A feeding apparatus comprises a frame being arranged to be supported to a suitable support structure, a stationary bowl member having an open bottom end being arranged to hold feed and a rotatable plate at the open bottom end of the bowl member. An adjustment mechanism being arranged for spacing the plate from the bottom end of the bowl member such that rotation of the plate releases the feed onto the plate for feeding.

Feeding of piglets in the farrowing crates is normally done in either round bowls or flat rectangular pans that are totally open on top and sit on the floor of the farrowing crate, unfastened or fastened in some way to the floor of the farrowing crate. This feeder usually is either full of urine/manure or spoiled feed that was urinated/dunged upon. With the feeder being on the floor some piglets like to sleep in the feeder and thereby also increase the feed wastage and problems associated with this type of creep feeder.


Apparatus for determining refractive aberrations of the eye of a patient includes an instrument housing having a light source for projecting a substantially focused beam of light at the back of the eye of a patient, said substantially focused beam acting as a secondary source for a return light path of a fonned outgoing wavefront exiting said eye. An electronic sensor is disposed along said light return path, said electronic sensor having a light detecting surface disposed perpendicular to said return light path, and at least one microoptics array disposed between the electronic sensor and the eye along said return light path. The microoptics array includes plurality of lenslets disposed in a plane perpendicular to said light return path and positioned relative to said electronic sensor so as to substantially focus incremental portions of the outgoing wavefront onto the light detecting surface such that the deviations in the positions of the substantially focused portions impinging on said light detecting surface can be measured so as to determine aberrations of said wavefront. Preferably, at least one pair of conjugate lenses is disposed along said return light path and positioned between said eye and the microoptics array, the lenses of said conjugate pair having unequal focal lengths to allow the device to be used at an effective working distance from a patient

It is known that the eye receives light which is ideally focused onto the retina through the cumulative convergence provided by the cornea, the lens, and fluids on the eyeball. Refractive errors affect the focus point of the light such that for nearsighted (myopic) people, the focus falls short of the retina allowing images close to the eye to be clearly viewed while blurring images at a distance. Conversely, farsightedness (hyperopic) also fails to provide a focus. Refractometry allows correction via lenses to affect changes due to hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism, among others.
In certain populations, detection of refractive errors can be performed to prevent irreversible loss of vision. In preschool children, a malady known as amblyopia, otherwise known as "lazy eye", is particularly important. Approximately 5 percent of all children are either born with or develop a form of this malady. As an untreated child having this malady becomes older, neural development in the brain tends to permanently suppress vision in the diseased eye. This prevents proper binocular vision in the child, with this impairment becoming irreversible after about seven years of age. Current medical academy guidelines suggest diagnosis and detection should be made as early as possible, and suggest physicians target the age of three as the proper screening age. A critical aspect to this screening is measurement of the refractive state of the patient's eyes for comparison to known standards.
Photorefractors are known devices which use the red reflex produced by the eye as a method for determining refractive error. These devices produce a flash, either on or off axis with a peephole, and record the resulting reflex which is reflected from the retina. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,968, issued to Freedman, discloses a small slit aperture and a light source positioned 0.5 mm from the slit aperture. In use, a photograph is taken of the red reflex of a single subject which appears at the aperture when the light source is flashed. A second photograph is taken with the slit aperture and light source rotated 90 degrees from a position used to take the first photograph. Examination of the shape and intensity of the red reflexes which appear in these photographs allows a trained user to detect whether a large refractive error is present.
The primary problem with this device in serving the screening needs of small children is that the interpretation of the result (a photograph) is both time consuming and subjective, making diagnosis impractical on a real time basis. The interpretation consists of identifying the presence of a "defect", but does not provide quantitative information concerning the refractive state, therefore making it difficult to diagnose children or others whose condition is marginal. The device suffers from a "dead zone" which is a refractive range, close to zero diopters, in which no reading is produced. This prevents measurement of a percentage of the target population. In addition, the device also falls short of being compact and held in a single hand during use, as is desirable in the field for screening applications. Another problem with the instant device is that it does not perform effectively on patients having smaller pupils. This prevents a segment of children from being measured in a normal screening environment.
Variations of these devices include CCD camera-based systems. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,282, issued to Hay, there is a described method of automatically analyzing the intensity levels of the retinal reflection from a subject's eyes to determine whether pathologic conditions are present. If implemented by a data processor, this method addresses the real time problems confronted by the device of Freedman. However, the problems of "dead zone", lack of quantitative results, compactness of the size of the instrument employing this method, and the requirement for large pupil size are not addressed.
There are known autorefractors which can determine, quantitatively, to a limited extent, refractive differences between the ideal and an aberrative eye.
In known devices, such as manufactured by Nikon, the device requires a number of moving optical elements in order to null the patient's refractive error to obtain a reading. This nulling increases the refractive range which can be measured at the expense of test time and accuracy within the range. These commercial autorefractors require very short working distances to achieve measurement.
Therefore, a problem which exists concerns the adaptability of such apparatus. Typically, young children are distressed when presented with diagnostic instruments close to their face. This makes devices, such as the "Retinomax" manufactured by Nikon, for example, unusable on many children. In children which will tolerate such a device, the close proximity of the instrument causes accommodation, which tends to make the readings less accurate. The refractive state of an eye depends on what the patient is focusing on. For example, when a patient focuses on a near object, his or her refractive state would appear to be near sighted (myopic), even though the patient may not be. The refractive state which is of interest for screening, as well as for prescribing corrective lenses is the refractive state when the patients eye is relaxed and he or she is focused at a distance. Ideally, this distance is infinity, but in practice, it varies from 20 feet to 6 feet for acuity tests, and approximately 65 cm in retinoscopy evaluations.
Adult patients can be instructed to look at a distant object, such as a chart on a wall, even though objects or people may be closer to them. However, the natural instinct of children is to focus on the closest object which in the screening environment is typically the practitioner or the device. Consequently, the closer the device is to a child patient, the more he or she will accommodate, and the more erroneously myopic the refractive measurement will be compared to the true value. The moving optical elements make the time required for examination longer, which is also less suitable for the low attention span of young children. It is also desirable to achieve higher refractive assessment accuracy in the specific ranges for target populations. For example, American children typically have refractive errors in the range of -1 Diopters to +4 Diopters at age three. Adults are more typically myopic and average approximately -3 Diopters (+1 Diopters to -5 Diopters typically).


A thermomorphic pressure sensitive adhesive is provided. The adhesive includes a continuous crystalline polymer component and a discrete crosslinked elastomeric polymer component. The pressure sensitive adhesive has at least one distinct crystalline melting point and is capable of transitioning between a secondary shape and a primary shape upon an increase in temperature.

"Smart" materials include shape memory alloys, piezoelectric ceramics, polymer gels, and electrorheological fluids. These materials respond in some desired way to a change in temperature, pH, moisture, electric or magnetic fields, or some other factor. For example, polymer gels change size and shape in response to a stimulus and thereby convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. Colloidal suspensions change from a free-flowing liquid to a gel in response to electric or magnetic fields. Elastomeric composites change modulus (i.e., resistance to deformation) by applying a magnetic field. That is, molded elastomeric matrices having magnetic particles embedded therein increase in resistance to deformation when subjected to compressive or shear forces. Such elastomeric composites could be used to isolate or absorb vibrations.
New materials that respond intelligently to changes in temperature or moisture have also been developed. For example, polyethylene glycols bonded to various fibrous materials such as cotton and polyester possess the intelligent properties of thermal adaptability and reversible shrinkage. Thermal adaptability involves imparting a "thermal memory" to a material such that when the temperature rises, the material cools off, whereas when the temperature drops, the material warms up. Such thermally adaptable materials could be used for biomedical products for body-temperature regulation and burn therapy. Reversible shrinkage involves imparting a "dimensional memory" to the material such that when the material is exposed to a liquid (e.g., water) it shrinks in area. Such materials could be used for pressure bandages that contract when exposed to blood, for example, thereby putting pressure on a wound.
Polymers and polymer surfaces have been modified to change their characteristics in response to external stimuli, such as pH. Such responsive surfaces could be important for imparting adhesion, printability, coatability, and biocompatibility to plastics. Memory shape polymers have been widely used in the packaging industry. Most of these materials are crosslinked semicrystalline materials that when heated shrink or deform from a metastable state to a stable one.
Thus, although "smart" materials are constantly being developed to make materials more responsive to external stimuli, more and more such materials are needed for a wide variety of applications. One such material that would be useful would be a "smart" pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). PSAs having a nonplanar or structured surface are known, however, the structure created, either by coating particles or by microreplication techniques, remains through the life of the PSA without predetermined changes. Thus, it would be desirable to have a PSA with the ability to change shapes (e.g., surface structure) on demand with an increase in temperature to increase their breadth of applications. A PSA with these characteristics could be called a thermomorphic PSA, the shape or structure of which could be changed on demand.

