of which valve section is not shown in the drawing and which is fitted into a cylinder head 105. In addition, a pair of cotters 102, a spring retainer 103 and a valve spring 104 are arranged for the engine valve 101.
As shown in the drawing, a cylindrical tappet 106 of which upper surface is closed with an upper wall 107 is inserted through the cylinder head 105 from above while the bottom surface of the upper wall 107 comes in contact with the uppermost end of the engine valve 101.
The upper wall 107 of the cylindrical tappet 106 includes an annular side wall 108 which serves to define a circular cavity 109 so as to allow a shim 110 for adjusting a valve clearance to be fitted thereinto.
The engine valve 101 is adapted to open and close as the tappet 106 is vertically displaced by a rotary cam 111 which is normally brought in contact with the upper surface of the shim 110.
With the direct-acting type valve driving mechanism constructed in the above-described manner, adjustment of the valve clearance is achieved by exchanging the shim 110 with another one having a different thickness while the tappet 106 is depressed by actuating a certain jig (not shown). However, since a quantity of projection of the shim 110 above the upper end of the tappet 106 is small, a gap around the fitting portion of the shim 110 is minimized as far as possible, and moreover, the shim 110 comes in close contact with the upper surface of the upper wall 107 while a film of lubricant is interposed therebetween, it is very difficult to detach the shim 110 from the tappet 106.
To cope with the foregoing difficulty, proposals have been made with respect to tappets as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.
In the case of a tappet 106 shown in FIG. 8, a pair of slit-shaped cutouts 112 are diametrically formed on an annular side wall 108 which projects above an upper wall 107 of the tappet 106. When a shim 110 is exchanged with another one having a different thickness, a tool such as a driver or the like is inserted into each cutout 112 so as to detach the shim 110 from the circular cavity on the upper wall 107 of the tappet 106.
In case of the tappet 106 shown in FIG. 9, an aperture 113 is axially formed through a shim 113 so that a rod-shaped detaching jig (not shown) is inserted into the aperture 113 so as to allow the shim 113 to be raised up away from an upper wall 107 of the tappet 106 to exchange the shim 110 with another one having a different thickness or a compressed air is blown through the aperture 113 so as to allow the shim 110 to be floated up away from an upper wall 107 to exchange the shim 110 with another one.
In recent years, there is recognized a general tendency that tappets each made of a light metallic material such as aluminum alloy or the like are substituted for those made of a ferrous metallic material such as cast iron or the like for the purpose of designing a valve driving system with smaller weight.
Since a tappet made of a light metallic material is inferior to that made of a ferrous metallic material in respect of strength and rigidity, there arises a malfunction that the valve driving system incorrectly operates due to the diametrical formation of the cutouts 112 on the side wall 108 as shown in FIG. 8 during rotation of the engine at a high speed. Thus, when the side wall 108 is loaded with a large magnitude of repeated load effective in the outward direction, there is a possibility that the side wall 108 is damaged or broken due to the crack caused by the stress concentrated on each cutout 112. It should be added that the number of machining steps increases corresponding to the formation of the cutouts 112, resulting in the tappet 106 being produced at an increased cost.
On the other hand, in case of the tappet shown in FIG. 9, the number of machining steps likewise increases corresponding to the formation of the aperture 113 through the shim 110, resulting in the tappet 106 being disadvantageously produced at a high cost. The shim 110 is caused to rotate in a certain direction by the action of a force effective at a right angle relative to the axis line during rotation of the rotary cam 111. Thus, the face pressure appearing on a slidable contact face between the shim 110 and the rotary cam 111 intermittently varies every time the nose face of the rotary cam 111 is brought in contact with the aperture 113, moreover, the face pressure is raised up to be higher than that in the surrounding region.
Consequently, local wear occurs not only in the surrounding region of the aperture 113 on the upper surface of the shim 110 but also on the nose face of the rotary cam 111, resulting in durability of the tappet 106 being degraded.

