A controller for an electrographic printer or copier for editing encoded image data by bundling the image data into work packets which are then processed independently of one another. A plurality of raster modules handle individual work packets independently of one another. The raster modules access a resources memory which contains information on fonts and images, for example. A central resources memory unit administers the process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a controller for editing encoded image data in an electrographic printer or copier device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The editing ensues such that a character generator can generate a charge image on an intermediate carrier that is dependent on the image data. The encoded image data are transferred from a host or some other data processing system to the controller, as disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,434, in the form of commands of a specific, standardized language. For example, PCL (Printer Control Language) of Hewlett Packard and IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream) of IBM are such languages. The commands contain all data for constructing a page to be printed. In particular, these are positioning information for positioning characters and images on a page, information from which the font of individual characters are to be taken, link information to other masters such as, for example, forms, and the pixel data for specific images to be printed. With the assistance of the controller, the received image data are converted into pixels that are arranged matrix-like such that the image data can be forwarded row-by-row or column-by-column to a following character generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,765 discloses a method and an apparatus for editing an encoded image data stream into a pixel data stream for driving a printer. A division of the rastering work for editing a page onto a plurality of processors is proposed in order to save memory space and in order to use the available processor capacity with high efficiency. In a four-stage process, independent blocks of a page to be printed are first identified and stored. In the second step, the blocks are converted into objects and data accesses to frequently employed resources such as, for example, characters are organized. In the following process, the positions of the objects on the page to be edited are determined. In the last stage, the objects are rastered and edited into a rastered, full page.
An electrographic printer or copier device that contains an optical or magnetic character generator is disclosed, for example, by European Patent Document EP-0 403 476 B1. Both a character generator that deflects a laser beam as well as a character generator working with LED lines is thereby suitable as an optical character generator. Print data that is present in pixel form are converted with a character generator into an optical or magnetic image with which a photoconductive or, respectively, ferromagnetic layer of a continuously revolving charge storage drum or of a corresponding band-shaped intermediate carrier of the printer or copier device is exposed in order to generate a latent charge or, respectively, a magnetic field image. This image is developed in a known way and transfer-printed onto a recording medium.
A controller must exhibit a corresponding calculating and raster capacity that is dependent on the performance capability of the printer or copier device in which it is utilized. In standard fast printer and copier devices, 50 to 350 DIN A4 pages are printed per minute. Dependent on the specific performance of a printer, one is compelled to either utilize specific controllers for the respective printer or, on the other hand, to accept an over-dimensioning of the controller. The raster capacity is limited by the access times onto the memory and the calculating capacity is limited by the performance of the processor employed.

Controller for editing encoded image data


A pressure transmitter for transfer of a pressure prevailing in a first medium onto a second medium, including a pressure chamber 4 in a platform 1, which chamber is separated from the first medium by means of a dividing membrane 2, wherein the pressure can be transferred by means of the second medium to a pressure measurement cell. For timely recognition of an impending failure of the dividing membrane, an early warning detector is provided with a sensor chamber 6 having an opening, which faces the first medium; and a sensor 7, which monitors a property of a medium container in the sensor chamber; and a barrier facing the first medium, pressure-tightly sealing the opening, and which, under contact with the first medium and equal conditions as experienced by the dividing membrane 2, fails earlier than the dividing membrane, thus making possible a flow connection between the sensor chamber 6 and the first medium. Preferably, the barrier is in the form of a sacrificial membrane 5, which is thinner than the dividing membrane. In this way, it is to be expected that, under corrosive destruction of the membranes, the sacrificial membrane 5 will be destroyed earlier than the dividing membrane 2.

Devices of this type are, in addition to other uses, used for pressure measurement in aggressive media. The dividing membrane is contacted with an aggressive first medium and the pressure prevailing in the first medium is transferred to a second medium in the pressure chamber. There, the pressure is conducted either immediately, or over a suitable pressure conducting line, to a pressure measurement cell.
An incompressible hydraulic liquid, especially a hydraulic oil, is preferably used as the second medium for pressure transmission. In so far as such a substance is suited for contaminating a medium being measured, it is necessary to recognize early that there is a leak in the dividing membrane, or a rupture of the dividing membrane. To this end, Bastiaan discloses in the European patent application EP 0 838 672 a pressure transmitter, in which the pressure chamber has in its wall a dead-end hole, in which the electrode of a conductivity sensor is arranged. In such case, when the dividing membrane breaks, the first medium diffuses into the pressure chamber and into the dead-end hole, whereupon a change in the conductivity is detectable, provided that the first medium has a conductivity which deviates significantly from that of the second medium. This is especially the case, when the first medium is an aqueous medium and the second medium is a hydraulic oil, especially a silicone-based oil.
The described device has, however, the disadvantage that it ascertains a failure of the device only after the membrane rupture has already occurred and without having given any anticipatory warning that an exchange of the sensor was necessary. This behavior frequently leads to unacceptable down times for the installation. In order to prevent this, these pressure transmitters have to be exchanged on a precautionary basis during routine maintenance after a theoretical maximum lifetime, with corresponding factor of safety, has been reached. This can, however, lead in many instances to a premature exchange of the device, when actual membrane corrosion has not yet been so extensive that an exchange after the mentioned time is really needed.

Pressure sensor with barrier providing impending sensor failure indication


A method may include receiving a first definition of an object type from a first software component and a second definition of the object type from a second software component. The object type may be labeled by an ID. The method may further include storing, in a dynamic graph, a node labeled by the ID, and storing, in a type definition repository external to the dynamic graph, the first definition of the object type and the second definition of the object type. The method may further include receiving, from the first software component, a modified first definition of the object type. The method may further include replacing, in the type definition repository and using the ID, the first definition of the object type with the modified first definition, and transmitting, to the second software component, a message indicating a need to lookup, by the ID, the modified first definition.

Efficiently synchronizing changes to object type definitions in an object type graph shared among decoupled software components may be challenging. For example, the software components may reside on different computing systems in different locations in different time zones. Conventional approaches require re-compiling the object type graph to a new version when object type definitions are changed. A capability that supports dynamic (e.g., run-time) changes to object type definitions would avoid the overhead incurred by re-compiling the object type graph when object type definitions are changed.


The absolute position length measurement type encoder is provided with a scale for forming bright and dark patterns by the ABS pattern based on a pseudorandom code; an edge position detection circuit for obtaining a position, at which an after-differentiated absolute value of a binarized value is locally maximized, for each of the minimum line width zones of the ABS pattern by binarizing a signal from the light-receiving element that receives the bright and dark pattern; a peak position detection circuit for obtaining the peak position from a histogram with respect to the position; a decoding circuit for decoding the pseudorandom code based on the binarized value; an absolute position detection circuit for calculating an absolute position by referencing the pseudorandom code to the design value; and a position data synthesizing circuit for correcting the absolute position by the peak position, whereby the absolute position can be calculated with a small arithmetic operation amount even if the pseudorandom code is used for the ABS pattern, and accuracy of the absolute position can be secured even where the ABS pattern is subjected to thickening, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absolute position length measurement type encoder that includes a light-emitting element, a scale for forming bright and dark patterns with pseudorandom codes on projection light of the light-emitting element, and a light-receiving element, and in particular to an absolute position length measurement type encoder the arithmetic operation amount of which is small while being highly accurate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accurate position control and measurement are indispensable in measuring instruments and apparatuses. Therefore, an absolute position length measurement type encoder capable of executing absolute position measurement over some length has been used. In particular, where high accuracy is required, a photoelectric type encoder has been used.
Generally, an absolute position length measurement type photoelectric encoder has an absolute pattern (hereinafter called an ABS pattern) to roughly measure a moving distance and an incremental pattern (hereinafter called an INC pattern) to measure a moving distance at high resolution power by interpolating the interval of a roughly obtained moving distance on a scale (For example, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-234941 (hereinafter called Patent Document 1), Japanese Translation of International Application (Kohyo) No. 2005-515418 (hereinafter called Patent Document 2)). And, for example, the scale is attached to a moving stage side, and the light-emitting element and light-receiving element are attached to the base side that supports the stage.
And, since bright and dark patterns formed of ABS patterns and INC patterns, which are formed on the scale, change on the light-receiving element, which receives the bright and dark patterns, in line with movement of the stage, the moving distance can be measured at high accuracy by processing the change in a signal processing circuit. In detail, rough absolute positions are obtained by the ABS pattern, and a minute position between the absolute positions obtained by the ABS pattern is obtained by the INC pattern. That is, it is necessary that the absolute position itself obtained by the ABS pattern be stabilized with high accuracy.
Also, a plurality of patterns whose cycles differ from each other are used as the ABS pattern, and the absolute positions are obtained by the phase relationship thereof. However, as the measurement distance is lengthened, such a problem arises in which the number of the above-described patterns is increased, and the scale and light-receiving element are large-sized. Accordingly, the absolute position length measuring type encoder itself can be downsized by using a single pattern based on a pseudorandom code as the ABS pattern.
However, where the pseudorandom codes are used for the ABS pattern, the arithmetic operation amount is increased for measurement of the absolute position, it takes a large amount of time for the arithmetic operation, and it is not possible to output a result of measurement of a moving distance at a high speed. Describing in detail, this is because, when processing signals of the light-receiving element, which receives bright and dark patterns, in the form of digital signals, for example, the data of one pixel becomes 4 bits where the signal of the light-receiving element is converted by 4-bit grayscale in order to secure the measurement position accuracy of the absolute position, and if an arithmetic operation for correlation is carried out in regard to the entirety of the circulation period data based on the pseudorandom code directly using the pixel data length, the arithmetic operation amount becomes enormous.
Accordingly, with respect to measurement of a moving distance, position measurement based on the INC pattern is regularly carried out without frequently executing position measurement based on the ABS pattern. However, in this case, although the ABS pattern is provided, correct absolute position is not output if erroneous counting occurs by the INC pattern when moving at a high speed. And, erroneous values of the position measurement are continuously output until the next absolute position measurement is carried out. That is, there remains a problem that the reliability in absolute position measurement is low regardless of being the absolute position length measurement type encoder. Further, such an attempt (Particularly, Patent Document 2, etc.) was made in which an absolute position is obtained by binarizing the pixel data with the accuracy of the absolute position maintained by comparing the outputs between the light-receiving elements. However, finally, the process is complicated to cause the arithmetic operation amount to be increased, wherein a problem similar to the above arises.
Also, although the ABS pattern is required to be formed at an accurate interval based on the pseudorandom codes, the patterns may be made thick or thin depending on the conditions of the formation process. In this case, another problem occurs, by which the accuracy of the absolute position obtained by the ABS pattern may be reduced, and becomes unstable.