Thermomorphic "smart" pressure sensitive adhesives

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A high-pressure fuel pump (10) used in a fuel system includes an electric motor (14) having a drive shaft (16) to which is attached a pumping element (18). A fuel inlet passage allows low-pressure fuel to be drawn into the pump, and a fuel outlet passage (24) allows high-pressure fuel to be pumped to an internal combustion engine (E). A check valve assembly (30) is installed in the outlet passage and includes a check valve (36) which, when the pump is off, blocks an inlet (38) into the outlet passage to prevent fuel flow through the passage and into the pump resulting in a decrease in pressure in the fuel system. When the pump is operating, the check valve is forced away from the inlet to open the valve and allow fuel to freely flow through the passage. The fuel flows both around and through the check valve as it flows through the outlet passage. A retainer (32) seats against a shoulder adjacent an outlet end (44) of the outlet passage, and a spring (34) has one end which seats against the retainer and the other end of which seats against a base of the check valve. Flow of fuel around and through the check valve, when the valve is open, enables quiet operation of the check valve so when the pump is operating, there is no discernible noise or chattering from the check valve.

This invention relates to electric fuel pumps, and more particularly to an improved check valve for such pumps which eliminates noise or chattering in the pump and reduces warranty returns caused by complaints of such chattering or noise.
As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 1, in one type of prior art electric fuel pump construction, a check valve V is installed in a fuel pump to prevent backflow of fuel into the pump and maintain the pressure in the fuel system of which the pump is a component. As shown in the FIG., the check valve includes a hemispherically shaped valve member B attached to a pintle or stem P for reciprocal movement through an outlet passage O of the pump. A spring S encloses the pintle and the resultant assembly is installed in the outlet of the pump during its fabrication. When the pump is in operation, the pintle is forced away from its seat and fuel flows around a sealing surface of the pintle and out of the pump. Ideally, fluid flow around the pintle stabilizes the pintle and keeps it relatively stationary due to the equalized forces surrounding it. In actuality, this does not happen. Rather, the forces are not equal for a variety of reasons and the result is that the pintle fluctuates from side-to-side in the outlet, producing a discernible noise or chatter.
A different prior art construction is shown in FIG. 2. Here, a check valve V′ installed in the outlet passage O′ of a fuel pump, comprises a ball and a spring S′. A seat Y is pressed into the inlet end of the outlet for the ball to seat against and seal the passage. When the pump is running, the ball is forced away from its seat against the force of the spring, and fuel flows around the ball, through the passage, and out of the pump. When the pump is shut off, the spring and fuel system pressure forces the ball back against its seat preventing backflow of fuel into the pump while maintaining fuel system pressure. As with the prior art check valve of FIG. 1, during pump operation, the ball member fluctuates about in the passage, again producing a discernible noise or chatter.
People driving vehicles in which one of these prior art fuel pumps is installed often attribute the valve related noise to a malfunctioning of the pump and seek replacement of the pump. This results in a warranty return that requires the pump manufacturer to replace the pump, usually at no cost to the vehicle manufacturer, and so increases the cost of the pump to the manufacturer.


A system reduces unwanted oscillations in a multiple gigabit per second, high gain amplifier portion. The system includes a power source portion having a plurality of power sources and a bias current portion having a plurality of bias current devices. The system also includes an amplification portion having a plurality of amplifiers. A first group of the plurality of amplifiers is coupled to the power source portion and the bias current portion, such that feedback voltage is substantially eliminated to substantially eliminate oscillations in the amplification portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system that reduces unwanted oscillations in high speed (e.g., 10 GHz baud rates), high gain or high transimpedance amplifiers that are located in integrated circuits (ICs).
2. Background Art
Transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) and limiting amplifiers (LAs) are used in optical receivers as front end stages to convert photodetector signal currents to voltage output, which is then fed to a clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit. For high speed (e.g., implementation at 10 GHz baud rate) designs, getting high values of gains and transimpedance (e.g., about 45 dB of transimpedance, about 60 dB of gain, so net transimpedance of about 105 dB) at these signal frequencies in a single integrated circuit chip exposes the chip to phenomenal risk of unwanted oscillations through several parasitic mechanisms.
Therefore, what is needed is an amplifier portion on an IC chip that substantially reduces all parasitic feedback coupling paths, thus substantially reduces all unwanted oscillations. This will reduce adverse effects on the input signal caused by the unwanted oscillations, such that the input signal is not drowned out by voltage along the coupling feedback paths.

Method to reduce unwanted oscillations in high speed, high gain or transimpedance amplifiers


A diagnostic imaging system and method using multiple types of imaging detectors are provided. The imaging system includes a gantry having a rotor and a stator and a pair of gamma detectors coupled to the rotor. The imaging system further includes a gamma detector coupled to the stator. The gamma detector coupled to the stator is different than the pair of gamma detectors coupled to the rotor.

This subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to diagnostic imaging systems, and more particularly to Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging systems with multiple detectors on a gantry.
In NM imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are taken internally and then detectors (e.g., gamma cameras), typically mounted on a gantry, capture and form images from the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceuticals. The NM images primarily show physiological function of, for example, a patient or a portion of a patient being imaged.
In some types of scans, such as when scanning the whole body or with large patients, the portion of the patient being imaged may require the entire field of view of a conventional large size imaging detector. However, when imaging a structure that is smaller than the field of view of the imaging detector, such as the heart, liver, kidney, brain, breast or a tumor, portions of the imaging detector will acquire patient data outside of the structure of interest. Therefore, an effective sensitivity is decreased that is unrelated to collimator geometrical sensitivity, but results from the opportunity lost by not collecting useful information.
Many types of scans also require imaging from a number of axial positions around the patient. For example, conventional imaging detectors often acquire data while being rotated by a gantry around at least a portion of the patient, such as 180 degrees and up to 360 degrees, to obtain sufficient data of the structure for volumetric imaging and processing. This is a time consuming imaging process, particularly for organ specific imaging, which thereby limits patient throughput.

Diagnostic imaging system and method using multiple types of imaging detectors


A steering unit for a small watercraft, which can positively prevent jolting of a steering shaft relative to a bearing section for allowing smooth rotation of the steering shaft, and makes for improving the installing characteristic of the steering shaft and a collar into the bearing section. A steering shaft is rotatably supported with respect to a watercraft body through a cylindrical bearing section in which the steering shaft is inserted. A plurality of ribs are provided around an inner surface of the cylindrical bearing section and extend in an axial direction of the steering shaft. The steering shaft is rotatably supported by the bearing section with a collar, formed from an elastic material, being provided interposedly between the ribs and an outer surface of the steering shaft. The cylindrical bearing section includes at least three or more ribs are provided.

A steering unit for a small watercraft is known wherein a steering shaft (41) is rotatably supported with respect to a watercraft body (11) by a cylindrical bearing section (57) in which the steering shaft (41) is inserted. See, for example, JP-A No. 2003-137173.
The small watercraft is often used on the sea, so that the steering shaft (41) and the bearing section (57) are formed of synthetic resin from the viewpoint of anticorrosion.
Moreover, collars (57a, 57b) are provided interposedly between the steering shaft (41) and the bearing section (57) at an upper and lower portion of the bearing section (57).
Although the JP-A No. 2003-137173 does not describe the material of the collars (57a, 57b), it is desirable from the viewpoint of anticorrosion that the collars are formed of synthetic resin.
Moreover, the steering shaft (41) and the bearing section (57) are made of synthetic resin and their dimensional precisions are not always high, so that in order to prevent jolting of the steering shaft relative to the bearing, it is desirable that the collars are made from elastic materials such as rubber or the like for absorbs the jolting.
However, if a collar is formed from elastic materials, the following problems occur with respect to the steering unit for the small watercraft.
If the thicknesses of the collars formed from the elastic materials are made thick in order to positively prevent the jolting of the steering shaft relative to the bearing section, the steering shaft becomes a condition in which it is pushed by substantially the entire inner surfaces of the collars, so that rotation of the steering shaft becomes slow. Moreover, the inserting operation for pushing the steering shaft and the collars into the bearing section becomes very difficult.
Conversely, if the thicknesses of the collars are made rather thin in order that the steering shaft can be smoothly rotated and the inserting operation of the steering shaft and the collars into the bearing section can be easily performed, a problem occurs wherein the jolting of the steering shaft relative to the bearing section is easy to occur.