Shim attaching/detaching tool for engine tappet


A method of performing electronic communications between members of a group wherein the communications are authenticated as being from a member of the group and have not been altered, comprising: generating a plurality of random numbers; distributing in a digital medium the plurality of random numbers to the members of the group; publishing a hash value of contents of the digital medium; distributing to the members of the group public-key-encrypted messages each containing a same token comprising a random number; and encrypting a message with a key generated from the token and the plurality of random numbers.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to electronic communications which are anonymous yet cryptographically authenticated.
2. Background Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Introduction
The idea of providing anonymous and authenticated communications at the same time may seem like a contradiction. However, there are many situations in which this is desirable. For example, suppose that a database of information is being compiled where the source of the data must be from a trusted set of users, but at the same time the source does not want their identity linked with the data they contribute (e.g., a collection of financial data). The present invention addresses the issues of anonymous messages and communications together with authentication that the source is to be trusted.
Anonymous Messages
Ensuring that the content of a message does not give clues to the author is a non-cryptographic problem. To create an anonymous message, one could simply avoid including identifying information in the message and leave the message unsigned. There may, however, be other clues within the message to identify the writer such as wording, spelling and grammar errors, or choice of typewritten font. Environmental issues such as group make up, size of group, and how well participants know each other may also be factors to consider. If the members do not know each other, getting rid of slang or spelling errors may not be much of an issue. However, it should be kept in mind that if some user is in the habit of using any sort of unique style, then this may be noticeable and while this may not identify the author per se, if multiple messages contain this common style, it may be assumed (correctly or not) that the messages are by the same author. S. Hayne, et al., Attribution accuracy when using anonymity in group support system, International Journal of Human Computer Studies, v.47, no. 3, pp. 429-452 (1997) and B. Gavish, et al., Anonymous Mechanisms in Group Decision Support Systems Communications, Decision Support Systems, v. 23, no. 4, pp. 297-328 (1998) discuss these issues in more detail. The present discussion concentrates on other design goals that can be achieved cryptographically.
Anonymity and Authentication
In an anonymous environment the sender of a message is unidentifiable. If the users are supposed to be members of a distinguished group, then authentication is necessary to avoid use by non-members. It is also important to guarantee that a message has not been altered since it was sent by an authorized source.
One way to provide authentication is to have all the group members share a common piece of information. Showing knowledge of the information proves valid group membership. For example, the users could share a symmetric encryption/decryption key. When a member wished to send a message to another member, the member would use the key to encrypt the message. The encrypted message would be sent to another group member and if that person could decrypt the message using the shared key, then the receiver would be sure that a valid group member had sent it. Furthermore, the sender of the message would be assured that only a valid group member would be able to decrypt the message. This scheme preserves anonymity: as long as all group members use the same key, no one knows which member encrypted the message. Furthermore it provides data integrity because if a message has been altered since it was sent, it will not decrypt properly.
Although this scheme is simple, there are drawbacks. Group members would have to be trusted not to give the shared secret away to non-group members. If this happened, neither the bad group member nor the unauthorized user who illegitimately obtained the key could be identified. The key would have to be updated whenever a group member left or if the key were suspected of being compromised. The question of key distribution and update can be a serious problem if the group membership is very dynamic or if there is concern of key compromise.
There are several different types of authentication schemes that can preserve anonymity and address more of the issues raised above. For example, S. Schechter, et al., Anonymous Authentication of Membership in Dynamic Groups, Proceedings of Financial Cryptography '99, vol. 1648 LNCS, pp. 184-195 (1999) uses public key cryptography to construct verifiable common secret encoding to prove group membership. In their scheme, dynamic group membership is not an issue. One-time certificates or zero-knowledge proofs are other common methods. A. De Santis, et al., Communication-efficient anonymous group identification, Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 73-82 (1998); and K. Oish, et al., Anonymous public-key certificates and their applications, IEICE Transactions, vol. E81-A, no. 1, pp. 65-71 (1998). However, these schemes are more complicated than the shared encryption key scheme and the latter involve group interaction.
Anonymity Revocation
In situations where true anonymity exists, the source of information is completely untraceable. This may cause undesirable situations; for example, troublemakers, insiders, and criminals can act without fear of detection. Instead of true anonymity, revocable anonymity may be preferable. In systems providing revocable anonymity, anonymity is in place unless a specified event (e.g., court order) demands it be revoked and the identity of the offender revealed. Key escrow is a common mechanism used to provide revocable anonymity. D. Boneh, et al., Anonymous Authentication with Subset Queries, Proceedings of the 6th ACM conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 113-119 (1999) describes an interactive zero-knowledge scheme which supports identity escrow and key revocation (without having to issue new keys). The interactive communication required is logarithmic in the number of users. The system also provides unlinkability and allows users to be categorized into groups/subsets.
Revocable anonymity mitigates abuses by insiders in the system, but at a cost of confidence in true anonymity. The decision of whether or not to revoke anonymity depends on the situation. For example, within a company, employees may desire anonymity when communicating electronically, but the company may have the right to revoke anonymity if wrongdoing is suspected. On the other hand, if a community of competitive companies is contributing information to a joint venture, they may want their communications to be strictly anonymous with no possibility of revocation in order to protect proprietary information. Hence, instead of revocation of anonymity the present invention describes a protocol that enables anonymous message revocation. A bad message can be revoked, but there is no chance that the identity of the sender can be revealed.
Anonymous Communications
Even if the users employ some method to authenticate their messages to each other anonymously, if others are able to view the network communications it may be clear who the communicating parties were and the anonymity controls would be ineffective. Providing anonymous communications has been studied in detail and we just mention some of the methods here. See D. Chaum, Untraceable Electronic Mail, Return Addresses and Digital Pseudonyms, Communications of the ACM, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 84-88 (1981) for one of the first discussions on the topic.
There are several different mechanisms presently in use to attempt to thwart traffic analysis. The simplest is called a Type 0 remailer. The Type 0 remailer simply strips identifying headers off the e-mail and forwards the message to the intended recipient. The originator's IP address is not revealed to the recipient since it is sent through an intermediate server, however this does not protect against someone who can observe the communication from the sender to the remailer server. Building on the Type 0 remailer is a Type 1 remailer. Here the e-mail message consists of a nested set of encrypted messages (similar to an onion structure) and is sent through a path of specialized re-encrypting routers called mixes. Mixes will only forward a message after receiving N messages (to defeat message tracking). Type 1 remailers are subject to spam attacks, some traffic analysis and replay attacks. A Type 2 remailer, sometimes called a mixmaster, is similar to a Type 1, but prevents traffic analysis and replay, by using padding, delay and reordering. There are several variants on these types of systems including several commercially available products.
Several web sites offer simple "anonymizing" email forwarding, with header removal and/or anonymous name substitution. Some offer anonymous web surfing, such as Anonymizer.com®. Typical sites offer a basic service for free, and upgraded service for a fee. Others are supported by advertising, or are simply operated as a public service.
The Cypherpunks (http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/cypherpunks/Home.html) have a mixmaster (type 2) remailer network with about twenty nodes. Forwarding latency (per hop) ranges from a few minutes to hours. Several sites post hourly latency statistics.
The present invention is of a cryptographic method and system for a group of users to electronically share information in an anonymous, yet authenticated way. However, anonymous communications open the door for undetectable system abuse. This can be dealt with by using revocable anonymity features, but that may be unacceptable for competitive communicating parties since it could reveal their identity. The present invention employs a multi-level communication structure that mitigates system abuse by allowing message revocation, yet retains true anonymity at the highest level.


