An apparatus and a method are provided for detecting an enzyme, or or for detecting a substrate of an enzyme or for detecting an enzyme effector such as an inhibitor, by measuring a change in deflection of a microcantilever having a substrate or an enzyme, respectively, attached to a surface of the microcantilever.

A large variety of enzymes are important in medicine, industry, and other applications. Discovery of novel enzymes has gone hand-in-hand with development of certain industries, for example the discovery of bacterial restriction enzymes and the development of genetic engineering. Enzymes are important in various medical pathologies (Fang J., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. 97: 3884–3889, 2000), as novel therapeutics (U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,667 issued Apr. 3, 2001), as targets for development of novel therapeutic agents, for example, HIV protease (U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,235 issued Aug. 7, 2001), in industrial processes such as antibiotic biosynthesis (U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,555 issued Jul. 10, 2001), degradation of unwanted materials such as polyurethane (U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,381, issued Jan. 30, 2001) and in the food industry (U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,712, issued Oct. 27, 1998). The need to obtain novel enzyme activities is so great that protein engineering research has been directed toward development of catalytic antibodies (U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,688, issued Sep. 15, 1998).
Thin bimorph microcantilevers can undergo bending (deflection) due to differential stresses following exposure to and binding of a compound from their environment, for example in a fluid sample. Soft microcantilevers having spring constants less than 0.1 N/m are sensitive to stress differentials that arise as a result of interactions between extremely small amounts of a substrate material on a surface of the microcantilever and one or more materials in a sample. For a given microcantilever with a specially designed coating layer, the deflection yields information about components of the environment to which the microcantilever is exposed. Microcantilevers are capable of detecting calorimetric enzyme-mediated catalytic biological reactions with femtoJoule resolution. (Thundat et al., "Microcantilever Sensors", Microscale Thermophysical Engr. 1, pgs. 185–199, 1997.) Oligonucleotide interactions within a sample can be detected using a monolithic array of test sites formed on a surface to which the sample is applied (U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,939).
There is a need for methods and an apparatus for detecting an interaction between an enzyme and its enzymatic substrate, for detecting a protein having an enzymatic activity or a related molecule, such as a catalytic antibody, or a binding or associating protein, as measured by a response of a microcantilever to a stress caused by changes in free surface energy and bonding energy. There is a need in medical and veterinary diagnostics, and in research, for detection and analysis of binding and activities of enzymes and enzyme-like proteins.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microcantilever apparatus and methods for detection of enzymes, enzyme substrates, and enzyme effectors


A kiln comprising a cylindrical drum (11) arranged to rotate about a generally horizontal central axis, the drum configured such that rotation will cause particulate material to flow from one end (13) of the drum to the other end (15). The one end being closed by an end assembly (23) fixed relative to a support structure. An inner face of the drum provides a plurality of ports (29) spaced about, and opening into, an interior of the drum,. The ports (29) being connected to the end assembly (23) via a set of passageways (27). The end assembly (23) having an opening (25) connected to a source of air (31) and positioned such that, on rotation of the drum, one or more passageways come into fluid communication with the opening for limiting air flow to the ports.

The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
A particular application of the combustion kiln according to the invention relates to one which can be utilized for the combustion of waste materials for the production of heat energy and which may, if desired, be used for the generation of electricity. In recent times it has been realised that potential fuels which can be utilized for the generation of heat can include bio-waste materials such as manures which have previously been considered as waste materials which have had little commercial value. Examples of such waste products comprise refuse, chicken manure and the like. A difficulty which has been faced in the past is the safe and efficient burning of such materials with the minimum of pollution resulting from such combustion.


A light-emitting diode (LED) lamp includes a number of different color LEDs that can be turned on and off in different combinations using an external switch operable by a user. A user or a controller can adjust the color temperature of light output by the lamp. The color temperature change may be a user preference and can compensate for decreased phosphor efficiency over time.

A Light-Emitting Diode (LED), as used herein, is a semiconductor light source including a semiconductor diode and optionally photoluminescence material, also referred to herein as phosphor, for generating a light at a specified wavelength or a range of wavelengths. LEDs are traditionally used for indicator lamps, and are increasingly used for displays and general illumination. An LED emits light when a voltage is applied across a p-n junction formed by oppositely doping semiconductor compound layers. Different wavelengths of light can be generated using different materials by varying the bandgap of the semiconductor layers and by fabricating an active layer within the p-n junction. Additional phosphor material changes the properties of light generated by the LED.
In LED lamps, multiple LEDs are often used in a circuit to generate the light output by the lamp. A white light LED usually generates a polychromatic light through the application of one or more phosphors. The phosphors shift blue light or other shorter wavelength light to a longer wavelength through a phenomenon called a Stokes shift. The perception of white may be evoked by generating mixtures of wavelengths that stimulate all three types of color sensitive cone cells (red, green, and blue) in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings in a process called additive mixing.
LED lights can last longer and use less electricity than traditional bulbs and thus their use is becoming more widespread. However, the white point of the light can move as the different LEDs and phosphor age at different rates. User preferences for different color temperatures (warmer yellow versus cooler blue) of the white light also create a market for user adjustable color temperatures. Cost-effective and user-friendly methods to adjust color temperature are sought.

Color temperature adjustment for LED lamps using switches


A pixel structure of a transflective LCD disposed between a first data line and a second data line. The pixel structure comprises a reflective cell and a transmission cell. The transistor comprises a gate coupled to a scan line, a source coupled to the first data line, and a drain coupled to the first reflective electrode. The first transistor is covered by the first reflective electrode. The transmission cell comprises a second transistor and a transparent electrode. The second transistor comprises a gate coupled to the scan line, a source coupled to the second data line, and a drain coupled to the transparent electrode. The second transistor is covered by a second reflective electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pixel structure, and more particularly to a pixel structure of a transflective liquid crystal display (LCD).
2. Description of the Related Art
A pixel structure of a conventional transflective LCD has a reflective cell and a transmission cell. Unavoidably, the reflective cell has nearly double the phase difference of the transmission cell. Reduction of cell gap of the reflective cell to approach that of the transmission cell has been adopted in the past to address this issue. FIG. 9A shows a perspective diagram of a pixel structure of a conventional transflective LCD. The pixel structure includes a reflective cell 10 and a transmission cell 20. The reflective cell 10 has a reflective film 12 and a cell gap d1. The transmission cell 20 has a cell gap d2.
An equivalent circuit is shown in FIG. 9B. The reflective cell 10 and transmission cell 20 are both coupled to a storage capacitor Cs and a TFT (thin-film-transistor) transistor T1. Thus, only one driving voltage can be supplied. The anti-inversion approach provides the cell gaps d1 and d2 with the same phase difference. The cell gaps d1 and d2 must be optimized to fit the LCD's operating mode, an approach that is difficult to adjust.


