A headlight device for a vehicle has at least two headlights, each emitting a screened light beam with an upper bright-dark limit, which on a counter traffic side and on a traffic side has different portions. A portion on the counter traffic side is arranged deeper in a vertical direction than a portion on the traffic side, and the portion on the traffic side extends so as to ascend starting from the portion on the counter traffic side over a part of the extension of the portion on the traffic side. The headlights are formed so that the light bundles are emitted with different bright-dark limits. At least one headlight emits a first light bundle with a bright-dark limit, with the portion which on the traffic side is located higher in a vertical direction than the portion of the bright-dark limit at the traffic side of a second light bundle emitted by at least one second headlight. A direction of the second light bundle is changeable so that a position of its bright-dark limit is changed at least in a vertical direction.

The present invention relates to a headlight device for a vehicle.
Headlight devices are known in the art. One of such devices is disclosed for example in the German patent document DE 197 29 826. This headlight device has at least two headlights, with which correspondingly a screen light bundle with an upper bright-dark limit is emitted. The light bundle emitted by both headlights are identical and their bright-dark limits have different portions on the traffic side and on the counter traffic side. The portion of the bright-dark limit arranged on the counter traffic side is deeper than the portion arranged at the traffic side. The portion of the bright-dark limit arranged at the traffic side extends starting from its portion on the counter traffic side at least over a part of its extension in a raising manner. Because of this course of the bright-dark limit a sufficient range of the light bundle emitted by the headlight at the traffic side is provided with simultaneous prevention of a blinding of the opposite traffic. For producing the high beam, in this headlight device separate high beam headlight is connected and light bundles emitted by both above mentioned headlights are lifted so that by then also the far region in front of the vehicle is illuminated. During driving with high speed on speed way, due to the lifting of the light bundle provided by the known headlight device, also an improved illumination of the far region in front of the vehicle is obtained, wherein due to the absent counter traffic it is not blinded. However, the problem occurs that the forwardly driving vehicle driver is unpermissibly intensely blinded by the light reflected by its rear mirror and emitted by the headlight of the rearwardly driving vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a headlight device of the above mentioned general type which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated, in a headlight device in which light beams with different bright-dark limits are emitted by at least two headlights, a first light beam emitted by at least one first headlight is provided with a bright-dark limit having a portion on a traffic side which is higher than the portion of the bright-dark limit at the traffic side of the second light bundle emitted by at least one second headlight, and a direction of the second light beam is changeable so that the position of its bright-dark limit is changeable at least in a vertical direction.
When the headlight device is designed in accordance with the present invention, then with the low beam light for improving the illumination of the far region in front of the vehicle, the second light beam can be lifted, and by the arrangement of the portion of the bright-dark limit of the second light beam at the traffic side no unacceptable blinding of the forwardly driving traffic occurs.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


First ends of electrical elements (CR18, CR14, CR17, CR16) forming safety circuits are electrically grounded, and safety circuits (switches 105, 103, 104, 107) are connected between the remaining second ends of the electrical elements and the power supply side (positive (+) side) of the system thereof, so that even if a signal transmitting line in the safety circuit system is grounded, the safety system relay is not excited; that is, it is kept opened, thereby to interrupt of the servo power supply circuit. Further, two relays of hardware system and of software system are provided which transmits an emergency stop state or other abnormal state to the outside. The relay contact means of the two relays are extended outside, so that it is detected with an external control board whether the relays are opened or closed, thereby to detect whether or not the contact means are fused.

This invention relates to a safety device for a robot, which maintains an input-output circuit high in reliability which is to externally control a robot body.
In general, an industrial robot in a teaching play-back system employs a teach pendant (TP). The teach pendant (TP) is useful for teaching the robot when the operator finely moves robot body watching a controlled point (end effector) of the industrial robot.
The teach pendant (TP) has an emergency stop switch to secure the operator from danger. The emergency stop switch is electrically series-connected to an emergency stop circuit. Therefore, when the switch is operated, a servo power supply for driving a robot body is turned off.
The servo power supply for driving a robot body is provided with safety circuits such as a door stop detection circuit and an external emergency stop circuit, so that the servo power supply is turned off when a door stop input or an external emergency stop input is applied.
When the robot operator operates the emergency stop switch of the teach pendant (TP), or when he operates the door stop input circuit or the external emergency stop circuit in the safety circuit, the servo power supply for driving a motor of an industrial robot is turned off, and the lock (brake) of the shaft of the servo motor is operated.
Now, a conventional industrial robot safety device will be described with reference to FIG. 4.
If, when a panel/external service "on" switch 110 is closed, there is no factor (the emergency stop circuit input signal such as the door stop input signal, the external emergency stop signal) which interrupts the application of servo power to the robot body, then a CPU (not shown) fixes a CPU servo power supply ON output signal at HIGH logic level with the aid of a flip-flop circuit (not shown). In this case, relay coils CR18, CR14, CR17, and CR16 have been excited; that is, their relay contact means CR18a, CR14a, CR17a and CR16a have been closed. Hence, a voltage (+24VDC in the case of FIG. 4) is induced on a servo application permission signal line 12, so that the servo power application circuit is driven.
As shown in FIG. 2, the robot body 1 is set in a safety cage 2 at all times, and the safety fence has a door 5 through which the operator goes in and out of the cage. When the door 5 is opened, a door stop input switch 105 is operated. When the switch contact means is opened, of the door stop input signal is interrupted, and a contact means 105b is opened which are connected to the door stop input line 105a and a circuit ground (PG). Therefore, the CPU recognizes the door stop input signal operation with the aid of a photo-coupler group 22, while the relay CR16 is deexcited, and the contact means CR16a is opened, so that the servo supply is turned off.
As is apparent from the above description, the door stop input switch 105 and other emergency stop circuits (a TP emergency stop input switch 104, an external stop input switch 103, and a panel emergency stop input switch 107) excite the relay coils CR16, CR14, CR17 and CR18 of the emergency stop circuits, thereby to series-connect their relay contact means to the servo application permission signal line 12 as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, if any one of the external input signals (no voltage switch) of the safety circuits is turned off, the servo application permission signal line 12 is interrupted, thereby to turn off the servo supply.
In the case where the various emergency stop circuits operate to interrupt the servo application permission signal line 12 of the robot body 1, or the CPU in the robot control device 3 recognizes the aforementioned operations or other abnormal states, the CPU emergency stop output signal 11 is fixed at LOW logical level with the aid of a flip-flop circuit (not shown). Therefore, in this case, the relay CR1 is deexcited, so that the relay contact means CR1a is opened to inform external equipments of the emergency stop state.
When the work preparation of the robot body 1 has been accomplished, the robot control device 3 applies a general purpose output n 106a to an external control board 6. In response to the general purpose output n 106a, the external control board 6 operates a workpiece supply device 8 to supply a workpiece into the operating range of the robot body 1. Upon completion of the supply of a workpiece, the external control board 6 causes a general purpose input 106g to short-circuit with a circuit ground 106h thereby to apply a signal to the robot control device 3. In response to the input signal, the robot control device 3 starts control to cause the robot body 1 to perform a predetermined operation (work). As is apparent from the above description, the robot body 1 and the workpiece supply device cooperate with each other to perform a series of work. For this purpose, the robot control device 3 are provided with general purpose input n (n being natural numbers) and general purpose output n (n being natural numbers) to transmit signals between itself 3 and the external control board 6.
As was described above, in the conventional industrial robot safety device, the servo power supply circuit of the robot is interrupted by using the limit switch or the relay contact means--for instance by operating the emergency stop input switch 104 of the teach pendant (TP) 4 to open the switch contact means. In order to turn on or off the servo power supply, the switch or the relay contact means is operated. Therefore, if the driven line (105a, 103a, 104a, 107a, 110a, 106g, or 106b) in the group 21 of wires is grounded which is connected between the switch and the input and output sections in the robot control device 3, the variety of emergency stop signals, and the operation of the general purpose input signal n, or the general purpose output signal n is not correctly transmitted, so that the predetermined functions are not correctly performed.
Furthermore, in the case where the relay contact means CR1a indicating the emergency stop output is fused, the input and output signals are not correctly transmitted. In addition, since the contact means should function as a no-voltage contact means, it is impossible for the side of the robot control device 3 to detect that the contact means has been fused.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides positioning mechanisms for devices that cause conduction blocks or ablation in desired areas of tissue. The positioning mechanisms allow for variable geometry of the target sites and enable more accurate therapy at the tissue site.

