A system and method for measuring distances related to a target object depicted in an image and the construction and delivery of supplemental window materials for fenestration. A digital image is obtained that contains a target object dimension and a reference object dimension in the same plane. The digital image may contain a target object dimension identified by an ancillary object and a reference object dimension in different planes. Fiducial patterns on the reference and optional ancillary objects are used that are recognized by an image analysis algorithm. Information regarding a target object and its immediate surroundings is provided to an automated or semi-automated measurement process, design and manufacturing system such that customized parts are provided to end users. The digital image contains a reference object having a reference dimension and calculating a constraint dimension from the digital image based on a reference dimension. The custom part is then designed and manufactured based on a calculated constraint dimension.

In recognition of the ecological and cost impact of fossil fuels and other conventional energy sources, significant effort has been expended in developing methods for more efficient use of such energy sources. An important area of energy use for which greater energy efficiency is needed is the heating and cooling of spaces in which human activity is desired. Many approaches have been developed to decrease the amount heat transfer through the shell of such spaces. One of the most active and important areas of activity is the transfer of energy through fenestration where the activity has included use of window films or inserts, increasing the number of window glazings per opening and window treatments such as drapes, blinds, etc. While these approaches have shown considerable improvement in building energy efficiency, significant problems prevent more widespread and effective utilization.
Several problems exist in the approaches to minimizing heat transfer through fenestration. In particular for existing windows, it is desirable to maintain the optical transparency of the window, operation of the window treatments (e.g., blinds) and windows and the aesthetics of the interior view of the window while providing thermal insulation. Furthermore, reuse of the insulating materials is highly desirable so that new materials do not need to be purchased each season. When adding supplemental window elements such as films, film support elements and window treatments, ease of installation (including measurement and fabrication), reusability and storage and aesthetics during and after use are very important while obtaining the thermal and radiation insulation desired. With window films intended for creating an additional "dead air" space adjacent to the window as well as window treatments, accurate measurement of the film dimensions is necessary, often requiring the assistance of a professional with the associated added cost and time. Other window films, such as tints, infrared or ultraviolet reflective or absorbing films, or low-e films, adhere directly to the windowpane and have similar issues. Additionally, with the wide acceptance of mobile device applications that enable window treatment aesthetic choices to be made using images, it is desirable to add image based measurement capability to such applications.

System and method of measuring distances related to an object


The devices, methods and systems are described for providing controlled amounts of gas, gas pressure and vacuum to microfluidic devices the culturing of cells under flow conditions. The devices, methods, and systems contemplated here may also be used to control the environment surrounding the microfluidic devices; offer user control over experiments comprising microfluidic devices, such as the ability to directly or remotely control experiment conditions; and comprise information aggregation and transmission, such that experimental data may be collected, stored, aggregated and transmitted to users.

Incubators and similar chambers in which cells are cultured in vessels, e.g, culture dishes, flasks, are well-known for providing a controlled environment with respect to temperature, humidity and gas concentration. Cells and tissue taken from a multi-cellular organism, for example, can be cultured outside the body in various liquid and semi-liquid media contained in culture vessels (in vitro) by simulating the environment to which these cells would normally be exposed while inside the body (in vivo).
Some of the parameters of an incubator are dictated by the nature of the buffering system of the cell culture media and the evaporation of the culture media due to the nature of the culture vessels. For example, sodium bicarbonate is a good buffering agent, provided there is an atmosphere of 3-5% carbon dioxide. For this reason, CO2 incubators are generally set at 5-10% for this buffer system. As long as the system is closed and CO2 cannot escape, the original pH is maintained. However when open to the air, excess bicarbonate drives this equilibrium reaction, and the media goes alkaline. On the other hand, the products of growing cells (e.g. lactic acid and CO2) may lower the pH.
Humidity inside the incubator is may be set for 100% saturation for optimum cell culturing. Opening incubator doors too often allows humidity to escape, and consequently vented culture vessels will dry out until humidity is reestablished. However, humidity acts as a CO2 sink, maintaining stable CO2 levels.
While static culture dishes and multi-well plates have been used in the past to culture cells, more complex cell culture systems are emerging as key tools to improve physiological relevance of in vitro assay systems. There have been a number of approaches taken by investigators to improve mimicking of physiological conditions in cell and tissue culture. One approach involves systems where two or more cell types are co-cultured in a 3D structure either separated by membranes (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,647,861) or in spheroids [e.g. Godoy, P., et al., Arch Toxicol, 87(8): 1315-530 (2013)]. Another approach is to incorporate fluidic-flow (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,647,861) where the motion of the media itself has been shown to improve metabolic function and lifespan [Domansky, K., et al., Lab Chip, 2010. 10(1): p. 51-8 (2010]. A more complex approach is to combine the two techniques together with a stretching surface so as to mimick the mechanical forces seen in vivo (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,647,861).
These more complex cell culture approaches, however, demand more complex cell culture support devices. The more complex cell culture support devices require improved gas delivery devices.


