A system in one embodiment includes an electronic device; and a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device in direct electrical communication with the electronic device for selectively setting a voltage or current on the electronic device to one of at least three different levels. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device in another embodiment includes an antenna; a processor in communication with the antenna; and an interface in communication with the processor, the interface being adapted for direct electrical communication with an electronic device for selectively setting a voltage or current on the electronic device to one of at least three different levels. Additional systems and methods are also presented.

The use of RFID tags are quickly gaining popularity for use in the monitoring and tracking of an item. RFID technology allows a user to remotely store and retrieve data in connection with an item utilizing a small, unobtrusive tag. As an RFID tag operates in the radio frequency (RF) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, an electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling can occur between an RFID tag affixed to an item and an RFID tag reader. This coupling is advantageous, as it precludes the need for a direct contact or line of sight connection between the tag and the reader.

RFID device and system for setting a level on an electronic device


A micromechanical device (50) with spring tips (60) and its method of manufacture. A micromechanical device (50) is formed such that there is a deflectable element (36) suspended by at least one hinge (24a) over an air gap, at the bottom of which are landing stops (34a). The element (36) deflects on said hinge and comes into contact with the landing stops (34a) via at least one small metal protrusion (60), or spring tip. The spring tip flexes upon contact allowing more even distribution of forces and less wear and adhesion. The spring tips are formed in standard semiconductor processing steps with the addition of patterning the metal layer (64) from which the hinges are formed to create separated metal elements. When the deflectable element is formed, the metal forming that element bonds to the separated metal elements at the tips, thereby forming the spring tips.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spatial light modulators, more particularly to micromechanical spatial light modulators.
2. Background of the Invention
Spatial light modulators in some embodiments consist of arrays of individually addressed elements. Examples of these type of modulators include liquid crystal devices (LCD), digital micromirror devices (DMD.TM.), and actuated mirror devices (AMA.TM.). The DMD and the AMA are micromechanical devices, meaning that they have miniaturized parts that move when the elements are activated.
Micromechanical modulators have the advantage of being a product of manufacturing processes that are compatible with most semiconductor processing steps. They have a further advantage that they can be manufactured on an extremely small scale. Their moving parts are very simple, typically a flap that deflects either in one of two directions, or in one direction. They are activated by electrostatic or piezoelectric forces, for example, that cause the flap to deflect. When the flap deflects, the reflection angle of light that impinges on the surface of the flap changes.
These modulators can be operated in an analog fashion or digitally. In the analog mode, they typically achieve a range of angles of deflection based upon the forces between the flap and the addressing circuitry. To operate digitally, they typically deflect to a stable position, more often than not coming to rest against some type of landing stop.
With the move to digital imaging in areas such as printing and displays, the desirability for a digitally operated spatial light modulator has increased. However, in digital operation, while more stable than analog, the repeated contact between the deflected element and its landing stops causes the element to stick to the landing stops. Once stuck, these elements cause bright or dark spots on the final image.
Therefore, a solution is needed that prevents or mitigates the problems caused by the sticking of these elements to their landing stops.

Micromechanical devices with spring tips


Example systems and methods for displaying an edit tracker of form-based entries on a graphical user interface are described herein. Form based data items including a name and a data entry box are displayed in an area of the graphical user interface. As edits are made to the data items (e.g., changed or new data values are added to the data entry boxes), an edit tracker entry for each changed data item is displayed. The edit tracker entries can include the item name of the data item, the item value of the data item, and the changed item value of the data item. As various modifications are made, some of which may be made within nested or other tabs of the graphical user interface, the edit tracker can include the entries, allowing the user to quickly identify changes, quickly navigate to the changes, and/or undo individual changes.

Many applications include form-based interfaces with many including a multi-tabbed format for records and multi-sub-tabbed format within the record for various data. The result is that data can be buried for a single record within layers of tabs that must be navigated by a user. In such cases, when a user opens up a record (often within a tab) and begins to make edits, the user has no visual indication of which fields the user may have changed. Sometimes, the user will open a record, make changes, and keep the record open for some period of time because, for example, the user was distracted (e.g., called away to a meeting, received a phone call, and so forth). By the time the user decides to close the record, the user may have forgotten what changes were made. Upon trying to close the record, the user may be shown a dialog asking if the user would like to save changes. Often, the user cannot recall what changes were made.
Additionally, in some cases, the user determines that a previous change should not be saved. In existing systems, this may be done manually by searching through the tabs to find the change to be reversed and manually making the change, which also requires recalling what the original entry was. Another option is utilizing a feature that may be enabled that may reverse changes in reverse sequential order (i.e., pop each change off the stack; undo/redo; ctrl-z), which requires that all changes made subsequent to the change the user wants to reverse are also reversed.
In short, current systems lack the ability to easily track the changes made by the user. Accordingly, improvements are needed.

System and method with data entry tracker using selective undo buttons


A detection apparatus that includes (a) an array of responsive pads on a substrate surface; (b) an array of pixels, wherein each pixel in the array has a detection zone on the surface that includes a subset of at least two of the pads; and (c) an activation circuit to apply a force at a first and second pad in the subset, wherein the activation circuit is configured to apply a different force at the first pad compared to the second pad, and wherein the activation circuit has a switch to selectively alter the force at the first pad and the second pad.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to biological or chemical analysis and more particularly to systems and methods using detection devices for biological or chemical analysis.
Various protocols in biological or chemical research involve performing a large number of controlled reactions on local support surfaces or within predefined reaction chambers. The desired reactions may then be observed or detected and subsequent analysis may help identify or reveal properties of chemicals involved in the reaction. For example, in some multiplex assays, unknown analytes having identifiable labels (e.g., fluorescent labels) may be exposed to thousands of known probes under controlled conditions. Each known probe may be deposited into a corresponding location on a surface. Observing any chemical reactions that occur between the known probes and the unknown analyte on the surface may help identify or reveal properties of the analyte. Other examples of such protocols include known DNA sequencing processes, such as sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) or cyclic-array sequencing.
In some conventional fluorescent-detection protocols, an optical system is used to direct an excitation light onto fluorescently-labeled analytes and to also detect the fluorescent signals that may emit from the analytes. The resolution of standard imaging techniques is constrained by the number of pixels available in the detection device, among other things. As such, these optical systems can be relatively expensive and require a relatively large bench-top footprint when detecting surfaces having large collections of analytes. For example, nucleic acid arrays used in genotyping, expression, or sequencing analyses can require detection of millions of different sites on the array per square centimeter. Limits in resolution increase cost and decrease accuracy of these analyses
Thus, there exists a need for higher resolution apparatus and methods, for example, to detect nucleic acid arrays. The present disclosure addresses this need and provides other advantages as well.


The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the amplification of a high frequency signal, a transmitter or receiver unit and a communication system. The aim of the invention is to provide a method and device for improved use of a polar-loop concept in a transmitter, especially for a mobile radio link. According to the method for adjusting the amplification of a high frequency signal, wherein the phase angle and the amplitude of an error-free input signal are separated from each other with a defined part of an output signal and readjusted, an output voltage of a battery voltage modulator is evaluated as a measure for an error at the output of a transmitter amplifier and taken into account in order to provide a correction.

