A developing device includes a developer carrier that carries a developer and a developer restricting member that restricts a layer thickness of the developer on the developer carrier. The developer carrier carries the developer in such a manner that a thickness Tup of a layer of the developer when the layer passes through the developer restricting member and a gap Gd between the developer restricting member and the developer carrier satisfy an inequality 7<Tup/Gd<20.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for developing a latent image carried on an image carrier with a two-component developer.
2) Description of the Related Art
A developing device is widely used in an image forming apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image using a two-component developer (hereinafter, "developer"), i.e., a developer that contains a toner and a magnetic carrier. The developer is accommodated in a developer accommodating unit and is subjected to triboelectric charging. A photosensitive body serves as an image carrier for carrying an electrostatic latent image. The developer is carried onto a surface of a developer carrier, which has a non-magnetic sleeve and a magnetic field generating unit inside, so that the developer is conveyed to a developing region opposed to the photosensitive body. In the developing region, an electric field corresponding to an image is formed between the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive body and the sleeve, and toner in the developer on the sleeve is attached to the photosensitive body by the electric field so that development is performed to form an image.
To perform an appropriate developing, an appropriate amount of the developer is conveyed to the developing region. A doctor blade that is provided opposed to the sleeve, with a predetermined clearance, as a means that allows only a desired amount of the developer to be carried on the sleeve and conveyed to the developing region. Precisely, if there is extra developer on the sleeve, the doctor blade scraps it. However, when the doctor blade scraps the developer, it exerts a mechanical stress on both the developers, i.e., the developer that is scrapped and that is allowed to pass. If the developer receives the mechanical stress repeatedly, the quality of the developer deteriorates. Precisely, crushing of toner and carrier, burring/separating of additives into/from toner, or toner component spent to carrier occurs due to the mechanical stress. Such a developer is difficult to electrically charge uniformly so that drawbacks such as degradation of graininess over time, a background fogging, and toner scattering occur.
In particular, when toner in which wax is dispersed for ensuring a fusing releaseability corresponding to oilless fusing is used as the toner, the wax component with the same polarity as the toner oozes on the toner surface due to heat generated by the mechanical stress so that the carrier surface is coated with a film of the wax. If there is a wax film on the carrier, the carrier can not be charged properly so that the amount of charged toner becomes less than desired. This causes problems such as toner scattering or background fogging. Various proposals have been made to overcome this problem.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-278695, for example, discloses a developing device in which a diametrical magnetic flux density of a magnetic pole inside a developer carrier at a position opposed to a developer restricting member is set in the range of 5 millitesla to 35 millitesla. Because the diametrical magnetic flux density is less, lesser mechanical stress is exerted on the developer at the developer restricting member.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-333431 discloses a developing device in which a plurality of developer restricting members are arranged along a rotational direction of a developer carrier, the developer restricting member positioned at the most downstream side is formed as a magnetic member, and a center portion of a trimming magnetic pole of fixed magnets positioned inside the developer carrier before a developing region is arranged between the developer restricting members of the most downstream side and the most upstream side. In this developing device, the developer on the developer carrier sequentially forms layers while passing through the developer restricting members. Since a magnetic force of the trimming magnetic pole is arranged so as to act mainly between the magnetic member of the most downstream developing restricting member and itself, a magnetically restricting force acts on a gap portion of the most downstream developer restricting member so that the developer passes through the gap portion in a spiked state. Therefore, even if the most downstream developer restricting member has a board gap, it is made possible to form a thin layer, and the mechanical stress can be reduced at the gap portion.
In the developing device of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-333431, however, there is no description of stresses on the developer from the developer restricting members except the most downstream developer restricting member. Therefore, the degree or magnitude of the mechanical stress that can be reduced as the whole developer restricting unit is unclear. In addition, an adverse effect such that the number of parts is increased, that results in complication of the apparatus, and a manufacturing cost is increased is found in the developing device.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-258616 discloses a developing device in which excessive developer held by a developer carrier is caused to drop from a rotational center height of a developing roller due to its own weight to form a thinner developer layer by devising a magnetic constitution of the developer carrier, and a doctor blade does not perform restriction. In this developing device, since it is unnecessary to provide a doctor blade, mechanical stress on the developer can be reduced.
In order to perform development with a high quality faithful to an electrostatic latent image, toner in conveyed developer is charged sufficiently the developer is conveyed to a developing region. The toner in the developer is charged by contacting with carrier in a developer accommodating unit and it is further charged by contacting with the carrier under mechanical stress from a doctor blade to be conveyed to the developing region. For this reason, when mechanical stress due to the doctor blade is merely reduced like the apparatuses in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H8-278695 and H10-333431, it becomes impossible to charge toner in the developer sufficiently. The toner that is not charged sufficiently becomes easy to separate from the developer, which causes such a drawback as toner scattering or scumming. In this manner, two functions of achieving a long life of developer by reducing stress on the developer and ensuring charging performance of the toner are required for the doctor blade.
In the developing device that is not provided with a doctor blade, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-258616, a charging member that charges the developer and an averaging member that averages the developer reaching the developing region are required as separate members, that results in increase in cost due to increase of the number of parts.

Developing device, image forming apparatus and process cartridge including the developing device, and developing method


A fruit harvesting unit mounted on a harvesting machine. The harvesting unit comprises a straddling chassis delimiting a harvesting tunnel in which plants to be shaken are introduced successively to move through said tunnel between a front opening and a rear opening of said tunnel. The harvesting unit has a main shaker system including two shaker devices disposed on respective sides of the harvesting tunnel to delimit transversely a central part of said tunnel, and an additional shaker system that is mounted on the straddling chassis and comprises two shaker devices disposed on respective sides of the harvesting tunnel to delimit transversely a front upper part of said tunnel.

Fruit is conventionally harvested by a harvesting unit straddling at least one row of plants and mounted on the support structure of a harvesting machine that is moved along said row. To this end, the harvesting unit includes a straddling chassis delimiting a harvesting tunnel into which the plants are successively introduced to move through said tunnel between respective openings at the front and at the rear of said tunnel.
To detach the harvest from the plants the harvesting unit includes a shaker system including two shaker devices, said shaker devices being arranged on respective sides of the harvesting tunnel to delimit said tunnel transversely.
The harvesting machine further includes a recovery system for conveying the flow of harvest obtained enabling, possibly after cleaning and/or sorting, storage thereof in at least one hopper provided for this purpose or in an ancillary trailer.
However, for some plant varieties, in particular olive trees, standard harvesting units have as straddling chassis, the vaulted top of which is lower than said plants.
Because of this, on introduction of a plant into the harvesting tunnel, the top of said plant abuts against the vault of the straddling chassis with the result that the plant is bent over in said tunnel, which limits the efficacy of the shaking of said plant, in particular in relation to the harvesting of fruit at the top.
To overcome this problem, some manufacturers of harvesting machines have proposed to increase the height of the standard harvesting units to adapt said units to the height of olive trees.
However, the shaker devices of a harvesting unit increased in height in this way have a large size that compromises the efficacy of harvesting. Moreover, this increased height leads to a problem with the stability of the machine during harvesting.
To overcome these problems, document EP 2 196 080 proposes a harvesting unit including a lower front shaker system and an upper rear shaker system. The harvesting unit is adapted so that the plant is shaken in a bent state by the lower front system after which the top is shaken by the upper rear system with the plant straightened up.
This solution proves difficult to implement, however, and is not fully satisfactory for the harvesting of fruit located at the top of the plants.
The invention aims in particular to solve the problems referred to above by proposing a fruit harvesting unit that enables satisfactory harvesting of fruit present over the entire height of the plants without necessitating any modification of the structure of the straddling chassis of said unit.


An isothermal cooking plate assembly is formed from a first plate of high thermal conductivity material having a back surface and an oppositely disposed top cooking surface. One or more heater circuit assemblies are disposed on the first plate back surface for forming a composite having a back surface. A controller is in electrical connection with the heater circuit assemblies for controlling temperature of the first plate of high thermal conductivity material. The first plate can be aluminum Type 1100 or aluminum Type 6061. The first plate can be a laminate formed from a clad bottom metal layer and clad top cooking surface metal layer, where the clad layers formed from the same material and having about the same thickness. The clad material can be austenitic stainless steel. A second plate of low thermal conductivity material can be attached to the composite back surface of first plate.