Absolute position length measurement type encoder


An image forming apparatus of the type capable of forming a plurality of images in separate areas of an intermediate transfer body is disclosed. When a paper or similar recording medium to which a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer body should be transferred is absent, the transfer of a toner image from the image carrier to the intermediate transfer body is interrupted. At the same time, toner left on the intermediate transfer body is removed by a particular method different from a usual method and capable of enhancing a cleaning ability. The apparatus is therefore capable of fully removing the toner and thereby obviating defective images.

The present invention relates to an electophotographic copier, laser printer, facsimile apparatus or similar image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to an image forming apparatus capable of forming a plurality of images in separate areas of an intermediate transfer body.
It is a common practice with an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to transfer a toner image from a photoconductive element to a paper or similar recording medium and then fix the toner image on the paper. In another image forming apparatus known in the art, the toner image is transferred from the photoconductive element to the paper by way of an intermediate transfer body. Assume that the image forming apparatus of the type including the intermediate image transfer body is operated with papers whose size is less than one half of the maximum paper size available with the apparatus. Then, a plurality of toner images may be transferred to separate areas of the transfer body and then sequentially transferred to consecutive papers in order to increase the continuous processing speed, as taught in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-72701. This document additionally discusses various timings for turning on cleaning means assigned to the transfer body in the event of the above continuous transfer of the toner images to consecutive papers.
So long as papers are sequentially fed in synchronism with the toner images transferred to the intermediate transfer body, the above conventional method for cleaning the intermediate body is successful. However, even when papers are absent, the next toner image is formed on the photoconductive element or image carrier. In this case, the amount of toner constituting the toner image is too great to be fully removed by the usual ability of the cleaning means. Toner left on the intermediate body would be added to toner to be transferred from the image carrier to the transfer body at the next image forming procedure, resulting in a defective image.

Image forming apparatus including an intermediate transfer body cleaning mechanism


Disclosed is an antenna device for transceiving a wireless signal with an ion-implanted antenna pattern implanted inside a casing of an electronic device. The ion-implanted antenna pattern is connected to an antenna module of a motherboard of the electronic device in order to feed the wireless signal transceived by the ion-implanted antenna pattern, while the connection could be either by an antenna signal feeding line connected to the ion-implanted antenna pattern and the antenna module, or by an antenna coupling element coupled with the ion-implanted antenna pattern and connected to an antenna signal feeding line.

It is well known that an antenna is the key element to transmit/receive (transceive) microwaves in wireless technology such as wireless communication and wireless data transfer, where the antenna transforms electrical currents generated by a transmitter into microwaves and transmits the microwaves in free space. The antenna also captures microwaves and transforms them into electrical currents, which are then processed by a receiver. As a result, the characteristics of the antenna deeply affect that of the wireless technology, and the antenna can be referred as the index to examine the quality of the wireless technology.
Among numerous kinds of electronic devices utilizing wireless signal transceiving, the making and the dimension of the antennas used by such devices are not entirely the same. The use of the appropriate antenna not only matches the features of the electronic devices and enhances the quality of the transceiving of a wireless signal, but also reduces the cost of manufacturing the electronic devices.
As shown in FIG. 1, which shows the conventional arrangement of the antenna used in an electronic device, an electronic device, which is generally denoted a numeral reference 1, includes a casing 11, a backlight module 12, an anti-Electromagnetic Interference (anti-EMI) plate 13, and a second casing 14. An antenna 15, which is electrically connected to an antenna module 171 of an motherboard 17 of the electronic device 1 by an antenna signal feeding line 16, is arranged on the inner surface of the second casing 14, and such electrical connection involves the conducting of a wireless signal from the antenna module 171 to the antenna 15 and vice versa.
Further, besides a direct wire connection between the antenna module and the antenna by the antenna signal feeding line as shown in FIG. 1, the method of coupling feeding, which the antenna signal feeding line is electrically connected to an antenna coupling element but not to the antenna and the transceiving of signals between the antenna module and the antenna is by the coupling of the antenna coupling element and the antenna, is also feasible.
Antennas such as dipole antennas, plate antennas, or PIFA antennas used in electronic devices for transceiving wireless signals of conventional use are usually a separate antenna device mounted on a base or a casing of the electronic devices. Although some of the conventionally used antennas in the market are arranged at a predetermined position inside the electronic device, they are in fact individually manufactured and then arranged in and electronically connected to the electronic devices. Such manufacturing is not only troublesome bust also increases costs.

Antenna device with ion-implanted antenna pattern


A coupling assembly for leak proof connection of the ends of two lengths of pipe or tubing. One end of a first pipe is coupled to a coupling box which is connected to or integrally formed on the end of a second pipe. The coupling box has threads for engaging a nut for securing the coupling. The coupling box has a bore for receiving the end of the first pipe. The end of the first pipe has an outer tapered surface for engaging an inner tapered surface of the coupling box to form a metal to metal seal between the first pipe and the coupling box. The bore also contains an engager for coupling the nut to the first pipe. The engager includes a split ring which has a longitudinal slot. The split ring has internal circumferential projections or gripping teeth which are aligned with external circumferential projections or gripping teeth on the end of the first pipe. As the nut is tightened, the split ring is compressed so that the gripping teeth of the split ring are brought into engagement with the gripping teeth or the first pipe. The split ring and the first pipe are then moved relative to the coupling box so that the outer tapered surface at the end of the pipe is forced into metal to metal sealing contact with the inner tapered surface within the bore of the coupling box.

The present invention is directed to a flow line coupling assembly for joining lengths of pipe used for conveying fluids such crude oil and particularly in offshore operations.
Prior art pipeline couplings are either screw type connectors or are connector assemblies which require welding and take an extremely long time to assemble. Neither type of pipeline coupling has been acceptable for use in pipeline laying in offshore operations. The screw type connector have been unreliable in the harsh conditions of offshore operations. The other connectors take so long to make up that their use is economically prohibitive. The couplings which require welding are also limited to the use of materials which have good welding characteristics. This precludes the use of UNS 31803 and ASTM A182 F6NM, which do not weld very well but would otherwise be superior in other respects for use in pipelines. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art flow line couplings have been obviated by the present invention.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the invention to provide a flow line coupling which can be coupled in a very short time.
A further object of the insertion is the provision of a flow line coupling which is not limited to the use of materials which have good welding characteristics.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a flow line coupling which provides a good metal to metal seal and is reliable for an extended period of use.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.