A thin film magnetic head includes an inductive head and an MR head. The resistance of one magnetic shielding layer is higher than the resistance of an opposed shielding layer, to increase the efficiency of the recording magnetic field. In one embodiment, the rear area of the magnetic layer includes a notched portion. In another embodiment, the resistivity of the material in one magnetic layer is increased with respect to the resistivity of the material used in the opposing magnetic layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head and, more particularly, a composite magnetic head which has an inductive element and a magnetoresistive element and is incorporated into a magnetic recording/reproducing device such as a magnetic disc drive, a magnetic tape drive, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the technical field of a magnetic disc drive, a magnetic tape drive, etc., a composite magnetic head in which a recording head and a reproducing head are provided separately has been used to achieve a higher magnetic recording density and a higher speed recording/reproducing operation.
The composite magnetic head has a structure in which an induction type head having a spiral coil is superposed on a reproducing head using a magnetoresistive element (referred to as an "MR head" hereinafter). Both the recording and reproducing operations can be effected by the induction type head, but in general the induction type head of the composite magnetic head has been used only for the recording operation. The composite magnetic heads can be classified into a joint type and a separate type according to a difference whether or not a part of a magnetic pole of the induction type head is used commonly as an upper magnetic shielding layer of the MR head.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the joint type composite magnetic head is formed to have such a structure that an upper magnetic shielding layer 101 of an MR head 100 can execute commonly a function of a lower magnetic pole of an induction type head 110. The MR head 100 comprises the upper magnetic shielding layer 101, a lower magnetic shielding layer 102, and a magnetoresistive element 103. The magneto-resistive element 103 is isolated from the upper magnetic shielding layer 101 and the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 by an insulating layer 104. The induction type head 110 includes a spiral coil 111 a part of which is covered with an insulating layer 112. A part of the spiral coil 111 is surrounded by a magnetic pole which is composed of the upper magnetic shielding layer 101 and an upper magnetic pole 113.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the separate type composite magnetic head is formed to have such a structure that an upper magnetic shielding layer 121 of an MR head 120 is separated from a lower magnetic pole 131 of the induction type head 130. The MR head 120 comprises an upper magnetic shielding layer 121, a lower magnetic shielding layer 122, and a magnetoresistive element 123. The magnetoresistive element 123 is isolated from the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 and the lower magnetic shielding layer 122 by an insulating layer 124. In the induction type head 130, a part of the spiral coil 131 which is covered with an insulating layer 132 is surrounded by a loop magnetic pole. The magnetic pole consists of a lower magnetic pole 131 and an upper magnetic pole 133.
A recording gap g is formed in the magnetic poles over the magnetoresistive element 103. Similarly, the recording gap g is formed in the magnetic poles over the magnetoresistive element 123. The magnetic field generated from the spiral coil 111 is passed through the magnetic pole, and then output as the recording magnetic field to a magnetic recording medium (not shown) from the recording gap g. Similarly, the magnetic field generated from the spiral coil 131 is passed through the magnetic pole, and then output as the recording magnetic field to the magnetic recording medium (not shown) from the recording gap g.
In the joint type composite magnetic head, if a step-like unevenness or projection resides below the spiral coil 111, the spiral coil 111 is cut or broken away by the step-like projection when the spiral coil 111 is formed, otherwise the spiral coil 111 is made thinner by the presence of the step-like projection to result in an increase of electric resistance. In addition, lead wirings to be connected to the magnetoresistive element 103 of the MR head is cut or broken away or made thinner by the step-like projection. The same is true of the separate type composite magnetic head.
For this reason, in the joint type composite magnetic head, difference in level caused below the spiral coil 111 is made small by extending the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 up to a rear side area of the joint type composite magnetic head in which the magnetic pole 113 is not present and which is remote from the magnetoresistive element 103. Similarly, in the separate type composite magnetic head, difference in level step caused below the spiral coil 131 is reduced by extending the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 up to a rear side area of the separate type composite magnetic head in which both the upper magnetic pole 133 and the lower magnetic pole 134 are not present and which is remote from the magnetoresistive element 123.
In the joint type composite magnetic head, when a high frequency magnetic field is generated by feeding a high frequency recording current to the spiral coil 113, magnetic fields leaked from the magnetic pole are passed through the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 of the MR head 100. In the same manner, in the separate type composite magnetic head, when a high frequency magnetic filed is generated by feeding a high frequency recording current to the spiral coil 123, magnetic fields leaked from the magnetic pole are passed through the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 of the MR head 120.
However, as the frequency of the magnetic field passing through the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 or the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 is increased, an eddy current generated by the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 or the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 is increased. As a consequence, an efficiency in generating the recording magnetic field is decreased because the lower magnetic shielding layer 102 or the upper magnetic shielding layer 121 acts as a part of the magnetic path.


A macrocell for a programmable logic device includes circuitry for allowing a neighboring macrocell to borrow various numbers of the product terms of the macrocell. The macrocell can continue to make full use of its product terms that are not thus borrowed. This includes logically combining and registering the unborrowed product terms. The macrocell may include circuitry for feeding back to the AND array of the programmable logic device a combinatorial or registered signal of the macrocell, and also outputting such a combinatorial or registered signal from the macrocell. When a combinatorial signal is fed back, the register of the macrocell can be used for another signal of the macrocell.

This invention relates to programmable logic integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to improved logic macrocells for such devices.
Pedersen U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,108, (hereby incorporated by reference herein) shows a macrocell for programmable logic devices which can form the sum of five product terms and output that sum, either directly or through a register. If a wider fan-in function is needed, the sum formed by one macrocell can be "borrowed" by a neighboring macrocell for combination (i.e., summation) with the five-product-term sum formed by the neighboring macrocell. When the product terms of a macrocell are thus borrowed by a neighboring macrocell, the other resources (e.g., the register) of the first macrocell become unusable. The potential waste of resources is even greater if less than all of the first macrocell's product term resources need to be borrowed.
It is known to make it possible for a macrocell to output one of its product terms (either registered or unregistered) if that product term is not needed for borrowing, even though other product terms of the macrocell are being borrowed. (See, for example, MACH 3 and 4 Family Data Book, 1993, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.) However, no complex sum of products function can be implemented by a macrocell from which any of the product terms need to be borrowed.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to increase the flexibility with which product terms of a macrocell can be borrowed by another macrocell or (if not borrowed) put to use in the macrocell of which they are nominally a part.
It is also known to feed back to the AND array of a programmable logic device a signal produced by a macrocell. This enables a macrocell to be used to implement a function that is needed by other macrocells to implement more complex functions. However, the ability to feed back only one signal produced by a macrocell may mean that other resources of the macrocell are wasted.
It is therefore another object of this invention to reduce or eliminate possible waste of macrocell resources due to macrocell architectures in which only one signal produced by a macrocell can be fed back to the AND array of the associated programmable logic device.

Programmable logic device macrocell with improved capability


Provided are a high luminance polarizing plate including a polarizing plate, a λ/2 retardation film having an in-plane retardation value ranging from 250 nm to 280 nm in a wavelength range of 450 nm to 650 nm that is laminated on one side of the polarizing plate, and a brightness enhancement film laminated on the λ/2 retardation film, a method of manufacturing the same, and a display device using the high luminance polarizing plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high luminance polarizing plate used in a display device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a high luminance polarizing plate having improved color, white luminance, and contrast ratio characteristics through stacking a λ/2 retardation film having an in-plane retardation value ranging from 250 nm to 280 nm in a wavelength range of 450 nm to 650 nm and a brightness enhancement film, and a method of manufacturing a high luminance polarizing plate, in which the polarizing plate may be manufactured using a roll-to-roll process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a polarizing plate is composed of a structure in which a triacetyl cellulose (TAC) film as a protective film is adhered to a polarizer having a structure in which polyvinyl alcohol (hereinafter, referred to as "PVA")-based molecular chains are aligned in a predetermined direction and an iodine-based compound or a dichroic polarizing material is included. The polarizer and the protective film are generally bonded with a water-based adhesive formed of a PVA-based aqueous solution.
In the case that a polarizing plate as described above is used in a liquid crystal display, a technique for improving brightness by attaching a brightness enhancement film, such as a Dual Brightness Enhancement Film (DBEF) by 3M, to one side of the polarizing plate has been suggested. However, in the case in which the brightness enhancement film is attached to a typical polarizing plate as described above, curling (hereinafter, referred to as "negative direction curling") may occur, in which a plane at the center of the polarizing plate is downwardly convex due to the difference of shrinkage between polarizing plate and the brightness enhancement film under room temperature condition. In the case that negative direction curling occurs in the polarizing plate, corners of a liquid crystal panel are lifted due to the curling of the polarizing plate, and may come into contact with a case when the liquid crystal panel is mounted on a module of the liquid crystal display. As a result, the corners of the liquid crystal panel may be highly stressed, and thus, a light leakage phenomenon may occur therefrom. The light leakage phenomenon from corners of the liquid crystal panel may be the primary cause of a defective image.
Also, with respect to a typical polarizing plate having the brightness enhancement film attached thereto, brightness is improved. However, since black luminance as well as white luminance may be increased, a contrast ratio may be decreased, and bluish color may be present due to a color-shift phenomenon caused by the brightness enhancement film. Thus, display characteristics may be degraded in comparison to the case of using the polarizing plate alone.
With respect to the brightness enhancement film that currently is produced, such as DBEF, a transmission axis is formed in a drawing direction, i.e., a machine direction (MD). In contrast, with respect to a polarizing plate manufactured by drawing after dyeing a PVA film with iodine, an absorption axis is formed in a drawing direction. Therefore, since the transmission axis of the brightness enhancement film is generally formed in a direction perpendicular to a transmission axis of the polarizing plate based on the MD, a roll-to-sheet process, in which the brightness enhancement film is cut to correspond to a size and shape of the polarizing plate, and the cut film is then attached to the polarizing plate such that the transmission axis of the polarizing plate is matched with the transmission axis of the brightness enhancement film, has been used in order to attach the brightness enhancement film to the polarizing plate. However, in the case that the brightness enhancement film is cut to correspond to the size and shape of a sheet and attached to the polarizing plate, the failure rate may increase, as a separate cutting process may be required, the introduction of bubbles and foreign matter may be facilitated, and accurate alignment may be required. Also, in the case of using the roll-to-sheet process, productivity may decrease, because the number of manufacturing processes, along with the required manufacturing time, may be increased in comparison to a roll-to-roll process in which films are stacked by unwinding the films in the state of a wound roll and then cut. Furthermore, since parts of the polarizing plate having no brightness enhancement film attached thereto are not recycled and wasted, the roll-to-sheet process is disadvantageous in terms of product yield. In contrast, in the case of using the roll-to-roll process, since the brightness enhancement film is attached to the entire side of the polarizing plate, the brightness enhancement film may be cut according to the desired size of the polarizing plate, and other portions remaining after cutting the large-sized polarizing plate may also be recycled as a small and medium-sized polarizing plate.