An optical head is provided with: an objective-lens-use opening that determines an aperture of the objective lens; a light-source light-quantity controlling opening that aperture-controls light that has been separated by the light separation device; a light detector that receives light that has been aperture-controlled by the light-source light-quantity controlling opening; and a light detector that receives light that has been reflected by the optical recording medium, and has an arrangement in which: the length of the optical light path from the spherical aberration correcting device to the objective-lens-use opening is made virtually the same as a length of the optical light path from the spherical aberration correcting device to the light-source light-quantity controlling opening, and the aperture of the light-source light-quantity controlling opening has virtually the same size as the aperture of the objective-lens-use opening. The objective of the present invention is to provide an optical head in which a signal outputted from the light quantity detection device is unchanged even when the spherical aberration correcting device is driven so that by using this signal, the quantity of light from the light source is set to an appropriate value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical head used in optical information processing, optical communication or the like and an optical recording and reproducing apparatus using the optical head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a digital versatile disc (DVD) has attracted attention as a high-capacity optical recording medium because it can record digital information in a recording density which is about 6 times as high as a compact disc (CD). However, a further high-density optical recording medium is demanded as capacity of information becomes large. Here, in order to realize a density higher than the DVD (wavelength is 660 nm and numerical aperture (NA) is 0.6), it is necessary to use a light source emitting a light having shorter wavelength and to further increase the NA of the objective lens. For example, when blue laser having a wavelength of 405 nm and an objective lens having NA of 0.85 are used, a recording density which is 5 times as high as the DVD can be attained.
However, since the high-density optical recording medium apparatus using the blue laser has very strict reproducing and/or recording margin, in other words, a permissible level for a fluctuation of characteristic in reproducing or recording is limited very strictly, aberration generated by a fluctuation in the base-substrate thickness of an optical recording medium becomes a problem. It is to be noted that the wording "reproducing and/or recording" means "at least one of reproducing and recording", in the specification, to simplify the description.
In relating to this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-131603 discloses an optical head which aims to carry out reproducing and recording operations while correcting aberration due to a fluctuation in the base-substrate thickness of an optical recording medium.
One example of the above conventional optical head is described with reference to the drawing.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a constitution of the conventional optical head. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 designates a light source, reference numeral 92 designates a diffraction grating, reference numeral 93 designates is a collimator lens, reference numeral 94 designates a polarized beam splitter, reference numeral 95 designates a ¼ wavelength plate, reference numeral 96 designates a group of aberration correcting lenses, reference numeral 97 designates an objective lens, reference numeral 98 designates an optical recording medium, reference numeral 99 designates a focusing lens, reference numeral 100 designates a multi-lens and reference numeral 101 designates a light detector.
The light source 91, which is a semiconductor laser, serves as a light source that outputs coherent light for use in recording and reproducing to a recording layer of the optical recording medium 98. The diffraction grating 92 has a structure in which a concave/convex pattern is formed on a surface of a glass substrate, and serves an optical element which divides an incident beam into three beams so as to allow detection of a tracking error signal through a so-called three beam method. The collimator lens 93 is a lens which converts diverged light emitted from the light source 91 to parallel light rays. The polarized beam splitter 94 is an optical element which has different transmittance and reflection factor depending on incident polarized light, and is used for separating light. The ¼ wavelength plate 95 is made from a birefringence material, and serves as an optical element that converts linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light.
The group of aberration correcting lenses 96, which is used for correcting spherical aberration that occurs when the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 is different from a predetermined standard value, is constituted by a group of concave lenses 96a and a group of convex lenses 96b as well as a uniaxial actuator, not shown. And, by changing the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b, it becomes possible to correct the spherical aberration. The above-mentioned standard value is, more preferably, determined based on an optimum design base-substrate thickness as a thickness of the base-substrate of the optical recording medium 98. The group of aberration correcting lenses 96 will be described later in detail
The objective lens 97 is a lens for converging light on a recording layer of the optical recording medium 98. The focusing lens 99 is a lens used for converging light reflected from the recording layer of the optical medium 98 onto the light detector 101. The multi-lens 100 has a cylindrical surface as its light incident face, and its light-releasing face forms a rotation symmetrical face with respect to the lens light axis so that astigmatism, which allows the detection of a focus error signal with respect to incident light through a so-called astigmatism method, is given. The light detector 101 receives light reflected by the recording layer of the optical recording medium 98 to convert the light to an electric signal.
The following description will discuss operations of the optical head having the above-mentioned arrangement. Linearly polarized light, emitted from the light source 91, is divided into three beams by the diffraction grating 92, and the three divided light beams are converted to parallel light rays by the collimator lens 93. The resulting parallel light rays are allowed to pass through the polarized beam splitter 94, and made incident on the ¼ wavelength plate 95 so that the linearly polarized light is converted into circularly polarized light. The circularly polarized light that has passed through the ¼ wavelength plate 95 is made incident on the group of aberration correcting lenses 96. In this case, in order to correct spherical aberration that occurs when the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 deviates from an standard thickness, the incident parallel light rays are converted to diverging light and converging light by changing the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b that constitute the group of aberration correcting lenses 96. Then, the converted light is made incident on the objective lens 97 so that spherical aberration is generated in proportion to a degree of divergence or a degree of convergence of the incident light, and is converged on the optical recording medium 98.
Here, since light having wave aberration capable of correcting the wave aberration occurring upon deviation in the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 from the standard base-substrate thickness is converged thereon by the objective lens 97, a light spot that is free from aberration, that is, a light spot that is limited to the diffraction limit, is formed on the optical recording medium 98. Next, the circularly polarized light, reflected from the optical recording medium 98, is allowed to pass through the group of aberration correcting lenses 96, and is input to the ¼ wavelength plate 95, then is converted to linearly polarized light in a direction orthogonal to the linearly polarized light that has been emitted from the light source 91. The linearly polarized light, converted by the ¼ wavelength plate 95, is reflected by the polarized beam splitter 94, and converged by the focusing lens 99 without returning to the light source 91 so that astigmatism is given to the light made incident by the multi-lens 100 and the resulting light is converged on the light detector 101. The light detector 101 outputs a focus error signal that indicates a focused state of light on the optical recording medium 98, and also outputs a tracking error signal that indicates an irradiation position of light.
Here, the focus error signal and the tracking error signal are detected by known techniques such as an astigmatism method and a three beam method. Based upon the focus error signal, a focus control device, not shown, controls the position of the objective lens 97 in the light axis direction so that the light is always converged on the optical recording medium 98 in the focused state. Moreover, based upon the tracking error signal, a tracking control device, not shown, controls the position of the objective lens 97 so that light is converged on a desired track on the optical recording medium 98. Furthermore, information recorded on the optical recording medium 98 is also obtained by the light detector 101.
Here, the following description will discuss the spherical aberration correcting operation that is available by the use of the group of aberration correcting lenses 96, in detail. When the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b constituting the group of aberration correcting lenses 96 is narrowed, the parallel light rays are converted to diverging light, and when the distance is widened, the parallel light rays are converted to converging light. In other words, by changing the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b, it is possible to generate light rays having power components with different codes. Here, in the case when light having a power component is made incident on the objective lens 97, spherical aberration occurs in the light converged by the objective lens 97, and since the code is dependent on the code of the incident power component, it is possible to correct the spherical aberration that occurs upon deviation of the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 from a standard base-substrate thickness by using this spherical aberration.
With this arrangement, since the spherical aberration caused by the deviation in the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 can be corrected by using the group of aberration correcting lenses 96, it is possible to carry out stable reproducing and recording operations.
In the optical head having the above-mentioned conventional arrangement, however, no description has been given to a light-quantity detection device that is required to control the quantity of light released from the light source 91, with the result that a problem arises due to the position of this light-quantity detection device. Referring to FIG. 10, the following description discusses this problem in detail. Here, only the points in which an optical head shown in FIG. 10 is different from the optical head of FIG. 9 are that a mirror and a light-quantity detection device are further installed and that the ¼ wavelength plate is placed between the mirror and the objective lens; except for these points, it has the same arrangement as the optical head of FIG. 9. Therefore, in FIG. 10, the same parts as those of the optical head of FIG. 9 are used, unless otherwise indicated, and those components indicated by the same reference numerals have the same functions, unless otherwise indicated.
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 201 is a mirror, reference numeral 202 is a condenser lens and reference numeral 203 is a light-source light-quantity controlling light detector. Here, the light-quantity detection device is constituted by the condenser lens 202 and the light-quantity controlling light detector 203.
The mirror 201 is an optical element that reflects incident light to direct the resulting light to the optical recording medium 98, and with respect to certain linearly polarized light, transmits 5% thereof, while reflecting 95% thereof, and with respect to linearly polarized light orthogonal to the above-mentioned linearly polarized light, reflects 100% thereof.
The following description will discuss operations of the optical head having the above-mentioned arrangement. Linearly polarized light, released from the light source 91, is divided into three beams by the diffraction grating 92, and the three divided light beams are converted to parallel light rays by the collimator lens 93. The light, converted into the parallel light rays, are allowed to pass through the polarized beam splitter 94, and made incident on the group of aberration correcting lenses 96. In this case, in order to correct spherical aberration that occurs when the base-substrate thickness deviates from a standard value, the incident parallel light rays are converted to diverging light and converging light by changing the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b that constitute the group of aberration correcting lenses 96; thus, the converted light is made incident on the mirror 201 so that one portion (5%) thereof is allowed to transmit, while most (95%) of it is reflected, and changed in its advancing direction to the optical recording medium 98. This reflected light is made incident on the ¼ wavelength plate 95 to be converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light; thus, this circularly polarized light is made incident on the objective lens 97 so that spherical aberration is generated in proportion to a degree of divergence or a degree of convergence of the incident light, and is further converged on the optical recording medium 98. Here, since light having wave aberration capable of correcting the wave aberration occurring upon deviation in the bas-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 from the standard thickness is converged thereon by the objective lens 97, a light spot that is free from aberration, that is, a light spot that is limited to the diffraction limit, is formed on the optical recording medium 98.
Next, the circularly polarized light, reflected from the optical recording medium 98, is inputted to the ¼ wavelength plate 95, and converted to linearly polarized light in a direction orthogonal to the linearly polarized light released from the light source 91. The linearly polarized light converted by the ¼ wavelength plate 95 is all reflected by the mirror 201, allowed to pass through the group of aberration correcting lenses 96, and reflected by the polarized beam splitter 94 and further converged by the focusing lens 99 without returning to the light source 91 so that astigmatism is given to the light made incident by the multi-lens 100 and the resulting light is converged on the light detector 101.
The light detector 101 outputs a focus error signal that indicates a focused state of light on the optical recording medium 98, and also outputs a tracking error signal that indicates an irradiation position of light. Here, the focus error signal and the tracking error signal are detected by known techniques such as an astigmatism method and a three beam method. Based upon the focus error signal, a focus control device, not shown, controls the position of the objective lens 97 in the light axis direction so that the light is always converged on the optical recording medium 98 in the focused state. Moreover, based upon the tracking error signal, a tracking control device, not shown, controls the position of the objective lens 97 so that light is converged on a desired track on the optical recording medium 98.
Furthermore, information recorded on the optical recording medium 98 is also obtained by the light detector 101. Moreover, the light that has passed through the mirror 201 is converged on the light-source light-quantity controlling light detector 203 by the condenser lens 202, and the light-source light-quantity controlling light detector 203 outputs an electric signal corresponding to the quantity of light released from the light source 1.
The necessity of the above-mentioned light-quantity detection device is explained as follows: Since the light source 91 is formed by a semiconductor laser, the light source 91 has a temperature rise when it continues to output light, with the result that the quantity of light to be outputted from the light source 91 tends to vary even when the current used for controlling the light source 91 is constant. Therefore, by detecting one portion of the light released from the light source 91, it becomes possible to control the quantity of light released from the light source 91.
However, in the case when the signal detected by the light-quantity detection device is varied independent of the quantity of light from the light source 91, a serious problem is raised. For example, even in the case of constant quantity of light from the light source 91, when the signal outputted from the light quantity detection device becomes smaller, the light source 91 is controlled so as to release a greater quantity of light, with the result that a great quantity of light is released during a reproducing operation of the optical recording medium 98 to cause erroneous erasing of information recorded in the optical recording medium 98. In contrast, even in the case of constant quantity of light from the light source 91, when the signal outputted from the light quantity detection device becomes greater, the light source 91 is controlled so as to release a smaller quantity of light, with the result that the quantity of light fails to reach a sufficient quantity required for recording during a recording operation on the optical recording medium 98 to cause an insufficient recording process. In other words, a serious problem is raised unless the signal detected by the light-quantity detection device varies in response to the quantity of light released from the light source 91.
FIG. 11 schematically shows light to be made incident on the objective lens 97 when the group of aberration correcting lenses 96 is driven to correct spherical aberration. In FIG. 11, in the case when the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 is thicker than a standard thickness, the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b becomes wider so that the light is made incident on the objective lens 97 as converged light. This state is indicated by a solid line. In the case when the base-substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 98 is thinner than the standard base-substrate thickness, the distance between the group of concave lenses 96a and the group of convex lenses 96b becomes smaller so that the light is made incident on the objective lens 97 as diverged light. This state is indicated by an imaginary line. Here, it is supposed that the light to be used in the light-quantity detection device is located at position A in FIG. 11.
In FIG. 10, an aperture (not shown), which is used for controlling the quantity of transmitted light, is formed between the mirror 201 and the condenser lens 202, and this is schematically indicated as an aperture 110H (opening) in FIG. 11. This aperture 110H is provided by forming a hole (opening) in a plate member 110. The member 110 having aperture 110H may be a hold member for holding the group of convex lenses 96b.
As shown by FIG. 11, although the group of aberration correcting lenses is designed so as to make the quantity of incident light onto the objective lens 97 constant independent of the location of the group of concave lenses 96a while the group of concave lenses 96a is shifted to correct spherical aberration, the light to be made incident on the light-source light-quantity controlling light detector 203 is shield by the member 110 having the aperture 110H on the peripheral portion thereof depending on the position of the group of concave lenses 96a, with the result that the quantity of light to be detected by the light-source light-quantity controlling light detector 203 is varied.
In other words, although the quantity of light of the light source 91 is not changed, the quantity of light to be made incident on the light-source light-quantity controlling light detector 203 is varied, as described above, with the result that a signal is outputted as if it were derived from a change in the quantity of light in the light source; consequently, problems are raised in that recorded information is erased during reproducing, and in that insufficient recording is caused due to a failure in outputting a sufficient quantity of light upon recording.