The accurate temperature control of cooking plate assemblies, also known as griddles, is required for certain food processing wherein variable rates of heat dissipation exist across the extent of the cooking surface. Some applications would benefit from improved energy efficiency if the cooking surfaces could be raised from room temperature to the desired operating temperature within a very brief time period so that the cooking plate (or griddle) is only heated during the time period that the cooking of food is required. Furthermore, some applications require that the cooking plate assembly be suitable and safe for contact with objects, such as liquid or solid foods, and be resistant to damage by exposure to liquids and mechanical damage by contacting objects such as knives and other cooking implements. In addition, there is a need to provide a cooking surface comprising a non-stick coating to minimize the need for supplemental cooking liquids (e.g., cooking oils) and minimize the effort required to clean adhered food residue from the cooking surface following prior cooking processes.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a durable cooking plate capable of delivering and thermally conducting a sufficient amount of heat to maintain a substantially uniform or isothermal temperature distribution across the extent of the cooking plate surface while maintaining a pre-selected temperature in the presence of rapidly and widely varying heat dissipation rates across the surface of the cooking plate. The need for an isothermal cooking plate assembly capable of maintaining a substantially uniform temperature is a critical food safety requirement to ensure the adequate cooking of meat and poultry (e.g., steak, ground meat, ground poultry, hamburger patty, sausage patty) since cooking for a predetermined time interval (i.e., "cook by time") for a given type of food and food article is widely used in fast-food kitchens, food trucks (i.e., trucks that contain mobile kitchens to prepare food at multiple customer walk-up sites) and hotel/motel hospitality food services. In this regard, an operator that typically has limited professional cooking skills utilizes a settable elapsed time device (i.e., timer) to determine when the food article being cooked on the griddle is either ready to be cooked on opposite uncooked side or that the food article is adequately cook to ensure the safe consumption of the food. Limiting the maximum difference between the operator-selected temperature and any region of the cooking plate in contact with food to 10 C or less for the full range of cooking plate loading factors (i.e., fraction of cooking plate covered by food) and operator-selectable set-point temperatures up to 230 C (450 F) enables food to be cooked safely and consistently once the cooking duration parameter is initially confirmed through the simple measurement of the minimum internal temperature of the article of food using widely available meat thermometers. Once the required cooking duration is determined (using thermometry) that ensures that the minimum internal temperature of the food is cooked to an established safe temperature (e.g., 160 F or 71 C for the case of hamburger), then that determined cooking duration (e.g., 500 seconds) can be used in subsequent cooking of the same type and size of food article as long as the food cooking plate is known to be substantially equal to the operator selected set point (i.e., within 10 C or less of the operator selected set-point temperature).
A griddle system that incorporates an isothermal cooking plate assembly requiring only a brief period to heat up the first plate cooking surface from room temperature to an operator-selected set-point temperature, preferably within 30 seconds, is also needed since many applications involve "on demand" cooking of food, i.e., cooking of food when an individual order is received such as cooking food on a food truck or in the kitchen of a hotel/motel hospitality breakfast service. The ability to heat up the first plate of an isothermal cooking plate assembly of a griddle system within 30 seconds results in a significant savings of power and reduces environmental cooling requirements since the isothermal cooking plate assembly is heated to a cooking temperature (e.g., 150 C) for only the period of time during which the cooking of one or more articles of food is actually being performed. As a result, the ability to heat up the first plate of an isothermal cooking plate assembly of a griddle system within 30 seconds provides: [a] a reduction in the operator's food preparation time for a given food cooking request, [b] an increase in the number of customers that can be served per unit time (e.g., customers served per hour) and [c] a reduction in the cost for energy required for cooking food since electrical power is only being supplied to the isothermal cooking plate assembly of the griddle system at the time a request for cooked food is received (e.g., an food order is received for a cooked hamburger).
A griddle system that incorporates an isothermal cooking plate assembly requiring a source of electrical power having a voltage of only 115 volts at a maximum current of 20 amps is also needed since it would be useful in many settings such as hospitality food service kitchens of hotels and motels as well as food trucks and "mom and pop" short order kitchens that prepare food on demand (i.e., as orders are received). This capability eliminates the need for a special high-voltage 220 volt service installation that requires specially wiring within the walls or a custom external conduit to extends to a special high-voltage outlet and a special addition to the utility box to accommodate each dedicated 220 volt outlet.
In addition, there is a need to simplify the complexity of the cooking plate construction to increase its reliability and reduce its manufacturing costs to enable its use in high-volume cooking applications and enable rapid and convenient replacement of only the cooking plate assembly in the event of deterioration and loss of release characteristics of the non-stick coating, failure of the resistive heating element and/or failure of temperature sensor without the need for replacing the cooking plate support structure, partial enclosure or temperature control electronics comprising the controller, temperature sensor, and power leads to the resistive heating element.
An example embodiment of the present disclosure is a griddle system incorporating two independently controlled isothermal cooking plate assemblies. It is estimated that the total manufacturing cost for a griddle system having two independently controllable cooking stations is less than $1,000. At this manufacturing cost level, the finished product could be sold at a price level that could be accommodated by a wide range of food service operators including hospitality food service kitchens of hotels and motels as well as food trucks and "mom and pop" short order kitchens that prepare food on demand. In addition, the estimated cost for each independently controllable and readily replaceable isothermal cooking plate assembly is less than $200.

Isothermal cooking plate apparatus, system, and method of manufacture and use


A fastening arrangement for mounting a lamp or a headlight in an opening of a vehicle wall part in which there is at least a partial overlap between the lamp or headlight and the edge of the opening and the lamp or the headlight can be fastened to a second vehicle wall part by at least one fastening device pivotally connected to the lamp or headlight so that the lamp or headlight can be retained in the opening in the first vehicle wall part. This makes it possible to fasten lamps or headlights, such as additional brake lights or side indicator lights, between two vehicle wall parts without any need for accessibility between the vehicle wall parts. As a result, it is possible for such lamps to be mounted in vehicle wall parts which border cavities in vehicle parts.

This invention relates to an arrangement for mounting a lamp or a headlight in an opening of a vehicle wall with an overlap between the lamp or the headlight and the border of the opening.
German Utility Model No. E 91 15 908.3 U1 and European Patent Specification No. 0 504 626 disclose the fastening of an indicator light adjacent to a headlight. In those references, the indicator light is retained in its installation position by a helical spring which is subjected to tensile loading. Fastening of an indicator light in a vehicle cavity which is not accessible from the outside is not possible using an arrangement of that type.
An arrangement for fastening a lamp or a headlight in a vehicle cavity which is not accessible from the outside is not known in the prior art. Consequently, if a lamp or a headlight is to be mounted in an opening in a vehicle wall in a conventional manner, then to provide a sealing surface or for design reasons, the opening must be smaller than the lamp or headlight. Furthermore, for design reasons, if the lamp is arranged in a vehicle cavity and it is necessary to provide a fastening arrangement projecting from the lamp by which the lamp is to be fastened to a second vehicle wall, it may be difficult to introduce the lamp with the fastening arrangement into the opening and then to fasten the lamp in the opening. This causes problems, in particular, if it is not possible to put the installer's hands into the vehicle cavity.

Arrangement for mounting a vehicle lamp or headlight


A dental assist appliance for attachment of an orthodontic wire for achieving an effective correction of irregularities of the teeth or of improper dental arch for a short time. The dental assist appliance includes a base shaft member and an elastic member having one end fixed to said base shaft member and the other end formed as a sliding portion slidable along said base shaft member. Further, an orthodontic appliance using the dental assist appliance includes two dental assist appliances each having a sliding portion; and a dental orthodontic wire interposed between the sliding portions of the two dental assist appliances.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dental assist appliance for guiding movement of an orthodontic wire for correcting malocclusion (irregularities of teeth or an improper dental arch) and to an orthodontic appliance using it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, for correcting irregularities of the teeth or an improper dental arch of anterior cross-bite (mandibular protrusion), a method in which a force is exerted on front teeth of the upper jaw so that the front teeth of the upper jaw can be moved toward the front of the front teeth of the lower jaw is typically used. Some typical examples of the method are given below.
An orthodontic wire having a diameter of about 0.5 mm, which is called an accessory spring, is brought into contact with a neck portion (a boundary between a tooth and a gum) of each tooth to be corrected at the back side (at the tongue side) so that the each tooth can be pushed forwards by the resilient force, to correct the irregularities or improper dental arch of the front teeth (Lingual Arch Method).
An elastic orthodontic wire, after fit-in from the lip side of the teeth with spaced therefrom, is fixed at its opposite ends to both molar teeth of the upper jaw with fittings. Then, the orthodontic wire is deflected to the surface of each of the front teeth to be corrected at the lip side of the teeth and is ligatured thereto. The ligatured front teeth are each retracted toward the tongue side by the resilience of the elastic orthodontic wire, to correct the irregularities or improper dental arch of the front teeth (Utility Arch Method).
A detachable inclined plane, formed in accordance with irregularities of the teeth or improper dental arch, is bitten, and the resulting force is exerted on the front teeth to be corrected, to correct the irregularities or improper dental arch of the front teeth (Inclined Plane Method).
By the aid of resilience of a pair of rubbers mounted on a headgear, a pad at one's chin is retracted backwards, to suppress the growth of the chin, to correct the irregularities or improper dental arch of the teeth (Chin Cap Method).
As shown in FIG. 6, an orthodontic wire 9, which is slidably fitted at its opposite ends to fixings 8, 8 fixed to molars 3, 3, is so secured as to extend along teeth at the lip side of the upper jaw.
The orthodontic wire 9 is ligatured (fixed) to brackets 50 bonded to front teeth 4 to be corrected. Coiled springs 91, 91 are fitted around portions of the orthodontic wire 9 extending between the fixings 8 for the orthodontic wire 9 and the brackets 50. The coiled springs 91, 91 at right and left sides, each of which is restricted at one end thereof by the fixing 8, allow the orthodontic wire 9 and the front teeth 4 ligatured thereto to be pushed forwards, to correct the irregularities or improper dental arch of the teeth.
However, the conventional methods mentioned above have the following disadvantages:
The method has the disadvantage that as the tip ends of the teeth are shifted forwards, an angle at which the accessory spring fitted to the teeth at the tongue side contacts with the surfaces of the teeth decreases, and as a result, the elastic aiding wire slips on the tooth surface at the tongue side to reduce or lose the effect.
The method using the deflection of the orthodontic wire has the disadvantage that the force exerting on the front teeth is weaken soon. For all that, if the force exerting on the front teeth is increased by increasing the degree of deflection of the orthodontic wire or by replacing it with a stronger resilient one, that arises a possible problem that the wire may contact with the lip or gum to cause an ulcer, or an excessive force may be exerted on the teeth to cause pain.
The method has the disadvantage that the inclined plane must be bitten with a weak force for long hours to take effect.
The method does not work quickly and may possibly cause a jaw-joint disorder during a long time, depending on a magnitude of force.
The method has the disadvantage that a portion of the pushing force from the coiled spring does not work in the direction for the front teeth to be shifted forwards, but acts in the direction for the front teeth to be retracted inside (median), with the result that satisfactory orthodontics cannot be achieved or it takes long tome till the completion of the orthodontics.
Further, these five methods above have the common disadvantage that the medical appliance must be attached for long hours to take effect.