A non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system is disclosed herein. The non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system includes a pressure cuff comprising a resistive portion and a conductive portion aligned with the resistive portion. The non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system also includes a controller operatively connected to the pressure cuff. The controller is adapted to estimate the circumference of the pressure cuff based on the position of the conductive portion relative to the resistive portion.

Conventional non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitoring systems generally inflate a pressure cuff above the patient's systolic pressure and measure oscillations in the cuff as the cuff is deflated. The pressure cuff is wrapped around a limb and secured thereto with a fastening mechanism such as, for example, Velcro. After wrapping and securing the pressure cuff to a limb, a cuff bladder is inflated with air in order to apply pressure. The oscillations monitored by the NIBP system are transmitted through the air contained within the cuff bladder during a blood pressure measurement. The volume of air within the bladder can impact the strength of the monitored oscillation signals and correspondingly impact the accuracy of a NIBP measurement.
One problem with conventional NIBP systems is that the process of wrapping the pressure cuff to a limb is operator sensitive. A first operator may take a blood pressure determination by tightly wrapping the pressure cuff around a patient's arm and inflating the cuff bladder with a relatively low air volume, whereas a second operator may take a blood pressure determination by loosely wrapping the pressure cuff around a patient's arm and inflating the cuff bladder with a relatively high air volume. This variation in cuff bladder air volume can impact oscillation signal strength such that a resultant NIBP measurement may become imprecise.
Oscillometric blood pressure monitors used on the upper arm utilize a range of cuff types to correctly measure a patient's blood pressure. For example, a patient with and arm circumference of 30 centimeters would require an adult type cuff, while a patient with an arm circumference of 20 centimeters might use a child cuff. It is important that the cuff be chosen to match the patient's arm type.
As previously described, conventional NIBP systems initiate a blood pressure measurement by inflating the pressure cuff above the patient's systolic pressure level. It is therefore necessary to estimate a supra-systolic pressure level for a given patient. Additionally, the initial supra-systolic pressure level estimate should ideally be only slightly greater than the patient's actual systolic pressure level. If, for example, a supra-systolic estimate surpasses the patient's actual systolic pressure level by an excessive amount, the duration of the NIBP determination may be unnecessarily prolonged and the pressure cuff may cause pain or discomfort during initial inflation.
Another problem with conventional NIBP systems is that it is difficult to precisely estimate a supra-systolic pressure level that only slightly exceeds a patient's actual systolic pressure level for each of a variety of different patients. Since a child typically has a lower blood pressure than an adult, knowledge of the cuff type could allow better choice of the initial target pressure.

Non-invasive blood pressure monitor apparatus and system


An air propelling toy for directing a quantity of air in a desired direction includes a housing including a perimeter wall that defines an interior space of the housing. The housing has an outlet port that extends through the perimeter wall and is in fluid communication with the interior space. A diaphragm is coupled to the housing and positioned in the interior space of the housing and divides the interior space into an air space and a mechanism space. The air space is in fluid communication with the outlet port. An actuating assembly is operationally coupled to the housing and the diaphragm. The actuating assembly is actuated to draw the diaphragm into the mechanism space to draw air into the sir space through the outlet port and quickly release the diaphragm to force the air out of the air space and out the outlet port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toy guns and more particularly pertains to a new toy gun for directing a quantity of air in a desired direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of toy guns is known in the prior art. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device that has certain improved features that allow a trigger of the device to be pulled multiple times in succession to allow multiples quantities of air to be ejected by the device. Additionally, the device should include an actuating assembly that is fully actuated by the pulling of the trigger and does not need to be cocked between each pull of the trigger.


A fluid distribution device, in particular of cosmetic product, of the type including a bottle adapted to contain fluid and having a distribution orifice. A decorative case covers the bottle. The case has a body and retaining elements adapted to retain the body with respect to the bottle. The retaining elements include a collar integral with the decorative case and an articulation element connecting the collar to the body. The collar includes an internal passage traversing the collar from one side to the other and an external section inserted tightly in the distribution orifice of the bottle.

The invention relates to a fluid distribution device, in particular of cosmetic product, of the type comprising:                a bottle adapted to contain the fluid and having a distribution orifice;        a decorative case covering the bottle at least partially, said case having a body and retaining means adapted to retain the body with respect to the bottle.
A device of this type is a relatively top-of-the-range product with a sophisticated aesthetic. The object of the invention is to simplify a device of this type in order to reduce its cost while retaining the same quality.

Fluid distribution device having a bottle and a decorative case


A dual-band nonreversible circuit device comprises a first circulator element (91) and a second circulator element (92) accommodated in a single housing (50, 50', 60) and operable around a first center frequency (f.sub.A) and a second center frequency (f.sub.B), respectively. The first circulator element (91) is formed by a combination of a first permanent magnet (31), a first ferrite plate (21) with a first center conductor (11), and a ground conductor plate (40) successively stacked on a lower magnetic yoke (50). Likewise, the second circulator element (92) is formed by a combination of the ground conductor plate (40), a second ferrite plate (22) with a second center conductor (12), and a second permanent magnet (32) successively stacked and covered by an upper magnetic yoke (60). Alternatively, a first circulator element (91') is formed by a combination of a first ground conductor plate (41), the first ferrite plate (21) with the first center conductor (11), and a permanent magnet (30) while the second circulator element (92') is formed by a combination of a second ground conductor plate (42), the second ferrite plate (22) with the second center conductor (12), and the permanent magnet (30).

This invention relates to a nonreversible circuit device for use in a terminal unit for transmission and reception in a radio communication system and, in particular, to a dual-band nonreversible circuit device operable in two different frequency bands specific to two different radio communication systems.
In recent years, technology has made remarkable progress in the field of radio communication. In many countries in the world, various radio communication systems are working and offered to users. However, those radio communication systems have different frequency bands assigned thereto. In order to enjoy the services of the various radio communication systems, it is necessary to use different terminal units for trans-mission and/or reception in the different frequency bands. Such use of the different terminal units is inconvenient and troublesome. In view of the above, consideration has recently made with respect to the necessity of a so-called dual-band terminal unit which is operable in two different frequency bands for two of the various radio communication systems.
The terminal unit typically includes a transmitter-receiver branching circuit for connecting a reception amplifier and a transmission amplifier to a common antenna and for isolating them from each other. The transmitter-receiver branching circuit generally includes components which are relatively large in size.
The transmitter-receiver branching circuit comprises a nonreversible circuit device. As an example of such a nonreversible circuit device, there is known a distributed-constant nonreversible circuit device comprising a magnet for generating a magnetic field, a set of center conductors, each serving as a signal path, a ferrite plate for providing the signal path with a unidirectional characteristic, and a ground conductor plate.
An improved nonreversible circuit device comprising two sets of center conductors arranged in a single magnetic circuit is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 58-85609 (85609/1983) (Reference 1) and 4-345201 (345201/1992) (Reference 2).
In Reference 1, the two sets of center conductors are connected in cascade with each other in one-to-one correspondence and grounded in the single magnetic circuit so as to increase an inductance without increasing the size of the device. Thus, a small-sized high-performance nonreversible circuit device is obtained.
In Reference 2, the two sets of center conductors are connected in parallel with each other in one-to-one correspondence and grounded in the single magnetic circuit so as to decrease an inductance component and a d.c. resistance in a high-frequency region without increasing the size of the device. Thus, a small-sized nonreversible circuit device having excellent high-frequency characteristics is obtained.
It is noted here that the nonreversible circuit device described in each of References 1 and 2 is operable at a single operation frequency.
In order to use a single terminal unit in common in two different radio communication systems of two different frequencies, it has been a practice that the single terminal unit includes two transmitter-receiver branching circuits corresponding to the different frequencies. In addition, each of the transmitter-receiver branching circuits includes components which are relatively large in size as described in the foregoing. As a result, the terminal unit inevitably becomes bulky as a whole.
In view of achieving portability, however, it is desirable that the terminal unit is small in size and light in weight even in the case where the terminal unit is to be used in common in two different radio communication systems.
Reduction in size and weight of the terminal unit will be achieved if a single transmitter-receiver branching circuit is selectively operable at two different frequencies. In this event, the nonreversible circuit device is required to deal with the two different frequencies.
However, the nonreversible circuit device described in each of References 1 and 2 is operable at the single operation frequency. Therefore, for use in the two different radio communication systems of the two different frequencies, the terminal unit must include two nonreversible circuit devices corresponding to the two different frequencies. Thus, the nonreversible circuit device described in each of References 1 and 2 can not contribute to the reduction in size and weight of the terminal unit.

