Abstract: An optical pickup has a semiconductor laser that emits a laser beam to read information recorded on a storage medium. A length of an internal resonator of the semiconductor laser is set so as to satisfy a relationship of L.sub.A /(m+1)N<L<L.sub.A /mN where L.sub.A is a length of an external resonator constituted by a beam outgoing surface of the semiconductor laser and a beam reflecting surface of the storage medium, L the length of the internal resonator, N an effective refractive index with respect to a waveguide in the semiconductor laser, and m a natural number. The length L.sub.A is set so as to satisfy a relationship of mNL<L.sub.A <(m+1)NL.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a holder which holds one of a first disk cartridge containing an increased-capacity disk and a second disk cartridge containing an existing disk. A slanted wall is provided at one of corners of a rear edge of the holder confronting one of the first disk cartridge and the second disk cartridge when inserted into the holder. The slanted wall is configured to match both a cut-out portion of the first disk cartridge and a cut-off portion of the second disk cartridge. A mounting surface is provided adjacent to the slanted wall at one of the corners of the rear edge of the holder, the mounting surface configured to match only the projecting portion of the first disk cartridge. Further, a disk cartridge adapted for use with the disk drive is disclosed.

Abstract: An optical disk drive driving an optical disk includes a vibration detecting part for detecting a vibration due to rotation of the optical disk, an operation part for calculating a rotational speed of the optical disk at which the vibration detected by the vibration detecting part is equal to or close to a given threshold value which is a critical point for tolerable vibration, and a control part for controlling the optical disk to be rotated at the rotational speed calculated by the operation part.

Abstract: A steering column for a motor vehicle includes a support element fixedly attachable to a motor vehicle body, a steering column jacket located between the two legs of the support element, a coupling bolt arranged transverse to a steering shaft axis and extending through the steering column jacket and respective longitudinal slots provided in the two legs of the support element, at least two lamellas provided on an outer side of at least one leg of the support element and on an outer side of the steering column jacket, respectively, with the lamellas mutually overlapping each other and each having an opening located in their common overlapping region, with the opening defining together a through-opening for the coupling bolt, and with a pressure plate located at one end of the coupling bolt and an adjustable preloading member located at another end of the coupling bolt and cooperating with the pressure plate for pressing the lamellas together.

Abstract: A method and apparatus processes a video signal by selectively encoding and decoding a plurality of blocks included in the video signal. The encoding apparatus selects a plurality of processing blocks from a motion compensated error signal and decides position data of the processing blocks, wherein error values contained in the processing blocks are larger than the remaining error values and each of the position data of the processing blocks denotes a left top pixel position of each of the processing blocks. Then the apparatus transforms the processing blocks to a plurality of sets of transform coefficients and converts the plurality of sets of transform coefficients into a plurality of sets of quantized transform coefficients. The plurality of sets of quantized transform coefficients are combined with the position data of the processing blocks in order to provide an encoded signal.

Abstract: A motor vehicle has an internal combustion engine and an exhaust system with an exhaust which has at least one catalytic converter and at least one silencer, for example two silencers. Each silencer is connected fairly firmly to the vehicle bottom and/or chassis of the motor vehicle by at least one holder, for example two holders. The exhaust contains, upstream of the first silencer and between this and the subsequent, second silencer, at least one deformable line member having a bellows for vibrational decoupling and for compensation of the lengthening of rigid exhaust parts caused during operation by the hot exhaust gas. The holders and the said line members enable the pipes and silencer housings of the exhaust to be made thin-walled and light.

