A track locking method for use in an optical disc device comprising a pickup head. The pickup head comprises an actuator equipped with an optical lens controlling a laser focus on the optical disc. The pickup head is moved to a predetermined position. A track error signal in the optical disc device is detected. Whether a flicker frequency of the track error signal is less than a threshold is determined. Based on the determination, the actuator is provided with a braking force to pre-deviate the optical lens, and a track locking signal is delivered to the actuator and control parameters of the pickup head is stored to lock the laser focus on a destination track of the optical disc.

The invention relates to a track locking method for an optical pickup head, in particular, to a track locking method that pre-deviates an optical lens on the actuator before locking a track based on the flicker frequency of a track error signal detected by the optical pickup head.
Conventionally, the surface and axis of an optical disc may not be uniformly distributed, and may suffer from eccentricity producing periodic radial and axial oscillations. Radial oscillations induce track flicker, and axial oscillations affect focus of the laser of the optical pickup head. A track locking mechanism is thus desirable to accurately focus on the destination track.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional optical disc device. Optical disc 11 is driven by a spindle motor 12, and a pickup head (PUH) 16 comprising an actuator 26 is borne by a sled mechanism 14. The actuator 26 is equipped with an optical lens 20 that focuses the laser. The optical lens 20 is kept in the center of a case 18 such that physical impact can be avoided. A CPU 22 coordinates operation of the described components.
The optical disc 11 comprises a plurality of tracks 24, and through PUH 16, data located at the destination track 24a is read. This operation, referred to as track seeking, is accomplished by a sled mechanism 14 moving the PUH 16 substantially above the destination track 24a, that is, a predetermined position. Thereafter, track locking is executed by an actuator 26. The actuator 26 accurately and rapidly tunes the position of the optical lens 20 with incremental axial and radial adjustments. The actuator receives a track locking signal to control the radial movement, and a focus signal to control the axial movement.
FIG. 2 shows the position of the PUH 16. Before track locking, the PUH 16 is distributed around point c, vibrating between point a and b due to disc deviation (This phenomenon, so called "run-out effect"). d1 and d2 denote the distance therebetween, substantially identical. The relative speed between the PUH 16 and the optical disc 11 is minimal at point a and b, and is maximal at point c. Conventionally, track locking is not executed until the relative speed therebetween is less than a threshold calculated from a track error signal. The flicker frequency of the track error signal, such as 13 k per second, is proportional to the relative speed, such that the track locking can be based thereon. The actuator 26 is controlled by a track locking signal to lock the optical lens 20 at point a or b.
FIGS. 3a and 3b show the movement of the optical lens 20. Initially, the optical lens 20 is in the case center 32, locked on point a of the optical disc 11, generating vibration 30, in which the vibration center 36 deviates from the case center 32. When another track seek and lock take place, because the actuator 26 responds faster than the sled mechanism 14, the optical lens 20 may complete the next track locking before the sled mechanism 14 moves to the proper position. As a result, inward deviation from the case center 32 increases, finally contacting the wall of case 18, inducing unexpected problems. Similarly, in another example, FIGS. 4a and 4b show the movement of the optical lens 20. The optical lens 20 may lock on the point b, with outward deviation also inducing the same problem. This phenomenon means that the PUH 16 is not always at case center 32 when track is locked, comprising two cases, inward deviation and outward deviation. When the optical disc device receives a sudden impact, which causes actuator 26 to lose a fix on destination track 24a, and data reading process is interrupted, such that another track seek and lock are required.

Track locking method for optical pickup head


An apparatus for holding down workpieces in milling machines and other machine tools. A hollow receptacle has undercut regions that receive lugs on the lower end of a stud. The stud thereby connects to the receptacle, and disconnects from it, by being turned only a fraction of a turn. A nut on the stud is friction related to it by an adjustable friction generator. The receptacle, nut and stud cooperate with a strap clamp and heel block, to very quickly and easily mount and demount parts in milling and other machines.

For high-volume (for example, many thousands) production of metal parts (workpieces) on milling machines and other machine tools, it can be practical to employ expensive quick-acting apparatus to hold down the workpieces that are being machined. Such apparatus is typically hydraulic. At the other end of the scale, when only a few metal parts are to be milled or otherwise machined, it is practical to use ordinary bolts and nuts to hold down the workpieces.
However, it is common for small production runs to occur. For example, a few hundreds or thousands of parts may be made identical to each other, as distinguished from the many thousands that would justify expensive quick-acting hydraulic hold-down apparatus. In production runs of this type, speed in changing from one part to the other is of paramount importance. Further, even during machining of the same part, it is frequently necessary to change the position of the hold-down apparatus in order for the entire machining of such part to be completed.
It is emphasized that when no workpiece is present, the hold-down apparatus should occupy as little space as possible--should not get in the way. However, it is also important in a production run that the hold-down apparatus will stay in the same place for part after part without any necessity for measuring, adjustment or positioning work by the machinist or operator.
In addition to the above, the cost of the hold-down apparatus is of distinct significance. If the hold-down apparatus is not relatively inexpensive, as well as being simple, easy and fast to operate, it will probably not achieve commercial success. It is pointed out that some workpieces require a substantial number of hold-down elements, this being another factor relative to the overall cost to the machine shop or manufacturer.
A further important factor is that the hold-down apparatus should not be such as to become clogged by chips and granules that fly off the workpiece during machining, cutting and other operations. It is not desired that the operator be required to stop production and blow out granules, etc., at frequent intervals.
Another factor to be taken into account is tolerances relative to the thickness of the part being manufactured. It should be understood that the workpieces will vary slightly in thickness from part to part.

Apparatus for holding down workpieces to be machined


Compounds and methods for inducing protective immunity against cancer are disclosed. The compounds provided include polypeptides that contain at least one immunogenic portion of one or more SPAS-1 proteins and DNA molecules encoding such polypeptides. Such compounds may be formulated into vaccines and pharmaceutical compositions for immunization against cancer, or can be used for the diagnosis of cancer and the monitoring of cancer progression.

The present invention relates generally to therapy and diagnosis of cancer, such as prostate cancer. The invention is more specifically related to polypeptides comprising at least a portion of a SPAS-1 protein, and to polynucleotides encoding such polypeptides. Such polypeptides and polynucleotides can be used in vaccines and pharmaceutical compositions for prevention and treatment of prostate cancer, and for the diagnosis and monitoring of such cancers including but not limited to prostate cancer and other tumors that express this gene. The present invention also relates to methods of identifying and cloning T cell-defined tumor antigens.
Cancer is a significant health problem throughout the world. Although advances have been made in detection and therapy of cancer, no vaccine or other universally successful method for prevention or treatment is currently available. Current therapies, which are generally based on a combination of chemotherapy or surgery and radiation, continue to prove inadequate in many patients.
In North America, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer among men. Metastatic prostate cancer is initially treated by androgen deprivation, which has temporary beneficial effects in over 80% of patients. However, despite a variety of hormonal treatments, all patients ultimately develop hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) with a median survival of approximately one-year.
There is a considerable literature demonstrating immunological targets for a few other types of cancer, including notably melanoma. However, there are very few immunological targets for prostate cancer that have been demonstrated in either animal models or in man. Among the few that have been examined, largely on the basis of fairly restricted expression in prostate, are prostate specific antigen (PSA), and prostatic acid phosphase (PAP), and prostate stem cell antigen (PCSA). Although there have been an occasional reports of induction of T cell responses, there have been no documented cases showing strong therapeutic effects of immunization to any of these proteins. Nor have there been any instances of antigens from prostate cancer cells isolated by virtue of their ability to stimulate T cells. It is clearly very desirable to identify additional targets to be used in immunological therapy of prostate cancer, as well as other cancers.
A theme that is emerging in immunological studies of both experimental models in mice and in clinical situations is that immune responses to tumor cells are very often reacted against normal unmutated, normal tissue specific antigens. Many experimental strategies for vaccination against tumors have been devised (see Rosenberg, S., 2000, Development of Cancer Vaccines, ASCO EDUCATIONAL BOOK Spring: 60-62; Logothetis, C., 2000, ASCO EDUCATIONAL BOOK SPRING: 300-302; Khayat, D., 2000, ASCO EDUCATIONAL BOOK Spring: 414-428; Foon, K., 2000, ASCO EDUCATIONAL BOOK Spring: 730-738; see also Restifo, N. and Sznol, M., Cancer Vaccines, Ch. 61, pp. 3023-3043 in DeVita, V. et al. (eds.), 1997, CANCER: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ONCOLOGY, Fifth Edition (Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, Pa.). In these strategies, a vaccine is prepared using autologous or allogeneic tumor cells. These cellular vaccines have been shown to be most effective when the tumor cells are transduced to express GM-CSF. GM-CSF has been shown to be a potent activator of antigen presentation for tumor vaccination (Dranoff et al., 1993, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U.S.A. 90: 3539-43).
Previous studies have shown that the T cell activation molecule CTLA-4 is an important down regulator of T cells responses (Thompson C. B. and Allison J. P., 1997, Immunity 7:445-50). Further, blockade of CTLA-4 alone or in combination with a variety of types of vaccines can lead to rejection of both immunogenic as well as tumors considered to be non-immunogenic in experimental tumor models such as mammary carcinoma (Hurwitz et al., 1998, supra) and primary prostate cancer (Hurwitz A. et al., 2000, Cancer Research 60: 2444-8). In these instances, non-immunogenic tumors, such as the B16 melanoma, have been rendered susceptible to destruction by the immune system.
One study demonstrated that one could achieve irradication of a murine melanoma B16, an extremely aggressive and non-immunogenic model tumor, by immunizing mice with a vaccine consisting of GM-CSF producing irradiated tumor cells along with CTLA-4 blockade (van Elsas, A et al., 1999, J. Exp. Med. 190:355-66)). Irradication of the tumor was followed development of vitiligo, a progressive depigmentation syndrome often observed in human melanoma patients that undergo spontaneous remission. A peptide was derived from the normal, unmutated trp-2 gene as a major target for the anti-melanoma response. Interestingly, the trp-2 gene has been previously shown to encode a target of T cells regularly detected in human melanoma patients.
In spite of considerable research into therapies for these and other cancers, prostate cancer remains difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved methods for detecting and treating such cancers. The present invention fulfills these needs and further provides other related advantages.