A hard start capacitor replacement unit includes a capacitor container having a cover, a plurality of capacitors received within the container, each of said capacitors having a capacitance value, a common terminal mounted on the cover and electrically connected to a common terminal of each of said plurality of capacitors, a plurality of cover terminals mounted on the cover spaced apart from the common terminal and from each other, each cover terminal respectively electrically connected to one of the plurality of capacitors, a relay having contacts and being capable of opening and closing said contacts in response to a monitored condition of the motor, the relay having relay terminals, a fuse electrically connected to one of the relay terminals by a first wire wherein the fuse electrically disconnects the hard start capacitor replacement unit and the motor upon a failure, and a second wire electrically connecting one of the relay terminals and the motor, a third wire electrically connecting the common terminal and one of the relay terminals, a fourth wire electrically connecting one or more cover terminals to one of the relay terminals, wherein the contacts of the relay close to electrically connect one or more capacitors of the plurality of capacitors to the motor, and the contacts of the relay open to electrically disconnect the one or more capacitors of the plurality of capacitors from the motor.

Single phase induction motors of the type commonly used with air conditioner and cooling equipment compressors generally require some type of auxiliary start capacitor for starting the motor. A start capacitor, also sometimes referred to as a "hard start capacitor," is connected for a short period of time to start the motor, and the start capacitor is disconnected from the motor near or at the time the motor achieves its run speed. This time is generally on the order of 50-100 milliseconds. The start capacitor can be wired in series with contacts for disconnecting it. The contacts can be a part of a relay (e.g., a potential relay, a control relay, an electronic relay, etc.).
If the start capacitor or the relay controlling it fails, replacing the start capacitor and control relay is needed, and this generally is accomplished at the site of the motor. For air conditioners and other cooling equipment, this site could be a home, an office, a warehouse or factory, store, or any other building. This complicates the task of replacing the start capacitor and its connecting relay, in that a wide variety of brands and sizes of air conditioning and cooling units are in use, and these units use start capacitors having a variety of capacitances. Therefore, unless a repairman has a replacement hard start kit available with the correctly sized start capacitor, the repairman cannot complete repair without returning to a shop or parts distributor that has an inventory of hard start capacitor replacement parts.
Having to return to a shop or parts distributor in order to obtain the necessary materials to complete a repair is inefficient and time consuming and also delays the time that the customer's cooling system can be returned to operation.
Therefore, it would be advantageous if a repairman could carry one hard start replacement unit that is adaptable to many air conditioning units, cooling units, or other equipment utilizing single phase motors requiring a start capacitor, so that the repairman could adapt the hard start replacement unit to the requirements at hand and complete the repair in a timely manner.

Hard start kit for multiple replacement applications


A system and method for detecting the presence of contaminants in supercritical fluid. The system is based upon the use of an absorbent module comprising an absorbent which selectively absorbs the contaminant being measured and wherein the electrical properties (i.e. conductance and/or capacitance) of the absorbent varies depending upon the amount of contaminant absorbed. A sample stream of the supercritical fluid is contacted with the absorbent material. By measuring the electrical properties of the absorbent, contaminant levels are measured and monitored.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the use of dense phase gases for cleaning and extracting materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of conductance and/or capacitance measurements to detect the presence of contaminants in such dense phase gases and to monitor the amount of contaminants present in the dense fluids as the cleaning or extraction process progresses.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional solvent-aided cleaning processes are currently under severe scrutiny due to problems with air pollution and ozone depletion. In addition, recent environmental concerns mandate that many of the organic solvents used in these processes be banned or their use severely limited. The use of dense phase gases for cleaning a wide variety of materials has been under investigation as an alternative to the above-mentioned solvent based cleaning processes. A dense phase gas is a gas compressed under either supercritical or subcritical conditions to liquid-like densities. These dense phase gases are also referred to as dense fluids. Unlike organic solvents, such as n-hexane, or 1,1,1-trichloromethane, dense phase gas solvents exhibit unique physical properties such as low surface tension, low viscosity, high diffusivity and variable solute carrying capacity.
The solvent properties of compressed gases are well known, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,040, assigned to the present assignee. In the late 1800's, Hannay and Hogarth found that inorganic salts could be dissolved in supercritical ethanol and ether (J. B. Hannay and H. Hogarth, J.Prof.Rov.Soc. (London, 29, p.324, 1897). By the early 1900's, Buchner discovered that the solubility of organics such as naphthalene and phenols in supercritical carbon dioxide increased with pressure (E. A. Buchner, Z.Physik.Chem., 54, p. 665, 1906). Within forty years Francis had established a large solubility database for liquified carbon dioxide which showed that many organic compounds were completely miscible (A. W. Francis, J.Phys.Chem., 58, p. 1099, 1954).
In the 1960's there was much research and use of dense gases in the area of chromatography. Supercritical fluids (SCF) were used as the mobile phase in separating non-volatile chemicals (S. R. Springston and M. Novotny, "Kinetic Optimization of Capillary Supercritical Chromatography using Carbon Dioxide as the Mobile Phase", CHROMATOGRAPHIA, Vol. 14, No. 12, p. 679, December 1981). Today the environmental risks and costs associated with conventional solvent-aided separation processes require industry to develop safer and more cost-effective alternatives.
The volume of current literature on solvent-aided separation processes using dense phase carbon dioxide as a solvent is evidence of the extent of industrial research and development in the field. Documented industrial applications utilizing dense fluid cleaning include extraction of oil from soybeans (J. P. Friedrich and G. R. List and A. J. Heakin, "Petroleum-Free Extracts of Oil from Soybeans", JAOCS, Vol. 59, No. 7, July 1982), decaffination of coffee (C. Grimmett, Chem.Ind., Vol. 6, p. 228, 1981), extraction of pyridines from coal (T. G. Squires, et al., "Supercritical Solvents. Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Retained Pyridine from Pyridine Extracts of Coal", FUEL, Vol. 61, November 1982), extraction of flavorants from hops (R. Vollbrecht, "Extraction of Hops with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide", Chemistry and Industry, 19 Jun. 1982), and regenerating absorbents (activated carbon) (M. Modell, "Process for Regenerating Adsorbents with Supercritical Fluids", U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,528, issued 7 Nov. 1978).
Electro-optical devices, lasers and spacecraft assemblies are fabricated from many different types of materials having various internal/external geometrical structures which are generally contaminated with more than one type of contamination. These highly complex and delicate systems are generally classified together as "complex hardware". Conventional cleaning techniques for removing contamination from such complex hardware requires that the hardware be continually cleaned during assembly. The use of supercritical fluids, such as carbon dioxide is particularly well-suited for cleaning such complex hardware.
Supercritical fluid cleaning systems operate at high temperatures and pressures. As a result, real time monitoring of the cleaning process is difficult. In current systems, parts and materials are cleaned or extracted for a period of time and then removed and tested for cleanliness. If the part is still contaminated, it must be reintroduced into the system and recleaned. In order to avoid having to reclean numerous parts, the parts are typically left in the system much longer than necessary to insure adequate cleanliness. This, of course, results in a great deal of unnecessary cleaning, waste of time, and increased costs.
It would be desirable to provide a system for monitoring supercritical fluid cleaning systems to determine when the particular part has been completely cleaned or when the extraction of desired materials has been completed. Such a monitoring system should be simple, efficient and capable of being used to detect a wide variety of contaminants and to monitor a wide variety of cleaning/extraction processes utilizing supercritical fluids.
In addition, minor changes in process parameters can affect the quality of a cleaning or extraction procedure utilizing supercritical fluids. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a process for conveniently, quickly and easily measuring the effectiveness of a cleaning and/or extraction procedure. In this way, various process parameters may be rapidly altered to establish the optimum cleaning/extraction conditions. The use of a monitoring system to provide a real-time indication of the degree of cleanliness or extraction in a particular procedure will be helpful in optimizing such procedures.