The present invention relates to a method for controlling the gain of a radio-frequency signal, to a transmitting and/or receiving unit and to a communications system.
Particularly in the case of mobile radio links, modulation methods which influence both the amplitude or envelope curve and the phase angle of the signal to be transmitted are used in order to increase the transmission rate. Examples of this are the relatively modern variants of the Global Standard for Mobile Communication (GSM), such as Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM), or Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA).
A transmitter for a mobile radio link such as this is subject to stringent linearity requirements, in order to prevent errors during transmission. A significant proportion of the nonlinearity of a transmitter such as this is caused in the transmitter amplifier. According to the prior art, the so-called polar loop concept is used, for example, in order to linearize this transmitter amplifier. In this method, the amplitude modulation is applied to the transmission signal separately from the phase modulation, with two separate control loops being provided for this purpose. The method can be implemented in a polar loop transmitter by, for example, modulation of the supply voltage of a power amplifier which is operated highly nonlinearly in the C, D or E mode. On the basis of the polar loop concept, optimized efficiency transmitter amplifiers can be used which, in addition to compliance with a required linearity, also reduce the current that is drawn. Since, particularly in a mobile radio link, at least one subscriber terminal is in the form of a mobile telephone, this considerably reduces the costs for a rechargeable battery for a mobile telephone, and/or increases the maximum operating time of a charged battery set.
If the transmitter amplifier is mismatched as a result of impedance changes in an antenna, such as those which occur in the case of large antennas as a result, for example, of a wind load and in the case of mobile telephones as a result, for example, of a change in the distance between the head and the antenna, the control gradient of the transmitter amplifier changes. The control loop bandwidth of the amplitude control loop is, thus, also changed. This leads to undesirable distortion of the output voltage which is evident, in particular, in a deterioration in the modulation spectrum, which may be sufficiently severe to contravene the spectrum mask which is subject to a fixed specification by virtue of a standard in this field.
One known solution to this problem is to isolate the transmitter amplifier from the antenna through the use of circulators or isolators. However, circulators are relatively narrowband components, so that two or more circulators must be interconnected in order to cover a wider bandwidth. Furthermore, these components are very expensive and, in addition, occupy rather a large amount of space, as a result of which the actually highly advantageous polar loop concept is not financially acceptable, particularly in so-called multiband appliances, owing to the use of a number of circulators.
In the radio transmission systems which have been mentioned above, by way of an example, the modulation of the transmission signal includes amplitude modulation. The modulation may be provided, for example, by variation of the drain voltage in the case of field-effect transistors, or of the collector voltage in the case of bipolar transistors and the anode voltage when electronic valves are used in the transmitter amplifier. Parasitic phase modulation occurs in this case because the phase of the complex transfer function S21 is dependent on the drain/source voltage UDS or UD or on the collector/emitter voltage UCE. If the modulation that is used in the radio transmission system is a combination of amplitude modulation and phase modulation, as is the case, for example, in G2.5 and G3 mobile radio systems, then the phase modulation component is corrupted by an additional parasitic phase modulation component Δφ(A(t)). This corruption results, for example, in an increased error vector and/or an increased bandwidth requirement.
During operation of the transmitter amplifier for a mobile radio link, the respectively involved control loops may be affected both as a result of parasitic phase modulation and by impedance changes in an antenna or the like.
The present invention is, therefore, directed toward a method and an apparatus for improved utilization of a polar loop concept in a transmitter; in particular, for a mobile radio link.

Method for controlling the gain of radio-frequency signal


The present invention relates to a method for recycling scrap rubber comprising the steps of pyrolyzing scrap rubber to obtain a char material and milling the thus obtained char material. The present invention also relates to carbon black powders and carbon black pellets obtained by the method according to the invention. Moreover, the present invention relates to the use of said carbon black powder and to compositions comprising said carbon black powders.

The present invention relates to a method for recycling scrap rubber comprising the steps of pyrolyzing scrap rubber to obtain a char material and milling the thus obtained char material. The present invention also relates to carbon black powders and carbon black pellets obtained by the method according to the invention. Moreover, the present invention relates to the use of said carbon black powder and to compositions comprising said carbon black powders.
Tyre recycling or rubber recycling is the process of recycling tyres (generally vehicles' tyres) that are no longer suitable for use on vehicles due to wear or irreparable damage (such as punctures). These tyres are also known as 'End-of-Life' (ELT) tyres. These tyres are among the largest and most problematic sources of waste, due to the large volume produced and their durability.
Used rubber tyres from sources such as automobiles and lorries include materials that, if successfully recycled, may be used for a wide variety of industrial uses. Extending the lifetime of the materials in such tyres is an area of intense interest, in particular, in the implementation of cradle-to-cradle products in the tyre industry.
Recycling tyres is, however, a difficult and costly process and as a result millions of tyres every year are worn out and accumulated, often in landfill sites. Scrap tyres are bulky and they take up a significant amount of space, even if compacted. Furthermore such used tyres also cause air pollution if burned.
One known way to recycle tyres is by means of pyrolysis. Pyrolysis uses heat in the absence of oxygen to decompose the tyre to yield steel, volatile gases and carbonaceous char. The carbonaceous char material is rich in carbon black which can be used for a number of applications.
However, an economically viable way to reprocess the scrap tyres into valuable end materials is not known. Examples of valuable products into which carbon black powder derived from scrap rubber could be compounded include car and light truck tyres, shoe soles and heels, conveyor belts, car- and houseware-mats, brake and clutch pads, V-belts, flooring, cable insulation, hoses.
Currently, the carbon black powder derived from scrap tyres has a number of problems associated with it, for example, a high volatile content precludes the prior art carbon black from being milled to a particle size of less than 40 micron This is because high amounts of volatiles reduces the ability of the char to be milled. In the art, a char material with a high volatile content is known as 'brittle'. This so called brittleness is a key factor in determining the millability of a material, thereby making a char material progressively less millable as the volatile content increases. Thus such carbon black cannot be added to the said valuable products.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,628 discloses a pyrolysis method for reclaiming carbonaceous materials from scrap tyres by pyrolyzing the scrap tyres in a one step pyrolysis process to form a char material.
US2002119089 describes a one stage process for pyrolyzing scrap tyres involving the use of a rotating auger. The carbon black product has an average particle size of 0.125 mm making the product only suitable for low grade applications.
US 2008286192 describes a batch process for the two-stage pyrolysis of tyres. The char material is not milled but used directly in rubber formulations.
A problem with the char material obtained by pyrolyzing scrap rubber according to methods of the prior art is the inability to mill the char material to a particle size that is suitable for use in valuable products. Unacceptably high levels of volatiles that are present in the obtained char materials preclude the milling to carbon black powder.

Method for obtaining a carbon black powder by pyrolyzing scrap rubber, the carbon black thus obtained and the use thereof


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for automated discovery and analysis of test management domain assets. A method for automated discovery of test management domain assets includes crawling different, remotely disposed repositories of test management artifacts and locating test management artifacts in the different, remotely disposed repositories of test management artifacts. The method also includes selecting for each located test management artifact an analyzer configured to process test management artifacts of a type consistent with a type of the located test management artifact. Finally, the unified repository can be queried to produce a result based upon test management artifact data stored in the unified repository, though the test management artifact data had been located in the different, remotely disposed repositories of test management artifacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to software development and more particularly to software testing and test automation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The art of software development extends far beyond a mere coding of a functional specification for a computer program. Modern software development conforms to a lifecycle that begins with the functional specification leading into the formulation of a suitable architecture for an application implementing the functional specification. The lifecycle continues with the physical coding of the application and includes iterative testing and modification cycles to ensure the integrity of the code. Finally, the execution of the completed code can be analyzed to facilitate the further revision of the code to improve the performance of the code.
Traditional testing of a computer program can include the external monitoring of the integrity of the program and the performance of the program, either subjectively based upon end user impression, or objectively based upon independently acquired metrics. In the latter circumstance, the integrity of the program can include the simulation of user interaction with the user interface of the program to ensure the proper operation of the program logic. Likewise, the performance of the program can include an internal monitoring of the code through software test tooling as is known in the art.
Often, to test an application, testing personnel must establish and configure a testing environment. Within the testing environment, a test protocol or test plan can be defined for exercising a computing application. The individual steps and portions of the testing plan, in turn, can be automated through operating system scripts, batch files and the like. In this regard, for a test plan, a typical test cycle can include multiple phases that test a system according to different test cases in order to produce test results to be analyzed and illustrated in assessment reports.
Of note, successful test management requires careful coordination amongst testers and testing teams to ensure activities remain on track and deliverables are met with desired quality. The numerous artifacts associated with test management activities including the test plans, test cases, execution records, defects, assessment reports and the like, often are stored across disparate systems. One substantial inhibitor to efficiency in test management is the ability to find related data. Many hours are spent correlating test cases to requirements and defects to results. Modern test management systems attempt to do this type of correlation and search. However, in most cases the search is manual and time consuming.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Test management domain asset discovery and analysis

International Business Machines Corporation


An endmill having a shank and a milling head having cutting teeth continuous from a peripheral surface toward a forward tip face, wherein the endmill has a through hole extending from the forward tip face of the head to the shank past the head along a rotation axis of the endmill. The head and shank comprise separate component parts and the head is mounted on the shank by inserting a screw member from the tip end face into the hole and fixing the screw member to the shank.

