A resin-coated steel pipe is provided having excellent mechanical strength and sliding properties. A double coated structure is formed that extends in the pipe's axial direction and has substantially the same cross section. The structure has a thin steel pipe. Attached to the outer surface thereof is a coating layer with adhesive and an alloy resin. That alloy resin is a mixture of a styrenic resin and a crystalline engineering plastic. Further, formed on the outer surface of the alloy resin in a thickness required for mechanical strength and sliding properties is a crystalline engineering plastic. The resin-coated steel pipe exhibits markedly improved adhesion of the crystalline engineering plastic to the thin steel pipe and thus is free from a fear of the exfoliation of the plastic.

This invention belongs to the technical field of resin-coated steel pipe with superior mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, which uses, as its outer coating resin, a crystalline engineering plastic notably superior in mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, and in heat resistance. More particularly, the invention relates to a resin-coated steel pipe with superior mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, the crystalline engineering plastic of which greatly improves the adhesiveness of the steel pipe, making the pipe suited for use as a spline shaft used in live-roller conveyors for light or medium loads, and the like.
Crystalline engineering plastics such as PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) resin and nylon resin are notably superior in mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, and in heat resistance. Thus, if such plastics can be used as the outer coating resin of resin-coated steel pipes, then it is possible to obtain resin-coated steel pipes superior in their ability to slide, as well as in their durability. Accordingly, there are remarkable advantages to such steel pipes, and it is expected that there will also be great demand for the same. Resin-coated steel pipes are most suitable for use as members requiring a significant ability to slide, such as spline shafts used in live-roller conveyors for light or medium loads.
When using a crystalline engineering plastic as the outer coating resin of a resin-coated steel pipe, there has hitherto been no suitable adhesive that was able to satisfactorily bond the crystalline engineering plastic to a thin-walled steel pipe. The only available measure was to coat the thin-walled steel pipe with a thin film of a modified polyolefin-based adherent polymer and then bond the crystalline engineering plastic to the surface of the polymer.
However, the resin-coated steel pipe constructed by bonding a crystalline engineering plastic to the thin-walled steel pipe with an adherent polymer is problematic in that water is liable to seep into the interface between the thin-walled steel pipe and the adherent polymer, causing the separation of the coated resin (crystalline engineering plastic). Especially in cases where the resin-coated steel pipe is used outdoors, or in the field of agriculture or fisheries, regular contact with water will result in accelerated separation of the coated resin, thus impairing the practicality of the resin-coated steel pipe for such applications.
Also, although crystalline engineering plastics are superior in mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, as well as in heat resistance, they have a low melt viscosity and a large shrinkage factor. Consequently, a disadvantage also arises in that shaping stability, and thus dimensional accuracy, is low, lowering production efficiency.
Moreover, crystalline engineering plastics are in themselves expensive and are not economical materials. In the present circumstances, therefore, crystalline engineering plastics should be coated to the smallest possible thickness, thereby reducing the amount of the expensive resins used.
As stated above, it is extremely difficult to use a crystalline engineering plastic as the outer coating resin of a resin-coated steel pipe, and no such resin-coated steel pipe has been put to practical use yet.
Currently, therefore, the outer resin coating of resin-coated steel pipes is formed using synthetic resins, such as acrylate acrylic styrene (AAS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), Acrylonitrile-ethylene-styrene (AES) and Poly(ethylene terephthalate) glycol (PETG), which are inferior to crystalline engineering plastics in mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, and in heat resistance, but permit the use of a rubber-based adhesive which ensures excellent water resistance of the adhesion interface between the thin-walled steel pipe and the coated resin, and does not entail the separation of the coated resin.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a resin-coated steel pipe with superior mechanical strength, including the ability to slide, in which crystalline engineering plastic has greatly improved adhesiveness with respect to a thin-walled steel pipe, and thus is free from problems of separation.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a resin-coated steel pipe with superior mechanical strength including slidability, which can be more economically manufactured with improved production efficiency.

Resin-coated steel pipe excellent in mechanical strength such as sliding property


An electrolytic capacitor reformation system for a vehicle includes an electrolytic capacitor, a motor driver module, a switching device, a resistor, and a switching control module. The electrolytic capacitor receives power from a battery of the vehicle. The motor driver module receives power from the electrolytic capacitor and drives an electric motor of the vehicle. The switching device and the resistor are connected in series in a current path between the battery and the electrolytic capacitor. The resistor limits current flow through the current path. The switching control module selectively transitions the switching device to a closed state to reform the electrolytic capacitor.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
A vehicle includes various control modules, such as an engine control module (ECM), a transmission control module (TCM), a chassis control module (CCM), and other control modules. Each control module controls a vehicle system. For example, the ECM controls an engine of the vehicle, and the TCM controls a transmission of the vehicle.
One or more of the control modules of the vehicle may control one or more electric motors of the vehicle. Electric motors may be used in, for example, fluid pumps, actuators, propulsion electric motors, starters, and generators and motor generator units. A control module that controls an electric motor controls current flow to the electric motor.

Electrolytic capacitor reformation systems and methods


A programmable lighting device includes a power stage, a controller, a nonvolatile memory and a near field communication device. The power stage is configured to receive power from an external supply and supplying power to at least one light source. The controller is configured to control operation of the power stage according to an operating parameter and/or configuration setting for the programmable lighting device. The nonvolatile memory device stores the operating parameter and/or configuration setting. The near field communication device receives a radio frequency signal which communicates the operating parameter and/or configuration setting, and in response thereto stores the operating parameter and/or configuration setting in the nonvolatile memory. The near field communication device generates a supply voltage for powering the nonvolatile memory device from the RF signal.

Lighting technology continues to evolve providing enhanced functionality and efficiency for end users. For example, digital lighting technologies, i.e. illumination based on semiconductor light sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), offer a viable alternative to traditional fluorescent, HID, and incandescent lamps. Functional advantages and benefits of LEDs include high energy conversion and optical efficiency, durability, lower operating costs, and many others. Recent advances in LED technology have provided efficient and robust full-spectrum lighting sources that enable a variety of lighting effects in many applications. Some of the lighting fixtures embodying these LED-based sources feature a lighting module, including one or more LEDs capable of producing different colors, e.g. red, green, and blue, as well as a processor for independently controlling the output of the LEDs in order to generate a variety of colors and color-changing lighting effects, for example, as discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,038 and 6,211,626, incorporated herein by reference.
Commonly, one or more light sources may be driven by a lighting driver which may convert input power, for example from AC Mains, into an appropriate form for use by the particular light source, and supply the converted power to the light source(s). For example, an LED driver may receive AC Mains power, convert or format the power to an appropriate form for use by one or more LEDs, and supply the converted power to drive one or more LED-based lighting units.
To provide enhanced performance and flexibility, different lighting devices (e.g., LED drivers) may operate with one or more different configurations and/or operating parameters. Here, the term "configuration" refers to an operating mode of a lighting device. For example, LED drivers may be configured to operate with different dimming interfaces in order to dim the light source(s) which they drive. In particular, one LED driver may be configured to operate with a DALI interface, another LED driver may be configured to operate with an analog 0-10V dimming signal, still another may operate with phase-cut AC dimming, and yet another LED driver may be configured to operate with a Digital MultipleX (DMX) interface, etc. Meanwhile, the term "operating parameter" refers to a value or setting of an operational variable of the lighting device. For example, an LED driver may be configured to stop supplying current to drive an LED load if the temperature of the LED load exceeds a threshold value. This threshold value is an operating parameter of the LED driver, and may change from LED driver to LED driver, depending on a particular installation or target application for the LED driver. A variety of other configuration settings and operating parameters may change from one LED driver to another.
However, it is undesirable for a manufacturer to manufacture a large number of different lighting devices just to provide a large number of different configurations and different operating parameters—especially if large portions of the lighting devices are the same as each other. It is also undesirable for a manufacturer, vendor, and/or end user to have to maintain in inventory a large number of different lighting devices, each having its own specific configuration and/or its own specific operating parameters.
Accordingly, a manufacturer may manufacture a programmable lighting device (e.g., a programmable LED driver) which includes a programming interface or connector by means of which the device may be programmed with different configuration settings and/or with different operating parameters. In that way, a manufacturer may design and manufacture one generic lighting device for a large number of different applications or target installations, and then program each device to tailor it for its particular target application or installation. A programmable lighting device may be programmed by the manufacturer, the vendor, or the end user. For example, the manufacturer may maintain the generic programmable lighting devices in stock, and then program the devices with particular configuration setting(s) and/or operating parameter(s) to fill specific orders, prior to shipment. Also, an end user may purchase and stock one generic programmable LED driver model, and then program each device at the time of installation with the appropriate configuration setting(s) and/or operating parameter(s) for its particular application or target installation. Additionally, even after a programmable lighting device has been programmed and installed, it may be reprogrammed with one or more new operating parameters and/or reconfigured with one or more new or changed configuration settings.
However, existing methods of programming programmable lighting devices are cumbersome and relatively time-consuming. Each programmable lighting device is connected to a power supply (e.g., AC Mains) during its programming operation. Typically a connector on the device is connected to a programming device or terminal (e.g., through a matching cable). Then the configuration setting(s) and/or operating parameter(s) are transferred from the programming device or terminal to the programmable lighting device via the connector, after which the power may be removed from the programmable lighting device. Typically, the programming interface for the programmable lighting device may be an RS-232 or DALI interface. In some cases, wireless interfaces such WIFi or Zigbee may be employed, but their deployment is limited due to the high cost of implementation. Furthermore, with any of these wired or wireless interfaces, the programmable lighting device still must be supplied power, for example by plugging it into an AC outlet, during the programming operation.
When a large number of programmable lighting devices are to be programmed with a wired programming interface, either a corresponding number of connections/cables must be provided for programming the devices in parallel, or else the programmable lighting devices must be programmed in series, extending the time required for the programming operation. This programming operation may be especially burdensome for an end user, for example an end user which performs a commissioning process for a large number of lighting devices which must each be programmed. Often such an end user may have only one or a few programming device(s) or terminal(s) and corresponding connection(s) or cable(s) for programming a large number of devices, such that the programming is performed in a serial fashion. This repetitive serial individual programming operation is especially inefficient when several programmable lighting devices are all to be programmed with the same configuration settings or operating parameters.
Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a programmable lighting device, for example an LED driver, which can be easily programmed to apply one or more configuration settings and/or operating parameters thereto. There is further a need to provide an arrangement whereby several programmable lighting devices may be programmed with the same configuration settings or operating parameters at the same time.