Abstract: A detachable door hinge for a motor vehicle door including a hinge pin for connecting two hinge flaps for a pivotal movement relative to each other and supported in a gudgeon of one of the two hinge flaps by maintenance-free bearing sleeve for a free rotation and extending into a gudgeon of another of the two hinge flaps, the hinge pin having a radially extending shoulder engageable between adjacent surfaces of the gudgeons of the two hinge flaps, a cone adjoining the radially extending collar and which tapers toward a free end of the hinge pin and is received in a corresponding conical enlargement of a gudgeon bore of the another hinge flap, and an attachment extending into the gudgeon bore of the another hinge flap and having an outer thread and a diameter which is smaller than a diameter of the gudgeon bore of the another hinge flap and a nut for preventing an automatic lifting off of the another hinge flap, and having a neck portion extendable into the gudgeon bore of the another hinge flap into a space b

Abstract: An apparatus for encoding a digital video signal to reduce a transmission rate of the digital video signal, which comprises a feature point based motion compensation circuit for selecting a set of feature points from the reconstructed reference frame to detect a set of motion vectors between a current frame and a original reference frame corresponding to the set of feature points by using a feature point based motion estimation, and for generating a second predicted frame based on the set of motion vectors and the reconstructed reference frame. The feature point based motion estimation employs a convergence process in which a displacement of each of the feature points are given to a motion vector thereof and the six triangles of each of the hexagon are affine-transformed independently using the displacements of their vertex feature points. If the displacements provide a better PSNR, the motion vector of the subject feature point is sequentially updated.

Abstract: A waste water treatment system including an anaerobic tank for treating phosphorous contained in initial waste water, a pair of anoxic tanks for treating nitrate in the waste water from the anaerobic tank, a holding tank for containing therein the waste water from an anoxic tank, an aeration tank for treating an organic material contained in waste water from the holding tank by microorganisms and pure oxygen and for treating ammonia by microorganisms to convert the ammonia into nitrate, with the aeration tank being a substantial cylindrical body mounted on a concrete bottom provided with an inclined eccentric slope for causing the waste water to eccentrically flow within the aeration tank, having a diffuser for diffusing compressed air into the waste water in the aeration tank, and a pure oxygen generator, and with the anaerobic tank, the pair of anoxic tanks and the holding tank being mounted around the aeration tank, a sedimentation tank vertically combined with the aeration tank and communicated therewith,

Abstract: The lavatory has a housing in which a dish-like bowl having a seat is pivotably inserted. The bowl can be swivelled from a position of use into a flushing position. Furthermore, a cleaning apparatus which serves for cleaning the seat and the bowl with pressurized water in the flushing position is arranged in the housing. This cleaning apparatus has for this purpose a cover which overlaps the spray nozzles serving for cleaning the bowl and seat. In the flushing position, the cover and the bowl together bound a cleaning space which is sealed fluid-tight from the interior of the housing. During the cleaning process, even contaminants adhering stubbornly to seat surface or inner wall of the bowl are removed by the pressurized water and washed in the direction of the feces drain. After the cleaning with pressurized water, the bowl and the seat are dried with cold or hot air, for which purpose the cleaning apparatus is additionally provided with a fan.

Abstract: A motor-operated hand-held device (1), such as a drilling device, has a rotary spindle 6 located in and projecting out of a housing (2). Rotational movement of a driving motor (8) is transmitted to a tool (7) situated in an end of the rotary spindle (6). A safety device (11) within the housing (2) prevents deflection of the housing about an axis (A) of the rotary spindle (6) in the event the tool (7) becomes suddenly jammed. The safety device (11) can be activated by a detection device (12) if the tool becomes jammed. The safety device (11) is located inside the housing 2 adjacent to the rotary spindle (6) and is formed of at least two component parts which cooperate in frictional engagement in the event the device is activated. One of the component parts is connected to the housing (2) and the other is connected to the rotary spindle (6).

Abstract: A therapeutic device for absorbing vibrations acting on a region of a human body and including at least one vibration-absorbing pillow formed of a synthetic compound resistant to an elastic compression and having a Shore hardness of 0.5-4.

Abstract: An implantable bioresorbable membrane for the separation and regeneration of tissue in a defect site and augmentation of tissues surrounding other implants comprises: (a) porous bioresorbable polymer matrix made of a bioresorbable polymer selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), polycarprolactone, polyparadioxanone, polytrimethylene carbonate and a mixture thereof; and (b) a reinforcing fabric made of bioresorbable fibers embedded in said matrix, and is produced by preparing a fabric as a support from bioresorbable fibrous materials, coating the fabric with a solution containing a bioresorbable polymer and a pore forming agent, and treating the coated fabric to generate pores.