Neuromuscular stimulation assemblies, systems, and methods make possible the providing of short-term therapy or diagnostic testing by providing electrical connections between muscles or nerves inside the body and stimulus generators or recording instruments mounted on the surface of the skin outside the body. Neuromuscular stimulation assemblies, systems, and methods may include a steerable introducer that defines an interior lumen sized and configured to shield a percutaneous electrode from contact with tissue during advancement to a desired position within tissue.

Neuromuscular stimulation can perform functional and/or therapeutic outcomes. While existing systems and methods can provide remarkable benefits to individuals requiring neuromuscular stimulation, many quality of life issues still remain. For example, existing systems perform a single, dedicated stimulation function. Furthermore, these controllers are, by today's standards, relatively large and awkward to manipulate and transport.
It is time that systems and methods for providing neuromuscular stimulation address not only specific prosthetic or therapeutic objections, but also address the quality of life of the individual requiring neuromuscular stimulation, including the ability to enable the end-user to operate the system through a wireless interface.

Portable assemblies, systems and methods for providing functional or therapeutic neuromuscular stimulation


Systems and methods are provided for presenting three-dimensional content on a display. An exemplary system for presenting a plurality of frames on a display comprises a first lens, a second lens, and an activation system. The activation system utilizes electromagnetic radiation to activate the first lens when a respective frame being presented on the display corresponds to the first lens, resulting in the first lens being substantially transparent and the second lens being substantially opaque, and to activate the second lens when a respective frame being presented on the display corresponds to the second lens, resulting in the second lens being substantially transparent and the first lens being substantially opaque.