Programmable lighting device and method and system for programming lighting device


This invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for oral administration comprising 4-((1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)-carbonyl)-N-(4-(4-morpholin-1-yl-carbonylpiperidin-1-yl)-phenyl)-1-piperazinecarboxamide, a salt thereof, or a solvate thereof, as an active pharmaceutical ingredient; and at least one acid additive selected from the group consisting of adipic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, L-aspartic acid, and L-glutamic acid.

Bioavailability, which is an index showing the extent to which an administrated drug reaches and acts in the blood in the general circulation, is a clinically significant parameter closely relating to drug efficacy or toxicity. Prediction or control of drug efficacy or toxicity of drugs with low bioavailability is difficult because they sometimes fail to attain the expected drug efficacy or have large intra- or inter-individual variation. Thus, obtaining appropriate bioavailability is important in the development of pharmaceutical products. Orally administered drugs are affected by the gastrointestinal absorption efficiency and metabolism in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. In particular, for poorly soluble drugs, improving drug dissolution from a pharmaceutical preparation or improving drug solubility in water is important to obtain appropriate bioavailability.
4-((1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)-carbonyl)-N-(4-(4-morpholin-1-yl-carbonylpiperidin-1-yl)-phenyl)-1-piperazinecarboxamide or a salt thereof is a drug for preventing and/or treating allergy diseases, inflammatory diseases, degenerative muscle diseases and the like, caused by an inhibitory effect of prostaglandin D synthase, particularly, hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (Patent Literature 1). However, there has been a problem of ensuring appropriate bioavailability because of the drug's low absorption and dissolution in the neutral pH range.
To improve drug dissolution and absorption, a method of adding an organic acid is widely known. Reported techniques include, for example, a technique of combining a benzimidazole compound and a pH modifier such as monosodium fumarate (Patent Literature 2), a technique of combining a morphinan derivative and an organic acid such as fumaric acid (Patent Literature 3), and the like.
However, regarding 4-((1-methylpyrrol-2-yl)-carbonyl)-N-(4-(4-morpholin-1-yl-carbonylpiperidin-1-yl)-phenyl)-1-piperazinecarboxamide, there has been no document reporting that dissolution and/or absorption is improved by adding a specific organic acid as an acid additive, as in the present invention.

Pharmaceutical composition for oral administration with improved dissolution and/or absorption


A light emitting region of light emitting elements is so configured as to extend in an elongated fashion along the direction of movement of a photosensitive drum to prevent the area of exposure in the direction of movement of the drum from becoming unreasonably small. The width of the light emitting region of the light emitting elements is reduced to restrain unreasonable expanse of emitted light beams. Further, arrangement is made to provide greater current density thereby to obtain increased light intensity, and the distribution of current is equalized to provide uniform light brightness. Through development of finer and more intense light beams in this way, it is possible to inhibit unreasonable expanse of light beams thereby to enable each single light emitting diode to provide sufficient exposure intensity. Thus, the width of continuously printed lines, the width of intermittently printed lines, and the diameter of each dot in one dot printing can be substantially equalized. Therefore, the optical printer head according to the invention provides for good improvement in print equality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical printer head and, more particularly, to the arrangement of light emitting elements provided in the optical printer head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In optical printer heads, a plurality of light emitting diodes may be arranged in rows in a manner that light beams from the light emitting diodes converge in a selfoc lens array to form a latent electrostatic image on a right circular cylinder-shaped photosensitive drum which has previously been electrostatically charged. Each light emitting diode 1 has an electrode 2 to which power is supplied to cause a light emitting region 3 to emit light. The direction of movement of the photosensitive drum is perpendicular to the orientation of the light emitting diodes 1 (vertical direction in FIG. 1(1)) as indicated by an arrow 4.
A brightness profile of the light emitting diode 1 taken along a line B1--B1 which is in parallel to the direction of drum movement 4 is illustrated in FIG. 1(2), and a brightness profile of the light emitting diode 1 taken along a line A1--A1 which is transverse to the direction of drum movement 4 is illustrated in FIG. 1(3). A developed dot to be formed on the photosensitive drum as a result of light emission from the light emitting diode 1 is represented by reference numeral 5 in FIG. 1(4). A light beam emitted from the light emitting region 3 of the light emitting diode 1 passes through a selfoc lens array (not shown) which is disposed between the light emitting diode 1 and the photosensitive drum and forms an image on the photosensitive drum. In FIG. 1(5), there is shown a light intensity profile of the light beam which has passed through the selfoc lens array and which is taken in a direction parallel to the direction of drum movement 4. A light intensity profile transverse to the direction of drum movement 4 is illustrated in FIG. 1(6). As light passes through the selfoc lens array, marginal regions 6, 7 of the brightness profile of the light from the light emitting region 3 of the light emitting diode 1 are significantly lowered into minor margins 8, 9.
In a conventional optical printer head of such arrangement, as FIG. 2(1) illustrates, the light emitting diodes 1 are driven to effect light emission from their light emitting regions 3. Scanning along a horizontal scanning direction or along the orientation of the rows of the light emission diodes is repeated, for example, at intervals of time period T1. As a result of the rotation of the photosensitive drum in a vertical scanning direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction and the repeated light emission from the light emission diodes, latent images of lines are formed on the photosensitive drum in the vertical scanning direction. FIG. 2(2) shows a latent image of a continuous line having a width W1 which is formed in the vertical scanning direction on the photosensitive drum by one of the light emission diodes. The line having the width W1 is thereafter transferred onto a transfer paper.
When the light emitting diodes 1 are driven at interval of time period T2, for example, in order to effect intermittent printing, as illustrated in FIG. 3(1), a line having a width W2 which is narrower than the width W1 in the case of continuous printing is printed in transfer paper as shown in FIG. 3(2), whose image is found to be sporadically broken.
When one dot only is to be printed, the light emitting diodes 1 are driven to emit light thereby to effect printing on transfer paper in manner as shown in FIG. 4(2). The printed dot is found to be out of shape when compared with the light emitting region 3 of the light emitting diodes 1. For the purpose of printing such one dot, the light emitting diodes are driven at time intervals T3 as shown in FIG. 4(1).
Reasons why continuous printing and intermittent printing results in such different print line widths W1, W2, and why one dot printing involves such deformation in print configuration will be explained. When light from each light emitting diode 1 passes through the selfoc lens array to form an image on the photosensitive drum, the light is decayed by the selfoc lens. For example, a certain selfoc lens array can reduce the light intensity to as low as about 1/5 thereof. Further, the intensity profile of the light which has just passed the selfoc lens array is such that, as already stated, the light intensity of the marginal region is significantly lowered. In addition, where the photosensitive drum is in rotation while a latent electrostatic image is being written on the drum, the light from the light emitting diode does not focus on one point and, if the duration of light emission is short, the trouble is that writing energy is insufficient. The profile of such reduced light intensity on the photosensitive drum involves the following problems at time of printing, as FIG. 5 illustrates. In the case of continuous printing, as FIG. 5(1) shows, the presence of marginal regions 8 (FIG. 1(5)) and 9 (FIG. 1(6)) in the intensity profile of light beams 10 from the light emitting diode 1, coupled with the fact that light emitting time interval Ti is short, causes overlapping of emitted light beams 10 in a similar manner as in the case of light emission being effected for a longer period of time. As a result of the repeated overlapping of the light beams, the light beams form a latent image of a continuous line 11 having a large width on the photosensitive drum which is printed accordingly on the transfer paper.
In the case of intermittent printing, as FIG. 5(2) shows, there develops a smaller degree of overlapping of emitted light beams 12 than in the case of continuous printing, with the result that a continuous line 13 of a smaller width than in the case of continuous printing is written as a latent image on the photosensitive drum.
In the case of one dot printing, as FIG. 5(3) shows, no overlapping effect occurs between an emitted light beam 14 and other adjacent light beams, and accordingly the resulting print dot 15 is diametrically smaller. After light beams from individual light emitting diodes have passed through the selfoc lens array, marginal regions 8, 9 of the intensity profile of the light beams are already lower in their intensity as earlier stated in conjunction with FIGS. 1(5) and 1(6), and therefore the energy available for exposure of the photosensitive drum is insufficient. Furthermore, since the photosensitive drum is in rotation, the light from the light emitting diodes does not focus on one point. This is another cause of the insufficiency of exposure energy.
The above mentioned problems of the prior art arrangement as explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 are largely accounted for by the configuration of the light emitting region 3 of each light emitting diode. In the light emitting diode 1 shown in FIG. 1(1), the current for driving it flows at a large current density in the proximity of the electrode 2 and, as the current flows away from the electrode 2, rightward in FIG. 1(1), the density of the current is abruptly reduced so that as already mentioned, the brightness profile of the light from the light emitting diode 1 is as shown in FIG. 1(2) wherein the brightness of the marginal region 6 is considerably lower than that in the proximity of the electrode 2. Such reduced brightness of the marginal region 6 is attributable to the configuration of the light emitting diode 1. This phenomenon is particularly apparent when light from the light emitting region 3 of the light emitting diode 1 has passed through the selfoc lens array. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 1(4), the width of the emitted light beam 5 becomes smaller and, especially in the case of one dot printing, each print dot is extremely small in its diametrical size.
FIG. 6 shows the relationship between input energy of light emitting diodes as one part and breadth of distribution of light beam brightness and print line width as the other part. The light emitting diodes 1 are arranged in a dot density of 300 dots/inch. Line l1 represents the breadth of the brightness distribution of a light emitting region 3; line l2 represents line width W in the case of continuous printing; and line l3 represents dot width W3 in the case of one dot printing.
It can be seen that in the case of continuous printing a large line width can be obtained when the input energy is low, as line l2 indicates, whereas in the case of one dot printing the diameter of each dot print is not so large as that in the case of continuous printing. In order to obtain a larger diameter of a dot, which is comparable to the continuous print line, a large input energy has to be applied as shown in FIG. 6. A comparison between line l1 indicative of the breadth of the brightness distribution and line l2 indicative of the width of continuous print line shows that there is a difference of 4 to 5 times, that is, the latter is 4 to 5 times larger than the former. The reason for this is that the width of emitted light beam is increased before the light beam from each light emitting diode reaches the surface of the photosensitive drum, and that overlapping of emitted light beams in continuous printing results in increased print line width.
In summary, printing by using the prior art arrangement of light emitting diodes 1 involves that problem that the resulting print lines and dots differ in width and diameter according to the cyclic period of printing, such as continuous printing, intermittent printing, or one dot printing. In the case of one dot printing in particular, no dot diameter W3 can be obtained at the required value. Therefore, with the prior art arrangement, the problem of print quality degradation is unavoidable.