Dual-band nonreversible circuit device comprising two nonreversible circuit elements contained in a single housing to be operable in different frequency bands


In one embodiment, an ink pen includes an ink chamber, a passage and a printhead operatively connected to the ink chamber through the passage such that ink flowing from the ink chamber to the printhead passes through the passage. The passage includes an upstream part having a polygonal cross sectional area and a downstream part having a cross sectional area smaller than the polygonal cross sectional area.

Inkjet printers utilize one or more printheads to deposit ink on paper and other print media. A printhead is a micro-electromechanical part that contains an array of miniature thermal resistors or piezoelectric devices that are energized to eject small droplets of ink out of an associated array of orifices. Air can accumulate in the area near the printhead, particularly during periods of low or no printing. Air that accumulates near the printhead can eventually displace much of the ink at the printhead, starving the printhead for ink and rendering the printhead useless.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided is an image forming apparatus including a fixing unit that is attached to the apparatus body and includes a fixing portion configured to fix an image formed on a sheet by an image forming portion and a reverse portion configured to reverse the sheet having passed through the fixing portion, a two-side conveyance unit that includes a duplex conveyance path configured to guide the sheet reversed by the reverse portion to the image forming portion and a conveyance portion configured to convey the sheet on the duplex conveyance path, and a positioning unit configured to position the two-side conveyance unit with respect to the fixing unit. The positioning unit includes an engagement portion provided in the fixing unit, and an engagement portion provided in the two-side conveyance unit and engaging with the engagement portion of the fixing unit.

Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet.
Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, there have been image forming apparatuses, such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile, which include not only a mode for forming an image on a front surface of a sheet but also a two-side printing mode for also forming an image on a rear surface of a sheet having an image formed on the front surface thereof.
In such an image forming apparatus, when the two-side printing mode is selected, a sheet having an image formed on the front surface thereof is reversed and is conveyed to a duplex conveyance path, and the sheet is conveyed again to an image forming portion so that an image is formed on the rear surface thereof.
Hitherto, JP-A-2009-75478 has proposed an image forming apparatus in which a two-side conveyance unit is provided in an apparatus body so as to be able to be opened and closed, one side of a guide member constituting a duplex conveyance path is formed in the apparatus body, the other side thereof is formed in the two-side conveyance unit, and a sheet jamming in the duplex conveyance path is able to be extracted by opening the two-side conveyance unit.
The image forming apparatus is configured such that a drive roller in a conveyance roller pair conveying a sheet on the duplex conveyance path is disposed at a fixing unit on the apparatus body side, and a driven roller is disposed in the two-side conveyance unit, thereby dividing the conveyance roller pair by the opening of the two-side conveyance unit.
In addition, the image forming apparatus is configured such that a positioning protruding portion provided in the fixing unit engages with a positioning member provided in the two-side conveyance unit at the time of closing the two-side conveyance unit, thereby positioning the drive roller and the driven roller.
Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus having the two-side printing mode, when a positional deviation occurs between a reverse roller pair conveying a sheet to the duplex conveyance path in accordance with the opening and closing of the two-side conveyance unit and the conveyance roller pair on the duplex conveyance path, the positional accuracy of an image formed on the rear surface of the sheet is degraded.
In the image forming apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2009-75478, the positioning protruding portion and the positioning member are provided in the vicinity of one conveyance roller pair among a plurality of conveyance roller pairs provided on the duplex conveyance path.
For this reason, a configuration is provided in which the positioning accuracy of one conveyance roller pair and the reverse roller pair becomes satisfactory, but the positioning accuracy of the other conveyance roller pairs on the duplex conveyance path and the reverse roller pair has a problem.
In addition, since a configuration is provided in which the duplex conveyance path is divided by the opening of the two-side conveyance unit, the positioning accuracy of the reverse roller pair and the duplex conveyance path also has a problem, which leads to a concern for the occurrence of a positional deviation of an image formed on the rear surface of a sheet.

Duplex image forming apparatus with two-side conveyance unit rotatable between open and closed positions


A component mounting device mounts electronic components from several component stages on a printed circuit board. The component mounting device includes a mounting head, a camera unit, and a selection unit. The mounting head, movably installed between the component stage and the printed circuit board, includes a suction element and a position determination chuck. The suction element picks up and thereafter supports the component, and the position determination chuck corrects the position of the supported component. The camera unit, installed within a movement range of the mounting head, receives an image of the component supported by the suction element. The selection unit selects either the position determination chuck or the camera unit to correct the position of the component supported by the suction element. The component mounting device selectively corrects the position of the component supported by the suction element by using the position determination chuck or by processing the image received by the camera unit based on the selection by the selection unit.

The present invention relates to a component mounting device, and more particularly, to a device for automatically mounting electronic components, such as semiconductor devices, on a printed circuit board.
A component mounting device, called a mounter, automatically mounts electronic components, such as semiconductor devices, diodes, capacitors, or resistors, on a printed circuit board. The mounting device includes a board supporting stage having guide rails for guiding the printed circuit board to a predetermined position, a component stage that supports various electronic components to be mounted on the printed circuit board, and a mounting head that moves horizontally to pick up the electronic components from the component stage and mount them at predetermined locations on the printed circuit board.
The mounting head includes several suction nozzles, or suction bits, for picking up the electronic components using vacuum suction. The suction nozzles move up and down with respect to the board supporting stage and the component stage.
The mounting head also includes a position determination chuck, that is, a mechanism that determines the position of the picked-up electronic component held by the suction bit. The position determination chuck assures that the electronic component is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the suction bit, or in other words, that the suction bit has a proper hold on the electronic component. When the electronic component is not positioned at the predetermined position, the position determination chuck corrects the electronic component's position using a position determination finger.
For electronic components that do not require high precision mounting, the mounting head mounts the electronic components after the position determination chuck determines the position of the electronic components as described above.
Some types of electronic components, however, require high precision mounting. For high precision mounting, the component mounting device uses optical detection to determine whether the picked-up electronic component is positioned at the predetermined position with respect to the suction bit. Typically, the mounting device uses a camera to determine whether the center of the electronic component aligns with the center of the suction bit, and the degree of rotation of the electronic component with respect to the suction bit.
The component mounting device processes the image data received by the camera to detect the amount of deviation of the picked-up electronic component in a horizontal direction with respect to a reference position of the suction bit. Then, as the mounting head carries the picked-up electronic component to a mounting position on the printed circuit board, the mounting head corrects the electronic component's deviation so as to accurately mount the electronic component on the printed circuit board. Position correction using image processing takes more time than other types of position correction, but provides a more accurate position determination.
The camera captures the image of the electronic component using one of several capture techniques: the backlight or transmission type of capture, or the front-light or reflection type of capture. In the backlight type, a light source is located opposite the camera so that the illumination transmits through the electronic component. In the front-light type, on the other hand, the light source is located on the side of the camera so that the illumination reflects off of the electronic component.
Conventionally, the mounting device positions the camera at a bottom portion of the mounting device, and positions the light source in the mounting head. By this arrangement, the camera captures the image of the component through the backlight type of capture. After the suction bit picks up the electronic component, the camera captures the image of the component to determine whether the electronic component is located at the predetermined position with respect to the suction bit.
When the mounting head contains the light source, one of the mounting heads typically acts as a head for image processing only. This reduces the number of suction bits that can be installed in the mounting heads and thereby lowers the component mounting speed and mounting efficiency of the mounting device.
Typically, the mounting device locates the camera at the bottom portion of the mounting device, between the board support stage and the component stage. The camera captures the image of the electronic component while the mounting head carries the electronic component from the component stage to the board support stage. To accommodate the camera being installed between the board support stage and the component stage, however, the component mounting device must be made larger in the horizontal direction. This decreases the mounting speed because the electronic component needs to be carried over a longer distance.
When a position determination chuck is installed at the suction bit and the camera is of the front-light type (reflection type), the camera captures not only an image of the picked-up electronic component, but also the hook, or finger, portion of the position determination chuck. As a result, the mounting device cannot accurately process the captured image.
Moreover, the components, whose picked-up positions are accurately detected by image processing, occupy only a small portion of the electronic components to be mounted on the printed circuit board. Accordingly, the position determination process cannot be accurately performed with respect to a majority of the electronic components.