High luminance polarizing plate, method of manufacturing the same, and display using the polarizing plate


A firewall is described that is integrated in an input stage of a packet processing pipeline so that it recognizes and has access to internal information regarding the different services, such as conduit, intranet, Internet, local vs WAN, applications, and security zones, of a communication network, such as an adaptive private network (APN). The integrated firewall is able to dynamically access the service type, respond to the service type, and adjust the service type based on conditions in the network. Since application awareness and security functions are integrated, customers can set security policies on software applications. The integrated firewall also provides automatic detection of applications, classifies applications based on domain names, steers traffic to services according to software applications, reports on software applications in passthrough traffic, and provides analysis of traffic that does not match a software application so that a user can investigate and define custom applications.

A firewall is a network system that monitors and filters network traffic according to a pre-specified set of security policies. A security policy may be implemented by a set of security rules in the software. The security rules are lower level entities that the software uses when processing traffic. The management software is expected to map security policies specified by a user into a set of security rules that the software uses. In products where the policy mapping is not very sophisticated, policies and rules might be difficult to distinguish, whereas a more sophisticated mapping makes the difference clearer.
The firewall is generally placed in a network between a customer's node that is to be protected and secured and an external network, such as the Internet, which is assumed to not be protected and secured.
Many firewalls are implemented as packet filters which examine information contained in a message packet, such as network source and destination addresses and ports, to make a determination whether to allow the message packet to pass into the system or to be blocked or discarded, for example. The packet examination process uses a pre-specified set of packet filtering rules, including allowed addresses and ports, and, in many instances, makes use of the first three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) reference model. The first three layers of OSI include a physical layer, a data link layer, and a network layer. Firewalls also reside in similar corresponding layers on other network models. These early firewalls are considered to be a first generation design.
Second generation designs go up a layer in the network model, using a further layer, such as the layer 4 transport layer in the OSI model. The second generation designs consider the connection state of the packet, such as identifying a received packet as a beginning packet of a new message, or that it is part of an ongoing communication having a plurality of packets, or something different, such as belonging to some other communication connection. The second generation firewalls expand the security rules to include connection state rules.
Third generation designs take into account all layers of the network stack up to and including OSI application layer 7. The third generation designs determine what software application is utilizing the message packet to determine, for example, if the software application is authorized and if the packet is being used appropriately. Next generation firewalls take this packet examination to greater depths.
In networking, a firewall provides a way to segment networks and control the types of traffic that can pass between the networks. Routing allows networks to be segmented and isolated, but when a route is setup so that network A can talk to network B, all traffic is generally allowed between A and B. This lack of control on individual communications between network A and network B means that viruses, malware and the like still have a means to spread from one network to another network. Security policies are often instituted for the networks that have reachability to each other to limit or in some cases, curtail communication between the two networks. Security policies can also dictate that only certain types of traffic are allowed to communicate across networks. Such limitations restrict communication and increase communication costs. Also, firewalls are typically add-on devices or a separately installed layer of software from an external vendor and which is generally not close to the physical network layers. Such add-on firewalls are costly and are at a disadvantage in not having full access to internal knowledge of various networks and connections being used in an operational system. Further, as networks, including adaptive private networks (APNs), become larger and more complex, providing security for such networks is increasingly more complex and costly.

Applications and integrated firewall design in an adaptive private network (APN)


A downhole tool member for hydrocarbon resource recovery, comprising a shaped body of a polyglycolic acid resin blended with an inorganic or organic short fiber reinforcement material, and having thickness reduction rate characteristics when held in water at 120° C., inclusive of: an initial thickness reduction rate (as an average for a holding period for 4 hours) which is at most 0.8 times that of a shaped body of the polyglycolic acid resin alone, and has a terminal thickness reduction rate (after the thickness decreases to 50% or less of an initial thickness) which is larger than 1.5 times the initial thickness reduction rate.

Downholes (underground drilling pits) are prepared for recovery of hydrocarbon resources including oil and gas (representatively called "oil" sometimes hereafter) from the underground, and tools for the formation or repair of the downholes, such as frac plugs (disintegratable plugs), bridge plugs, cement retainers, perforation guns, ball sealers, sealing plugs and packers (inclusively referred to as "downhole tools" hereafter), are used and thereafter disintegrated or allowed to fall down without recovery thereof onto the ground as they are in many cases. (Examples of such downhole tools and manners of use thereof are illustrated in, e.g., Patent documents 1-5). Therefore, about the tool of such temporary use, it has been recommended to form the whole or a component thereof constituting a bonding part allowing collapse (i.e. downhole tool member) with a degradable polymer. Examples of such a degradable polymer may include: polysaccharide, such as starch or dextrin; animal albumin polymers, such as chitin and chitosan; aliphatic polyesters, such as polylactic acid (PLA, typically poly L-lactic acid (PLLA)), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polybutyric acid, and polyvaleric acid; and further, polyamino acids, polyethylene oxide, etc. (Patent documents 1 and 2). However, the technology of designing the mechanical strength and time to collapse of such a downhole tool member by using such a degradable polymer has not satisfactorily developed. This is because it was difficult to accurately evaluate the degradation behavior of the degradable polymer.

Downhole tool member for hydrocarbon resource recovery


An information-processing apparatus includes a display displaying an image; a memory recording voice data having a voice pronounced at each of plural observation points of the image; a gaze detector generating gaze data by detecting a gaze of a user; a voice input device generating voice data associated with a time axis identical to that of the gaze data by receiving a voice of the user; and a processor to analyze a attention period where a attention degree of the gaze to each of the plural observation points is a predetermined value or greater, based on the gaze data, set a period where the voice is pronounced with respect to the voice data as an important voice period, based on the voice data, and generate calibration data based on a time lag between the attention period and the important voice period.

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus that processes voice data and gaze data, an information processing method, and a non-transitory computer readable recording medium.
Recently, in an information processing apparatus that processes information such as image data, a technology is known in which in a period tracing back to a predetermined time from a time when a voice of a user is detected, a display area of an image at which a gaze of the user stays for the longest period is detected as attention information with respect to a plurality of display areas on an image that is displayed on a display unit, and the attention information and the voice are recorded by being associated with each other (refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 4282343).
In addition, in a gazing annotation system, a technology is known in which an annotation anchor is displayed close to a attention point at which a user gazes, detected by a gazing tracking device, with respect to an image that is displayed on a display device of a computing device, and information is input into the annotation anchor by a voice (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2016-181245).

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer readable recording medium


In order to obtain a tomographic image close to a stationary image using opposite view data, a radiation tomography method and apparatus are provided for measuring projection data representing a subject by radiation beams in a plurality of view directions around the subject; calculating estimated projection data for each of the plurality of view directions by performing a weighting calculation on data elements of the projection data generated by radiations which transmit through the same path in opposite directions so that a desired time phase for the subject is centrally weighted; and producing a tomographic image of the subject based on the estimated projection data.

The present invention relates to a radiation tomography method and apparatus for sequentially measuring projection data of a subject in a plurality of view directions around the subject by radiations transmitting through a plurality of paths, and producing a tomographic image of the subject based on the projection data.
Radiation tomography apparatuses include the x-ray CT (computed tomography) apparatus, for example. In the x-ray CT apparatus, x-rays are employed as radiation. The apparatus is configured to scan a subject by a radiation emission/detection apparatus, i.e., an x-ray emission/detection apparatus rotating around the subject to measure x-ray projection data of the subject respectively in a plurality of view directions around the subject, and produce (i.e., reconstruct) a tomographic image based on the projection data.
Due to speedup of the x-ray CT apparatus, a scan can be completed within about 0.8 sec. Accordingly, by scanning the subject synchronously with respiratory monitoring signals from the subject (i.e., patient), and in conformity with a time phase at which the body motion is slow such as the maximum inspiration or expiration time, a tomographic image for the lung field, abdomen etc. which is not much affected by body motion is produced.
When tomography is performed on moving internal organs such as the lung or heart, it is desired to produce a tomographic image close to a stationary image by reducing the required imaging time span to as short as possible. One approach to achieve this is the half-scan technique. The half-scan technique comprises reconstructing an image from image information acquired by a half rotation of radiation beam generation means.
For the heart etc. which move faster than the respiratory motion, since the magnitude of the motion is large within a scan time even as short as 0.8 sec., conventional scanning techniques do not provide satisfactory imaging. Thus, an imaging method employing a heart-gate scan technique is practiced.
The technique comprises: continuously scanning a subject a plurality of times over multiple cardiac strokes while monitoring ECG (electrocardiographic) signals; sorting the acquired projection data by phase based on the ECG signal; and reconstructing a tomographic image of the heart at each phase based on the sorted projection data.
However, the half-scan technique cannot provide high enough image quality because of the low accuracy of the acquired data. Moreover, in computed tomography, an appropriate estimating calculation (e.g., interpolation) is conventionally performed on view data which are opposite each other obtained by opposite radiation beams to improve the image quality, but the opposite view data is not acquired with the half-scan technique, and it is impossible to perform such a processing for improving the image quality.
Furthermore, when the scan is performed synchronously with the respiration, it is difficult to completely avoid the body motion effect with a scan time of 0.8 sec. or slightly less, and therefore a tomographic image having a satisfactory image quality is not always produced. Also, the heart-gate scan technique requires a scan over multiple cardiac strokes, resulting in an increased scan duration and hence an increased x-ray exposure on the subject.