A device for intermediate fastening between an aircraft fuselage and an aircraft landing gear is provided. The device includes at least one semi-open support structure comprising a pair of webs, which are substantially parallel to each other. The webs comprise first support means intended to receive the main pivot shaft of the landing gear and second support means intended to receive the stay joint or joints of the landing gear. The device includes two support structures linked together by a central box structure. The central box structure includes a front wall, a rear wall and linking walls linking those two walls.

Generally, the landing gear or landing gears of an aircraft are housed in a gear compartment situated in a reserved space, named gear bay, situated within the flanks of the bottom part of the fuselage and which may extend to a part of the wing.
This compartment plays a dual role according to whether the aircraft is in flight or on the ground.
During flight, the compartment isolates the gear from the aerodynamic flows so as to improve the performance of the aircraft.
On the ground, it has the role of transmitting the loads induced by the landing gear to the structure of the fuselage.
Currently, the parts constituting the landing gear are linked to the fuselage via its skin in rigid zones, and/or to the roof of the landing gear compartment constituting the limit between the pressurized zone (cabin) and the unpressurized zone of the fuselage.
In aircraft structures of the prior art, during movement of the aircraft along the ground, the loads coming from the wheels are transmitted to the bearings of the landing gear joints.
As these joints are linked to the skin of the aircraft fuselage and are also linked to the roof of the landing gear bay, it is the skin and the bay that transmit the loads induced by the landing gear to the fuselage structure.
On account of this, the zones concerned of the skin and of the bay are required to be reinforced in order not to undergo excessive deformations.
In particular, the bay roof has to bear the local torsional moment applied to the bay roof by the stay.
Furthermore, at present, on account of their structure and their fastening, the landing gears of an aircraft are mounted very early in the assembly chain of the aircraft. Thus, they generally cannot be tested independently.
Furthermore, the landing gear is very dependent upon the structure of the compartment. There is thus currently very little flexibility regarding the mounting of the landing gear.
In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Device for intermediate fastening between an aircraft fuselage and an aircraft landing gear


A system and method for 3-D ultrasound image registration and 3-D motion estimation. A calibrated 3-D speckle function is first pre-determined for the transducer and the tissue to be scanned. A series of image frames are identified and grouped into 3-D big and small blocks. Blocks representing speckle are identified and then, a full width half maximum value sum-absolute-difference technique is used to obtain an out-of-plane motion estimation based on decorrelation characteristics throughout the volume. For in-plane motion estimation, cross-correlation characteristics between pairs of frames are compared and, using a minimum sum absolute value technique, an estimate of in-plane motion is obtained. Fuzzy logic techniques are then used to obtain more accurate estimates. Finally, the out-of-plane motion estimate is updated based on decorrelation characteristics of the speckle frames used for the in-plane determination using a full width half maximum value technique.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention involves a system and a method for generating three-dimensional (3-D) images of structures from two-dimensional (2-D) images obtained through scanning, in particular, from 2-D images scanned using ultrasound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Imaging of a portion of a patient's body for medical diagnostic purposes is known. In the context of medical ultrasonic imaging, signals are sensed most strongly from portions of the region where the local change in acoustic impedance is greatest. The relative strengths of the return signals are then converted and processed and displayed in some form, for example, on a monitor, that represents an image of the scanned region.
Existing imaging systems using, for example, ultrasound and positron-based technologies such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Positron Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT), generate images of the body that represent scan planes, that is, 2-D "slices" of the scanned region. These systems display each slice as it is generated so that the user "sees" the 2-D image corresponding to the current position and orientation of the transducer.
A drawback of such purely 2-D imaging is that most of the imaged structures appear only as cross sections: the user gets no clear image of structures that do not extend in the plane of the "slice" currently being displayed. For example, if an artery is perpendicular to the scan plane, then all the user will be able to see is a small, circular region. Even sharp bends in the artery will not be apparent.
One approach to solving this problem is to simply compile a large number of 2-D image frames, register them in some way, and then display images in any plane of the registered compilation. However, in order to make proper registration possible, accurate information about the distance between adjacent frames must be known. Such information often is not available, since the user normally does not move the transducer at a constant speed, even assuming the user moves it in a constant direction. The user may, for example, spend more time "looking" at a particularly interesting portion of the scanned region and move quickly past other portions. Furthermore, different users will normally not move the transducer at the same speed.
One known way of dealing with this problem is to mount the transducer in a motorized bracket arrangement and then move it at a constant speed using motors. However, this is expensive and bulky; requires a separate procedure for 3-D scanning than is used for 2-D scanning; and eliminates much of the user's ability to directly control the scan, especially when using the hand-held transducers commonly used in ultrasonic imaging.
Another way to solve this problem is to mount mechanical (for example, wheels), inertial (accelerometers), magnetic (for example, Polhemus devices) or other types of position sensors on the transducer itself, to obtain distance information along with the scan information. The drawback of this solution, however, is that such sensors add weight and complexity to the transducers, which makes it difficult to provide them in low-cost machines. Moreover, metallic objects in the examination area can create noise that disturbs magnetic position sensors, and almost every object between the sensor and the transducer will interfere with line-of-sight infrared or ultrasound sensors.
Another known way of creating 3-D images is to use multiple transducers that simultaneously image the same regions from two or more perspectives. The "stereo" imaging data is then processed using known algorithms into a 3-D data set. This solution, however, has an obvious disadvantage: multiple transducers lead to increased costs and complexity. Another method is to use the distribution of a series of successive scatterers in the scanned region and certain correlation techniques to construct a 3-D model of blood flow. This method presupposes, however, that the scanned region is a flowing medium with a given velocity distribution.
Finally, local motion for a 3-D ultrasound image may be determined based on the correlation of B mode images using the mathematical auto-correlation and cross-correlation functions. However, such methods are computationally intensive and frequently are limited to off-line studies.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and associated method for generating 3-D images using a single transducer. There is a further need for three-dimensional imaging with little or no change to the flexible and familiar user-directed scan procedures, even for hand-held transducers. There is a still further need for a creating 3-D representations even of non-moving tissue. Finally, there is a need for a 3-D ultrasound system which may be accomplished in real time.

