A specimen tube storage rack includes a hollow housing having a plurality of wells formed in the top wall and extending into the interior of the housing. An assembly of three parallel plates is mounted in an upper portion of the housing, with the top plate forming the top wall of the housing. Each plate has a plurality of openings formed therein which are vertically coaxial to form the wells. A pair of sheets of resilient flexible material are compressed between pairs of plates, and include a plurality of apertures coaxial with the openings in the plates. The apertures in the sheets have cuts extending radially outwardly into the sheet, to form flaps surrounding each aperture. The compression of each sheet between a pair of plates urges the flaps to a generally coplanar position. The apertures in the sheets are smaller in diameter than the openings in the plates, and smaller in diameter than the test tubes inserted into the wells, such that the flaps will be bent downwardly as the test tubes are inserted in each well. The urging of the flaps to a coplanar position thereby exerts a biasing force on the test tubes to center and plumb the test tubes, and to apply a restraining force against removal of the test tubes from the wells.

Automated laboratory conveyor systems are utilized to transport various types of specimens between various work stations, and a storage or archive area. In order to provide efficient and effective storage, various types of storage racks have been provided in the prior art, for supporting a plurality of specimen tubes in spaced apart vertical orientation, for storage and retrieval by a robotic arm.
These prior art storage racks suffer several problems. The conventional prior art rack consists of a plurality of holes or "wells" formed in a solid piece of material or in a wire mesh. In order to permit a robotic arm to easily place a specimen tube within each well, the diameter of the well must be sufficiently greater in diameter than the diameter of the specimen tube to permit placement, even if the robotic arm is not directly aligned above the well. However, the hole cannot be increased in diameter without effecting the storage position of the specimen tube within the well. If the well diameter is too great, the specimen tube will be tipped to one side, and will be difficult to retrieve by the robotic arm. Thus, the size of the well diameter in conventional racks is limited by the amount of angular displacement from vertical which is permitted by the particular robotic arm to retrieve a specimen tube within the well.
A related problem concerns containment of spillage from a specimen tube which is cracked or damaged within the rack. A sufficient amount of space around the entire cylindrical surface of the specimen tube is desirable, so that any spillage is retained within the well supporting the tube. Thus, a large diameter well is preferable to a well having a diameter which is only slightly greater than the diameter of the specimen tube. In addition, it is desirable to have the specimen tube centered within the well, rather than leaning against a side of the well, such that spillage from a location above the upper surface of the rack will run down the side of the specimen tube and into the well, rather than on to the top of the rack.
Finally, storage racks are conventionally transported within a storage unit, or between storage units and conveyor systems. Any movement of the rack permits the possibility of tipping or inverting of the rack. Unless the specimen tubes are restrained within the rack in some fashion, they are susceptible of falling out of the rack and becoming either lost or broken.


A method, system and server for customizing a broadcast media stream for delivery to a client associated with a user via a communication network. The broadcast media stream comprises a plurality of content segments, such as hosted segments, which are separated by a plurality of musical, informational or generic segments. During streaming the plurality of musical, informational or generic segments are modified based on one or more user preferences such that there content matches more closely the preferred content of the user.

In broadcast programming, especially live broadcast radio shows that include music interspersed with a significant amount of talk, traffic and weather, such as morning shows and the like, a listener typically selects the particular broadcast based on a combination of the hosts and the broadcaster's play list. As a result, while a user may find the hosts pleasing, the playlist may include songs, musicians or types of music that the listener finds objectionable.
In other cases, portions of the broadcast may not be appealing to a particular listener, for example a particular song, artist or type of music which is found disagreeable to the listener. Unfortunately, in such a case broadcasting the particular song, artist or type of music may have the unintended effect of motivating the listener to select a different broadcaster, thereby depriving the broadcaster (and his associated advertisers) of a portion of the listening audience.
In still other cases, the listener or viewer may wish to have some additional content, such as news and weather forecasts, but not traffic reports or the like, or the user may wish to have such content customized to a particular region.
The prior art reveals a variety of proposed systems and methods for substituting content such as advertising during detected breaks in broadcast programming, for example based on the presence of a detectable change in the broadcast stream or through provision of control information together with the broadcast stream. Additionally, the prior art also reveals that the types of content substituted may be based on listener or viewer characteristics, such as location and the like. Other prior art reveals virtual DJs which allow the listener to set preferences, such as preferred artists, albums or the like, which are then used to generate playlists, but no mechanisms are provided for substituting or integrating such playlists into a live broadcast radio program including a live host.

Broadcast media streaming with customized playlist insertion method and system

VECTOR TRITON (LUX) 1, S.ÁR.L.—DELAWARE BRANCH


Hearing aid with a microphone, a transmission section (2) for signal processing with a housing (3) containing an output transducer, a battery compartment containing a battery (4), a cover (5) articulated at the housing or a battery lid (5a) articulated at the housing so that it can be pivoted, said cover or lid serving to close off the battery compartment, an electronic control logic (6), as well as a contact arrangement (7) which can be actuated by pressing on the cover (5) in closed position or the battery lid (5a) in closed position and by means of which the control logic can be activated.. This contact arrangement can be activated by a spring-loaded movement of the cover (5) or battery lid (5a) beyond the normal closing position.

The invention relates to a hearing aid, particularly an in-the-ear hearing aid in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
When designing hearing aids, two problems occur which repeatedly lead to difficulties.
On the one hand, the aim is to make in-the-ear hearing aids as small as possible, above all for cosmetic reasons.
On the other hand, the greatest possible variety of control possibilities and features is desirable. If it is then wished to dispense with a remote control, this then poses an almost unsolvable problem.
In particular, ever smaller hearing aids do not have sufficient space to accommodate control elements for volume, high or low frequency reduction, output sound level or even for selection of different transmission characteristics or a changeover switch from the microphone to the telephone coil.
This is especially critical with in-the-ear hearing aids, because the battery cover often occupies a very large proportion of the surface area accessible to the user when wearing the hearing aid.
However, battery covers with On/Off switch have been known for a long time.
As regards the state of the art, DE 35 05 390 C2 describes an in-the-ear hearing aid with a front plate and an adjoining housing with a pivotable cover, whereby said cover possesses a recess on its inner side with the dimensions of at least part of the battery and also a hole which penetrates through the cover, with a pushbutton passing through said hole and contacting the upper side of the battery. A pressure switch which allows the circuit for the hearing aid to be closed is located under the battery, which can be moved in axial direction against a certain spring tension by the pushbutton. In addition, it is known from this patent that the volume can also be adjusted by pressing the pushbutton for a shorter or longer time.
However, this known design is so complex and complicated that the striven for or realizable reduction in the size of the instrument appears to be placed in doubt.