Radiation tomography method and apparatus


A fixing force measuring apparatus including a section for applying a predetermined controlled hammering force to a wedge surface to generate a hammering sound, a section for controlling the hammering sound generated, a section for obtaining plural kinds of feature quantities such as a feature quantity due to a hammering sound energy, and a feature quantity due to a frequency of the hammering sound from the hammering sound collected by an arithmetic operation, and a section for obtaining a fixing force corresponding to the plural kinds of feature quantities by using a correlative relationship between the wedge fixing force previously obtained, and the plural kinds of feature quantities.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring fixing forces for fixing states of various members in an electric machine.
A generator as one of measurement objects includes a rotor and a stator. A change in a magnetic field generated by rotation of the rotor is converted into an electric energy by the stator. The stator has a structure in which a coil is inserted into a slot of a core formed by laminating silicon steel plates one upon another, and fixing is carried out under a pressure by an insulating member.
For a fixing method under a pressure, a structure is adopted in which a corrugated plate spring and a wedge as a plate-like member are stacked on top of each other above a coil, and the corrugated plate spring is pinned down by the wedge while the corrugated plate spring is compressed, thereby fixing a coil conductor.
In such a fixing structure, it is necessary to maintain and manage the coil in a predetermined fixing state under a pressure. In the generator having the coil fixing structure described above, after a lapse of predetermined time (usage period), the wedge is inspected for the fixing state thereof. Also, if there is the loose in the fixing state of the wedge, then, for recovery of an applied pressure, replacement, adjustment, and maintenance of the wave-like spring and the wedge are carried out. Until now, the inspection and judgment for the fixing state of the coil has relied on an organoleptic examination in which the fixing state of the coil is judged based on sounds and vibrations. In this case, a person strikes the wedge with a hammer for examination, thereby generating the sounds and vibrations.
A method described in Japanese Patent No. 3 973 203 is known as an attempt to quantify the organoleptic examination. With this method, a member is excited, and a vibration response is detected and is compared with plural vibration responses previously recorded, thereby estimating a pressure applied to a wedge. Also, this method includes a step of obtaining a center of an energy band of spectra as a spectral analysis for the comparison with the vibration response. In addition, Japanese Patent No. 4 456 723 describes a method of quantitatively judging a degree of soundness of concrete based on a hammering sound from the concrete. This method is such that a surface of the concrete is hit by an impulse hammer, and a known quantity of hammering input and a hammering sound propagated through the concrete are both analyzed, thereby judging the degree of soundness of the concrete.

Apparatus and method for measuring fixing force


A verification test is performed on a device containing master and slave units connected via a bus. In the verification test, a first signal is transferred between a first master unit and a first slave unit during a first transfer period while a second signal is transferred between a second master unit and a second slave unit during a second transfer period. The second transfer period overlaps at least a part of the first transfer period. When the first transfer period is longer than a third transfer period, first combination information indicating the combination of the first master unit and first slave unit is stored in a storage unit, in conjunction with second combination information indicating the combination of the second master unit and second slave unit.

As an architecture of integrated circuits such as large-scale integration (LSI) devices, some known devices contain a plurality of master units and plurality of slave units that are connected together via a bus. Designing a circuit based on a given specification and verifying the design are part of a typical development process of integrated circuits. A circuit design may be verified in various aspects, one of which is a conflict verification that tests whether the circuit operates properly in possible conflict conditions of signals transferred through a bus. This test is achieved by causing the device under test to transfer signals between master units and slave units in various combinations.
There are several existing techniques for testing conflict in a multiprocessor system. One such technique keeps track of bus request signals from a plurality of processors to monitor how they use a common bus in the system. Another technique is to check the occurrence of conflict by using processing requests from processors. Yet another existing technique provides a conflict-prone environment by generating a pseudo request that conflicts with a real request from a processor. See, for example, the following documents:
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 63-276660
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 60-063642
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 04-184557
Test patterns (or scenarios) are designed to achieve conflict verification. In the case of an integrated circuit containing master and slave units and their bus connection, the test patterns activate two or more combinations of master and slave units in parallel, thereby producing conflict-causing conditions.
The conventional conflict verification techniques, however, only provide insufficient information about the test coverage, i.e., how thoroughly the verification test generates possible conflict conditions in the integrated circuit under test. In other words, the conventional techniques may overlook some possible conflict conditions or may needlessly repeat the same test.

Method and apparatus for verifying circuit design


A process for decoration of the surfaces of an object by sublimation of ink consisting in; using as a sublimable ink support a material which is sufficiently extensible and air-permeable so as to conform to the shape of the object to be decorated without adversely effecting the decoration to be sublimated, enveloping the object in the ink support, and placing the enveloped object in a vacuum machine which is introduced into a heated space to thereby cause transfer of the decoration to the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for decoration by sublimation of an ink over the whole surface of an object, whatever its shape.
2. History of the Related Art
Applicant's previous U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/674,422 filed Mar. 25, 1991 discloses a process for the transfer by sublimation of a drawing printed on a sheet of paper and a machine for carrying it out. Following various tests, it has been noticed that the decoration of objects of curved, spherical or ovoidal shapes brought about certain drawbacks when positioning the paper sheet. These drawbacks essentially reside in the fact that the paper sheet does not properly deform along its principal axes, this creating irregularities in the covering of the object by the paper sheet.
Such irregularities are due to the fact that the paper sheet creases or crumples when it is positioned in a vacuum around the object to be decorated. At the moment of sublimation, these creases are transferred onto the surface of the object, thus adversely effecting the quality of the drawing reproduced.
Such adverse effects include discontinuity of the decoration or offsetting portions of drawing with respect to one another.
In conclusion, the sheet of paper to be sublimated currently used in this process of decoration prevents objects of spherical, curved or ovoidal shapes to be treated satisfactorily.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to overcome this drawback.


An internal combustion engine with a plurality of cylinders is a drive device in which the drive torque available can be reduced. The ignition timing which is set at the internal combustion engine is adjusted in the retarded direction starting from an initial ignition timing until the ignition timing corresponds to a threshold ignition timing. To reduce the drive torque further, at least one cylinder, among the plurality of cylinders, is deactivated by suspending fuel injection into the cylinder, and the remaining cylinder(s) continue to be operated with fuel injection using the ignition timing. The remaining cylinders of the internal combustion engine which continue to be operated are supplied with a quantity of fuel which is larger in comparison with an initial quantity of fuel present before the cylinder deactivation, to set a substoichiometric fuel/oxygen ratio.