Three-dimensional imagery may be achieved by presenting content that is resolved into separate images by a viewer's left and right eyes. When the two separate images are received simultaneously, the viewer perceives a three-dimensional image by fusing the images received by the left and right eyes and using parallax to achieve depth perception.
It is desirable to provide three-dimensional video using televisions and other display technologies conventionally used to present two-dimensional images and/or video due to the ubiquity of such displays. One technique used to present 3-D imagery on a 2-D display involves the use of tinted glasses configured such that each of the viewer's eyes sees a differently tinted (or filtered) image. Another technique involves the use of glasses with differently polarized lenses. Each of these techniques, however, requires the use of specialized glasses or other filters to capture the content being displayed. If the appropriate eyeglass or other filters are not readily available, then each of these techniques is of limited usefulness. Yet another technique involves the use of glasses including liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that function like shutters to alternate which eye receives an image being presented on the display. The LCDs require electronics and power to operate which increases the size and cost of these headsets.

Systems and methods for presenting three-dimensional content using photosensitive lenses


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a trench isolation provided in a semiconductor substrate and an interlayer insulator provided on the semiconductor substrate. The trench isolation defines an active area extending in a first direction at the semiconductor substrate. The interlayer insulator has a wiring trench extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction. A first conductive material layer is provided at the cross-point of the active area and the wiring trench so that it is insulated from the active area. A second conductive material layer is provided in the wiring trench so that it is insulated from the first conductive material layer. A metal layer is provided in the wiring trench so that it is electrically in contact the second conductive material layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and in particular, to a structure of a gate electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1A is a plan view of a conventional NAND type nonvolatile semiconductor memory, FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along the line 1C-1C in FIG. 1A. Note that FIGS. 1A to 1C respectively show points in time when a control gate (word line WL) of a memory cell transistor and a gate (select gate line SG) of a select transistor are formed.
Reference: S. Aritome et al, "A 0.67 μm2 SELF-ALIGNED SHALLOW TRENCH ISOLATION CELL (SA-STI CELL) FOR 3V-only 256 Mbit NAND EEPROMs", IEDM, pp 61-64, 1994.
As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, shallow trench isolations (STIs) are formed as element isolation regions in a P-type well 101, and element regions are defined. Gate insulators 103 are formed on the element regions of the P-type well 101. Conductive polysilicon layers 105, an ONO film 113, and conductive polysilicon layers 115 are formed on the gate insulators 103.
The conductive polysilicon layers 105 form floating gates (FG) in the memory cell transistor (refer to FIG. 1B), and contact the conductive polysilicon layer 115 in a select transistor, and form portions of select gate lines SG (refer to FIG. 1C). Further, the conductive polysilicon layer 115 forms a word line WL (refer to FIG. 1B).
In this way, in the prior art, the word line WL and the select gate line SG are formed from the conductive polysilicon layers 115. Further, although not illustrated in particular, this prior art is formed from a structure in which a tungsten silicide layer is formed on the conductive polysilicon layer 115, i.e., a so-called a polycide structure.
Moreover, an example of a structural feature of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C is that the conductive polysilicon layers 105 are divided by the STIs in a select transistor portion. Therefore, the ONO film 113 is removed from the select transistor portion, and the divided conductive polysilicon layers 105 are connected to each other by the conductive polysilicon layer 115, and the select gate line SG is formed (refer to FIG. 1C).
However, in order to remove the ONO film 113, a space Dcell-SG from the select gate line SG to the word line WL must be made broader than a space Dcell from the word line WL to the word line WL. The reason for this is that the alignment margin of the mask layer for removing the ONO film 113, and the alignment margin of the select gate SG and the portion at which the ONO film 113 is removed, respectively, must be anticipated.
Concretely, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, mask layers 141 for removing the ONO film 113 are offset within a range of "+X1" or "−X1" along the X direction from the forming target position. Accordingly, alignment margins of "+X1" and "−X1" from the forming target position are necessary.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, mask layers 119 for forming the word line WL and the select gate line SG are, in the same way, offset within a range of "+X2" or "−X2" along the X direction from the forming target position. Accordingly, alignment margins of "+X2" and "−X2" from the forming target position are necessary.
As a result, in order for the portion at which the ONO film 113 is removed to always be positioned under the mask layers 119, an alignment margin of "|X1|+|X2|" is necessary between the forming target position of the mask layers 114 and the forming target position of the mask layers 119.
However, in FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, because attention is focused on the alignment margin between the select gate line SG and the word line WL, an adjusting margin in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction is ignored.
Further, a NAND type nonvolatile semiconductor memory as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C has also been known.
Reference: Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-26731 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,715 B1)
FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line 4B-4B in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken along the line 4C-4C in FIG. 4A.
One of the main features of the device shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C is that the floating gates 105 have a double structure of a lower layer portion 105-1 and an upper layer portion 105-2. Further, the upper layer 105-2 spreads on the STIs, and the capacity between the control gates 115 (word lines WL) and the floating gates 105 is sufficiently larger than the capacity of the channels and the floating gates 105.
Moreover, in the select transistor portion, select gates SG are formed by the conductive polysilicon layers structuring the upper layer portions 105-2. In this way, the step of removing the ONO film 113 can be omitted.
However, in the device shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, in the memory cell transistor portion, a so-called slit processing, for dividing the conductive polysilicon layer constituting the upper layer portions 105-2 for the respective memory cells, is necessary. Therefore, an alignment margin for the slit processing is firstly necessary. Moreover, an alignment margin, for exactly positioning the masks for select gate processing on the conductive polysilicon layers forming the upper layer portions 105-2 in which slits are not formed, is necessary.
Accordingly, even if the step of removing the ONO film 113 is eliminated, an alignment margin which is equivalent to that of the device shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C is necessary between the select gate lines SG and the word lines WL. As a result, in the device shown in FIG. 4A to 4C as well, the space Dcell-SG from the select gate line SG to the word line WL must be broader than the space Dcell from the word line WL to the word line WL.
In this way, in the conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory, lowering of the resistance is attempted by structuring the word line WL and the select gate line SG from the conductive polysilicon layers 115, or from a polycide structure. However, as nonvolatile semiconductor memories have become smaller, it has become difficult to further lower the resistance.
Moreover, in the conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory, in order to remove the ONO film 113 from the select transistor portion or in order to carry out slit processing, the space Dcell-SG from the select gate line SG to the word line WL must be broader than the space Dcell from the word line WL to the word line WL. This is an obstacle to further miniaturization of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory and manufacturing method thereof