The present invention relates to an endmill and a cutting method using the endmill and, in particular, a cutting method using a ball endmill and radius endmill.
In general, an endmill is mounted on a main spindle of an NC machining system such as a machining center, and used to create a surface having a three-dimensional complicated shape such as a surface of a metal mold. The endmill is one kind of a milling cutter. Of the endmill, a ball endmill and radius endmill have teeth at a forward tip end in a manner to be continuous from an outer peripheral surface thereof to a tip end and that the tip end also serves a cutting end.
The endmill of such kinds are broadly classified into a solid ball endmill comprised of a single unitary tool of a shank and teeth and a tip-fixed type tool with a teeth-constituting tip brazed or bolted to a tool body.
However, conventional ball endmill or radius endmill has problems as will be set out below.
First, since the cutting speed becomes a substantially zero to a very low speed in the neighborhood of a rotation center of the tip end, there is a risk that no better cutting will be done and a work surface be scraped or peeled.
Further, the pitch of the cutting teeth is narrowed in the neighborhood of the rotation center of the tip end and there is a risk that no better removal of chips will be done and a work surface be damaged.
Further, the solid endmill is expensive because this tool as a whole is made of a rare material. And there is room for improvement in the savings of materials used.
Still further, in a tip-fixed type endmill, for example, plural tips are mounted on the tool body and rotated at high speeds, thus resulting in a variation in the mounting accuracy of the tip end, as well as in the shaping accuracy of the tip itself, exerting a greater adverse effect on the machining accuracy.
The tip-fixed type ball endmill is larger in size and there is a limitation on the rotation speed and hence an inherent limitation on a range in which cutting is made.
The present invention is achieved so as to eliminate drawbacks of a conventional endmill.
The present invention provides an endmill having a shank and a milling head having cutting teeth continuous from a peripheral surface toward a forward tip face, characterized in that the endmill has a through hole extending from the forward tip face of the head to the shank past the head along a rotation axis of the endmill.
A main embodiment of the present invention provides an endmill characterized in that the head and shank comprise separate component parts and the head is mounted on the shank by inserting a screw member from the tip end face into the hole and fixing the screw member to the shank.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the screw member is completely buried in the head.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the head has a means for preventing any displacement from the shank.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the head further has cutting teeth from the outer peripheral surface to a rear end face.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the head has the forward end face and rear end face formed in a symmetrical way to allow either of cutting teeth on the forward end face side and cutting teeth on the rear end face side to be used.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the screw member has a discharge hole for discharging a coolant.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the shank has a diameter smaller than that of the head.
An endmill according to another main embodiment of the present invention, characterized in that the hole extends through the shank. Here, the hole is a coolant passageway for discharging a coolant. In another embodiment, a screw member inserted into the hole to improve rigidity to the ball endmill.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the cutting teeth is so shaped as to define a curve of a predetermined curvature radius about any given center point in the head.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided characterized in that the point is located on the rotation axis of the endmill and a sector angle xcex1 connecting an edge of the through hole at the forward end side of the head to the center point of the cutting teeth is 10xc2x0xe2x89xa6xcex1xe2x89xa690xc2x0.
In one embodiment, the cutting tooth has a tip of an ultra-hard sintered body.
In one embodiment, an endmill is provided a coolant discharge passageway provided in the head and shank to allow a coolant to be discharged from between the cutting teeth.
In another aspect of the preset invention, a method is provided for cutting a work with the use of an endmill having a shank and a head having cutting teeth continuous from an outer peripheral surface to a forward end face and a passageway extending from a forward end face of the head past the head to the shank along a center axis of the endmill, characterized by cutting a work surface in a manner to tilt an axis of the endmill at a predetermined angle to the work surface.
The other features and advantages of the present invention will be well understood by referring to those embodiments as will be explained in more detail below.
Further, additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


The width W of the address pit (9) of an optical recording medium of intermediate address type is determined by W=k Tp/(λ/NA) where λ is the laser wavelength of the optical head of the optical disk device use, NA is the numerical aperture of the objective, Tp is the track pitch of the record medium, and k is 0.40≦k≦0.68. Alternatively, an optical device comprises a first address demodulating circuit for demodulating address information by using a signal that is the sum of the electric signals outputted from a pair of photodetectors separated in the direction of the track and a second address demodulating circuit for demodulating address information by suing a signal that is the difference between the electric signals. The address is detected base on the information thus obtained. In such a way, the compatibility of the recording medium used and that of the optical device are improved, the reproduction margin in demodulating the address information is increased, realizing high accuracy address detection when reproducing data from an optical recorded medium of intermediate address type.

Among optical recording media that have come into focus as large-capacity and high-density memories is an erasable optical recording medium that allows rewriting of information. Currently, the development of the erasable optical recording medium has been underway. In one form of the erasable optical recording medium, information is recorded and erased utilizing thermal energy generated by irradiation with a laser beam. The recording medium includes a transparent substrate of a general disk shape and a recording layer provided on the substrate. The recording layer is formed of a thin film in which a phase change is caused between an amorphous state and a crystalline state.
Phase change materials known to be used for the recording layer include an alloy film mainly containing elements such as Ge, Sb, Te, and In of, for example, a GeSbTe alloy. In many cases, information is recorded in such a manner that the recording layer is partially brought into an amorphous state to form a mark and erased in such a manner that the mark in the amorphous state is brought into a crystalline state. When heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point and subsequently cooled at a speed higher than a fixed speed, the recording layer is brought into the amorphous state. When heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the crystallization temperature and equal to or lower than the melting point, the recording layer is brought into the crystalline state.
Generally, on the substrate, guide groves (grooves) in the form of a spiral or concentric circles for tracking a laser beam in recording and reproducing information and addresses for indicating a position on the recording medium, each composed of uneven strings of pits, are provided to form an initial state of the substrate. A region between the adjoining grooves is referred to as a land. In many cases, information is recorded on one of the groove and the land, and the other serves as a guard band for separating adjoining recording tracks from each other.
In recent years, the improvement in processing capabilities of various kinds of information-processing equipment has allowed the processing of an increasing amount of information. Thus, a recording medium has been requested to allow larger-capacity information recording and reproducing. In order to attain this, DVD-RAM or the like has employed a method in which information is recorded on both of the groove and the land, so that a higher track density can be obtained. In this case, the groove and the land are set so as to be substantially equal in width. Recording media of this kind have employed a method in which address information is recorded in an intermediate position between a pair of adjoining groove and land tracks so that with respect to the pair of adjoining groove and land tracks, one address in formation is recorded.
An address recorded in this manner in the intermediate position between the pair of adjoining groove and land tracks is referred to as "an intermediate address". Further, a method in which the intermediate address is used to record address information so that the address information is shared by a pair of adjoining tracks is referred to as "an intermediate address method".
In JP10(1998)-31822 A, a method of demodulating address information in a recording medium employing the intermediate address method is disclosed. In the method, a sum signal or a difference signal of electric signals output from a photodetector provided in an optical head of an optical disk device is used to demodulate the address information. The photodetector includes light receiving parts divided into two parts in a direction parallel to tracks on the recording medium.
In this connection, a signal quality assessment was conducted using reproduction signals obtained by reproducing an address on a recording medium formed in the following manner. As shown in FIG. 10, address pits 9 were arranged in the form of staggered pit strings so that with respect to a distance (a track pitch) Tp between a center line of a groove track 7 and a center line of a land track 8, center lines of strings of the address pits 9 were shifted in a radial direction of the recording medium (namely, a direction perpendicular to the tracks) at a distance of about Tp/2 from the center lines of the groove tracks 7 and the center lines of the land tracks 8. In the recording medium, a pit width W of the address pits 9 was the same as the track pitch Tp (namely, the same as the width of the groove track 7 and the width of the land track 8). As a result, the reproduction signals obtained by reproducing the address differed in symmetry between the sum signal and the difference signal. For each of the sum signal and the difference signal, an optimum condition under which excellent signal quality could be obtained was found by adjusting the lengths of the address pits. However, no condition was found under which such signal quality could be obtained for both of the sum signal and the difference signal at the same time.
That is, neither of the following cases allows sufficient signal quality to be obtained, which has led to a problem of a limited margin for reproduction conditions. In one case, a recording medium suited for address information demodulation using the sum signal is employed in an optical disk device in which address information demodulation is performed using the difference signal. In the other case, a recording medium suited for address information demodulation using the difference signal is employed in an optical disk device in which address information demodulation is performed using the sum signal. In other words, in each of the optical disk devices in which address information demodulation is performed using the sum signal and the difference signal, respectively, a permissible level of variations in address forming conditions of recording media is limited.