Described below is a method for operating and a drive device which has an internal combustion engine with a plurality of cylinders, wherein, in order to reduce a drive torque which is made available by the internal combustion engine, an ignition time which is set at the internal combustion engine is adjusted in the retarded direction starting from an initial ignition time until the ignition time corresponds to a threshold ignition time, and in order to reduce the drive torque further, at least one cylinder, which is to be deactivated, of the plurality of cylinders is deactivated by suspending a fuel injection into the cylinder, and the remaining cylinder or cylinders continue to be operated with fuel injection using the ignition time.
The drive device serves, for example, to drive a motor vehicle, in this respect therefore to make available a drive torque which is directed to driving the motor vehicle. The drive torque is made available at least temporarily and/or at least partially by the internal combustion engine which is a component of the drive device.
From time to time it may be necessary to reduce the drive torque which is made available by the internal combustion engine. In order to achieve a reasonable and high-performance system response of the drive device, it is useful to obtain a largest possible proportion of the drive torque by adjusting the ignition time, and on the other hand a smallest possible proportion by throttling the internal combustion engine. This applies, in particular, if the internal combustion engine is turbo-charged, that is to say has a turbo-charger to which exhaust gas which is generated by the internal combustion engine is supplied and which utilizes the enthalpy or flow energy contained in the exhaust gas to compress fresh gas which is to be supplied to the internal combustion engine.
In order to reduce the drive torque, the ignition time which is set at the internal combustion engine is now initially to be adjusted in the retarded direction starting from the initial ignition time present before the reduction of the drive torque. This is carried out until the ignition time is equal to the threshold ignition time which corresponds, for example, to a latest possible ignition time of the internal combustion engine. Up to the latest possible ignition time, satisfactory operation of the internal combustion engine is possible, in particular under customary and environmental conditions. If the ignition time has reached the threshold ignition time, that is to say for example the latest possible ignition time, the drive torque of the internal combustion engine cannot be reduced further by adjusting the ignition time.
There is therefore provision to perform a cylinder deactivation in the scope of which the cylinder which is to be deactivated is deactivated. This is done by suspending the fuel injection. In other words, the during the cylinder deactivation no fuel is injected into the cylinder. In contrast, the remaining cylinder or cylinders continue to be supplied with fuel, and the fuel therefore continues to be carried out. Ignition also continues to be carried out in the remaining cylinder or cylinders, specifically at the ignition time which can correspond to the threshold ignition timing. However, the ignition point may be determined during the cylinder deactivation in accordance with at least one operating parameter of the internal combustion engine. For example a torque which is requested by the internal combustion engine, a cylinder charge and/or the number of deactivated cylinders and/or the number of remaining cylinders is/are used as operating parameters.
Document DE 10 2004 031 296 A1 for example, is known from the related art. The document relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine. In the case of the internal combustion engine, operating parameters which are valid within the vicinity of a steady state are specified for the operation of the internal combustion engine. The values of a first part of the operating parameters are known here, the values of a second part of the operating parameters are determined on the basis of a model such that the internal combustion engine generates a setpoint torque. As soon as a non-steady state occurs while the internal combustion engine is operating, there is a changeover from model-based determination to ignition-synchronous determination of the values of operating parameters.

Method for operating a drive device and corresponding drive device


A noise reduction system is provided for use with an upright vacuum cleaner. The noise reduction system is intended to be used with a rigid filter bag body-type vacuum cleaner wherein a fixed housing and a removable cover cooperate to enclose a cavity. The cavity houses a dirty air inlet which is in communication with a head assembly of a vacuum cleaner. A filter bag is contained within the cavity and cooperates with the dirty air inlet so as to filter exhaust air and retain debris contained therein. A muffler is contained within the cavity and spaced from the dirty air inlet. The muffler cooperates with the housing to form a baffle chamber The muffler defines a plurality of air entrance apertures which allow air to flow from the cavity into the baffle chamber. Both the muffler and the housing have a series of baffles formed generally parallel aligned which are interleaved and juxtaposed when the housing and the muffler cooperate to form the baffle chamber. A series of baffles redirect exhaust air entering the baffle chamber, thereby reducing air flow energy and the associated noise as air exhausted through the exhaust vents to atmosphere.

In a vacuum cleaner a primary source of noise is the exhaust air flow. A goal of vacuum cleaner manufacturers is to minimize the exhaust air flow noise to reduce as much as possible the annoyance to the vacuum cleaner operator.
Vacuum cleaner manufactures have taken different approaches to constructing noise reduction systems. These noise reduction systems have been utilized in both conventional and up right vacuum cleaners. One approach is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,437 to Stoner and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,034 to Ikezaki et al., which each disclose a vacuum leaner having a resonant muffler formed within the cleaner. These resonant chambers are designed to attenuate the sound waves over a certain range of frequency.
An alternative approach to reducing noise may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,783 to Ripple and U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,594 to Watanabe et al., which disclose the use of sound absorbing material lining the exhaust passageway as a means of reducing exhaust noise.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,753 to Herron, Jr. assigned to Ryobi Motor Products Corp., discloses a cartridge which is provided for selective installation within the vacuum cleaner. Exhaust air flows through the cartridge which is configured to interfere with the free flow of the exhaust. The cartridge is a two-part unit wherein each part includes an array of parallel baffle plates which are interleaved with the array of baffle plates of the other part juxtaposed to the baffle plates of the opposing part to form a complete air flow baffle cartridge. The baffle plates for a labyrinth causing the air to undergo a plurality of changes of direction prior to leaving the vacuum cleaner, thereby reducing energy from the air flow.
The present invention is directed to improving know noise-reduction systems for use in upright vacuum cleaners.

Noise reduction system for hard body vacuum


This is a security and identification system designed to obtain improved images for use by real-time facial recognition and identification systems for screening individuals passing through secure entry or checkpoints such as airport passenger terminals, government offices, and other secure locations. The system detects the presence of a subject at the checkpoint, interactively instructs the subject to stop and move into position for proper identification and recognition, analyzes the facial features of the subject as (s)he passes through the checkpoint, and compares the features of the subject with those in a database. The system then generates different signals depending upon whether or not the subject is recognized. In one aspect of the invention, different methods and apparatus are provided for compensating for low ambient light so as to improve the quality of the facial image of the subject that is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to checkpoint security, and more particularly to an improved security and identification method and system for improving image quality in a facial recognition system for use in screening and/or identifying individuals passing through secure entry or checkpoints such as airport passenger terminals, government offices, office buildings, military facilities, laboratories, and other secure locations. It will be understood that the system and method disclosed herein can be used in improving image quality in other camera systems as well.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent national and international events have underscored the need for effective identification and screening of individuals entering or passing through secure checkpoints. Manual identification of persons at a checkpoint is a slow and cumbersome process, and because it is not precise, manual identification may allow unwanted or undesirable individuals to avoid detection through disguises. As a result, a number of closed-circuit television (CCTV) real-time facial recognition systems have been developed. These systems employ a computer software system that captures video images from a CCTV camera and compares the subject's facial features to those of the many subjects (e.g., terrorists or known felons) already stored in a computer database. In order for a system to function properly, it is important that the system receive a clear video image of the subject's face without heavy shadows or overexposed areas that may hide critical facial features and thereby make it difficult for the system to accurately recognize faces. It is therefore important that each subject passing through a secure checkpoint be briefly stopped and face or be directed to face in a particular direction for an optimal facial read. Because the nature of these systems is such that they may be installed in areas where lighting levels can change significantly (i.e. sunlight vs. clouds, day vs. night lighting, etc.), it is desirable to configure the camera to be less sensitive to external ambient lighting changes. To overcome the limitations of the prior art problems set forth above, such as the problem of assuring that the subject faces in an optimum direction and the problems attendant to variable ambient lighting conditions, the present invention discloses both apparatus and methods to accomplish these purposes.
Existing facial recognition or identification methods include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,238, which describes a primitive method for identifying individuals using selected characteristic body curves; U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,000, which describes an image recognition system designed for use in recognizing predetermined individuals out of a viewing audience; U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,094, which describes a method for identifying individuals by the analysis of elemental shapes derived from biosensor data, generating a thermal image of the individual's face that is converted to a digital representation; U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,807, which describes an apparatus for processing a facial image and creating an output of extracted data of feature points that may be used for comparison or other purposes; U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,517, which describes a continuous video monitoring system for regulating access to a restricted environment such as a computer system; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,575, which describes a real-time facial recognition and verification system for comparison to a stored image. Each of these patents describes either a method or apparatus for performing facial recognition or identification. However, all of these patents suffer from the drawback that unless the facial image is properly positioned and lighted for a sufficient length of time, the recognition or identification may be incomplete, inaccurate or may not take place at all.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,096 describes system using cameras deployed at a turnstile that scan the iris of a user for recognition. The system has sensors which detect the height of the subject, may instruct the subject to wait until scanning is completed before giving an instruction to proceed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,429 describes a facial recognition system for overt and covert use in which the camera angle may be adjusted to obtain a better image. However, neither of these patents discloses interactively instructing the subject for proper positioning, nor do they disclose any way to compensate for inadequate lighting.
The invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,969 describes a method and apparatus for identifying individuals and encoding data onto security cards, and a related security system that uses the cards. In order to initialize a security card, the user inserts a blank card into a slot and the user's facial features are recorded in this "picture position" to establish a proper profile. The card reader at a security checkpoint is similarly placed so that the user automatically assumes the picture position at the checkpoint by inserting the card in the reader. If the cameras at the checkpoint do not get a good facial read, the user may be prompted to either reinsert the card or to push a button, causing the user to assume the picture position. It is apparent that this system requires and relies upon properly initialized security cards, and is not suitable for identification of subjects from the general population, such as at an airport check-in. The interactive instructions are only useful in such a pre-identification card-based system, and there is no disclosure of any way to compensate for inadequate lighting.
All of the above-described facial recognition systems suffer from common drawbacks that may prevent a complete or accurate identification/recognition of an individual subject passing through the checkpoint. A quickly moving individual may not remain in the field of view of the camera for a time period of sufficient length to enable proper facial scanning. As a result, an individual who is traveling quickly past the camera may not be recognized. Similarly, an individual may also escape recognition by the above-described system if the individual places a hand, arm, or other object in front of his or her face while passing by the camera. In addition, if there is inadequate ambient lighting in the vicinity of the checkpoint, even a high-resolution low light-sensitive camera may not be able to obtain a sufficiently clear image to perform complete or accurate identification and/or recognition.