A monolithic light amplification system including: an un-doped waveguide; a ridge waveguide positioned over the un-doped waveguide; and, at least a doped layer between the un-doped waveguide and ridge waveguide; wherein, the un-doped waveguide and ridge waveguide cooperate to amplify light input to the un-doped waveguide.

The amplification of optical signals is known to be important. High power optical amplification is useful in telecommunications and ablation applications, both by way of non-limiting example only. It is believed to be desirable to achieve faithful amplification powers of optical signals of about 500 watts or more, also by way of non-limiting example.
The principles of the transmission of optical signals via optical fibers are well understood. In deed, optical fibers are used to transmit light in many conventional applications. It is also believed to be desirable to provide a high power optical amplifier that is well-suited for use with optical fibers—in addition to other types of optical waveguides as well.


Targeted advertising using object identification techniques is described. In an implementation, an object is identified by a client that is placed on a surface of the client. An advertisement is located that corresponds to the identified object and is output.

Advertisements continue to be used to financially support provision of the content. However, output of advertisements is still traditionally linked to the content that is output with the advertisements and not to other factors that might exist "outside" of the content.
For example, advertisements for sporting goods might be included with a sporting event to increase a likelihood that the advertisement will reach a target consumer. However, in traditional techniques the advertiser has little to no information about the actual audience. Instead, the advertiser is forced to rely on general data collection techniques (e.g., polling techniques) to determine generalized characteristics of an audience that has watched the content or similar content in the past.
Thus, traditional advertising techniques leave the advertiser to make a "best guess" as to an audience that will interact with particular content, e.g., watch a television program, view a webpage, and so on. These traditional techniques also leave the advertiser to guess whether that audience has an increased likelihood of being a potential consumer for a product or service offered by the advertiser. Accordingly, traditional techniques may be inefficient as advertisers may have increased difficulty in reaching a target audience, consumers may be less likely to receive relevant advertisements, and content providers may lose revenue due to uncertainty of the audience.