The present invention provides a method of wireless communication. The method includes determining whether a packet includes a voice payload or control information based on at least one property of the packet.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to communication systems, and, more particularly, to wireless communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional wireless communication systems include one or more base stations, which may also be referred to as access points or node-Bs or access networks, for providing wireless connectivity to one or more mobile units, which may also be referred to using terms such as user equipment, subscriber equipment, and access terminals. Exemplary mobile units include cellular telephones, personal data assistants, smart phones, text messaging devices, laptop/notebook computers, desktop computers, and the like. Each base station may provide wireless connectivity to one or more mobile units, such as the mobile units in a geographical area, or cell, associated with the base station. For example, a base station may provide wireless connectivity to mobile units located in a cell according to a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) protocol. Alternatively, the base station may provide wireless connectivity to mobile units located in the cell according to a CDMA protocol, an IEEE 802.11 protocol, an IEEE 802.16 protocol, an IEEE 802.20 protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, and or other protocols.
In operation, each mobile unit maintains a wireless communication link, or leg, with one or more base stations. The wireless communication link typically includes one or more uplink and/or downlink channels for transmitting data and control information. Speech traffic is conventionally transmitted over the wireless communication link using circuit-switched radio bearers so that a permanent connection exists between the mobile unit and the base station and/or radio access network. However, procedures to improve the efficiency of the usage of scarce radio resources are being implemented in advanced speech coding schemes, such as Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) techniques. Channelization codes that are used to define the uplink and/or downlink channels are among the most restrictive resources in a wireless telecommunication System. For example, in UMTS systems, the channelization codes may be Walsh codes with a spreading factor of 128, in which case at most 128 concurrent connections can be supported by a single base station in one cell. Furthermore, in real systems the number of concurrent connections is typically reduced by interference limits, soft handover overhead, and the like.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems transmit data and/or control information using a packet-switched network, such as the Internet. In VoIP systems, speech data frames are embedded into Internet Protocol data frames. Two different types of packets are typically transmitted: Real Time Protocol (RTP) packets that carry the voice payload and Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) packets that carry control information such as synchronization information, information that may be used for conference calls between multiple parties, and the like. Although the RTP packets and the RTCP packets may be multiplexed at the Internet Protocol level, the quality-of-service requirements of the two types of packets are different. The RTP packets are subject to relatively stringent delay constraints (i.e., they are delay-intolerant) but they are relatively tolerant to loss. In contrast, the RTCP packets are delay tolerant but are very sensitive to loss. Furthermore, the RTP packets are generally transmitted frequently and/or periodically and have predictable sizes, whereas the RTCP packets may be transmitted occasionally and/or sporadically but they have larger and/or varying sizes.
The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has attempted to define mechanisms that may be used to distinguish between the RTP and RTCP packet flows so that the two packet flows may be assigned to different radio bearers that take into account their different properties. In particular, different operational modes of the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol layer may be used: Unacknowledged Mode (UM) RLC, which provides low delay jitter at the cost of increased residual packet loss rate may be used for the RTP flow, and Acknowledged Mode (AM) RLC, which provides lower residual packet loss rates at the cost of higher delay jitter may be used for the RTCP flow. However, no acceptable technique for distinguishing between the two packet flows has yet been proposed. Two proposed mechanisms for distinguishing between the RTP and RTCP packet flows—completely removing RTCP packets and using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port numbers or packet-type header fields to distinguish between the flows—are considered unreliable and have been rejected by the 3GPP.

Identifying data and/or control packets in wireless communication


According to an embodiment, a ground process unit performs ground addition to input image data, and a pattern generation unit sets positions of components at plural points on a frequency plane including a main scanning axis and a sub scanning axis and converts the additional information into pattern data in which the positions of the components are a base. A pattern embedding unit embeds the pattern data from the pattern generation unit into a ground area of image data from the ground addition unit. A gradation process unit performs an asynchronous gradation process on the pattern embedding unit and output image data of the pattern embedding unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for an image process. Particularly, the invention relates to a technique to embed additional information in image information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, for content such as still images or moving images, it is demanded that copyright protection is provided, and security against copying is provided. In order to respond to this demand, techniques in which additional information is embedded in content data and the embedded information is read are advanced. As one of the techniques, there is an electronic watermark technique.
As a technique to embed additional information in a still image, there is a method of using a lower bit of pixel data. In this method, since the lower bit of the pixel data is changed and the additional information is embedded, the pixel data in which the additional information is embedded is grasped as a minute change in pixel value. In this method, in the case where the still image is hard copied, the change in the pixel value appears as degradation of image quality, and it is not preferable in the case where the hard copy is performed.
As a technique to embed additional information in an image which is to be hard copied, there is a following technique. The additional information is represented by a periodic component and is embedded in image data. In order to check the additional information after this image data is printed on a sheet, when the image is read, Fourier transform is used to analyze the additional information.
Besides, when additional information is added to image data, the addition is performed by gradation processing the output image data. However, when the gradation process is the gradation process using a frequency near the resolution of a print output apparatus, there is a problem that certain detection can not be performed when the additional information is detected. Thus, there is a case where the Nyquist frequency of the print output apparatus which is hard to visually recognize can not be used.
As a technique to embed additional information in image data and as a technique to use an error diffusion system, there is a technique disclosed in JP-A-2003-101761.


An apparatus for enclosing an open area of a boat includes a canvas system with a fabric sheet having an edge formed thereon, a header extrusion mounted on an upper edge of a boat windshield, the header extrusion having a longitudinally extending and outwardly opening slot formed therein, and a plurality of fasteners attached to the fabric sheet at spaced apart locations, each fastener including a hook releasably engaged in the slot.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for attaching a canvas top to a header of a boat windshield.
Most boats are provided with a cover or a canopy to partially or fully enclose an open area such as the cockpit of the boat. Such covers are often attached at a front edge to the header of the windshield assembly. The most common fasteners used are a round metal snap with a male portion affixed to the boat and a cooperating female portion attached to the cover. These fasteners are a source of problems due to exposure of the male portions when the cover is not in use, ease of breakage, and misalignment due to stretching or shrinking of the cover.
It remains desirable to provide an apparatus for attaching a canvas system to a header of a boat windshield that allows for easy attachment and removal of the canvas system in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Boat windshield canvas attachment apparatus


In an arrangement, functions and/or structures in a distributed control system (24) that works with a first protocol (28) are analysed and/or monitored. A first unit (23) is connected or can be connected to the control system, which first unit, due to its compatibility with the first protocol, receives and/or sends task instructions concerning the functions and/or structures. The first unit comprises or is connected to a second (22) and transforms at least those parts in the first protocol that relate to the task instructions concerning the functions and/or structures into a second protocol, by means of which the said tasks can be initiated and/or carried out in a tool arrangement (1) that is comprised in or can be connected to the second unit. This tool arrangement works with the second protocol, whereby primary readings and/or modifications in the first protocol on the basis of the analysis and/or monitoring can be carried out by means of secondary readings and/or modifications in the second protocol. The analysis and monitoring are simplified and tools and protocol-handling can be separated. In addition, time functions in the system(s) can be made unambiguous.

The present invention relates to an arrangement for analysing and/or monitoring functions and/or structures in a distributed control system that works with a first protocol.
The analysis and monitoring of functions in distributed systems are already known, for example control systems for machinery, vehicles, for example cars, processes, etc, of the type described in the patent applications and patents submitted and obtained by the same applicant and/or inventor as in the present patent application. Reference is made, among other things, to SE 466 726 and SE 0101987-6.
Reference is also made to the fact that many machines, cars, etc, are constructed with subsystems that work with protocols that are basically distinct, but that work together through gateways or protocol converters. Thus, for example, in cars more sophisticated components can be arranged to work with protocols based on CAN (Controller Area Network), while simpler parts of subsystems work with, for example, LIN.
There is a need to be able to analyse, simulate and monitor the subsystems in question using the same analysis tool and for this purpose it has been proposed that a special hardware module should be used, connected to the basic unit or tool via an interface. In addition to the necessity of an additional interface, in this case a special version of the application is required.
There is also a need for an arrangement in which the tool, simulation and protocol functions can be allocated to different specialists in the respective fields, with the result that the development of tools and protocols can be kept separate and that the tool developer does not need to have a thorough knowledge of the version of the protocol or that the protocol developer does not need to have a thorough knowledge of the tool functions.
There is also a need, in connection with different subsystems of this kind, to have arrangements for reliable and accurate indication of the time, on which functions in the subsystem are to be based.
There is also a need to be able to allocate computation-intensive and memory-intensive calculation and analysis tasks to different incorporated components in an optimal way (cf. use of PC, PDA, etc). It is also advantageous in certain connections to be able to utilize unit(s) in or with different functions in different functional phases.

