A portable, tabletop fluid sampling device simplifies spectral analysis to produce an accurate but inexpensive chromatic fingerprint for fluid samples. In one embodiment, the sampling device uses an array of variable wavelength LED emitters and photodiode detectors to measure Rayleigh scattering of electromagnetic energy from the fluid sample contained in a cuvette. Either the fluid itself, or particles suspended in the fluid can then be identified by performing spectral pattern matching to compare results of a spectral scan against a library of known spectra. A wide range of applications include substance identification, security screening, authentication, quality control, and medical diagnostics.

A transmissive diffraction grating includes a polarization conversion layer, a first diffractive layer disposed on one surface side of the polarization conversion layer, and a second diffractive layer disposed on the other surface side of the polarization conversion layer. Both the first diffractive layer and the second diffractive layer include refractive index modulation structures arranged with a period P in a first direction, and diffraction efficiency for a TE polarized light component is higher than a diffraction efficiency for a TM polarized light component.

A method of optically determining the presence of volcanic ash within a cloud comprises emitting a circularly polarized illuminating beam within a cloud and analyzing backscatter light to identify the presence of volcanic ash within the cloud. The method further includes determining the degree to which the cloud has altered the polarization state of the emitted beam. The index of refraction of the backscatter light and the opacity of the backscatter light are also analyzed.

An estimation device is configured to estimate a feature value of a specific component contained in a sample and includes: a spectral estimation parameter storage module; a calibration parameter storage module; a multiband image acquirer; an optical spectrum operator configured to compute an optical spectrum from a multiband image using a spectral estimation parameter; and a calibration processor configured to compute the feature value from the optical spectrum using a calibration parameter.

The present invention may include an illumination source; a TDI sensor having a plurality of rows of TDI pixels, wherein each of the TDI pixels have a 1:1 aspect ratio; a multicolor filter contacted to the surface of the TDI sensor, wherein the multicolor filter has alternating sections of a first color filter, a second color filter, and at least a third color, wherein adjacent rows of TDI pixels are grouped in order to form a plurality of rows of integrated multicolor pixels; an objective having a first end positioned proximate to the specimen; a second lens configured to focus light from the image path onto the TDI sensor; and an anamorphic optics element configured to magnify an image of the one or more specimens such that the image is magnified by a factor of three along a direction orthogonal to an integrating direction of the TDI sensor.

A system for imposing and analyzing surface acoustic waves in a substrate to determine characteristics of the substrate is disclosed. Optical elements and arrangements for imposing and analyzing surface acoustic waves in a substrate are also disclosed. NSOM's, gratings, and nanolight elements may be used to impose surface acoustic waves in a substrate and may also be used to measure transient changes in the substrate due to the passage of surface acoustic waves therethrough.

Techniques and devices for measuring polarization crosstalk in birefringence optical media including polarization maintaining fiber.

A method of compensating for sample misalignment in an optical measurement apparatus (40), comprises the steps of: determining an expected response from a detector (58) in said optical measurement apparatus given a particular set of parameters defining a path that light can take through the optical measurement apparatus from a source (42), via a sample (50), to the detector (58); measuring a response from the detector for the sample under test; and refining the set of parameters until the expected response and the measured response converge so as to determine the set of parameters giving rise to the measured response.

According to one embodiment, a three-dimensional shape measuring apparatus includes at least an aperture plate that is provided with a plurality of confocal apertures which are two-dimensionally arranged to have a predetermined arrangement period, and an aperture plate displacement portion that displaces the aperture plate at a constant speed in a predetermined direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. Further, the aperture plate is provided with a cover member which is moved integrally with the aperture plate and which includes a transparent body allowing the light beams from the light source to pass therethrough and to be irradiated to the plurality of confocal apertures, and protects the plurality of confocal apertures from dust. Further, an imaging optical system, by which each of reflected light beams is guided to a photo-detector, is designed in consideration of optical properties of the whole optical system including the transparent body of the cover member.