Optical head and optical recording and reproducing apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A polarization stereoscopic display device and a method of its manufacture. A liquid crystal display panel displays an information in accordance with signal data comprised of left-eye and right-eye image information, a polarizer polarizes modulated light through polarizer. A patterned retarder layer separates light by polarization into a left-eye picture and a right-eye picture in accordance with its pattern. A light waveguide disposed between the polarizer and the retarder layer reduces polarization changes between the polarizer and the retarder layer. Beneficially, the polarizer, waveguide, and retarder layer are formed into an integral unit. The retarder layer includes a chiral material, and a waveguide layer for the substrate is beneficially comprised of a solvent-proof polymer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device that enables an observer to view a stereoscopic image using polarizing glasses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional stereoscopic image display using a stereoscopic eyeglass provides a picture which can be viewed by an observer's right eye, hereinafter referred to as a "right-eye picture," and a picture which can be viewed by an observer's left eye, hereinafter referred to as a "left-eye picture." Such picture information is viewed through the stereoscopic eyeglass. The observer's brain then processes the left-eye and right-eye picture into a three-dimensional image.
Such stereoscopic image systems include head mounted displays and stereoscopic screen displays. In a typical head mounted display, as shown in FIG. 1, a left-eye picture display and a right-eye picture display are installed in an eyeglass frame 14, respectively.
In a typical stereoscopic screen display, as shown in FIG. 2, a left-eye picture and a right-eye picture are simultaneously or alternately displayed on a stereoscopic screen 22 of a picture display unit 20. Those pictures are then are projected onto an observer's eye through a stereoscopic eyeglass 24.
A picture display unit 20 can display left-eye and right-eye pictures using an interlace scanning system, an up and down division system, or a left and right division system. For example, one interlace scanning system displays the left-eye picture during odd-numbered scanning lines, as shown in FIG. 3A, while displaying the right-eye picture during even-numbered scanning lines, as shown in FIG. 3B. An up and down division system can display the right-eye picture on the upper half of the screen 22 and the left-eye picture on the bottom half, as shown in FIG. 4. A left and right system can display the left-eye picture on the left half of the screen 22 while displaying the right-eye picture at the right half, as shown in FIG. 5.
Systems that provide each eye with picture information can also classified into shutter glass systems and polarizing glass systems. In the shutter glass system the left-eye and right-eye pictures that are displayed on the screen are alternately selected by a shutter glass. An observer recognizes the left-eye and right-eye pictures through the shutter glass, combines them mentally, and perceives a three dimensional image.
However, the stereoscopic shutter glass system has a relatively high cost because of the shutter glass. Another disadvantage is the direct exposure of an observer to electromagnetic waves from the shutter glass. The stereoscopic polarized glass system can overcome both of these problems.
The stereoscopic polarized glass system allows the left-eye and right-eye pictures on a screen to be directed to an observer's left eye and right eye, respectively, via a polarizing glass. As shown in FIG. 6, a conventional stereoscopic display device that uses a polarizing glass system includes a patterned polarizer 26 on the picture display unit 20. The left-eye and right-eye pictures are imaged on the picture display unit in a striped or checkered display pattern. Those images pass through the polarizer 26, which is patterned the same as the display pattern. For example, FIG. 6 shows the polarizer 26 with lines of a set of first micro cells 26A and of a set of second micro cells 26B. The first set and the second micro cells have different polarizations. FIG. 7 shows first and second micro cells 26A and 26B arranged in a checkered pattern. Accordingly, the left-eye picture and the right-eye picture pass through the polarizer 26 with different polarizations. The left-eye and right-eye pictures are then applied to each eye of an observer through polarizing lens of an eyeglass, which pass only the proper component to each eye. An observer then perceives a three dimensional image.
While generally successful, the micro cell patterns 26A and 26B are usually produced from a poly organic material by fabrication processes that include at least a photoresist step, an etching step, and a stripping step. As a result, stereoscopic image display devices that use the polarizing glass system have problems in that it is difficult to obtain a high quality polarization at low cost.

Polarized stereoscopic display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof


A layer of silver metal or the like, included as one of a plurality of transparent coating layers upon a glass pane, is protected from staining by providing the pane with a barrier layer comprising the oxides of at least two metals of which one is Me(1) and another is Me(2) wherein Me(1) is titanium, zirconium or hafnium and Me(2) is zinc, tin, indium or bismuth. The barrier layer is non-transmissive of moisture and other staining agents, is amorphous and is free of grain boundaries.

In the manufacture of glass panes for use in windows, it is common to lay down a deposit, usually by sputtering techniques, of a thin film of a metal such as silver or copper to change the reflectance and absorbance characteristics of the glass pane. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,884 (Gillery, et al.) with respect to the production of silver/copper films by cathode sputtering, and to U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,018 (Chapin) with respect to the method of coating a substrate utilizing a cathode sputtering technique involving a magnetic field to improve the sputtering efficiency.
Thin, transparent films of silver, copper and the like are susceptible to corrosion (e.g., staining) when they are brought into contact, under moist or wet conditions, with various staining agents such as atmosphere carried chlorides, sulfides, sulfur dioxide and the like. Films of this type commonly are employed on inner surfaces of multi pane glass units so that the films are maintained in a dry condition by desiccants or the like that remove moisture from the interpane spaces. Staining can occur, however, when coated panes of glass are stored for later fabrication into insulating glass units. To avoid staining during storage, sheets of treated paper have been employed between coated glass panes to prevent moisture and staining agents such as those described above from coming into contact with the coated metal films. Treated paper interliners of this type commonly are used but once. The paper interliner cost, plus the additional labor required to insert and remove the paper liners, adds significantly to the cost of the coating and fabricating process.
To avoid the use of a treated paper interliner, it has been proposed to add to the coated panes, as an outer layer, a thick coating (100-120 Angstroms) of titanium dioxide, deposited by sputtering from a titanium metal target in the presence of oxygen. Titanium dioxide layers of at least this thickness have been found to serve as barriers, restraining corrosive or staining agents such as those described above from penetrating through them and coming into contact with the one or more metal layers therebeneath. The deposition of such thick coatings of titanium dioxide, however, has given rise to other problems. Titanium dioxide can be sputtered, as above described, only very slowly. That is, the rate of deposition is quite low. This, in turn, greatly reduces the speed at which glass panes can be provided with a series of coatings in a single coating apparatus, and consumes large quantities of electric power.