Arrangement for distributed control system


A fuse has a pair of lead terminals disposed on a substrate, an intermediate layers for welding formed on the surface of at least one of the lead terminals, and a fuse element. The fuse element is welded to the pair of lead terminals through the intermediate layer so as to span the same. Further, the intermediate layer is formed on at least one of the lead terminals except a face thereof opposing each other. Owing to this configuration, after the fuse has melted down, the melted fuse element is prevented from being spread out into the space between the opposing faces of the lead terminals and insulation therebetween is secured.

In order to prevent occurrence of a failure of electronic equipment due to abnormal heating of a pack battery used in electronic equipment such as mobile telephones, it is required that a temperature fuse be mounted on the pack battery. It is also required that a current fuse be mounted on electronic equipment to prevent occurrence of a failure due to abnormal current.
In a conventional temperature fuse, a fuse element which melts down when it reaches a predetermined temperature is provided at its both ends with terminal portions and the terminal portions are connected to a circuit such as a power supplying circuit. When abnormal heating is produced in a component constituting a power supply or the like (such as a battery), the fuse element serves its function at a high temperature caused by the abnormal heating. Thus, the temperature fuse is adapted to break the circuit to prevent the internal components and the like from being damaged.
In the conventional fuse, a fuse element made of a fusible member is welded to a pair of lead terminals so as to span the same, and thereby, it is electrically connected to the lead terminals. Fuses of the described type are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-273520 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-33035. In those cases, an intermediate layer for welding is provided between the fuse element and the lead terminal for ensuring good welding of the fuse element to the lead terminal.
FIG. 11 is a lateral sectional view of a prior art fuse. FIG. 12 is a lateral sectional view of fuse element 104 as have been melted down. The fuse is constructed by disposing a pair of lead terminals 100 on substrate 103 and by welding fuse element 104 to lead terminals 100 through plated layer 101 provided on the surface of lead terminals 100. Though it is not shown, some flux or a cover may be provided on fuse element 104. A fuse is manufactured in the following way. First, a pair of lead terminals 100 are disposed on substrate 103. Then, plated layers 101 are formed on the pair of lead terminals 100 arranged as above. At this time, plated layers 101 are formed so far as they are even spread on opposing faces 102 of lead terminals 100. Fuse element 104 is placed on plated layers 101 and pressed and heated from its upper side to be welded to plated layers 101. A fuse is manufactured through the above described steps.
However, in the prior art fuse, plated layers 101 are formed to be extended over opposing faces 102. Therefore, when fuse element 104 is welded, spread-out portions 105 thereof are formed on the opposing portions so that the insulation distance between lead terminals 100 opposing each other is shortened. Furthermore, when fuse element 104 is melted down, melted fuse element 104 is spread out over opposing faces 102, whereby large spread-out portions 105 are formed as shown in FIG. 12. Then, the insulation distance between opposing lead terminals 100 becomes still shorter after the melting down of the fuse element. Hence, insulating capability becomes insufficient though the fuse element is melted down.
In a case of a large sized fuse, it is no problem if there exist spread-out portions 105 because lead terminals 100 originally have a large face-to-face distance. However, in these days, electronic equipment is becoming increasingly smaller in size and lower in profile. Also with respect to batteries having fuses mounted thereon, advances are being made in making them lower profiled and smaller sized. This makes it indispensable to make the fuse smaller sized and lower profiled and it is naturally required to narrower the face-to-face distance of lead terminals 100. However, there is a limit in making the face-to-face distance narrower due to the deterioration of insulating capability caused by existence of spread-out portions 105. Hence, it is required to previously provide a sufficiently large face-to-face distance. As a result, it becomes impossible to make the fuse smaller sized and lower profiled.

Fuse, battery pack using the fuse, and method of manufacturing the fuse

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A connection of a hands-free apparatus to a cellular phone is established through a hands-free profile, and the connection of the hands-free apparatus to the cellular phone through the hands-free profile is switched from the cellular phone to another cellular phone when a data communication is triggered. Then, the hands-free apparatus establishes another connection to the cellular phone through a dial-up network profile so that a hands-free call by the hands-free apparatus is appropriately handled.

In recent years, a Bluetooth communication function enabled vehicular hands-free apparatus (a hands-free apparatus hereinafter for brevity) is configured to communicate with a Bluetooth communication function enabled cellular phone (a cellular phone hereinafter for brevity and simplicity) by connecting a hands-free profile for serving a hands-free call as disclosed, for example, Japanese patent document JP-A-2002-223288.
However, the hands-free apparatus is capable of serving a hands-free call for the cellular phone only when the hands-free apparatus is connecting the hands-free profile to the cellular phone, and the apparatus is not capable of serving a hands-free call for the cellular phone when, for example, a data communication is triggered due to switching of the connection type from the hands-free profile to a dial-up network profile, that is, due to a disconnection of the hands-free profile to switch to a connection of the dial-up network profile. Therefore, while the dial-up network profile is connected and the hands-free profile is disconnected, the hands-free apparatus is not capable of serving the hands-free call for the cellular phone.
In this case, if the cellular phone is configured to have simultaneous connection of multiple profiles, the hands-free apparatus can provide a connection of the hands-free profile as well as a connection of the dial-up network profile at the same time for enabling the data communication in a stand-by condition of serving the hands-free call. However, if the cellular phone is not configured to have simultaneous connection of multiple profiles, the simultaneous connection of the dial-up network profile for the data communication and the hands-free profile for establishing the hands-free call is not possible.


There is provided a system and method for following and conducting laboratory procedures for preventing errors and fatigue of the user. The system involves input means, such as a microscope, and a camera connected to the input means, while the camera creates images of the input means. A computer is connected to the camera, and it processes the images so that augmented reality glasses which are also connected to the computer, are capable of having those images projected thereon. The computer also has laboratory protocol files installed thereon, and it projects images of the protocols onto the glasses. The projected images do not interfere with a user's natural vision.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
IVF is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a liquid in a laboratory. The fertilized egg (zygote) is cultured for 2-6 days in a growth medium and is then transferred to the same or another woman's uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. The lab processes for achieving a successful IVF demand strict discipline, experience and knowledge. Procedures such as Ovum Pick Up (OPU) which require high-skills and vast knowledge are done by doctors and embryologists only. Typically, a stereo microscope is used for IVF laboratory procedures. Looking through the eyepiece of the microscope for long periods, as one does when performing IVF, is very tiring. The solution is to have the microscope connected to a screen, so that the lab worker can look at the screen instead of the eyepiece. This solution is not perfect, since the workers still find the need to use the eyepiece.
Another challenge that an IVF lab worker faces, is the many regulations and procedures that the work entails. For instance, it is very crucial that the correct specimens of egg and sperm are taken for a single IVF procedure, and that they are not mixed-up with other specimens. There are many steps and regulations that need to be met in order to ensure that the worker does not become confused. In spite of the many regulations, the "human error" factor still exists. There is a need to provide a method for further preventing human error.
Augmented Reality (Wikipedia)
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one's current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Information about the environment and its objects is overlaid on the real world. This information can be virtual or real, e.g. seeing other real sensed or measured information such as electromagnetic radio waves overlaid in exact alignment with where they actually are in space. Augmented reality brings out the components of the digital world into a person's perceived real world. AR displays can be rendered on devices resembling eyeglasses. Versions include eyewear that employ cameras to intercept the real world view and re-display its augmented view through the eye pieces and devices in which the AR imagery is projected through or reflected off the surfaces of the eyewear lens pieces.