An optical electrical field enhancing device includes: a transparent substrate having a structure of fine protrusions and recesses on the surface thereof; and a metal structure layer of fine protrusions and recesses formed on the surface of the structure of fine protrusions and recesses. The metal structure layer of fine protrusions and recesses has a structure of fine protrusions and recesses, in which the distances among adjacent protrusions are less than the distances among corresponding adjacent protrusions of the structure of fine protrusions and recesses of the transparent substrate.

There is provided a profile measuring apparatus which measures a profile of an object including: a projection unit which projects a pattern on the object from a projection direction; a measurement unit, which is displaced at a difference position for the projection unit and takes an image of the pattern from a direction different from the projection direction to measure a position on a surface of the object based on an image data obtained with the taken image; an object-rotation unit which rotates the object in two directions; and a pattern-rotation unit which is connected to the projection unit so as to be able to rotate the pattern relative to the object-rotation unit.

Within machine vision, object movement is often estimated by applying image evaluation techniques to visible light images, utilizing techniques such as perspective and parallax. However, the precision of such techniques may be limited due to visual distortions in the images, such as glare and shadows. Instead, lidar data may be available (e.g., for object avoidance in automated navigation), and may serve as a high-precision data source for such determinations. Respective lidar points of a lidar point cloud may be mapped to voxels of a three-dimensional voxel space, and voxel clusters may be identified as objects. The movement of the lidar points may be classified over time, and the respective objects may be classified as moving or stationary based on the classification of the lidar points associated with the object. This classification may yield precise results, because voxels in three-dimensional voxel space present clearly differentiable statuses when evaluated over time.

A reflection type optical sensor that detect a surface condition of a moving body and that is used for an image generation apparatus which forms images on a recording media includes a light-emitting device which has a plurality of light emitter systems including at least two light-emitting members and a light-emitting optical system having a plurality of light-emitting lenses corresponding to a plurality of the light emitter systems and guiding light emitted from the light emitter systems to the moving body and a light-receiving device which has a light receiver system including at least two light-receiving members and a light-receiving optical system having light-receiving lenses corresponding to the at least two light-receiving members and guiding light reflected by the moving body to the light receiver system. The image generation apparatus has further a surface condition judging device in addition to the reflection type optical sensor.

There is disclosed a polarization-modulating element for modulating a polarization state of incident light into a predetermined polarization state, the polarization-modulating element being made of an optical material with optical activity and having a circumferentially varying thickness profile.

An adaptive optics scanning system using a beam projection module with four or more axes of motion that can project and control the position and angle of a beam of light to or from an adaptive optics element. The adaptive optics scanning system is compact in size, overcoming the challenges of a traditional lens and mirror based pupil relay design. The adaptive optics scanning system has little to no dispersion, chromatic aberration, and off-axis aberration for improved optical performance. The system and methods for calibrating and optimizing the system are described. A modular adaptive optics unit that scans and interfaces an adaptive optics element is described.

A sheet holder for holding a sheet of paper and exposing an edge of the sheet, has a press for holding the paper sheet and exposing the edge, and a lever for operating the press. The lever is movable between a released position for placing of the edge of the paper sheet in the press and a holding position for operating the press. There is also an abutment for abutment by the edge of the paper sheet to position the edge relative to the press while the lever is in the released position. The abutment is associated with the lever for moving away from the edge of the paper sheet when the lever moves towards the holding position, thereby exposing the edge of the paper sheet.

Binder apparatus are described. An example binder apparatus includes a housing, a first support rail positioned within the housing and a second support rail positioned within the housing. The binder apparatus also includes first and second closure members coupled to the respective support rails. The closure members are positioned on the respective support rails to enable locking elements of the closure members to interlock when the binder apparatus is in a closed position. The binder apparatus also includes a lever comprising tabs that are received by recesses defined by the support rails. An interaction between the tabs and the support rails enables the support rails to be moved relative to one another and the locking elements to be moved to an unlocked position.