Method of making metal oxide films having barrier properties


According to one embodiment, a memory system includes a non-volatile memory provided with a plurality of memory cells, and a memory controller. The memory controller reads data subjected to error-mitigation encoding from the non-volatile memory, the data including determination information indicating whether or not a value is changed by the error-mitigation encoding, executes error-mitigation decoding on the read data, re-executes the error-mitigation encoding on a decoding result obtained by the error-mitigation decoding, and compares the determination information included in the read data with determination information included in data obtained by re-executing the error-mitigation encoding and outputs a comparison result.

In a memory system, error correction encoded data is typically stored, which is to protect data to be stored. Further, in addition to error-correcting encoding, error-mitigation encoding is executed sometimes. The error-mitigation encoding makes it possible to reduce the number of cells programmed to a threshold voltage with unsatisfactory properties and increase the number of cells programmed to a threshold voltage with satisfactory properties.

Memory system and method of controlling non-volatile memory


The present invention relates to a folding machine for folding the side flaps flanking the middle section of a foldable cardboard blank. For this purpose in the frontal area of the folding machine auxiliary folding devices are arranged. In addition turning belts for the inward tilting of the side flaps can be arranged, which are provided with projections insuring that the side flaps are swung parallelly to their folding grooves.

The invention relates to a special construction of a folding machine for the production of foldable containers from a blank transported along a conveyor path with predetermined conveying speed, whose middle part has laterally arranged hinge-like folding grooves with thereto adjoining side flaps, which along their conveying path are first raised from their flattened position by means of turning devices, increasingly tilted inwardly along the folding grooves towards the longitudinal median of the blank, and finally folded together from above and connected to each other.
Such devices, which are special folding machines, are known (see e.g. the brochure "In-Line Machine 2000", Klett Wellpappenmaschinen, Remscheid Germany).
Throughout the present application the terms "device for processing a blank transported along a conveyor path at a predetermined conveying speed" and "folding machine" are used as synonyms, since all features on which the invention is based apply to such a device, as well as to this type of folding machine.
Although the present invention generally relates to a folding machine for the production of foldable containers of a flat material blanks, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a folding machine for the production of foldable boxes made of foldable cardboard. Particularly corrugated cardboard is used as a starting material.
However we do not intend to limit the invention to blanks of corrugated cardboard. Therefore corrugated cardboard and foldable cardboard are used when no special indication is given. A foldable cardboard comprises also the general concept of foldable container, as long as the foldable container is produced in a folding machine as described by the invention.
Such foldable cardboard blanks consist for instance of corrugated cardboard. For this purpose for each foldable box a corrugated cardboard sheet is provided with a groove parallel to the undulation, hinge-like side flaps adjoin the middle part.
The present invention is not limited to folding machines for the production of foldable containers closed on all sides. It relates also to folding machines for the production of shell-like folding containers. This are for instance protective casings without a top and/or bottom. The problem with such protective casings is that the surrounded object has to fit as accurately as possible within the casing. By eliminating the bottom and/or the top the danger of unintended slide-out of the object exists.
In practice a relevant case occurs e.g. with the casing of headlights for motor vehicles. This headlights are usually fitted in corrugated cardboard jackets. The inner dimensions of the jacket are so tight that the headlight is firmly held.
A further example of use is, as mentioned, a foldable cardboard blanks which corresponds to an unfolded parallelepipedic box with bottom and top.
Such boxes are normally processed on automatic packaging machines. For this reason the quality of the product leaving the folding machine is particularly relevant.
A foldable cardboard blank can be provided with the required slots or notches. For this purpose the corrugated cardboard sheet is slitted, or notched parallel to the undulations in the region of the folding grooves. The slot width equals e.g. 1 cm. The slot depth corresponds to the folding length of the bottom or top. In this way the bottom and top of the foldable cardboard are attached so as to be freely movable relative to the rest of the cardboard. Normally three slots can be precisely cut. A fourth slot is formed in the area of the two folded side flaps meant to be connected to each other. One of the two side flaps is additionally provided with a so-called adhesion border or glue border. This is a tongue which is also provided with a folding groove.
The folding grooves can form a hinge between the side flaps and the middle part. Normally for parallelepipedic boxes four folding grooves are provided. On each side of the middle section one folding groove is provided in addition to one folding groove within the middle part and one folding groove in the area where the two side flaps are brought together.
In such folding machines the optionally prestamped blanks are transported while at the same time the still flattened side flaps of the blanks with the already prepared folding grooves are seized and are tilted inwards during their ride along the conveyor path.
The folding takes place by means of so-called turning belts known per se, which at first seize the side flaps from underneath. The turning belts run from a level below the middle section to a level above the middle section. The axes of the turning belts are so arranged with respect to each other, that the belt surface turned towards the foldable cardboard blank turns by a total of 180 degrees along the conveying path. Therefore normally on both sides of the middle part two such turning belts are arranged in succession, each of the turning belts being staggered by only 90 degrees.

Device for processing a blank transported along a conveyor path at a predetermined conveying speed


A mathematical game comprising a plurality of elongate tiles adapted to be laterally or longitudinally located on a playing surface. The elongate tiles comprising a set of numerical tiles bearing a numerical symbol and a set of operational tiles bearing a mathematical operation symbol and a numerical symbol. On the operational tiles the numerical symbol is located to the right side of the tile and the mathematical operation symbol is located to the left side of the tile. Three tiles consisting of two numerical tiles and one operational tile are linearly arrangeable on the playing surface to form a mathematical equation such that the operational tile is locatable between the two numerical tiles. The operational tile reflects the mathematical relationship between the numerical tiles. The operational tiles are provided with a visual distinguishing characteristic so that when the tiles are arranged in an equation the operational tile distinguishes one side of the equation from the other.

A number of mathematical games for the making of equations have been known. One of the more popular mathematical games has been the game marketed under the trade mark "Equabble" which formed the subject matter of United Kingdom Patent Number 1396267. This game has a board divided into laterally and longitudinally arranged squares and a series of sets of tiles, one set bearing a numeral from 0 to 9, another set bearing mathematical operation symbols, i.e. + (addition), - (subtraction), .times. (multiplication) and .div. (division), and a third set bearing the = (equals) symbol. In playing the game the tiles are arranged on the squares to form mathematical equations laterally or longitudinally from a known starting position. Scoring is obtained by adding the individual value provided at the corner of each tile. Scoring is also enhanced when equations are arranged on specifically marked squares which can double or triple the value of a tile or equation.
Another similar example is provided by United Kingdom patent number 1304882, wherein three similar sets of tiles are involved in playing the game. Scoring in this game is dependent on the number of tiles used to create equations as well as placement on specific squares on the board surface which provided bonus or premium points.
The present invention will seek to provide a mathematical game which is an improvement to the above mentioned mathematical games.


A security management program coping with a security hole found in a library. When a request for executing jobs, including a job program, is input, a service library-determining section analyzes the job program and determines link libraries called by the job program. Then, a job submission section transmits the job program to submission destination nodes, and instructs the submission destination nodes to execute the jobs according to the request. After that, when identification information for identifying a vulnerable library having a security defect is input, a submission destination-determining section obtains identification information for identifying the job program corresponding to the vulnerable library, and identification information for identifying the submission destination nodes corresponding to the job program. Subsequently, a forcible job stop section instructs the submission destination nodes to stop processes for executing the job program.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium storing a security management program for ensuring security during execution of jobs, a security management system, and a method of security management, and more particularly to a computer-readable recording medium storing a security management program for ensuring security during execution of a job input from another apparatus, a security management system, and a method of security management.
2. Description of the Related Art
A grid system is employed in a large number of companies so as to perform a large amount of calculation by parallel processing. The grid system is comprised of a plurality of nodes (computers for executing jobs) connected via a network, and divides and allocates processing to be executed to the nodes to cause them to perform parallel processing.
In the grid system, a number of computers are connected via a network for operation. Therefore, if one of the computers is infected with a virus, or illegally intruded from outside by attack on a security hole therein, the security of the whole network is jeopardized. To overcome this problem, a technique of ensuring the security of individual computers is necessitated.
As the technique of ensuring the security of a plurality of computers, there has been proposed a technique, for example, which causes a moving object to travel between the computers and inspect infection by a computer virus. In this technique, when infection by a computer virus is detected by the moving object, it is possible to stop communication between the infected computer and the other computers (see e.g. Japanese Unexamined Paten Publication No. 2003-208325).
By the way, in many cases, users of the conventional grid system are advanced researchers. Therefore, almost all part of a program submitted to the system is specially written in a manner adapted to a use of computation as a purpose peculiar to the program. On the other hand, due to the widespread use of the grid system, it is expected that processes of programs, which are commonly used by the programs for various purposes of computation, come to be provided as libraries. The library is a program which describes a process commonly performed between a plurality of programs describing operations of different tasks. For example, a process for covariance matrix computation, a process for communication between grid nodes, a process for database operations, and so forth are often commonly usable between the programs. In such cases, it is possible to provide these processes as libraries.
When libraries are used in a large number of programs, if a security hole is found in any of them, all the nodes in which the programs are operating are at risk. To cope with this inconvenience, it is necessary to quickly eliminate the security hole.
Libraries have been rarely used in the grid system, with no serious security holes having been found in the libraries hitherto, and hence this problem has not been obvious. When libraries come to be widely used in the future, there is a possibility that there may be unexpectedly found a security hole, and it becomes a target of attack. In such a case, all the grid nodes in which programs linked to the libraries are being executed can be at risk. Thus potential threats also come to increase.
In the current grid system, however, it is not considered to cope with the above threats quickly and exhaustively, so that potential threats remain to exist. It should be noted that in the technique disclosed in the aforementioned publication, when a computer is infected with a virus, the virus cannot be detected until the moving object patrols the computer, which is insufficient in respect of quickness in coping with the threat.