Pumping of the human heart is caused by precisely timed cycles of compartmental contractions of the heart muscle which lead to an efficient movement of blood into the heart and out to the various bodily organs and back again to the heart. These precisely timed cycles are controlled and directed by electrical signals that are conducted through the cardiac tissue and can be referred to as pacing signals.
The sinoatrial node (SA node) is the heart's natural pacemaker, located in the upper wall of the right atrium. The SA node spontaneously contracts and generates nerve impulses that travel throughout the heart wall causing both the left and right atriums to sequentially contract according to a normal rhythm for pumping of the heart. These electrical impulses continue to the atrioventricular node (AV node) and down a group of specialized fibers called the His-Purkinje system to the ventricles. This electrical pathway must be exactly followed for proper functioning of the heart.
When the normal sequence of electrical impulses changes or is disrupted, the heart rhythm often becomes abnormal. This condition is generally referred to as an arrhythmia and can take the form of such arrhythmias as tachycardias (abnormally fast heart rate), bradycardias (abnormally slow heart rate) and fibrillations (irregular heart beats).
Of these abnormal heart rhythms, fibrillations, and particularly atrial fibrillations, are gaining more and more attention by clinicians and health workers. Atrial fibrillation develops when a disturbance in the electrical signals causes the two upper atrial chambers of the heart to quiver instead of pump properly. When this happens, the heart is unable to discharge all of the blood from the heart's chambers thus creating a situation where the blood may begin to pool and even clot inside the atrium. Such clotting can be very serious insofar as the clot can break away from the atrial chamber and block an artery in the brain, and thereby cause a stroke in the individual.
A variety of treatments have been developed over the years to treat atrial fibrillation, namely, treatments to either mitigate or eliminate electrical conduction pathways that lead to the arrhythmia. Those treatments include medication, electrical stimulation, surgical procedures and ablation techniques. In this regard, typical pharmacological treatments have been previously disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,563 to Berne et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,801 to Molloy et al.; and also by Hindricks, et al. in "Current Management of Arrhythmias" (1991), the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Surgical procedures, such as the "maze procedure", have also been proposed as alternative treatment methods. The "maze" procedure attempts to relieve atrial arrhythmia by restoring effective atrial systole and sinus node control through a series of incisions.
The maze procedure is an open heart surgical procedure in which incisions are made in both the left and right atrial walls which surround the pulmonary vein ostia and which leave a "maze-like" pathway between the sino-atrial node and the atrio-ventricular node. The incisions are sewn back together but result in a scar line which acts as a barrier to electrical conduction.
Although the "maze" procedure has its advantages, in practice it can be a complicated and a particularly risky procedure to perform since the surgeon is making numerous physical incisions in the heart tissue. Due in part to the risky nature of the maze procedure, alternative, catheter-based treatments have been advanced. Many of these catheter devices create the desired electrical block by way of ablation devices designed to burn lesions into the target tissue. Examples of these devices can be seen in U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,599 to Lesh; U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,854 to Munsif; U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,591 to Jang et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,385 to Avitall; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,609 to Swanson, all incorporated herein by reference.
Although ablation catheter procedures remain less invasive than previous surgical methods like the "maze" procedure, they nevertheless retain a significant element of risk. For example, ablation procedures often utilize high power RF energy or ultrasonic energy, which may adequately create electrical block, but their inherent destructive nature allows for the possibility of unintended damage to the target tissue or nearby areas.
These techniques are used most often in the left or right atriums by creating electrical block either at discrete sites or along linear paths. Typically, the sites being targeted are referenced from landmarks in the chambers of the heart such as the ostium of the coronary sinus, the pulmonary veins, the tricuspid valve, the mitral valve, and the inferior and superior vena cava.
Currently, commonly used ablation devices are introduced percutaneously and advanced into the right atrium via the vena cava and possibly into the left atrium by a transeptal sheath. The ablation devices are then maneuvered inside the appropriate chamber of the heart by torquing the shaft of the catheter and deflecting the tip to bring the ablation tip in contact with the desired target site.
Positioning these ablation devices accurately is difficult as the atrium is a relatively large chamber, having a highly variable pulmonary vein anatomy which varies from patient to patient. Additionally, the atrium is constantly moving due to the beating of the heart and encounters large volumes of blood moving to and from the pulmonary veins. The blood flow causes difficulty because typical fluoroscopic techniques of injecting dye into the blood flow and allowing this to be carried by the blood to fill and illuminate the desired anatomy require large volume dye injections. Indeed, in most interventional applications, multiple dye injections are needed to periodically check the status of the procedure. This is typically not possible in the pulmonary veins due to the large volume of dye required for each injection and the fact that a patient can only tolerate a limited volume of dye without harming the kidneys.
One technique currently used to guide ablation catheters within this difficult environment involves a Lasso™ circular mapping catheter, manufactured by Biosense Webster which is a Johnson & Johnson company, that places radiopaque mapping electrodes around the perimeter of the ostium of the pulmonary veins. The Lasso™ circular mapping catheter is so named for its distal end, heat-set to curl into a ring or lasso shape. A Lasso™ catheter used for this procedure will typically have the radiopaque electrodes embedded within the lasso segment which allows the ring to be used as a physical and visual guide for an ablation catheter. Typically, the Lasso™ catheter is positioned into the atrium until it seats at the ostium of the pulmonary veins. The radiopaque electrodes act as an atrial ruler for guiding the ablation catheter to ablate around the ostium.
The Lasso™ catheter, however, is not an optimal solution for such ablation procedures since the Lasso™ catheter may be easily pushed into the pulmonary vein, causing the doctor to ablate inside the vein instead of around the ostium. Ablation within the pulmonary vein increases the risk of pulmonary vein stenosis and is therefore typically avoided.
In addition, as previously noted, the geometry of the pulmonary vein ostium is highly variable, often being more oval than round. Such variations can cause the Lasso™ catheter to be improperly positioned, further complicating ablation procedures.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there is a need for a positioning system which can more accurately guide interventions or delivery of devices to the target atrial site (e.g., the ostium of the pulmonary veins) minimizing the need for fluoroscopic dye injections.

Electrical block positioning devices and methods of use therefor


The invention provides an ink composition for ink jet recording comprising at least a resin emulsion and a surface-treated pigment, wherein the amount of monomers and oligomers with a molecular weight of 2,000 or less contained in the resin emulsion is 1,000 ppm or less based on the total amount of the ink composition. Also disclosed are an ink jet recording method using the ink composition and recorded matter obtained by the recording method.

The ink jet recording method is a printing method in which droplets of an ink are allowed to fly and deposited on a recording medium such as paper to perform printing. As the ink, there has been generally used one in which various water-soluble dyes are dissolved in water or a mixture of water and a water-soluble organic solvent. It has been generally pointed out that recorded matter obtained by using such a water-soluble dye-containing ink is poor in water resistance and light resistance.
In contrast, an ink obtained by dispersing a pigment in an aqueous medium is excellent in water resistance and light resistance. For example, there has been proposed an aqueous pigment ink obtained by dispersing a pigment by using a surfactant or a polymeric dispersing agent. Further, there has been disclosed a surface-treated pigment ink in which only a pigment can be dispersed in an aqueous solvent even when a dispersing agent such as the surfactant or polymeric dispersing agent as described above does not exist (for example patent document 1).
Generally, however, an ink using a pigment has the problems of insufficient fixing properties of the ink to recorded matter and poor rubbing resistance. That is to say, in the recorded matter obtained by using the ink in which the pigment is used as a coloring agent, the coloring agent component is liable to remain near a surface of the recorded matter. Accordingly, when the coloring agent is not sufficiently fixed to the surface of the recorded matter, there are problems in rubbing resistance, such that an image becomes dirty on rubbing with the finger or marking with a marker pen. In particular, when the pigment concentration is increased in order to increase the print density, or when a design is made so that the pigment is remained on a surface of a recording medium without penetrating it, these problems are significant.
In order to improve such fixing properties of the pigment to the recorded matter, it has been proposed that a resin is added to the ink. This resin is considered to firmly fix the pigment onto the recorded matter as a binder. As such inks, there have been disclosed an ink containing a resin emulsion having a specific film-forming temperature (for example, patent documents 2 and 3) and an ink containing core-shell type resin particles each composed of a core portion and a shell portion enclosing it (for example, patent document 4).
Further, there has been disclosed an ink in which the amount of monomers contained in the polymeric dispersing agent and resin emulsion added to the ink in order to stably disperse the pigment is adjusted to 1,000 ppm or less (for example, patent document 5). Printing using this ink causes no irregular penetration to the recorded matter, so that an image of higher image quality can be stably obtained under diversified environments regardless of their environmental variation. Furthermore, unpleasant odors do not happen to occur during printing and after printing.
However, the ink for ink jet recording disclosed in this patent document 5 is an aqueous pigment ink in which the pigment is dispersed by using the polymeric dispersing agent. In such an ink, when the content of the pigment in the ink is increased in order to increase the print density of the printed matter, the ink viscosity also rapidly increases therewith in some cases. Further, the polymeric dispersing agent is excessively required to stably disperse the pigment in the ink, so that there has been the problem of insufficient ejection stability because of air bubble generation and a reduction in defoaming properties,
In addition, there has been disclosed an emulsified polymer in which the content of low-molecular weight components (oligomers) is specified to a specific amount or less (for example, patent document 6). By specifying the oligomer component content of the emulsified polymer to a specific amount or less, excellent durability and water resistance are realized when it is added to a paint or an adhesive. However, it is not suggested that this emulsified polymer is used as an additive to the ink for ink jet recording. Further, the upper limits of the specified molecular weight and content of the oligomers are relatively large. Accordingly, when it is applied to the ink for ink jet recording, there has been the possibility of causing defects such as unstable ejection.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-8-3498
Patent Document 2: JP-A-1-217088
Patent Document 3: JP-A-4-18462
Patent Document 4: JP-A-8-259869
Patent Document 5: JP-A-10-46073
Patent Document 6: JP-A-2003-96109