A sealing arrangement for a rotor of a turbomachine includes a blade (2), a heat shield (3, 4) and a sealing element (5, 6) for sealing between the blade (2) and the heat shield (3, 4) when the blade (2), heat shield (3, 4) and sealing element (5, 6) are assembled for use in the rotor. The heat shield (3, 4) includes a first slot (7, 8) for accommodating a first member (11, 12) of the sealing element (5, 6), and a root portion of the blade (2) includes a second and third slot (9, 10) for accommodating a second member (13, 14) of the sealing element (5, 6). The first slot (7, 8) extends in a direction which is substantially mutually perpendicular to a direction in which the second and third slot (9) extends, and the first member (11, 12) extends in a direction which is substantially mutually perpendicular to a direction in which the second member (13, 14) extends.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sealing arrangement for a rotor of a turbomachine. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a sealing arrangement which can be used in the rotor of a gas turbine.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
It is a recognised problem that gases can leak from the flow channels formed by component parts, such as blade roots and heat shields, of a rotor in a turbomachine. The effects of such leakage will depend upon the type of turbomachine, but include: unnecessary heating, a loss of strength, mechanical failure, a loss of efficiency and a need for undesirably expensive materials.
It is well known to address the foregoing problems by the use of sealing elements, which often take the form of plates mounted between the component parts. In a typical arrangement, a portion of each plate is inserted into a slot made in the root part of a blade and another portion is inserted into a slot made in an adjacent heat shield.
Whilst such arrangements have been successful in reducing gas leakage, they suffer from a disadvantage that the slots in the adjacent component parts need to be provided at the same radial level and implementation of this precondition requires the component parts to be manufactured to within extremely narrow tolerances. It is further the case that the relative positions of the slots can change during operation of the turbomachine, due to the influences of high temperatures and centrifugal forces, with the effect that a plate can be subject to shear or to fracture.
To compensate for this mutual displacement of the slots, it is known to make the slots sufficiently wider than the thickness of the sealing plates. However, in this case, the plates are positioned in their slots with a significant skew and this results in unsatisfactorily high levels of leakage past the seal. When many joints are provided between individual sealing elements in the circumferential direction, the number of potential leakage paths tends to increase, with the effect that the problem is particularly exacerbated.

Sealing arrangement for a rotor of a turbo machine


A method for growth of a hydraulic fracture or a tall frac is described wherein the tall frac is disposed next to a well bore using a sandpacked annulus. Also, a method for creating a permeable well bore annulus is disclosed. The method for creating the tall frac includes creating a linear-sourced, cylindrical stress field by maneuvering the intersection of two independent friction-controlled pressure gradients of a frac pad fluid. The intersection of these two frac pad fluid pressure gradients can be controlled when the frac pad fluid traverses along a well bore sandpacked annulus. The first pressure gradient is created by controlling the fluid flow rate and the consequent, friction pressure loss in the frac pad fluid flow through a portion of the sandpacked annulus, located above the top of the upwardly propagating tall frac hydraulic fracture. The first pressure gradient must be significantly greater than the average gradient of the formation, frac-extension pressure gradient. The second pressure gradient is created by the friction loss of the volume flow rate of the frac pad fluid flowing through the combined parallel paths of the sandpacked annulus and the open hydraulic fracture which is propagating outward in the adjacent rock formation below the top of the upwardly propagating tall frac. The second pressure gradient, below the top of the upward-propagating tall frac, should be about equal to or less than the average gradient of the formation, frac-extension pressure gradient at this location.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of hydraulic fracturing of an oil and/or gas well bore and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a method of creating an effective hydraulic fracture over a selected interval along a length of a well bore. The fracture along the interval encompasses a multitude of oil and/or gas-saturated sand formations and intervening silt and shale formations. The new method of hydraulic fracturing is used for the purpose of more efficiently producing oil and/or gas from all of these formations.
The subject hydraulic fracturing method uses an uncemented, well bore sandpacked annulus to produce a controllable and movable line source of a frac pad fluid injection in a hydraulic fracture, which results in a cylindrical stress field. The stress field is used for propagating the hydraulic fracture. The propagated hydraulic fracture is called herein a "tall frac". The tall frac is created along a length of the well bore sandpacked annulus.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
Heretofore in the oil and gas industry, hydraulic fracturing of a well bore involved injecting frac pad fluids through selected perforations in a well casing surrounded by a cement-filled annulus. The objective was to provide adequate isolation of each targeted oil and gas reservoir zone, by carefully cementing the annulus space so that the injected frac pad fluid would create a fracture only in the perforated reservoir zone and would not grow either upward or downward across shale barriers into adjacent zones. Using a limited entry technique, two, three, or more zones within a relatively short interval are perforated and simultaneously frac treated. In some cases, the fracture propagating outward from each perforated zone may interconnect with each other across lithologic barriers, or alternatively, each perforated zone may propagate a separate, isolated, hydraulic fracture without communication through the intervening barriers.
Also, multistage frac programs have been developed to achieve hydraulic fractures in a multiplicity of separated sand packages spaced over extended intervals along the length of the well bore. However, each stage of this type of multistage frac program has to be separately isolated, perforated, and frac-pumped, thereby requiring extended periods of time with large, repetitive, frac-treatment costs.
The above described hydraulic fractures are created essentially by point source fluid injection, resulting in spherical stress fields created around each of the point sources. The resulting hydraulic fracture, created by the spherical stress field, is propagated from each such point source in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the least principal stress in the formation rock with no dimensional restraints.