Diagnosis of prostate cancer with SPAS-1 cancer antigen

The Regents of the University of California


A cutting board for cutting food products which is composed of a plurality of abrasive inserts arranged in parallel rows. In use, the knife blade is drawn along the channel formed between the adjacent rows, and the contact between the knife blade and the abrasive inserts acts to sharpen the knife blade on both of its sides.

The present invention relates to a cutting board for cutting food products, and a method of fabricating the same.
Cutting boards of the described type typically comprise a block of hardwood, or a rigid sheet of hard plastic or other similar material. The food product is placed upon the cutting board, and the knife or cleaver is drawn through the food product while the food product is held down by the hand of the operator, or some other instrument which is held by the operator, so as to prevent shifting and slipping.
The juices exuded from many food products, such as meats, render it difficult to prevent shifting and slipping of the product on the board, and the juices can also create an unclean environment. Also, the contact between the edge of the moving knife and the cutting board results in a rapid dulling of the knife edge, and the knife must be sharpened at frequent intervals.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cutting board for food products which not only assists in supporting the food product in a non-slip manner, but which is also able to separate and collect the natural juices of the food product for easy removal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cutting board of the described type which is able to sharpen the knife during use and thereby avoid the separate sharpening operations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cutting board which is totally impervious to the juices encountered during the cutting operation, and which is easy to clean.


A medical film that is excellent in biocompatibility and bioabsorbability and has an excellent strength in suturing and bonding is provided. A reinforcing material 12 made of a biodegradable polymer is placed in a gelatin solution so as to allow the solution to infiltrate in the reinforcing material 12 and then the gelatin is dried. This allows the gelatin that has infiltrated entirely in an internal part of the reinforcing material 12 to gel, thereby forming a gelatin film 11. Thus, a medical film 1 in which the reinforcing material 12 and the gelatin film 11 are integrated is obtained. The gelatin film 11 preferably is a cross-linked gelatin film.

In various clinical fields including cardiac surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, abdominal surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, it has been a serious problem that after a surgical operation of various types or due to an external injury, tissues in an affected part in a living body adhere to one another. The adhesion of tissues, for instance, can cause pain or impair function, which, if serious, requires another surgical operation for separating the adhering tissues. Moreover, the adhesion also causes a problem of making a follow-up operation with respect to the primary disease difficult. To cope with these problems, conventionally, antiadhesive materials for covering and protecting tissues potentially subject to adhesion have been developed, for the purpose of preventing adhesion of tissues in a living body. A regenerated oxidized cellulose fabric, a hyaluronic acid-carboxymethyl cellulose mixture film, etc., have been in actual use as antiadhesive materials.
More specifically, in order for such an antiadhesive material to perform the antiadhesive function, it is necessary for the antiadhesive material to be present at an application site (affected part) at which adhesion possibly occurs during a required period of time so as to function as a barrier between tissues at the application site, be decomposed finally, and be absorbed in the body. In other words, the antiadhesive material is required to be excellent in biocompatibility, bioabsorbability, and the like.
Even in the case of such an antiadhesive material excellent in biocompatibility and the like as described above, it has to be fixed firmly at the application site so as to perform these functions sufficiently. As a fixing method for this purpose, normally, methods of suturing with a suture thread, bonding with an adhesive, and the like have been used.
However, the conventional antiadhesive material as described above has difficulty in, for instance, performing the antiadhesive function while maintaining its form in a living body for a required period of time, and since it does not have a strength sufficient for durability in suturing, bonding, or the like, it is torn in some cases. Thus, the handling of the antiadhesive material and the fixing of the same at an application site are difficult.
For instance, antiadhesive materials formed with gelatin films excellent in biocompatibility, bioabsorbability, etc., which recently have been studied and developed, and now are in actual use (see JP 11(1999)-239610 A and JP 2000-37450 A, for instance) are inferior in allowing themselves to adhere and fix to surfaces of tissues at an application site. Therefore, for fixing the same at an application site, the suturing and/or bonding methods as described above are used. However, such gelatin films, when applied to tissues, absorb moisture of the tissues and become in a hydrogel state containing water. Therefore, they have a problem of being difficult to fix by suturing, etc.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Encapsulation packages for stent-deployable monitoring devices formed of resonator sensors and allowing for magnetic biasing elements that exhibit a targeted impact on the mechanical characteristics of a stent are provided. Encapsulation packages are formed of different types and include a longitudinal shield and curved end on profile for aligning the shield within the deployable stent, the shield having perforations such that a resonator can be positioned adjacent the perforations for allowing particulate within the stent to collect and be measured by the resonator during deployment.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Stents are tubular implanted devices meant to prop open a constricted vessel or duct. Stents are typically formed of a metal or plastic and are typically configured for particular applications and particular vessels.
While stents relieve patients from suffering constriction, stents are not a perfect long-term solution. Indeed, the effectiveness of stents can degrade over time. As a result, stents should be monitored because accumulation of tissue and/or other biomass can block the stent after an unpredictable period of time. Current practices for monitoring stent blockage are indirect, invasive, and/or expensive; they include blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography/cholangiography. The shortcomings of current practices often lead to mistimed therapeutic actions, including preemptive and unnecessary invasive procedures and post-symptomatic stent replacement.
An approach to stent monitoring has been through the use of a direct wireless monitoring system. U.S. Pat. No. 8,212,552 discusses stents that have wireless magnetoelastic sensors integrated into the internal lumen of the stent. The sensor mechanically vibrates in response to the application of an oscillating magnetic field from a coil external to the patient. The mechanical vibration of the sensor generates an oscillating magnetic flux that can be measured with a second external coil. The frequency content of the response measured by that second external coil is related to the accumulation of the occlusive biomass, which mechanically loads the sensor. By using a method that is direct and wireless, such techniques have been shown to alter the course of therapy at an earlier junction, preventing the risk of major complications due to stent occlusion.
While stents with integrated wireless sensors have been developed, there is still a need for better performing stents integrated with more accurate sensors. Particularly, given the small scale size of many stents, having a stent and sensor design that is able to withstand deployment while maintaining mechanical performance and wireless signal strength continues to challenge stent designers.

Encapsulation methods for fluid-communicating magnetoelastic sensors

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


A method and system for asynchronously transporting narrowband and broadband transmissions over a link includes providing at least one host terminal or at least one network unit for receiving and transmitting communications over a transmission line. Narrowband transmissions are converted to and from composite asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells by separating data and signaling of each channel into separate byte positions in the composite ATM cells. The composite asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells are transferred over the transmission link. The composite asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells include both narrowband and broadband composite cells such that an entire bandwith of the transmission line is available for both narrowband and broadband transmissions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information transport systems, and more particularly to a link for transporting both data and voice information over a single asynchronous transfer mode system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transmission systems are employed to transfer or transport information between different locations. Access networks which are presently in use provide asynchronous transfer for either data or voice. Conventional access systems typically include dedicated channels for employing data transfer and different channels for the voice transfer.
Several access network configurations, including fiber-in-the-loop (FITL), employ a host digital terminal (HDT) that interfaces with one or more service networks and serves multiple distant terminals via dedicated transmission links. The distant terminals, which may include, for example, an optical network unit (ONU), hold line cards that connect to each subscriber's dedicated circuit. On the network side of the HDT, services are transported over facilities dedicated to the service type, for example, time division multiplexing (TDM) or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
Although the services, including data transfer and voice transfer may share the same physical medium, as in a synchronous optical network (SONET) connection, for example, the services must be carried in separate tributaries, i.e., on separate channels. Between the HDT and the ONU, the two traffic types must share the same medium for economy, for example, the cost of the link is critical for a FITL access network.
Since the services need separate tributaries, conventional systems must predetermine channels for carrying data and predetermine channels for carrying voice transmissions, for example. This limits the available bandwidth to predetermined portions. Data channels cannot be employed for transferring voice and voice channels cannot be employed for transferring data. This results in a bottleneck if more data or more voice information must be transferred than the dedicated channels can accommodate.
Systems for transporting TDM telephony and ATM data in different tributaries of the transmitted signal have suffered several drawbacks. The allocation of bandwidth between the two traffic types is not flexible and the implementation typically leads to separate hardware shelves for each traffic category at each end of the link. Standards for full-service access network describe an all-ATM host terminal to ONU link for passive optical networks (PONs), however the transport of voice services is not well defined and the multi-access functions required a complex control scheme and new devices.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method which supports high quality voice transmission and data transmission at the rates needed by service categories (e.g., asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), high bit-rate digital subscriber line (HDSL), etc.). A further need exists for a hardware implementation of such a system which employs off-the-shelf components to reduce costs.