Ink composition for ink jet recording, and recording method and recorded matter using the same


A closed, sterile pulsatile flow loop for studying tissue valves. The system provides both a tool to examine heart valve leaflet fibroblast function and differentiation as these are affected by mechanical loading, as well as an apparatus to provide heart valves seeded with suitable cells. The sterile pulsatile flow system provides a left heart duplicator, which exposes viable tissue valves to a dynamic flow environment imitating that of the aortic valve.

The present invention is directed to the problem of providing heart valves for transplantation. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the problem of providing a flow system to assist in transforming a heart valve that is based on a xenograft into an autograft.
There is at present a shortage in the supply of heart valves available for transplantation. Indeed, since 1984, allograft heart valve transplantation in the United States has increased to over 2,400 grafts per year. Because of this increased demand, particularly for pediatric cases, the utilization of cryopreseved heart valves is not limited by the supply of donated human hearts. There remains a need to address this supply problem.
One approach, with which this application is concerned, is to turn to tissue engineering to create a graft. Such a graft would be immunologically acceptable to the recipient and have long-term durability that exceeds presently available homograft or chemically-fixed valves. Furthermore, a low incidence of failure due to leaflet calcification or stiffening would be expected. Based on the extracellular matrix remaining after decellularization of a porcine aortic valve, the remnant scaffold would be recolonized with autogenous fibroblasts recovered from the skin of the intended recipient. Ideally, the repopulating cells could functionally replace the native cells that were removed to enhance the immunologic acceptability of the graft.
Such living heart valves could be tailored to the intended recipient. These living heart valves could replace the diseased and damaged valves with one indistinguishable from the patient's own tissue. These valves would be self-repairing, capable of growth and response with the patient. Despite being the graft of choice for repair of congenital malformations, allograft valves do not grow necessitating additional surgeries to implant larger valves as the heart size increases.

Pulsatile flow system for developing heart valves


An ignition coil arrangement for internal combustion engines is embodied so that a housing of an individual ignition coil can be produced economically, and attachment of the ignition coil can be accomplished easily. The ignition coil is configured as a rod-type ignition coil, and the housing is of basically cylindrical shape, since a holding element for fastening the ignition coil is configured in the high-voltage output of the ignition coil itself. Assembly and retention of the ignition coil are accomplished by a direct threaded connection on the high-voltage terminal of a spark plug. For rotational immobilization, a primary terminal of the ignition coil is coupled to a fastenable mating plug as a joining member. The ignition coil arrangement is preferably used in motor vehicles.

German Patent Application No. DE 41 32 851 A1 describes an ignition coil, having a housing of basically cylindrical shape, of an ignition coil unit. To retain the ignition coil on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, the housing has a radially distanced plate-shaped holding element having an attachment hole.
Disadvantageously, the housing as a result is complex in terms of production engineering, and because of the use of a separate attachment element which must be guided through the attachment hole and anchored in the cylinder head, the retainer of the ignition coil is cost-intensive.

Ignition coil arrangement for internal combustion engines


A sewing machine that can be easily set up for minimizing selvedge includes a needle plate assembly and a reciprocating needle. The reciprocating needle is supported above the needle plate for joining at least two pieces of material together. A sew guide is spaced laterally from the reciprocating needle a predetermined distance corresponding to a selvedge length of selvedge extending from the joined material for guiding the pieces of material being joined beneath the needle. A spacer abutting the sew guide laterally spaces the sew guide at the predetermined distance corresponding to the selvedge length.

The present invention relates to sewing, in particular to a sewing machine, setting up the sewing machine for sewing an article, a sewn article, and a method for sewing two or more pieces to form the sewn article.
Multiple pieces of material are often sewn together to form a sewn article. For example, a covering for a leather seat in an automobile comprises two or more pieces of leather which are sewn together along edges of the individual leather pieces. The seam between the two pieces, must be strong to prevent the pieces from separating, and, in the example of a car seat covering, the seam should be decorative, or pleasing to the consumer.
A known article, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, uses a join seam to join two pieces of material, such as leather, for car seat covering. The article is formed by positioning the two pieces of leather on top of each other, such that the finished surfaces of the pieces are facing each other. The two pieces of leather are joined by sewing the join seam spaced inwardly from an edge of the pieces to define a selvedge between the seam and the edge of each piece of leather. The article is then laid flat, such that the finished surfaces of the leather pieces face upwardly to form an outer surface of the car seat cover.
This particular method has been in use for many years. The material, such as leather, is expensive, and the selvedge is often large, such as 7–10 mm, to simplify sewing the article. Unfortunately, the selvedge is unseen in the finished product except for an unsightly bulge adjacent the seam, and in many article, serves no useful purpose. Therefore, the large selvedge constitutes wasted material that increases the cost of the article. In articles in which a smaller selvedge is required, the large selvedge is often cut down to the smaller selvedge length in a separate operation after the article is sewn. The material cut away from the selvedge is discarded as waste, and the cutting process requires additional labor which further increases the cost of the article.
Sewing machines can be specifically set up to form articles having a small selvedge by adjusting a sew guide to the desired selvedge length. The sew guide engages the material being sewn to guide the material past the needle. Adjusting a sew guide on a sewing machine to provide any particular selvedge length is time consuming. In particular, when adjusting the sew guide close to moving sewing machine components, such as a reciprocating needle, extra care and time must be taken to properly measure and secure the sew guide to ensure the sewing guide is properly positioned and to avoid damage to the sewing machine.
Moreover, moving the sew guide closer to the needle of the sewing machine forms a small gap between the sew guide and sewing machine components. The article being sewn tends to ride up in the small gap and jam the sewing machine compared to a sewing machine set up to form an article having a selvedge of greater than 7 mm. Therefore, articles requiring small selvedges are typically sewn without the use of a sew guide and the operator must visually maintain the edge of the article proper positioned relative to the needle. Accordingly, sewing machine operators find that sewing articles having a small selvedge, i.e. a selvedge less than 7 mm, is more difficult. Therefore, a need exists for a simple method and apparatus that minimizes selvedge

Method and apparatus for minimizing sew selvedge


A wrist band including a computer processor; a computer memory; an audio speaker in communication with the computer processor of the wrist band; and a wireless transmitter/receiver in communication with the computer processor of the wrist band; and a dashboard apparatus on a vehicle. The computer memory of the wrist band having computer programming for causing the computer processor of the wrist band to play an audio message when instructed to by the dashboard apparatus. The dashboard apparatus having a computer processor; a computer memory; an audio speaker in communication with the computer processor of the dashboard apparatus; and a wireless transmitter/receiver in communication with the computer processor of the dashboard apparatus. The computer memory of the dashboard apparatus includes computer programming for causing the dashboard apparatus to cause an audio message to be played when the wrist band is within a predetermined range of the dashboard apparatus.