Computer-readable recording medium storing security management program, security management system, and method of security management


A system for treating abnormalities of the cardiovascular system includes a stent having a plurality of movable crown portions. When the stent is expanded, the crown portions move to a diameter recoil prevention position. One embodiment of the invention includes crown portions that translate from a concave to a convex configuration with respect to the strut portions of the stent during expansion of the stent. Another embodiment of the invention includes a method reducing diameter recoil of stent upon expansion of the stent.

Stents are generally cylindrical-shaped devices that are radially expandable to hold open a segment of a vessel or other anatomical lumen after implantation into the body lumen.
Various types of stents are in use, including expandable and self-expanding stents. Expandable stents generally are conveyed to the area to be treated on balloon catheters or other expandable devices. For insertion into the body, the stent is positioned in a compressed configuration on the delivery device. For example, the stent may be crimped onto a balloon that is folded or otherwise wrapped about the distal portion of a catheter body that is part of the delivery device. After the stent is positioned across the lesion, it is expanded by the delivery device, causing the diameter of the stent to expand. For a self-expanding stent, commonly a sheath is retracted, allowing the stent to expand.
Stents are used in conjunction with balloon catheters in a variety of medical therapeutic applications, including intravascular angioplasty. For example, a balloon catheter device is inflated during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) to dilate a stenotic blood vessel. The stenosis may be the result of a lesion such as a plaque or thrombus. When inflated, the pressurized balloon exerts a compressive force on the lesion, thereby increasing
The inner diameter of the affected vessel. The increased interior vessel diameter facilitates improved blood flow. Soon after the procedure, however, a significant proportion of treated vessels restenose.
To prevent restenosis, stents, constructed of metals or polymers, are implanted within the vessel to maintain lumen size. The stent is sufficiently longitudinally flexible so that it can be transported through the cardiovascular system. In addition, the stent requires sufficient radial strength to act as a scaffold and support the lumen wall in a circular, open configuration. Configurations of stents include a helical coil, and a cylindrical sleeve defined by a mesh, which may be supported by struts or a series of rings fastened together by struts.
Stent insertion may cause undesirable reactions such as inflammation resulting from a foreign body reaction, infection, thrombosis, and proliferation of cell growth that occludes the passageway. Stents with polymer coatings have been used to deliver drugs or other therapeutic agents at the site of the stent that may assist in preventing these conditions. Another approach to this problem is to use biodegradable stents composed of polymers that, over a defined period of time, are removed from the body. Such temporary implants remain in place during healing at the treatment site, but then disappear, thereby minimizing many of the deleterious effects of long term implants such as inflammation, cellular proliferation and thrombosis.
Another parameter to be considered in stent design is diameter recoil, the tendency of the stent to revert toward its compressed diameter following expansion. Diameter recoil or constriction is due primarily to the elastic properties of the material comprising the stent, and is generally greater for polymeric stents than for those comprising metals such as stainless steel. Diameter recoil may cause the stent to partially block blood flow through the vessel, or to become dislodged from the treatment site.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an implantable polymeric stent that retains the longitudinal flexibility needed for efficient delivery and the radial strength to support the vessel wall, but also exhibits minimal diameter recoil upon expansion of the stent, and may additionally be biodegradable. Such a stent would overcome many of the limitations and disadvantages inherent in the devices described above.


Xanthan gum is purified by heat-treating a xanthan gum fermented broth, and consecutively treating the broth first with alkaline protease and then with lysozyme or in reverse order, and thereafter recovering xanthan gum from the treated broth. A clear aqueous solution of xanthan gum may be obtained without complex procedures. The xanthan gum is separated and purified and 0.3% aqueous solution of the purified xanthan gum has a transmittance of at least 80%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of purified xanthan gum, and more particularly to a process for the improvement in transparency of fermented broth and aqueous solution of xanthan gum by enzymatic treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Xanthan gum can be obtained by a well-known fermentation process. It is recovered by precipitation with isopropanol from a fermented broth of a xanthan gum-producing bacterium, e.g., Xanthomonas campestris a species in the genus Xanthomonas. (This compound and process for preparing it are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,026, col. 4.)
Other processes for the manufacture of xanthan gum use, in place of Xanthomonas campestris, such other known xanthan gum-producing bacteria as Xanthomonas carotate, incanae, begoniae, papavericola, translucens, vasculorum, and hederae. All these species can produce a xanthan gum fermented broth.
The broth at the end of fermentation contains from 0.5 to 2 percent by weight of undissolved matter including unconsumed nutrients and bacterial cell residues, besides about 2 to 5 percent by weight of xanthan gum. Naturally, an aqueous solution of solid xanthan gum separated by extraction from the broth has very low transparency. This presents problems in the fields where clear products are required, such as food and cosmetic industries, and in applications for secondary recovery of petroleum.
For the purification of xanthan gum, methods that depend on centrifugation or cake filtration for the removal of the undissolved matter from the broth are commonly known. In either case, however, the broth is so viscous that it needs dilution with water and concentration, and the cost and operation of these additional steps make the methods impractical. A variation of those methods suggests heating of the broth to enhance its filtration properties.
One effective approach is solubilizing the undissolved matter in the broth by enzymatic treatment. Many proposals have hitherto been made in this direction.
For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 449,875 of 1974 (Japanese Patent Provisional Publication (Kokai) No. 50-121493) and U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 513,810/1974, 3,966,618/1976, 4,010,071/1977, and 416,525/1979 propose clarification by use of alkaline protease and neutral protease. They report in fact, that xanthan gum solutions cannot necessarily be made quartz-crystalline clear and there remains certain turbidity in the solutions. Thorough transparency is yet to be attained.
British Patent Application No. 8,132,564/1981 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 58-81792) teaches the use of acidic protease and neutral protease. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 797,093/1977 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 62-44918) teaches bringing a solution that results from protease treatment into contact with a siliceous solid matter and then removing cell bodies from an aqueous polymer solution. French Patent Application No. 8,110,403/1981 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 57-202303) proposes an enzymatic treatment using polysaccharase and protease. U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,734 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 63-287494) teaches combined use of a polygalacturonase-active enzyme and a protease-active enzyme. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 147,812/1980 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 57-5698) proposes the adoption of a composite enzyme having both .beta.-1,3-glucanase- and protease-activities. None of the proposed treatments with protease have however, proved satisfactorily effective.
Among other enzymatic processes so far proposed are the utilization of a nuclease-active enzyme according to British Patent Application No. 8,431,653/1984 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 61-146193) and the purification by the action of cellulase according to French Patent Application No. 8,021,395/1980 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 57-91194). They too have failed to be adequately effective.
Japanese Patent No. 1318520 (Japanese Patent Kokai No. 60-44919) introduces a treatment with the simultaneous addition of lysozyme, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase, and peptidase. These enzymes are known to be able to lyse cell walls, but they have only slight action directly on Gram-negative bacteria. Despite long treatment time required, their effect is disappointingly low.
As summarized above, there have been known methods for removing water-insoluble microbial residues and culture medium-derived undissolved matter, including the methods relying upon centrifugation or cake filtration or upon enzymatic treatment to make the undissolved matter soluble in water. With those methods, however, it has been difficult to obtain a xanthan gum fermented broth with a high degree of transparency.