System and method for following and conducting laboratory procedures


An air supply device of a gas engine having a turbocharger includes a first intake passage configured to guide the mixture of outdoor air and unpurified gas into the turbocharger, a second intake passage configured to guide indoor air into the turbocharger, a filter configured to remove a solid impurity in the unpurified gas which is disposed in the first intake passage, a first damper capable of opening and closing the first intake passage disposed on the downstream side of the filter in the first intake passage, a heating unit for heating the indoor air disposed in the second intake passage, a second damper capable of opening and closing the second intake passage disposed on the downstream side of the heating unit in the second intake passage, and a damper control device configured to control the opening degree of each of the first and second dampers.

There is widely known a gas engine system in which air supplied via a turbocharger and fuel gas are mixed, the mixture is supplied into a combustion chamber, and the mixture is ignited and combusted in the engine.
In the gas engine system, in a case where the gas engine is started from a state where the gas engine is cooled due to a low outside air temperature as in, e.g., wintertime, when outside air is used as the air mentioned above, the low-temperature outside air is sucked into the gas engine at the time of start of the gas engine, and hence there is a problem that the startability of the engine is reduced.
To cope with this, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology capable of preventing the reduction in startability in the case where the gas engine is started from the state where the gas engine is cooled due to the low outside air temperature as in wintertime. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to the gas engine system in which the engine has a passage configured to guide outdoor air (outside air) into the engine and a passage configured to guide indoor air (inside air) into the engine, only the inside air is supplied into the engine and is also heated when the load of the engine is less than a specific value, and only the outside air is supplied into the engine when the load of the engine is not less than the specific value.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-83181
Incidentally, in the gas engine system, there are cases where unpurified gas represented by VAM (Ventilation Air Methane) discharged from a mine (hereinafter referred to as unpurified gas) is used as air and fuel supplied to a turbocharger. The unpurified gas often contains a solid impurity such as dust or the like and, particularly when the unpurified gas is used as air and is supplied to the turbocharger together with outside air, the impurity causes the wear of a device or the abnormal combustion in the engine so that it is necessary to remove the impurity.
However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, as described above, although it is possible to suppress the reduction in startability in the case where the gas engine is started from the state where the gas engine is cooled due to the low outside air temperature as in wintertime, no consideration is given to a case where the unpurified gas is supplied to the turbocharger together with the outside air. As a result, when the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to the case where the unpurified gas is supplied to the turbocharger together with the outside air, it is not possible to remove the impurity and there is a possibility that the impurity flows into the engine and the engine does not operate normally.


An implantable tubular device is formed as a substantially tubular body and has a deformable portion formed on a peripheral surface thereof, with the deformable portion forming a predetermined angle with respect to an axial direction of the implantable tubular device. The implantable tubular device includes a plurality of wavy annular members each formed of a wavy element and arranged in an axial direction of the implantable tubular device; and connection portions each connecting the wavy annular members to each other in the axial direction of the implantable tubular device. Each of the wavy annular members has a deformable portion 11 formed on a bent portion thereof not connected to the other wavy annular members in such a way that the deformable portion crosses the wavy annular member.

The present invention relates to an implantable tubular device such as a stent to be implanted in human body such as a blood vessel, a bile duct, a trachea, an esophagus, an ureter, and internal organs to improve a stenotic lesion or a total occlusion formed in the lumens.
To cure various diseases that are caused when the blood vessel or lumens are stenosis or occlusion, the stent which is a tubular-shaped medical appliance is implanted at the stenotic lesion or the total occlusion to expand them and secure the lumen thereof.
The stent is classified into a self-expandable stent and a balloon expandable stent, depending on the function thereof and an implantation method. The balloon expandable stent itself has no dilating function. After the balloon expandable stent is inserted into a target lesion, a balloon expanded inside the stent in an extent almost equal to the normal diameter of the lumen of the target lesion is inflated to dilate (plastic deformation) the stent by the inflation force of the balloon so that the stent comes in close contact with the inner surface of the target lesion.
To deliver the stent to a desired portion of a human body, it is necessary that the mounted balloon and the stent are flexible. As a method of improving the flexibility of an approximately tubular stent having a plurality of annular units disposed axially and joining portions joining adjacent annular units to each other, the method of reducing the number of joining portions (articulation) disposed between the adjacent annular units is known(i.e. mono-link stent).
However, this method is incapable of improving the flexibility of the annular unit. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of an implantable device, such as a stent to be implanted in lumens, which is flexible so that it can pass smoothly through a curve portion of the human body.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an implantable tubular device, for example, a stent, having a deformable portion to improve the flexibility of an annular unit of the device so that the device can pass easily through a bent portion of a human body


In a split antenna system, a radio network node determines an association between a target wireless terminal and an antenna being used to communicate with the target wireless terminal. The radio network node provides an association information and a signal information of properties of a wireless signal used for communication between the antenna to a positioning node. The association information can include the identity of the antenna, which can be encoded in least significant bits of a position measurement included in the signal information. The positioning node determines a position of the target wireless terminal based on the association information and the signal information.

The possibility to determine the position of a mobile terminal such as a user equipment (UE) has enabled application developers and wireless network operators to provide location based, and location aware, services. Examples of those are guiding systems, shopping assistance, friend finder, presence services, community and communication services and other information services giving the mobile user information about their surroundings.
In addition to the commercial services, the governments in several countries have put requirements on the network operators to be able to determine the position of an emergency caller. For instance, the governmental requirements in the USA (FCC E-911) mandates that it must be possible to determine the position of a certain percentage of all emergency calls, with high accuracy and within a pre-specified maximum time. Terrestrial positioning methods are necessary for use as a backup when celestial positioning methods (e.g., GPS, Galileo) are not available or the UE is not capable of celestial positioning methods.
As will be described in further detail below, use of split antennas can impair the terrestrial positioning methods such that the terrestrial positioning are not sufficiently accurate. This in turn can lead to disadvantages both commercially and in being able to meet government requirements for an operator.

Positioning with split antennas per cell


A sustainable packaging apparatus comprising repurposable components is disclosed. A sustainable packaging apparatus having a cellular structure, comprised of a plurality of compartments, provides packaging for the shipment of objects such as beverage canisters. The plurality of compartments can each be separated into vessel portions. The two vessel portions of the compartments are designed to function as vessels after the objects are removed from the compartments. The vessel portions of the sustainable packaging apparatus are ideal for use as cups or game pieces; thus, the vessel portions maintain utility after shipment of the objects.

As populations increase, waste is becoming a more significant environmental issue. For example, in 2013, consumers discarded 75.8 million tons of containers and packaging. The amount discarded comprised 29.8 percent of the total municipal solid waste generated in the United States according to the EPA. http://www.epa.gov/solidwaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/2013_advncng_smm_rpt.pdf.
For example, beverage manufacturers ship and sell beverages in containers that are further disposed in a package for transportation and distribution. Once purchased, consumers discard the package used to ship the beverage container and the waste contributes to the millions of tons of municipal solid waste generated annually. Prior to consumption, consumers may also transfer the liquid from the original container to separately purchased cups for drinking. The separately purchased cups are often disposable and also contribute to the municipal solid waste generated annually.
Thus, there is a need for new packaging apparatuses that can reduce the proliferation of waste generated by current options.
Embodiments of the present invention address these and other problems, individually and collectively.