Hit and run motor vehicle accidents are one of the challenges facing law enforcement for a long time. Worse of all there is no technology currently in the market to try to solve this common problem.
There are about 682,000 hit and run accidents each year in the United States. Only a small percentage of the operators of the hit and run vehicles are caught and the majority of these hit and run vehicle operators are still driving daily on our roads and highways without any punishments for their crimes. These hit and run operators may commit further hit and run motor vehicle accidents again in the future and may try to go undetected again. The victims of these hit and run accidents may die from their injuries, may be maimed or be on disability for life without the opportunity to work and provide for their families. One of the excuses vehicle operators give as causes of hit and run accidents is that they did not see the pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist.
In addition, sometimes an individual, intentionally may use a vehicle as weapon by driving the vehicle into a crowd, in attempts to hurt or kill a number of people. There is a need to limit the effects of such nefarious acts.

Apparatus and method to reduce traffic accidents


A device for screwing a screw cap onto a container with a magnetic coupling arranged between a spindle which can be driven and the closing head, and in the circumferential area of permanent magnets connected to the closing head, an inductive detector for determining the state of motion is provided. As a result, the simplest means are provided to allow the monitoring of the number of revolutions of the closing head, and defects, such as incorrect container clamping, incorrect closing cone and incorrect threadings, can be readily detected.

On the other hand, devices are already known for screwing screw caps onto containers, in which devices, the closing head can be driven directly by its own motor with adjustable torque (DE 40 11 398 C2). Here, the speed of rotation of the closing head is monitored by an angle of rotation sensor associated with it. This angle of rotation sensor controls, on the one hand, the drive motor for the closing head and, on the other hand, it generates, in connection with an evaluation device, an error signal when the closing head turns or does not turn at certain places. This leads to the removal of the corresponding incorrectly closed container.
The invention is based on the problem of providing simple means for monitoring the closing head rotation in a device of the type mentioned in the introduction.
In a device according to the invention, the permanent magnets, which are present anyway, of the slide or hysteresis coupling are used to monitor the turning of the closing head. Based on this double function of the magnet, according to the invention, the expenditure for the construction is extremely small. The magnets, in general, are arranged with good protection in a housing, so that a microbiologically advantageous construction of the closing device is not negatively affected.
In the simplest case, the detector has a coil, optionally with a soft iron core, which is located opposite the closing head. During a relative rotation between the coil and the magnet, a voltage is induced in the coil, which can be evaluated in a simple manner in a connected evaluation device.
If several devices are arranged on a common rotor, then the detector can be arranged, without problem, in a stationary position in a certain area of the circular path of the closing heads. Depending on whether or not the closing heads undergo, in addition to the circular motion, a rotation of their own, a different signal is then produced in the detector, which again can be evaluated in a simple manner.
The detector may, but does not have to, cover the entire circular path of the closing heads. According to a preferred variant of the invention, it merely monitors the area in which, during the normal course of the closing process, after the tightening of the screw cap with the set torque, the magnetic coupling of the closing head no longer undergoes a rotation of its own. However, if in that area, a rotation of the magnet itself is registered, then this indicates, among other facts, one or more of the following errors or defects:                a) The container continues to turn because of a defective or worn clamp;        b) The closing head continues to turn because of a worn toothing of the closing cone;        c) The screw cap continues to turn because of a defective threading on the closure or container.
All these cases, which lead to an incorrect fit of the screw cap, can be acquired by the stationary detector. By means of an evaluation device which is connected to the latter detector, it is then possible to trigger, as desired, for example, an alarm signal, to automatically remove the container with the defective closure from the circulation and/or to identify the closing head which has caused the incorrect fit.

Device for screwing screw-type closures onto containers


An integrated circuit and a method for testing an integrated circuit. The method includes providing a first high frequency clock signal sequence to a first group of components of an integrated circuit during a test sequence; characterized by receiving, by a first memory circuit within the integrated circuit, at a low reception rate, a first high frequency signal pattern information and a first low frequency signal pattern information; generating the first high frequency clock signal sequence in response to a first high frequency clock signal and in response to the first high frequency signal pattern information; wherein the first high frequency signal pattern information is being retrieved at a first high retrieval rate from the first memory circuit; and generating a first low frequency clock signal sequence in response a first low frequency clock signal and in response to the first low frequency signal pattern information; wherein the first high frequency signal pattern information is being retrieved at a low retrieval rate from the first memory circuit.

Modern integrated circuits include a very large amount of clock signal sequence circuit s such as flip flops, logic gates and the like. The design process is relatively long and includes multiple stages such as high level description, synthesis, placement and routing, extraction, static timing analysis and the like.
In order to test modern integrated circuits various Design For Testability (DFT) techniques were developed. Various DFT techniques include the following stages: (i) loading test patterns into the integrated circuit, including scan chains formed within the integrated circuit, (ii) launching a test sequence by providing one or usually multiple launch clock signals, (iii) capturing test results by providing one or more capture clock signals, and (iv) shifting out the test results.
The following U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications and articles provide a brief review on some state of the art DFT methods and devices: U.S. Pat. No. 6,728,917 of Abramovici et al., titled "Sequential test pattern generation using combinational techniques"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,123 of Dey et al., titled "Non-scan design-for-testability of RT-level data paths"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,192 of McLaurin et al. (hereinafter—"McLaurin"); U.S. patent application publication number 2004/0177299 of Wang et al., titled "Scalable scan-path test point insertion technique"; U.S. patent application publication number 2005/0066242 of Wang et al., titled "Hybrid scan-based delay testing technique for compact and high fault coverage test set"; U.S. patent application publication number 2003/0188245 of Abramovici et al., titled "Sequential test pattern generation using clock-control design for testability structures"; U.S. patent application publication number 2004/0237015 of Abdel-Hafez et al., titled "Method and apparatus for debug, diagnosis, and yield improvement of scan-based integrated circuits"; U.S. patent application publication number 2003/0188239 of Hosokawa et al., titled "Compacted test plan generation for integrated circuit testing, test sequence generation, and test"; U.S. patent application publication number 2002/0024352 of Sim, titled "Semiconductor integrated circuit with test points inserted thereto"; U.S. patent application publication number 2003/0084390 of Tamarapalli et al., titled "At-speed test using on-chip controller" (hereinafter—"Tamarapalli"); and "The testability features of the ARM1026EJ microprocessor core", T. L. McLaurin, F. Frederick, R. Slobodnik, ITC International Test Conference, 2003.
Various tests should be executed at the functional speed of the chip. These tests are also referred to as at-speed tests. The execution of these tests is relatively costly and complex, for various reasons. First, an external test device (also refereed to as Automated Test Equipment ATE) that is required to generate functional speed signals is relatively costly. Second, even if such a device exists then the pins (or associated interface circuitry) of the integrated circuit can distort the high speed signals. In many cases the core of the integrated circuit operates at a high frequency and the pins are not adapted to manage signals of such a high frequency.
Tamarapalli suggests to solve at-speed testing problems by switching between low frequency external signals that can be provided during the scanning stage of the test, and between internally generated high frequency signals. These high frequency signals are generated by an PLL circuit and are provided via a complex clock synchronizer and switching mechanism to a tested core.
McLaurin suggests to manipulate an PLL clock signal by chopping the signal such as to provide clock sequences that can include two adjacent clock signals that are very close to each other. The chopping mechanism can be controlled by a set of registers, each storing a predefined chopping sequence.
There is a need to provide an efficient system and method for high speed testing of integrated circuits.