An electric-powered trimmer with a handle. A battery pack positioned in the handle. An electrical circuit positioned in the handle and electrically connected with the battery pack. The electrical circuit including a motor having a drive shaft, and a cutting assembly removeably coupled to the handle. The handle extends along a longitudinal axis and has an inner wall that defines a receptacle in a longitudinal end. The battery pack is configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis relative to the handle between (i) a first position in which the battery pack is secured within the receptacle of the handle and (ii) a second position in which the battery pack is configured to be removed from the receptacle of the handle. A plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) positioned in the inner wall of the handle. The inner wall includes a transparent section that covers the plurality of LEDs.

In general, barbers and hairstylists use electric trimmers when trimming hair. Electric trimmers may also be used by individuals for personal care and grooming purposes. Electric trimmers may be used to cut hair for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to, shaving, shaping beards and mustaches, and trimming hair generally.

Trimmer device with an adjustable cutting assembly


A cover fitting for connecting more than one raceway includes an L-shaped top having first and second curved grooves extending along the inner surface of the top and a plurality of hooks extending outwardly from the inner surface for engaging a portion of each raceway base. The cover fitting further includes first and second opposing sides extending from the inner surface of the top. The cover fitting can be used with a fitting base received in first and second grooves for situations requiring a specific bend radius, or in applications without a fitting base, where there are no bend radius requirements.

Wire delivery systems, such as raceways, are employed to hold and manage wires, such as voice, data, and power wiring. Specifically, the raceway is mounted to a supporting surface, such as a wall or ceiling, and the raceway distributes the wires carried therein throughout a room. Fittings, such as interior and exterior elbows and tees, are used to connect more than one raceway, especially when negotiating corners of the room. This provides efficient delivery and management of the wiring throughout a room while hiding the unattractive wires.
Particular types of wiring, fiber optic or category 5 cable, can require certain bend radii when the direction of the wiring changes, such as at a corner of a room. As a result, it is necessary to make and use special fittings that add a curved base having the appropriate bend radius to avoid damage to the wires or cables. Commonly, one type of raceway fitting is used for wire or cable needing a specific bend radius while another is used when the wire or cable does not need a specific bend radius. This type of situation increases costs and is inefficient.
Examples of prior art fittings are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,002,089 to Hemingway et al.; 5,753,855 to Nicoli et al.; 5,390,968 to Favalora; 5,469,893 to Caveney et al.; 5,929,380 Carlson, Jr. et al.; 5,161,580 to Klug; 4,951,716 to Tsunoda et al.; and D413,306 to Scherer et al. and U.K. Patent No. 1,493,410.

Raceway fitting with or without fitting base


Disclosed herein is a process for producing quality thread-wound golf balls efficiently by fixing the starting end and/or terminating end of rubber thread rapidly in a simple manner. When a core is wound with rubber thread to form a layer of wound rubber thread, a hot-melt adhesive (in the molten state) is dropped on the starting end of rubber thread resting on the core surface and is subsequently allowed to solidify, so that the stating end of rubber thread is fixed to the core. After the completion of winding, the terminating end of rubber thread is fixed to the layer of wound rubber thread with a hot-melt adhesive in the same manner as mentioned above.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing thread-wound golf balls consisting of a core, a layer of rubber thread wound thereon, and a covering layer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for producing thread-wound golf balls, in which the starting end and/or terminating end of the rubber thread is fixed in an improved manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thread-wound golf balls are conventionally produced by winding a rubber thread on a core and forming a covering layer thereon. The core may be a "liquid center" which is a rubber bag (center bag) filled with a liquid or paste, or it may be a "solid center" made of solid rubber. To wind a rubber thread on the core (center), it is necessary to fix the starting and terminating ends of the rubber thread. This is accomplished in several ways as follows. One method consists of winding a rubber thread 2 to 3 times around the core such that the starting end is held down by the subsequent turns of the rubber thread. Another method consists of bonding the starting end to the core surface with a drop of adhesive (Japanese Patent Publication No. 49985/1986). A further method employed in the case the core is a liquid center (which is frozen before winding) consists of dropping water on the starting end resting on the surface of the frozen core, thereby causing the water to freeze (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 126470/1976). The terminating end may be fixed by passing it under the last turn of the rubber thread or by means of an adhesive (Japanese Patent Publication No. 49985/1986).
The above-mentioned methods pose several problems as follows. The terminating end passed under the last turn of the rubber thread is liable to become loose unless it is sufficiently long. On the other hand, an excessively long terminating end will project from the covering mold in the subsequent step, leading to rejects. Moreover, passing the starting or terminating end under the first or last turn of the rubber thread can hardly be automated; it has to be done by troublesome manual operation.
This problem may be solved by fixing with an adhesive; however, the use of an adhesive presents another problem. The adhesive takes time to cure. The adhesive is sticky and liable to attract foreign matter. The adhesive does not satisfactorily work on the frozen liquid center. The adhesive remaining on the core affects the performance of the golf ball.
Fixing with frozen water also presents problems. Water causes rusting and moisture condensation. Water vaporizes to adversely affect the winding machine. It can be applied to the liquid center only.
As mentioned above, the conventional methods for fixing the ends of rubber thread are not necessarily satisfactory from the standpoint of production efficiency and product quality. There has been a demand for the development of a new process for the efficient production of thread-wound golf balls of high quality.
The present invention was completed under the above-mentioned circumstances.

Production of rubber thread - wound golf balls


Provided is a droplet jetting applicator including: a droplet jetting head configured to jet liquid supplied from a liquid storage unit; a liquid supply unit configured to supply the liquid from the liquid storage unit to the droplet jetting head through a liquid supply channel; a first buffer liquid reservoir positioned closer to the droplet jetting head than the liquid supply unit in the liquid supply channel, and formed so that the inflow liquid drops thereinto; a liquid return unit configured to return the liquid from the droplet jetting head to one of the liquid storage unit and the first buffer liquid reservoir through a liquid return channel; and a second buffer liquid reservoir positioned closer to the droplet jetting head than the liquid return unit in the liquid return channel, and formed so that the inflow liquid drops thereinto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a droplet jetting applicator that jets and thus applies multiple droplets to an object to be coated, and also relates to a method for manufacturing a coated body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Droplet jetting applicators have been used not only for printing of image information, but also for a process of manufacturing various kinds of flat display devices, such as liquid crystal display devices, organic electro luminescence (EL) display devices, electron emission display devices, plasma display devices, and electrophoretic display devices.
Such a droplet jetting applicator includes a droplet jetting head (for example, an inkjet head) that jets droplets of a liquid, such as an ink, from multiple nozzles thereof to an object, such as a substrate, to which the liquid is to be applied (hereinafter, such object will be referred to as an application target). Multiple droplets are jetted to land on the application target by the droplet jetting head, so that a predetermined application pattern is formed. In this manner, various kinds of coated bodies are manufactured.
The ink is supplied from an ink tank to the droplet jetting head through a pipe (ink channel). The pipe is provided with a valve, a pump and the like. Note that, the liquid pressure of the ink in the droplet jetting head is maintained at a negative pressure in order to prevent troubles, such as the leakage of the ink from the nozzles (see, for example JP-A No. 2006-192638(KOKAI)).
Such a droplet jetting applicator uses ink containing an almost insoluble material. When such ink is deteriorated with time, the material thereof settles down. This settling causes jetting failure in the droplet jetting applicator. To solve this problem, there has been proposed a droplet jetting applicator in which ink circulates between a droplet jetting head and an ink tank (see, for example, JP-A No. 2004-230652(KOKAI)).
However, in the above-described droplet jetting applicator, pressure fluctuation caused by the drives of the valve and pump is transmitted to the droplet jetting head through the ink in the pipe, and causes leakage of the ink, absorption of air, and the like. As a result, exudation of the ink to a nozzle surface and absorption of air bubbles into the droplet jetting head are caused, thereby resulting in jetting failure such as a non-jetting problem.