Binder apparatus are described. An example binder apparatus includes a housing and a first carrier rail having a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge. The first carrier rail defining a notch adjacent the second longitudinal edge. The housing biasing the first carrier rail by engaging the first longitudinal edge. The binder apparatus includes a second carrier rail having a third longitudinal edge and a fourth longitudinal edge. The housing biasing the second carrier rail by engaging the third longitudinal edge. The second longitudinal edge hingably engaging the fourth longitudinal edge, the notch defining an opening having a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge. The binder includes a slider having a control element extending therefrom. The control element comprising a first control surface and a second control surface. The first control surface to engage the first edge to urge the first and second carrier rails to an open position, the second control surface to engage the second edge to urge the first and second carrier rails to a closed position.

A ring binder mechanism for retaining loose-leaf pages securely holds closed ring members together to prevent inadvertent loss of pages retained by the mechanism. The mechanism comprises a housing supporting two hinge plates for pivoting motion to open and close paired ring members mounted on the plates. Free ends of the paired ring members have interlocking configurations that securely join together when the ring members close. The configurations prevent misalignment of the closed ring members in all directions transverse to longitudinal centerlines of the ring members. The mechanism also includes locking elements that interact with the hinge plates to block their pivoting motion when the ring members are closed. This holds the free ends of the closed paired ring members together so that the interlocking configurations of the ring members remain interengaged.

A recyclable ring binder apparatus comprises a ring metal incorporating a set of binder rings that are formed of a pair of ring halves. The ring metal can be firmly fastened to a spine section of a binder hardcover by utilizing a post and a small arched snap clamp with a tap. The tap of the snap clamp can be pressed around a neck of the post utilizing a quick release clipping mechanism. The snap clamp can be accessed with an index finger and slid away from the post to remove the ring metal from the hardcover. The ring metal, the hardcover, the snap clamp and the post can be quickly separated into their perspective categories due to the clipping mechanism. Hence, it retains conformance of all components of the ring binder apparatus for recycling without increasing development and production cost.

A ring binder mechanism for holding loose-leaf pages has a housing having a cavity formed in the underside of a central portion of the housing. A pair of hinge plates are disposed between the sides for pivoting movement relative to the housing to open and close rings of the mechanism. The mechanism has an actuator moveable relative to the housing for opening and closing the rings. The actuator has a body, an opening arm extending from the body, a closing arm extending from the body, and a locking finger extending from the body. The closing arm extending into a space between the hinge plates and the central portion of the housing. The hinge plates extend between the opening and closing arms. The locking finger extends into the cavity in the central portion of the housing when the actuator is in the closed position.

Provided is a document reading apparatus capable of suppressing a shock that may occur when a trailing edge of a tabbed sheet passes through a roller pair. In an image reading section, when a document to be read is the tabbed sheet, a timing to start separation of the roller pair in response to detection of a trailing edge of the document is delayed by a time period corresponding to a tab length with respect to the timing to start separation when a document other than the tabbed sheet is conveyed. Thus, it is possible to prevent the shock when the trailing edge of the tabbed sheet passes through the roller pair, and to thereby suppress image reading failure due to the shock.

An actuating lever for a binding mechanism includes a body formed of a first molded material. The body defines oppositely-facing surfaces, with at least one of the surfaces having a recess formed therein. The actuating lever further includes a grip member formed of a second molded material that is different from the first molded material. The grip member is molded at least partially into the recess.

A ring mechanism has an elongate housing and rings for holding loose-leaf pages. Each ring has ring members mounted on pivoting hinge plates for movement between open and closed positions. An actuator has opening and closing arms extending from an actuator body for opening and closing the rings. The mechanism has a travel bar moveable between a locked position in which a locking element blocks pivoting movement of the hinge plates and an unlocked position. The actuator has a flexible arm positioned to push the travel bar toward the locked position when the actuator closes the rings. At least a portion of the flexible arm is adapted to deform during closing in a manner that includes rotation in a first direction relative to the body of the actuator. Movement of the actuator to close the rings includes rotation of the actuator in the first direction relative to the housing.