Process of purifying xanthan gum using an alkaline protease and lysozyme


A semiconductor memory device comprises word lines, global bit lines intersecting with the word lines; local bit lines partitioned into N sections along the global bit lines and aligned with a same pitch as the global bit lines; N memory cell arrays each including memory cells formed at intersections of the word lines and the local bit lines and being arranged corresponding to the sections of the local bit lines; local sense amplifiers for amplifying a signal read out from a selected memory cell to the local bit line and for outputting the signal to the global bit line; global sense amplifiers for amplifying the signal transmitted from the local sense amplifier corresponding to the selected memory cell through the global bit line and for selectively coupling the signal to an external data line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device which rewritably stores data in a plurality of memory cells formed at intersections of a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines, and particularly relates to a semiconductor memory device in which a memory cell array having a hierarchical structure is configured with a unit including a predetermined number of local bit lines and one global bit line.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a general DRAM, there are provided a memory cell array including memory cells formed at intersections of bit lines and word lines, and a large number of sense amplifiers for amplifying data of the memory cells. In recent years, as the capacity of the DRAM becomes large, an extremely large number of memory cells are connected to each bit line, thereby causing performance problems due to an increase in parasitic capacitance and resistance of the bit line. Further, a configuration in which a large number of memory cells can be arranged in an extremely small area is desired. Under such a back ground, various configurations in which a memory cell array including a hierarchical structure of global bit lines and local bit lines partitioned into sections are proposed (e.g., see Patent References 1 to 4). By employing the memory cell array having such a hierarchical structures the memory cells can be arranged on the local bit line whose length is shorter than that of the global bit line, and a configuration advantageous for reducing parasitic capacitance and resistance can be achieved.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent No. 3521979
Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent No. 3529534
Patent Reference 3: Published Japanese Translation No. H10-512085
Patent Reference 4: Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-57761
In order to obtain the advantage of employing the local bit lines, it is desirable to use single-ended sense amplifiers instead of using differential sense amplifiers. Since the single-ended configuration reduces the circuit scale relative to the differential configuration, an increase in the entire area can be suppressed even when sections to which the local bit lines are partitioned are increased.
However, among the above configurations for the hierarchical memory cell array, Patent References 1 to 3 disclose that the sense amplifiers are not directly connected to the local bit lines while connected to the global bit line. As described above, when employing the single-ended sense amplifiers, it is difficult to amplify a minute potential difference, as different from using the differential sense amplifiers. On the other hand, in the configuration where a signal reaches the sense amplifier via both the local bit line and the global bit line, the length of the bit line becomes long and it becomes a problem that operating performance deteriorates due to the influence of the parasitic capacitance and resistance. Meanwhile, in the Patent Reference 4, there is disclosed a configuration in which sense amplifiers connected to local bit lines of a folded bit line structure. However, since memory cells are arranged only at half of intersections of word lines and local bit lines, it is difficult to improve the integration of the memory cell array. Further, this configuration requires the differential sense amplifier connected to a complementary pair of local bit lines, and thus the required area is increased.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A portable sink arranged for ease of transport and storage includes a central housing having respective lower and upper housings positioned on opposed sides of the central housing, wherein the upper housing includes a fluid reservoir structure arranged for orthogonal orientation relative to the central housing, with a faucet member permitting fluid flow therethrough upon pivoting of the faucet relative to a floor cavity within the upper housing floor. The lower housing includes an upper housing reservoir in communication with a sink within the central housing for storage and subsequent disposal of fluid within the lower housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to portable sink structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved portable sink apparatus wherein the same is arranged for compact storage and transport during periods of non-use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable sink structure of various types are available in the prior art and exemplified by the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,766,621 and 4,747,169.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for a modular sink construction permitting the individual components of the sink apparatus for separable assemblage relative to a central housing and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


An infrared imaging system having functionality for maintaining image quality in the presence of temperature drift of the system. Such functionality is applied repetitively to maintain image quality of a target scene, yet without continuous actuation of a shutter of the system. The functionality of the imaging system results from implementing an imager algorithm. In use, the imager algorithm functions with a calibration curve created for the imaging system, with the curve comprising a plot of system output versus target scene temperature.

As is known, infrared cameras generally employ a lens working with a corresponding infrared focal plane array (FPA) to provide an image of a view in a particular axis. The operation of such cameras is generally as follows. Infrared energy is accepted via infrared optics, including the lens, and directed onto the FPA of microbolometer infrared detector elements. Each detector element responds to the heat energy received by changing its resistance value. An infrared (or thermal) image can be formed by measuring the detector elements' resistances—via applying a voltage to the detector elements and measuring the resulting currents or applying current to the detector elements and measuring the resulting voltages. A frame of image data may, for example, be generated by scanning all the rows and columns of the FPA. A dynamic thermal image (i.e., a video representation) can be generated by repeatedly scanning the FPA to form successive frames of data, with such frames being produced at a rate sufficient to generate a video representation of the thermal image data.
Individual detector elements have unique response characteristics. These response characteristics are found to produce non-uniformities, which often result in fixed pattern noise. Many infrared cameras have functionality to correct for such noise. For example, some infrared cameras can automatically or manually perform offset compensation, which corrects for variations in the individual detector element responses by observing a uniform thermal scene (e.g., by placing a shutter between the optics and the array) and measuring offset correction data for each detector element which provides the desired uniform output response. These measured offset corrections are stored, then later applied in subsequent infrared measurements (e.g., with the shutter open) to correct for fixed pattern noise. Other compensations can also be applied, such as 2-point correction.
As is known, offset compensation functionality is found in most conventional infrared cameras because it leads to improved imaging capabilities. However, offset compensation can be an inconvenience to the user as it necessitates activation of the camera shutter, thereby "freezing" the camera image for a short period of time when the shutter is closed. Therefore, it is desirable to keep the period between offset compensations lengthy so as to limit the general inconvenience to the user of the camera, while still maintaining good image quality.
Temperature changes within or surrounding an infrared camera can be further found to result in the individual detector elements exhibiting their unique response characteristics. In particular, the change in temperature of the camera's internal components, e.g., due to self-heating or as the result of changes to the surrounding ambient temperature, leads to the individual detector elements exhibiting fixed pattern noise over extended lengths of time. For example, during initial powering of an infrared camera, the internal components can be found to continue to rise in temperature for a period of time before the camera becomes thermally stable. Because of this, offset compensation is often performed at an increased frequency during such period so as to maintain good image quality from the camera. Such increased frequency of offset compensation correspondingly results in an increased frequency of shutter actuation. Consequently, there is further inconvenience for the user as the shutter is closed more often during such period.
What are needed are apparatus and systematic methods to address or overcome one or more of the limitations briefly described above with respect to offset compensation functionality in infrared imaging systems.

Shutterless infrared imager algorithm with drift correction


An optical pickup includes a laser light source, an objective lens which focuses light emitted from the laser light source on an optical information storing medium, an optical path changer which changes a proceeding path of the light emitted from the laser light source, a polarization changer which changes the polarization of an incident light to make the polarization of light reflected by the optical information storing medium and reentering the laser light source different from that of the light emitted from the laser light source, so that noise generated due to interference by the light reflected by the optical information storing medium and reentering the laser light source is reduced, and a photodetector which receives incident light reflected by the optical information storing medium and sequentially passing through the objective lens and the optical path changer and detects an information signal and/or an error signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup, and more particularly, to an optical pickup which can reduce the generation of noise due to interference of light reflected by a recording medium and reentering a laser light source, and a polarization changer suitable for the optical pickup.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus using an optical pickup records by focusing a laser light used as a light source emitted from a laser diode that is used as a light source on a recording medium (i.e., an optical disc) by using an objective lens. During reproduction, the optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus detects information signals recorded on the optical disc by receiving light reflected by the optical disc and converting the light to electric signals.
The light reflected by the optical disc during recording or reproduction generates noise due to the interference of the light emitted from the laser diode at a light emitting point as the reflected light reenters the laser diode. Since a high optical power is needed for a high multiple speed, the noise increases. Thus, for high multiple speed, the light reflected by the optical disc which generates noise must be reduced.