Device for selectively using position determination chuck or camera to correct position of a component for mounting on printed circuit board


A power amplifier circuit comprising at least one first amplifier having a first input receiving an input voltage through at least one first coupling capacitor and connected to an output of the first amplifier, and having a second input, separate from the first input, receiving a reference voltage supplied by a time constant circuit comprising a decoupling capacitor, at least one first controllable switch connecting the first and second inputs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amplifier circuit used in audio systems.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional audio amplifier circuit comprising an operational amplifier 10. The inverting input (−) of amplifier 10 is connected to an input terminal E of the system by a resistor 11 and a coupling capacitor 12 assembled in series. Output S of amplifier 10 is connected to its inverting input (−) by a resistor 13. Output S is also connected to a terminal of a capacitor 14 having another terminal forming output OUT of the amplifier circuit. Output OUT is connected to one of the two terminals of a load Q, typically a loudspeaker capable of emitting sounds according to the voltage applied thereacross, having its other terminal connected to a low reference supply or ground GND of the circuit. Capacitor 14 has the function of decoupling output signal VL from the D.C. offset voltage created by amplifier 10. The wanted output signal present on terminal VOUT thus is a dynamic signal, applied on terminal E. The non-inverting input (+) of amplifier 10 is connected to midpoint BP of a resistive dividing bridge comprised of two resistors 15 and 16 connected in series between a high supply terminal VCC and ground GND. A controllable switch 17, generally an MOS transistor, is interposed between high supply VCC and resistor 15. A signal SB for setting to standby controls switch 17 and the power supply of amplifier 10. Upon setting to standby, signal SB causes the setting to a high impedance state of output S, the turning-off of switch 17, and the stopping of the current sources of amplifier 10, which results in a significant reduction in power consumption. A capacitor 18 is connected between node BP and ground GND, in parallel with resistor 16. Capacitor 18 has the function of filtering the noise generated by resistors 15 and 16 and of absorbing possible voltage variations at supply terminal VCC.
The divider formed of resistors 15 and 16 sets the voltage at node BP, and thus the charge level of capacitor 18, to a reference voltage which sets a bias voltage of the audio amplifier. For example, the reference voltage may be chosen to be equal to half of supply voltage VCC, and the values of resistors 15, 16 are then set to the same value. In normal operation, in the absence of a signal at input terminal E, the charges of capacitors 12, 14, and 18 are maximum. Voltages VM of node M and VBP of node BP are equal to the reference voltage, the voltage across load Q being then zero. When a voltage is applied to input terminal E, voltage VIN is equal to the reference voltage, to which is added the variable component of the input voltage, coupling capacitor 12 suppressing the D.C. component of the input voltage.
Voltage VOUT across load Q is equal to the variable component of the input voltage multiplied by the amplification gain R13/R11. By choosing an appropriate ratio of the values of resistors 11 and 13, the peak-to-peak voltage of load Q can be amplified.
FIGS. 2A to 2E are partial simplified timing diagrams illustrating the variation of voltages along time at certain points of the amplifier circuit of FIG. 1 upon and at the end of a setting to standby. FIG. 2A illustrates signal SB for setting to standby. FIG. 2B illustrates voltage VBP, that is, the charge variation of decoupling capacitor 18. FIG. 2C illustrates voltage VS at output S of amplifier 10, that is, the charge variation of capacitor 14. FIG. 2D illustrates voltage VM, that is, the charge variation of coupling capacitor 12. FIG. 2E illustrates voltage VOUT across load Q. A time when the circuit of FIG. 1 is on is considered as the time origin (t=0) and FIGS. 2B to 2E illustrate the variation of the signals upon setting to standby of the circuit at a time t1 and upon restarting at a subsequent time t2 from this standby state.
For clarity, a test situation in which no input signal is applied on terminal E connected to ground GND is considered hereafter. Then, between times t=0 and t=1 of setting to standby, the voltages at nodes M, BP and S are stable, equal to reference voltage Vref.
At time t1, signal SB switches state and takes a state adapted to controlling the turning-off of switch 17 and of interrupting the supply of amplifier 10, for example, switching from a low state to a high state. Such a state of signal SB, and thus, the stand-by, is maintained until a subsequent time t2. At time t2, signal SB returns to its initial state, for example, low, enabling the supply of amplifier 10 and the turning-on of switch 17.
During the standby, load Q is inhibited. Capacitor 18 discharges through resistor 16. Coupling and decoupling capacitors 12 and 14 do not significantly discharge, only by a leakage current through the load. For clarity, it is considered, as illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2D, that capacitors 12 and 14 remain charged during standby.
At time t2, amplifier 10 is "awake", which causes an intermediary phase of discharge of capacitors 12 and 14. The discharge of capacitor 14, directly connected to load Q, is instantaneous and very fast. The discharge of capacitor 12 is delayed by resistors 11 and 13. The state switching of signal SB at time t2 also turns on switch 17. Decoupling capacitor 18 then charges through resistive divider 15, 16 to reference level Vref. This charge is transmitted to input and output capacitors 12 and 14 by copying of the voltage of node BP on node M. The intermediary discharge phase then ends at a time t3 after which capacitors 12 and 14 charge, as illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2D, to reach the reference voltage. Capacitor 14, being charged by an amplified voltage, reaches the reference level at a time t4 prior to a time t5 at which coupling and decoupling capacitors 12 and 18 reach the reference level.
As illustrated in FIG. 2E, between times t2 and t5, voltage VOUT across load Q drops abruptly, then rapidly rises, crosses zero at time t3 and becomes positive before dropping back and stabilizing at a zero level at time t5. The positive peak appearing between times t3 and t4 translates as the transmission by loudspeaker Q of undesirable noise, unpleasant for the ear (pop noise).
To overcome this problem, various solutions have been provided. In particular, various modifications aiming at slowing down the discharge of decoupling capacitor 18 have been provided. However, such solutions also slow down its charge upon subsequent starting, which causes a relatively long latency time—that is, the duration separating time t5 of circuit stability from standby end time t2.

Audio amplifier circuit with suppression of unwanted noise when powered on from standby


A superconducting coil incorporated in the superconducting magnet apparatus of the invention is shaped annular or cylindrical, and thus surrounds a photographing field. The coil has an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the line of gravity, i.e., extending in the horizontal direction. The coil is contained in a coolant vessel of a double structure filled with a coolant (e.g. liquid helium). Specifically, it is contained in a first coolant vessel, together with a predetermined small amount of liquid helium. The vessel has a receiving space defined therein and shaped similar to the coil. The space is large enough to receive the coil and the coolant with a predetermined gap. The coolant vessel comprises a first cylindrical wall contacting the inner periphery of the coil, a second cylindrical wall coaxial with the first cylindrical wall and having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the coil and a pair of annular end walls arranged at both opposite ends of the first and second cylindrical walls, thereby closing, in a liquidtight/airtight manner, the gap formed by the walls. That is, the coil is received, in a manner coaxial with the first and second cylindrical walls, in a receiving space defined by the cylindrical walls and annular end walls.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a superconducting magnet apparatus for use in a magnetic resonance tomographic diagnosing apparatus (i.e. MRI, NMR), which has a heat insulating structure such as a coolant circulating path.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most magnetic resonance tomographic diagnosing apparatuses obtain a magnetic field of required high intensity by means of superconducting magnets. A magnet apparatus employed in such a magnetic resonance tomographic diagnosing apparatus a has a magnetic field whose axis is substantially at right angles to the line of gravity (i.e. arranged in the horizontal direction), since a bed must be put into and out of the magnetic field, together with a patient lying thereon. The magnet apparatus is generally annular or cylindrical, and comprises a superconducting coil having an axis substantially perpendicular to the line of gravity, a cylindrical vessel containing liquid helium for cooling the coil, and a space (for accommodating a patient and the like) which has a shape similar to the superconducting coil, and houses the coil and vessel. The vessel is generally made of a non-magnetic material such as stainless steel. The vessel and super heat insulating layers covering the entire inner and outer surfaces form a cryostat.
To keep the superconducting coil in a stable superconducting state, it is desirable that the entire coil is always immersed in liquid helium. It is also desirable to resupply liquid helium after at least one month elapses since the last supply. To meet these, a great amount of liquid helium needs be stored in a position higher than the upper surface of the superconducting coil. To store a great amount of liquid helium in such a position, conventional superconducting magnetic apparatuses have been designed such that the above-described receiving space has an outer diameter and an inner diameter much smaller than the former.
This conventional apparatus, however, has the following problems:
Since its liquid helium vessel is obtained by setting large the difference between the inner and outer diameters, a great amount of liquid helium necessarily exists also in a position lower than the upper surface of the coil. Little of the liquid helium stored in the lower position is used effectively, i.e., liquid helium of an amount more than required is stored in the vessel. If the superconducting coil is quenched to a normal conducting state, the stored liquid helium will be abruptly vaporized. There is a dangerous case of a conventional apparatus whose liquid helium vessel was damaged due to an increase in pressure within the vessel. Further, from an economical point of view, this is disadvantageous to that scanner for scanning the entire body of a patient which requires as much as 200-300 l of expensive liquid helium.
To eliminate the above disadvantage, it is considered to reduce the amount of liquid helium stored in a position lower than the upper surface of the superconducting coil, by arranging the vessel to have an axis extending in a plane higher than that in which the axis of the coil extends. In this case, however, since the vessel made of a conductive material is asymmetry with respect to the axis of a gradient coil, which is excited pulsively, an ununiform eddy current will be caused along the vessel, providing distorted tomograms.
In summary, the conventional superconducting magnetic apparatus is disadvantageous in view of economy and safety, since it stores a coolant of an amount more than required, and since it may be damaged when an abnormality such as quenching of the superconducting coil occurs.