Dental assist appliance for attachment of orthodontic wire and orthodontic appliance using it


A semiconductor device includes: a first semiconductor region; a second semiconductor region; a third semiconductor region; a fourth semiconductor region; an insulation film, which is arranged on an inner wall of a recess extending from an upper surface to the second semiconductor region; a control electrode, which is arranged on a region of the insulation film on a side surface of the recess; a first main electrode connected to the first semiconductor region; a second main electrode connected to the fourth semiconductor region; and a bottom electrode, which is arranged on the insulation film and is electrically connected to the second main electrode, and a length of the recess in an extension direction thereof is equal to or larger than a width of the recess, and the width of the recess is wider than an interval between the adjacent recesses.

As a switching element (a power semiconductor device) configured to perform a large current switching operation, a power MOSFET, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and the like are used. Regarding the switching element, a trench gate type in which an insulation film and a gate electrode are formed in a recess (trench) formed in a semiconductor substrate is used. In the IGBT, a width of the recess is typically set to about 1 μm or smaller (for example, refer to 2013-524481A).
FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a configuration of a trench gate-type semiconductor device 110. In FIG. 5, an n−-type layer 182 and a p−-type layer 183 are sequentially formed on an n+-type layer 181 to be a drain layer in a semiconductor substrate 180. Recesses 185 penetrating the p−-type layer 183 are formed on a front-side of the semiconductor substrate 180. The plurality of recesses 185 (four recesses in a shown range) are formed in parallel to extend in a direction perpendicular to a sheet of FIG. 5. An oxide film 186 is uniformly formed on an inner surface of each recess 185 and a gate electrode 187 is formed to fill in the recess 185.
Also, an n+-type layer 188 to be a source region is formed at both sides of the recess 185 on the front-side of the semiconductor substrate 180. A source electrode 189 is formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 180. On the other hand, a whole back-side of the semiconductor substrate 180 is formed with a drain electrode 190 with being contacted to the n+-type layer 181. In the meantime, since an interlayer insulation film 191 is formed to cover the recess 185 on the front-side of the semiconductor substrate 180, the source electrode 189 is contacted to both the n+-type layer 188 and the p−-type layer 183 and is insulated from the gate electrode 187. On the front-side beyond the range shown in FIG. 5, all the gate electrodes 187 are connected to a common gate wiring at end portion-sides of the recesses 185 in the extension direction (the direction perpendicular to the sheet). Also, in the range shown in FIG. 5, the source electrode 189 is formed on the entire surface. However, the gate wiring and the source electrode 189 are separated on the front-side. For this reason, for each recess 185, the p−-type layer 183 at the sides of the recess 185 is formed with a channel by a voltage applied to the gate wiring (the gate electrode 187), so that the semiconductor device 110 becomes an on-state. That is, it is possible to switch the current between the source electrode 189 and the drain electrode 190 by the voltage applied to the gate electrode 187. Since the channels formed for each recess 185 are connected in parallel, it is possible to supply a large current between the source electrode 189 and the drain electrode 190.
In the meantime, although FIG. 5 illustrates a structure of the power MOSFET, the same structure can be applied to an IGBT. In this case, a structure where a p-type layer (a collector layer) is arranged at a lower layer of the semiconductor substrate 180 and a back-side electrode is contacted to the collector layer may be possible, for example. That is, the back-side electrode functions as a collector electrode.
In order to operate the semiconductor device at high speed, it is necessary to make a feedback capacity Crss and an input capacity Ciss small. In the structure of FIG. 5, the feedback capacity Crss is a capacity between the gate electrode 187 and the drain electrode 190 and the input capacity Ciss is a sum of a capacity between the gate electrode 187 and the source electrode 189 and the feedback capacity Crss. Here, in the structure of FIG. 5, since there is a capacity resulting from the oxide film 186 interposed on a bottom part of the recess 185, it is difficult to make the feedback capacity Crss small. It is obvious that when the oxide film 186 is thickened, the feedback capacity Crss can be made to be small. However, since the other characteristics of the semiconductor device as well as the operating speed also depend on the thickness of the oxide film 186, the thickness of the oxide film 186 is normally set so that a desired characteristic except for the operating speed is obtained. Therefore, contrary to the interlayer insulation film 191, the oxide film 186 is formed to be thin by a thermal oxidation causing an interface characteristic with the semiconductor layers (the p−-type layer 183 and the like) to be particularly favorable. In this case, it is difficult to reduce the feedback capacity Crss.
In order to solve the above problems, a structure where the oxide film 186 is particularly thickened only on the bottom part of the recess 185 is considered. Also, a configuration is considered in which the recess 185 is provided on its bottom part with a first semiconductor layer and a first oxide film having the same configuration as the gate electrode 187 and the oxide film 186, respectively, and the gate electrode 187 and the oxide film 186 are formed thereon.
According to the above structures, it is possible to make the feedback capacity Crss small. Meanwhile, in the structures, the oxide film 186 on the p−-type layer 183 (the side surface) at the side surface of the recess 185 at which the channel is formed is formed to be thin. Thereby, it is possible to obtain the semiconductor device having the favorable characteristics, in addition to the operating speed.


A dispensing apparatus for dispensing fluid is disclosed. A fluid contained in a canister is pressurized by a moveable partition driven by spring means mounted within the canister. The canister is mated to an injection nozzle to allow fluid flow from the canister though the nozzle and possibly into a body to be provided with fluid. A preferred embodiment of the dispensing apparatus is for dispensing fluid or treatment chemicals into trees and plants.

Plants and trees can be prone to numerous diseases and pests such as eastern spruce budworm, jack pine budworm, forest tent caterpillar, gypsy moth, Dutch elm disease, pine sawfly, pine false budworm, American chestnut blight etc. To prevent and/or control such diseases and pests there exist many appropriate treatment chemicals such as insecticides, fungicides, nutrients and growth hormones. The treatment chemicals are often sprayed on the leaves, spread on the soil at the base of the trees or injected in the root or the trunk of the trees. The latter method of directly injecting treatment chemicals into the tree is generally more efficient as well as posing less danger to the environment and will be the focus of the present specification, as an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
Injectors for injecting fluids into trees are well known. Mauget, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,440, issued Dec. 28, 1982, discloses a device wherein a discharge tube is inserted into a tree. A container containing treatment chemicals is then connected to the discharge tube thereby puncturing a container wall and allowing the treatment chemicals to flow from the container to the discharge tube and into the tree. To force the treatment chemicals into the tree, opposite ends of the container are required to be grasped and pressed. A disadvantage of this apparatus is that is requires that an operator be present with the injection device during the duration of the injection.
Doolittle, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,773, issued Aug. 31, 1993, discloses a tree injection device. Mounted on the injection device is a needle having a front end, an opposite end adapted for attachment to a source of pressurized liquid and a generally wedge-shaped free-end portion having top and bottom surfaces tapering to a thin edge across the free-end to facilitate penetration into the tree trunk. The needle of the apparatus is then inserted into the stem or trunk of a plant to inject liquid into the stem or trunk of the plant. A disadvantage of this device is again that it requires that an operator be present with the injection device during the length of the injection.
Eldridge in U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,894, issued Sep. 28, 1999, also discloses a tree injection apparatus and method for using it. Wild et al. in U.S. patent application No. 2002/0046486A1, published Apr. 25, 2002, discloses a woody plant injection method and apparatus. Here also, a disadvantage is that an operator must be present with the injection apparatus during the duration of the injection.
Many injection devices exist in fields outside the field of tree injection, particularly in the field of Surgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,863, issued Jul. 26, 1983 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,937, issued Feb. 9, 1988 both disclose automatic medicament injecting syringes. In both cases, the insertion of a hypodermic needle into a patient and the injection of medication are accomplished automatically by a spring force in response to a simple actuation. Fluid release is not, however, initiated by coupling to a nozzle. Nor are such devices designed to effect injection against a substantial back-pressure. Further, such injection devices would not be amenable to the field of tree injection for at least the concerns regarding the relative fragility of a needle being inserted into a tree.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this specification.