Supercritical fluid contamination monitor


An automatic brake for vehicle winch that is automatically applied when the applied torque of the drive motor ceases and automatically released upon application of motor torque. The brake features brake pad segments that move radially outward against the interior of the drum to affect braking and retract radially inward to affect releasing of the brake. The pads have tapered ends that mate with opposed frusto-conical shoes. The brake utilizes rotation of a cam rotatable with respect to a cam follower in one direction to force one shoe toward the other to force the pads radially outward to engage the interior surface of the drum. Rotation of the cam with respect to the cam follower in the opposite direction releases the braking action. A wave spring is incorporated to eliminate chatter as the brake is applied and released. The configuration of the brake components provides a conductive path for the dissipation of heat generated by the braking action.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a brake mechanism for a winch having particular application to a winch for controlling the unwinding play out of the winch cable with the cable under unwinding induced load tension.
2. Background of the Invention
The type of winch as particularly contemplated herein is a winch mounted to the front bumper of a vehicle, specifically, a vehicle that has four-wheel drive and is driven on off road terrain. The winch includes a rotatable drum, a cable wound onto and off of the drum, and a motor and brake mechanism that controls the drum rotation.
Such a winch will be used to pull the vehicle up steep hills through mud and snow and for lowering the vehicle down steep slopes. Lowering a vehicle down a steep slope, in particular, creates a braking problem for the winch to which the present invention is directed.
A heavy weight or force pulls against the cable and urges unwinding of the cable from the drum. The drum can be locked against rotation to prevent unwinding quite satisfactorily with a number of brake designs. However, if the cable is to be controllably played off the winch, e.g., when lowering a vehicle down a slope, the braking action is that of controllably resisting or slowing the drum rotation in order to maintain control over the play out. In brake systems that are known, the application of such controlled resistive (as differentiated from preventive) braking action generates excessive heat, creates rapid wear, and results in early brake failure.


Cored wire is spirally wound on a storage reel with fixed space between each spiral in a given layer. Alternate layers are wound across the preceding layer in the same manner until the reel is full.

The present invention pertains to storing elongated cored wire on a spool and in particular a method for winding the cored wire onto the spool.
Cored wires, in particular a calcium core surrounded by a steel sheath, has found wide application in the melting of ferrous metals. The cored wire is used to introduce calcium into the molten ferrous metal after being tapped from a furnace, in order to reduce unwanted elements such as sulfur and oxygen in the molten bath. A detailed discussion of the overall process is contained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,032 the specification of which is incorporated in herein by reference.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,800 there is a discussion of the method of using cored wire and an illustration of the method for storing the cored wire on a reel or spool which is prepared by the manufacturer of the cored wire and then transported to the users location. In conventional practice the cored wire is level wound on the storage reel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,261 discloses a device for injecting the wire into the molten bath as the cored wire is removed or payed off of the storage and transport spool (reel).
One of the problems associated with using a level wound cored wire configuration is that the wire must be carefully wound onto the reel. Another problem results in the fact that with the level winding configuration the cored wire is difficult to remove from the storage reel.

Method for storing and dispensing cored wire


A method for determining a backflow of a substance along a track of a delivery device includes: a) obtaining parameters that influence the flow of the fluid or substance; b) acquiring information about delivery data; and c) computing the backflow along the delivery device using the information in steps a) and b).

Devices to deliver a substance, such as injection or infusion devices, are known in the art and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,720 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,579 B1.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,803 B1 discloses the modeling of material in an organism by a uniformly structured field of static constants. US 2002/0114780 A1 discloses a method of increasing the volume of distribution of a therapeutic agent in a tissue in a subject during localized delivery.

Method and apparatus for determining a backflow of a substance


A power supply unit having: transformer (2) with primary winding (2p) connected to D.C. power supply (1); switching element (3) connected to the primary winding (2p) of the transformer (2); forward controller (4) for controlling the switching element (3); rectifier element (5), choke coil (7), switching element (19) and smoothing circuit (8), all connected in series between secondary winding of the transformers (2) and output terminal (9); rectifier element (6) connected in parallel with the rectifier element (5) and the secondary winding; and switching element (21) and smoothing circuit (22) connected in series between an output terminal of the rectifier elements (5) and output terminal 24. The forward controller (4) controls the switching element (3) responsive to an output voltage of the smoothing circuit (8). Divider control circuit (23) controls the switching element (21) responsive to an output voltage of the smoothing circuit (22).

The present invention relates to a power supply unit used for electronic apparatus such as office automation equipment of various kinds. The invention also relates to an electronic apparatus using the same.
A conventional power supply unit is shown in FIG. 12.
As shown in FIG. 12, primary winding 2p of transformer 2 is connected to D.C. power supply 1. The primary winding 2p is also connected with switching element 3 and forward controller 4 for controlling the switching element 3. The forward controller 4 has forward control circuit 4a and voltage comparator 4b. Output terminal 9 is connected to secondary winding 2s of the transformer 2 through rectifier element 5, choke coil 7, and smoothing circuit 8. Another rectifier element 6, one end of which is grounded, is connected to a point of connection between the rectifier element 5 and the choke coil 7. A structure described above is an example of so-called forward-type power supply unit. A supply of 24 volts, for instance, is obtained from the output terminal 9.
In order to obtain another output from the above-described forward-type power supply unit, chopper power supply unit 12 is connected to a point of connection between the choke coil 7 and the smoothing circuit 8 through smoothing means comprised of choke coil 10 and capacitor 11. A voltage of 5 volts, for instance, is output from output terminal 17. This chopper power supply unit comprises switching element 13, rectifier element 14, choke coil 15, smoothing circuit 16, and chopper control circuit 18.
In other words, electric power is supplied to the chopper power supply unit 12 from the point of connection between the choke coil 7 and the smoothing circuit 8 of the forward-type power supply unit through the smoothing circuit comprised of the choke coil 10 and the capacitor 11. The chopper power supply unit 12 carries outs voltage conversion by chopping and controlling current that flows into the choke coil 15 with the switching element 13. As a result, it can supply electric power of several amperes or more at 5 volts from the output terminal 17.
As described above, the conventional power supply unit requires the choke coil 15 for converting voltage, and the choke coil 10 and the capacitor 11 for smoothing the voltage. That is, in order to make voltage-current conversion of the D.C. voltage efficiently, the chopper power supply unit 12 controls a conducting period of the switching element to regulate the current flowed to the choke coil 15, and outputs the converted voltage to the output terminal 17. The choke coil 15 is needed for this purpose.
Moreover, there occurs a ripple voltage in the output terminal 9, because a switching cycle of the switching element 13 does not synchronize with the forward-type power supply. The choke coil 10 and the capacitor 11 are therefore necessary to prevent it. In order to satisfy the required characteristic, it is imperative for these choke coils 10 and 15 to be considerably large in size. This is one of the reasons that make difficult to downsize and lighten the power supply unit and electronic apparatuses using the same.
The present invention is devised in consideration of the foregoing aspect, and it aims to reduce size and weight of power supply unit and electronic apparatus.
To achieve the above object, a power supply unit of this invention comprises:
a transformer having a primary winding connected in series to a D.C. power supply;
a first switching element having a control terminal and connected in the series to the primary winding;
a first rectifier element connected in series to a secondary winding of the transformer;
a choke coil connected in series to the first rectifier element;
a second switching element connected in series to the choke coil;
a first smoothing circuit connected in series to the second switching element;
a control circuit being input with an output voltage of the first smoothing circuit, for controlling the first switching element;
a second rectifier element connected in parallel with the first rectifier element and the secondary winding;
a third switching element connected in series to the choke coil;
a second smoothing circuit connected in series to the third switching element; and
a divider control circuit having a first input terminal being input with any of an input voltage and an output voltage of the second smoothing circuit, for controlling a conducting period of the third switching element responsive to the voltage being input.
An electronic apparatus of this invention comprises the power supply unit described above, a load device (e.g. an actuator), and a controller for the load device, wherein the first smoothing circuit supplies electric power to the load device, and the second smoothing circuit supplies electric power to the controller for controlling the load device.