Transporting voice telephony and data via a single ATM transport link


A particle beam system includes: a particle source to generate a beam of charged particles; a first multi-lens array including a first multiplicity of individually adjustable and focusing particle lenses so that at least some of the particles pass through openings in the multi-lens array in the form of a plurality of individual particle beams; a second multi-aperture plate including a multiplicity of second openings downstream of the first multi-lens array so that some of the particles which pass the first multi-lens array impinge on the second multi-aperture plate and some of the particles which pass the first multi-lens array pass through the openings in the second multi-aperture plate; and a controller configured to supply an individually adjustable voltage to the particle lenses of the first multi-lens array and thus individually adjust the focusing of the associated particle lens for each individual particle beam.

Just like single-beam particle microscopes, multi-beam particle microscopes can be used to analyze objects on a microscopic scale. Images of an object that represent a surface of the object, for example, can be recorded using these particle microscopes. In this way, for example the structure of the surface can be analyzed. While in a single-beam particle microscope a single particle beam of charged particles, such as, for example, electrons, positrons, muons or ions, is used to analyze the object, in a multi-beam particle microscope, a plurality of particle beams are used for this purpose. In general, the plurality of the particle beams, also referred to as a bundle, are directed at the surface of the object at the same time, as a result of which a significantly larger area of the surface of the object can be sampled and analyzed as compared with a single-beam particle microscope within the same period of time.
WO 2005/024 881 A2 discloses a multiple particle beam system in the form of an electron microscopy system which operates with a multiplicity of electron beams in order to scan an object to be examined using a bundle of electron beams in parallel. The bundle of electron beams is generated by an electron beam generated by an electron source being directed at a multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of openings. Some of the electrons of the electron beam impinge on the multi-aperture plate and are absorbed there and another portion of the beam passes through the openings in the multi-aperture plate, and so an electron beam is shaped in the beam path downstream of each opening, the cross section of the electron beam being defined by the cross section of the opening. Furthermore, suitably chosen electric fields provided in the beam path upstream and/or downstream of the multi-aperture plate have the effect that each opening in the multi-aperture plate acts as a lens on the electron beam passing through the opening, and so the electron beams are focused in a plane situated at a distance from the multi-aperture plate. Typically, the plane in which the foci of the electron beams are formed is imaged by a downstream optical unit onto the surface of the object to be examined, such that the individual electron beams impinge the object in a focused manner as primary beams. There they generate interaction products, such as backscattered electrons or secondary electrons, emanating from the object, which are shaped to form secondary beams and are directed at a detector by a further optical unit. There each of the secondary beams impinges a separate detector element such that the electron intensities detected by the detector element provide information relating to the object at the location at which the corresponding primary beam impinges the object. The bundle of primary beams is scanned systematically over the surface of the object in order to generate an electron micrograph of the object in the manner that is customary for scanning electron microscopes.
In the multiple particle beam system described, a high resolution and a high throughput is often highly relevant for the satisfactory and successful use in practice. In this context, it is usually desirable, inter alia, to set the intensity of the particle beams.
US 2017/0025241 A1 discloses a multi-beam particle beam system, in which the current density within the particle beams is variable. Specifically, the irradiance is set herein, before multi-beams are even formed from the primary electron beam. To set the irradiance, a double collimator is used as per US 2017/0025241 A1, the double collimator being arranged directly downstream of the electron source in the beam direction. By varying the lens excitation of the double collimator, it is possible to vary the current density of the electrons which pass the openings in a multi-aperture plate downstream of the double collimator.
However, the above-described multi-beam particle beam system can reach its limits if the number of utilized particle beams is increased further. Obtaining sufficient beam intensities for the individual beams can involve using as many particles from the particle source as possible. However, in that case the emission characteristic of the particle source can become more important, more precisely the uniformity of the emission characteristic over the entire utilized emission angle. When using relatively large emission angles, the emission characteristic of particle sources, e.g., of thermal field emission (TFE) sources, may no longer be uniform throughout. Accordingly, the irradiance at a first multi-aperture plate in a corresponding particle beam system may also no longer be uniform throughout and there can be relatively large variations in the current densities in different individual beams. However, in the case of multi-particle inspection systems, it is generally desired that there is only a small variation in the current strengths between the various individual beams, which is typically less than a few percent, so that all individual image fields of the multi-image field are scanned with an equivalent number of particles or electrons. By way of example, this is usually a precondition to obtain individual images with approximately the same brightness. The obtainable resolution of the individual images can also depend on the individual beam current.

Particle beam system for adjusting the current of individual particle beams


The invention provides a holder for a rifle for mounting the rifle on a wall, e.g. inside a vehicle, with one front and at least one rear retainer for securing a respective front and rear rifle section--as viewed in the direction of the barrel--, wherein the front retainer at least partially envelops the front gun-stock and/or the barrel of the rifle and wherein the rear retainer receives the rear section of the rifle. In addition, the invention provides a kit for assembling a rifle holder of this type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for a rifle for mounting the rifle on a wall section, in particular inside a vehicle, with at least one front and at least one rear retainer for securing the rifle at a respective front and rear rifle section--as viewed in the direction of the barrel. The invention also relates to a kit for assembling such a holder.
Transportation of rifles especially in motor vehicles can cause a problem that the rifle(s) must, on one hand, be securely attached without taking up much space and must, on the other hand, be quickly removable from the holder when needed, for example inside military vehicles. Known rifle holders do not satisfy these requirements, mainly as a result of the strong vibrations which an automobile is subjected to in open terrain.
2. Description of the Related Art
From U.S. Pat. No. 1,837,939 there is known a rifle stand of the type described above which is mounted on the outside of a vehicle body. However, the known rifle stand is only capable of receiving the rifle in one specific position, namely vertically, and is furthermore only adapted for a certain type of rifle.
DE-PS 29 25 186 also describes a holder for a weapon which can be mounted inside an automobile, wherein the weapon holder has a front retainer for inserting the rifle barrel and a rear retainer enveloping the gun-stock at the transition to the rifle neck. With this design of a rifle holder, the rifle can advantageously be secured to a wall only in an essentially horizontal position, with the front gun-stock tilted slightly downwards. In any other orientation, the rifle would not be retained safely. If the rifle is secured, for example, in an upright position, then strong vibrations can cause the front gun-stock of the rifle to disengage from the front retainer, thereby causing the entire rifle to break away from the holder.
Moreover, DE-OS 22 63 726 describes a safety stand for rifles wherein several rifles can be stored like in an magazine, such as a weapons depot. Because of its size, this rifle stand, too, is not particularly suited for a flexible installation, especially not for mounting in a vehicle.
The common feature of these holders is that each type of holder and each type of rifle require a specific--specially adapted--holder.

Holder for a rifle and kit for assembling holder


The camera system comprises a camera and a data-recording device. The camera has a mount for attaching the photo-taking lens and this mount can also be used for attaching the data-recording device by way of the data-recording device""s mounting member. The camera has a recording medium inside it for recording photo-taking information. When the data-recording device is attached, photo-taking information can be transmitted by communication members in both the camera and data-recording device to a recording medium contained in the data-recording device.