Optical pickup reducing noise and polarization changer


An object of the invention is to provide a black toner that can satisfy further the requirement for low energy, high-speed and high performance, a color toner that can be used in an image forming apparatus provided with an oil-less fixation device, and a color toner including the black toner and the color toner. For the black toner, a polyester resin having an acid value of 7 to 20 mgKOH/g is used as the binding resin, and a carboxylic acid-modified paraffin wax having an acid value of 4 to 30 mgKOH/g is used as the wax. For the color toner, polyester resin having an acid value of 7 to 20 mgKOH/g is used as the binding resin, and a carboxylic acid-modified paraffin wax having an acid value of 6 to 25 mgKOH/g is used as the wax.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic toner. More specifically, the invention relates to a black toner for black and white printing and an electrophotographic toner for full color image formation used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copier or a laser printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an electrophotographic black-and-white forming apparatus has been used widely. Images are formed in an electrophotographic black-and-white forming apparatus by the processes of charging, exposure, development, transfer and fixation. First, in the charging process, the surface of an insulating photoreceptor is uniformly charged. In the exposure process, the surface of the photoreceptor is irradiated with light corresponding to image information so that a latent electrostatic image is formed thereon. In the development process, a black toner is adhered selectively to this latent electrostatic image so that a toner image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor. Then, in the transfer process, the toner image is transferred onto a transfer sheet by electric force. In the last process of fixation, the toner image transferred onto the transfer sheet is melted by heat so as to be fixed on the transfer sheet.
In this black and white forming apparatus, low energy (reduction in power consumption), high-speed of processing and high performance are required, as this apparatus is increasingly widely spread. With respect to these requirements, it has been proposed to achieve low energy, and high-speed, simplification and stabilization of processing for a fixation device for fixing a toner image in a transfer sheet. In general, as the fixation device, those employing heating rolls are used. The fixation device employing heating rolls includes a fixation roller having a built-in heater and a pressure roller. A transfer sheet is passed between the fixation roller and the pressure roller, and heat and pressure are applied to the transfer sheet so that a toner image is melted and fixed.
In such a fixation device, a black toner having a property of low temperature fixation that allows satisfactory fixation even at a low temperature and a wide fixation temperature region have been under development for low energy, and high-speed, simplification and stabilization of processing. Among these, regarding the property of low temperature fixation, there is an attempt to use a low molecular weight binding resin. In order to achieve a wide fixation temperature region, there is an attempt to use a wax that is melted out at a low temperature and prevents a toner from adhering to the fixation roller by covering the surface of the fixation roller.
However, when an image is formed by a black toner containing a low molecular weight binding resin, the high temperature offset phenomenon in which a toner adheres to a fixation roller during heat melting tends to occur readily. This is because in such a toner, cohesion between toner particles is reduced so that the toner layers are separated. Therefore, there is a demand for development of a good black toner that hardly allows the high temperature offset phenomenon.
Recently, the multicolor electrophotographic technique has been developed rapidly, and thus full color image forming apparatuses have been developed. The market of the full color image forming apparatuses has been enlarged with the wide spread of black and white image forming apparatuses. In general, for reproduction of color in the full color image forming apparatuses, a color toner having three colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), which are the three primary colors of subtractive mixture of colors, or a color toner having four colors of these three colors and black (K) is used. For procedure of reproduction of colors, with respect to each color of C, M, Y and K, the processes of charging, exposure, development and transfer of the image formation processes are repeated so that toner images formed of color toners of a plurality of colors are superimposed and formed on a transfer sheet. Then, in the last process of fixation, the superimposed toner images are melted so as to be fixed on the transfer sheet. By this procedure, the superimposed toner images are mixed by being melted, so that colors are reproduced based on the principle of the subtractive mixture of colors.
Thus, in the full color image forming apparatus, the processes from charging to transfer for each color are repeated, and toner images formed of color toners of a plurality of colors are superimposed on a transfer sheet, and therefore the melting characteristics of color toners with respect to the transfer sheet are very important. That is to say, the color toners should be melted to an extent that the boundaries between the toner particles are eliminated so that color reproduction is not prevented by diffused reflection of light by the fixed toner particles and should have a wide color reproduction range in which transparency can be provided. In addition, appropriate gloss and luster are required.
For the full color image forming apparatus, in a fixation device for fixing a toner image made of a color toner, a fixation roller made of a material having good surface releasing properties is used, and a large amount of oil is applied to the surface of the fixation roller in order to improve the releasing properties further. In general, a large amount of oil is applied to the fixation roller for the following reasons.
As described above, the melting characteristics of a color toner are important, so that the color toner is formed of a material having a lower viscosity and a larger thermal melting properties than those of a black toner for a black and white image forming apparatus. However, when a binding resin having a low viscosity is used for a toner, the cohesion of the toner is poor, so that the toner layers are separated, and the offset phenomenon in which the toner partially adheres to the fixation roller tends to occur readily, which results in non-uniformity in an image. In order to reduce the non-uniformity in an image, a large amount of oil is applied to the fixation roller.
However, when a large amount of oil is applied to the fixation roller, a transfer sheet may be soiled with oil, and the cost may increase. Furthermore, a space in which oil is stored is required, so that another problem is caused in that the structure of the color image forming apparatus becomes complicated or large.
In order to solve the above problems, a so-called "oil-less toner" is proposed. An "Oil-less toner" refer to a toner in which the occurrence of the high temperature offset phenomenon is reduced by a certain amount of wax that oozes from the toner particles and penetrates between the toner and the fixation roller during melting for fixation. With this oil-less toner, it is attempted to put into practice an oil-less fixation device that does not apply oil to the fixation roller, and thus the problems of soiling a transfer sheet with oil, increasing the cost and resulting in a complicated and large structure are being solved.
However, it is for a black and white image forming apparatus that it is attempted to put the oil-less fixation device into practice, and there is a problem in using the oil-less fixation device for a full color image forming apparatus. This is because when fixing color toners having a lower toner cohesion than that of the black toner with the oil-less fixation device, the offset phenomenon occurs and thus non-uniformity in the images occurs. Therefore, in order to fix color toners with the oil-less fixation device, it is necessary to adjust the amount of the wax that oozes out so that the effect of oozing the wax is sufficiently exhibited.
The amount of the wax that oozes from the toner depends on the compatibility between the binding resin and the wax contained in the toner. When the compatibility is too good, the binding resin and the wax are integrated, which makes it difficult that the wax oozes out. On the other hand, when the compatibility is poor, the wax is dispersed poorly in the toner particles so that the wax is present in the form of a large lump non-uniformly in the toner particles or on the surface thereof. This may deteriorate the charging characteristics, which are the characteristics of the toner, or generate filming to the photoreceptor or the carrier. Furthermore, during melting for fixation, because of this large lump, low viscous wax layers are generated in the toner and separation occurs in the toner layer, and thus the high temperature offset phenomenon tends to occur easily.
The techniques for improving the fixation properties of a toner are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 3-50560 (1991), JP-A 8-106173 (1996), JP-A 9-179342 (1997) and JP-A 2000-338707 (2000).
JP-A 3-50560 discloses a developing toner for an electrostatically charged image containing a paraffin wax that is modified with carboxylic acid or an acid anhydride thereof.
JP-A 8-106173 discloses a developing agent (toner) containing a binder resin (binding resin) having an acid value of 5 to 50 mgKOH/g made of a polyester resin or a mixture of a polyester resin and styrene-acrylic resin and two kinds of waxes having different melting points.
JP-A 9-179342 discloses an electrophotographic toner containing a natural gas7based Fischer-Tropsch wax having an acid value of 1 to 5 mgKOH/g and a polyester resin having an acid value of 1 to 5 mgKOH/g.
JP-A 2000-338707 discloses a developing toner for an electrostatically charged image containing an alcohol-based paraffin wax including a saturated hydrocarbon having 20 to 60 carbon atoms, having a melting point of 65 to 110° C., an acid value of 5 to 25 mgKOH/g, a saponification value of 20 to 50 mgKOH/g, and a hydroxyl value of 50 to 120 mgKOH/g.
As described above, regarding black toners, it is a challenge to develop a black toner that can satisfy the requirements of low energy, high-speed and high performance to a higher extent for an electrophotographic black-and-white image forming apparatus. Furthermore, regarding color toners, it is a challenge to develop a color toner that can be used in a full-color image forming apparatus provided with an oil-less fixation device.
That is, regarding black toners, it is necessary to develop a black toner having good fixation characteristics such as the property of low temperature fixation and a wide fixation temperature region. Regarding color toners, it is necessary to develop a color toner that has good fixation characteristics, can exhibit a good effect of oozing wax and has high transparency and good gloss properties.
In the developing toner for electrostatically charged images disclosed in JP-A 3-50560, a carboxylic acid-modified paraffin wax having better fixation strength and releasing properties than those of conventionally used polyethylene is used. However, the property of low temperature fixation or the effect of oozing the wax are not considered.
In the toner disclosed in JP-A 8-106173, the compatibility between the binding resin and the wax and the effect of oozing the wax are considered, and high speed fixation is aimed at. However, it is not considered to ensure a wide fixation temperature region.
In the electrophotographic toner disclosed in JP-A 9-179342, it is attempted to improve the property of low temperature fixation, the fixation strength and the compatibility with the binding resin by providing the Fischer-Tropsch wax with a polar group. However, it is not considered to ensure a wide fixation temperature region or the effect of oozing the wax.
In the developing toner for electrostatically charged images disclosed in JP-A 2000-338707, an appropriate compatibility with the binding resin and a wide fixation temperature region are ensured by allowing the toner to contain a predetermined alcohol based wax. However, the effect of oozing the wax is not considered.