Apparatus for dispensing fluid into a tree


A system and method for the automated capture and analysis of data associated with a pilot deployment of client migration is provided. In an initial phase, software specified by a migration plan is deployed to a subset of a target set of client machines. Data from users interacting with client machines in the client migration pilot process is monitored and data corresponding to expected functions is captured in real-time. Captured interaction data is subsequently analyzed with respect to a baseline of expected user interactions for the migrated software system, to determine the existence of difficulty in interacting with a new software system. If difficulty is indeed detected, either the migration plan or current service offerings are adjusted to meet users'expectations. Adjustments and modifications made are dependent on whether determined user difficulties are categorized as isolated or widespread. Data captured from multiple client migration engagements is further analyzed for strategic decisions.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of migrating software systems. More specifically, the present invention is related to migration plans refined based on analysis of captured feedback.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Client migration is the process of moving end-user computers from one configuration to another configuration, in which configuration refers to an Operating System (OS) and associated applications that function in that OS environment. In addition, client migration refers to changing from a current OS and applications installed on a client machine to a new OS and applications (e.g., from Windows XP to Suse Linux). The term migration has also been used to mean, more generally, a change from an old configuration to a new one. Thus, migration can also mean moving the same OS, applications, and data from one client machine to another client machine. It can also make reference to upgrading an OS and optionally, applications associated with an OS, from an older to a newer version on a single client machine. It has also been used to refer to moving data from a client machine to a server machine and from a server machine to another server machine.
In one scenario, a migration plan has been defined as a list of software components, applications, and operating systems to be deployed, the manner in which these software components, applications, and operating systems are grouped together and the manner in which they are to be deployed, and a timeline associated with their deployment. Particular groupings of software components, applications, and operating systems are known as images. Images are tested and adjusted in a pilot process, and subsequently, are recorded to a storage medium. During a full-scale deployment, the recorded image is copied to target machines.
The client migration service can be decomposed into the following steps: assessing a target enterprise, creating a customized migration plan, deploying the migration plan, and providing support services for the deployment process. In an initial enterprise assessment, company information is collected to craft a migration solution and associated cost of migration. Relevant information including current technology infrastructure (e.g., number of client computers, currently installed OS, other applications and software) is subsequently processed to create a migration plan comprising: pre-installed configurations on a test computer (i.e., images) to be deployed on target client machines; and an associated timeline for deployment.
As the migration plan is initially deployed in pilot process, images are copied onto a subset of the target set of client machines to determine and plan for effects of a full-scale deployment. If problems are encountered during the pilot process, then adjustments are made to the migration plan, new images are created, and another pilot is performed. When a pilot process eventually results in a satisfactory migration, a full-scale deployment is performed. As accounted for by the pilot process, problems can occur at each step in creation of a migration plan. For example, inaccurate data may be collected during assessment, data may be collected from an inappropriate source, and necessary, relevant data may not be collected at all. In the absence of sufficient and accurate data for characterizing an enterprise, the possibility of creating an inefficient and problematic migration plan increases. Likewise, the chance of a successful, full-scale deployment decreases.
In addition to difficulties in assessment, applications associated with a new OS are not entirely equivalent in function and form (e.g., user interface). For example, when migrating an enterprise having a target set of client machines upon which a Windows OS is installed to a RedHat Linux OS, it is also necessary to migrate the word processing application Microsoft Word to OpenOffice™, since OpenOffice™ is a word processing application associated with a Linux OS. Despite the fact that OpenOffice™ was created to be interoperable with Microsoft Word, there still exist differences in functionality as well as differences in the look and feel of each respective user interface. For example, Microsoft Word users utilizing a macro programming function would have not equivalent functionality in OpenOffice™. More specifically, all macros created in Microsoft Word to perform standard business processes would not be usable in OpenOffice™. If such a migration plan were to be deployed, functionality would therefore be lost and business processes would be interrupted.
User difficulty in interacting with a new system is commonly used as an indication of lack of skill or experience on the part of the user with respect to new software components, applications, or operating system or as an indication that the user does not know how to execute his or her job function using components of the new system. In the latter case, user difficulty implies that a business process or workflow either cannot be performed or cannot be efficiently performed with the new system.
A current approach to addressing such difficulties is to perform a manual pilot in which a number of consultants and technical personnel deploy an initial migration plan for a subset of target client machines, and closely monitor the subset of machines for problems. Any problems noted are then used to adjust a migration plan such that the same problem does not occur during a full-scale deployment. However, such an approach is very expensive and time consuming due to costs incurred through the labor needed from consultants manually executing such a planned migration, and through the questioning of employees about any problems or difficulties with the new applications. Furthermore, a manual deployment is inaccurate because only a subset of employees is questioned and the timeframe for pilot assessment is limited, thus limiting the examination of functionality in the newly migrated applications and period of adjustment to a migration plan.
Recent work on automatic migration systems as disclosed by Atkins et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,212 "Method and System for Automated Migration of User Settings to a Replacement Computer System" details a system that moves an OS and associated application settings for a particular user from one client machine to another. However, a migration plan is not explicitly generated and furthermore, Atkins teaches a system in which software is pre-loaded. U.S. patent application publication 2002/0178233A1, also disclosed by Atkins et al., "Method and Apparatus for the Automatic Migration of Applications and their Associated Data and Configuration Files," describes the migration of applications, settings, and data from one computer to another computer. Atkins et al. teaches a system requiring the use of metadata for describing how applications are to be associated with files, and also containing settings and data necessary to perform the installation of software on the new computer. Both of these approaches, however, are limited in their consideration of client migration as an enterprise engagement process and are therefore limited in their treatment of cost, risk, and feasibility issues.
Whatever the precise merits, features, and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes of the present invention.

Autonomic client migration system for service engagements

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved cleaning apparatus for cleaning semiconductor wafers, rigid memory disks, flat panel displays, and other workpieces employs vibrational mechanical energy in addition to contact mechanical cleaning. The cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning element configured to contact and scrub a workpiece during a cleaning process. The cleaning clement is coupled to a mechanical energy emitter that generates low frequency mechanical vibrations (or ultrasonic mechanical energy) at a predetermined frequency. The mechanical energy is conducted through the cleaning element and to the workpiece to facilitate removal of particulate and debris from the surface of the workpiece. Use of ultrasonic energy also causes the cleaning solution to cavitate, thus providing ultrasonic cleaning to the workpiece via the cleaning solution.

Machines designed to clean semiconductor wafers, magnetic memory disks, and other delicate workpieces are generally well known. In the manufacture of integrated circuits, semiconductor wafer disks are sliced from a silicon ingot and thereafter prepared for further processing. After each wafer is sliced from the ingot, it is typically cleaned. rinsed, and dried to remove debris from its surfaces. Thereafter, a series of steps are performed on the wafer to build the integrated circuits upon its surface, including the application of a layer of microelectronic structures and the application of a dielectric layer.
Magnetic memory disks, flat panel displays, and other workpieces may also require cleaning or washing during processing. Accordingly, methods and apparatus for quickly and efficiently cleaning such workpieces are needed. A conventional semiconductor wafer cleaning machine utilizes several polyvinyl acetate (PVA) cleaning elements that perform mechanical contact scrubbing of the wafer surfaces during a cleaning process. Unfortunately, treatment time may be undesirably long because each wafer must pass through a number of cleaning elements in a serial manner. The use of a number of cleaning elements adds to the time and cost associated with the cleaning procedure and increases the maintenance cost associated with the cleaning equipment.
Resilient cleaning elements for semiconductor wafers, memory disk elements, flat panel displays and the like may become contaminated with debris or particulate that are liberated from the surfaces of the workpieces as they are cleaned. Such cleaning elements may become embedded with small particles that are difficult to remove by rinsing or cleaning solutions during the cleaning procedure. Accordingly, such cleaning elements must either be periodically cleaned (during downtime of the cleaning machine) or replaced to ensure that the sensitive workpieces are not damaged by such embedded debris.
Vibrational or ultrasonic cleaning tanks and associated cleaning procedures are well known. Conventional ultrasonic tanks vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency to agitate the cleaning solvent contained within the tank. The ultrasonic vibration within the solution enhances cleaning of the workpieces submerged in the solution by loosening the debris from the workpiece surface. However, while such prior art ultrasonic tanks effectively employ ultrasonic energy, they fail to take advantage of the mechanical vibrations that can otherwise be utilized to reduce the time associated with cleaning workpieces by conventional contact scrubbing or ultrasonic cleaning alone.