An image generating apparatus (1) is provided with: a drawing application processor (11) for indicating a drawing device (13) to draw a 3D image; and a graphics library (12). The drawing application processor is provided with a drawing object information generation device for generating drawing object information to draw an image; and a coordinate transformation information generation device for generating coordinate transformation information. The drawing device generates the 3D image by applying the coordinate transformation information to the drawing object information. An identifier is set to the coordinate transformation information. When the drawing device generates the 3D image, the coordinate transformation information is identified with the identifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image generating apparatus for and an image generating method of generating a three-dimensional (3D) image on the basis of three-dimensional coordinate information, which is applied to a navigation system or the like, and a computer program to perform the image generating method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the research development of an electronic control for controlling a drive of a car and the spread of a navigation system for supporting a drive are remarkable. In general, the navigation system is basically designed so as to have various databases and to display map information, current position information, various guidance information, etc. on a display unit. Moreover, such a navigation system is typically designed so as to search for a drive route in accordance with an input condition. It is further designed so as to display the searched drive route and a current position based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) measurement or a self-contained measurement on a map and carry out guidance (navigation) to a destination.
In an old type navigation system, map information, current position information, a drive route and so on are displayed as a plan view. However, in recent years, a navigation system in which a view on a front side from a currently driving point (for example, the view that the driver can see from a driver's seat through the front window of the car) is displayed is developed. In such a navigation system, the forward view is displayed as a 3D image in perspective, which is a technique for drawing a 3D image on a plane on the basis of view point of a viewer.
The old type navigation system, in which map information, a drive route and the like are displayed as a 2D image, has a 2D graphics library. In general, the 2D graphics library has routines for generating a display list of a plane image which can be directly executed by a drawing device and routines for executing the display list collectively. Thus, it is possible to pull out the performance of the drawing device and to execute the drawing operation at a high speed.
On the other hand, the current type navigation system, in which a forward view that the driver can see from a driver's seat through the front window of the car is displayed as a 3D image, has another graphics library. For example, as such a graphics library, there is OpenGL that is API (Application Programming Interface) of Silicon Graphics Inc. (Incidentally, OpenGL is a trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc.). OpenGL achieves high speed 3D image drawing by using a display list containing the coordinate transformation parameters. However, OpenGL is not suitable for the drawing device that does not deal with the display list containing coordinate transformation information. In this case, it is needed to convert the form of the display list into a suitable form for the drawing device by CPU.
Incidentally, the API is the interface rule between OS and an application running thereon. The OpenGL is the graphics library for 2D and 3D, and it has a feature that does not depend on a platform.
By the way, the above-mentioned 2D graphics library can treat only a 2D graphics display. Thus, if this is used to try a 3D graphics display, a coordinate transformation needs to be done by CPU, which brings about a problem of a reduction in a drawing speed.
Moreover, the 2D graphics library has a problem that a hidden surface removal through a Z-buffer can not be executed. Incidentally, the hidden surface removal is a technique in which, in the case that a drawing space is divided a plurality of drawing portions, the image part located closest to a viewer among image components including a plurality of partial frames constituting one frame (for example, an image of a road, an image of one building, an image of a different building, an image of a sky and the like constituting an image of one frame representative of one view) is stored for each drawing position, and then, the stored image parts of all drawing positions are combined and displayed.
On the other hand, since OpenGL uses the display list containing coordinate transformation information, it is not directly used the drawing device that does not perfectly support the coordinate transformation function according to OpenGL. In this case, it is needed to convert the form of the display list by CPU. Therefore, the problem of the reduction in the drawing speed arises.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image generating apparatus, image generating method, and computer program


A wire includes a plurality of carbon nanotube infused fibers in which the infused carbon nanotubes are aligned parallel to the fiber axes. An electromagnetic shield for a wire includes a plurality of carbon nanotube infused fibers, in which the infused carbon nanotubes are aligned radially about the fiber axes. The plurality of carbon nanotube infused fibers are arranged circumferentially about the wire with the fiber axes parallel to the wire. A self-shielded wire includes 1) a wire that includes a plurality of carbon nanotube infused fibers in which the infused carbon nanotubes are aligned parallel to the fiber axes; and 2) an electromagnetic shield that includes a plurality of carbon nanotube infused fibers in which the carbon nanotubes are aligned radially about the fiber axes. The axes of the carbon nanotube infused fibers of the wire and the carbon nanotube infused fibers of the electromagnetic shield share are parallel.

There are over 300,000 km of power transmission lines traversing the USA (and many km more across the world) delivering electrical power through aluminum conductors with various forms of additional reinforcement. A significant issue in the power transmission industry is cost associated with transmission/distribution loss (up to 6.5% in 2007) as well as the infrastructure cost associated with suspending power lines whose spans are limited by the strength/stiffness of the line itself. Over time lines begin to sag requiring maintenance.
In addition, power transmission and data transfer lines suffer from signal distortion due in part to crosstalk, stray inductance or capacitance created by other lines, and noise, interference created by external sources. Signal distortion has been overcome through the use of twisted pairs, where the twisting of two wires together cancels electromagnetic signals, and/or the incorporation of shielding material, such as magnetic foils, which are layered in the wire sheathing/insulation. While these techniques have been shown to reduce issues related to crosstalk and noise, the these techniques can add significant weight and cost to components utilizing twisted pairs or shielded wire.

CNT-infused fiber as a self shielding wire for enhanced power transmission line


A detector including a base having a recess formed therein and a diaphragm generally extending across the recess. The detector further includes an infrared sensitive component or a piezoelectric or piezoresistive element located on, above or supported by the diaphragm. The diaphragm includes a material which is generally resistant to liquid chemical etchants and which has a thermal conductivity of less than about 0.005 Wcm−1K−1.

Infrared detectors may include infrared ("IR") sensitive components located on a suspended diaphragm. The diaphragm may be relatively thin to reduce the thermal conductance of the diaphragm and thereby improve the sensitivity of the detector. The diaphragms of existing infrared detector may include a layer of silicon nitride. However, diaphragms of such construction may be fragile which may reduce manufacturing yields and limit the ability to further process the detector after formation of the diaphragm. Furthermore, due to its high thermal conductivity the silicon nitride layer may provide significant thermal loss.
In order to minimize breakage the fabrication process may be arranged such that the diaphragm is formed as the final step. However, this procedure limits the flexibility of the manufacturing process and of course limits the ability to add additional components after the formation of the diaphragm. Further, even when the diaphragm is formed as the last step of the manufacturing process, the diaphragm may sufficiently fragile to be prone to breakage during packaging or handling of the detector.
Accordingly, there is a need for a infrared detector having a diaphragm which has a relatively low thermal conductance, is relatively robust, and can withstand a variety of chemical etchants.

Method for making an infrared detector and infrared detector


A lens barrel includes a fixed cylinder, a first rotating cylinder, a linear movement cylinder which moves integrally in an axis direction with the first rotating cylinder, and a second rotating cylinder. The linear movement cylinder has equal to or more than three projections in an outer circumferential surface. The first rotating cylinder has equal to or more than three cutouts corresponding to each projection of the linear movement cylinder in an inner circumferential surface, and each cutout has a shape corresponding to a shape of each projection. Each cutout is formed in parallel with an axis of the first rotating cylinder, and in which each projections of the linear movement cylinder is inserted. An end of each cutout extends to a groove in a circumferential direction, each projection is guided in the groove, and the first rotating cylinder and the linear movement cylinder is connected. The linear movement cylinder has a through-hole corresponding to a pin provided in the second rotating cylinder, and at least two of the equal to or more than three projections are provided in an area in a circumferential wall of the linear movement cylinder where the through-hole is not formed in the circumferential direction.