Power supply unit having reduced size and weight and an electronic apparatus using the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A device (10) is provided for handling workpieces, in particular vehicle chassis (22) of modular construction, and having a first module with a handling line (12) in turn having one or several handling regions (14) for surface handling of the workpieces (22), and a guide device (44) along the handling line (12). A second module has one or several carriages (20b) to which the workpieces (22) may be fixed and moved along the guide device (44). Various types of second module may be combined with the first module to achieve various configurations of the whole device (10) with regard to throughput and flexibility.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device and method for handling workpieces, in particular vehicle chassis.
Such a system comprises a handling line having a plurality of successive handling regions in which the workpieces are introduced for surface treatment.
A handling region may, for example, be an immersion tank containing a treatment fluid, but the term handling region may be defined as any kind of booth or tank whenever a workpiece undergoes treatment therein. Such treatment may include, for example, a washing operation. Other examples include immersion phosphating, pre-treatment for immersion coating, powder coating, wet-paint coating and the like.
2. Prior Art
Previously known devices for the surface treatment of workpieces such as vehicle chassis in immersion baths or treatment booths are divided into continuously conveying devices and discontinuously conveying devices.
In the case of continuously conveying systems, the chassis are fastened inside suspension gear and a chain drive is used to convey them along the handling line, lower them into the immersion baths, convey them through the immersion baths and lift them out of the immersion baths again. A continuously conveying system for the surface treatment of vehicle chassis is described in DE 196 41 048 A1. In this device, the vehicle chassis are each held by rotary frames that are moved a fixed distance apart from one another at a uniform speed with the aid of a common conveying means above a plurality of treatment tanks. The vehicle chassis are introduced into and removed from the immersion baths by means of a selective rotational movement that can be coupled rigidly, via guide rails, to the translatory movement of the rotary frames. The rotary frames are guided by a revolving chain system and are therefore guided rigidly in relation to one another and at a continuous speed, both in the region of the handling line above the immersion baths and during return travel.
Discontinuously conveying systems are known in the prior art, too and are referred to as cyclical systems. In the case of cyclical systems, the vehicle chassis are moved on article mounts over the immersion baths, stopped there and dipped into the treatment bath with the aid of lifting means, such as hoists or swivel gear, and, after the process time has elapsed, the chassis are lifted or swivelled out of the bath again.
An example of such a system is described in DE 43 04 145 C1 or DE-U-200 22 634.7.
Choosing between a continuously conveying device and a discontinuously conveying device must take account of the specific pros and cons of both basic ideas. For instance, the continuously conveying devices are more reliable because their operation requires fewer drive motors, whereas the individually timed article mounts of cyclical systems are more likely to malfunction as a result of the plurality of individually controlled motors. The maximum throughput of workpieces per time unit in the case of continuous devices is, furthermore, higher than that of cyclical systems. The advantage of cyclical systems, on the other hand, is the high degree of flexibility regarding workpiece handling as a result of the ability to individually drive the individual article mounts.
In the automotive sector, efforts are being made to operate the systems with high throughputs. At the same time, however, a high degree of process flexibility is desired as well, because once a system has been set up in an automotive plant, it may be intended to perform different workpiece-handling operations in the future.

Device and method for handling workpieces in particular vehicle chassis


A user interface module includes a display and a motion detector arranged to detect a motion. The module is arranged to display an emulated movement of a graphical representation of a first object on the display according to a motion detected by the motion detector. The first object has a physical characteristic and the user interface module further includes a controller module arranged to generate the emulated movement based on the physical characteristic.

More and more electronic devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAS) are becoming smaller and smaller while having more and more information stored and/or accessible through them. Users are relying on these devices and becoming all the more dependant on them. Due to the devices' complexity they can sometimes be difficult for a user to learn and understand. There is a plethora of functionalities, features, applications and shortcuts available through a wide variety of user inputs such as touch input, key pad input, stylus input and recently also sensor based input such as tap input or tilting movement input using accelerometers. The sheer amount of possibilities can thus become bewildering to a user and increase the effort required to learn and understand the device significantly.
The environments in which these devices are used are also becoming more and more hectic with higher demands on fast access and multitasking, and not only in a professional environment but also in private and social environments. For example a user should be able to read a book, while holding a grocery bag in a rattling subway train and still be able to access the information stored in the device for the device to live up to the many requirements posed upon it by a user buying and using the device. This requires that the device is simple to learn and intuitive to use.

User interface having realistic physical effects


Systems and methods are defined for facilitating the audit process involving a financial institution, a client of the financial institution, and an accountant. A service provider receives the client's account information from the financial institution upon approval of the client. The financial institution also provides an identification number allowing the accountant to access the information deposited in the service provider. The accountant is provided the identification number in one of a variety of ways allowing the accountant to access the client's information to facilitate an audit process. In this manner, an audit process can be facilitated and reduce the sending of paper copies from the financial institution to the accountant.

Every year, public and private companies throughout the world have their financial statements audited. In the confirmation process of an audit, public accountants confirm three line items on a balance sheet: the cash balance, a sampling of the account receivables, and a sampling of account payables. This confirmation process is the only step still being completed using paper by accounting firms. The current practice is to send paper confirmations through the post office requiring the manual filling out of the paper confirmation form by a financial institution's clerk or the receiving company's staff, and then returning the confirmation by mail or fax to the auditor.
Today, the confirmation—consists of approximately 32 steps. The confirmation process begins when the audited client fills out a paper confirmation form supplied by the client's accountant. The current industry practice is to send paper confirmations by mail, Federal Express, or other like carriers. Once received by a bank, brokerage, or receiving company, the arriving mail is then privately sorted, hopefully routed to the appropriate department or departments, and usually dispatched to hired staff engaged in accommodating such requests. Once the confirmation is in proper hands, the task is generally viewed as a tedious process requiring manual, accurate, and prompt completion.
Financial institutions vary in how they process confirmations, though most larger financial institutions have one or more cost centers devoted solely to processing confirmations. Additional costs are incurred during busy seasons when the employees work overtime in conjunction with temporary staffing to meet the demand of answering confirmations.
Currently, when the manual paper confirmation process works optimally (60% to 80% of the time), it takes a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks to complete. When there are complications (reported 20% to 40% of the time), such as incorrect statement date, incorrect account balances, or no response to the request for confirmation, etc., the process can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to complete. Invariably, with such complications, the costs to financial institutions, accounting firms, and the client being audited-increase.
Because of the industry conditions, accounting firms are constantly seeking ways to reduce the costs of an audit. Due to the technological advances within the past few years, accounting firms have recognized the benefits of a paperless audit. No longer do managers and partners need to be at the client location to review the audit work. They can perform their review of the staff's work from anywhere at anytime. Staff accountants no longer have to receive paper copies of the client's data, the client can now provide the staff with electronic versions of the data, which are easier for the staff accountant to manipulate and audit.
Today, most of the national and even some of the regional and local accounting firms, all audit steps except third-party confirmations are paperless. Many accounting firms that have not adopted the paperless process are also now moving to a paperless audit, barring the one process that is still performed manually using paper. This step includes the confirmation of the cash, receivables, and payables balances. Consequently, there is a need to further reduce costs associated with auditing by automating the step of confirming cash, receivables, and payables balances.
The superiority of the electronic confirmation over the paper confirmation is evident through the fact that the electronic confirmation eliminates the current concerns and constraints surrounding paper confirmations. Also, unknown to the accountant, the current practice of confirming balances leaves an opening for fraud, thus creating increased liability for the accountant. For instance, in the current paper confirmation process, most accountants ask the client to fill out the paper confirmation form. The accountant then mails that confirmation to the financial institution to be filled out. The accountant has a couple of stipulations in sending out that confirmation.
First, confirmations usually cannot be mailed out from or faxed back to the client's office. This is to protect the integrity of the confirmation process. The accountant cannot give the client access to the confirmations after the client has filled out the form for fear the client may intercept them and alter the information. This can pose a problem if the accountant's office is not in the same city or even the same building as their client. If the confirmations are mailed back from the financial institution to the accountant's office, the accountant must either go back to his or her office to retrieve them, or have someone in the office bundle up the confirmations as they come back and forward them via mail to the accountant's hotel or neutral location. If the confirmations are faxed back from the financial institution, the accountant must either stand by the fax machine waiting on the financial institution to fax them back so the accountant can witness the confirmations as they are received over the fax machine, or the accountant must use an off site fax machine, at an independent copy center. Such centers typically charge for this service adding additional cost to the audit process.
Second, the accountant is usually not allowed to send confirmations to a post office box for fear the post office box is not really the financial institution's address, but rather a third-party who is attempting to defraud the company or auditor.
Additionally, the conventional confirmation process is subject to other fraudulent practices. Currently, in the conventional process the accountant instructs the client to fill out the paper confirmation before it is sent for confirmation. This includes directing the client to fill out the proper financial institution address. Most accountants rely solely on the client for this information and do not employ any system for countering incorrect information supplied by the client. As it stands now, the client, in an effort to deceive the accountant, could use any erroneous address, which would suggest legitimacy, as long as it is not addressed to a post office box. The accountant may then, unknowingly send the confirmation to the client's own house, erroneous address, friend or relative thus perpetuating and facilitating fraud. The lack of checks and balances in the current process allows for an information imbalance thus creating a liability for the accountant. There is no timely or convenient mechanism to ensure that the address on the confirmation is a valid address, nor is it practical for accountants to verify the information themselves.
Thus, there is a need for a more secure, more efficient method by which third-party confirmations can occur that is resistant to fraud and more timely in nature.