Superconducting magnet apparatus having circulating path for coolant


The invention is dealing with a Raman amplifying device comprising an optical path, pump sources for generating a plurality of Raman pump signals and means for coupling the plurality of Raman pump signals into the optical path for backward pumping. The plurality of optical Raman pump signals are time-division multiplexed by multiplexing controlling means and the controlling means apply a modulation frequency beyond the corner frequency of the co-propagating modulation transfer function. The method to modulate the time division multiplexed Raman signal gives a condition to avoid the increase of double Rayleigh scattering noise.

The invention is based on a priority application EP 03 290 921.0 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention is related to a Raman amplifying device and in more detail to a Raman amplifying device for amplifying signals (S1, S2 . . . Sn) with wavelengths λS1, λS2 . . . λSn comprising an optical path, pump sources (P1,P2 . . . PN) for generating a plurality of Raman pump signals (λ1,λ2, . . . λN) for backward pumping and means for coupling (21, 22, . . . 2N)) the plurality of Raman pump signals into the optical path, wherein the plurality of optical Raman pump signals are time-division multiplexed by multiplexing controlling means (41,42, . . . 4N). The invention is also related to a method for time multiplexing a plurality of Raman pump signals in an amplifying device.
Raman optical amplifiers are important components in optical communication systems. Optical fiber communication systems are beginning to achieve their great potential for the rapid transmission of vast amounts of information. In essence, an optical fiber system comprises a source of information-carrying optical signals, an optical fiber transmission line for carrying the optical signals and a receiver for detecting the optical signals and demodulating the information they carry. The signals are typically within a wavelength range favorable for propagation within silica fibers, and preferably comprise a plurality of wavelength distinct channels within that range.
Despite significant progress in reducing the attenuation characteristics of optical fibers, signals transmitted through them are attenuated by the cumulative and combined effect of absorption and scattering. Consequently long distance transmission requires periodic amplification.
One approach to optical amplification utilizes Raman effect amplification. In the Raman effect amplification, light traveling within a medium is amplified by the presence of lower wavelength pump light traveling within the same medium. The gain spectrum of a silica fiber pumped by a monochromatic Raman pump exhibits maximum gain when the signal to be amplified is at a frequency approximately 13 THz lower than the frequency of the Raman pump. The frequency (or wavelength) difference between the pump and the frequency (or wavelength) of maximum gain is often referred to as the Stokes shift, and the amplified signal is referred to as the Stokes wave. Use of a pump that is detuned from the signals by about one Stokes shift (½ the Stokes shift to 3/2 the shift) is referred to as first-order Stokes pumping.
It has also been observed that the gain is significantly larger for a co-polarized signal and pump. This polarization sensitivity can be eliminated if the pump is depolarized, polarization-scrambled or composed of two equally powerful polarized pumps that are polarization multiplexed.
Raman amplifiers can be categorized as either distributed or discrete. In distributed amplifiers, the transmission fiber itself is used as the gain medium. In discrete amplifiers, a separate fiber, typically optimized for Raman amplification, is used as the gain fiber. While the discrete amplifier gain fiber may be kilometers in length it is typically spooled at one location and not used to transfer information from one location to another. The term "Raman amplifier", as used herein, refers to both the pump and the gain medium.
A difficulty with conventional Raman amplifiers is that they are typically critically dependent on power sensitive components subsequent (downstream) to the pump. Often Raman pump sources utilize a plurality of sources to establish a high power first order pump (>100 mW) and an immediate downstream multiplexing component to combine the outputs into a pump with a wide, flat bandwidth. In typical amplifiers, the pump power is generated by an array of high power semiconductor pump lasers that are followed by wavelength-division multiplexers.
The problem with this amplifiers is the harmful interaction of the different pump source wavelengths traveling along the fiber.
With the recent ascendance of dense WDM and the commercial availability of several hundred mW output semiconductor pump laser the use of Raman amplifiers comes a good opportunity. Raman gain is now well used to overcome noise and non-linear penalties and to adapt the gain band according the available pump bands.
The EP 1 148 666 discloses a method to pump a Raman amplifier. The method involves time division multiplexing of combined pump wavelengths to attain broad Raman gain and to avoid the interaction of the different pump sources. This multiplexing scheme produces a flat gain spectrum. In the EP 1148 666 the modulation frequency that is required to keep the signal unaffected is specified with a few MHz.
However, Double Rayleigh Scattering noise (DRS) increases dramatically if no more precaution is taken. Indeed, as the Rayleigh noise co-propagates with the pump between the first and second backscattering, it experiences high variations of gain in a dB scale. As a result the average amount of DRS noise is much higher with a modulated pump than with a continuous pump that would give the same on-off gain.
The problem to solve is to realize pump modulation without rising high DRS penalty.

Raman amplifying device and method for pump modulation


A centrifugal impeller is disclosed having a non-axisymmetric flowpath surface. The centrifugal compressor may comprise a hub and a plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes. The hub has a flowpath surface and an axis of rotation. The plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes extend from the flowpath surface, with each of the vanes having a pressure-side fillet and a suction-side fillet extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge of the vane. The pressure-side fillet and suction-side fillet intersect the flowpath surface at a runout. The runout of the pressure-side fillet of a first vane is asymmetric to the runout of the suction-side fillet of the first vane.

Centrifugal compressors are commonly used for fluid compression in rotating machines such as, for example, a gas turbine engine. Gas turbine engines typically include at least a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. In general, during operation, air is pressurized in the compressor section and is mixed with fuel and burned in the combustor section to generate hot combustion gases. The hot combustion gases flow through the turbine section, which extracts energy from the hot combustion gases to power the compressor section and other gas turbine engine loads.
A centrifugal compressor is a device in which a rotating rotor or impeller delivers air at relatively high velocity by the effect of centrifugal force on the gas within the impeller. The impeller typically comprises a plurality of vanes circumferentially spaced about a hub. Centrifugal impellers have complex three-dimensional flow structures due to turning of the flow in both the tangential and radial dimensions. Improvements to impeller geometries are desirable to increase impeller efficiency and uniformity of the gas flow exiting the impeller.