A lens barrel for holding a shooting lens of a camera and so on, in a state of being attached to a camera body, or in a state of not being attached to the camera body as a lens barrel for a single-lens reflex camera, often receives a great shock when dropped mistakenly or hit by an object.
There are various systems for a lens drive mechanism of the lens barrel. One of the various systems adopted in the lens drive mechanism is a so-called Bayonet connection, in which members in a cylindrical shape are connected by fitting a projection to a cutout and a groove in a circumferential direction, and move relatively to each other. In a case of using the lens barrel adopted in the Bayonet connection, and in a case where the projection is placed in a part which is mechanistically low in strength of a member in the cylindrical shape, when the lens barrel receives a great shock as described above, the member in the cylindrical shape may be deformed and the Bayonet connection may come off. Therefore, there are problems such that the lens barrel does not move smoothly, or does not even move at all.
The reasons for occurrence of such problems described above will be explained more specifically. As for the members in the cylindrical shape, in a linear movement groove formed in one of the members in the cylindrical shape, the projection of the other member is fitted, and the members in the cylindrical shape move relatively to each other in a center axis direction. Additionally, the projection is led into a groove in a circumferential direction extending to the linear movement groove, and the members in the cylindrical shape are connected to each other and rotate relatively to each other around the center axis. A connection where the projection and the groove are fitted together is generally called a "Bayonet connection". A member with the projection described above often has a clearance groove to a pin to move a lens frame in an optical axis direction when zooming and so on, or a cam groove etc. in a wide range in the circumferential direction. In a case where the clearance groove or the cam groove etc. described above are formed in the member, the strength of the members in the cylindrical shape is degraded. Especially, in the axis direction, in a range where the clearance groove or the cam groove etc. are provided along, the strength tends not to be enough. Therefore, in a case where the projection is provided in this range, when a shock is received, it is easy for the member with the projection to be deformed in a periphery of the projection and it is easy for the projection to come off the groove. That is, it is easy for the Bayonet connection to come off.
It is considered that by enlarging a width of the projection, that is, enlarging a length in the circumferential direction centering on an axis of the members in the cylindrical shape, it is more difficult for the Bayonet connection to come off. However, only enlarging the width of the projection slightly is minimally-effective. If the width of the projection is enlarged greatly, it is more effective in terms of mechanical strength. However, a degree of parallelization of a front side and a back side of the projection in the circumferential direction of the members in the cylindrical shape needs to be processed with high accuracy, therefore it is difficult to manufacture.
There is a Bayonet connection in which a depth of the projection fitting in the groove is deeper, so that it is difficult for the Bayonet connection to come off. Or the members in the cylindrical shape are produced from an aluminum alloy bar by a cutting work and thereby the mechanical strength is enhanced, so that the members in the cylindrical shape are not deformed even if a shock is received. By being structured as described above, it is possible to prevent the Bayonet connection from coming off, even if the members in the cylindrical shape are deformed by the shock, and this also makes it possible to decrease a deformation of the members in the cylindrical shape.
However, in a method in which a fitting part of the Bayonet connection is deeper, a thickness in a radial direction of a member having the fitting part needs to be very thick. Therefore, there is a problem that a diameter of the lens barrel may become larger. And, in a case where a lens barrel is produced from the aluminum alloy bar by the cutting work, the long production time is increased and causing a problem of low productivity. Moreover, compared with members in the cylindrical shape produced from a synthetic resin, there is a problem that a front end slants downward in a state where the members in the cylindrical shape produced from the aluminum alloy bar are extended because of its heavy weight.
As a known example of enhancing the strength of the lens barrel described above, there is Japanese patent publication number 2003-322786. Japanese patent publication number 2003-322786 discloses an invention in which a reinforcing member is used to enhance the strength of the lens barrel.

Lens barrel, camera, portable data terminal equipment, image input equipment, and cylinder for lens barrel


A field sawbuck having a tree gripper forming a top side fulcrum for holding an end of a felled tree and a tree engaging arm for pivoting the felled tree about the fulcrum to bring the felled tree to an elevated condition whereby the limbs can be removed and the tree can be conveniently cut into desired length without concern for pinching or binding the saw or having the saw blade accidentally contact a support soil for the felled tree as well a method for delivering a felled tree to a field sawbuck that can cantileverly support the felled tree during the process of removing limbs from the tree or during the process of field cutting of the felled tree into firewood lengths.

Commercial log processors are available for cutting and delimbing trees, however, such devices are not suitable for use by a person, such as homeowner, for cutting trees into firewood because of both the size and cost of the log processors. Consequently, a homeowner may fell a tree and then remove the limbs from the tree to form the tree trunk into a length that can more easily be transported than a felled tree. The tree trunk is generally hauled to a site where the tree trunk is cut into suitable firewood lengths. In other cases a homeowner may fell a tree and use a chainsaw to cut the felled tree into firewood lengths while the trunk of the felled tree lies on the ground.
The concept of sawbucks for holding logs while the logs are cut into firewood lengths is known in the art. The typical log sawbuck has a frame that includes a cradle for supporting the log in a cutting position to enable the log to be conveniently cut into shorter firewood lengths. The sawbuck is a useful homeowner tool in that it holds a log off the ground, which makes it easier to cut the log into shorter lengths as well as it minimizes opportunities for the operator to accidentally contact the soil with the saw blade, which may not only be hazardous but also may dull the saw blade. An additional benefit of the sawbuck is that the use of the sawbuck can eliminate pinching or binding of the saw blade during the cutting process since a log can be supported such that the portions of the log being cut do not pinch the saw blade.
However, before a log can be placed in a conventional sawbuck the tree must be felled and the limbs of the tree removed from the tree trunk. Additionally, the tree trunk may need to be cut into shorter lengths that can be placed on the sawbuck for further processing. Thus the felling of the tree and the preparation of the tree for placement in the sawbuck has the disadvantage that it is oftentimes difficult to remove the limbs of the tree when the felled tree is laying on the ground since some of the limbs may bend and pinch the blade during an on site removal of the tree limbs. In still other cases the tree limbs may lie on the ground and the operator may accidentally contact the soil with the saw blade or axe as the tree limbs are cut off. In still other cases the tree limbs may protrude at angles that makes it difficult to cut the felled tree into firewood lengths. The present invention provides a field sawbuck that can be used by an operator, such as a home-owner, to support a felled tree in a position where the operator can conveniently cut off the tree limbs as well as cut the tree trunk into firewood lengths without concern for either the saw binding or the saw accidentally contacting the soil. The invention also eliminates the need to haul a tree trunk to a sawbuck and place the tree trunk in a sawbuck in order to cut the tree trunk into firewood lengths.

Field sawbuck for cantilever support of a felled tree


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for determining validity of and updating a microcode image. Responsive to initiation of an update process, a first validity indicator is checked to determine whether a first microcode image in the memory is valid. In response to the first microcode image being valid, a second validity indicator is set indies, to indicate that a second microcode image is invalid, and the update process is allowed to update the second microcode image to form an updated microcode image. A determination is made as to whether the updated microcode image is valid. The second validity indicator is set to indicate that the updated microcode is valid if the updated image is valid. The second validity indicator is checked during booting of a data processing system. If the second validity indicator is valid, the updated microcode will be loaded.