Optical recording medium with address information composed of pits

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A two-way dispenser cap has a main cap member and a toggle valve. The main cap member has two passages that allow material from inside an attached container to dispense. The first passage leads to a trap chamber that is defined by the main cap member and the toggle valve walls. The second passage leads to an outlet passage for continuous pouring dispensation. The toggle valve pivots in relation to the two-way dispenser cap between one of three positions: no dispensation, metered dispensation from the trap chamber passage or continuous pour dispensation. When the toggle valve pivots to open the trap chamber passage, the trap chamber inlet is closed off. When the toggle valve pivots to open the continuous pour passage, the trap chamber outlet remains closed. When the toggle valve pivots to the closed position, both the inlet passages are in fluid communication with the attached container's interior, but both outlets are closed. The main cap member has a recessed top portion.

a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to two-way dispenser caps with metered and unmetered selection. The metered selection is obtained by use of a trap having an inlet and an outlet. The unmetered selection is obtained by use of a pour orifice separate from the trap. A toggle valve which is connected to a main cap member above the pour orifice and above the trap, has three positions, and is rotatably movable among the three positions. The first position is when the pour orifice is closed, the trap outlet is closed and the trap inlet is open. The second position is when the pour orifice is open, the trap outlet is closed and the trap inlet is open. The third position is when the pour orifice is closed, the trap outlet is open and the trap inlet is closed. The two-way dispenser cap is attached to a container containing substance, and the toggle valve position is selected and the container with two-way cap is inverted for filling the trap, for metered pouring, or for unmetered pouring.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are representative of the field pertaining to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,265 B1 to Goldman et al. describes a measuring dispensing top for an aquarium fish food container which includes a base, a flip top pivotably mounted in a side wall provided on the base and movable between a closed position which closes the container and an open position which opens the container into the top; and a cover slidable in the side wall between a closing position which covers and defines a measuring chamber and allows the flip top to be moved to its open position which opens the container into the measuring chamber and enables a measured amount of fish food to be dispensed therein, and a second opening position which locks the flip top in its closed position and opens the measured chamber for dispensing the container contents into an aquarium.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,965 to Robbins, III et al. describes a measuring/dispensing cap for a container comprising a peripheral side wall and a pivotable flip top movable between closed and open positions, the flip top mounted for pivotal motion about a horizontal hinge axis wherein the hinge axis separates a closure panel of the flip top from a push panel of the flip top; a first panel within the side wall having a first free edge in substantially vertical alignment with the hinge axis; a second weir panel having a weir edge extending parallel to and laterally spaced from the first free edge, thus establishing a weir opening, the closure panel and the weir panel along with a portion of the peripheral side wall defining a measuring chamber within the cap, adapted to receive contents of a container passing through the weir opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,944 to Robbins, III et al. describes a measuring dispensing cap for a container comprising a peripheral sidewall and a pivotable flip top supported on the peripheral sidewall for rocking movement about a hinge axis; the hinge axis separating a push panel portion of the flip top from a dispensing panel portion of the flip top; and wherein a measuring chamber is formed an area enclosed the peripheral sidewall underlying the dispensing panel portion; wherein the measuring chamber is defined by a portion of the peripheral sidewall, the dispensing panel portion, and by an angled weir panel extending from the peripheral sidewall downwardly and inwardly, terminating at a weir edge in substantial vertical alignment with the hinge axis, thereby creating a weir opening into the chamber; and wherein the flip top is formed with a depending flange which engages the weir panel edge when the flip top is opened to thereby close the weir opening
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,875 to Robbins, III et al. describes a measuring dispensing closure for a container includes a hollow body having an opening therein, and a pivotable flip top. The flip top is mounted on the body for pivotal motion about a horizontal hinge axis between closed and open position. The hollow body has an internal, part spherical weir panel located below the opening, with an edge extending parallel with the hinge axis thus establishing a weir opening between the weir edge and a peripheral portion of the opening, and defining, in cooperation with an underside portion of the flip top and remaining peripheral portion of the opening, a measuring chamber within the closure. The flip top is also formed with a shut-off blade adapted to engage the weir edge when the flip top is in the open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,417 to Robbins, III et al. describes a measuring/dispensing cap adapter for attachment to an open, upper end of a container, the cap including a lid and a peripheral skirt extending downwardly form the lid, the lid pivotally secured to the skirt; a sifter panel integral with the skirt and separating the skirt into upper and lower sections, the upper section includes a measuring chamber and the lower section includes screw thread for attaching the cap to the open upper end of the container. The sifter panel is formed to provide a flow opening on one side of a horizontal centerline extending across the cap, the flow opening defined in part by a first edge extending parallel to and spaced from the horizontal centerline. A rotatable weir dam panel overlies the sifter panel, the weir dam panel having a second edge which may be aligned with the first edge to enable substantially free flow of container contents through the flow opening. The lid is pivotally secured to an upper edge of the peripheral skirt by an integral hinge having a center tab and a pair of hoops laterally spaced from opposite sides of the center tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,213 to Daniello describes a container lid with quantity measures provides for the selective dispensing of different predetermined quantities of material from a container to which the lid id removable attached. The lid includes a central body portion having a plurality of different sized volumes therein, each of which is selectively openable and closable relative to the container to which the lid id secured. A rotatable top portion is turned to select desired specific quantity, which action also turns the closure plate below the main body portion. The container lid is used by inverting the container and attaching lid, rotating the top portion to a portion other than the quantity selected in order to move the closure plate from that selected volume, rotating top portion to the selected quantity to close the selected volume, and dispensing the selected quantity from dispenser in the top portion. The configuration of the main body portion also allows the closure plate or valve to be bypassed, to allow continuous pouring or shaking of material from the container as desired. The present container lid id particularly adapted for use in the dispensing specific quantities of spices, condiments, and the like for cooking and food preparation, but may be used to dispense virtually and dry granulated or powered material, and may even be adapted for use with certain liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,582 to Robbins, III describes a measured/dispensing cap is adapted for attachment to an open, upper end of a conventional. The cap includes a top and a peripheral skirt extending downwardly from the top, and a partition separates the peripheral skirt into upper and lower sections, the upper section constituting a measuring chamber defined by the top, the upper sections of the skirt and the partition. At least one of the top and upper sections of the peripheral is provided with volume indicator. The partition is formed with a weir aperture on one side of a diametrical centerline extending across the partition, the aperture defined in part by a weir edge extending parallel to and spaced from the centerline. At least one dispensing door is secured to the top by an integral hinge having an axis parallel to the centerline and the weir edge, such that a portion of the door opposite the hinge lies on the other side of the diametrical centerline. This arrangement allows measured amounts of container contents to be dispensed from the measured chamber without concern that additional amounts will be transferred from the container into the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,871 to Robbins, III describes a dispensing cap which incorporates a volumetric space to thereby permit precisely measured amounts of contents to be poured from the dispensing cap. The cap in this exemplary embodiment is constructed of a transparent plastic material and is provided with volume indicators to assist the user in measuring precisely desired amounts as the contents are transferred from the jar into a volumetric space provided in the dispensing cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,491 to Tuvim et al. describes a household device for measuring and dispensing granular materials such as coffee, sugar and the like including set of adapters for receiving different canisters in which the granular material is normally sold or stored and a transporting mechanism for delivering a granular material from a receiving opening of the device to its dispensing opening. The transporting mechanism includes a slide having a lock which prevents the slide being fully withdrawn from a housing of the device and a compression spring(s) which effects a back stroke of the slide. The device is operated as a press-type mechanism that is convenient for users, especially for elderly and handicapped people.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,823 to Eppenbach describes a multiple function closure for attachment to a container for divided material, including a first cap having an end wall, a measuring unit attached to one side of the end wall and a second cap attached to the other side of the end wall. The first cap can be attached to the container so that the end wall closes the opening in the container. The second cap is rotatably mounted on the first cap and can selectively be placed in a closed position, a measured dispensing position and a non-measured dispensing position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,172 to Souza describes a dispensing device for fluent granular materials or the like in the form of a bottle cap including two relatively-rotatable sections with communicating conduits arranged to dispense a predetermined amount of the material upon appropriate manipulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,579,388 to Lowry describes a dispenser for dry materials of the character described comprising a cylindrical container, a cylindrical barrel encircling the container in rotatable relation therewith, means forming a bottom for the container spaced above the lower end thereof and leaving a flange extending downwardly therefrom, the bottom having an aperture therethrough of limited angular extent, the flange being relieved at a position angularly spaced from the aperture to form a discharge slot, a dispenser member mounted within the barrel and below the bottom for rotation with respect to the container, means forming at least one pocket of predetermined capacity in the upper surface of the dispenser member, and means connecting the dispenser member to the barrel for rotation relative to the container to move each pocket between a position of registry with the aperture to receive a portion of the contents of the container and a position of registry with the discharge slot, each pocket having the bottom thereof sloping outwardly and downwardly and terminating at a level spaced above the lower end of the flange but below the upper end of the discharge slot to effect closing of the pocket by the flange when the pocket is in registry with the aperture and the effect discharge of the contents of the pocket when the pocket is in registry with the discharge slot.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.