An electrical enclosure for an electrical component includes a housing having a bus bar portion and an electrical component portion arranged to receive the electrical component. At least one shutter is moveably arranged between the bus bar portion and the electrical component portion. A shutter interlock is arranged in the electrical component portion. The shutter interlock is configured and disposed to prevent the at least one shutter from shifting from a closed position to an open position when the electrical component is absent from the electrical component portion of the housing.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of electrical enclosures and, more particularly, to an interlock system for a shutter that separates a bus bar portion from an electrical component portion of an electrical enclosure.
In general, a switchgear serves as an interface between an electrical supply and an electrical load. The switchgear is arranged in an enclosure that includes a line or busbar portion and a load or circuit breaker portion. The busbar portion includes one or more busbars that are connected to the electrical supply. The circuit breaker portion includes one or more circuit breakers that are electrically connected to the one or more busbars and an electrical load. The circuit breaker is configured to interrupt a flow of current from the one or more busbars to the electrical load in the event of an over-current condition, short circuit condition and/or an over/under voltage condition. Generally, the enclosure includes a shutter that separates the bus bar portion from the circuit breaker portion. When the circuit breaker is removed, the shutter closes off access to the bus bar portion from the circuit breaker portion.

Interlock system for a shutter separating a bus bar portion from an electrical component portion of an electrical enclosure


Provided are a latent curing agent that gives an epoxy resin composition with improved storage stability and low-temperature curability; and a curable epoxy resin composition prepared by mixing the said curing agent and an epoxy compound. The epoxy resin composition has improved storage stability, and cures at lower temperatures for a shorter period of time than conventional ones. The latent curing agent for epoxy resin comprises two components, (A) a radically polymerized polymer of a monomer having at least a polymerizable double bond, which has at least a tertiary amino group in the molecule, and (B) a polymer having at least a hydroxyl group in the molecule, and forms a solid solution that is solid at 25° C.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to latent curing agents for epoxy resin, and to a curable epoxy resin compositions which contain such an agent. More precisely, the present invention relates to latent, epoxy resin-curing agents that exhibit good storage stability and low-temperature rapid curability of epoxy resin compositions containing it, and relates to curable epoxy resin compositions which contain such an agent and exhibit good storage stability and low-temperature rapid curability. The present invention further relates to methods for preparing articles by curing such an epoxy resin composition and the articles thereby obtained.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recent remarkable developments in electronics have made it possible to greatly increase the degree of integration of semiconductor IC chips and have enabled mass-scale production of IC devices. With that, small-sized, thin and high-quality electronic appliances now enjoy great popularity. With the recent popularization of such electronic appliances, one important problem is how to increase the mass-scale productivity of the products and to lower the production costs thereof. Epoxy resin compositions are used as the adhesive for electronic appliances, and they require a latent, epoxy resin-curing agent. However, it is much desired to further improve the quality of the curing agent. Needless-to-say, however, the applications of epoxy resins are not limited to the electronic industry.
Epoxy resin compositions are grouped into two types. One type is a two-package composition in which the main component epoxy resin and a curing agent are mixed just before use, and the other type is a one-package composition in which the main component epoxy resin is previously mixed with a curing agent. The latter one-package composition is preferred for the reason that it is free from the problems associated with incorrect mixing of the constituent components and it is applicable to automation lines driven by machine. One-package epoxy resin compositions require a curing agent which does not react with an epoxy resin compound at room temperature but, when heated, starts to react with the epoxy compound to cure it. This type of curing agent is referred to as a latent curing agent.
Some latent curing agents for epoxy resin have been proposed. Typical examples are dicyandiamides, dibasic acid dihydrazides, boron trifluoride amine complexes, guanamines, melamines, and imidazoles. Epoxy resin compositions prepared by mixing any of dicyandiamides, melamines, or guanamines with an epoxy compound have good storage stability, however they require long term curing at a high temperature not lower than 150° C. Combining the composition with a cure accelerator to shorten the curing time is one general technique in the art. The cure accelerator is effective for shortening the curing time of epoxy resin compositions containing it, however its addition significantly reduces the storage stability of the compositions. Epoxy resin compositions containing a latent curing agent selected from a group consisting of dibasic acid dihydrazides and imidazoles can cure at relatively low temperatures, however their storage stability is not good. Boron trifluoride amine complexes are corrosive and have some negative influences on the properties of the cured products of epoxy resin compositions containing them. Under these circumstances, a latent curing agent for epoxy resin that produces epoxy resin compositions having good storage stability and low-temperature rapid curability is highly desired.
To solve the problems mentioned above, a curing agent of a dialkylamine adduct with an epoxy compound is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 155222/1981 and 100127/1982; and a curing agent of an aminoalcohol or an aminophenol adduct with an epoxy resin is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53526/1984. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,066,625 and 4,268,656 disclose a curing agent of an imidazole compound or an N-methylpiperazine with an epoxy compound added to its secondary amino group. However, the curing agents produced according to the methods disclosed are problematic in that, when they are added to epoxy resin compositions to improve the low-temperature curability of the compositions, they reduce the storage stability of the compositions and therefore shorten the shelf life or the pot life of adhesives and coating materials that contain the epoxy resin composition. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 296525/1991 discloses a one-package epoxy resin composition that contains a curing agent prepared through thermal reaction of an epoxide having more than one epoxy group on average in the molecule, an N,N-dialkylaminoalkylamine, a cyclic amine with an active hydrogen-containing nitrogen atom in the molecule, and a diisocyanate. However, the epoxy resin composition proposed in this publication is still unsatisfactory in view of its low-temperature curability and storage stability. Moreover, nothing is disclosed in these prior art references about to the curability of the composition at a temperature of 70° C. or lower.
Thus, there remains a need for improved latent curing agents for epoxy resin compositions which afford epoxy resin compositions which exhibit improved shelf or pot life and may be cured at low temperatures. There also remains a need for epoxy resin compositions which contain such a latent curing agent and for methods for preparing article by curing such an epoxy resin composition.

Latent curing agent for epoxy resin, and curable epoxy resin composition


In the neighborhood area X of the tongue part 27 forming the winding end part of the scroll part 3, the wall part members 31 are provided on both the sides of the welding part (the facing part) ‘a’ of the first scroll part 5 and the second scroll part 7, wherein: the wall part members 31 encloses the welding part (the facing part) ‘a’ and forms the gas-tight space 33; and, the outer circumference wall which enclose the facing part and forms a gas-tight space configure a double-wall structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turbine housing structure of a sheet metal structure, the turbine housing being used for a turbocharger which produces a turbocharged pressure for an engine by use of exhaust gas energy of the engine. The present invention especially relates to the turbine housing structure in which cracks and the like due to thermal stresses are prevented from occurring in a tongue part at a scroll winding end part.
2. Background of the Invention
Conventionally, turbochargers which enhance power output of an engine by supplying a pressurized air into the intake manifold of the engine by use of the exhaust gas energy discharged from the engine are known. When the turbocharger is mounted as a vehicle use, it is required to reduce the weight of the turbocharger especially in view of the tendency regarding fuel consumption improvement in recent years; thus, instead of the conventional turbine housing made by casting, turbine housings made of sheet metal have been used in recent years.
On the other hand, the turbine housing has the function of taking the engine exhaust gas in the housing and making the turbine rotor rotate. Consequently, the exhaust gas of the temperature level of 600 to 1050° C. streams into the turbine housing; a so-called tongue part, namely a gathering area of the gas flow inlet part of a circular shape in the turbine housing and the gas gathering part of the circulated gas flow end, is steeply heated up by the inlet gas flow and the gathering gas flow
When the tongue part is steeply heated up, a force constraining a thermal elongation is generated by the temperature difference between the tongue part and a neighborhood area thereof. Hence, compression thermal stresses are generated. And, there arises a problem that the repeated thermal stresses cause cracks attributable to thermal stresses.
Also in a case of a turbine housing made of sheet metal, there has been a problem that the cracks due to the repeated thermal stresses attributable to the rapid heating of the tongue part are caused. Consequently, it is necessary to use sheet metal of even thickness; further, it is necessary to use sheet metal of thin thickness so that the thermal stress is reduced to the level free from the damage due to the inner pressure.
In addition, as a conventional technology in the related field, the structure of the turbine housing made of sheet metal has been proposed by Patent Reference 1 (JP2008-57448) or Patent Reference 2 (JP_P2003-536009). Further, Patent Reference 3 (JP2002-194525) proposes a structure of the tongue part whose thickness is increased by forming a thick plasma coating in comparison with the areas other than the tongue part, in order to enhance wear resistance property of the tongue part.