According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of monitoring a focus position on a surface of a wafer for an exposure apparatus which transfers by exposure a pattern formed on a mask onto the wafer, including tilting at least one of the mask and an exposure area on the wafer and performing exposure while the mask and the exposure area have a relative angle, to form two spurious resolution images of the pattern of the mask in the exposure area; measuring positions of the two spurious resolution images formed in the exposure area and detecting an optimal focus position of the exposure apparatus on the basis of a middle point between the measured positions of the two spurious resolution images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a focus monitoring method in an exposure apparatus used for lithography of a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a focus monitoring method of obtaining an optimal focus position of an EUV exposure apparatus using, e.g., soft X-rays.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, importance is attached to the throughput in a lithography process for manufacturing, e.g., a semiconductor device or liquid crystal display device. From this viewpoint, there is often used an exposure apparatus of a sequential movement type such as a reduction projection exposure apparatus (so-called stepper) of a step & repeat scheme or a scanning exposure apparatus of a step & scan scheme as an improved version of the stepper. An exposure apparatus of this type mainly uses a so-called CD/focus method and SMP focus measurement method to measure an optimal focus position (best focus position) of an optical system (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Nos. 2580668 and 2712330).
The CD/focus method transfers a test pattern such as a line-and-space pattern to a plurality of positions on a test wafer in the optical axis direction of the projection optical system. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), for example, measures the line width of a resist image (transferred pattern image) obtained by developing the test wafer. The best focus position is then determined on the basis of the correlation between the measured line width and the wafer positions (to be also referred to as "focus positions" hereinafter as needed) in the optical axis direction of the projection optical system.
The SMP focus measurement method forms a resist image with a wedge-shaped mark at each of a plurality of focus positions. A change in the line width of the resist image between the focus positions is amplified and translated into a change in the dimension of the resist image in the longitudinal direction. The dimension of the resist image in the longitudinal direction is measured using a mark detection system such as an alignment system of the exposure apparatus. The best focus position is then detected (calculated) on the basis of the correlation between the focus position and the length of the resist image. On the basis of the thus obtained best focus position, astigmatism, curvature of field, and the like as the optical characteristics of the projection optical system are measured for various kinds of test patterns.
However, the CD/focus method requires strict focus adjustment of the SEM to measure the line width of, e.g., a resist image, resulting in too long a measurement time per point. Accordingly, it takes several hours to several tens of hours to perform measurement at a large number of points. Along with the micronization of a test pattern to measure the optical characteristics of the projection optical system, the number of evaluation points in the field of view of the projection optical system is expected to increase. Therefore, the conventional measurement method using an SEM inconveniently, considerably decreases the throughput until the measurement result is obtained.
It is becoming difficult for the conventional measurement method to meet growing demands for further reducing a measurement error and further increasing the reproducibility of the measurement result. To reduce the error, an approximation curve of the fourth or higher order is used to describe the correlation between the focus position and the line width. This requires calculating the line width at least at five focus positions for each evaluation point. To reduce the error, it is also necessary that the difference between the line width at the best focus position and that at a focus position (including both the positive and negative directions of the optical axis of the projection optical system) shifted from the best focus position should be 10% or more. However, it is becoming difficult to meet this condition.
The SMP focus measurement method normally performs measurement with monochromatic light, so interference may have a different influence on the resist image depending on its shape, leading to a measurement error (dimensional offset). To measure the length of a resist image with a wedge-shaped mark in image processing, it is necessary to capture detailed information ranging across the two ends of the resist image in the longitudinal direction, at which its pattern width is finest. However, the currently available image capturing devices (e.g., a CCD camera) have not obtained sufficient resolutions yet. It is also difficult to increase the number of evaluation points in the field of view of the projection optical system because the test pattern is large.
In this manner, the conventional EUV exposure apparatus using soft X-rays can hardly calculate an accurate optimal focus position of the optical system. Still worse, the measurement requires a relatively long time, resulting in decreases in exposure accuracy and throughput.


A method and apparatus for scanning a channel in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system may be disclosed including, extracting at least one target channel from among a plurality of channels present in at least one frequency band, based on channel scanning record information, generating a basic service set (BSS) existing information element (IE) including at least one BSS existing channel bitmap indicating information associated with a channel in which at least one access point (AP) exists, based on channel information received from at least one neighboring station (STA), determining a scanning rank of the at least one target channel, using the BSS existing channel IE, and identifying a target AP through scanning the at least one target channel, based on the scanning rank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing a channel scanning time by sharing channel information in a wireless local area network (WLAN), and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for reducing a channel scanning time, based on channel information received from a neighboring station (STA).
2. Description of the Related Art
With development in information and communication technology (ICT), varied forms of wireless communication technology are also under development. A wireless local area network (WLAN) refers to technology for wirelessly connecting to the Internet at residential, corporate, or predetermined service providing areas, using a portable station (STA), for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop computer, a portable multimedia player (PMP), and the like, based on wireless frequency technology.
Currently, a WLAN may provide a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band and a 5 GHz band, and differ based on areas. However, in terms of standards established in the Republic of Korea, 11 channels are included in the 2.4 GHz band, and 25 channels are included in the 5 GHz band. A plurality of STAs may scan channels providing a WLAN and obtain information on an access point (AP) in order to connect to the WLAN. In recent times, research into initiating a more rapid connection to WLAN is being conducted to enhance user efficiency.

Method and apparatus for reducing channel scanning time by sharing channel information in wireless local area network (WLAN)

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSITUTE


A busbar system having an assembly unit for receiving a pluralilty of conductor busbars in electrically insulating busbar supports, and at least one connecting or appliance adapter which includes a receiving bridge for receiving terminals or appliances, and is embodied to electrically connect the same to the conductor busbars. The system of this invention has a simple structure, favoring the operation of the system because the assembly unit includes holding sections located on lateral, parallel longitudinal edge sections, and at least one adapter has a first fixing section and a second fixing section on the two narrow end sections thereof, and the fixing sections are adapted to the associated edge sections and have holding elements which co-operate with the holding sections for fixing the adapter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a busbar system, having a mounting unit for receiving several busbars in electrically insulating busbar holders, and at least one connecting or device adapter, which has a receiving bridge for receiving terminals or devices, and has the electrical connection of the same with the busbars, and relates as well to a device adapter for use in such a busbar system.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A busbar system, or such a device adapter, is taught by European Patent Reference EP 0 926 790 A3, for example. Hook elements of this known busbar system and device adapter which, for producing a dependable mechanical and electrical connection, have spring-loaded elements, and which can be suspended from the respective busbars, are arranged on an underside of the adapter facing the busbar. A relatively elaborate cost outlay is connected with this, and the manipulation of the device adapters during attaching and releasing them can cause difficulties, particularly if the device adapters have devices connected to them.
Other device adapters are taught by European Patent Reference EP 0 926 791 A3 and German Patent Reference DE 93 06 013 U1.

Busbar system and connecting or appliance adapter


There is provided a water sterilizer. The water sterilizer includes an ultraviolet light source electrically connected to an electrical power source, a light-protective housing encasing the lamp and having an inlet and an outlet, and a pump to draw the water into the housing to expose the water to ultraviolet light. Electric power supplied to the ultraviolet light source has an operating potential of not greater than 24 Volts. There is also provided a method for water sterilization.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sterilization of water. More particularly, the present invention relates to sterilization of water using ultraviolet light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultraviolet (UV) sterilization is a method for sterilizing water by exposing the water to light having wavelengths in the ultraviolet range. Exposure to UV light kills algae, bacteria, parasites, yeast, mold and other unwanted organisms in the water. UV sterilization is particularly useful for aquariums and ponds, to maintain a safe environment for fish and other marine life. UV light includes wavelengths between about 400 nm and about 10 nm, and can be further divided into the bands UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C.
Among factors important for UV sterilization effectiveness are UV power and water exposure time. UV power, or wattage, must be sufficient to effectively sterilize the water, and will vary based on the amount of water to be sterilized. For example, 9-Watt and 24-Watt are common in aquariums, depending on the needs of the user.
Exposure time, or the length of time in which water is exposed to UV radiation during treatment, is proportional to effectiveness. Generally, it is preferable to increase the exposure time as much as possible. This is often accomplished by lengthening the UV lamp, coupled with restricting the speed of water passing through the UV radiation.
Current UV sterilizers, such as those used for aquariums or other bodies of water, must be located away from the water, to avoid safety hazards associated with the relatively high voltages involved in powering the UV light source. This requires additional tubing, plumbing or other conduits to draw water from the aquarium into the sterilizer assembly for sterilization, which decreases efficiency by separating the water from the UV light source and forcing radiation to propagate through additional layers of material. These additional components also increase both manufacturing and maintenance costs. Additionally, the external nature of UV sterilizers requires additional space outside of the space required for the aquarium or other body of water.