Method and device for high speed testing of an integrated circuit


Disclosed is a metal waveguide device, and nano plasmonic integrated circuits and an optical integrated circuit module using the same. The nano plasmonic integrated circuit module includes an input coupling unit, an input focusing unit, a surface plasmon polariton waveguide for guiding surface plasmon polaritons, a signal sensing/processing unit, an output defocusing unit, and an output coupling unit for converting surface plasmon polariton signals into optical signals. The optical integrated circuit module includes the nano plasmonic integrated circuit module, thus realizing highly integrated photonic circuits having a micro structure, low power consumption and low price.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal waveguide device, and nano plasmonic integrated circuits and an optical integrated circuit module using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a nano plasmonic integrated circuit module for converting optical signals into surface plasmon polariton (SPP) signals, transmitting the converted SPP signals, and sensing and processing the transmitted SPP signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, it has been experimentally confirmed that when a metal and a dielectric satisfy specific conditions at the boundary therebetween, optical waves interact with free electrons on the surface of the metal thus causing resonance. This resonance corresponds to resonance between the electromagnetic waves outside of the metal and the free electrons of the metal. Such resonance produces surface plasmons which are progressive waves of high-density electrons similar to when water waves travel along the surface. The surface plasmons or the SPPs indicate that light or photons travel along the surface in the form of being coupled with plasma at the interface between the metal and the dielectric.
If the optical waves incident in a transverse magnetic polarization mode on the interface between the metal and the dielectric satisfy a phase-matching configuration through an appropriate process, electron motion, namely plasma, may be caused on the surface of the metal, resulting in a near field on the interface between the metal and the dielectric. The surface plasmon waves may be made to have a magnitude of tens of μm or more, and have the properties of a local near field having high intensity and specific dispersion and surface plasmon resonance. Plasmonics is the name for the research field dealing with such surface plasmon waves, including the study of making a waveguide for the surface plasmon waves, modulating the surface plasmon waves, and studying a plasmon source and a receiver, a distributor, a coupler, a reflective lattice, a filter, etc.
Research into novel devices using surface plasmons is being conducted by many groups and the results thereof are frequently reported in prominent journals. Based on such research, plasmonics technology for focusing electromagnetic waves to a very small structure to thus transfer them is expected to lead to super high speed computer chips or super high sensitivity sensing techniques.
An optoelectronic integrated circuit module or an optical integrated circuit module, which is presently available, is constructed to have an area ranging from ones to tens of cm2. For example, an OADM (optical add/drop multiplexer) module has an area of ones of cm×ones of cm, and a photonic crystal integrated circuit module has at least an area of ones of mm2 (ones of mm×ones of mm).
However, the OADM module and the photonic crystal integrated circuit module do not correspond to sub-micro devices which are under active study these days, and thus cannot be applied to nano technology. Therefore, micro circuits having an area of sub-μm or less are required.

Metal waveguide device and nano plasmonic integrated circuits and optical integrated circuit module using the same

Cheoncheon-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do

Sungkyunkwan University Foundation for Corporate Collaboration


Thermoreversible hydrogels comprising non-ionic, uncrosslinked copolymers, and methods of their use in electrophoresis, are provided. The subject copolymers comprise polyacrylamide backbones, where a portion of the acrylamide monomeric units comprise hydrogen bonding groups as N-substituents. Combination of the subject copolymers with an aqueous phase provides thermoreversible hydrogels which find use as separation media in electrophoretic applications.

Electrophoresis has become an increasingly indispensable tool in biotechnology and related fields. The ability to separate molecules by means of size, shape and charge has added numerous opportunities to identify specific compounds, determine purity, and allow for isolation of a compound in a relatively pure form. A variety of analytical techniques are predicated on the use of electrophoresis for the separation and analysis of the various components of interest that may be present in a particular sample. For example, electrophoresis may be used to identify a compound, where the components of a complex mixture are first separated and then subsequently identified by using markers such as antibodies, DNA probes or the like. Electrophoresis may also be used in the determination of the molecular weights of components in a sample.
Electrophoresis is usually performed in a separation media which provides for separation of the sample components as they migrate through the gel under the influence of an applied electric field. Generally, separation media which have found use in electrophoresis comprise a network of either linear or cross-linked polymers. Although a variety of different cross-linked and linear polymers have been studied for their suitability in electrophoretic applications, the most commonly employed polymers are agarose and cross-linked polyacrylamide.
Agarose gels, which comprise a linear alternating co-polymer of .beta.-D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-.alpha.-L-galactose in an electrophoresis buffer, have many advantages in electrophoresis. Because they are thermoreversible, i.e. they undergo a transition from a first flowable state to second gel state in response to a change in temperature, agarose gels are easy to prepare. Furthermore, agarose gels have high mechanical strength, providing for ease of manipulation. Another advantage of agarose gels is their ability to separate large molecules, e.g. DNA from 200 bp to about 50 kbp. Despite these advantages, there are disadvantages to the use of agarose gels as an electrophoretic separation medium. One disadvantage of agarose gels is their inability to provide for adequate resolution of smaller sized components. Other disadvantages of agarose gels include the presence of gel impurities that can result in sample contamination, distortions due to electroosmotic flow, and the like.
Crosslinked polyacrylamide gels, which are prepared through polymerization of acrylamide monomer with a cross-linker, provide alternative separation media that overcome some of the problems associated with agarose. Polyacrylamide gels provide for high resolution of small sized sample components, e.g. they are capable of providing high resolution of DNA ranging in size from 6 to 1000 bp in length. Other advantages of cross-linked polyacrylamide gels are that: (1) they are optically transparent, providing for easy identification of separated sample components, (2) they do not bind charged analytes and do not engender electroosmotic flow, and (3) sample components recovered from the gels are extremely pure, as the gels do not contain contaminants, as are found in agarose gels. Unfortunately, since cross-linked polyacrylamide gels must be prepared in situ, their preparation is complicated and poses health risks, as the acrylamide monomers are toxic.
Because of the limitations of the currently employed electrophoretic separation media, for many electrophoretic applications it would be desirable to have a gel which combined the high resolving power, as well as other advantages, of cross-linked polyacrylamide with the thermoreversible nature of agarose.

Thermoreversible hydrogels comprising linear copolymers and their use in electrophoresis


An implantable cardiac stimulation device and method that monitors displacement of a cardiac lead implanted in a heart. The device includes an impedance measurement circuit that generates a template representing the impedance measured using the lead over a cardiac cycle of the patient""s heart. The impedance measurement circuit generates subsequent impedance measurement signals, which are then compared to the template to derive a comparison factor. The comparison factors are stored in a memory and are indicative of lead displacement. A telemetry circuit transmits the comparison factors to a non-implanted receiver for analysis of lead displacement.

The present invention generally relates to an implantable cardiac stimulation device. The present invention more particularly relates to a device and method for use with such a device for monitoring displacement of an implanted cardiac lead.
Implantable cardiac stimulation devices are well known in the art. Such devices may include, for example, implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators. The devices are generally implanted in a pectoral region of the chest beneath the skin of a patient within what is known as a subcutaneous pocket. The implantable devices generally function in association with one or more electrode carrying leads, which are implanted within the heart. The electrodes are positioned within the right side of the heart, either the right ventricle or right atrium, or both, for making electrical contact with their respective heart chamber. Conductors within the leads couple the electrodes to the device to enable the device to deliver the desired therapy.
Traditionally, therapy delivery had been limited to the right side of the heart. The reason for this is that implanted electrodes can cause blood clot formation in some patients. If a blood clot were released from the heart""s left side, as for example the left ventricle, it could pass directly to the brain potentially resulting in a paralyzing or fatal stroke. However, a blood clot released from the right heart, as from the right ventricle, would pass into the lungs where the filtering action of the lungs would prevent a fatal or debilitating embolism in the brain.
Recently, new lead structures and methods have been proposed and even practiced for delivering cardiac rhythm management therapy from or to the left heart. These lead structures and methods avoid direct electrode placement within the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart by lead implantation within the coronary sinus, the great vein, or a lateral vein of the heart. As is well known, the coronary sinus passes closely adjacent the left atrium, extends into the great vein adjacent the left ventricle and then continues adjacent the left ventricle towards the apex of the heart via a lateral vein or the great cardiac vein.
It has been demonstrated that electrodes placed in the coronary sinus and a left ventricular vein may be used for left atrial pacing, left ventricular pacing, and cardioversion and defibrillation. These advancements enable implantable cardiac stimulation devices to address the needs of a patient population with left ventricular dysfunction and congestive heart failure which would benefit from left heart side pacing, either alone or in conjunction with right heart side pacing (multi-chamber pacing).
Since the benefit of multi-chamber pacing (bi-ventricular pacing or bi-atrial pacing) is dependent upon appropriate chamber synchronization and/or appropriate activation sequencing, the maintenance of proper placement of the pacing electrodes to pace the left side of the heart is paramount. Thus, it is desirable for an implantable cardiac stimulation device to have a system, which can identify if the left heart lead placement is unstable or has shifted.
The present invention therefore provides an implantable cardiac stimulation device and method for monitoring displacement of a cardiac lead implanted in a heart, such as a cardiac lead implanted in the left heart. In accordance with the present invention, a template is generated representing the impedance of the lead over a discrete time period, such as a cardiac cycle of the heart. Thereafter, at spaced apart times, subsequent lead impedance measurement signals are generated and compared to the lead impedance measurement template from which a comparison factor is derived. The comparison factors are indicative of relative displacement of the implanted cardiac lead.
The comparison factors may be stored in a memory over time and conveyed by a telemetry circuit to a non-implanted receiver for analysis. The comparison factors may be generated by employing template matching or feature extraction techniques.
Either all of the comparison factors or selected ones of the comparison factors may be stored in the memory. The selected ones of the comparison factors to be stored may be those factors, which have a value greater than a predetermined factor.
When a comparison factor is stored in memory, other data may also be stored along with the comparison factor. Such data may include the date and time of the comparison, the patient""s heart rate, the device mode, the posture of the patient, and/or portions of the digitized impedance waveforms. If the comparison factor is greater than the predetermined factor, a further template may be generated. Subsequent comparisons may then be made to all of the generated templates and corresponding comparison factors may be generated. The foregoing provides comprehensive data for the physician to track displacement of the implanted lead should displacement of the lead occur.