This application is based on application No. 2000-242535 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a camera system that handles electronic data, and more particularly, to a camera system having a data recording device that communicates with a camera capable of recording photo-taking data including character data and sound data, as well as image data, and that records the data recorded in the camera in an external recording medium.
A device that uses a memory card comprising a recording medium on which photo-taking data is recorded, and that comprises a camera having a card holder in which the memory card may be housed, has conventionally been proposed. In addition, a camera having a simple detachable rear cover has also been proposed, wherein a separately available rear cover has a data recording device and may be exchanged with the simple rear cover, enabling photo-taking data to be recorded in this data recording device.
However, the above conventional devices have the following problems.
In the former related art, all cameras must have a card holder that houses a memory card, which imposes a burden on the user in terms of size and cost of the camera.
In the latter related art, the mentioned function is achieved by replacing the rear cover of the camera with a rear cover that has a photo-taking data recording device. However, because the configuration of the rear cover of a camera varies from one model to another, the photo-taking data recording device must be designed to fit each model, which entails numerous development processes. In addition, the user also must purchase a rear cover that includes a data recording device for each camera, which is economically burdensome.
An object of the present invention is to provide a camera system with increased applicability.
The present invention provides a camera system having the following construction in order to resolve the technical problems described above.
The camera system comprises a camera and a data recording device that may be detachably mounted to the camera. The camera has a first mounting member to which the photo-taking lens may be detachably mounted, a first communication member that communicates with the photo-taking lens mounted on the first mounting member, and a first recording member that records photo-taking information in a built-in or detachable first recording medium. The data recording device has a second mounting member that may be detachably mounted to the first mounting member of the camera, a second communication member that, when the data recording device is mounted to the first mounting member of the camera via the second mounting member, reads out the photo-taking information recorded in the first recording medium of the camera through communication with the first communication member of the camera, and a second recording member that records the photo-taking information that has been read out by the second communication member in a detachable or built-in second recording medium.
In the above construction, the camera records photo-taking information, such as the captured image data itself, information regarding the captured image (character data representing the shutter speed, aperture and photo-taking lens information, sound data including comments regarding the location or object of the photo-taking, etc.) to the first recording medium via the first recording member. The data recording device may be mounted to and detached from the first mounting member of the camera, on which the photo-taking lens is mounted. When the data recording device is mounted to the camera, it communicates with the camera, reads at least part of the photo-taking information recorded in the first recording medium of the camera, and records it in the second recording medium of the data recording device.
Using the above construction, the data recording device may be used on various types of cameras if the camera is compatible in regard to the first mounting member to which the photo-taking lens is mounted. In addition, because the data recording device uses for its communication with the camera the existing first communication member of the camera that is used for communication with the photo-taking lens, it is not necessary to equip the camera with new signal terminals, offering the advantage of a smaller space requirement and a reduction in the size of the camera.
Therefore, the present invention can provide a camera system with increased applicability.
The present invention also provides a camera system having the following. construction.
The camera system comprises a camera and a data recording device that may be detachably mounted to the camera. The camera has a first mounting member to which the photo-taking lens may be detachably mounted, a first communication member that communicates with the photo-taking lens mounted on the first mounting member, and a first recording member that records photo-taking information in a built-in or detachable first recording medium. The data recording device has a second mounting member that may be detachably mounted to the first mounting member of the camera, a second communication member that, when the data recording device is mounted to the first mounting member of the camera via the second mounting member, reads out the photo-taking information recorded in the first recording medium of the camera through communication with the first communication member of the camera, and a communication member that transmits the photo-taking information read out by the second communication member to a different device via wireless communication.
In the above construction, when the data recording device is mounted to the camera, it communicates with the camera, reads out at least part of the photo-taking information recorded in the first recording medium of the camera, and transmits it to a different device.
Using the above construction, the data recording device may be used on various types of cameras if the camera is compatible in regard to the first mounting member to which the photo-taking lens is mounted. In addition, because the data recording device uses for its communication with the camera the existing first communication member of the camera that is used for communication with the photo-taking lens, it is not necessary to equip the camera with new signal terminals, offering the advantage of smaller space requirements and a reduction in the size of the camera.
Therefore, the present invention can provide a camera system with increased applicability.
In the above construction, the first recording medium may comprise a built-in (integrated) memory member, such as a RAM, or a detachable recording medium.
In the above construction, the second recording medium preferably comprises a detachable semiconductor memory or a detachable recording medium using the magnetic recording method or photomagnetic recording method.
Generally, a recording medium in which data write may be performed at high speed is expensive, but if a high-speed but small-capacity first recording medium and a low-speed but large-capacity second recording medium are used, high-speed processing may be performed during photo-taking, while the second recording medium may be kept low in cost and easy to handle.
The first communication member of the camera preferably communicates with the second communication member of the data recording device using a method different from the method used when it communicates with the photo-taking lens.
Because the amount of information transmitted is different between when the camera communicates with the photo-taking lens and when the camera communicates with the data recording device, by using different communication methods, efficient communication may be obtained in either case.
The camera preferably transmits identification information by which to identify the camera to the second communication member of the data recording device via the first
communication member. The second recording member of the data recording device records the photo-taking information in the second recording medium while associating it with the transmitted identification information. The camera or data recording device has a display member that displays with priority the photo-taking information recorded in the second recording medium and associated with the identification information for the camera to which the data recording device is mounted.
Using the above construction, because the data recording device records the photo-taking information while associating it with the camera identification information, even if the data recording device is used on different multiple cameras, it can separately record the information regarding each camera. The information regarding photo-taking performed by the multiple different cameras and recorded in the data recording device is displayed in the display member of the camera or the data recording device, with priority on the camera to which the data recording device is currently mounted. Consequently, such operations as recording and deletion of the photo-taking information for the camera to which the data recording device is currently mounted and which has the highest frequency of recording and deletion operations in connection with the data recording device may be immediately performed while viewing the display member, offering convenience.
The data recording device preferably has a sound input member by which the sound data input from the sound input member is recorded in the second recording medium via the second recording member.
Using the above construction, sound may be input using the data recording device, and sound data such as comments regarding the location and object of the photo-taking may be recorded. While it is desirable that the data recording device be used on its own, i.e., without being mounted to the camera, it may be used while being mounted to the camera. In addition, the sound input member may be integrated into the data recording device or may be detachably mounted to it. Where the sound input member is detachably mountable, it may be mounted to the second mounting member of the data recording device.
The data recording device preferably has a communication member by which to communicate with other devices via wireless communication.
Using the above construction, the information read out from the first recording medium and the information read out from the second recording medium may be transmitted to different devices, or the information received from a different device may be recorded in the second recording medium. The communication member may be integrated into the data recording device or may be detachably mounted to it. Where the communication member is detachably mountable, it may be mounted to the second mounting member of the data recording device, for example.
It is further preferred that the communication member comprise a communication unit that may be detachably mounted to the data recording device. This communication unit includes a third mounting member by which to mount the communication unit to the second mounting member of the data recording device, and a third communication member that communicates with the second communication member of the data recording device when the communication unit is mounted to the second mounting member of the data recording device via the third mounting member.
The camera preferably has a communication member by which to communicate with other devices via wireless communication.
For example, communication may be performed between cameras having a communication feature, such that (i) the information recorded in one camera may be transmitted to a different camera to which a data recording device is mounted, and (ii) information may be recorded in the data recording device. One data recording device may be shared among multiple cameras, offering convenience.
It is preferred that the size of the data recording device essentially match the diameter of the photo-taking lens mounted to the first mounting member of the camera.
Using the above construction, because the size of the data recording device essentially matches that of the photo-taking lens, it is small and lightweight, and easy to carry. In addition, it is easy to carry the device while it is mounted to a camera. The data recording device offers great portability with a size equivalent to a small photo-taking lens, and may be housed in a camera holder as if it were an integrated part of the camera while being mounted to the camera in place of the photo-taking lens.
The present invention also provides a data recording device used in the camera system of each of the above constructions.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiments of the invention.


A method and a system for ascertaining the driving situation of a motor vehicle by using data provided in the vehicle indicating the value of at least one state variable of the vehicle are provided. To relieve the burden on the driver a data record providing the history of the at least one state variable is supplied. In a neural network in the motor vehicle is supplied by a suitably programmed computer. The neural network has at least one input layer and one output layer, each of the layers having a plurality of perceptrons. The respective value of the at least one state variable of the respective point in time, preferably a normalized value, is supplied to a perceptron of the neural network. After the neural network has been trained, the current driving situation is output by the perceptrons of the output layer of the neural network.