Droplet jetting applicator and method for manufacturing coated body


A flame-retardant metal-coated cloth having a high degree of flame retardancy and a soft feeling without the use of any halogen compound or antimony compound is provided. In the flame-retardant metal-coated cloth, a flame-retardant film comprising a mixture (E) of a phosphorus compound (A), a metal hydroxide (B), a phosphoric ester (C), and a thermoplastic resin (D), is formed on at least one surface of a metal-coated cloth, and the ratio of (A):(B):(C):(D) is 20 to 200:100 to 950:10 to 250:100 in terms of a weight ratio.

With the recent rapid spread of electronic devices in various fields, including homes and offices, an electromagnetic interference such that an electromagnetic wave leaking from a certain electronic device causes malfunction of another electronic device, is now posing a problem. To prevent such an inconvenience, various electromagnetic wave shielding materials are in use.
Moreover, under the Product Liability Law (PL Law), not only electronic devices but also electromagnetic wave shielding materials are required to be flame-retardant. Above all, a demand for such flame retardancy as satisfies FMVSS Standard and UL Standard is strong.
As an example of an electromagnetic wave shielding material, mention may be made of fiber cloths having metal-coated fiber surfaces. In many of those fiber cloths, the coating metals serve as oxidation catalysts and enhance the combustibility. This is presumed to be because not only the metal coatings obstructs a fire extinguishing action induced by melting of fibers but also the thermal conductivity of fibers is improved and promotes the spread of fire. Various studies have been made for improving the flame retardancy of such metal-coated fiber cloths.
In JP 62-21870A there is disclosed a metal-deposited flameproofing fiber wherein a phosphorus compound-based antiflaming agent and a halogen compound-based antiflaming agent are applied in combination to a metal-deposited fiber to improve the flameproofness synergistically. In recent years, however, attention has been paid to the relation between halogen compounds and dioxins. The structures of halogen compounds-based antiflaming agents are closely similar to the structures of dioxins, and it is said that if halogen compounds are burned together with such metal elements as copper and iron at temperatures in the range from 300 to 600° C., dioxins may be produced, and even if they are burned and decomposed at a temperature of 800° C. or higher for the purpose of perfect combustion, dioxins are produced as the temperature drops. In these points, i.e., from the standpoint of environmental pollution, the use of halogen compounds-based antiflaming agents is not preferable.
In JP 7-42079A it is disclosed that the surface of a metal-coated fiber cloth is coated with a urethane resin, then the surface of the urethane resin is coated with a mixture of an organic compound antiflaming agent such as an organophosphorus compound and an inorganic compound antiflaming aid such as an antimony compound, and further the surface of the mixture is coated with a urethane resin, to afford a metal-coated fiber cloth having flameproofness and a rust preventing effect. However, the antimony compound used as the antiflaming aid is poisonous to the human body and is therefore not desirable.
Thus, attention has recently been paid to safety for the environment and the human body, and in order to meet such safety, the development of a flame-retardant metal-coated cloth not using a halogen compound or an antimony compound is desired.
For example, the use of magnesium hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide as a substitute for the halogen compound and the antimony compound has been proposed. However, even if these compounds are applied each alone to cloth, a satisfactory flame retardancy is not obtained, and if they are each used in a large quantity for improving the flame retardancy, the feeling of the cloth becomes hard.
The use of phosphorus compounds such as red phosphorus and phosphoric esters has also been proposed. However, red phosphorus produces phosphine and thus involves the problem of toxicity, and phosphoric esters are generally low in phosphorus content and do not afford a satisfactory flame retardancy.


A system used in a protective relay for motors for transitioning the value of the trip threshold to a motor start (stall) condition. The calculated transition trip threshold value follows I2t, specifically, the current to the motor. The transition trip threshold value includes a small fixed initial (offset) value, so that the increase in the trip threshold during transition to the actual start condition threshold value is always slightly ahead of the increase in the I2t value, preventing a trip until the input current exceeds the final trip threshold for the start condition.

The present invention generally concerns a motor protection relay using thermal models, specifically including a thermal model for the start condition of a motor protection relay and a thermal model for the run condition of the relay. Such a relay is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,784, which is owned by the assignee of the present invention, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Briefly, an induction motor operates in either a high current "start" condition or a relatively low current "run" condition. As defined, in the motor's start condition, the current in the rotor is greater than 2.5 times the full load current, while in the motor's run condition, the current in the rotor is less than 2.5 times the full load current.
The thermal model for the motor's start condition, during which time current is flowing through the rotor portion of the motor without the rotor actually moving, is different than the thermal model from the run condition, when the motor is running at its operating speed. The thermal models can be represented by electrical analog circuits, shown for the start condition in FIG. 1A and the run condition in FIG. 1B. In circuit 10 of FIG. 1A, the heating effect in the motor is represented by three elements, a generator 12, the thermal capacity of the rotor 14 and a cooling effect member 16, i.e. the ability of the motor to give off heat. In the start condition, however, the ability of the motor to give off heat is zero.
FIG. 1A shows generator 12 to be represented by a voltage, the thermal capacity of the rotor 14 by a capacitance and the cooling effect 16 (if there is one) by a resistance. The total heating/cooling effect from elements 12, 14, and 16 (although there is in fact no cooling effect 16 for the start condition) is then applied to a comparator 17, which compares the signal information represented by the outputs of the heat generator and the capacitor, with a threshold value. The output of the comparator is a trip signal if the threshold is exceeded.
An existing thermal model for the run condition is shown in FIG. 1B, which shows a heat generator 18, a capacitor 20 which represents the thermal capacity of the system and a cooling effect element 22. In both cases, R1 is the locked rotor electrical resistance, R0 is the running rotor electrical resistance, IL is equal to the locked rotor current, Ta is the locked rotor time with the motor initially at an ambient temperature, and T0 is the locked rotor time with the motor initially at an operating temperature. Typically, R1/R0 is equal to 3, while Ta/To typically will be 1.2 (the service factor).
Typically, the transition from the higher trip threshold of the start condition to the lower trip threshold of the run condition, representing a "cooling" of the trip threshold because of the overall cooler temperatures in the run condition, is based on an exponential decline using the following formula during transition:
      U    th    =                    T        R                          (        run        )              +                  (                                            T              R                                    start                    -                                    T              R                                    run                          )            ·              ⅇ                  -                      t            RC                              However, when there is a transition between the run condition to the start condition, the threshold change is made substantially instantaneously so that the trip threshold remains ahead of the steeply rising current present in the start (stall) condition of the motor when the rotor is not turning.
As explained in more detail below, an immediate change to the trip threshold for the start condition is sometimes disadvantageous, since the cause of such a transition might be a temporary current spike or a very short-term current rise, instead of the motor actually going into a true start (or stall) condition. Since the trip threshold for the start condition is considerably higher than the run condition, the use of the start condition threshold when the motor is actually in the run condition is not particularly desirable from a protection standpoint. Once the start condition trip threshold is initiated, a relatively long period of time is required while the threshold decreases over time, by virtue of the exponential transition time set forth in the '784 patent.
Accordingly, the trip threshold will be too high for the run condition for a period of time, thus providing possibly insufficient protection for the motor during that time, because the motor could be allowed to heat higher without tripping during the run condition than the true, established trip threshold for the run condition would ordinarily allow. Hence, it would be desirable to provide another, more reliable basis for transitioning to the start condition trip threshold.

System for transitioning to the trip threshold for the start condition thermal model for a motor protection relay

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.


The present invention relates generally to a calling party initiated call in a communication system. More particularly, the invention encompasses a method and an apparatus for subscriber or caller originated multiple calling to one or more individuals at a plurality of addresses. The invention further includes the transfer of the control of the call back to the subscriber or calling party in the event that the called party was not available.