Implantable cardiac stimulation device and method that monitors displacement of an implanted lead


A “Placement Detector” enables handheld or mobile electronic devices such as phones, media players, tablets, etc., to infer their current position or placement. Placement inference is performed by evaluating one or more sensors associated with the device relative to one or more trained probabilistic models to infer device relative to a user. Example placement inferences include, but are not limited to, inferring whether the device is currently in a user's pocket, in a user's purse (or other carrying bag or backpack), in a closed area such as a drawer or box, in an open area such as on a table, indoors, outdoors, etc. These types of placement inferences facilitate a wide range of automated user-device interactions, including, but not limited to, placement-dependent notifications, placement-dependent responses to various inputs, prevention of inadvertent “pocket dialing,” prevention of inadvertent power cycling of devices, lost or misplaced device location assistance, etc.

Mobile electronic devices such as media players, mobile phones, tablet-based devices, etc., are rapidly becoming ubiquitous throughout most of the world. While a few studies have examined the proximity of people to their electronic devices, such as mobile phones, and where people have those devices while out and about, there is relatively little data about how people actually carry or position such devices. For example, while it is intuitive to assume that people carry, transport, or temporarily place their devices in pockets, bags, and purses, set them on tables or counters, hold them in their hands, etc., there is little in the way of specific facts with respect to where people keep their electronic devices at any particular point in time. Further, factors that may influence where a person puts her device at any particular time have not generally been well investigated.
Various recent studies have focused on specific interview questions, such as how often a person's phone is in their immediate proximity. Once such study found broad variation across participants with individual proximity levels for the phone being within arm's reach, ranging from 17% to 85%. Whether or not the person was home, sleeping, or if it was the weekend had the biggest impact on behavior. Another similar study determined that user's phones were within arm's reach 53% of the time and within the same room as the user 88% of the time. This study also highlighted that a user's context and routine affected phone proximity, for example more likely leaving the phone out when at home and more likely carrying it in a pocket or purse outside of the home.
Another recent study conducted a large-scale interview study asking large numbers of people where they keep their phones when they are out, why they chose this place, and if it was the usual place. The results of this study were strongly divided by gender, with 57% of men reporting that their phone was in their trouser pocket (8% for women), and 76% of women reporting that their phones were kept in a shoulder bag or backpack (10% for men). They also reported reasons that participants identified for placing the phone outside of the normal location, including variations in clothing (e.g., no pockets), expecting a phone call, or not wanting to be interrupted.
In addition to the types of studies noted above, various techniques have been suggested for using accelerometer and gyroscopic data for detecting whether a phone is being held in a user's hand or is in a user's pocket or purse in the case that a user is actively walking. This information is then used to implement various solutions for solution for preventing unintended phone operation. Unfortunately, such techniques are unable to classify any off-body locations (e.g., in a bag or on a desk).
Other existing approaches aim to be activity invariant by incorporating data from other sensors either in addition to or instead of accelerometers. For example, one such approach used a light sensor in a lab environment to determine when a phone was in a trouser pocket or out of the pocket. Another approach used features derived from listening on the microphone and a multi-round classification approach to infer whether the phone was in a user's pocket or not.
Another technique for evaluating device sensors uses a combination of gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, light, and proximity sensors to infer when the user picks up the phone to receive a call so that the ringtone volume could be muted when the phone is picked up. A somewhat related technique uses capacitive sensors on each side of a phone-shaped prototype to determine how a user is holding the device, with that information then being used to classify a set of different hand-grip configurations.
In contrast to the techniques noted above, various active approaches for providing or causing observable results have been suggested. For example, one such technique activates a vibration motor on the device and detects movement using an accelerometer. This active vibration information is evaluated in combination the emission of short 'beeps' while listening on the microphone and accelerometer to fingerprint an environmental response. A potentially less noticeable active approach uses a photo resistor and a light-to-frequency converter for sensing light from set of colored LEDs. Such approaches are used to determine various device placement scenarios.

Inferring placement of mobile electronic devices


The invention relates to a fan unit for generating gas streams, in particular for vacuum cleaners, which unit comprises a motor (4) and an impeller wheel (1) which is also electromagnetically active and in conjunction with electromagnetically active parts (19) of the motor stator (3) generates the torque of the impeller wheel via an air gap (11) formed between radial surfaces of the impeller wheel and the motor stator, the electromagnetically active part of the impeller wheel (1) being a conductive disc (7) which is arranged in a radial plane and which has one radial surface (8) bounding the air gap (11) at the rotor side, and the air gap being bounded at the stator side by planar stator poles (19) formed on a radial bounding surface (12) of an iron cylinder (15) by the provision of radial slots (17) in which the coils (20) are arranged.

CH-PS 612,736 describes a small fan having a fan wheel with radially acting vanes. Moreover, the fan wheel has permanent magnets at the location of the air gap to form poles of alternating polarity along the air gap in the circumferential direction. At the location of the air gap the permanent-magnetic poles of the rotor, which are disposed in a radial plane, are situated opposite stator poles which are arranged in radial planes and which can be energized by coils. When the coils are energized electric fields are produced in the air gap and exert a torque on the rotor.
This construction is intricate because in addition to the fan wheel permanent magnets are required. On account of the principle used it is required to detect the position of the fan wheel for the energization of the coils. Moreover, the use of the permanent magnets as shown limits the maximum speed and the temperature to values restricting the field of use.
Since with vacuum cleaners the power consumption is still a typical indication of their efficiency, vacuum cleaners employ comparatively efficient separate motors to drive a separate impeller. Generally, the mounting volume of such a unit comprising an impeller and a motor is comparatively large. Recently, the manufacturers have begun to specify not only the power consumption of the appliance but also its suction power at the nozzle.
Conventional vacuum cleaners also have the disadvantage that the separate construction of the impeller and the motor is in conflict with appliance miniaturization. At a speed of the order of magnitude of 25,000 r.p.m. there is a distinct noise production, which is mainly caused by the brushes of the universal motors which are used. The poor efficiency of the currently used units results in considerable heating of the motor. In order to carry off this dissipated heat the suction air stream is passed through or over the motor. This results in additional flow noise and flow losses.


An electronic device (e.g., smartphone) can be connected to an external display device, allowing the electronic device to display content on the external display device. The external display device can be a standalone display device or be part of another electronic device (e.g., a laptop or tablet). The electronic device supports multiple input styles including a gesture-based input style and a non-gesture-based input style. The electronic device adapts to the external display device by using the gesture-based input style if the external display device is touch enabled and using the non-gesture-based if the external display is not touch enabled. Additionally or alternatively, the external display device adapts to the input style being used by the electronic device by displaying an augmentation bar associated with the content and supporting the non-gesture-based input style when the external display device detects that the electronic device is using the gesture-based input style.