System and method for 3-D ultrasound imaging and motion estimation


In one or more implementations, the apparatus, systems and methods disclosed herein are directed to calibrating a smart phone with an arbitrary phone case for color lookup applications, wherein the calibration process includes obtaining, with the smartphone without the case equipped, a first measurement data set that includes at least one measurement of each of a black, white and grey calibration target; obtaining, with the smartphone with the case equipped, at least three exposure measurements of a white calibration target at least three different exposure times; calculating an optimized exposure time using at least the at least three exposure measurements; obtaining, with the smartphone with the case equipped, a second measurement data set that includes at least one measurement of each of a black, white and grey calibration target at the optimized exposure time; generating fitting parameters from the first and second measurement datasets; and storing the generated fitting parameters and optimized exposure time in at least one of a local or remote data storage device.

Many industries, including textiles, coatings, and the like, rely on color matching. Color matching may involve identifying a target color (e.g., from an object or from a known standard) and subsequently reproducing the target color in a color mixture, i.e., so that any visual difference between the color mixture and the target color is minimized. For instance, a customer may ask for a can of paint to be mixed in a color that matches the color of a wall in the customer's home, so that touch-ups to the wall can be made in a manner that "blends in." Similarly, an automobile manufacturer may ask that a coating be mixed in a color that matches the color of existing automobiles built by the manufacturer, in order to ensure color consistency across the manufacturer's line.
There exists in the field of color management and matching, a number of approaches to identifying the color of a sample and matching that identified color to a standardized set of colors, such as a color supplier's product offerings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,057,641 B2 'Method for Using an Electronic Imaging Device to Measure Color'; U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,586 B1 'System and Method for Scene Image Acquisition and Spectral Estimation Using a Wide-Band Multi-Channel Image Capture'; U.S. Pat. No. 8,279,440 B2 "Hand-Held Light Measuring Device"; U.S. Pat. No. 10,057,549 "Computer-implemented system and method for color sensing, storage and comparison"; US 2020/0225778 A1 "Computer System with Color sampling Stylus"; U.S. Pat. No. 10,502,628 B1 "Inter-Instrument Variation Correction"; U.S. Pat. No. 10,346,710 "Multi-Agent Training of a Color Identification Neural Network"; and U.S. Pat. No. 10,643,099 "Multi-Agent Training of a Color Identification Neural Network", all of which are incorporated by reference as if presented herein in their respective entireties. Likewise, there exists commercial products that permit users to sample colors, and then match those colors to a given color supplier's product offerings, for example, Nix color sensor https://www.nixsensor.com/; Variable Color Muse https://colormuse.io/; Datacolor ColorReader http://www.colorreader.datacolor.com/us/; X-Rite ColorEye https://www.xrite.com/categories/color-matching-apps/coloreye each provide apparatus and systems for evaluating color from color samples and then matching those colors to a pre-defined color set.
While some approaches currently use neural networks or other machine learning approaches to improve the performance of the color matching approach, the present state of the art still suffers from a number of drawbacks. The current approaches require in-depth training data sets to obtain suitably robust ANN models in order to provide accurate color measurement results.


A labyrinth sealing device for reducing gas intrusion is provided. A sealing bush is provided with a jet hole at the front of a tooth tip gap. The jet hole faces a tip of a corresponding sealing tooth. A gas flow injected by the jet hole suppresses hot gas flowing into the tooth tip gap. The sealing bush is provided with a first intercepting member at the rear of the tooth tip gap, and the sealing tooth is provided with a second intercepting member at the rear of the tooth tip gap. The first intercepting member hinders hot gas flowing against an inner wall of the sealing bush, and the second intercepting member hinders hot gas flowing against the sealing tooth, such that a part of the hot gas flows in a reverse direction and is violently mixed with subsequent hot gas.

With the development of the aviation industry, the requirements for maneuverability, reliability and economy of aircraft are becoming increasingly high. To meet the high-performance requirements of the engine, it is urgently necessary to improve the various components of the aero-engine. Low fuel consumption, high thrust ratio, high reliability and durability are the development trends of the modern aviation gas turbine engine. However, as the internal temperature and the pressure ratio of the engine gradually increase, the leakage of the internal flow system is becoming increasingly serious. Therefore, the sealing performance directly affects the fuel consumption rate, flight cost and thrust-to-weight ratio of the aero-engine. In order to reduce the leakage loss and improve the overall performance of the engine, it is particularly vital to improve the original sealing devices at multiple locations. In Chinese and other countries, many studies have shown that the performance improvement of the aero-engine in the future will substantially depend on the improvement of sealing technology and the reduction of leakage. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop a high-performance sealing structure, and the improvement and development of a sealing device has important practical value and significance for reducing fuel consumption and improving engine efficiency.

Labyrinth sealing device for reducing gas intrusion

Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics


A 6H-indeno[2,1-b]quinoline derivative has a structure of formula (I). Each of Ar1 and Ar2 is a member selected from the group consisting of a substituted or non-substituted aryl group and a substituted or non-substituted heteroaryl group and R1 to R9 are substituents. The 6H-indeno[2,1-b]quinoline derivative of the present invention is provided with thermal stability. Chemical compounds of the present invention are adequate for the materials of the light-emitting layer of an OLED device with high device performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chemical compound and an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and more particularly to a 6H-indeno[2,1-b]quinoline derivative and organic light emitting diode using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
OLED is composed of organic materials and semiconductor materials. OLED works on the mechanism that electrons and holes diffuse through an electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL) respectively to enter a light-emitting layer, and recombine in the emitting region to form excitons. When excitons fall to the ground state, the energy is given off in the form of photo radiation. The radiation color can be tuned by applying different emitting materials. OLED has been spotlighted due to a lot of advantages, such as self illumination, wider visual angle (>170°), shorter response time (˜μs), higher contrast, higher efficiency, lower power consumption, higher brightness, lower operative voltage (3-10V), thinner size (<2 mm), flexibility and so on.
Excitons generated from recombining holes and electrons have triplet state or singlet state for its spin state. Singlet exciton relaxation radiates fluorescence and triplet exciton relaxation radiates phosphorescence. Phosphorescence achieves 3-fold efficiency comparing to fluorescence and may greatly enhance the IQE (internal quantum efficiency) of devices up to 100% by adopting metal complexes in electroluminescent configuration to achieve strong spin-orbital coupling and mixing of singlets and triplets. Therefore, phosphorescent metal complexes are now adopted as phosphorescent dopants in the emitting layer of OLED. In addition, by doping proper materials to the light-emitting layer, self-quenching of the host materials can be reduced greatly to enhance the efficiency of the OLED device. With respect to host materials, they must be capable of catching carriers easily and have high photoelectric conversion performance, high thermal stability and proper band gap of singlet state and triplet state.
To sum up, it is an important issue to develop a novel host material to be applied in OLED.

6H-indeno[2,1-B]quinoline derivative and organic light emitting diode using the same


A digital printing or copying machine (1) is proposed for the one-sided or double-sided printing onto a substrate (5), using at least one toner. The machine (1) includes at least one fixation device (3) for fixing the toner image on the substrate (5). The fixation device (3) has at least one heating device (13) for melting the toner image, past which the substrate (5) can be taken. The machine (1) is distinguished by a guide device (17) for the free floating movement of the substrate (5) in the effective range of the heating device (13).