Two-way dispenser cap with metered and unmetered selection


Identification based operational modification of a portable electronic device includes detecting the presence of an employee identification badge, authenticating the identification badge as an eligible identification badge based at least in part upon data associated with the identification badge that is individualized to at least the employee and/or employer, and modifying one or more operating characteristics of the portable electronic device resulting in an identification badge authenticated mode of operation for the portable electronic device based upon successful authentication of the identification badge.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of portable electronic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to identification-based modification of operational characteristics of portable electronic devices.
2. Background Information
With the continued proliferation of portable electronic devices, such as wireless mobile phones, personal digital assistants, hand-held computers, etc., into the marketplace, manufacturers of such devices are continually trying to differentiate themselves and their products from the rest of the industry. Similarly, as the number of users owning such portable electronic devices continues to grow, the perceived need for users to differentiate their respective devices from that of their friend's and/or coworker's is becoming more prevalent. In fact, to some users the portable electronic device has become a supplemental means of manifesting one's personality.
In an effort to both appease user demands and differentiate their products in the marketplace, manufacturers have begun to introduce various ways in which users may personalize, and thereby distinguish (whether functionally or aesthetically) their electronic devices from one another. For example, consumers are now able to purchase portable electronic devices in a variety of colors rather than the conventional black or gray, as well as being able to select from a large number of aftermarket interchangeable faceplates, each having it's own cosmetic (i.e. color and image) theme(s). Additionally, consumers are no longer limited to the audio and visual themes prepackaged with "off-the-shelf" wireless communication devices. More specifically, consumers are able to download new ring-tones (i.e. the audible and often musical sounds generated to indicate an incoming call) as well as customized screensavers and games from e.g. the Internet.
Although having the ability to personalize such electronic devices may be a selling point for individuals, it may not always be welcomed by businesses. For example, many businesses offer their employees use of portable electronic devices such as wireless mobile phones for business purposes. Whether authorized or not, many of these employees in turn choose to personalize the business-owned devices by e.g. downloading new ring-tones, screensavers and games. As such, certain businesses may wish to curtail the use of such customized electronic devices by employees, or to at least curtail certain electronic device functionalities such as game playing while the employees are at work.
Furthermore, since many small companies cannot afford to provide their employees with such portable electronic devices, individuals are often forced to use their own personalized devices at work as well as away from the office. In such cases it may be difficult to request that employees not customize their own electronic devices based on the wishes of the employer. Currently, there is no way for companies to restrict personal customized functions and features while at work while allowing such features/functions to be used outside of the office.
Conversely, businesses that offer employees use of portable electronic devices such as wireless mobile phones or PDAs, may wish to enable employee access to certain features/functionalities/data while the employee are at work, but further wish to disable such features/functionalities/data from the employee while the employee is away from work. Currently, there is no way for companies to restrict personal customized functions and features while at work while allowing such features/functions to be used outside of the office, nor is there a way for companies to allow access to business-specific functions and features while at work, while restricting use of such features/functions outside of the office.


A method for protecting a titanium aluminide substrate against environmental degradation at higher temperatures, which comprises applying a layer of a ductile titanium alloy to at least one exterior surface of the substrate and applying an oxidation resistant coating to the exterior surface of the ductile layer. The titanium aluminide substrate may be monolithic or a fiber-reinforced composite structure. The oxidation resistant coating is an ion-plated coating of (a) a noble metal, such as gold or platinum, or (b) a coating of tungsten followed by an ion-plated coating of a noble metal.

This invention relates to a method for treating titanium aluminide structures so as to provide improved high temperature properties.
Considerable research work has been directed toward the development of materials suitable for use in fabricating jet engine parts and other aircraft and aerospace components. A suitable material must be light weight and resistant to oxidation while having high creep, fatigue and tensile strength. Examples of such components include compressor blades, engine casings, heat panels and exhaust gas ducts.
A leading candidate material for these applications is titanium, particularly titanium alloys. However, the use of titanium alloy components is limited by the alloy's high reactivity to oxygen and the formation of an unstable oxide layer, at temperatures above about 1000.degree. F. (538.degree. C.), resulting in a degradation of mechanical properties.
Titanium aluminides, both as monolithic materials and as matrices for fiber-reinforced composites, have received considerable attention due to their potential superior high temperature properties together with their relatively low density. However, one obstacle to full use in both advanced gas turbine engine applications and advanced hypersonic structures is their low resistance to environmental degradation at higher temperatures. For example, it has been shown for alpha-2 titanium aluminides that exposure in an air environment to temperatures exceeding 1200.degree. F. (650.degree. C.) can result in significant embrittlement of the material surface which, in turn, leads to surface cracking under an applied load (in the case of a monolithic material) or after thermal cycling (in the case of a composite material). This surface embrittlement is the result of (1) the formation of a tenacious brittle oxide layer and (2) solid state diffusion of oxygen into the aluminide substrate, adversely affecting its ductility. Titanium aluminide alloys typically contain niobium as a beta stabilizing element and for enhanced oxidation resistance. It has been shown that local depletion of niobium from the exposed surface, forming a niobium oxide, results in the formation of a very brittle alpha or alpha-2 layer immediately below the oxide. When such material is loaded, particularly under cyclic, mechanical and thermal conditions, the brittle oxide cracks, providing a notch effect on the matrix as well as a preferred path for continued oxygen penetration and local embrittlement. Inasmuch as titanium aluminides are extremely notch sensitive, the result is a pronounced degradation in mechanical properties, both monotonic as well as cyclic. Brittle coatings, such as those which form a titanium aluminide coating based on TiAl.sub.3, have proven to be ineffective in protecting these materials because the coating cracks early in loading and provides preferred sites for environmental attack.
Fujishiro et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,590, disclose that components fabricated from titanium alloys can be rendered resistant to oxidation by implanting ions of a noble metal or noble metal alloy into the substrate and thereafter continuing impingement of the metal ions onto the substrate to form a film or coating thereon. This method is quite effective for the alpha, alpha-beta and beta titanium alloys. However, the titanium aluminide alloys are generally more prone to surface cracking under an applied load or after thermal cycling, thus leading to cracking of any oxidation resistant coating. What is desired is a structure which provides oxidation resistance to the titanium aluminide component and which is resistant to cracking under an applied load or thermal cycling.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for protecting a titanium aluminide substrate against environmental degradation.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Titanium aluminide articles having improved high temperature resistance

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A tool employs a connect-disconnect coupling for a power drill to hold a multi-functional bit having at its one end a drill element adapted to form a hole and a countersink and at its other end a driver element to drive a screw or other type of fastener.

A drill bit is commonly used to drill a hole so that a screw may then be screwed into the hole using either a screwdriver or a screwdriver bit inserted into a power drill. It is often desirable to form a countersink around the hole so that the screw head will lie flush with, or below the drilled surface. With power drills, a connect-disconnect coupling, commonly referred to as a chuck, is frequently used to hold the drill bit. The connect-disconnect coupling is attached to the power drill in a manner that enables it to be detached when desired. U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,393 B1 is illustrative of such a connect-disconnect coupling.