The present invention relates to a method for determining the driving situation of a motor vehicle and a corresponding system.
Due to the growing volume of information made available in a motor vehicle and the associated demands on the driver, some well-directed relief is required when the burden is high due to the traffic situation. The present invention provides a method and a system for relieving the driver.
One aspect of the inventive method is the use of data provided in the motor vehicle, representing the value of at least one state variable of the vehicle. This data may be made available via the data bus of the vehicle, for example, for implementation of the inventive method. In a first step, a data record providing the history of the at least one state variable is supplied. In a second step, a neural network is made available by a suitably programmed computer in the motor vehicle. The neural network of the inventive method can have at least one input layer and one output layer, each layer having a plurality of perceptrons. In a third step, the respective value of the at least one state variable of the respective point in time, can be standardized to the range of 0 to 1, like all the other values, is sent to one perceptron of the neural network, the current driving situation then being output by the perceptrons of the output layer of the neural network after being trained.
A perceptron is a mathematical function (software function) formed by software, calculating from input values an output value that is relayed to various perceptrons. The input values are weighted and the output value of the perceptron is a mapping function of the weighted input values according to the software function.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in greater detail below.
An exemplary neural network is a sigmoid network that can have three layers. Each perceptron in this case is formed by the sigmoid function, which is essentially known. Sigmoid networks are advantageously characterized in that the output value of the perceptron, i.e., the software function is largely linear to the output value, which simplifies further processing.
The prevailing driving state of the vehicle can be ascertained, i.e., determined, from a chronological sequence of driving situations that have been detected. A prevailing driving state is assigned to a chronological sequence of driving situations that have been detected on the basis of at least one assignment specification. Instead of the early driving state, a new driving state can be determined only when the new driving state has already been ascertained, i.e., determined, repeatedly within an interval of time that has elapsed.
A different situation can be assigned to each perceptron of the output layer and/or its output signal. The maximum output signal of all the output signals of the perceptrons of the output layer indicates the current driving situation of the motor vehicle.
The output signal, preferably the signal peak of the first perceptron of the output layer of the neural network can indicate a "stop and go" driving situation. The output signal, such as a signal peak, of the second perceptron of the output layer of the neural network can be defined by the "city traffic" driving situation. The output signal, can be a signal peak of the third perceptron of the output layer of the neural network stands for the "cruising" driving situation. The output signal, can be the signal peak, of the fourth perceptron of the output layer of the neural network stands for the "sporty" driving situation. In summary, the input layer of the neural network, i.e., the corresponding computer program in this embodiment of the present invention, is chronologically supplied with a data record having state variables of the motor vehicle and the driving situation is determined chronologically on the basis of the maximum output signal of all perceptrons of the output layer. It is self-evident that the driving situation thereby determined may also be grouped into a larger or smaller number of classes ("stop and go," etc.).
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the driving situation is considered to be nonspecific when the difference between the value of the maximum output signal of all perceptrons of the output layer and the value of the next smaller output signal of the respective perceptron is less than 20%. The same thing is also true alternatively or additionally in another exemplary embodiment when the value of the greatest output signal of all perceptrons of the output layer is smaller than 10% of its maximum value. For these optional inventive measures it is possible to take into account only driving situations that have been determined with sufficient certainty. This is true in particular of determination of driving state based on the driving situation ascertained.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the extent of the information to be relayed to the driver of the vehicle is based on the driving state ascertained. With the inventive method and/or system, information with a high deflection such as a telephone call can be withheld from the driver temporarily during a driving state which makes high demands on the driver, e.g., rapid driving on the autobahn, i.e., highway, and/or it is saved for later display, e.g., in a less demanding driving situation.
In an inventive embodiment and/or an inventive man-machine interface, the driver is able to select which information and/or which totality of information in a driving situation of the first class such as "stop and go" is to be displayed and/or output for him in a second class, e.g., "city driving," etc.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and system for determining the driving situation

Beyerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A curable epoxy resin formulation comprising