A switching circuit (400) comprising an inductive component (406) including at least one winding; and a switch (404) is configured to transfer power from a voltage source (402) to the inductive component (406) in accordance with a switch control signal (412). The switching circuit (400) also comprises a controller (408) configured to integrate the voltage across the inductive component (406) in order to generate a signal representative of magnetic flux in the inductive component (406); and use the signal representative of the magnetic flux in the inductive component to account for a peak magnetization current value in order to control the switch (404).

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a compound power converter in which the majority of power passes from input to output through only a single stage of power conversion. At least one embodiment includes a main converter with an auxiliary output. The auxiliary output energizes a reservoir that provides input power for a supplemental converter capable supplying the main output. The supplemental converter improves regulation and can provide holdover power for Power Factor Correction (PFC) or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) operation.

A system, method, and apparatus for providing three level inverter modulation is disclosed. In one embodiment, control signals can be provided to control a three level inverter in a power converter based on at least one feedback signal.

An additional electric power receiving method replacing conventional grounding with a negative voltage source includes the step of transmitting electromagnetic wave or current from a power supply source to a rectifier, wherein a grounding end of the rectifier is in electrical communication with the negative voltage source, and the negative voltage source is selected from a negative potential intrinsic of an organism. A device applicable to the electric power receiving method includes a rectifier having an input end and two output ends, wherein the input end is in electrical communication with a power supply source, and rectified direct current is transmitted from the output ends. With the method and device, not only an increase in additional electric power obtained is achieved, but conversion efficiency and stability of current and electromagnetic wave is enhanced.

Methods and apparatus are presented for detecting phase loss and/or excessive ripple in a power converter, in which bandpass filters are used to obtain harmonic voltage amplitudes associated with the power converter DC bus, and phase loss is detected if a ratio of the second harmonic to the sixth harmonic and/or a ratio of the fourth harmonic to the sixth harmonic exceed predetermined threshold values.

A power supply can provide brown-out protection and overheat protection. The power supply includes a rectifier, a transformer, and a power management device. The rectifier is used for receiving an alternating current voltage. The alternating current voltage has a voltage cycle. The transformer coupled to the rectifier has an inductor coupled to a switch for supplying an output voltage. The power management device is used for controlling the switch to make the inductor save power or release power. The power management device has a multi-functional pin coupled to the rectifier for receiving a detection voltage corresponding to a positive half cycle of the alternating current voltage. The multi-functional pin is also coupled to a thermistor for receiving an overheat protection signal.

An alternating-current/direct-current converter includes a rectifier, a reactor, a capacitor, and a switching rectifier. The rectifier is configured to rectify alternating-current voltage output from an alternating-current power source, thereby converting the alternating-current voltage into direct-current voltage, and to output the direct-current voltage. The capacitor includes terminals. The switching rectifier is coupled to the AC power source and switchable to output the direct-current voltage to the capacitor.

The present invention is applied to a frequency converter used for a receiver. The frequency converter according to the present invention includes an LO signal generator (11) that generates an LO signal and outputs the LO signal; and a mixer (10) that multiplies a received signal that has been band-limited to a usable bandwidth of said receiver by the LO signal so as to convert the frequency of the received signal and outputs the resultant signal. Said LO signal generator is capable of varying a phase resolution.

A full bridge DC-DC converter to which a current doubler is applicable is provided and includes a transformer and a switching circuit that converts a high direct current voltage into a high alternating current voltage and then outputs the high alternating current voltage to the primary side of the transformer. In addition, an output circuit receives and processes the output of the secondary side of the transformer and supplies the processed output to an electric load. The output circuit includes a first inductor, a first contact resistor, a second inductor, a second contact resistor, a first diode, a third contact resister, a second diode, and a fourth contact resister.