The telecommunication industry uses different types of communication means to allow communication between people. For example, a person using a telephone to communicate with another person will typically pick up a handset of a telephone and dial a phone number to reach the other person. If the called person is available to take the call then the called person would pick up the handset of their telephone and a telecommunication channel or link would be established between the calling party and the called party. However, there are times when the called party may not be available or may not want to answer the call. Then in those situations a telephone just rings until the calling party hangs up or the communication link is automatically transferred, such as into a voice mail system or an answering machine, or is even forwarded to another number. In any of these cases the called party controls the call once the connection has been made. This wastes a lot of time. Not only that but the calling party may not want to leave a voice message and may not want the call forwarded to an unknown entity or person or location.
The prior art has handled some of these problems in a number of way. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,831 (Creswell et al.), describes a system for providing personal telecommunications services to a subscriber (i.e., the called party) wherein the subscriber may associate different call identifiers with different specifications which define respective call treatments. Creswell's system allows individual subscribers (i.e., the called party) to customize their incoming call treatment, for example, forwarding a telephone call associated with a call identifier to one of a number of different destinations. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,578 (Brennan et al.) describes a so-called personal communication service (hereinafter "PCS") where calls to a personal number are routed to a PCS service node, which manages the communications services for all subscribers, i.e., called parties. Brennan's PCS governs how attempts to communicate with a called party are handled with appropriate considerations, for example, for who is calling, when the call is made, and the urgency of a particular call. Brennan's system provides the called party with personal control over the way in which the system will operate in completing individual calls made to them from calling parties. Further, Brennan's system provides a so-called "hunting" feature which attempts to contact the called party at a sequence of likely locations which were previously defined by the called party and stored in the system. Upon receiving an incoming call for a particular called party, Brennan's system will attempt to complete the call to the called party by "hunting" through the previously stored list of contact locations.
The prior art is replete with telecommunications systems typified by the technology of the above-described systems where the called party is provided various customized options and a level of control as to how that called party may be reached via various communication devices (and the associated contact numbers therewith) used with various services to which that called party subscribes, i.e., wired telephone, cellular telephone, facsimile, pager, etc. Of course, the primary advantage of such prior art systems is the fact that the called party controls and prescribes the treatment of incoming calls to a particular contact number and how that call may be routed to the plethora of communications devices at any one time in an effort to reach that party. This called party control feature, although very advantageous, does present certain obstacles to the calling party attempting to reach a particular called party. For instance, the calling party to such systems is routed in accordance with the called party's previously defined routing sequence and is usually prevented from interactively participating in the routing sequence. That is, the calling party has no control or input as to the routing of a call to the called party in such a system. Thus, if the incoming call from the calling party, for example, is routed to a particular device to which an answering machine is connected, this device will allow for call completion but leaves the calling party with the only option of leaving a message and not actually completing his desired action of speaking with the called partly directly. Further problems arise for the calling party, for example, when the incoming call is completed but is answered not by the called party but by the another person, e.g., the called party's administrative assistant. Again, the call is completed but the calling party's desired result of actual contact with the called party is defeated.
One known arrangement which addresses the above-described dilemmas of called party controlled telecommunications systems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,111 (R. D. Slusky), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Slusky describes an enhancement in telecommunications systems employing so-called "sequence calling." Sequence calling is a telecommunications service feature which allows a telephone service subscriber to specify to the telecommunications infrastructure, e.g., an inter-exchange network, a sequence of telephone numbers to which a call to the subscriber, i.e., called party, can be routed until the subscriber is "found." For example, the called party may have a personal telephone number of the like associated, for example, with the so-called personal EasyReach, 700 service available from AT&T Corp. Thus, a subscriber to a "700" telephone number is able to specify that a call to that personal number should be routed, for example, first to the subscriber's office telephone and then, if no answer there, to the subscriber's cellular telephone number and, if no answer there, to the subscriber's home telephone. Significantly, Slusky's system addresses the situation where a call to one of the previously defined contact telephone numbers is actually answered by someone other than the subscriber. That is, the calling party to the subscriber's "700" telephone number is presented, for example, a recorded announcement by the telecommunications system that the subscriber, i.e., the called party, has designated a list of telephone numbers to which the incoming "700" call will be routed in sequence in order to reach the called party. The calling party is told that he may cause the call to proceed to the next number in the designated sequence at almost any point in time even if the call is completed to a particular one of the telephone numbers in the sequence. However, the calling party must proceed in the call completion sequence through the telephone numbers as previously designated by the called party. Further, the calling party has no input into the contact information used by the system to route their call to the called party.
Another approach for solving this problem has been discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,946 (Lieuwen), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, which provides a technique for calling party definition and control of the contact information and sequencing used to reach a particular called party. In this known prior art, the calling party specifies a set of devices along with their respective contact numbers for use in contacting a particular called party. Thereafter, the service will attempt to locate the called party in accordance with the designated set of communications devices and respective contact numbers so designated by the calling party.
Yet another approach for solving this problem has been discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,867 (Lieuwen), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, which provides a method and apparatus for calling party definition and control of the contact information and sequencing used to reach a particular called party. In this known prior art, the calling party specifies a set of devices along with their respective contact numbers for use in contacting a particular called party. Thereafter, attempts are made to contact the called party in accordance with the designated set of communications devices and respective contact numbers so designated by the calling party.
Thus, there exists a need to provide a calling party with increased control over the call sequencing process used, for example, in a telecommunications system, to contact a called party at a variety of communications devices and at a variety of contact locations and/or addresses and/or numbers. This invention overcomes the problems of the prior art. The invention provides the calling party the option of planning and controlling the call without wasting valuable time. More particularly, the invention encompasses a method and an apparatus for caller originated multiple calling, which further includes the transfer of the control of the call back to the calling party in the event that a communication link was unable to be established between the calling party and the called party and/or prompts the calling party to exercise other options to reach a desired called party.


Provided is an image sensor including a semiconductor substrate having a trench and having a first conductivity type, a photoelectric conversion layer formed in the semiconductor substrate below the trench to have a second conductivity type, first and second transfer gate electrodes provided in the trench covered with a gate insulating layer, a first charge-detection layer formed in the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the first transfer gate electrode, and a second charge-detection layer formed in the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the second transfer gate electrode.

The present disclosure relates to an image sensor, and in particular, to an image sensor capable of realizing a three-dimensional image. An image sensor is a device that converts optical images into electrical signals. There is an increased demand for high performance image sensors in a variety of applications such as, for example, digital cameras, camcorders, personal communication systems, gaming machines, security cameras, micro-cameras for medical applications, and/or robots. In addition, image sensors for realizing three-dimensional and/or color images are recently being developed.

Image sensors having transfer gate electrodes in trench


A plating cell adapted for electro-less plating of articles, for example, semiconductor wafers contained in a carrier or "boat", incorporates a megasonic transducer in the plating cell and a rotational drive supporting the wafer carrier in the plating cell. The megasonic transducer applies acoustic energy at megasonic frequencies to the solution in the cell during a plating operation, and the carrier is rotated at a suitable speed, e.g., 45 to 60 r.p.m. A rapid drain is provided to remove the solution from the cell quickly at the end of a plating operation, and a pair of spray tubes with a series of spray nozzles rinses the wafers with de-ionized water. Spargers at the base of the cell inject the plating solution, which proceeds generally upwards in a laminar flow, and spills over a spillway at the top of the plating tank. The spillway comprises a series of triangular teeth which avoid waves or turbulence.

This invention relates to wet-process plating cells and equipment, and is more particularly directed to an improved plating cell for electroless plating in which megasonic energy is applied to the solution in the plating cell, and in which the workpieces or substrates are rotated during the plating process to achieve a uniform deposition of the plated material.
In a typical electroless process, e.g., for copper plating a silicon wafer, the plating solution is circulated through the plating cell and a number of silicon wafers are held in place in a carrier or boat in the plating cell. The boat is grooved internally to hold the wafers by their edges with a space between them. During the process, the boat and wafers are held still, and the solution circulates around them. Fresh solution is introduced into the plating cell through a sparger, and excess solution spills over the top wall into a catch. The solution is then piped back to a fluid conditioning tank, where the solution is filtered and its temperature is adjusted. Fresh chemicals are added, according to the dictates of the process chemistry. Then the solution is returned to the sparger. Irregularities and inhomogeneities are inevitable in the flow path of the fluid past the workpieces. These can lead to high or low spots in the copper plating. However, for precision high-density semiconductor work, extreme flatness is needed in each plating layer, including any copper or other metallic layers.
Megasonics have been employed in connection with semiconductor wafer processing, but only in connection with cleaning of the wafers prior to plating or etching. Several megasonic devices have been proposed for this purpose, and some of these have been made the subject of U.S. patents.
Shwartzman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,649 relates to a transducer assembly for producing acoustic energy at megasonic frequencies, i.e., from about 0.2 MHz to about 5 MHz, and applying the megasonic energy to a cleaning tank. Guldi et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,205 and Bran U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,960 each relate to a megasonic leaning assembly for cleaning semiconductor wafers in a cleaning tank. The wafers are held on a carrier or boat in the cleaning tank. In each case, the megasonic energy is used to loosen material from the surface of the wafers, and it apparently did not occur to any of the inventors involved with the above-mentioned patents to apply megasonic energy for the opposite purpose, namely, to assist in depositing material on the surface of the wafers.
In addition, in each instance of megasonic cleaning, the carrier or boat is held static in the cleaning tank during a megasonic cleaning operation.
In a metal plating technique, flow regime for the plating solution within the tank or cell is crucial for successful operation. Flow regime is affected by such factors as tank design, fluid movement within the process vessel, distribution of fluid within the vessel and at the zone of introduction of the solution into the vessel, and the uniformity of flow of the fluid as it is contacts and flows across the wafer or other substrate. However, optimal sparger design can only achieve a limited increase in flatness of metallization, because of other factors affecting the flow, especially within the confines of the boat or carrier.