The present invention relates to a curable epoxy resin formulation containing specific long-chain epoxy group-terminated polysters and polyalkylene di- and triamines, and to the use thereof for encapsulating electrical and electronic components.
Curable epoxy resin formulations which may be used as casting resin materials for encapsulating electrical and electronic components are known in the art. Exacting demands are made of such encapsulating materials, in particular with respect to heat ageing and to flexibility at different temperatures.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,169 there is disclosed a flexible epoxy resin formulation in which the diglycidyl ether of a diphenol is modified with a diglycidyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol, and a low molecular weight polyoxyalkylenediamine is used as hardener. The mouldings fabricated from such epoxy resin formulations have only comparatively low flexibility.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,717 there is likewise disclosed an encapsulating formulation consisting of a diglycidyl ether of a diphenol, a diglycidyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol and a polyoxyalkylenediamine, which formulation additionally comprises primary or secondary aryl- or alkanolamines for enhancing the solubility of the encapsulating formulation in alcohol. The mouldings obtained from these epoxy resin formulations are of comparatively low flexibility.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,108 there are disclosed adhesive formualtions based on the diglycidyl ester of dimerised linoleic acid and an adduct of 2 mol of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and 1 mol of dimerised linoleic acid, and which additionally comprise plasticisers. In these formulations polyesters based on linoleic acid are neither used nor in any way made obvious to those skilled in the art.
It has now been found that it is possible to obtain flexible mouldings which are based on modified epoxy resins and which retain their flexibility over a wide temperature range, especially at low temperatures, and which also meet exacting demands made of ageing resistance, by using as epoxy resin an epoxy group-terminated polyester of a dimerised or trimerised fatty acid and a polyhydric alcohol and, as hardener for the epoxy resin, a mixture of a polyoxyalkylene di- or triamine and a hardener which is not a polyoxyalkyleneamine.
Accordingly, the invention relates to a curable epoxy resin formulation which comprises
a) 40 to 100% by weight of an epoxy group-terminated polyester of a dimerised or trimerised fatty acid and a polyhydric alcohol, and 0 to 60% by weight of a diepoxide which is not an epoxy group-terminated polyester,
b) a hardener for epoxy resins consisting of 50 to 99% by weight of a polyoxyalkylene di- or triamine and 1 to 50% by weight of a hardener which is not a polyoxyalkyleneamine, and comprising as further optional components
c) a curing accelerator, and
d) customary modifiers for epoxy casting resins, with the proviso that the sum of the constituents in component a) as well as in component b) is in each case 100% by weight.
Component a) of the novel epoxy resin formulations constitutes a known class of compounds and embraces the adducts of diepoxides with carboxyl-terminated polyesters. Such adducts based on diglycidyl compounds and carboxyl-terminated polyesters of dimerised monomeric unsaturated fatty acid and alkane diols and the preparation thereof are disclosed, inter alia, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,365. Epoxy group-containing adducts of cycloaliphatic diepoxides which contain at least one one 1,2-epoxy group located at a 5- or 6-membered carbocyclic ring, typically bis(2,3-epoxycyclopentyl) ether, 2,3-epoxy-cyclopentylglycidyl ether, 1,2-bis(2,3-epoxycyclopentyloxy)ethane or 3,4-epoxy-cyclohexylmethyl-3xe2x80x2, 4xe2x80x2-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate, and the carboxyl-terminated polyesters of dimerised monomeric unsaturated fatty acid and alkanediols, as well as the preparation thereof, are more fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,674. These epoxy group-containing adducts may usually be prepared by reacting 1 mol of the carboxyl group-terminated polyester with 2 mol of the diepoxide at elevated temperature.
Component a) of the the epoxy resin formulations of this invention is preferably an epoxy group-containing adduct of a diglycidyl compound and a carboxyl-terminated polyester of formula I
wherein
R1 is the hydrocarbon radical of an unsaturated or a saturated aliphatic-cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acid obtained by dimerisation of an unsaturated monomeric fatty acid containing 14 to 24, preferably 16 to 18, carbon atoms, in the molecule, and optional subsequent hydrogenation of such a dimerised fatty acid,
A is a straight-chain or branched alkylene radical of 2 to 18 carbon atoms,
z is 1 or 2, and
n is an integer from 1 to 20, preferably from 2 to 6.
Diglycidyl compounds suitable for the preparation of the epoxy group-containing adducts are the standard epoxy resins of epoxy resin technology. Typical examples of epoxy resins are:
I) Polyglycidyl and poly(xcex2-methylglycidyl)esters which are obtainable by reacting a compound containing at least two carboxyl groups in the molecule and epichlorohydrin or xcex2-methylepichlorohydrin. The reaction is conveniently carried out in the presence of a base.
Compounds containing at least two carboxyl groups in the molecule may suitably be aliphatic polycarboxylic acids. Examples of such polycarboxylic acids are oxalic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, sebacic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid or dimerised or trimerised linoleic acid. It is, however, also possible to use cycloaliphatic polycarboxylic acids such as tetrahydrophthalic acid, 4-methyltetrahydrophthalic acid, hexahydrophthalic acid or 4-methylhexahydrophthalic acid. Aromatic polycarboxylic acids can also be used, typically phthalic acid, isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid.
II) Polyglycidyl or poly(xcex2-methylglycidyl)ethers which are obtainable by reacting a compound containing at least two free alcoholic hydroxyl groups and/or phenolic hydroxyl groups and epichlorohydrin or xcex2-methylepichlorohydrin, under alkaline conditions or in the presence of an acid catalyst and subsequent treatment with an alkali.
The glycidyl ethers of this type are typically derived from acyclic alcohols, typically from ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and higher poly(oxyethylene)glycols, 1,2-propanediol or poly(oxypropylene) glycols, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, poly(oxytetramethylene)glycols, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 2,4,6-hexanetriol, glycerol, 1,1,1-trimethylol-propane, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, as well as from polyepichlorohydrins. They may also be derived from cycloaliphatic alcohols such as 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, bis(4-hydroxy-cyclohexyl)methane or 2,2-bis(4-hydroxycyclohexyl)propane, or they contain aromatic nuclei such as N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)aniline or p,pxe2x80x2-bis(2-hydroxyethylamino)diphenyl-methane.
The glycidyl ethers may also be derived from mononuclear phenols, typically from resorcinol or hydroquinone, or they are derived from polynuclear phenols such as bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane, 4,4xe2x80x2-dihydroxybiphenyl, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfone, 1,1,2,2-tetrakis (4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane, 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, as well as from novolaks obtainable by condensation of aldehydes such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, chloral or furfuraldehyde, with phenols such as phenol, or with phenols which are substituted in the nucleus by chlorine atoms or C1-C9alkyl groups, for example 4-chlorophenol, 2-methylphenol or 4-tert-butylphenol, or by condensation with bisphenols of the type cited above.
III) Poly-(N-glycidyl) compounds obtainable by dehydrochlorination of the reaction products of epichlorohydrin with amines which contain at least two amino hydrogen atoms. These amines are typically aniline, n-butylamine, bis(4-aminophenyl)methane, m-xylylenediamine or bis(4-methylaminophenyl)methane. The poly(N-glycidyl) compounds also include triglycidyl isocyanurate, N,Nxe2x80x2-diglycidyl derivatives of cycloalkylene ureas such as ethylene urea or 1,3-propyleneurea, and diglycidyl derivatives of hydantoins, typically of 5,5-dimethylhydantoin.
It is also possible to use epoxy resins in which the 1,2-epoxy groups are attached to different hetero atoms or functional groups. These compounds typically comprise the N,N,O-triglycidyl derivative of 4-aminophenol, the glycidyl ether-glycidyl ester of salicylic acid, N-glycidyl-Nxe2x80x2-(2-glycidyloxypropyl)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin or 2-glycidyl-oxy-1,3-bis (5,5-dimethyl-1-glycidylhydantoin-3-yl)propane.
The aforementioned epoxy compounds are known and some are commercially available.
The diglycidyl compound in the adducts to be used in the practice of this invention is preferably a diglycidyl ether of a dihydric phenol and an aliphatic diol, conveniently the diglycidyl ether of butanediol or a diglycidyl ether of polyoxypropylene.
The aliphatic-cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acids used for the preparation of the carboxyl group-terminated polyesters of formula I are obtained by dimerisation of monomeric fatty acids having sufficiently functional double bonds and of fatty acids derived from drying or semi-drying oils.
Such monomeric fatty acids are suitably those containing 14 to 24, preferably 16 to 18, carbon atoms in the molecule, and having at least one reactive double bond in the molecule, typically oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, ricinenic acid as well as hydroxyl group-containing fatty acids such as ricinoleic acid.
Suitable drying or semi-drying oils from which such fatty acids are derved are typically: cotton seed oil, colza oil, safflor oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, tung oil, linseed oil, oiticia oil and perilla oil.
In the known dimerisation methods of preparing the aliphatic-cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acids, the fatty acids which contain mainly only one double bond in the molecule usually react to form an acid mixture which consists preponderantly of dimeric, and to a lesser extent also of trimeric or higher molecular, fractions. In the dimerisation process, a larger amount of trimerised or polymerised fatty acids is obtained from fatty acids containing more than one double bond in the molecule. The monomeric, insufficiently functional acids are removed from the reaction mixture by distillation.
The aliphatic-cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acids obtained by dimerisation and which are to some degree saturated can be used direct or after hydrogenation for the preparation of the carboxyl group-terminated polyesters.
Diols of formula II
HO"Parenopenst"Axe2x80x94O"Parenclosest"Hxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II),
wherein A and z are as defined for formula I, the use of which is preferred for the preparation of the carboxyl group-terminated polyesters, are in particular: ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, dipropylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,8-octanediol, 1,10-decanediol, 1,12-dodecanediol, 1,6-dihydroxy,2,2,4-trimethylhexane and 1,6-dihydroxy-2,4,4-trimethylhexane.
It is, of course, also possible to use mixtures of the above diols as well as mixtures of the dimerised fatty acids for the preparation of the carboxyl group-terminated polyesters of formula I.
It is furthermore also possible to use small amounts of trivalent or polyvalent components such as hexanetriol, trimerised fatty acid, tri- or tetracarboxylic acid or the anhydrides thereof, typically trimellitic anhydride or pyromellitic anhydride, for the preparation of the carboxyl group-terminated polyesters.
The epoxy group-containing adducts are usually prepared by simple fusing of the polyepoxide with the carboxyl group-containing polyester of formula I in the prescribed stoichiometric amounts. It is preferred to use an excess of polyepoxide to obtain a mixture of the epoxy group-containing adduct and the polyepoxide. The process is normally carried out in the temperature range from 100 to 200xc2x0 C., preferably from 130 to 180xc2x0 C.
Suitable diepoxides which are not epoxy group-terminated polyesters are the standard epoxy resins of epoxy resin technology such as the epoxy resins referred to above used for the preparation of the epoxy group-containing adducts.
The polyoxyalkylene di- and triamines used as component b) in the epoxy resin formulations of this invention are known and some are commercially available. Preferred polyoxyalkylene diamines for the purpose of the invention are compounds of formula III or IV
wherein the indices k are each independently of one another 0 or 1, m is an integer from 6 to 70, the indices x are each independently of one another 0 or 1 and the indices y are each independently of one another an integer from 2 to 50.
Long polyoxyalkylene chains in the above polyamines may also be branched and thus contain more than 2 or 3 amino groups in the molecule.
Specific polyoxyalkyleneamines of the above formula are commercially available from Texaco Chemical Co. under the registered trademark Jeffamines(copyright).
The epoxy resin formulations of this invention preferably contain as polyoxyalkyleneamine a polyoxypropylenediamine or a polyoxyethylenediamine, more particularly a poly-oxypropylenediamine of formula V
wherein p is an integer from 6 to 40.
The hardener of component b) which is not a polyoxyalkyleneamine may in principle be any standard hardener for epoxy resins that does not react with the polyoxyalkyleneamines, and is typically selected from dicyandiamide, polyamines and polyols.
Polyamines suitable for curing the novel curable epoxy resin casting formulations are aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic amines, including ethylenediamine, 1,2-propanediamine, 1,3-propanediamine, N,N-diethylethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)amine, N-(2-hydroxypropyl)amine and N-(2-cyanoethyl)diethyltriamine, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,6-hexanediamine, 2,3,3,-trimethyl-1,6-hexanediamine, N,N-dimethyl- and N,N-diethyl-1,3-propanediamine, ethanolamine, m- and p-phenylenediamine, bis(4-aminophenyl)methane, aniline-formaldehyde resin, bis(4-aminophenyl)sulfone, m-xylylenediamine, bis(4-aminocyclohexyl)methane, 2,2-bis(4-aminocyclohexyl)propane, 2,2-bis(4-amino-3-methylcyclohexyl)propane, 3-aminomethyl-3,5,5-trimethyl-cyclohexylamine (isophoronediamine) and N-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine, and, as polyaminoamides, typically those from aliphatic polyamines and dimerised or trimerised fatty acids, and also polyamines of formula
as well as mixtures of these amino compounds.
Polyamines which are suitable for use in the curable epoxy resin formulations of this invention may also be the amino group-containing adducts obtained in known manner by addition of amines to polyepoxides or the amino group-terminated polyamides which are also known compounds.
Aliphatic polyols suitable for the novel curable epoxy resin compositions of this invention are typically ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and higher poly(oxyethylene)glycols, 1,2-propanediol or poly(oxypropylene)glycols, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, poly(oxy-tetramethylene)glycols, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 2,4,6-hexanetriol, glycerol, 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol or sorbitol.
Aromatic polyols suitable for curing the novel epoxy resin casting compositions include mononuclear phenols such as resorcinol, hydroquinone, N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)aniline, or polynuclear phenols, such as p,pxe2x80x2-bis(2-hydroxyethylamino)diphenylnethane, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane, 4,4xe2x80x2-dihydroxybiphenyl, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfone, 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane, 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(3,5-dibromo -4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, as well as novolaks obtainable by condensation of aldehydes, typically formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, chloral or furfuraldehyde, with phenols such as phenol, or with phenols which are substituted in the nucleus by chlorine atoms or C1-C9alkyl groups, for example 4-chlorophenol, 2-methylphenol, or 4-tert-butylphenol, or by condensation with bisphenols, such as those of the indicated type.
If desired, the epoxy resin formulations may also contain suitable curing accelerators. Tertiary amines or salts thereof, quaternary ammonium compounds or alkali metal oxides may conveniently be added as accelerators when using dicyandiamide, polyaminoamides, polycarboxylic acids and their anhydrides.
The amount of hardener b) will depend on the chemical nature of the hardener and on the desired properties of the curable formulation and the hardened product. The maximum amount can be readily determined. If the hardening agent is an amine, the amount used is normally 0.75 to 1.25 equivalents of active hydrogen bound to amino nitrogen atoms per 1 epoxide equivalent. If the hardener is a polycarboxylic acid or an anhydride thereof, the amount used is normally 0.4 to 1.1 equivalents of carboxyl group or anhydride group per 1 epoxide equivalent. If the hardener is a polyphenol, the amount used is 0.75 to 1.25 phenolic hydroxyl groups per 1 epoxide equivalent. Catalytic hardeners are usually used in amounts of 1 to 40 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of epoxy resin.
If desired, the modifiers conventionally used in epoxy resin technology may also be added to the epoxy resin formulations of this invention. Such modifiers typically include fillers such as glass or metal powders, mineral fillers such as Al2O3.nH2O, silicates, calcite, dolomite or quartz, dyes, pigments such as titanium dioxide or carbon black, processing auxiliaries, including lubricants, flow control agents, thixotropic agents, stabilisers, flame retardants, adhesion promoters between fillers and resin or mould release agents.
The amount of standard modifiers to be added to the novel epoxy resin formulations will depend on the specific end use of said formulations.
The novel formulations are prepared by per se known methods, typically using known mixing aggregates such as stirrers, kneaders or roll mills.
The cure of the novel formulations to moulded articles, coatings or the like is carried out in the conventional manner described, inter alia, in the xe2x80x9cHandbook of Epoxy Resinsxe2x80x9d, 1967, by H. Lee and K. Neville. The cure temperature will usually be in the range from 50 to 200xc2x0 C., preferably from 80 to 130xc2x0 C.
The novel formulations are suitable for use as laminating resins or coating compositions, preferably as casting resins as well as, in particular, as encapsulating systems for electrical and electronic components, especially those subjected to alternating temperatures. As mentioned at the outset, the mouldings and coatings fabricated from the curable epoxy resin formulations of this invention have good flexibility over a relatively wide temperature range, especially at low temperatures.
The invention therefore also relates to the use of the novel epoxy resin formulations as casting resins for encapsulating electrical and electronic components.
Epoxy resin A: 1040 g of a dimerised fatty acid having an average molecular weight ({overscore (M)}W) of c. 600 (Pripol(copyright) 1022, ex Unichema) and 144 g of diethylene glycol are heated, with stirring and under nitrogen, to 100xc2x0 C. After addition of 0.64 g of potassium carbonate, the reaction mixture is evacuated to 25 torr and the water of reaction is removed by distillation. The reaction mixture is heated to 155xc2x0 C. and kept for 3 h at 155xc2x0 C./25 torr. After cooling to 60xc2x0 C., 800 g of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, 324 g of the diglycidyl ether of butanediol and 0.4 g of a 30% solution of sodium ethanolate in methanol is added. The reaction mixture is kept first for 30 minutes (min) at 100xc2x0 C. and then for 2 h at 145xc2x0 C. Then a further 120 g of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and 130 g of diglycidyl ether of polypropylene glycol having an average molecular weight {overscore (M)}W of 400 are added to the reaction mixture, which is subsequently heated for 1 h at 110xc2x0 C. After cooling, the reaction product is filtered to give an epoxy group-terminated polyester having an epoxy equivalent of 360.