Multi-functional bit & connect-disconnect coupling used therewith


A system includes a body-insertable apparatus disposed while introduced in a subject in a detection space, and an external apparatus disposed on the outside of the subject. The body-insertable apparatus includes a first switch for connecting/interrupting a resonance circuit and an oscillation circuit or a ground line. The external apparatus includes a drive coil driving unit for outputting a drive signal having the resonance frequency; a drive coil for generating the drive magnetic field in the detection space in accordance with the drive signal; and a second switch for connecting/interrupting the drive coil driving unit and the drive coil. The second switch connects the drive coil driving unit and the drive coil when the first switch is off, and disconnects them when the first switch is on. The resonance circuit generates the resonance magnetic field in accordance with the induction signal or the drive magnetic field.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a position detecting system and a detecting method and, more particularly, to a position detecting system and a position detecting method for detecting the position of a capsule body-insertable apparatus which is introduced in a subject by using a magnetic field.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a capsule body-insertable apparatus having an imaging device (hereinbelow, called a capsule endoscope) is developed. The capsule endoscope is introduced into a subject, for example, via the oral route, captures an image of the inside of the subject, and transmits the obtained image (hereinbelow, called an in-vivo image) to an apparatus disposed on the outside of the subject by radio. The operator can diagnose a symptom or the like of the subject by visually recognizing the in-vivo image received by the outside apparatus.
Such a capsule endoscope usually cannot move in a subject by itself and is moved in a subject by peristaltic movement of digestive organs of the subject. Consequently, there is a case such that, for example, as compared with an endoscope with which an observation region can be selected by the operator freely to a certain degree such as a fiber scope, the observation capability of the capsule endoscope is lower.
An example of techniques for solving such a drawback is the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-245963. According to the conventional art, by applying a magnetic field (hereinbelow, called a guidance magnetic field) from the outside of a subject to a capsule endoscope having magnetic field generating means such as a permanent magnet, the posture and movement of the capsule endoscope can be positively controlled from the outside of the subject.
In order to control the posture and movement of the capsule endoscope in the subject by the magnetic field applied from the outside of the subject like in the conventional art, however, the position, direction, and the like of the capsule endoscope in the subject have to be known accurately. In the following, detection of the position and direction (posture) of the capsule endoscope will be simply called position detection.
In the conventional art, by providing a resonance circuit having a coil (L) and a capacitor (C) (hereinbelow, called an LC resonance circuit) in the capsule endoscope and detecting an induced magnetic field generated by a magnetic field applied from the outside (hereinbelow, called a drive magnetic field) by the LC resonance circuit, the position and direction of the capsule endoscope are detected. In the following, the method of deriving information of the position, direction, and the like from the induced magnetic field generated by applying the drive magnetic field to the LC resonance circuit from the outside will be called a passive method.
The conventional art also describes a configuration that a resonance frequency signal is supplied to the LC resonance circuit mounted on the capsule endoscope and an excitation magnetic field generated by the signal is detected, thereby detecting the position and direction of the capsule endoscope. In the following, a method of deriving information such as position and direction from an excitation magnetic field generated by applying a resonance frequency signal to the LC resonance circuit will be called an active method.

Position detecting system and position detecting method


An engine mounted to a vehicle includes at least one manipulation member used for control of output of the engine. An electronic control unit controls the manipulation member in accordance with the driving condition of the engine. When it is determined that there is an abnormality in the electronic control unit, the amount of air drawn into the engine is fixed to a predetermined value and the amount of manipulation of the manipulation member is restricted. When the rotational speed of the engine becomes higher than the predetermined speed, the electronic control unit determines that there is an abnormality relating to the manipulation of the manipulation member.

The present invention relates to a vehicular control apparatus that is suitable for an apparatus that executes several engine controls as a fail-safe process to allow a control system to take steps to correct a malfunction when there is an abnormality in a control system of a vehicle.
As electronically controlled vehicle engines become popular, engines and peripheral devices are increasingly controlled by electronic controls using mainly microcomputers.
Examples of such controls are a fuel injection control, which adjusts the injection amount and the injection timing of fuel supplied to cylinders of an engine using fuel injection valves, and an ignition timing control, which adjusts the timing to ignite a mixture of fuel and suction air inside each cylinder using an ignition plug. A system for electrically controlling the opening degree of a throttle valve, which is referred to as an electronic throttle system, is put into a practical use for adjusting the amount of air drawn into the engine. Such a system is also controlled by an electronic control using mainly the microcomputer.
Since such controls are performed by electronic controls, several detailed controls can be performed to maintain the output of an engine to an amount appropriate for the driving condition in each case. On the other hand, controls of manipulation members, such as the fuel injection valves, the ignition plugs, and the throttle valves, are executed by an apparatus that performs the electronic controls, that is, an electronic control unit. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the electronic control unit and the controls of the manipulation members are not maintained properly, the engine output might not be maintained properly.
Therefore, in general, when there is an abnormality in the electronic control unit, a first-aid engine control is performed to allow a control system to take steps to correct a malfunction after restricting the maximum output of the engine as a fail-safe process.
A control apparatus that has such fail-safe function is disclosed in the Journal of Technical Disclosure Publication No. 2000-1910 published by Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation. The apparatus is equipped with the above-mentioned electronic throttle system. When it is determined that there is an abnormality in the electronic control unit, a throttle valve is mechanically fixed to a predetermined opening degree by an auxiliary mechanism. This maintains the minimum amount of suction air required for a control system to take steps to correct a malfunction, which further prevents the engine from being stalled. Also, when the control system actually takes steps to correct the malfunction, the engine output is restricted by, for example, reducing the number of cylinders to be driven or correcting the ignition timing.
According to the conventional apparatus, a control system is allowed to take steps to correct a malfunction even if there is an abnormality in the electronic control unit.
However, in the case with the conventional apparatus, restriction of the engine output, such as reducing the number of cylinders to be driven and correcting of the ignition timing, is performed by the electronic control unit that has been determined to have an abnormality. Therefore, there is a fear that the restriction control of the engine output is not executed properly. Thus, there remains room for improvement.


A method, computer program product, and apparatus for controlling the arrival of a disc drive actuator arm assembly using a time-linear arrival profile are disclosed. A reference velocity is calculated as a function of the current position of the arm assembly and the amount of time left to complete the seek operation, where the first derivative of the reference velocity function with respect to time varies linearly with respect to time. This reference velocity is used to control the actual velocity of an arm assembly. In a preferred embodiment, this time-linear arrival is utilized in the second stage of a two-stage arrival sequence, in which the arm assembly follows a constant-acceleration profile during the first stage.