1. Technical Field
The present invention related generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for processing data. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for loading code during an initial program load.
2. Description of Related Art
When a computer is started or booted, an initial program load occurs. This initial program load process is also referred to as a boot process in which instructions located on a read-only memory or a flash memory are automatically executed upon start-up or boot of the computer. A flash memory is a more common storage device for storing these instructions, which is also referred to as initial program load firmware. A flash memory is a device that retains instructions when no power is applied to the device. Further, flash memory devices may be modified through a program or software component also referred to as a flash update program. This initial program load firmware may be stored in one or more flash devices. This firmware searches for the operating system, loads the operating system, and then passes control to the operating system.
Many of the computer systems today are designed with redundant initial program load firmware, also referred to as "microcode", used to initialize hardware before the operated system can be operated and executed. This initial program load firmware may contain one or more functional microcode images. These microcode images may be referred to as "load identifiers" (LIDS). In addition to loading the operating system, a LID also may perform diagnostic processes on the hardware. As more complex computer systems are developed, additional functions are required in the initial program load firmware. In such a case, this firmware may contain multiple LIDS.
With increasing number of LIDS, the possibility of one or more LIDS having a problem or defect increases. These problems may prevent the computer system from operating properly. One solution to defective LIDS is the use of redundant images. If, during the boot process, a defective LID is encountered, then a redundant image may be used to reboot the system at that time. Further, if a particular LID is defective and does not prevent the computer system from operating, a new LID may replace the old LID through a flash update. This LID may be updated through the operating system on which the LID is currently located. Updates also may not occur properly during a flash update process. For example, a problem may occur in which corruption of a LID occurs in response to events, such as data transfer, a power glitch, or a power loss. These events may cause a portion of the code in a LID to go bad or contain an error.
One problem with these present designs is that a computer will boot or start from a portion of the initial program load firmware in a flash memory device. If a LID or microcode image is defective, the computer system will continue to boot or execute instructions until the defective code is reached. If this defective code is loaded early in the boot process, the user will be alerted to this problem quickly. If the defective code is located in a LID loaded near the end of the boot process, the user will waste valuable time waiting for the computer system to reboot. Such a problem can be frustrating and takes time that a user does not want to spend.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for determining whether a microcode image used in a boot or start-up process for a data processing system is valid.

Method and apparatus for updating a microcode image in a memory

International Business Machines Corporation


Si waveguide devices on a bulk Si substrate with supporting anchors and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming a waveguide device over an Si substrate, and forming one or more anchors from the Si substrate. The one or more anchors support the waveguide device.

Integrated optoelectronic technology allows computing devices to send and receive data at unprecedented speeds. A typical integrated optoelectronic system could include lasers, modulators, multiplexers/demultiplexers, photo-detectors, and other passive components such as filters, couplers and waveguides.
Silicon photonics use silicon as an optical medium. The silicon is patterned with sub-micrometre precision, into microphotonic components used in fiber optic telecommunication systems. Silicon photonic devices can be made using existing semiconductor fabrication techniques, and because silicon is already used as the substrate for most integrated circuits, it is possible to create hybrid devices in which the optical and electronic components are integrated onto a single microchip.
In some implementations, silicon photonics rely on SOI wafers to create passive optical waveguides. While SOI based waveguides provide a strong confinement of optical field and the ease of integration with other optical/electrical components, it is not without tradeoffs. For example, the cost of SOI processes is substantially higher than Si processes, including both substrate and fabrication expenses. Also, the buried oxide in SOI tends to block excess heat that is inevitably generated by the optical/electrical components, and therefore may feature poor thermal conductivity and stability. For these reasons, many foundries still implement optical waveguide devices in bulk Si. However, it has been found that long Si waveguides can swing out of position, thus affecting the efficiency of waveguide transmission.

Waveguide devices with supporting anchors


A zero current soft switching power converter (10) is provided in which a link capacitor (20) is coupled between a source switch S.sub.1 and a source switch S.sub.2. The reversal of voltage polarity across link capacitor (20) allows for zero current switching of switches S.sub.1 and S.sub.2.

Modern power supplies use the basic technology of switching power converters to improve efficiency and compactness. The advent of the silicon controlled rectifier has allowed these switching power converters to be solid state devices. Variable AC or DC output voltages or currents in these switching power supplies are generated by many well known methods, most commonly by the method known as pulse width modulation ("PWM"). Typical applications include AC power supplies for AC motor drives or DC power supplies for a myriad of electronic circuits or industrial processes.
Using the pulse width modulation method, solid state switches within converters are switched at relatively high frequencies. The variation of the switching intervals (pulse width) is controlled to produce the desired slow variations of the average DC or AC output waveforms. However, a non-negligible amount of energy loss is associated with each switching action of the solid state switches. Because switching at high frequencies is required to achieve the desirable output waveform fidelities, the overall switching losses of conventional converters are rather high, since energy is lost during each switching action. Consequently, conventional converters are limited to lower power applications, where the resulting low efficiencies and heat dissipation problems caused by the losses in the switches are tolerable.
An example of a conventional power converter, known as the Cuk converter, has been disclosed by S. Cuk and R. D. Middlebrook, Coupled Inductor and Other Extensions of a New Optimum Topology Switching DC-to-DC Converter, IEEE Industry Application Society Annual Meeting, pp. 1110-1126, 1977. Significant limitations exist within the Cuk converter and other conventional converters because the switching elements are "hard switched". Hard switching occurs when the switches within the converter are switched while there is a voltage across the switches and a current flowing through the switches. Because of this hard switching, significant losses, as described above, result within the switches. Consequently, the useful power of the Cuk and other conventional converters is limited to less than 10 kilowatts, and their frequency range is also limited because of switching losses to ranges on the order of 10 kilohertz. Furthermore, because of the design and method of operation of the Cuk converter, only gate turn off devices, and not devices such as silicon controlled rectifiers, can be used as the switching elements.
Recent attention has focused on converters that use zero-current or zero-voltage switching for increasing power converter efficiency. Resonant and quasi-resonant converters have been developed to make use of these zero-current and zero-voltage switching techniques. However, difficulties involved in matching the operating frequency with the resonance components, magnetic saturation, and increased component stress present significant limitations for such converters.
Zero voltage "soft-switching" converters have also been proposed to overcome some of the limitations of resonant and quasi-resonant converters. See, S. Hamada et al., A New Conceptional PWM DC-DC Converter with Zero-Voltage Switching Incorporating Non-Controlled Saturable Reactors, IEEE-PESC Conf. Rec. 1989; J. A. Ferreira, et al., A General Soft Switching Converter Topology with a Parallel Nonlinear Network for High Power Applications, IEEE-PESC Conf. Rec. 1990; R. W. DeDoncker, et al., A Three-Phase Soft-Switched High-Power Density DC--DC Converter for High Power Applications, IEEE Trans. on IAS, Volume 27, No. 1, January-February 1991. However, these converters present significant limitations. In particular, they require increased current ratings, as high as 200 percent, especially in high power applications. The increased current results in significant increases in conduction losses, as well as higher power device costs.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a zero-loss switching converter that produces less device and component stresses than existing converter topologies. Furthermore, a need has arisen for a non-resonant converter that uses zero-current soft switching. A need has also arisen for a converter that can use both gate turn-off switches for efficient high frequency switching and SCRs for high power applications.

Power conversion using zero current soft switching


The present invention mainly relates to the structure and manufacturing process of a new fθ lens in LSU, which is plastic lens produced through injection molding. Its optical surface is made of multi-sections, and the optical surface of each section, according to the angles formed between the sections and the laser beams ripping-in, are designed with a specified coefficient set. Therefore, this new fθ lens, with high tolerance in assembling and high performance in scanning, avoids the demerit of conventional fθ lens, each optical surface of which has only one coefficient set. According to the curve fall formed at the border of every two optical surfaces, we find out a way to ascertain the best continuing surface profile, which is curve fitting simulation and optical simulation. At last, we produce a mold for the fθ lens with multi-sections optical surface by using super-precise machine process to control the mold processing and use the mold for injection molding, and then manufacture lots of fθ lens with multi-sections optical surface.