As technology has advanced our uses for electronic devices have expanded. One such use is small mobile devices, such as smartphones, which have become increasingly powerful despite their small size. These mobile devices provide a great deal of portable processing power but are not without their problems. One such problem is that the display screens on small devices are themselves small, which can make it difficult for users to interact with various programs on the device. One solution to this problem is to connect the device to a larger external display and the user controls the device by interacting with the larger external display. However, this also has problems because situations arise in which the external display uses a different input style than the device. For example, the device may use touch-based inputs (e.g., a touchscreen) but the external display may not. Trying to interact with the external display that does not support the input style of the device can be frustrating for users, leading to user frustration with their devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatic input style selection or augmentation for an external display device


A folding tandem bicycle includes a front body part, a rear body part, an intermediate body part connected between the front body part and the rear body part by parallel pairs of upright tubes and pairs of connecting devices, a front transmission mechanism driven by a set of pedals through a front sprocket to rotate a front flywheel and a front wheel through a cable, and a rear transmission mechanism driven by a set of pedals through a rear sprocket to rotate a rear flywheel and a rear wheel through a chain. By disconnecting either one of each pair of connecting devices, the front body part, the intermediate body part and the rear body part are allowed to be folded up and attached with one another side by side. By disconnecting the intermediate body part from the front and rear body parts, the front and rear body parts are connected into a single-seat bicycle for one rider.

The present invention directs itself to a bicycle and relates more particularly to a folding tandem bicycle that may be conveniently folded to reduce its storage space or alternatively adjusted into a single-seat bicycle for a single rider.
A tandem bicycle, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes two seats with respective sets of pedals placed tandemly for two riders. Due to the fact that a tandem bicycle has two seats and respective sets of pedals which are placed in tandem, the length of the tandem bicycle is relatively long. Since this type of structure for a tandem bicycle is not collapsible, such occupies a large storage volume and is inconvenient for transportation.


In an information processing device, in the case where a window is edited by a user referring to data of a window which is positioned behind all the other displayed windows, the window to be referred to is touched, a function key displayed on the left bottom corner of the display screen is pressed, and a portion of the window to be referred to is dragged by a pen so as to specify a region to be referred to. This allows the portion of the window specified by the pen to be displayed in front of the window to be edited. As a result, in the case where editing of data is carried out on an active window referring to a window which is not an active window, the window to be referred to and the window to be edited are both clearly recognized without carrying out a complicated operation.

Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 176825/1990 (Tokukaihei 2-176825) discloses an image information display device, adopting the raster scan system for displaying a multiwindow, which, when displaying a window overlapping with another, determines the priorities of the displayed windows by detecting a start point and an end point on the scanning lines of a window.
However, in the conventional technology, in the case of carrying out editing of data of an active window referring to a window other than the active window, a problem exists in that the window to be edited is shadowed by the reference window so that it is difficult to carry out an editing operation. Thus, in the conventional technology, an operation for moving and scaling of the window to be referred to or the window to be edited is required. This makes the operation of the device complicated.

Information processing device and information processing method


The present invention in one aspect is directed to systems and methods for capturing a digital image, and preferably a collection of digital images, of a customer in a defined location, such as a museum, a garden, a zoo, a religious institution, a theme park, or any such site known in the art, or in a defined time period, such as a vacation. The systems and methods provide a customer with a customized pictorial souvenir, physical and/or electronic, of a visit or vacation. The souvenir can include other elements, such as “stock” images, alone or having had an image of the customer digitally inserted thereinto, and informational material. Embodiments are also provided that employ devices such as “smart,” interactive devices and read only or read/write devices.

The sale of photographs taken by a photographer of a customer of, for example, a theme park, cruise, hotel, resort, or other event where there are large volumes of people present is known in the art. This system has inherent inefficiencies, in that the photographer typically prints many more photographs than are ultimately sold, and the sale is dependent upon the customer's viewing and agreeing to purchase the photograph displayed after the event, thereby losing any momentum caused by the excitement of the moment.
An additional problem with known systems is that images from certain vantage points, and including objects at a site being visited by the customer, which may comprise, for example, still or video images, are typically not possible when taken by a photographer at a defined location within the site. Thus achieving viable perspectives to capture an image at a site from an optimal vantage point may be impossible for the customer.
Another difficulty is that some sites do not permit photography at all, or may not permit flash photography, owing to security and/or photo-damage concerns. Such prohibitions can prevent the customer from capturing desired images that can comprise priceless memories to him/her.
Further, a customer may desire a photograph to be taken at a time when a photographer is not in the vicinity.
Another particular difficulty with photography in general is that there is no really viable system available wherein the photographer him/herself can be in the picture, nor that person with a group. Personal camera equipment is typically not sufficiently sophisticated to produce a good product, and extra equipment, such as tripods, must be hauled along to accomplish self-photos. In the realm of videography, there is no known way to film oneself when the camera is moving. Further, the technical skill of the individual is typically lacking, and good amateur photographs are rare.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for more efficiently capturing and delivering photographic and/or video images to a customer. It would also be desirable to provide systems and methods wherein the customer him/herself can be a subject of the image. It would be additionally desirable to provide systems and methods for distributing a collection of images captured at a site.

Site image capture and marketing system and associated methods


A lithographic apparatus has a patterning support constructed to support a patterning device and a substrate support constructed to support a substrate. At least one of the patterning support and the substrate support is moved by an electromagnetic actuator. The actuator has a first part and a second part that are movable relative to each other. The first part has a coil structure, and the second part including a plurality of permanent magnets interacting with the coil structure. The second part is provided with a cooling structure arranged adjacent the permanent magnets. Cooling ducts are arranged between adjacent permanent magnets, or on a side of the permanent magnets facing the coil structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator, a method of manufacturing a part of an electromagnetic actuator, and a lithographic apparatus comprising an electromagnetic actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Conventional lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
Movable parts to be used in a lithographic apparatus, such as patterning device or a substrate (but not limited thereto), are held on a respective movable support during processing. The support is moved in one or more degrees of freedom using an appropriate actuator. Conventionally, such an actuator is of an electromagnetic type having a first part and a second part being movable relative to each other, the first part comprising at least one electric coil, and the second part comprising at least one permanent magnet interacting with the at least one coil. Either the first part or the second part may be coupled to the movable support. The actuator may be an ironless or an iron-core actuator, where the term "iron" represents any magnetizable material.
Conventionally, a cooling of an electric coil of an actuator has been accomplished by a thin plate-like cooling structure of a thermally conducting material in which cooling channels have been formed, such as a sandwich structure. A cooling medium, such as a gas or a liquid, is made to flow through the channels. The cooling structure is placed on, and connected to the coil, in particular at a side thereof facing the at least one permanent magnet, in order to remove heat generated in the coil to prevent the heat from reaching a permanent magnet. A heating of a permanent magnet may lead to a loss of magnetization, and may even lead to an irreversible loss of magnetization, which is to be avoided.
However, it is a trend to decrease the dimensions of actuators, and to increase the electrical load of the at least one coil such as to make the actuator produce higher forces. An increased electrical load leads to an increased generation of heat in the at least one coil. A cooling structure must have reduced dimensions like the actuator. Such a cooling structure placed on the coil does not suffice to remove the heat effectively to keep the at least one permanent magnet substantially free from a heat load. In fact, without further measures the at least one permanent magnet would be heated up through radiation and convection (via air present in an air gap of the actuator between the first part and the second part thereof), thereby changing or reducing the performance of the actuator, which is undesirable.

Electromagnetic actuator, method of manufacturing a part of an electromagnetic actuator, and lithographic apparatus comprising and electromagnetic actuator


The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer implemented methods for automatic view generation based on annotations. One example method includes receiving a request to display a user interface view on a client device. Metadata that defines at least one entity included in at least one data source is received. Annotations that define user interface elements for displaying information for the at least one entity are received. A metamodel is generated using the received metadata and the received annotations. Native user interface elements are automatically generated using the metamodel. The native user interface elements are native to the client device. The native user interface elements in the user interface view on the client device.

Model View Controller (MVC) is a pattern that can be used for user-interface based applications by dividing an application into three interconnected parts. The pattern allows for separation of internal representations of data from presentation of data. A model component represents an application's dynamic data structure that is independent of the user interface. The model can be used for managing data, logic and rules of the application. A view component can be used for presentation of information such as a chart, diagram, table, or other type of interface. Multiple views of the same information can be presented. A controller component accepts user input and converts the user input to commands for the model component or the view component.
In many mobile application deployment scenarios, the mobile application designer develops the mobile application using principles such as MVC. Once designed and tested, the application is deployed to end users. At this stage, the application is locked in that changes to the application can be done by either transmitting updates to mobile device (e.g., sections of code are physically or logically replaced with updated sections of code) or an entire new application is transmitted to replace the original application. This creates a latency in providing updated applications or features in applications to end users in that updates are usually only done on an occasional basis. In situations where updates are provided on a scheduled basis, the end user may use a lesser desirable application for a longer period of time. In turn, some end users may swap over to a different mobile application from a different provider to be able to use a mobile application with more enhanced capabilities.