Disc drives are commonly used in workstations, personal computers, laptops and other computer systems to store large amounts of data in a form that can be made readily available to a user. In general, a disc drive comprises a magnetic disc that is rotated by a spindle motor. The surface of the disc is divided into a series of data tracks. The data tracks are spaced radially from one another across a band having an inner diameter and an outer diameter.
Each of the data tracks extends generally circumferentially around the disc and can store data in the form of magnetic transitions within the radial extent of the track on the disc surface. An interactive element, such as a magnetic transducer, is used to sense the magnetic transitions to read data, or to transmit an electric signal that causes a magnetic transition on the disc surface, to write data. The magnetic transducer includes a read/write gap that contains the active elements of the transducer at a position suitable for interaction with the magnetic surface of the disc. The radial dimension of the gap fits within the radial extent of the data track containing the transitions so that only transitions of the single track are transduced by the interactive element when the interactive element is properly centered over the respective data track.
The magnetic transducer is mounted by a head structure to a rotary actuator arm and is selectively positioned by the actuator arm over a preselected data track of the disc to either read data from or write data to the preselected data track of the disc, as the disc rotates below the transducer. The actuator arm is, in turn, mounted to a voice coil motor that can be controlled to move the actuator arm across the disc surface.
A servo system is typically used to control the position of the actuator arm to insure that the head is properly centered over the magnetic transitions during either a read or write operation. In a known servo system, servo position information is recorded on the disc surface between written data blocks, and periodically read by the head for use in a closed loop control of the voice coil motor to position the actuator arm. Such a servo arrangement is referred to as an embedded servo system.
In modern disc drive architectures utilizing an embedded servo, each data track is divided into a number of data sectors for storing fixed sized data blocks, one per sector. Associated with the data sectors are a series of servo sectors, generally equally spaced around the circumference of the data track. The servo sectors can be arranged between data sectors or arranged independently of the data sectors such that the servo sectors split data fields of the data sectors.
Each servo sector contains magnetic transitions that are arranged relative to a track centerline such that signals derived from the transitions can be used to determine head position. For example, the servo information can comprise two separate bursts of magnetic transitions, one recorded on one side of the track centerline and the other recorded on the opposite side of the track centerline. Whenever a head is over a servo sector, the head reads each of the servo bursts and the signals resulting from the transduction of the bursts are transmitted to, e.g., a microprocessor within the disc drive for processing.
When the head is properly positioned over a track centerline, the head will straddle the two bursts, and the strength of the combined signals transduced from the burst on one side of the track centerline will equal the strength of the combined signals transduced from the burst on the other side of the track centerline. The microprocessor can be used to subtract one burst value from the other each time a servo sector is read by the head. When the result is zero, the microprocessor will know that the two signals are equal, indicating that the head is properly positioned.
If the result is other than zero, then one signal is stronger than the other, indicating that the head is displaced from the track centerline and overlying one of the bursts more than the other. The magnitude and sign of the subtraction result can be used by the microprocessor to determine the direction and distance the head is displaced from the track centerline, and generate a control signal to move the actuator back towards the centerline.
Each servo sector also contains encoded information to uniquely identify the specific track location of the head. For example, each track can be assigned a unique number, which is encoded using a Gray code and recorded in each servo sector of the track. The Gray code information is used in conjunction with the servo bursts to control movement of the actuator arm when the arm is moving the head in a seek operation from a current track to a destination track containing a data field to be read or written.
A seek operation generally consists of three phases, an acceleration phase in which the actuator arm begins to move and picks up speed, a coasting phase during which acceleration stays constant (if required), and a deceleration phase in which the actuator arm (and head) slows down to arrive at the desired track. The final approach of the head to the desired track is known as "arrival."
The arrival portion of a seek operation can have a profound impact on the performance of a disc drive, since seeking is one of the most expensive operations performed by a disc drive in terms of performance cost. Because acceleration and velocity are continuous physical quantities, it is not possible for the actuator arm to come to an instantaneous stop from any arbitrary velocity. Instead, the actuator arm must gradually decelerate at a controlled rate in order for the head to become centered over the desired track. If deceleration is too rapid, the actuator arm control system may experience overshoot and instabilities (such as oscillation) that make track following difficult and ultimately result in performance degradation. If, on the other hand, deceleration is too gradual, performance will also be degraded because the seek operation itself will take too long.
The present embodiments provide a solution to this and other problems, and offers other advantages over previous solutions.

Time linear arrival for velocity mode seeks


Disclosed are processes for removing lactose from dried milk products to produce dried protein fortified and/or mineral fortified milk products having a reduced lactose content with minimal use, or even without the use, of membrane ultrafiltration, diafiltration, or additional drying equipment. Additionally, a high lactose-containing stream product is also produced. The dried protein fortified milk products are physically and chemically similar to dried milk protein concentrates and can be used for protein fortifiers in various food applications.

The present disclosure generally relates to processes for removing lactose from dried milk products. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to processes for removing lactose from dried milk products, and in particular, skim milk powder, to produce dried protein fortified and mineral fortified milk products having reduced lactose. The present disclosure is additionally directed to dried protein fortified milk products with reduced lactose content prepared using these processes.
Skim milk powders, which provide a method of storing and moving surplus skim milk, have conventionally been used by food manufactures for protein fortification of formulated food products. The protein fraction of skim milk powder, which accounts for approximately 36% by weight of the powder, contains caseins and whey proteins in about a 5:1 ratio, respectively. The use of skim milk powders in many of these food applications is limited, however, as the powders include a high lactose content, accounting for approximately 51% to 56% by weight of the powder, which can potentially jeopardize the quality of the final food product through lactose crystallization.
More particularly, the chemical composition of concentrated skim milk prior to spray drying is well beyond the lactose supersaturation point, thus favoring lactose crystallization. Due to the kinetics of the reaction, however, the appearance of the crystals at disenable size is not common during production of skim milk powder. This is attributed to the slow rate of nucleation of the crystals and the conditions typically employed in the production of dried skim milk that disfavor crystal growth. If the concentrated skim milk is held for some time at lower temperatures before spray drying, however, lactose will eventually crystallize.
Previous attempts to overcome the above shortcomings have included turning to the use of dried milk protein concentrates having reduced lactose and mineral contents. The casein and whey protein ratio in milk protein concentrate is typically similar to skim milk powder, allowing the milk protein concentrate to have the same, or similar, functional properties as skim milk powder with reduced potential for lactose crystallization.
Manufacturing processes of milk protein concentrates are similar to skim milk powder with the use of concentrating and drying technologies intended to extract water from the skim milk. However, additional processing steps such as ultrafiltration (UF) are required prior to evaporation for the reduction of lactose, minerals, small molecules, and water. The UF membrane is designed with small pores that allow low molecular weight components (i.e., permeate) to pass through while large molecules (i.e., retentate) are prevented to pass though. As the UF is being applied, the skim milk solids concentration (i.e., retentate) increases, thereby increasing viscosity, to a point where the flux of components through the membrane will be reduced. The maximum level of concentration for the retentate is dependent upon membrane fouling and product viscosity, consequently affecting the efficiency of the process. At this point, the UF processing may be stopped and evaporation methods are employed to remove water, further concentrating the solids of the skim milk. Additional processing using UF may be done with the addition of water (i.e., diafiltration (DF)) to reestablish the flux and remove more lactose and minerals.
Inherent limitations of UF include fouling of the UF membrane. Further, UF membrane installations are capital intensive, require significant operating expense (i.e., cleaning and sanitation chemicals), increased water use, increased wastewater, and use excessive energy.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to develop alternative processes for producing dried protein fortified milk products having similar protein concentrations as dried milk protein concentrates and skim milk powder, while having reduced lactose levels. Particularly, it would be advantageous to develop processes of producing the dried protein fortified milk products that require less or no membrane processing, less energy, and less water usage and wastewater.

Processes for removal of lactose from dried milk products


Methods and structure are provided for defining span sizes for Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) systems. One embodiment is a RAID controller that includes a control system and a span manager. The control system is able to identify storage devices coupled with the controller and is able to receive input requesting the creation of a RAID logical volume. The span manager is able to define multiple RAID spans to implement the volume, each span comprising one or more of the coupled storage devices, at least one of the spans including a different number of drives than at least one other span.

In existing RAID storage systems, multiple storage devices can be used to implement a logical volume of data. When the data for the volume is kept on multiple storage devices, the data can be accessed more quickly because the throughput of each individual storage device can be combined. Furthermore, when the data is stored on multiple storage devices, redundancy information can be maintained so that the data will be preserved even if a storage device fails. In RAID storage systems, sets of disks known as "spans" may each implement an independent RAID configuration. However, when multiple spans are used to implement a logical volume, each span uses the same RAID configuration, the same number of drives, and the same drive capacity.

Redundant array of independent disks systems that utilize spans with different storage device counts for a logical volume