Systems, methods and computer program products facilitating automated confirmations and third-party verifications


A brush for applying a substance onto keratinous fibers includes a core and bristles that are supported by the core and made other than by being injection molded together with the core. In embodiments, the brush has at least a portion that carries bristles that are curved and extend from the core in oriented manner.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,456 describes a brush made by injection molding a plastics material and has bristles with ends that are hook-shaped. A drawback of such a brush is that its manufacture requires a special mold. In addition, the way the bristles are implanted is substantially different from a conventional brush with a twisted core.

Brush for applying substance to eyelashes and/or eyebrows


An automated vehicle parking system for a plurality of remote parking facilities that communicates with a vehicle approaching or leaving the remote facility with RF signals, or the like, that identifies the vehicle and sends the vehicle identification number, time of day, and lane number to a first computer at the remote facility for calculating the parking cost of a given vehicle based on rates for said given individual vehicle stored in the first computer of each of the plurality of remote parking facilities and having a central computer coupled to each remote facility for providing a single bill to a user of several remote facilities and advising each remote facility first computer of the total fees due for all users of that remote facility during specified periods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to vehicle parking systems and in particular to a parking system having a central facility coupled to and monitoring a plurality of satellite parking facilities in which each satellite parking facility automatically identifies a vehicle approaching the entrance or exit lanes to the parking facility and generates an appropriate set of responses such as opening the gate, illuminating a fee display or other sign information, posting accounting information and the like. A user of multiple satellite parking facilities receives one statement periodically from the central or clearinghouse facility. Each satellite parking facility may be independent from the other satellite parking facilities and each may set its own charges and fee schedules. The central facility simply keeps track of all parking in all the satellite parking facilities and sends the user one bill (or debits an account) for the total amount of the parking. A key feature of the central facility or clearinghouse concept is the use of a prepaid balance as opposed to being billed in arrears. When the prepaid balance falls below a predetermined level, the clearinghouse or central facility will either debit the user's bank account via ACH (automated clearinghouse) or electronic funds transfer, charge the user's credit card account, or issue an invoice. If the balance becomes negative, the system generally will not allow the user to enter the garage.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many different types of semiautomatic parking systems for vehicles such as motor vehicles including monthly pass cards, automatic ticket dispensers, and the like. In systems where time accounting is required for parking that is subject to charge periods, a card having an electronic memory is used where each memory location can be individually and irreversibly written in order to represent a time unit credit allocated to the holder of the card. Other systems use an electronic memory and a card reader, a portable terminal carried by a parking checker, a card having a magnetic track containing a confidential identification number, and a label for sticking to the windshield of a vehicle with the label bearing information that is unambiguously related to the information stored in the card. Still other systems use capacitive cards and reader systems. Some systems use an automatic fee determining system including means to totalize the amount of coins accepted by the system. Such system includes means for calculating the fee due from a parking ticket. The customer then inserts coins into a coin receptor and a "vend" is produced only when the total value of coins at least equals the calculated fee due. Other systems have an entrance station for dispensing a coded card and initiating opening of an entrance gate and an exit station for receiving the card, sensing any lapsed time, computing a toll at a predetermined time rate, collecting the correct toll, and initiating opening of the gate in response to the collection.
These systems all require the intervention of a human operator or an interaction between the vehicle occupant and a device such as a ticket dispenser and the like.
In commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,624 there is disclosed an automatic parking system that can identify a vehicle approaching an entrance or exit lane, and then, based on that identity, generate an appropriate set of responses such as opening a gate, illuminating a fee display, posting accounting information, preparing periodic statements to the owner of the vehicle, and the like. However, if the user goes to another parking facility, either a new membership in that facility will be required so that the user receives another monthly billing statement or the user will have to pay cash.
While in its broadest state, the aforesaid patent claims cover a central billing operation, the improvement disclosed herein specifically covers the use of multiple parking facilities that feed a central billing/credit system thereby permitting the user to use facilities that may be independently owned but for which proper debit of the user's account will be made as well as proper credit attributed to the specific facility as determined in advance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automated vehicle parking system for a plurality of remote parking facilities


An integration circuit divides a screen, which is composed of an input video signal, into regions, integrates absolute values of inter-field differences that are included the respective regions, and provides an intra-region integration value SDA. A dynamic range calculation circuit divides the screen into regions and calculates a dynamic range SDR of luminance in each of the regions. If the intra-region integration value SDA is greater than a comparison threshold value FDT and if the dynamic range SDR of luminance in each of the regions is greater than a comparison threshold value DCT, the region is determined to be a subtitle region.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to an apparatus which converts an interlaced-scan video signal to a progressive-scan video signal, and more particularly to an apparatus which detects a subtitle in an interlaced-scan video signal such as a moving picture signal that is generated by 2-3 pull-down or 2-2 pull-down.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of an NTSC video signal that is generally used as a TV broadcast signal, a video image is scanned by an interlaced-scan system. In this system, the equivalent number of images per second is increased, and thereby surface flicker is reduced. On the other hand, in recent years, thin TV receivers, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices or plasma display devices, have steadily been gaining popularity. If interlaced-scan video signals are directly displayed on the scan lines on such thin TV receivers, the brightness of the screen would considerably lower and displayed images would not be worth viewing. To avoid this problem, in these display devices, images are displayed by a progressive-scan system. When an interlaced-scan video signal is to be displayed on a progressive-scan display device such as an LCD device, an interlaced-scan/progressive-scan conversion circuit is required.
In some cases, standard TV video signals, such as NTSC signals, include video signals which are produced on the basis of cinema films. The cinema film has 24 frames per second, while the standard TV video signal is an interfaced-scan video signal with 30 frames per second (60 fields per second). Thus, the video signal of the cinema film is converted to the standard TV video signal by a 2-3 pull-down method or a 2-2 pull-down method. In the description below, an interlaced-scan video signal, which is obtained by the conversion from the video signal of the cinema film, is referred to as "pull-down signal".
For example, in the 2-3 pull-down method, a cinema film is first scanned to produce an interlaced-scan video signal with a frame frequency of 24 Hz. Then, the interlaced-scan video signal is converted such that the first frame of the cinema film may correspond to first and second fields (2 fields), the second frame to third to fifth fields (3 fields), the third frame to sixth and seventh fields (2 fields), and the fourth frame to eighth to tenth fields (3 fields). In the field signal which is converted to the pull-down signal, odd fields and even fields are alternately repeated. When the frame of the cinema film is converted to 3 fields, the last field (fifth field, tenth field) is the repetition of the same video content as the first field (third field, eighth field).
In this manner, two frames of the cinema film are made to correspond to five fields of the standard TV video signal, and the 2-field video signals and 3-field video signals are alternately repeated in accordance with the frames of the cinema film. Thus, the pull-down signal is generated.
In order to convert the pull-down signal to a progressive-scan signal, it is necessary to combine two fields, which are generated from the same frame of the cinema film, into one frame. A progressive-scan conversion apparatus, which realizes this process, determines whether the input video signal is a pull-down signal or not. If the input video signal is a pull-down signal, the apparatus determines fields to be combined (hereinafter referred to as "pair field"). By combining these fields, a progressive-scan signal is generated. This signal process is called "pull-down interpolation process".
In some cases, video such as cinema includes a subtitle. Regardless of whether the video signal is a pull-down signal or not, the subtitle is configured such that the same character pattern is mixed in the video over a plurality of frames. In the case where a subtitle is included in the pull-down signal, it is difficult to determine whether the video signal is the pull-down signal or not.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-057993 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique wherein when an input video signal is the above-described pull-down signal, a 2-3 pull-down interpolation process is executed if no subtitle region is detected, and an IP conversion signal is generated on the basis of a motion-adaptive interpolation process if a subtitle region is detected.
The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not describe a specific structure for detecting the subtitle. Thus, in the prior art, it is not possible to precisely detect a subtitle region and to exactly execute a pull-down interpolation process.

Subtitle detection apparatus, subtitle detection method and pull-down signal detection apparatus


The present invention provides an insert for a glide rack, with the insert being dimensioned to correspond to the given length and width of a row of the glide rack. The insert is fitted within the row of the glide rack such that the glide characteristics of the row of the glide rack are improved and the containers slide more easily toward the forward end thereof. The insert is preferably manufactured from a high density polyethylene.