A switching power converting apparatus includes a coil unit, a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) controlling power transfer through the coil unit, and a current sensing resistor sensing a current flowing through the BJT so as to produce a sensed voltage thereacross. A switching controller includes a current source supplying a first current, a current generating module generating, based on an input voltage associated with the sensed voltage, a second current, which is proportional to the current flowing through the BJT, a multiplexing module selecting one of the first and second currents as an output current, and a driving module outputting, based on the output current, a driving current, which is proportional to the output current, to the BJT to thereby conduct the BJT.

Methods and apparatuses for a soft-start function with auto-disable are described. Such methods and apparatuses can gradually increase a voltage towards a reference voltage using a ramp generator and a control loop and can disable the ramp generator and the control loop once the voltage has reached the reference voltage.

A voltage regulator coupled to an unregulated DC input voltage source by an input terminal, and to a load by an output terminal is disclosed. The voltage regulator converts an input voltage at the input terminal to an output voltage at the output terminal. The voltage regulator includes one or more slaves, and each slave includes a switching circuit which serves as a power switch for alternately coupling and decoupling the input terminal to an intermediate node. The voltage regulator also includes a filter coupled to the slaves, the filter including one or more inductor banks each of which having a predetermined number of inductors.

An aspect of the present invention relates to glass for a magnetic recording medium substrate, which includes essential components in the form of SiO2, Li2O, Na2O, and one or more alkaline earth metal oxides selected from the group consisting of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO, wherein a molar ratio of a content of MgO to a combined content of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO (MgO/(MgO+CaO+SrO+BaO)) is equal to or greater than 0.80, and which has a Young's modulus of equal to or greater than 80 GPa, and a glass transition temperature of equal to or greater than 620° C.

An apparatus for energy assisted magnetic recording of a storage disk include a plurality of dielectric waveguide cores configured to direct received incident light energy to a target, and a near field transducer (NFT) configured to focus light energy received from the plurality of waveguide cores and to transmit the focused light energy onto the storage disk surface to generate a heating spot on the storage disk. The NFT includes a plurality of propagating surface plasmon polariton (PSPP) elements that are energized by the light energy from the waveguide cores. Each of the PSPP elements has a plasmonic metal bar disposed above a single waveguide core in a longitudinal alignment. Each metal bar has a width at least twice the width of the heating spot generated on the storage disk.

A thermally assisted magnetic recording medium (1) includes a substrate (101), an underlayer (3) that is formed above the substrate (101), and a magnetic layer (107) that is formed on the underlayer (3) and contains an alloy having an L10 structure as a main component. The underlayer (3) is formed by continuously laminating a first underlayer (104) having a BCC structure with a lattice constant that is 0.302 to 0.332 nm, a second underlayer (105) that has a NaCl structure including C, and a third underlayer (106) that is composed of MgO.

Technologies are described herein for utilizing a head heater to test temperature stability of a head of a storage device and to prevent the head from operating in an unstable temperature condition. A first power level may be applied to a head heater of a head in a storage device, the first power level configured to simulate a temperature condition in the head. An instability of the head is determined and the temperature condition and the instability of the head are recorded in a memory. The process may be repeated to develop a range of temperature conditions in which the head exhibits instability. The range of temperature conditions and the head heater may then be utilized to prevent the head from operating in an unstable temperature condition during normal operation.

An optical recording medium includes a recording and reading layer that is previously staked or formed afterword and has no concavo-convex pattern for tracking control, and a servo layer in which a concavo-convex pattern or a groove for tracking control is formed. Information can be recorded in the recording and reading layer while tracking is performed using the servo layer.

A return path section includes first and second yoke portions and first, second and third columnar portions. The first and second yoke portions and the first columnar portion are located on the same side in the direction of travel of the recording medium relative to a wave guide core. The second and third columnar portions are located on opposite sides of a plasmon generator and connected to a shield. The first yoke portion connects a main pole to the first columnar portion. The second yoke portion connects the first columnar portion to the second and third columnar portions. A coil is wound around the first columnar portion.