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A method of analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting includes the steps of comparing a present time and channel with a habit database per predetermined time period, checking whether a present habit channel is viewed in case the present time is a time corresponding to the habit, terminating the operation when the habit channel is viewed and showing channel information corresponding to the habit by a PIP screen, displaying a message asking whether it is converted to the habit channel after showing the channel information, converting the channel to a channel by a user""s selection, checking a habit function key input when the habit channel is viewed, adjusting the presently viewed channel or other channels and channel conversion time in accordance with the user""s selection when the habit function key is inputted and reserving the result in the habit database. The method enables a TV set to provide a user with his or her habit information by analyzing/comparing habit data, present time and viewing channel per a predetermined time period, thereby maximizing the user""s convenience.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting so as to provide information with regard to a user""s habit, and more particularly, to an improved method of analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting wherein a user""s weekly viewing habit pattern is self-analyzed and databased so that channel information corresponding to a user""s habit at a corresponding day of the week and a corresponding time of the day is provided to the user, thereby maximizing a user""s convenience.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the conventional art which varies to an automatic channel selection and a timer device, a microcomputer in a TV set produces an turn-on/off time of TV and a frequently viewed channel of the user and the result is set in memory. When the automatic timer is selected, the turn-on/off operation is implemented to the produced channel at the corresponding time, which is regarded as frequently viewed.
That is, the user""s viewing habit pattern itself is recognized and the TV is channel-converted at a corresponding time according to the viewer""s habit.
However, although the conventional art only provides convenience that channels are directly converted corresponding to the user""s habit, the viewing habit pattern is not recognized by the user when providing information corresponding to the user""s habit.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the conventional disadvantages.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of 10 analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting so as to maximize user""s convenience wherein a TV set provides a user with his or her habit information by analyzing/comparing habit data, present time and viewing channel per a predetermined time period after databasing a user""s habit pattern by analyzing a user""s viewing habit from a user""s viewing channel, channel switching time, viewing time period of the channel, etc.
To achieve the above-described object, there is provided a method of analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting according to the present invention which includes a first step for comparing a present time and channel with a habit database per predetermined time period, a second step for checking whether a present habit channel is viewed in case the present time at the first step is a time corresponding to the habit, a third step for terminating the operation when the habit channel is viewed and showing channel information corresponding to the habit by a PIP screen when the habit channel is not viewed in the second step, a fourth step for displaying a message asking whether it is converted to the habit channel after showing the channel information at the third step, a fifth step for converting the channel at the fourth step to a channel by a user""s selection, a sixth channel for checking a habit function key input when the habit channel is viewed in the second step, and a seventh step for adjusting the presently viewed channel or other channels and channel conversion time in accordance with the user""s selection when the habit function key is inputted and reserving the result in the habit database.
Further, to achieve the above-described object, there is provided a method of analyzing/searching a user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting according to the present invention which includes a first step for displaying a habit channel by turning on TV at a time corresponding to the habit, a second step for displaying channel information corresponding to the habit after displaying the habit channel, a third step for displaying a message asking whether to continuously view, and a fourth step for maintaining the turned-on state of the habit channel in accordance with the user""s selection or turning off TV.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific example, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Method of analyzing/searching user""s viewing habit regarding aerial broadcasting


Intracavity particle detection is disclosed using optically pumped laser media. A laser medium, positioned within a laser cavity, is end-pumped by an optical pump source to excite the laser medium to provide laser light within the laser cavity, and a detecting region, also positioned within the laser cavity and capable of having particles, or particle-containing fluid, therein, is exposed to the laser light whereby light is affected, as by being scattered, by particles in the detecting region with the scattered light being indicative of particles, such as small particles having a size of between 0.05 and 10 microns, causing the light to be scattered so that the scattered light, when collected, can be used to provide an output indicative of particles at the detecting region. A laser cavity, having therein a solid state laser medium end-pumped by a semiconductor laser providing focused light into the laser medium to achieve gain-aperturing, provides high intracavity power, such as about 550 Watts, to enable detection within the laser cavity of small particles, including particles in a fluid, such as air, passing through the detecting region at high flow rates, including flow rates at, or greater than, one cubic foot per minute.

The use of detection devices for detection of particles in fluid is now well known, and such devices have been increasingly capable of detecting particles of ever smaller size, including detection of particles in fluids moved at ever increasing flow rates.
Scattering of laser light is now the most commonly used technique for the detection of small submicron airborne particles that are often deleterious to critical manufacturing processes. In this technique, a jet of particle-containing sample air is directed to intersect a laser beam at a detecting region so that particles entrained in the sample air scatter light at the detecting region. The scattered light is then collected and detected with the size of the small particles being usually inferred from the size of the scattered light signals.
The utility of a light scattering device for monitoring of small particles is primarily a function of the sensitivity of the device (i.e., the minimum particle size detectable) and the flow rate at which sample fluid, such as air, can be monitored. Often times, these present conflicting requirements since sensitivity normally decreases as the flow rate increases.
To maximize the sensitivity of a device it is common to place the scattered light detecting region inside the active (or passive) optical laser cavity. By so doing, advantage can be taken of the high circulating laser light intensity that can be generated inside low loss optical resonators without resorting to the costs and hazards normally associated with high output power lasers.
To achieve a high sampling rate, high flow rates are normally required through a limited volume detecting region (jet velocities on the order of 10 meters per second being common). Such high flow rates introduce both static and time varying gradients in the index of refraction in the scattering region which perturb the laser cavity, and these perturbations may modify the transverse mode structure of the laser cavity and degrade the amplitude stability of the intracavity laser power. Ultimately, the maximum sample flow rates of devices of this type are limited, and much of the technical content of current instrumentation is concerned with management of sample flow induced measurement noise.
Most now known commercial intracavity light scattering devices employ gas lasers, with the Helium Neon (HeNe) laser having been found to be particularly useful since it can be manufactured with very low cavity losses (on the order of 100 parts per million) and because of its low cost and long useful life. Particle detection using HeNe lasers is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,571,079, 4,594,715 and 4,798,465, and is also discussed in an article by R. G. Knollenberg entitled "The Measurement of Particle Sizes Below 0.1 Micrometers", Journal of Environmental Science, Jan.-Feb. 1985.
Using gas lasers, it is now possible to achieve intracavity powers on the order of about 50 Watts from a plasma tune approximately 300 millimeters in length, with the most common methods for excitation of gaseous laser media employing electrical discharges (commercial HeNe lasers, for example, commonly use a DC glow discharge with a discharge current on the order of 5 milliamperes).
With this type of excitation, it is necessary to employ a physical structure (usually a glass capillary tube) to confine the electrical discharge to a region of space small enough for effective overlap with the laser mode so that efficient laser operation is realized. The physical structure that confines the discharge, however, will also partially occlude the laser modes and introduce optical losses that depend on the transverse mode number of the mode (this is commonly referred to as diffraction loss and is usually employed to control the transverse mode structure of a gas laser).
The presence of physical aperturing of the laser modes found in gas lasers has been found to be a significant drawback in high flow rate intracavity light scattering applications. Sample flow induced index of refraction gradients cause deviations of the beam path within the laser cavity and therefore shift the beam position with respect to the cavity aperture (or apertures) and/or distort its shape. Thus, the sample flow modulates the diffraction loss of the laser cavity. This manifests itself as a static or time varying reduction in intracavity power, or modification of the transverse mode structure of the laser, and typically degrades the signal-to-noise ratio of light scattering devices.
In general, there is also a time varying component to the flow perturbation due to the presence of turbulence in flow jets. These time varying perturbations can significantly increase the noise level of the intracavity power and degrade the sensitivity of the light scattering device.
The effect of sample flow in gas laser cavities is so severe that fundamental mode HeNe cavities are typically extinguished by flow rates on the order of one cubic foot per minute (1 CFM) that are common in now known commercial devices. It has been found that higher order transverse mode cavities (with transverse mode numbers of approximately 3 to 5) are less perturbed by sample flow and are now preferred for high flow rate applications. The use of multimode cavities, however, usually requires more sophisticated noise cancellation techniques to separate the signal from small particles from that of the background from molecular scattering.
A simplified side section schematic presentation of a now known particle detection device using a HeNe plasma tube and having laser light intersected at a detecting region by a particle-containing air stream is shown in FIG. 1. In the particle detecting device shown in FIG. 1, about 12 Watts of intracavity power can be achieved in a TEM.sub.oo transverse mode under zero flow conditions.
The effect of sample flow in the prior art device, as shown in FIG. 1, is illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 3B. The degradation of intracavity power due to increasing flow rates is readily apparent in FIG. 2A with the intracavity power reaching negligible values for flow rates not much greater than 0.1 SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) and far less than 1 SCFM, and dramatic increases in the relative noise due to increasing flow rates are readily apparent in FIG. 2B even at flow rates well below 1 SCFM.
The use of an optically pumped, solid state laser medium, and, more particularly, a solid state laser medium, such as, for example, a Neodymium doped (1.1% by weight) Yttrium Aluminum Garnate (Nd:YAG) crystal, end-pumped by one or more laser diodes is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 34,729, 4,653,056, 4,723,257 4,739,507, 4,809,291 and 4,872,177, with U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,257 also showing optical coupling of light to the solid state laser medium, and it is suggested that a diode pumped solid state laser medium could include Nd:YVO.sub.4, Nd:YLF, Nd:YAP, Nd:YALO, Nd:glass, Nd:BEL, and Nd:GSGG, as well as Nd:YAG. None of these patents, however, appear to be directed to particle detection or particle detection using an optically pumped solid state laser medium in a laser cavity in conjunction with a detecting region also within the laser cavity.

Intracavity particle detection using optically pumped laser media