Refrigerated display cases for beverage containers, and the like, generally include vertically aligned rows of racks, commonly called glide racks, upon which the beverage containers are loaded. The beverage containers may be cans or bottles of any size and the width of the glide rack rows are adjusted accordingly to accommodate each particular container. Glide racks may also be used for gallon jugs of a beverage, such as milk, or for any other type of container that may displayed for sale within a refrigerated case. Referring to FIG. 1, a typical prior art glide rack is shown generally be reference number 10. The glide rack includes a plurality of rows 12 extending from the front 14 of the glide rack to the rear 16 thereof. Each row may then be loaded with rows of beverage containers 18 extending from the front of the display case to the rear of the display case. Each glide rack is disposed within the refrigerated display case at an angle of approximately five to twelve degrees. Thus, when the forwardmost beverage container 18' is removed from the row 12 by a consumer, the next beverage container 18" will move forward to occupy the forwardmost position, and the remainder of the row of beverage containers will follow. In this manner, there is always a beverage container at the front of each row of the glide rack ready to be dispensed to a consumer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the support surface 20 of each row 12 of the glide rack includes a plurality of slots extending therethrough. These slots allow any spillage that may occur from the beverage containers to drain to the bottom of the display case. The slots also reduce the surface area of the support surface 20 so that there is less contact with the beverage containers and they therefore slide more easily. Prior art glide racks are currently manufactured using a high density polyethylene with a silicone plasticizer. When the racks are poured the resultant plastic material has a directional grain and the silicone is disposed on the exposed surfaces of the glide rack, including the support surface 20, in order to assist the beverage containers in gliding. However, the silicone easily wears off the bottom surface as the beverage containers slide therealong thus decreasing the glidability of the beverage containers.
As the silicone on the sliding surface of the glide rack wears off, more friction is created by the sliding of the beverage containers thereon and the plastic sliding surface of the glide rack becomes more roughened. This in turn creates more problems as the beverage containers may fall over, tip, rotate, occasionally open and spill. The repeated sliding along the roughened sliding surface and the beverage containers tipping and spilling creates a worn and unusable glide rack within only three to four months of use. In the past, it has been necessary to completely replace the entire glide rack once it reached this point of wear and tear, resulting in costly and repeated expenditures.
Accordingly, there is a strong need for a glide rack improvement enabling prior art glide racks to be used for an extended period of time after the initial silicone coating has worn away.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/720,800 of Lecroy, filed Oct. 1, 1996, discloses one solution to the foregoing problems, i.e., a plastic insert which is placed in a worn glide rack to improve the glide characteristics of the rack. Lecroy's insert has an upper surface that is roughened after formation, e.g., by sanding with sandpaper. However, sanding, whether done by hand or by machine, adds time and cost to the manufacturing process.

Glide rack insert with integral textured surface


Various methods and apparatuses are described for an arbitration unit that implements a round robin policy. Each requesting device has an equal chance of accessing a shared resource based upon a current request priority assigned to that requesting device. The arbitration unit includes at least a state block that includes a plurality of state registers. The plurality at least includes a first state register for a first unordered pair of requesting devices, a second state register for a second unordered pair of requesting devices, and a third state register for a third unordered pair of requesting devices.

When there is a resource that is shared by multiple requestors, one requestor can use the resource in a specific period (typically one clock cycle) it is necessary to have an arbiter that accepts requests and ensures that the one requestor is granted use of the resource. Examples of shared resources include a network, bus, and silicon backplane. Many situations require fair arbitration for a resource, where fair arbitration means that every requestor participating in the arbitration process should win arbitration at least one out of N arbitrations where N is the number of active requesters. In a fair arbitration scheme the worst case request-grant latency is N arbitrations for an N-requestor arbiter.
Round robin arbitration is a commonly used fair arbitration policy because it ensures equal and fair access to a resource. In a round robin arbitration policy the requestors are assigned a fixed order of priority rotation. For example, the order of three requestors could be R1, R2, R3 and back to R1. The requestor that was granted the token last is considered the lowest priority and the requester after it is considered the highest priority. For example, if R2 was the last unit to be granted a request, then R3 would be the highest priority, followed by R1 and finally R3. If R3 requests and is granted the token, then it would become the lowest priority, so the arbitration order would be R1, R2, then R3.
Another form of round robin arbitration uses a ring counter to cycle the priority of each of the requestors by selecting one of N fixed-priority arbiters. Every time a request is granted the ring counter advances by one. This approach is less desirable in many applications than the approach above where the requester is made the lowest priority, because it doesn't distribute the bandwidth as evenly when there are inactive requesters.
One prior art implementation of a combinational logic block arbitration mechanism at least three levels deep to determine a request to grant delay time is illustrated in FIG. 1. In this example, at least three levels of logic gates with accompanying fan out exist to determine the arbitration process between the requesting devices. A first level of AND logic gates feeds input signals to a second level of logic gates which then feeds input signals to a third level of AND logic gates labeled U8A-U8C. The input connections from state registers and request signal inputs, labeled A-F, fan out to the first level of logic gates. The output connections from the first level of logic gates fan in then until an ultimate grant decision can be made by the third level of logic gates labeled U8A-U8C. The timing of the request to grant delay time degrades linearly with number requestors in the ring and the number of levels of logic needed to make a final grant determination.

Method and apparatus for round robin resource arbitration with a fast request to grant response


An audio signal of arbitrary length is recorded on a single track of a magnetic disk, and a plurality of corresponding or associated video signals are recorded on successive coaxial tracks. The deviation of each video signal is counted during the reception of the audio signal, and data representative thereof is superposed on the recorded video signals to "coordinate" subsequent playback.

This invention relates to a magnetic recording and reproducing system such as an electronic still camera, in which video signals and audio signals are recorded, in combination in coaxial tracks on a magnetic disk.
An electronic still camera is designed so that video signals and audio signals are recorded on the magnetic disk. More specifically, in a normal mode, the video signals and the audio signals are recorded independently of each other; and in an AV mode, they are recorded in combination in coaxial tracks adjacent to each other on a magnetic disk. Therefore, the video signals and audio signals are reproduced separately when recorded in the normal mode, and simultaneously when recorded in the AV mode.
In the conventional electronic still camera, audio signals recorded in a plurality of tracks can be provided for a video signal recorded in one track, but video signals recorded in a plurality of tracks cannot be provided for an audio signal recorded in one track. Hence, it is difficult to achieve an operation such that, while an audio signal having an arbitrary length is being continuously reproduced, different video images are reproduced successively for different desired periods of time.

Recording and reproducing system for recording and reproducing video signals corresponding to an audio signal


Self-limiting cavities are formed within a crystalline semiconductor substrate and beneath a stack of semiconductor layers used to form a nanosheet transistor device. Inner ends of the cavities merge beneath the stack while the outer ends thereof adjoin isolation regions within the substrate. The cavities are filled with electrically insulating material to provide bottom device isolation. Source/drain regions are grown in vertical trenches extending through the stack of semiconductor layers following formation of dielectric inner spacers. The bottom ends of the trenches adjoin the electrically insulating material within the cavities.

The present invention relates generally to the electrical, electronic and computer arts and, more particularly, to methods for electrically isolating elements of nanosheet transistor devices and structures obtained thereby.
With shrinking dimensions of various integrated circuit components, transistors such as field-effect transistors (FETs) have experienced dramatic improvements in both performance and power consumption. These improvements may be largely attributed to the reduction in dimensions of components used therein, which in general translate into reduced capacitance, resistance, and increased through-put current from the transistors. Metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are well suited for use in high-density integrated circuits. As the size of MOSFETs and other devices decreases, the dimensions of source/drain regions, channel regions, and gate electrodes of the devices, also decrease.
FinFET, nanosheet and vertical transport FETs have been under development for possible use in tight pitch applications. Nanosheet FETs include multiple channel layers, each channel layer being separated by a gate stack including a layer of electrically conductive gate material and a gate dielectric layer. The gate stacks wrap around all sides of the channel layers, thereby forming a gate-all-around (GAA) structure. Epitaxial regions on the ends of the nanosheet channel layers form source/drain regions of the nanosheet FETs. Spacers are employed for electrically isolating the gates from the source/drain regions of nanosheet transistors.

Electrical isolation for nanosheet transistor devices

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques described herein may determine an objective metric that relates to the color difference that may be perceived by humans viewing two images of the same visual scene. In one implementation, a method may include receiving first and second images; determining a first histogram based on hue values associated with pixels in the first image; and determining a second histogram based on hue values associated with pixels in the second image. A color difference metric may be determined based on a comparison between the first and second histograms. The color difference metric may relate to an objective measure of color differences between the first and second images.