Method and apparatus for enhanced cleaning of a workpiece with mechanical energy


A system includes a bearing, a lubricant line, a vessel and a sensor. The lubricant line is designed to introduce lubricant from a bearing gap of the bearing into the vessel. The sensor is designed to measure at least one physical variable of lubricant that is situated in the vessel. The vessel includes an outlet or overflow. The system includes a lubricant sump and a device for introducing lubricant from the sump into the bearing gap of the bearing.

Solutions for measuring physical variables of bearings by means of sensors are known from the prior art. For this purpose, the sensors are integrated into the bearing. For example, publication KR 20 130 027 814 describes a plain bearing with an integrated temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is inserted in a bore of an outer bearing shell, such that its measuring tip is directly adjacent to a running surface of the bearing.


The present invention teaches a method for preventing the use of an unauthorized reproduction of a remote unlock signal. In this scenario, the unauthorized reproduction occurs by jamming the receiver from receiving the remote unlock signal while intercepting the remote unlock signal. Generally, the remote unlock signal is transmitted by a transmitter to the receiver within a vehicle having a lock, wherein the receiver initiates an unlock command in response to receiving the transmitted remote unlock signal, and the vehicle lock being mechanically actuated by a key or electronically initiated by the unlock command in a previous locking session. The method for preventing the use of an unauthorized reproduction of a remote unlock signal comprises the steps of sensing whether the vehicle lock is being mechanically actuated by the key in the previous locking session, generating a flag if the vehicle lock has been mechanically actuated by the key, and disabling the receiver from initiating the unlock command in response to receiving the remote unlock signal transmitted by the transmitter if the flag is generated.

Remote keyless entry ("RKE") systems are well known in the automotive industry. Comprising a fob transmitter for transmitting a remote control signal and a receiver for receiving each remote control signal, remote keyless entry systems enable users to control several vehicle functions remotely, such as the door locks and trunk, for example. By this design, each remote control signal comprises a functional command which the receiver initiates once the validity of the signal is determined.
In providing remote control to vehicle functions, a problem arises as to restricting remote access to the automobile's owners and authorized users. As the remote control signals are transmitted over the air, interception is a substantial and growing possibility as a means of gaining unauthorized access to the vehicle.
One solution which has been incorporated to defeat the simple retransmission of remote control signals is rolling code encryption. Here, each remote control signal is shifted and changed such that simple playback of the last transmitted remote control signal does not initiate a vehicle function because the previous signal is dissimilar to the present signal.
There are however other limitations irrespective of using rolling code encryption. These drawbacks primarily focus on the potential for simultaneous jamming and interception of the transmitted remote control signal. In one scenario, a thief simultaneously jams the reception of the remote control signal while also intercepting the remote control signal as transmitted by an authorized user. The authorized user, at such time, assumes a malfunction in the RKE system and enters the vehicle using the traditional key. The thief, as a result, follows the authorized user until the vehicle is parked and retransmits the intercepted remote control signal.
Thus, industry requires a method and system for preventing an unauthorized user from reproducing a remote control signal to gain access to a vehicle.

Countermeasure method and system for securing a remote keyless entry system


A fiber-optic probe uses imaging optics between the remote ends of the excitation and collection fibers and the sample under investigation to enhance working distance and efficiency. In one embodiment a plurality of collection fibers are disposed circumferentially around a central excitation fiber, enabling a conventional focussing lens arrangement to be used for imaging purposes. The assembly may optionally include a rotationally symmetric diffraction grating to cause the excitation energy to assume an annulus superimposed over the image of the collection fibers. The excitation and collection fiber may alternatively be physically spaced apart from one another sufficient to permit one or more optical elements to be disposed in either or both of the excitation and collection paths, depending upon the application.

Fiber-optic probes make it possible to collect optical information such as Raman spectra without having to place the material being characterized inside a spectrometer housing. Such probes therefore simplify the interfacing of spectroscopic systems to chemical processes, and allow analytical instruments to be located remotely from environments in need of spectroscopic monitoring.
The first remote fiber optic probes for Raman spectroscopy were reported by the McCreery group in the early 1980's. Their design used a single optical fiber to deliver laser light to the sample and a single optical fiber to collect light scattered by the sample. More specifically, divergent laser light from the laser delivery fiber was used to illuminate the sample, and light scattered from the sample within the acceptance cone of the collection fiber was transmitted back to the spectrograph. The efficiency of exciting and collecting Raman photons from any individual point in the sample was poor, but the integrated Raman intensity over the unusually large analysis volume compared favorably with the more traditional imaged illumination and collection configurations.
McCreery's dual-fiber Raman probe offered important benefits for remote and routine spectroscopy: 1) the sample could be distant from the Raman instrument, 2) no sample alignment was necessary once the probe was aligned to the spectrograph, 3) the probe could be less 1 mm in diameter, making Raman measurements possible for samples with limited accessibility, 4) the probe could be placed directly in hostile samples (corrosive, hot, etc.) since only silica and the encapsulation material were exposed, and 5) multiple measurements could be made simultaneously by placing multiple collection fibers along the slit height of the spectrograph.
Several improvements to the McCreery Raman probe have more recently been reported. Instead of using just one collection fiber, multiple fibers have been used to increase the collection efficiency, as shown in FIG. 1A. For example, 6 fibers, each having the same diameter as the excitation fiber, may be grouped around the excitation fiber to form a single circular layer, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,761. Eighteen fibers, each having the same diameter as the excitation fiber, may also be grouped around the excitation fiber as two circular layers, and so on, though successive layers tend to be less effective at collecting Raman photons than the first layer.
The performance of the McCreery type probe can also be modified for improved collection efficiency and/or working distance by changing the overlap between the emission cone of the excitation fiber and the collection cones of the collection fibers. An early realization of this idea, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,761, angled the collection fibers such that their optic axes intersected the optic axis of the illumination fiber, as shown in FIG. 1B. This increased the overlap of the excitation and collection cones close to the tip of the fiber probe, where the excitation and collection of Raman photons was most efficient.
The same concept was later implemented in a different way by O'Rourke and Livingston, who ground the tip of the probe into a cone shape, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,508, and illustrated in FIG. 1C. This shape was equivalent to putting prisms (or more correctly, axicon sections) on the collection fibers so that the optic axes of the collection cones crossed the optic axis of the excitation fiber.
One further variation of the McCreery probe design is to use collection fibers having a different diameter than the excitation fiber. This additional variable is useful for changing the working distance of the probe and the fiber coupling to the spectrograph.
One disadvantage of the various arrangements described thus far is that the sample must be very close to the probe tip to realize any significant collection efficiency.

Enhanced collection efficiency fiber-optic probe


The present disclosure relates to armature segments for an armature for an electrical machine. An armature segment may comprise a plurality of coils and an electrically insulating supporting structure providing structural support to the plurality of coils. An armature may comprise a plurality of armature segments. The present disclosure further relates to methods for assembling such armature segments and armature.