Digital printing or copying machines work, for example, by the electrophotographic process, in which a latent electrostatic image is developed by charged toner particles. These are transferred to an image receiver substrate, hereinafter, the substrate. Thereafter, the image that has been developed and transferred to the substrate is fixed by heating and melting the toner particles. Contact methods are often used to melt the toner particles, during which the toner particles are brought into touching contact with corresponding devices, such as hot rolls or rollers. The drawback is that the use of silicone oil as separating agent is generally required to prevent a sticking of the melted toner to the heating device. Furthermore, the construction, the maintenance, and the operating costs of these touch type heating devices are substantial and, thus, cost intensive. Moreover, the error rate produced by the contact heating devices is relatively high. Furthermore, noncontact heating devices and methods are known for fixing the toner that has been transferred to paper (for example), in which the toner particles are melted, for example, by heat from thermal/microwave radiation or by hot air.
The contact and the noncontact melting methods use, for example, a toner whose glass transition temperature (TG) lies in a range of 45° C. to 75° C. The glass transition temperature, in which the toner starting from the solid state begins to become soft, can be influenced by the choice of the raw materials and by adding certain additives to the toner. In a fixation device having at least one heating device for the toner, both the toner and the substrate itself is heated. In order to make sure of a good fixation of the toner on the substrate, the surface temperature of the substrate must be in the region of the glass transition temperature of the toner or higher. The toner will reach or exceed the glass transition temperature (TG) already in the region of the heating device.
There are familiar printing and copying machines in which the substrate is printed or coated on both sides, and either the very same image generating and transferring device and heating device are used for the printing on the front and back side, or a separate image generating and transferring device and heating device are used. In order to fix the toner image, the substrate is frequently taken by a transport belt, on which the substrate is placed, past the at least one image generating and transferring device and the corresponding heating device. In this case, a first toner image is initially transferred to a first substrate side and then fixed. After this, a second toner image is transferred and fixed on the second substrate side. Therefore, when melting the second toner image, the first substrate side with the already fixed first toner image located on it lies on the transport belt. The disadvantage here is that, during the melting of the second toner image, the first toner image can become heated to such an extent that it becomes soft and has a tendency to stick to the transport belt. This can lead to several undesirable effects: due to the sticking, a substrate jam can occur when taking the substrate from the transport belt to a subsequent part of the machine. Furthermore, the appearance of the toner image can change in the areas where it sticks to the transport belt. This results in problems of image quality, for example, the toner image has an irregular gloss.


A fishing rod has rod stock, and fixed guides formed on the rod stock. Each guide includes an annular line guide element formed of a material having excellent wear resistance, a tubular element mounted on the rod stock, a frame formed integral with the tubular element for supporting the line guide element, and a pair of sleeves mounted on the rod stock. The sleeves are arranged axially of the rod stock with the tubular element placed in between. Each sleeve defines an outer surface having an arcuate sectional shape gently tapered to approach an outer surface of the rod stock as it extends away from the tubular element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fishing rod and to a method of manufacturing the fishing rod. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique of forming fixed guides on rod stock of a fishing rod.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known technique of forming fixed guides on rod stock is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-23144, for example. According to this technique, each guide includes a ring for guiding a fishing line, and a pair of legs. The guide is attached to the rod stock, with the legs thereof tied to the rod stock by string.
With this type of fixed guide, usually, a resin is applied over outer surfaces of the string wound around the legs to protect the string and to prevent the string from becoming loose.
In the prior construction noted above, the string wound around the legs to fasten the legs to a side wall of the rod stock bulges from the rod stock. The fishing line tends to become entangled on the bulges. Further, since the legs are placed in contact with a side wall of the rod stock, the fishing rod has increased rigidity locally, i.e. in positions of contact with the legs. Consequently, the rod has varied rigidity in the circumferential direction, and the condition of the rod is variable depending on bending directions thereof.
The condition of the rod is greatly variable with bending directions in the case of a lure rod, for example, which is relatively short but has numerous fixed guides. When the angler attempts to securely hook a fish after perceiving a strike or when tension of the fishing line changes rapidly in the course of fighting a fish, it is impossible to maintain the fishing line in proper tension, and this could result in escape of the fish. Thus, there is room for improvement.
As noted above, the legs of each guide are securely tied to the conventional fishing rod by means of string. Manufacture of such fishing rod involves an irksome operation of winding the string around the legs. Further, it is difficult to arrange a plurality of guides in a predetermined orientation and linearly along the axis of the rod stock. Any deviation from this arrangement results in a deterioration in line guiding performance. There is room for improvement in this respect also.

Fishing rod having line guides, and method of manufacturing same


A process for making a phosphoester polymer comprising the recurring monomeric units of formula I: ##STR1## wherein: X is --O-- or --NR"--, where R" is H or alkyl;. L is a divalent organic moiety; PA1 R' is H, alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, heterocyclic, or heterocycloxy; and PA1 n is between about 25 to 2,000, PA1 (a) polymerizing in the presence of a solvent p moles of a di-XH compound having formula II: EQU H--X--L--X--H II PA1 wherein X and L are as defined above, with q moles, where p.apprxeq.q, of a phosphorodihalo compound to form a polymer of formula I, wherein n is about 12 to 1000, having a first molecular weight Mw.sub.1, wherein the solvent is present in an amount greater than about 5 ml of solvent per gram of compound of formula II; PA1 (b) removing at least about 25% of the solvent to form a more concentrated reaction mixture; and PA1 (c) further polymerizing the concentrated reaction mixture for an additional time sufficient to produce a polymer of formula I wherein n is between about 25 and 2,000, the polymer having a second molecular weight Mw.sub.2, which is significantly higher than Mw.sub.1.. is described. The process comprises the steps of:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solution polymerization process for making high molecular weight polymers containing phosphoester linkages, in particular those that degrade in vivo into non-toxic residues. The polymers made by the process of the invention are particularly useful as implantable medical devices and prolonged release drug delivery systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polymers having phosphate linkages, called poly(phosphates), poly(phosphonates) and poly(phosphites), are known. See Penczek et al., Handbook of Polymer Synthesis Chapter 17: "Phosphorus-Containing Polymers", (Hans R. Kricheldorf ed., 1992). The respective structures of these three classes of compounds, each having a different side chain connected to the phosphorus atom, is as follows: ##STR2## The versatility of these polymers comes from the versatility of the phosphorus atom, which is known for a multiplicity of reactions. Its bonding can involve the 3p orbitals or various 3s-3p hybrids; spd hybrids are also possible because of the accessible d orbitals. Thus, the physico-chemical properties of the poly(phosphoesters) can be readily changed by varying either the R or R' group. The biodegradability of the polymer is due primarily to the physiologically labile phosphoester bond in the backbone of the polymer. By manipulating the backbone or the side chain, a wide range of biodegradation rates are attainable.
An additional feature of poly(phosphoesters) is the availability of functional side groups. Because phosphorus can be pentavalent, drug molecules or other biologically active substances can be chemically linked to the polymer. For example, drugs with --O-carboxy groups may be coupled to the phosphorus via an ester bond, which is hydrolyzable. The P--O--C group in the backbone also lowers the glass transition temperature of the polymer and, importantly, confers solubility in common organic solvents, which is desirable for easy characterization and processing.
The most common general reaction in preparing poly(phosphates) is a dehydrochlorination between a phosphorodichloridate and a diol according to the following equation: ##STR3## Most poly(phosphonates) are also obtained by condensation between appropriately substituted dichlorides and diols.
Poly(phosphites) have been prepared from glycols in a two-stage condensation reaction. A 20% molar excess of a dimethylphosphite is used to react with the glycol, followed by the removal of the methoxyphosphonyl end groups in the oligomers by high temperature.
A Friedel-Crafts reaction can also be used to synthesize poly(phosphates). Polymerization typically is effected by reacting either bis(chloromethyl) compounds with aromatic hydrocarbons or chloromethylated diphenyl ether with triaryl phosphates. Poly(phosphates) can also be obtained by bulk condensation between phosphorus diimidazolides and aromatic diols, such as resorcinol and quinoline, usually under nitrogen or some other inert gas.
High molecular weights have generally been possible by bulk polycondensation. However, rigorous conditions are often required, which can lead to chain acidolysis (or hydrolysis if water is present). Unwanted, thermally-induced side reactions, such as cross-linking reactions, can also occur if the polymer backbone is susceptible to hydrogen atom abstraction or oxidation with subsequent macroradical recombination.
To minimize these side reactions, the polymerization can also be carried out in solution. For example, Kobayashi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,951, teaches that a suitably-diluted concentration in the solvent should be chosen to prevent the viscosity of the reaction mixture from increasing so much that stirring becomes no longer feasible. See Kobayashi et al., column 5, lines 10-13. Solution polycondensation requires that both the diol and the phosphorus component be soluble in a common solvent. Typically, a chlorinated organic solvent is used, such as chloroform, dichloromethane, or dichloroethane. The solution polymerization must be run in the presence of equimolar amounts of the reactants and a stoichiometric amount of an acid acceptor, usually a tertiary amine such as pyridine or triethylamine. The product is then typically isolated from the solution by precipitation with a non-solvent and purified to remove the hydrochloride salt by conventional techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art, such as by washing with an aqueous acidic solution, e.g., dilute HCl.
A wide variety of solution polymerization procedures have been proposed to influence the polymerization rate, the molecular weight or the physical form of the final polymer products of a polycondensation reaction. For example, one-stage low-solvent polymerizations have been used to increase the molecular weight of fluorine-containing polyimides (Vora, U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,609; 8-12% by weight monomers in inert solvent also produces narrow polydispersity for better processing) or to increase polymerization velocity in making alkylene oxide polymers (Tanaka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,564). Raising the temperature and water content of the reaction mixture in a two-stage polymerization has been used toincrease the molecular weight of poly(arylene thioether-ketone) compounds (Kawakami et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,894).
A reaction medium comprising both a good solvent and a poor solvent has been used in the polymerization of epoxides to form granular polymers (Carville et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,853), and the addition of a poor solvent, which comprises 30-60% by weight of the total solvent in a subsequent stage of polymerization, has been used to increase molecular weight in polyarylene sulfides (Tanaka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,411). Parekh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,044, discloses a process for making poly(etherimide) comprising (a) forming a prepolymer-solvent mixture; (b) removal of water, and thus solvent, to form a "prepolymer"; and (c) heating the "prepolymer" to form the poly(etherimide). See column 2, lines 29-44. In the second step, the continuous forming and reforming of a thin film typically permits the concentration of viscous materials. In the final process step, substantially complete polymerization, as well as the removal of both water and solvent, are said to occur. The second and third steps may be combined, for example, if the "prepolymer" is retained in a thin-film evaporator beyond the point at which a substantial portion of the solvent is removed, thus effecting what is described as "substantially complete polymerization." See column 7, lines 33-35 and 57-65.
Dellacoletta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,516, discloses a similar process for preparing a poly(etherimide)-poly(imide) copolymer by (a) forming an oligomer-solvent mixture; (b) removing unreacted organic diamine from the oligomer-solvent mixture; and (c) reacting an aromatic dianhydride with the oligomer in an inert, non-polar solvent. See column 2, lines 5-11. The second step, called a devolatilization process, is said to "fully" polymerize the oligomer to form a molten poly(etherimide) and, in the process, also removes solvent. See column 8, lines 60-63.
However, neither Parekh nor Dellacoletta suggest that solvent removal should be done to increase molecular weight. Further, none of the above variations has yet been applied to the formation of high molecular weight poly(phosphoesters).
Reaction times tend to be longer with solution polymerization than with bulk polymerization. However, because overall milder reaction conditions can be used, side reactions are minimized, and more sensitive functional groups can be incorporated into the polymer. The disadvantage of solution polymerization is that the attainment of high molecular weights, such as a molecular weight greater than about 10,000 to 20,000, is less likely.
Interfacial polycondensation can be used when high molecular weight polymers are desired at high reaction rates. Mild conditions minimize side reactions. Also the dependence of high molecular weight on stoichiometric equivalence between diol and dichloridate inherent in solution methods is removed. However, hydrolysis of the acid chloride may occur in the alkaline aqueous phase, since sensitive dichloridates that have some solubility in water are generally subject to hydrolysis rather than polymerization.
Thus, there remains a need for a polymerization procedure that will minimize the side-reactions usually obtained with the bulk polymerizations and/or polymerizations conducted at high temperatures thought to be necessary to achieve high molecular weights. At the same time, however, there is a need to provide significantly higher molecular weight materials than would be produced with a standard one-stage solution polymerization reaction.