A color model is a model describing the way colors can be represented as sets of numbers. Examples of color models include the RGB color model. The RGB color model is an additive color model that models the addition of red, green, and blue light to reproduce colors. Other examples of color models are the HSL and HSB (also called HSV) color models. The HSL and HSB models relate to cylindrical-coordinate representations of points in the RGB color model. In an HSL/HSB cylinder, the angle around the central vertical axis corresponds to the "hue" (H), the distance from the axis corresponds to the "saturation" (S), and the distance along the axis corresponds to the coordinate with which the model attempts to represent perceived luminance in relation to the saturation (the "lightness" (L) or "brightness" (B)).

Objective metric relating to perceptual color differences between images


A system and method for synchronizing a database having metadata and raw data. Metadata may be fully synchronized between two systems, with copies stored on both systems. Raw data may be selectively synchronized, so that a client system need not store all of the raw data locally. When disconnected, the client system may identify certain portions of the raw data to store locally, and such data may be synchronized when reconnected to a server system.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to computer databases and specifically to the synchronization of databases.
b. Description of the Background
Synchronized databases are those databases that may be used separately, but may from time to time be updated with respect to each other. For example, a file system on a portable computer may be connected with the file system of a server in an office. When the portable computer is used outside of the office, certain data may be stored on the portable computer so that the user may continue working. Some files may be changed and updated on the portable computer and likewise on the server.
The file structure on the portable computer and server may be synchronized when the portable computer is brought back to the office. The updated files from the portable computer may be transferred to the server, and likewise, updated files from the server may be transferred to the portable computer. When the file structure contains very large amounts of data, synchronization may be very lengthy and may require a large amount of storage space on both the portable and server computer.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a system and method whereby useful work may be performed on the database in connected and unconnected situations without requiring lengthy and space consuming synchronization.


This invention relates to a fiber optic cable construction for optical well monitoring systems, socalled FOWM cables. Such cables have to withstand high temperature, high hydrostatic pressure and an aggressive environment. The fiber optic FOWM cable comprises a first layer of elements stranded around a central core (6;16;24). At least one of said elements is constituted by a tube (4,5;12,13;22,23) within which there is loosely inserted an optical fiber element (2,3;14,15;26,27). The tube (4,5;12,13;22,23) has a diameter which is less than that of the other stranded elements (7;11;21) of the first layer, so as to provide mechanical protection of the tubes and optical fibers.

There are known cables such as an overhead electricity line described in EP No. 286 804, having a steel wire core with a number of steel wires stranded around the core wire and where one of the outer wires is substituted with a steel tubule containing a number of optical fibers. A layer of aluminium wires are stranded around core wires to make up the overhead line. Such a construction is, however, for a number of reasons not suitable for use in oil wells.


A stent tube comprises an inner tube and an outer tube with a reinforcing braided member fitted between the inner tube and the outer tube. The inner tube is made of a fluorine-based resin. The stent tube is hard to clog at its inner wall and has a strength enough great for a bending force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stent tube adapted to be placed in a body cavity of a human subject so as to drain, for example, a body fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Published Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application 1-152636, for example, discloses a stent tube (hereinafter referred to a drainage tube) adapted to be placed in a human body to provide a passage for draining a body fluid, etc. In general, this type of drainage tube is formed of, for example, a polyethylene tube and, therefore, a poor frictional resistance and separation are involved. Thus the tube is liable to be clogged.
The drainage tube of the aforementioned Utility Model Application has a fluorine-based resin layer formed on its inner surface. FIG. 10 shows a practical arrangement of that drainage tube.
That is, the drainage tube 1 has a double-layered structure comprising an outer tube 2 made of polyethylene tube and an inner tube 3 made of a fluorine-based resin layer. The forward end 4 of drainage tube 1 has a tapering section 5 which is decreased in diameter toward its forward edge. A pair of cut areas 7,7 are provided one at the forward end portion and one at the rear end portion of the drainage tube 1 such that the cut areas 7,7 are inclined gradually toward the end edges of the drainage tube to provide a pair of openable/closable side flaps 8,8 there.
The aforementioned tube structure involves various drawbacks. First, the inner tube 3 in the double-layered structure is made of a fluorine-based resin and is more rigid than the outer tube 2 made of polyethylene, thus making the drainage tube 1 rigid as a whole. As one solution to this problem, if the outer tube 2 is made thinner, then a resultant pair of side flaps on the outer tube 2 becomes thinner, thus prominently lowering the ability with which the side flaps 8 are anchored on the body cavity of a human subject.
When the drainage tube 1 is inserted into the human body cavity through a channel of an endoscope, the drainage tube 1 passes through a forceps-raising base section. At that time, the drainage tube, if a thinner tube is used as the inner tube 3, is bent at the location of the forceps-raising base section, causing the bending of the inner tube 3 and the consequent collapsing of the inner tube 3. The collapsing of that tube is more liable to occur at the cut areas 7 providing the side flaps 8.
Second, if an inner tube 3 made of a fluorine-based resin is formed inside an outer tube 2 made of polyethylene so as to secure the same inner and outer diameters as those of a single ordinary drainage tube, it follows that the thickness of the outer tube 2 is thinned by the extent that the inner tube 3 is provided. Further, a contrast medium is mixed in the outer tube 2 so that the outer tube 2 is observable by an X-ray, but, in this case, the contrast medium in the outer tube 2 does not adequately secure its purpose. If, on the other hand, a contrast medium is mixed in the inner tube 3 made of a fluorine-based resin, a greater frictional resistance is involved so that the drainage tube fails to serve its own purpose fully.
Third, it is very difficult to make cut areas, as side flaps, in a relatively thin, outer tube 2 only. In this case it is necessary to initially insert an inner tube 3 of a fluorine-based resin into an outer tube and fix it there so that cut areas are provided as side flaps, etc. Upon assembly of a drainage tube by inserting the inner tube 3 into the outer tube 2, buckling is liable to occur at the cut areas of the outer tube 2. As a result, the drainage tube is difficult to manufacture and cannot be manufactured at low costs.


A three dimensional dual-port bit cell generally comprises a first portion disposed on a first tier, wherein the first portion includes a plurality of port elements. The dual-port bit cell also includes a second portion disposed on a second tier that is vertically stacked with respect to the first tier using at least one via, wherein the second portion includes a latch.

Static random access memories ("SRAM") include a plurality of cells disposed in rows and columns to form an array. SRAM cells include a plurality of transistors coupled to bit lines and word lines that are used to read and write a bit of data to the memory cell. Single-port SRAMs enable a single bit of data to be written to or read from a bit cell at a particular time. In contrast, a dual-port SRAMs enables multiple reads or writes to occur at approximately the same time. Conventional dual-port SRAM structures include word lines ("WLs") in different metal lines, which causes different capacitive loading due to the different metal length being used to route signals of the SRAM. Dual-port SRAM structures are larger and wider in the WL direction than a single-port SRAM structure. Due to the larger and wider WL direction for the dual-port SRAM, the aspect ratio of an SRAM macro can be impacted during heavy WL loading, especially for wide input/output ("I/O") designs. When compared with a single-port SRAM, the periphery logic circuitry of the dual-port SRAM is doubled. As such, dual-port SRAMs can occupy a larger area, and signal routing complexities can occur.

Three dimensional dual-port bit cell and method of using same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


The door sill of a cargo loading and unloading opening in an aircraft body is protected against damage by a cover plate that is hinged to the loading floor alongside the door opening to be tiltable outwardly to cover the sill when in the operative position. The outwardly pointing edge of the cover plate is supported by a support linkage, including a support link or section and a tie rod or bracing link, which are pivoted to the cover plate and to each other, so that the plate and its support linkage may be tilted into a recessed position in which the plate with its support linkage extends substantially in parallel and close to the door or gate that closes the cargo opening, thereby using very little space in the stowed condition.

Devices of this kind are used in order to facilitate the loading or unloading of the cargo hold of an aircraft. For this purpose, the covering device bridges an area of the loading opening which is normally closed or covered by the door or gate. This door sill area is interfering with the proper movement of cargo pieces across the door sill due to the construction of the door sill required for a tight closing of the aircraft door. Damage to the door sill must definitely be avoided because it prevents the proper closing or at least the tight closing of the door. The present device is intended to prevent such damage.
Known devices for this purpose are capable of satisfactory service for the bridging requirement and the protection requirement. However, known structures are bulky and thus require a substantial space for their storage when they are not used for the intended purpose. During flight, these devices must be stored in the cargo hold and thus are taking up valuable cargo space which interferes with an optimally efficient utilization of the cargo space for pieces of cargo. Additionally, known structures of this type have the drawback that they do not satisfy all requirements for a simple handling and installation.

Device for protecting a door sill, especially in a loading opening of an aircraft