Modern wind turbines are commonly used to supply electricity into the electrical grid. Wind turbines of this kind generally comprise a tower and a rotor arranged on the tower. The rotor, which typically comprises a hub and a plurality of blades, is set into rotation under the influence of the wind on the blades. Said rotation generates a torque that is normally transmitted through a rotor shaft to a generator, either directly or through a gearbox. This way, the generator produces electricity which can be supplied to the electrical grid.
The wind turbine hub may be rotatably coupled to a front of the nacelle. The wind turbine hub may be connected to a rotor shaft, and the rotor shaft may then be rotatably mounted in the nacelle using one or more rotor shaft bearings arranged in a frame inside the nacelle. The nacelle is a housing arranged on top of a wind turbine tower that contains and protects e.g. the gearbox (if present) and the generator and, depending on the wind turbine, further components such as a power converter, and auxiliary systems.
The generator in the nacelle may be a superconducting generator. The superconducting generator may have a magnetic field generator and an armature, the magnetic field generator being configured to generate a magnetic field and the armature being configured to support a voltage induced in its windings due to the time-varying magnetic field created by the relative motion of the armature and the magnetic field generator. To this end, the magnetic field generator may be stationary and the armature may be rotatable, e.g. by a shaft, in an example. In particular, the shaft may be a rotor shaft of a wind turbine rotor.
The magnetic field generator may comprise superconducting windings including electrically conductive materials that transition to a superconducting state at a sufficiently low temperature. Thus, the superconductive winding may support very high current densities without incurring any dissipation and thus generate very high magnetic fields, e.g. about 7 T (tesla) or larger. Therefore, a same or more power may be obtained with a superconducting generator with respect to a conventional non-superconducting generator, the superconducting generator being smaller in size and weight than the conventional generator.
Although superconducting generators may be smaller and lighter than a conventional non-superconducting generator, its components are still big and heavy, and thus large spaces and large equipment, e.g. cranes and hoists, are necessary for manipulating them and mounting them. For instance, an armature of a superconducting generator may be between 8 and 10 m in diameter and may weight tens of tons. Thus, assembly may be complex and resource consuming, e.g. in terms of time, workforce, machinery and factory floor space required.
In addition, if the armature includes one or more tubes, e.g. one or more cylindrical tubes for supporting and/or electrically insulating the windings of the armature, the assembly may increase in difficulty. An example of such an armature may be seen in document WO 2020/005221 A1. Such one or more tubes may for example be between 20 and 30 m in length along a circumferential direction, be about 2 m in height along an axial direction and have a thickness about 1 or 2 cm. Therefore, besides large spaces and machinery, huge care may be also needed when handling the components of the armature during its assembly, e.g. the abovementioned one or more tubes.

Armature segment, armature and methods for assembling them

General Electric Renovables Espana, S.L.


An embodiment provides a method for setting the characteristics of the light to be output from a light source unit for optical coherence tomography, using a computer. This method is performed by using relation information in which a representative wavelength, a wavelength range including said representative wavelength, and the light loss amount due to absorption by a medium are related to each other. This method includes the following steps: setting each value of a first parameter and a second parameter among the representative wavelength, the wavelength range, and the light loss amount; acquiring a value of a third parameter among the representative wavelength, the wavelength range, and the light loss amount other than said first parameter and said second parameter based on the set two values and said relation information; and outputting a value of said acquired third parameter.

OCT is an imaging technology for dividing the light output from a light source into signal light and reference light, detecting interference light obtained by superimposing the signal light having passed through an object with the reference light, and forming a tomographic image of the object based on the detection result. OCT includes a time domain method, spectral domain method, swept source method, etc. Time domain OCT is a tomographic imaging technology that acquires an A-line by sequentially scanning and detecting the pixels in the depth direction of the object. Spectral domain OCT is a tomographic imaging technology that acquires an A-line by sequentially resolving and detecting the spectrogram of the interference light. Swept source OCT is a tomographic imaging technology that acquires an A-line by using a light source whose output wavelength varies sequentially. In swept source OCT, the spectrogram of the interference light, which corresponds to the A-line, is acquired by detecting the interference light sequentially as the wavelength of the light source varies.
For OCT, the selection of wavelength and bandwidth of the light source is important. For example, the wavelength affects the penetration depth of the light into the object, while the bandwidth of the light source (wavelength range) affects the axial resolution (depth resolution). It should be noted that the value of the wavelength is represented by the value of a representative wavelength within the wavelength range to be used. In addition, the definitions of the representative wavelength and the wavelength range both depend on the measurement method used in the OCT system. For example, in an OCT system that employs the time domain system or spectral domain OCT method, a broadband light source such as a super luminescent diode (SLD) is used, wherein as a representative wavelength, a center wavelength of the light source is generally used, and as a wavelength range, a half width (full width at half maximum, FWHM) of the light source is generally used. On the other hand, in a swept source OCT system, a wavelength-sweeping light source is used. Therefore, as a wavelength range, such as a wavelength sweeping range of the light source, a range of spectrum of the light source to be detected by a detector, or a range of spectrum of an interference signal to be provided to the imaging processing, is used. In addition, as a representative wavelength of the swept source OCT system, a wavelength with a maximum intensity within the wavelength range is generally specified.
In addition, some media having light absorbing characteristics affect OCT measurement. For example, in the case of carrying out the OCT measurement of a human fundus, the measurement efficiency becomes low when the light is absorbed by a medium in the eye (particularly, water) and the spectrum is deformed by the absorption characteristics of the medium. According to the conventional OCT technology, this adverse effect is avoided by limiting the wavelength range of the light source used for the measurement to a wavelength region in which the absorption of light by the medium is small. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,450,242 discloses a technology, which, by taking into consideration the light loss due to water absorption and the two peaks of water absorption in the vicinity of a 1-μm wavelength (refer to FIG. 1), limits the useful wavelength range (wavelength sweeping range) to 0.98-1.20 μm. In addition, in the publication by B. Pova{hacek over (z)}ay et al., "Enhanced visualization of choroidal vessels using ultrahigh resolution ophthalmic OCT at 1050 nm, 25 Aug. 2003/Vol. 11, No. 17/OPTICS EXPRESS pp. 1980-1986", for similar reasons, a light source with a center wavelength of 1050 nm and a FWHM of 165 nm was used.

Optical imaging apparatus, optical imaging method, apparatus for setting characteristics of a light source, and method for setting characteristics of a light source


Various examples are directed to systems and methods for securing a data storage device. A storage controller may receive a read request directed to the data storage device. The read request may comprise address data indicating a first address of a first storage location at the data storage device. The storage controller may request from the data storage device a first encrypted data unit stored at the first memory element and a first encrypted set of parity bits, such as Error Correction Code (ECC) bits, associated with the first storage location. An encryption system may decrypt the first encrypted set of parity bits to generate a first set of parity bits based at least in part on an a first location parity key for the first address.

Many computing devices are configured and/or programmed to use various security techniques to protect the devices and the data they contain from unauthorized access or control. For example, some computing devices encrypt all or a part of the data stored at disk drives and other non-volatile storage devices. Even when non-volatile drives are encrypted, however, computing devices may still be vulnerable to attacks on system memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a disposable manifold unit for a dispensing gun for two component sausage packs. The disposable manifold unit includes a housing having two parallel cylinders. Each cylinder has a closed end and an open end, wherein each closed end has a passage therethrough. A fixing device is provided on the outer side of the closed ends for affixing a mixing nozzle thereto with each passage for dispensing a mixture of the two component sausage packs. Each cylinder is of such length and diameter as will enable it to receive and retain a discharged sausage from a dispensing gun.

The present invention relates to a manifold unit for a two component dispensing gun.
These days two-component cartridges are often used for the dispensing of two-component materials such as adhesives. By virtue of their dimensions, they provide the right mixing ratio of the two components; and through a connected static mixer nozzle homogeneity of the substance is achieved. By using these two-component cartridges, together with specially designed dispensing guns, which may be manually or pneumatically driven, ready-to-use adhesive can be applied from the mixer nozzle.
The disadvantage of the two-component cartridge systems is that the cartridges, once emptied, have a relatively high waste volume and weight. This is not in line with the increasing ecological awareness in both legislation and consumer behaviour.
One way to enjoy the advantages of ready-to-use adhesive, achieved by using the two-component cartridge systems, while at the same time creating less waste is the concept of using sausage packs. In these, each component is packed in a single sausage. For dispensing these two-component sausage packs, special dispensing guns are already available on the market. They are manually or pneumatically driven. Unfortunately these existing two-component sausage guns have some tremendous disadvantages regarding their user-friendliness. Very often, reactive two-component materials are packed in the sausages. With these materials, skin contact should be avoided. As a result, the smeary handling, especially when removing the emptied sausage packs from the guns is a major difficulty. Furthermore, parts of these guns, especially the front-manifold to the mixer is contaminated with both material components. Material contamination can also occur on the inside walls of the sausage cylinder of the gun. If the A and B components of the guns are mistakenly interchanged on re-loading, i.e. putting the A-contaminated frontend side onto a B-sausage, functional problems can occur with these sausage guns and the mixed materials through an unintentional reaction of both material components. Moreover, it is not possible to use these guns for different types of materials without first cleaning them, an effort which diminishes the user' productivity.
We have now developed a disposable manifold unit (front end) for dispensing guns which overcomes these disadvantages.


A framework for origin-destination (OD) analysis of vehicle trajectory data is described herein. In accordance with one aspect, a vehicle trajectory dataset is provided to an OD analyzer. The vehicle trajectory dataset includes vehicle trajectory data collected from a sensor network having a plurality of sensor stations for detecting vehicles. The sensor stations of the sensor network are distributed in a geographical area of interest, where the vehicle trajectory data include trajectories of vehicles captured by the sensor network. The vehicle trajectory dataset may be analyzed by the OD analyzer to determine an origin and a destination of trips for trajectories of the vehicles in the vehicle trajectory dataset. The analysis includes calculating a probability distribution of travel time between sensor pairs of the sensor network of a number of (dropped-out) intermediate stations, and determining a stop probability between a station pair in the trajectories of the vehicles, where a stop is a destination of a previous trip and an origin of a next trip in the trajectories.