Epoxy resin formulation containing epoxy group-terminated polyesters

Abstract: c) a curing accelerator, and

Abstract: d) customary modifiers for epoxy casting resins, with the proviso that the sum of the constituents in component a) as well as in component b) is in each case 100% by weight, is suitable for use as casting resin formulation for encapsulating electrical or electronic components.


A substrate treating apparatus and a substrate treating method are provided. The substrate treating apparatus includes a support member to support a substrate, a treatment liquid nozzle to supply a treatment liquid to the substrate positioned on the support member, and a controller to control the treatment liquid nozzle such that the treatment liquid supplied to the substrate is differently discharged in a low-flow-supply section and a high-flow-supply section in which an average discharge amount per hour is more than an average discharge amount per hour in the low-flow-supply section.

Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to a substrate treating apparatus and a substrate treating method.
To fabricate a semiconductor device and a liquid crystal display panel, various processes, such as photolithography, etching, ashing, ion implanting, thin film deposition, and cleaning processes have been performed. Among them, the etching process, which is to remove an unnecessary region from a thin film formed on a substrate, requires a higher selective ratio and a higher etching rate with respect to the thin film. In addition, during the above processes, a process of performing heat treatment the substrate may be performed.
In general, the etching process or the cleaning process is mainly performed by sequentially performing a chemical treatment step, a rinse treatment step, and a dry treatment step. According the chemical treatment step, the thin film formed on the substrate is etched or chemicals are supplied to the substrate to remove foreign matters from the substrate. According to the rinse treatment step, a rinse liquid, which is pure water, is supplied onto the substrate. When the substrate is treated by using a fluid, the substrate may be heated.

Substrate treating apparatus and substrate treating method


An engine output for bringing the drive power of a motor vehicle to a requested value is determined as a target output. One of the lean burn and the stoichiometric burn is selected as a combustion form that achieves a best fuel consumption performance in terms of the control of the actual engine output to the target output. That is, an output value that serves as a criterion for determining whether to switch the combustion force is determined based on the minimum fuel consumption rate during the stoichiometric-burn operation and the minimum fuel consumption rate during the lean-burn operation in which the fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control is taken into account. If the target output is less than the output value, the lean-burn operation is performed. If the target output is greater than the output value, the stoichiometric-burn operation is performed.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-147760 filed on May 19, 2000 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle drive power control apparatus and a drive power control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine and a continuously variable transmission, it is recently demanded to improve the fuel economy of the internal combustion engine while maintaining a requested value of the vehicle drive power.
To meet such a demand, a drive power control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 11-198684, as for example, performs an overall control (coordinative control) of the torque of the internal combustion engine and the speed ratio of the continuously variable transmission (the input rotation speed thereof). That is, when adjusting the engine output so as to bring the vehicle drive power to a target value, the control apparatus controls the speed ratio of the continuously variable transmission so that the engine revolution speed (the input rotation speed of the continuously variable transmission) will become equal to a value that optimizes the fuel consumption, and at the same time, controls the torque of the internal combustion engine to a target value.
Furthermore, with regard to the internal combustion engine installed in the vehicle as described in the aforementioned laid-open patent application, the form of combustion can be changed between the lean burn and the stoichiometric burn. The combustion form of the internal combustion engine is controlled so as to achieve a combustion form that realizes a fuel consumption performance that is optimal to bring the vehicle drive power to the target value. That is, according to the aforementioned laid-open patent application, the fuel consumption performance in the lean burn operation and the fuel consumption performance in the stoichiometric burn operation are compared beforehand. When the vehicle drive power is to be brought to a target value, the control apparatus selects one of the combustion forms that will achieve a better fuel consumption performance, in accordance with the present state of engine operation.
In internal combustion engines that perform lean-burn operation, a NOx storage-reduction catalyst that adsorbs and stores oxides of nitrogen (NOx) is provided in the exhaust system. During the lean-burn operation, NOx in exhaust gas is adsorbed to the catalyst so as to lessen NOx emissions. Furthermore, during the lean-burn operation, a rich spike control of temporarily achieving a fuel-rich air-fuel ratio is performed to conduct a rich combustion, so that the NOx adsorbed by the NOx storage-reduction catalyst is reduced into nitrogen (N2) by hydrocarbons (HC) and the like present in exhaust gas. Thus, Nox saturation of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst is substantially prevented.
However, if the rich spike control.is performed during the lean-burn operation, the fuel consumption performance deteriorates by an amount of fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control, in comparison with the case where only the lean-burn operation is performed. Therefore, in the cases where the rich spike control is performed at a high frequency during the lean-burn operation, as for example, the fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control increases, so that in some cases, execution of the stoichiometric burn instead of the lean-burn operation would provide a better fuel consumption performance. If the fuel consumption performance during the lean burn and the fuel consumption performance during the stoichiometric burn are reversed in the superiority as mentioned above, the selection of a combustion mode based merely on the comparison between the fuel consumption performance achieved during the stoichiometric burn operation and the fuel consumption performance achieved during the lean-burn operation where the rich spike control is not considered involves a possibility of performing a combustion mode (lean burn) that is not favorable in fuel consumption performance and of failing to achieve a sufficient improvement in the fuel consumption performance of the internal combustion engine.
The invention has been accomplished in view of the aforementioned circumstances. It is an object of the invention to provide a drive power control apparatus and a drive power control method for a vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine in which a rich spike control is performed during a lean-burn operation, the apparatus and the method being capable of precisely improving the fuel consumption performance of the vehicle.
Means for achieving the aforementioned object, and operation and advantages of the means will be described below.
To achieve the aforementioned object, a drive power control apparatus and a drive power control method in accordance with a first mode of the invention are applied to a vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine that changes a combustion form between a lean burn and a stoichiometric burn and that performs a rich spike control of temporarily shifting an air-fuel ratio to a fuel-rich air-fuel ratio during a lean-burn operation, and a continuously variable transmission connected to an output shaft of the engine. An engine output for bringing the drive power of the vehicle to a target value is determined as a target output, and the torque of the internal combustion engine is controlled so that the actual engine output reaches the target output. The control apparatus and the control method perform the lean burn when the target output is less than an output value set based on a minimum fuel consumption rate during the stoichiometric-burn operation and a minimum fuel consumption rate during the lean-burn operation in which a fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control is taken into account. The apparatus and the method perform the stoichiometric burn when the target output is greater than the output value.
According to the above-described construction, the output value that serves as a criterion for determining whether to switch the form of combustion is set based on the minimum fuel consumption rate during the stoichiometric-burn operation, and the minimum fuel consumption rate during the lean-burn operation in which the fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control is taken into account, instead of the minimum fuel consumption rate obtained when the lean-burn operation is simply performed. Therefore, when the actual engine output is controlled to the target output, a form of combustion that achieves a best fuel consumption performance can be precisely selected and performed by selecting a form of combustion in accordance with whether the target output is greater or less than the output value. Hence, in the vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine in which the rich spike control is performed during the lean-burn operation, the fuel consumption performance of the engine can be precisely improved.
It is also practicable to determine the minimum fuel consumption rate during the lean-burn operation in which the fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control is taken into account, and the minimum fuel consumption rate during the stoichiometric-burn operation, while the vehicle is being driven, and to calculate the output value based on the two minimum fuel consumption rates.
According to this construction, the output value that serves as a criterion for determining whether to switch the combustion form is calculated during operation of the vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine, so that the output value can be set to an appropriate value irrespective of individual variations of the vehicle, the internal combustion engine, etc. Therefore, by selecting and performing a combustion form that achieves a best fuel consumption performance based on the output value and the actual engine output, the fuel consumption performance can be improved more precisely.
The controller may perform the rich spike control so as to reduce a NOx stored in a NOx storage-reduction catalyst, and the controller changes an execution frequency of the rich spike control in accordance with a change in a NOx storing capability of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst provided in an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine. When changing the execution frequency of the rich spike control in accordance with a change in the NOx storing capability of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst, the controller may vary the output value in accordance with the change in the NOx storing capability of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst.
If the execution frequency of the rich spike control is changed in accordance with the NOx storing capability of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst, the minimum fuel consumption rate during the lean-burn operation in which the fuel consumption involved in the rich spike control is taken into account also changes. According to the above-described construction, the output value that serves as a criterion for determining whether to switch the form of combustion in accordance with the NOx storing capability of the NOx storage-reduction catalyst is variable, so that the output value can be set to an appropriate value even though the execution frequency of the rich spike control is changed. By selecting and performing the form of combustion based on the actual engine output and the variable output value, the fuel consumption performance can be improved more precisely.
The output value may be varied in accordance with the speed of the vehicle as well as the NOx storing capability.
In the control of the actual engine output to the target output P, the drivability during the lean-burn operation and the drivability during the stoichiometric-burn operation differ from each other. During the lean-burn operation, the drivability in a high engine output region deteriorates more as the vehicle speed V increases. According to the above-described construction, however, the output value that serves as a criterion for determining whether to switch the form of combustion is variable in accordance with the vehicle speed, which is a parameter that affects the drivability. Therefore, the form of combustion can be selected so that the drivability during the lean-burn operation will not excessively deteriorate.