Method for growth of a hydraulic fracture along a well bore annulus and creating a permeable well bore annulus


A bird house or feeder assembly, used to construct a bird house or feeder from a container such as, but not limited to, a plastic milk jug or two liter soda bottle. In one embodiment, the assembly includes a roof structure, a perch and entrance ring assembly, and a bracket assembly. The roof structure is made up of a skirt piece and a crown piece which attach to the container when constructing either a bird house or feeder, by placing the skirt piece around the container spout, screwing the container cap onto the spout to clamp the skirt piece in place, and then attaching the crown piece to the top of the skirt piece. The perch and entrance ring are then attached to the container to make a bird house. In a second embodiment, the assembly includes a roof structure, a feeder pan, and two bracket assemblies. The roof structure is attached to the container in the same fashion as the first embodiment, but then the feeder pan is attached to the container to make a bird feeder. In both embodiments, the bracket assemblies allow the bird house or feeder to be hung easily from a vertical surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bird houses and feeders. More specifically, the invention relates to an assembly which may be used to convert a plastic milk jug, a two liter soda bottle, or a similar container into a bird house, feeder, or bath.
2. Description of the Related Art
Great interest exists in the preservation of bird life and in the feeding and housing of birds near homes, where they can conveniently be observed. Many bird houses and feeders and kits for constructing them have been disclosed in the prior art. These include kits for converting previously used containers into bird houses and or feeders and easily constructed bird house and or feeder assemblies. However, none of the prior art discloses a kit for converting a plastic milk jug or a similar container into a bird house, feeder,or bath that includes easily attachable mounting brackets and a roof structure which is placed around the container spout and secured thereto by screwing the container cap onto the spout over the roof structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,570, issued Feb. 19, 1963 to Maurice Kerkhove, shows a colony bird house which is constructed by clamping empty coffee cans between a roof structure and floor board members. The bird house of Kerkhove does not utilize a plastic milk jug or a similar container, the roof structure attachment means, or the easily attachable mounting brackets of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,198,172 (Crane, Jr.) and 5,372,094 (Zens) show respectively a bird house and a bird feeder constructed from an empty milk container. However, the bird house and bird feeder described in these patents are constructed from paperboard milk containers rather than a plastic milk jug or a similar container like the present invention and they lack the easily attachable mounting brackets of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,205,858 (Chadek), 3,244,148 (Long), and 4,242,983 (Moore) show bird houses made from empty containers. None of these mentioned patents show a bird house utilizing an attachable roof structure or mounting bracket.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,115,865 (Parkes et al.) and 3,441,002 (Lawalin et al.) show bird feeders constructed from bird seed containers. The bird feeders described in these patents lack the easily attachable mounting bracket and the attachable roof structure of the present invention.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 120,738, issued Jun. 29, 1939 to Andrew C. Larsen, discloses a bird house with a novel decorative appearance. The appearance of the Larsen bird house is quite different from the appearance of the bird house of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 388,385 issued Aug. 21, 1888 to Charles I. Wooster, shows a bird house with variably sized circles scored into a wall of the bird house which allow an appropriately sized door to be cut therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,460 and Canadian document number 949,406 (France) show bird house assemblies which allow the interior of the bird house to be easily accessed. Neither of these mentioned bird house assemblies utilize a plastic milk jug or an easily attachable roof structure.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a bird house or feeder assembly solving the aforementioned problems is desired.