Transportation is an important aspect of a city's operations. For example, transportation is central to many traffic planning, analysis or visualization systems. Origin-destination (OD) analysis is employed to provide an understanding of traffic patterns. Conventional OD analysis includes the use of a survey of a sampled sub-population. The use of surveys is expensive and time consuming. Other types of OD analysis relies on GPS-equipped floating vehicles, such as taxis. However, the use of floating vehicles involves only a small fraction of daily traffic volume in an urban area and tends to generate biased estimate of OD patterns.
From the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide an efficient and accurate OD analysis to understand traffic pattern.

Origin destination estimation based on vehicle trajectory data


A musical instrument for musical therapy which stimulates and urges patients suffering from dementia, aphasia, and other functional disorders of the brain to voluntarily play and to sing a song comprises an indicating part for displaying the lyrics of a song or other musical indicia in a predetermined pattern, an operating panel, and a scale generator. The indicating part is mounted upon the operating panel, which is provided with a plurality of switch elements arranged in physical alignment with the respective lyrics of the song or other musical indicia. The plural switch elements are connected to the scale generator such that a musical tone or voice signal is output by the scale generator in accordance with a selected switch element. By use of the inventive device, a patient is stimulated and urged to sing the song when the patient successively activates the switch elements corresponding to the displayed lyrics of the song.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a musical instrument and, more particularly, to a musical therapy instrument for assisting in the development of verbal and musical skills in children, for the rehabilitation of such skills in the elderly, and for the treatment of patients suffering from disorders such as dementia, aphasia, and other functional disorders of the brain.
2. Background Information
The beneficial effects of musical therapy in the development of verbal and musical skills in children, in the reconstruction of the speech faculty and memory of the elderly, and in the treatment of patients suffering from disorders such as dementia, aphasia, and other functional disorders of the brain, have been widely recognized. It is well known that musical therapy has significant beneficial effects in the treatment of such disorders, and this is especially so when songs familiar to and enjoyed by the patient are used during administration of the therapy.
For example, in patients suffering from dementia, musical therapy has been demonstrated to be an effective and useful therapy widely administered to assist such patients in the recovery of his or her sense of reality and to enable the patient to return to active life. In such cases, the therapy has an uplifting and positive effect on the patient, and serves to stimulate the patient's desire and ability to regain forgotten memories by use of cognitive associative functions enabled when the patient is urged to listen to or sing a song familiar to and enjoyed by him or her.
In addition, in patients suffering from aphasia caused by severe head trauma or other damage to the brain, it is well known that many patients undergoing musical therapy begin to vocalize the words of particular songs within their memories when the patients are stimulated and urged to listen to or to sing a song familiar to him or her. Accordingly, musical therapy has, in many instances, served as a highly effective therapy for reconstruction of the speech faculty in the brain of aphasiac patients.
In patients suffering from severe physical disabilities, however, the administration of musical therapy using conventional musical instruments or devices is difficult. For example, functional disorders of the brain such as dementia and aphasia are often accompanied by physical manifestations or conditions which limit or profoundly curtail the patient's ability of physical movement. As a result, it is often difficult for such patients to voluntarily sing a song, and, in many cases, it is difficult or impossible for such patients to manipulate the keys or strings of a conventional musical instrument due to the loss of manual dexterity. Small children and some elderly persons may also lack the physical and/or mental ability to play a conventional instrument.
It is also known that the beneficial effects of musical therapy are highly related to individual musical tastes and abilities. Thus, while physicians, nurses and other therapists engaged in the administration of musical therapy generally attempt to select a song for a therapy session that is well suited to a particular patient, the selection process becomes more complicated in the administration of group therapy. When a group of patients are urged to listen to a selected song and, if possible, to sing along with the melody or play the song using a musical instrument or other device specially designed to produce musical and/or vocal accompaniment, the therapy is more effective in patients to whom the song is best suited, i.e., those patients who are familiar with and enjoy the song.
Due to the lack of an adequate number of qualified therapists to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of persons in need of such treatment, musical therapy is often administered simultaneously to a group of patients. Since musical abilities and tastes vary widely among patients in different age groups and in patients having different physical and mental disabilities and life experiences, however, group therapy has not generally obtained the same level of success obtained by individual treatment.
Accordingly, there is a need for a musical therapy instrument which is capable of use by patients having severely limited physical abilities and which is effective in restoring verbal and speech faculties without the need for direct therapist supervision.


Novel processes, intermediates and reagents for the preparation of 3-substituted furanose or furanoside compounds of Formula I: ##STR1## wherein M is hydrogen or alkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3), A is halogen or A may be selected from a moiety of the formula: OR, SR, N.sub.3, SCR, OC--R or CN wherein R is hydrogen, branched or unbranched alkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) or phenyl which compounds have antiviral and other biological activity.

The recent discovery of the reverse transcriptase inhibiting activity of various modified nucleosides and their actual and potential utility as therapeutic agents in the treatment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, has stimulated interest in improved methods of preparing such modified nucleosides. Of particular interest are new methods of preparing 3'-substituted 2',3'-dideoxyribonucleosides such as 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and 3'-deoxy-3'-fluorothymidine (FLT) which have been reported to be potent inhibitors of HIV-induced cytopathogenicity. Extensive studies on the synthesis and biological activity of 3'-azido, 3'-amino, and 3'-fluoro pyrimidine and purine 2', 3'-dideoxyribonucleoside analogues have been reported.
In general, methods of producing such 3'-substituted nucleosides have proceeded along two separate paths: (1) substitution of the 3'-OH function in a 2'-deoxynucleoside, as in the case of the synthesis of AZT or FLT from thymidine, or (2) preparation of a 3-substituted furanoside compound followed by the coupling of a suitable purine or pyrimidine base such as thymine. The latter method has certain advantages since it uses simpler starting materials and it provides for the easy substitution of a number of nucleophiles at the 3'-position to provide intermediates suitable for efficient coupling with purine or pyrimidine bases. The latter method therefore provides the greatest possibilities for synthesis of 3'-substituted nucleosides in large scale quantities.
Several methods for the synthesis of 3-substituted furanoside sugars have been described, but they are complicated, and they require multiple steps and expensive reagents. Fleet, G. W. et al; Tetrahedron 1988, 44(2) 625-636 describes the synthesis of methyl 5-O-tert-butyldiphenylsilyl-2-deoxy-.alpha.(.beta.)-D-threo-pentofuranosid e from D-xylose and its conversion to the azido, fluoro and cyano sugars followed by the subsequent coupling of these derivatives with protected thymine to give the thymidine compounds. Bravo, P. et al., J. Org. Chem. 1989, 54, 5171-5176 describes the asymmetric synthesis of the 3-fluorofuranoses starting from a compound of the formula: ##STR2## which is monoalkylated on the fluorinated carbon with allyl bromide. Removal of the auxiliary sulfinyl group followed by a reductive work-up and oxidative cleavage of the double bond afforded the 5-O-benzoyl-2,3-deoxy-3-fluorofuranose.
The present invention describes an improved alternate method for the synthesis of the 3-substituted furanoses and furanosides. The process is uncomplicated, uses a small number of steps and simple, inexpensive starting materials.

Intermediates in the asymmetric synthesis of 3-substituted furanoside compounds


Disclosed is an ink composition for clear layer formation having excellent adhesion properties on substrates, recording layers, and clear layers, as well as excellent overcoat characteristics and refinishing properties. Further disclosed are a coating method for the ink composition, and a printed article formed using the ink composition. The ink composition for clear layer formation is used for forming at least one clear layer on a substrate, or on a printed article on which a printed coating film is formed on a substrate as a recording layer. The ink composition for clear layer formation is characterised in that: the surface free energy of the substrate is 30-45 (mJ/m2); the surface free energy of the recording layer is 40-50 (mJ/m2); the contact angle of the ink composition to the substrate is 30-65 degrees, the contact angle of the ink composition to the recording layer is 40-55 degrees, and the contact angle of the ink composition to the clear layer is 45-60 degrees.