The present invention relates to a fθ lens in a laser scanning unit (LSU) and method of making the same, and more particularly to a fθ lens having multi-sections optical surface, instead of the prior-art which having single section optical surface with single coefficient set, in order to achieve higher tolerance in assembling quality and higher performance in scanning effects.
Commonly used technologies, applied in Laser Beam Printers are known and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,795, U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,938, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,399, U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,654, U.S Pat. No. 5,757,533, U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,362, U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,631, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,729, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,219, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,131 and Japanese Patents 4-50908, 5-45580 etc. In all these Laser Scanning Units, the most favored way is to use a highly circumvolving (40000/min) polygonal mirror, to control the scanning of the Laser Beam.
A conventional LSU 1 will not be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 1A, and 1B to explain the structure and optic path in general LSU. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the LSU 1 includes a semiconductor laser 10 that serves as a light source to emit laser beams, which sequentially pass through an aperture 11 and a collimator 12. The laser beams pass through the collimator 12 to form parallel beams and then pass through a cylindrical lens 13, a main function of which is to cause a width of the parallel beams in a sub-major scanning direction or Y-axis to focus in a direction parallel to a major scanning direction or X-axis and thereby form a line image, which is a point in FIG. 1B. The LSU 1 also includes a polygonal mirror 14 that is adapted to rotate at high speed, so that a plurality of reflection mirror 15 uniformly and continuously arranged on the polygonal mirror 14 are just located at or in the vicinity of a focal point of the above-mentioned line image. The polygonal mirror 14 serves to control a direction in which the laser beams are projected from. The a plurality of continuous reflection mirrors 15 at high rotating speed are adapted to deflect and reflect laser beams incident on the reflection mirrors 15 in a direction parallel to the major scanning direction or X-axis to an f.theta. lens 16 at uniform angular velocity. The f.theta. lens 16 is located at one side of the polygonal mirror 14 and may be a single-element scanning lens, as shown in FIG. 1, or a two-element scanning lens, as that shown in the figures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,131. Laser beams incident on the f.theta. lens 16 via the reflection mirrors 15 on the polygonal mirror 14 are focused to form a circular light spot that is then projected onto a photoreceptor drum 17 to achieve a required scanning linearity. From the above, we know that the f.theta. lens 16 in LSU 1, with its structure illustrated by FIG. 2, the design of its optical surface is composed of the several equations and coefficient sets as follows:
1. Anamorphic Surface
  Z  =                              (          Cx          )                                  x          2                    +                        (          Cy          )                                  y          2                                                          1            +                                          (                                  1                  -                                                            (                                              1                        +                        Kx                                            )                                                                                (                        Cx                        )                                            2                                                                                x                      2                                                        -                                                            (                                              1                        +                        Ky                                            )                                                                                (                        Cy                        )                                            2                                                                                y                      2                                                                      )                                            1                /                2                                      +                                                                                AR                                                  (                                                                                (                                                  1                          -                          AP                                                )                                                                                x                        2                                                              +                                                                  (                                                  1                          +                          AP                                                )                                                                                y                        2                                                                              )                                            2                        +                                                                          BR                                                              (                                                                                (                                                  1                          -                          BP                                                )                                                                                x                        2                                                              +                                                                  (                                                  1                          +                          BP                                                )                                                                                y                        2                                                                              )                                3                                      +                                                                                CR                                                  (                                                                                (                                                  1                          -                          CP                                                )                                                                                x                        2                                                              +                                                                  (                                                  1                          +                          CP                                                )                                                                                y                        2                                                                              )                                            4                        +                                                                          DR                                            (                                                                            (                                              1                        -                        DP                                            )                                                                                x                      2                                                        +                                                            (                                              1                        +                        DP                                            )                                                                                y                      2                                                                      )                                      5                              2. First Type Toric Surface:
      Z    =                  F      +                        G          *                      y            2                                    1          +                                    1              -                                                G                  2                                *                                  y                  2                                                                                F      =                                                Cx            *                          x              2                                            1            +                                          1                -                                                      (                                          1                      +                      Kx                                        )                                    *                                      Cx                    2                                    *                                      x                    2                                                                                +                                                                              A                                                              4          *                      x            4                          +                  A                                                              6          *                      x            6                          +                  A                                                              8          *                      x            8                          +                  A                                                              10          *                      x            10                                ;              G      =                          Cy                  1          -                      Cy            *            F                                ;  3. Second Type Toric Surface:
                                                                                Z                  =                                                                                x                          2                                                /                        R                                                                    1                        +                                                                              1                            -                                                                                (                                                                  1                                  +                                  K                                                                )                                                            *                                                                                (                                                                      x                                    /                                    R                                                                    )                                                                2                                                                                +                                                                                B                                                                                2                      *                                              x                        2                                                              +                                          B                                                                                4                      *                                              x                        4                                                              +                                          B                                                                                6                      *                                              x                        6                                                              +                                          B                                                                                8                      *                                              x                        8                                                              +                                          B                                                                                10                      *                                              x                        10                                                                                r              ′                        =                                                  r                                            (                                  1                  +                                      D                                                                                2                    *                                          x                      2                                                        +                                      D                                                                                4                    *                                          x                      4                                                        +                                      D                                                                                6                    *                                          x                      6                                                        +                                      D                                                                                8                    *                                          x                      8                                                        +                                      D                                                                                10                    *                                          x                      10                                                                      )                                                          ❘
From the equations and coefficient sets mentioned above, we can know that the optical surfaces 21 and 22 of the conventional single fθ lens 2 are composed of one coefficient set, that is to say, the first optical surface 21 and the second optical surface 22 of the fθ lens are consisting of one single coefficient set separately. This design can make the two optical surfaces form a continuing surface profile, but there are problems existing as following:
(1). The main function of the fθ lens is to focus the input laser beams to a circular light spot, and then put the light spot onto a photoreceptor drum through scanning linearity. The diameter of the circular light spot on the scanning linearity is preferred to be 30 μm, or at least the spot should be within a circle whose diameter is 100 μm. As to the structure of a conventional LSU, with reference to FIG. 1, the laser beams pass to the reflection mirror 15 of polygon mirror 14, then reflected to fθ lens. Obviously, the central axis of the laser beams doesn't aim at the rotating axis of and the polygon mirror 14. Therefore, while designing fθ lens, we should take into consideration the above-mentioned deviation, which cause the optical surface of the best fθ lens to be with unsymmetrical characteristics .
(2). The difficulty in designing a fθ lens is greatly increased as there is unsymmetrical optical field on the optical surface of fθ lens while it should also acquire scanning linearity at the same time. As we all know, if the optical surface on the general fθ lens is designed with a single coefficient set, some trade-off and equilibrating amendment must take place for the two unsymmetrical optical field of fθ lens. However, all these not only raise problems for designing, but also lower the efficiency of the two unsymmetrical optical fields, because the single coefficient set could not reach the optical surfaces requests of the two unsymmetrical optical fields after trade-off amendment. As shown in FIG. 3, in this optical simulation, the fθ lens 2 is made of one coefficient set, and there are polygon mirror 23 polygon reflection mirror 24, laser beam 25 and the photoreceptor drum 26. We found that the light spot 27, within a certain distance, present different shapes rather than a circular light spot. Besides, the light spot sometimes departs from the center of the 100 μm circle, some of the light spots even reach out of the 100 μm circle. The results show that the optical efficiency is decreased by designing fθ lens with single coefficient set even after Trade-off, at the same time tolerance in assembling quality is also lowered and the difficulty in assembling is increased, too. It is the most pitted in designing the structure of fθ lens.

fθ lens in laser scanning unit and method of making


A novel recombinant streptavidin-protein A chimeric protein which allows conjugation of antibody molecules with biological materials. The chimeric protein is efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli and is purified by simple procedures. The purified chimetic protein can bind one biotin molecule and one to two immunoglobulin molecules per subunit.

Field of Invention
This invention concerns a novel recombinant streptavidin-Protein A chimeric protein which allows specific conjugation or labeling of antibody molecules with biological materials or, conversely, labeling such materials with antibodies. The chimeric protein can be efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli and can be purified by simple procedures. The chimeric protein purified to homogeneity has full biotin binding ability, and binds one to two immunoglobulin molecules per subunit.

Recombinant streptavidin-protein chimeras useful for conjugation of molecules in the immune system

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