Two-stage solution polymerization of high molecular weight poly(phosphoesters)


An apparatus according to the present invention includes a stepping motor (5) and a motor drive circuit (4) for first moving a lamp unit to hit the unit against a reference object opposite to an origin and then moving the unit toward the origin, a CPU (3) for measuring the distance through which the lamp unit is moved from the reference object toward the origin, and the CPU (3) for controlling the lamp unit so that the lamp unit stops at the origin according to the distance measured from the reference object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an origin detector for a lamp unit in an image scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
The image scanner needs an origin (reference position) for a lamp unit to hold a reading start position. Thus conventional image scanners use a photosensor, a reed switch, or the like to detect a reference position. In the arrangement of a conventional image sensor in FIG. 3B, an output signal from a sensor 1 is linked with an interrupt terminal 2 also serving as an I/O port of a CPU 3, which performs interrupt operation by detecting the timing of turn-on and turn-off of the sensor at a rising edge and a falling edge.
Referring now to FIG. 5C, the arrangement of a conventional scanner is described below. Numeral 7 indicates a lamp unit, which is arranged to be moved along a shaft 12 by a motor 11. Numeral 6 designates a home position sensor for detecting an origin for the lamp unit. Numerals 8, 9, and 10 indicate a mirror unit, a CCD for reading an image, and a lens, respectively. Numerals 13 and 14 designate belts, and numerals 15 and 16 represent pulleys.
Referring now to the flowchart in FIG. 2 and the arrangement of the scanner in FIGS. 5C and 5D, a conventional controlling method using a sensor is described below.
Sensor condition is checked immediately after the power is turned on (S201). If the sensor is off (the lamp unit is not in the position of the sensor) as shown in FIG. 5C, the lamp unit moves back toward the sensor (S202 and S203) until the sensor turns on (the lamp unit is in the position of the sensor). After the sensor turns on, the lamp unit further moves back a few steps to make sure that the sensor is on (S204). Then the lamp unit begins to move forward (S205) and stops (S207) at such a position that the sensor turns off (S206), that is, an origin.
If the sensor is on as shown in FIG. 5D immediately after the power is turned on (S201), the lamp unit moves forward and stops at such a position that the sensor turns off, that is, an origin. This allows the previous operations (S202 to S204) to be omitted.
Such a position that the sensor is switched off is specified as an origin, since the range in which the sensor turns on cannot be neglected in relation with variations in the reading start position particularly if a reed switch is used.
A scanner using a conventional origin detector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying open (KOKAI) No. 4-329531.
Conventional origin detectors are expensive because they use a sensor. What is worse, conventional origin detectors need space for a sensor and cables, so that the detectors are prevented from being reduced in size. In addition, problems with assembly may arise because of installation variations. The present invention is made to solve the problems and provide an origin detector enabling a small inexpensive image scanner to be created.


A method of manufacturing a door glass run to be attached along an inner periphery of a door frame of a vehicle door. The method includes forming a door glass run having a main portion of a generally U-shaped cross-section, and seal lips which extend from ends of side walls of the main portion toward the inside thereof by extrusion such that one side wall has a height greater than that of the other side wall, forming first, second and third cutouts in the extruded door glass run from a bottom wall of the main portion to angular parts connecting the bottom wall to the side walls such that the first cutout faces about a center of a corner of the door frame, and the second and third cutouts face about borders between the corner of the door frame and straightly extending parts thereof, bending the door glass run having these cutouts in conformity with the corner of the door frame, and filling these cutouts with molding material to mold a bottom wall and angular parts connecting the bottom wall to side walls therein such that the thickness of the angular part connecting the bottom wall to the side wall having a greater height is increased, as compared to that of a corresponding angular part of the extruded glass run.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a door glass run to be attached to a door frame of a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a corner part in such a door glass run.
2. Description of Related Art
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a door glass run (hereinafter will be merely called glass run) R is attached along an inner periphery of a door frame 12 of a door 10 of a motor vehicle to guide a door glass 14 to its closed and open positions, and effect a seal between the door glass 14 and door frame 12 when the door glass 14 is fully closed. The glass run has a generally U-shaped cross-section and is formed linearly by extruding solid rubber.
The glass run thus extruded, however, cannot be bent in conformity with a corner of the door frame 12, which curves at right angles, such as a corner C1 in FIG. 1. So, generally, two extruded glass runs have been joined together with a corner member which is molded so as to curve at right angles.
Corner parts of the glass run to be attached to gently curved corners of the door frame 12 such as corners C2 and C3 in FIG. 1 can be obtained by forming a cutout in a bottom wall of an extruded glass run over a length corresponding to the corner of the door frame 12, bending the glass run to a desired corner configuration, placing the bent corner part of the glass run in a mold, and injecting a rubber material into the mold to fill the cutout with the rubber material.
With this method, however, upon bending the glass run having such a cutout, the cross-sectional configuration of the glass run may be irregularly deformed, which makes it difficult to place the glass run in the mold. In addition, upon closing the mold, the glass run thus irregularly deformed may be partly caught between mold members.
To prevent irregular deformation, conventionally, a plurality of lateral slits have been formed separately in a bottom wall of an extruded glass run, and the glass run having the lateral slits has been bent into a desired corner configuration, which results in, as shown in FIG. 2, the slits being opened to define a plurality of notches 16, each having a V-shaped cross-section. Then, the notches 16 have been filled with molding material 18 in a mold (Japanese Patent application-laid open No. Hei 6-134855).
This method for forming a corner part in the glass run may be applied to a corner of the door frame, which curves at right ingles, such as the corner C1 in FIG. 1.
However, when the above method is applied to the door glass run R1 shown in FIG. 3, which has the arrangement that one side wall 20 to be located inwardly upon installed on the door frame 12 has a height greater than that of the other side wall 22 to be located outwardly upon installed on the door frame 12, there occurs the following problem. After removing the molded corner part from the mold, as shown in FIG. 3, the side wall 20 having a volume greater than that of the side wall 22, protrudes upwardly to abut the door frame 12, thus generating a buckle 26 in the side wall 22. This is caused by the difference in residual stress between the side walls 20 and 22 which have been bent and placed in the mold.
Due to these deformations, the molded corner of the glass run R1 cannot be installed on the door frame 12 in a normal state, whereby the sealing performance around the door glass is lowered.