A spectacle frame with ear bends each comprising an auricular front member connected to a temple, an auricular back member contactable with the back of the ear, and a connecting member for connecting the front member and the back member to be rotatable. The spectacle frame further comprises selective pressing means capable of changing a first state in which the back member presses the back of the ear with a second state in which the back member does not press the back of the ear.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent application No. 2000-203017 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a spectacle frame which is provided with an ear bend.
2. Related Background Art
An ear bend (drop end) is a kind of an auricular side (temporal side) part of a spectacle frame, and requires a comfortable touch when the spectacles are worn by the wearer as a part in direct contact with the wearer""s body. Generally, an ear bend in the form of a skull temple is used (FIG. 17). Ear bends are formed of plastics and, in case of an ear bend of the skull temple type, the spectacle frame is easily put on or off so that the wearer can obtain a conformable touch in the worn state for a long time.
However, a spectacle frame with the skull-temple type ear bends has a drawback that it is liable to slip off or slip down in a vigorous sport or vibration or owing to perspiration.
In order to prevent such slip of the spectacle frame, the ear bends have been subjected to various improvements. For instance, there is an ear bend called a winding cable type which has the form close to a semi circle, as shown in FIG. 18. With the winding cable type ear bends, though the spectacle frame is difficult to slip off, compared with that having the skull-temple type ear bends, more trouble and time are required to put on and off the spectacle frame. Moreover, due to larger areas on the ear bends in contact with the wearer""s skin (back sides of the ears), the wearer is liable to feel a pain for a long time use.
Also, there is proposed an arrangement of a spectacle frame with a springing force in the ear bend portion, as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-181434, or a spectacle frame in an arrangement capable of adjusting a relative position between the temple and the ear bend, as disclosed in the Utility Model Publication No. 3040039.
Furthermore, according to the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-304744, there is proposed a spectacle frame which can stabilize the ear bends by pressing them all the time against the back sides of the ears by means of a magnetic force or a spring force.
However, these conventional spectacle frames can only attain either one of the advantages (1) to prevent a slip off or down of a spectacle frame caused by a sport, vibration or perspiration, and (2) to easily put on or off the spectacle frame and to obtain a conformable worn state for a long time. However these both advantages can not be achieved at the same time.
An object of the present invention is to provide a spectacle frame which can satisfy both of the above advantages (1) and (2) at the same time.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spectacle frame with the ear bends each comprising an auricular front member connected to the temple, an auricular back member connectable with the wearer from the back of the ear, and a connecting member for connecting the front member and the back member to be rotatable, further comprising pressing means capable of selectively changing (1) a first state in which the back member presses the back of the ear, with (2) a second state in which the back member does not press the back of the ear.
In the first state, since the back member presses the ear, the spectacle frame hardly slips off and is stable even in vigorous activities such as a sport. The first state is replaced with the second state with one touch, and since the back member does not press the ear in the second state, the spectacle frame can be easily put off.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the spectacle frame according to the first aspect, an elongated hole is formed on the front member on the side connected to the back member, the elongated hole includes a spring therein, a ball is placed on the back end of the spring, and the ball is biased backward by the spring. On the other hand, a cam approximately having the shape of an isosceles triangle is provided in front of the back member, and the cam is to be brought into contact with the ball so that the ball presses the cam. However, since the cam approximately has the shape of an isosceles triangle, and the ball is brought into contact with either one of the two oblique sides of the isosceles triangle, whereby the contacted oblique side is pressed, the back member is resultantly rotated in the direction A for coming closer to the back of the ear or in the direction B for going far from the back of the ear by using the connecting member as the center of rotation. When the back member is rotated in the direction A, the back member comes in the first state for pressing the back of the ear. On the other hand, when the back member is rotated in the direction B, the back member comes in the second state for not pressing the back of the ear. As a result, it is possible to selectively realize the first state or the second state easily by pressing the back member either in the direction A or the direction B.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the spectacle frame according to either one of the first aspect and the second aspect, which is characterized in that the front member comprises an adjustment mechanism for adjusting a position for connection between the temple and the front member on the side connected to the temple, so that the length from the front end of the temple to the back end of the front member is adjustable.

Spectacle frame with adjustable ear bends


An access device that provides access between a substrate surface and an elevated surface includes a mounting for securing the device below the elevated surface, a first ladder member pivotally attached to the mounting, a second ladder member pivotally attached to the first ladder member, drive mechanism connected between the mounting and the first ladder member, and a guide arm connected between the mounting and the second ladder member to guide movement of the second ladder member as the drive mechanism moves the first ladder member. User operation of the drive mechanism moves the device between an access position, where the first and second ladder members are coaligned and extend angularly outwardly and downwardly from the elevated surface, and a storage position, where the first and second ladder members are retracted and vertically disposed adjacent to the mounting, with the second ladder member inverted relative to the first ladder member.

The present invention relates to an access device, and in particular, to an access device for providing access between a substrate surface and an elevated surface, and which is movable between an access position and a storage position.
The device has a pair of ladder members, which, in the access position, extend generally outwardly and downwardly from the elevated surface. In the storage position, the ladder members are retracted in a substantially vertically disposed manner adjacent a mounting, with one of the ladder members being substantially inverted relative to the first ladder member.


A valve control system includes a valve connected to regulate flow of a medium provided to an output and a sensor connected to monitor a feedback value associated with the medium. A controller modulates the valve based on a comparison of a reference value to the feedback value provided by the sensor. The controller detects saturation of the valve if the error between the monitored feedback value and reference value exceeds a threshold. In response to detected saturation, the controller reduces the reference value to a value less than the monitored feedback value.

The present invention is related to bleed air systems employed on aircraft, and in particular to the control of valves employed in bleed air systems.
Bleed air in gas turbine engines is compressed air taken, typically, from the compressor stage of the engine. Bleed air is utilized in a variety of applications on the aircraft, including de-icing operations, as pneumatic power for actuators, and as an input to environmental control systems (ECS) used to provide conditioned air to the cabin.
Control valves are utilized throughout the aircraft to control the flow of bleed air to various loads. Pressure and/or flow sensors monitor the pressure/flow of bleed air provided to various loads and provide the monitored value(s) as feedback to a controller that selectively opens/closes one or more valves to regulate the pressure and/or flow of bleed air.
If the flow/pressure of bleed air provided by the engine is too low (e.g., when the aircraft engine is idling on the ground), the valves being controlled by the controller may become saturated. The term "saturated" is used herein to refer to a condition in which a valve is fully opened, but feedback indicates that the valve should be opened further to increase the flow/pressure of bleed air. Because the valve cannot be opened any further, the valve is said to be saturated and control algorithms used to regulate the pressure/flow of bleed air cannot provided further regulation. That is, the controller is no longer in control of the flow of bleed air. A bleed flow transient (caused for example, by an increase in engine thrust) combined with the saturated position of the flow control valve may result in undesirable transients for loads connected to receive bleed air. For example, such an event may lead to a transient overspeed condition (i.e., speed excursion) for an air cycle machine (ACM) employed as part of the ECS. Over time, these transient events can degrade the health of the attached loads such as the ACM.


A spring actuated stapler includes a lever releasably linked to a striker at a lever front end. An elongated power spring is linked to the striker so that raising the lever front end deflects the power spring. The lever and power spring pivot about a common fulcrum structure. The fulcrum structure includes a rear facing surface and the lever pivots about the rear facing surface when the lever is near a lever release point. This pivot location is adjacent to the power spring, at a bottom of the structure of the fulcrum. With the lowest possible pivot location the lever retracts and releases from the striker more quickly than if the lever pivots about a higher location at a fulcrum “axial center”. The release action is therefore more consistent, and less sensitive to manufacturing variations of the stapler.

In a common spring powered stapler a handle is linked to a rear end of a lever, and the front end of the lever is linked to a striker. Pressing the handle causes the lever to pivot about a lever fulcrum. According to one design the front end of the lever moves upward in an arcing motion so that the lever moves rearward as the lever front end approaches its upper limit. At a predetermined position of the lever the striker is disengaged from the lever. The striker then moves downward from the bias of a power spring to eject a staple from the stapler.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,478 (Marks) shows a lever and a power spring where each respective component has a separate and distinct fulcrum. U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,728 (Marks) shows a staple gun where a power spring and a lever share a common fulcrum. The lever is a "U" channel design and the power spring is an elongated flat spring. The shared fulcrum provides minimal net force on the fulcrum and thus internal forces since the lever and spring press with approximately equal and opposite forces on the fulcrum. Especially when plastic material is used it is desirable to limit internal forces in the stapler to minimize distortion of the housing. U.S. Patent Application Publication US2004/0232192 (Marks) shows a further design where the power spring is a dual, co-axial, coiled torsion spring and the lever is a vertically flat metal form. In these references the lever releasably engages an opening in the striker. The lever front end includes an upper position near the top of the housing body. The lever fulcrum is lower than this upper position end position; therefore the lever front end will move in an arcing motion rearward to pull out of the opening in the striker and disengage the striker. This action comprises the release action. At the upper position of the striker a staple on a guide track advances to be under the striker. The power spring forces the striker downward to eject the staple under the striker.
In these designs it is important that the release action occurs at a consistent position of the lever. If the release is too early the striker will not raise high enough to allow the staple to advance. If the release is too late it may not occur at all, the striker will reach its upper limit before the lever moves rearward out of engagement with the striker. To provide a reliable release point the lever fulcrum should be well below the upper most position of the lever front end. The resulting geometry provides a relatively large rearward motion of the lever at the release point with respect to the upward motion. With a large rearward motion the design will not be overly sensitive to manufacturing variations; the release occurs within a small vertical range of motion of the striker.
In a vertically compact design the power spring and lever must be as near as possible to each other vertically. Further the total vertical motion of the striker will be limited. When the lever and spring share a fulcrum the spring is under the fulcrum since the spring presses upward. In the Marks '728 patent, the fulcrum is a round post. A flat power spring presses the post tangentially under the post. The lever pivots around the center of this post. The lever pivot location is therefore spaced above the spring by the radius of the post.

Spring energized stapler lever fulcrum in low position