Automatic view generation based on annotations


In accordance with one embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a transfer device configured to transfer an image onto a conveyed recording medium (sheet); a fixer configured to heat, press and convey the sheet to fix the transferred image on the sheet; a sensor configured to detect the bending amount of the sheet between the transfer device and the fixer; and a control section configured to control at least one of the transfer device and the fixer so that the recording medium between the transfer device and the fixer is conveyed in a bent state and the bending amount of the sheet is reduced if the bending amount of the sheet exceeds a preset one according to the detection result of the sensor.

Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a sheet on which toner is adhered is conveyed to a fixer to fix the toner on the sheet by applying heat and pressure to the sheet. The fixer comprises a heat roller and a press roller between which a nip part exists, when the front end of a sheet enters the nip part, the sheet receives an impact, which sometimes causes a fluctuation in conveyance speed of the sheet. The higher the pressure of the nip part is, the more possible the fluctuation in conveyance speed occurs.
The fluctuation in the conveyance speed is transferred to a transfer section in front of the fixer as vibration via the sheet, the toner image on the sheet is disordered due to the vibration; moreover, due to the vibration, the fluctuation in the rotation speed of a photoconductor occurs and sometimes a latent image may be disordered. Consequentially, the quality of the image on the sheet is deteriorated, for example, the image on the sheet is blurred or a white or black streak appears in the image on the sheet.
To prevent the deterioration in the quality of an image, an exemplary method is known according to which a sheet is bent when conveyed from a transfer section to the nip part of a fixer so as to prevent the transmission of the fluctuation in the conveyance speed of the sheet to the transfer section or a photoconductor.
However, as the conveyance speed of the sheet passing through the fixer is decreased or increased to a fixed value, if the hardness of a sheet is changed according to the basis weight of the sheet, a different environment and the like, the bending amount of the sheet will not be a fixed value. For example, there is a problem that an image blur and the like is generated, or the sheet is bent than expected such that the image on the sheet is rubbed by the conveyance section and therefore the deterioration in the quality of the image is generated when a bending amount cannot be obtained at which the vibration won't be transferred.

Image forming apparatus and conveyance speed control method of recording medium in image forming apparatus


A user submitting a query from a computer at an unknown location is located using a language model. The language model is derived from an aggregation of tweets that were sent from known locations.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the invention relate generally, to the field of computers, and more specifically, to locating a user based on tweet content associated with a location.
2. Prior Art
There is a rise in social networking and micro blogging services, such as Twitter. Millions of users post short messages ("tweets") to other users of a computer network at different geographical locations. Further, mobile devices allow users to microblog their thoughts about from their current location. For example, a hockey fan at the HP Arena in San Jose, Calif. might create a tweet stating "The Sharks just scored again!" Some tweet metadata includes geotags which identify a location from which a tweet originated.
Advertisers and others seek information about a geographical location of a computer user for various reasons such as targeted advertising and location-based services. An existing technique obtains a user location by determining an IP (Internet Protocol) address. However, IP addresses are unreliable due to masking from VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and the use of dynamic IP addresses by ISPs (Internet Service Provider) such as AOL (America OnLine). Further, the granularity of location information from an IP address is often not specific enough. Hence, prediction of the location of the user is not accurate in current techniques.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there is a need for a robust method, computer program product and system for locating a user based on a language model built from tweet content associated with a location.

Locating a user based on aggregated tweet content associated with a location


A heteroaromatic methyl cyclic amine derivative represented by formula (IA) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is useful for treatment or prophylaxis of diseases such as sleep disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, schizophrenia, drug dependence, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, eating disorder, cephalalgia, hemicrania, pain, digestive diseases, epilepsy, inflammation, immune-related diseases, endocrine-related diseases and hypertension, on the basis of an orexin (OX) receptor antagonist activity.

Orexin is a neuropeptide spliced from prepro-orexin, which is expressed specifically in the lateral hypothalamic area. Up to date, OX-A composed of 33 amino acids and OX-B composed of 28 amino acids have been identified, both of which are involved in the regulation of sleep-wake pattern and the regulation of feeding.
Both OX-A and OX-B act on OX receptors. Two subtypes, OX1 and OX2 receptors, of the OX receptors have been cloned so far, and both of which are known to be seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors expressed mainly in the brain. OX1 receptor is coupled specifically with Gq among the G protein subclasses, whereas OX2 receptor is coupled with Gq and Gi/o (see Non Patent Literature 1 and Non Patent Literature 2). Ox receptor subtypes are selectively expressed in the brain, and OX1 receptor is expressed in high density in the locus coeruleus, which is the nuclei originis of noradrenergic neurons, whereas OX2 receptor is expressed in high density in the tuberomammillary nucleus, which is the nuclei originis of histaminergic neuron (see Non Patent Literature 3, Non Patent Literature 4 and Non Patent Literature 5). The expression of both OX1 receptor and OX2 receptor are found in the raphe nucleus, which is the nuclei originis of serotoninergic neuron, and in the ventral tegmental area, which is the nuclei originis of dopaminergic neuron (see Non Patent Literature 3). The orexin neurons project to the monoaminergic neuron system at the brain stem and the hypothalamus and have excitatory effects to these neurons, and further the expression of OX2 receptor is also found in the cholinergic neuron at the brain stem responsible for regulating REM sleep and have effects to the nucleus activities thereof (see Non Patent Literature 3 and Non Patent literature 4).
In recent years, OX1 and OX2 receptors are focused on the role of the sleep-wake regulation, and the usefulness of OX receptor antagonists have been studied. When OX-A is intracerebroventricularly administered to a rat, increased spontaneous locomotor activity (see Non Patent Literature 6 and Non Patent Literature 7), increased stereotyped behavior (see Non Patent Literature 7), increased time spent awake (see Non Patent Literature 6), and the like, were observed. Decreased REM sleep produced by OX-A administration is completely antagonized by the pretreatment of an OX receptor antagonist (see Non Patent Literature 8). Further, it is reported that locomotor activity is decreased, sleep latency is shortened, and amount of non-REM sleep and REM sleep are increased by administering an orally available OX1 and OX2 receptors antagonist (see Non Patent Literature 9 and Non Patent Literature 10). Patent Literature 1 discloses a heteroaromatic ring derivative as the compound having OX receptor antagonistic activities but does not disclose the compound having the heteroaromatic methyl cyclic amine skeleton as described in the present application. Also, compounds, for example, having various structures described in Non Patent Literature 11 are generally known as OX receptor antagonists but the compounds having the heteroaromatic methyl cyclic amine skeleton described in the present application are not disclosed.

Heteroaromatic methyl cyclic amine derivative


A method to produce a product includes the steps of: providing a mold including an upper mold (40) and a lower mold (30), the upper mold defining a plurality of through holes (43); providing a metal piece (10), a hot melt adhesive, and a nonmetal cover layer (50) between the upper and lower molds, the hot melt adhesive arranged between the hot melt adhesive and the cover layer; closing the mold; heating the mold to melt the hot melt adhesive; conducting high-pressure gas into the mold via the through holes to press the cover layer toward the metal piece; opening the mold to pick up an intermediary product having the metal piece and the cover layer attached thereto by means of the adhesive; and applying a sealing layer (60) which joins corresponding free edges of the metal piece and the cover layer to the intermediary product through injection molding technology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product which has sealed free edges, and a method to produce the product.
2. General Background
Portable computers, such as laptop computers and notebook computers, have become increasingly popular for general use. Manufacturers are striving to design varieties of portable computers to please users.
As Taiwan Patent No. 447729 teaches a portable computer which has a leather cover layer attached to an enclosure thereof via screws. However, the cover layer is liable to peel off due to missing of the screws. Furthermore, edges of the cover layer are liable to wrap off due to loose engagement between the edges of the cover layer and the enclosure. Moreover, the cover layer can not be smoothly and tightly attached to the enclosure of the portable computer by using screws, wrinkles may be formed on the cover layer, such that the appearance of the enclosure is less pleasing.
What is desired, therefore, is a product including a cover layer which has improved duration of life and pleasing appearance. What is also needed is a method to produce the product.

Product having sealed free edges and method to produce the product

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