Method of manufacturing door glass run for motor vehicle


A new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant named ‘BONSCA 1151’, characterized by its mounded and semi-trailing plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; variegated leaves; freely flowering habit; long flowering period; bright purple-colored flowers; and good container and garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant, botanically known as Scaevola aemula and hereinafter referred to by the name 'BONSCA 1151'.
The new Scaevola plant a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new mounding, semi-trailing and freely-flowering Scaevola plants with variegated leaves and attractive flower color.
The new Scaevola plant originated from an open-pollination in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia in November, 2009 of an unnamed proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Scaevola plant was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia on Mar. 15, 2011.
Asexual reproduction of the new Scaevola plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia since Mar. 15, 2011 has shown that the unique features of this new Scaevola plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A package for a flowable dry food product includes an outer rectangular box with a removable portion for forming an opening in a portion of the top, and a bag inside the box, having a reclosable portion extending substantially the length of the opening, but less than the entire width of the package.

Cereal is most often packaged in a bag inside a rectangular paperboard folded carton or box with reclosable flaps on the top to provide access to the contents. An internal liner or bag is provided to protect the contents. While expensive, the carton, which protects that product from being crushed, and the liner which preserves freshness, is convenient to store on a shelf, and provides substantial display surfaces for product information and advertising. However, these packages also suffer from a number of inconveniences. First, it can be difficult to initially open the internal liner or bag. Second once opened it is difficult to reclose the package. The internal liner or bag is simply "rolled up" and readily unrolls, and the flaps on the box top often come undone. Thus, the product can become stale, and there a risk of spillage if the package is knocked over or tilted. Third, it can be difficult to accurately pour the product from the container without spillage.
Recently, cereal has been packaged in recloseable bags. These bags are relatively inexpensive, and without the interference of a surrounding box reclosing the bag is easier. However, while these bags are usually easy to reseal, without the box these bags do not protect the product as well, are less convenient to store on a shelf, and do not provide a significant display surface for product information and advertising.


A camera system with interchangeable lens, consisting of a camera unit and a lens unit detachably mountable on the camera unit, comprising a target value setting circuit for setting a target control value of a diaphragm provided in the lens unit, a correction circuit for generating a correction signal for varying the content of the target value setting circuit, a diaphragm state detection circuit for detecting the diaphragm information, a first control circuit for varying the set value of the target value setting circuit, based on the correction signal, a diaphragm drive circuit for driving the diaphragm according the result of comparison of the output of the diaphragm state detection circuit and the value of the target value setting circuit, a memory circuit for storing the information specific to each lens unit, and a second control circuit for generating, at the detaching and mounting of the lens unit, a command for controlling the value of the target value setting circuit for bringing the diaphragm to a predetermined state, by referring to the content of the memory circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera system with interchangeable lenses, and more particularly such camera system including so-called electronic mount system for effecting communication of data required for various controls between a lens unit and a camera unit.
2. Related Background Art
The interchangeable lens system conventionally employed in ordinary still cameras is being introduced into so-called camcorders, with the recent progress in VTR and other imaging equipment. In employing such interchangeable lens system in the VTR or other similar equipment, the transmission of information can be conducted with an exposure state control signal that is so normalized and encoded as to sufficiently ensure the compatibility of lens control information, whereby the exposure control can be achieved, different from the conventional interchangeable lens system, in the same manner as in the fixed-lens camcorder.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the exposure control device in a conventional interchangeable-lens video camera system.
A chain line in the center indicates a mount portion MT, and a camera unit CM and a lens unit LS are respectively indicated at the right and at the left.
An object image formed on an imaging face of an image pickup device 3, through a lens optical system 1 and a diaphragm 2 is subjected to photoelectric conversion in the image pickup device 3 and is released as an image signal, which is supplied to a camera signal processing circuit 4. The circuit 4 effects for example .gamma.-conversion and obtains a color signal C and a luminance signal Y.gamma., which are converted into a composite image signal through a camera encoder 5 for example of NTSC format.
Also the luminance signal Y released from said camera signal processing circuit 4 prior to .gamma.-conversion is supplied to a detection circuit 6 and is for example integration detected for generating a control signal for controlling the diaphragm 2 in order to obtain an appropriate exposure according to the brightness of the object field.
The detection output signal from said detection circuit 6 is compared with a reference value 8 in a comparator 7, which thus calculates a difference signal. The difference signal is converted into digital data by an A/D converter 23, and is fetched in a microcomputer 20 of the camera side, then transmitted as a diaphragm control signal to a microcomputer 21 of the lens side, through a communication line 22 by predetermined communication means to be explained later.
In response, said microcomputer 21 in the lens unit LS calculates a signal representing the diaphragm control amount, which is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converter 24 and supplied to a diaphragm driver 9 for controlling the diaphragm 2.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a manual exposure control device for an interchangeable-lens video camera system, wherein same components as those in FIG. 1 are represented by same numbers and will not be explained further. When an external input for effecting manual exposure control is given to the microcomputer 20 of the camera side, the status of such manual exposure control is transmitted to the microcomputer 21 of the lens side through the communication line 21.
In the lens unit LS in such a manual exposure control state, the value of a diaphragm encoder 11 is stored in a target value counter 12. The diaphragm control signal calculated by the lens microcomputer 21 is supplied to said target value counter 12 and added to the value of the diaphragm encoder stored therein. The sum obtained in the target value counter is compared with the value of the diaphragm encoder 11 by a comparator 13, and the driver 9 is activated according to result of said comparison, thereby controlling the diaphragm in such a manner that the value of the target value counter 12 becomes equal to that of the diaphragm encoder.
Thus, when an aperture opening switch 14 or an aperture closing switch 15 is actuated, the camera microcomputer 20 calculates the diaphragm control amount, which is transmitted through the communication line 22 to the lens microcomputer 21 and varies the value of the target value counter by a predetermined amount according to the actuation. The change in the value of the target value counter allows to vary the actual diaphragm aperture, through the operations explained above.
In such a device, however, when the lens is changed in the manual exposure control state, and if the target value counter of the newly mounted lens unit contains data at the previous use or erroneous data, it becomes impossible to control the diaphragm aperture to the target value prior to the lens change.


A flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connection mechanism of the present invention includes a first connector which is connected to one end of a first FPCB and a second connector which rotatably coupled with the first connector and is connected to one end of a second FPCB. The FPCB connection mechanism of the present invention provides a mechanical and electrical connection between the main body and the cover body of the handset without twisting of two FPCBs that are respectively connected to the main PCB of the main body and the auxiliary PCB of the cover body so to avoid the physical damage of the FPCBs caused by frequent rotational movement of the cover body in relation to the main body and prevent the physical damages of FPCBs from changing the circuitry resistances or shorting the circuitry.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile handset and, in particular, to a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connection.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a foldable type handset is composed of a main body including a printed circuit board (PCB) on which components for cooperatively driving a keypad, a microphone, and the handset are mounted, and a cover body including another PCB on which components for operating a speaker and display are mounted, the main body and cover body being pivotally connected by means of a hinge structure. The PCBs of the main body and the cover body are connected by a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) in order to accommodate the movement of the hinge structure.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional foldable type handset. As shown in FIG. 1, a first PCB 130 of a main body 100 and a second PCB 160 of a cover body 150 are connected to each other by means of a FPCB 200. The FPCB 200 penetrates a space formed inside of the hinge supports 113, and a hinge shaft 154 of the cover body 150 is rotatably interposed between the hinge supports 113.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the FPCB 200 of FIG. 1. The FPCB 200 comprises a main body connection part 201 which is plugged into the main body 100, a cover body connection part 202 which is plugged into the cover body 150, and a middle part 204 positioned between the main body connection part 201 and the cover body connection part 202 at a right angle so as to be parallel with the hinge shaft in order to minimize distortion of the FPCB when the hinge shaft rotates.
The FPCB 200 is provided with electrode pins 205 and 206 formed on respective ends of the main body connecting portion 201 and the cover connecting portion 202. The electrode pins 205 and 206 are inserted into slots formed on the first and second PCBs 130 and 160, respectively.
However, the FPCB as constructed in the foldable type handset described above has a drawback in that the middle part of the FPCB, which is positioned in the hinge mechanism, is likely to be damaged due to the twisting and bending stresses caused by the frequent pivoting motion of the cover body relative to the main body, resulting in a variation in resistance and shorting out the circuitry in the FPCB.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.