In a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) hard disk drive, a heat-dissipating head slider assembly is described in which the slider is stepped on the disk-opposing side and a HAMR laser module is mounted on the lower surface to assist with dissipation of heat from the laser. The lower surface is a surface of the main body of the slider and is composed primarily of a first material, and the slider may include a heat-dissipating plate that forms the higher stepped surface, where the plate is composed of a second material that has a higher thermal conductivity than the first material, such as silicon.

A digital jukebox (14) allows for playback of a first offering and a second offering. The contents of each offering are individually licensed for public performance at a particular location where the jukebox is found. The jukebox (14) displays advertisements that are selected in response to user interaction with the jukebox or a number of other factors. The jukebox (14) features a screen (18 and 20) that allows user to interact with the jukebox to select offerings, but also to respond to advertising. Jukebox can function in cooperation with a server (12), but in the alternate, can function as an independent and stand-alone device when connection (16) to server (12) is not available.

Disclosed is an optical information recording and reproducing device capable of recording an interference fringe pattern as a hologram in an optical information recording medium, the interference fringe pattern being formed by a signal beam superimposed with signal information and a reference beam, and also capable of reproducing the signal information from the optical information recording medium, the device having a light source unit to emit light, a light splitting unit to split the light into the reference beam and the signal beam, a spatial light modulation unit to superimpose the signal information on the signal light, and a light detection unit to detect an image reproduced by the reference beam, wherein information about defects on the spatial light modulation unit is recorded in the optical information recording medium.

Once a human operator selects one output channel using a port setting key and SEL key, output port parameters of a plurality of output ports connected with the selected output channel are displayed in a given arrangement on an output channel-port setting popup screen, and the thus-displayed output port parameters are allocated to controls of corresponding channel strips. Such arrangements allow parameter setting operation to be readily performed for each of the output ports.

A wireless media player and a related system and methodology are disclosed. One aspect of the wireless media player system pertains to a virtual connector system, apparatus, and method for the automatic establishment of wireless connectivity with other electronic devices. In one embodiment, the media player device employs the use of integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to exchange communication settings, media capability, and other parameters with an external device that also has integrated RFID technology. The automatic exchange of settings and other information via a proximity-based RFID data exchange allows a media player to quickly establish a secure communication link with another device via a commonly supported wireless protocol such as Ultra Wideband (UWB) or Bluetooth. Another aspect of the media player system pertains to a method of using the captured media capability of the connecting device to customize certain menu options and software parameters in the media player.

An apparatus includes a write element configured to apply a magnetic field to write data on a portion of a heat-assisted magnetic recording media in response to an energizing current. An energy source is configured to heat the portion of the media being magnetized by the write element. A preheat energizing current is applied to the write element during an interval before writing the data to the portion of the media. The preheat energizing current does not cause data to be written to the media and brings at least one of the write element and driver circuitry into thermal equilibrium prior to writing the data on the portion.

A plasmon generator (PG) is disclosed with a laminated structure of non-planar X and Y layers formed between a waveguide and write pole. Each X layer is made of a noble metal such as Au while each Y layer is a non-noble metal or dielectric material to improve durability. As a result, the PG has a peg portion at an air bearing surface with improved reliability compared with pegs made entirely of a noble metal. Non-planarity of X and Y layers improves diffusion of Y material between X grains thereby minimizing X grain growth to enhance thermal stability. The laminated PG is formed by a process sequence that involves forming and filling a cavity, and concludes with a chemical mechanical polish process to form a planar top PG surface that faces a write pole leading side.

According to one embodiment, a multilayer optical recording medium including a substrate, a guide layer group that is provided on the substrate and has guide layers in which positional information in a radial direction is recorded, and a recording layer group that is provided on the substrate and has recording layers in which information can be recorded. In the recording layer group, positional information of the recording layers associated with the positional information recorded in the guide layers and control information of the optical device where reflected light volumes of the laser beams on the guide layers and the recording layers become maximum at the positions in the radial direction are recorded at the positions in the radial direction of the recording layers.