Drive power control apparatus and method for vehicle


The present invention relates to compositions useful as probes and in other applications and methods of their use. In some embodiments, nucleotides are prepared and functionalized with dyes. In some embodiments a first molecule is functionalized with an alkynyl group, a second molecule is functionalized with an azide group, and said first and second molecules are mixed under conditions to form a conjugate with a 1,2,3-triazol group. In further embodiments, a nucleotide is functionalized with an alkynyl group, a dye is functionalized with an azide group, and mixing the nucleotide and the dye forms a conjugate capable of emitting light.

Identification nucleic acid sequences in living organisms including infectious agents is useful for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of many diseases. In many synthetic chemical probes, double-stranded DNA formed by the molecular recognitions of complementary sequences is the primary feature to be identified. In many of these assays, it is desirable to immobilize expensive and difficult to prepare nucleic acid sequences to solid surfaces in order to maximize the potential for reuse. However, verification of the specific placement of the sequences on a solid substrate array can be difficult. Thus, there is a need to develop improved methods of the detection of the placement of probes on an array.
Many probe assays utilize synthetically prepared nucleic acid sequences. Nucleic acid sequences are typically prepared by solid phase synthesis using phosphoramidite derivatives. Direct conjugation of DNA molecules to different materials, such as dyes, sugars, and peptides during solid phase synthesis has practical challenges. Often the material to be conjugated to DNA will be not compatible with the conditions used to synthetically produce DNA through phosphoramidite couplings. Some conventional postsynthetic bioconjugation protocols, including carboxyl-group activation with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)/N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) are at times inefficient, particularly in the case of conjugating dye molecules to DNA. Thus, there is a need to identify improved methods for making conjugates containing nucleic acid sequences compatible with solid-phase synthetic procedures.

Compositions, probes, and conjugates and uses thereof


A method and apparatus for varying a parameter in an implantable medical device that includes a plurality of electrodes stimulating heart tissue and sensing cardiac signals, a timing and control device controlling the stimulation of heart tissue by the plurality of electrodes and measuring intervals between the sensed cardiac signals, a storage device storing the measured intervals, and a microprocessor. The microprocessor determines heart rate variability in response to the stored intervals, compares the determined heart rate variability to a predetermined target rate profile, adjusts the parameter from a first setting to a second setting different from the first setting in response to the comparing of the determined heart rate variability and the predetermined target rate profile, and adjusts the parameter from the second setting to a termination setting in response to a termination event or expiration of a first predetermined time period.

Several advances in pacing have occurred over the years by providing improved methods in sensing natural pacing rhythms. For instance, in demand pacing devices, the objective is to provide stimulatory pulses in the absence of the natural heartbeat. That is, the pacemaker or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator is designed to deliver a pulse at a fixed rate as long as no natural heartbeat is sensed. Sensing of the natural frequency of heartbeats can be done to accommodate changes in the natural pacing frequency such as during natural rhythms of sleep or exercise.
Benefits have recently been identified that tend to promote introducing a circadian variation to the rate-adaptive pacemaker base rate, i.e., lowering the base heart rate during sleep or during prolonged periods of inactivity. Several pacemakers or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator are currently available that have two basal rates to more closely match diurnal or circadian heart rate variations (by programming two resting rates). U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,642 to Preston et al. discusses the advantages of providing a pacemaker capable of searching for and detecting the occurrence of natural resting basal heart rates within a predetermined range. U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,718 and in European Patent Application No. 0 089 014 describe pacemakers that respond to changes in respiration rate, for instance during exercise. Alternate means for sensing physical activity and adjusting the pacemaker rate accordingly are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,338.
Clinical evidence is available that tends to show that patients with decreased heart rate variability die earlier than those with normal variability and are a predictor of arrhythmic cardiac death, myocardial infarction, rapid progression of atheroscerosis and death from heart failure. A possible correlation has been identified between sedentary lifestyle and risk of ventricular arrhythmias based on a comparison of occurrences of ventricular arrhythmias in healthy active vs. sedentary men, and men with previous myocardial infarction. Accordingly, the greatest number and highest grades of ventricular arrhythmias during exercise were found in healthy sedentary men.
It is also well know that naturally the heart goes through varied basal rates. For instance, during normal sleep patterns, the heart rate changes depending on the sleep state (e.g., REM sleep, etc.). That is, normally the heart rate is not fixed at a particular rate during sleep.
There is a growing population of patients having implantable pacemaker or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator devices who are largely sedentary and who are therefore likely to be paced at their basal rate for much of the day, since they are unable to achieve any measurable amount of exercise on their own. However, since current adaptive rate pacemakers or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillators are designed to find a range of natural rhythms occurring in the patient, whether to slow them during sleep, or to increase the rate during physical activity, with the goal of sensing and establishing a pacing rate within a controlled range of preexisting rates, currently available pacemakers or pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillators do not address the benefit of having periods of elevated pacing designed into the pacemaker, particularly where no natural rhythm for the elevated pacing rate has been established.

Method and apparatus for temporarily varying a parameter in an implantable medical device


A dual usage level marking instrument is provided that includes a leveling rod. This rod has a dotted-type laser device fixed at one end and a straight-type laser device fixed at the other end. Leveling elements are installed on this rod. The dotted-type or straight-type device installed on the both ends emit dotted or vertical/horizontal marking lines. The instrument is used on construction sites for marking measurement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a dual usage level marking instrument. It refers particulary to a level marking instrument for use on construction sites for measuring a level condition, height differences or to establish a vertical line, to achieve usage that is fast and convenient.
2. Prior Art
Conventional level marking instruments are mainly used on construction sites to measure a level condition, but due to their limited functions and inconvenient operation, industrial users find it inconvenient to use and not sufficiently functional, and thus needing improvement.