There is disclosed an improved thermal printer with a rigid frame made from a main frame plate with compound bends and a base plate, record member supply roll mounting and guide devices, an ink ribbon and record member web feed control system, a print head assembly, and improved ink ribbon cores and spindles.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of printers.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The following patent documents are made of record: U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,454 to Bendar; U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,905 to Tokuno; U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,692 to Torbeck; U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,843 to Neuhard et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,714 to Sugiura et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,045 to Goodwin et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,130 to Sato; U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,205 to Mistyurik ; U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,138 to Okazawa et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,259 to Goodwin et al; EP 0 685 419 A2; U.K. 1,033,972 dated Jun. 22, 1966, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/431,999, filed May 1, 1995 to Paul H. Hamisch, Jr. et al. and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,442.

Printer frame made of three panels of one-piece metal


As a reversal of previous practice, the annular body of the mold in the unit has an annular case at the bottom thereof, rather than at the top thereof. The case is relatively thick axially of the mold, so as to form the greater portion of the axial length of the mold body at the outer periphery thereof; and at the top thereof, the case has an annular plate thereon, which forms a pair of flanges that overhang the case and enable the metal casting unit to be lowered into an aperture of a casting table from above, and supported on top of the table at the flanges. Meanwhile, the case defines the lower end opening of the mold cavity, and the outlet for liquid coolant that is discharged onto the molten metal body as it emerges from the unit. Commonly, the case is monolithic, and also has an annular sump at the top thereof which is covered by the plate to form a chamber for the coolant in the sump. A graphite casting ring may be circumposed about the inner periphery of the case, to form a liner for the upper end portion of the cavity; and a refractory top ring may be circumposed about the upper end opening of the cavity, to form a hot top for the ring.

For over twenty years, we or one or more of us, have proceeded to develop, construct, and patent a series of annular metal casting units of this type. In addition to the foregoing patents, see also U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,739,837, 4,421,155, and 4,597,432. Each of the units comprised an annular mold having a vertical axis and an annular body circumposed thereabout, which in turn had upper and lower annular ends thereon, relatively inner and outer annular peripheries thereabout, and a bore therethrough, the cavity of which was formed about the axis of the mold and opened into the ends of the mold body, so that the bore of the mold body could form the bore of the table when the unit was supported in the aperture of the table coaxially thereof. The mold body itself comprised a pair of relatively upper and lower casing means which were annular, were circumposed about the axis of the mold, and were superposed on one another so as to have mutually opposing faces thereon which were engaged with one another about the axis to form an annular joint therebetween. The relatively upper casing means in turn comprised an annular case which was relatively thick and substantial axially of the mold, was often monolithic, and had an annular groove in the bottom end thereof. The relatively lower casing means comprised an annular plate which was of course, relatively thin axially of the mold, and was engaged about the bottom end of the case to close the bottom of the groove and form an annular chamber about the axis of the mold. The chamber had an inlet, and it had means such as a series of symmetrically arrayed holes circumposed thereabout adjacent the lower end opening of the cavity, which were connected to the inlet by the chamber and defined an outlet whereby liquid coolant could be charged into the chamber through the inlet, and then discharged through the outlet to direct cool the molten metal body emerging from the cavity at the lower end opening thereof. In the mold, moreover, the case or relatively upper casing member, defined the upper end portion of the mold body at the outer periphery thereof, whereas the plate or relatively lower casing member defined the lower end portion of the mold body at the outer periphery thereof. The case also defined the lower end opening of the cavity at the inner periphery of the mold body, the outlet for the coolant discharge adjacent the lower end opening of the cavity, and the connection between the inlet and the outlet provided by the chamber. In some versions, such as in that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,432, the metal casting unit was operatively inserted in the aperture of the table from a point therebelow, and therefore, the plate was projected relatively radially outwardly of the axis of the mold from the joint between it and the case, so as to form a flange on the lower end of the mold, at opposite sides thereof, which was operable to engage the bottom of the table so that it could be secured to the table to provide support for the metal casting unit when the unit was inserted in the aperture of the table. In other versions, such as in those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,040,595 and 5,119,883, the metal casting unit was operatively inserted in the aperture of the table from above the table, and therefore, the flange was formed on the upper end of the case to engage the top of the table and provide support for the unit as it hung in the aperture therebelow.


There is provided an electro optical device including an electro optical panel formed by sticking a first substrate and a second substrate together, and a flexible wiring substrate connected to the electro optical panel. The first substrate includes a extension portion flaring from the second substrate, the wiring substrate includes a base material having flexibility and a conductive pattern provided on the base material, the wiring substrate is connected to the extension portion of the first substrate by using an adhesive agent, the wiring substrate includes a wide width portion connected to the extension portion and a narrow width portion continuing to the wide width portion and extending outwardly from an edge side of the extension portion in the flaring direction, and an edge side of the wide width portion at the narrow width portion side is matched to the position of the edge side of the extension portion in the flaring direction or is positioned inside of the edge side of the extension portion in the flaring direction.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electro optical device such as a liquid crystal display device. Further the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus using the electro optical device.
2. Related Art
An electro optical device such as a liquid crystal display device or an EL device has now been widely used in various electronic apparatuses such as a mobile phone or a mobile information terminal device. For example, the electro optical device is used as a display portion for visually displaying various information that relate to the electronic apparatus. As for the electro optical device, a device using a liquid crystal as an electro optical material, that is a liquid crystal device has been known.
In the liquid crystal device described above, a liquid crystal which is an electro optical material is enclosed between a pair of substrates to from a liquid crystal panel as an electro optical panel having a panel structure. Generally, a wiring substrate, for example, an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) substrate is often connected to the liquid crystal panel in order to apply a predetermined voltage to the liquid crystal (for example, see JP-A-2003-131250 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1 (fifth page, FIG. 1)) or JP-A-2006-301135 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 2 (fourth page, FIG. 1)).
For example, a circuit required for driving the liquid crystal panel is formed on the FPC substrate. The circuit is usually formed by forming a predetermined conductive pattern on a base substrate and if required, mounting electronic parts such as an IC, a condenser, a coil, a resistance on a predetermined position on the base substrate. Further, an input terminal is formed on the FPC substrate and an external power source and various external apparatuses may be connected to the input terminal. In this case, a signal and electric power for driving the liquid crystal panel are supplied from the external apparatuses and the external power source via the FPC substrate. Further, for the structure using a plurality of liquid crystal panel, for example, for the liquid crystal device having a structure in which two liquid crystal panels are provided to the both surfaces of the electronic apparatus, the FPC substrate may be used for electrically connecting between the two liquid crystal panels.
Incidentally, the FPC substrate is generally connected to the liquid crystal panel in the state where the FPC substrate is bent in a predetermined shape. Further, the liquid crystal panel connected to the FPC substrate is often adhered and fixed to, for example, a frame having a frame shape or the like by using a double-faced tape or the like. In the state where the FPC substrate is bent in such a manner, a force to return the FPC substrate to the original shape is generated inside the FPC substrate by the elasticity of the FPC substrate itself. Consequently, there is a fear in that the liquid crystal panel is unstuck and floated from the frame by the elastic force generated by bending the FPC substrate.
In the liquid crystal device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the width of the portion of the FPC substrate extending from the liquid crystal panel is widely formed. To be more specific, the width of the FPC substrate is approximately set to the same width as the width of the panel substrate. In the structure, a force to return the FPC substrate to the original shape becomes large when the FPC substrate is bent, so that there is a fear in that the liquid crystal panel is unstuck and floated from the frame.
Further, in the liquid crystal device disclosed in Patent Document 2, a portion of the FPC substrate extending from the liquid crystal panel is formed in the shape in which the width is gradually narrowed as the portion is apart form the liquid crystal panel. However, the width of the FPC substrate positioned nearest the liquid crystal panel is widely formed. Accordingly, when the FPC substrate is bent, the force to return the FPC substrate to the original shape becomes large. As a result, there is a fear in that the liquid crystal panel is unstuck and floated from the frame.
Further, the liquid crystal panel is required to be formed in a low-profile shape. Accordingly, the panel substrate which is a component of the liquid crystal panel is also required to be formed in a low-profile shape. However, when the panel substrate is narrowed, the strength of the panel substrate is weakened. Consequently, the panel substrate becomes easily broken by an external force, for example, vibration, impact, elastic force of the FPC substrate connected to the liquid crystal panel, or the like. In particular, the portion of the liquid crystal panel connected to the FPC substrate is generally formed by a flaring one panel substrate, so that the extension portion formed by the one substrate becomes easily broken.

Electro optical device and electronic apparatus