In order to improve scratch resistance of a recording layer and impart gloss, overcoating of a clear layer on the recording layer (solid coating) is performed. In this case, as properties which are required of the clear layer, glossiness (wettability), hard coating property (hardness), and non-yellowing property (non-discoloring property, transparency) can be mentioned.
In recent years, in order to further enhance design characteristics of the recording layer, it is required to create high image quality by forming a clear layer only on a recording layer (printing) portion to impart gloss, or double coating with a clear layer only on a recording layer (printing) portion to form a thick-coated portion, thereby, imparting three-dimensionality (e.g. Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1 proposes, in a method of double coating with an energy ray-curable ink composition by forming a printed coating film on a member to be recorded using an energy ray-curable ink composition for ink-jet recording and, thereafter, forming a clear coating film on the coating film using an energy ray-curable clear ink composition for ink-jet, a method of double coating with an energy ray-curable ink composition excellent in refinishing properties by defining a preferable range of surface tension of an energy ray-curable ink composition for ink jet recording to be applied as a lower layer and defining a certain relationship also with surface tension of an energy ray-curable clear ink composition for ink-jet recording to be applied as an upper layer.
In addition, Patent Document 2 proposes a printing system for applying a first ink-jet ink containing reflecting metal particles to a substrate to provide a reflecting layer, and applying a second ink-jet ink thereon to provide a protective layer, and to define a relationship of the contact angle of an inkjet ink for forming a protective layer to a substrate and the reflecting layer thereupon.

Ink composition for forming clear layer, method of applying the same, and printed article using the same


Loading dock signal light change indicator apparatuses including a including light sensors that detect a change from illumination of a red signal light to illumination of a green signal light from a loading dock signal light assembly, and that generate one or more detection signals in response to that detected change. The apparatuses may additionally include one or more transmitters that transmit one or more wireless signals in response to the one or more light sensor signals, and a receiver that receives the one or more wireless signals from the transmitter(s). The apparatuses may further include devices that generate one or more audio, tactile, or visual outputs in response to the receiver receiving the one or more wireless signals, and are separate and distinct from the loading dock signal light assembly.

Many systems have been utilized over the years to prevent the unauthorized movement of a truck toward and away from a loading dock to prevent injury to employees involved in the loading and unloading of the truck. Many of these systems have relied upon complicated, physical restraint structures which actually grip a portion of the truck or block the wheels of a truck to prevent the truck from unauthorized movement away from the loading dock. Such systems are extremely complicated and expensive to build and install and frequently can cause expensive damage to a truck.
Systems have heretofore been provided for controlling operations and indicating operations at truck docking facilities. U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,755 (Hahn) discloses a system in which signal lights are provided on the inside and outside of a dock facility to give dock personnel and truck drivers clearly visible indications of when it is safe or unsafe to load or unload a truck or to park or remove a truck, and to provide other safety features. An improvement of the system of the Hahn Patent is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,373 (Trickle). The complete disclosures of the above Hahn and Trickle Patents are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. The system of the Trickle Patent includes a programmable control unit which is versatile and provides various safe and reliable modes of operation, being also operable to perform diagnostic operations. These systems have produced increased safety and efficiency in loading and unloading operations with the result that problems and the possibilities for other improvements have not been recognized.
Distribution of goods takes place on a large scale. Trucks are often used here, wherein the goods for distribution are loaded into the truck, transported and then unloaded at a desired location. Loading usually takes place at a location where the goods are stored, produced and/or assembled, and unloading usually takes place where the goods are further distributed, processed and/or sold. During loading and unloading of the goods use is generally made here of a loading and/or unloading station for trucks, also referred to as dock, which form part of a distribution center. Because a truck can be positioned relatively closely to the dock, both goods and people can be protected relatively well from (unfavorable) weather conditions. Increases in scale make it increasingly profitable to use one or more docks for loading and unloading goods.
In the course of time there has been further innovation in the docks to enable improvement of the loading process and unloading process. Examples of such innovations are automated displacement of a loading floor (dock leveler), automated control of a door construction, detection of the presence and the position of a truck relative to the dock, and application of diverse signaling lights. However, the control and monitoring of the docks by means of local installation of required software generally results in problems as a result of outdated software and installation of required updates. This method of monitoring and control moreover results in limitations in daily use. A further risk is that, if a (part of a) dock malfunctions, this is not always noticed by the relevant dock operator, which may result in dangerous situations.
A further complication is that quite often a driver must sit and wait in his or her truck for loading to be completed. Many hours can pass before loading operations are finished requiring the driver to be on increased vigilance for increased amounts of time. If the driver were to miss the visual signaling of dock control lights, efficiency of the distribution center may be diminished. The present disclosure seeks to remedy this problem by providing a visual and audio system to alert drivers when loading is complete that does not require driver vigilance to receive the notification.


To provide a high-throughput automatic analysis apparatus at a lower cost. The automatic analysis apparatus includes an incubator which accommodates a plurality of reaction vessels; a specimen dispensing mechanism which dispenses a specimen into each of the plurality of reaction vessels; a mounting unit which mounts a dispensing tip on the specimen dispensing mechanism; a suction unit which sucks a specimen from a specimen vessel containing the specimen by means of the specimen dispensing mechanism having the dispensing mounted thereon; a discharging unit which is provided in the incubator and discharges the specimen from the specimen dispensing mechanism to the reaction vessel; a disposal unit which discards the dispensing tip; a sensor which detects whether the dispensing tip is mounted to the specimen dispensing mechanism; and a control unit which controls the specimen dispensing mechanism. The mounting unit, the suction unit, the discharging unit, and the disposal unit are arranged along a movement path of the specimen dispensing mechanism. The sensor is arranged so as to be able to detect the dispensing tip at a position sandwiched between any two of the mounting unit, the suction unit, the discharging unit, and the disposal unit.

In recent years, an automatic analysis apparatus is increasingly required to provide high processing performance and accurate analysis results. In order to obtain high processing performance, it is necessary to reduce useless operations as much as possible in the automatic analysis apparatus. An automatic analysis apparatus is known which is configured to perform dispensing of a specimen or a reagent by using a disposable dispensing tip in order to prevent abnormality of an analysis result due to contamination of a biological sample or a regent.
The disposable dispensing tip is attached to a dispensing mechanism for each dispensing operation, and is removed from the dispensing mechanism for disposal. Therefore, there is concern over a failure of attaching and/or removing the dispensing tip and a falling of the dispensing tip during the dispensing operation. When an attaching failure occurs, a normal dispensing operation cannot be performed, and when a removing failure occurs, it causes abnormal dispensing and the like due to double mounting of dispensing tips. Further, when the dispensing tip falls, a normal dispensing operation cannot be performed.
Therefore, for example, Patent Literature 1 proposes an automatic analysis apparatus having a configuration that confirms whether or not the dispensing tip is mounted to the dispensing mechanism during the dispensing operation. Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which the dispensing tip is mounted to the dispensing mechanism and a microswitch that is an accessory of the dispensing mechanism detects whether or not the dispensing tip is mounted.
However, when a sensor, a switch, or the like is provided to the dispensing mechanism itself, the structure of the dispensing mechanism is complicated and there is concern over increase of cost, so that this is not preferable. When a sensor is provided outside the dispensing mechanism, the cost of the dispensing mechanism is suppressed. However, when there is only one sensor, the dispensing mechanism is required to move to a sensor position many times for confirming the presence or absence of mounting of the dispensing tip, so that processing performance is affected and the throughput is degraded. When a plurality of sensors are provided, useless movement to the sensor position is not required. However, this is not preferable in cost.


The invention is directed to systems, methods and computer program products for determining a location of a device on a massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) network. The device transmits a signal comprising several multipath components (MPCs) either omnidirectionally or with limited directivity. The method comprising identifying, by a base station, that receives MPCs, an MPC with a figure of merit, based on a time delay and an angular spread, better than that of other MPCs; determining, by the base station, an angle of arrival (AoA) of the MPC is different from the AoAs of the other MPCs; and determining, by the base station, a location of the device based on the time delay and the AoA.

In today's cellular and wireless connectivity systems, a user equipment (UE) is capable of measuring signals (e.g., radio frequency (RF) signals) from multiple base stations (BSs) or access points (APs) and based on the relative phases of the measured signals, calculate the UE's position by means of triangulation. In a massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, this will not be possible for two reasons. A UE will not be able to listen to a BS to which it is not connected and the phase of a signal is re-defined for every frame; hence there is no absolute phase. Therefore, the UE is not capable of determining its position based on the RF signal.

Determining location of a device in a MIMO network using multipath component evaluation


An exemplary positioning structure is used for a USB connector assembled with an electronic device including a main body. The positioning structure includes a through hole defined in the main body, and a guiding portion configured on a periphery of an inner sidewall of the through hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to positioning structures, and particularly to a positioning structure for a USB connector to an electronic device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for electronic devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, MP3 players, and MP4 players. Commonly, the electronic devices use a variety of techniques for providing input and output. A universal serial bus (USB) device may provide for ease of use of peripheral expansion, thus USB connectors are widely used on the electronic devices recently.
For example, in the personal computers, before the USB devices is used, socket/male portions of the USB connectors of the USB devices are commonly assembled in a through hole defined on a housing of the personal computers.
However, a process of engaging the socket/male portions of the USB connectors in the through hole of the electronic devices requires high precision. Thus, this process of connecting a USB connector cannot completed as quick as desired.
What is needed, therefore, is a positioning structure for a USB connector that can overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.