Abstract: An encoded video signal is decoded to obtain a decoded video signal, wherein the decoded video signal includes a previous and a current frames and is processed an a macroblock-by-macroblock basis, each frame's data containing pixel values, by deriving a set of quantized discrete cosine transform coefficients corresponding to current frame data and converting the set of quantized discrete cosine transform coefficients into a set of discrete cosine transform coefficients. Thereafter, depending on the complexity of the current frame data detected, high frequency components of the set of discrete cosine transform coefficients within a preset region are filtered based on the set of discrete cosine transform coefficients and the complexity of the current frame data, to thereby produce a set of filtered discrete cosine transform coefficients.

Abstract: A telescopic slide assembly for a pullout tall cupboard and including U-shaped stationary and displaceable rails attachable, respectively, to an element of the cupboard unit and a bottom side of the pullout cupboard, with the displaceable rail arranged telescopically within the stationary rail in a nested relationship, and with stationary and displaceable rails having, respectively, support and running rollers provided, respectively, in the front region of the stationary rail and the rear region of the displaceable rail and projecting, respectively, beyond the upper edges of the cheeks of the stationary rail and beyond the foot web of the displaceable rail.

Abstract: A spreading anchor including an anchor rod (2) having, at its one end, a cone-shaped head portion (3) widening in a setting direction and, at its opposite end, a load application element, the anchor further including a sleeve (5, 16) surrounding the anchor rod (2) and having at its end adjacent to the head portion (3), an expansion section (7, 17) formed of a plurality of expansion tabs (9, 18) separated from each other by axially extending slots (8), and extending form a plastic hinge (11) in a direction toward the head portion (3), the expansion tabs (9) expanding radially upon relative displacement of the sleeve (5, 16) and the head portion (3), and the expansion tabs (9) having convexly curved, in the direction toward the head portion (3) free front edges (10, 19), with convexly curved free front edges (10, 19) of the expansion tab (9) forming, in a completely expanded position of the expansion tabs (9, 18), substantially arc sections of a circle (R).

Abstract: A magnification change-over device is arranged to be highly suitable for a camera of the kind having a photo-taking lens and a viewfinder arranged independently of each other. The device includes the photo-taking lens having an image magnification which is variable; the viewfinder which is arranged to have an image magnification thereof also variable; an operating device for varying the image magnification of the viewfinder; a detecting device for detecting the magnifying state of the viewfinder; and a driving apparatus for driving the photo-taking lens according to a detection signal of the detecting device when a shutter release operation is performed. After a magnification setting operation is performed on the viewfinder, the change-over device changes the magnification of the photo-taking lens according to the magnification of the viewfinder when a photographing operation is actually performed.

Abstract: A soil heat exchanger for effecting an energy exchange between earth soil and an energy exchanger and including a thermoinsulated flow duct arranged in a borehole formed in ground, a pump provided at an end of the flow duct, a shroud pipe surrounding the flow duct and the pump, and a return flow region for return water located radially outwardly of the shroud pipe and including return flow pipes and a porous filling, with the return flow pipe means extending down to a bottom of the borehole and having lateral opening means communicating with an interior of the shroud pipe through the inlet openings of the shroud pipe, with the shroud pipe having its lower end spaced from the bottom of the borehole, and with the lateral openings of the return flow pipes being beneath the lower end of the shroud pipe, and with the porous filling extending from the borehole bottom and at least up to a level above the inlet openings of the shroud pipe.

Abstract: A drive-in expansion fastener is provided having a generally cylindrical, hollow body with a tapered end formed from an angular truncation of the body. The body is reinforced by at least one longitudinal rib so as to permit drive-in penetration from the tapered end even if the fastener is formed from plastic materials. The fastener is retained within the wall by at least one pair of hinged flanges which expand .Iadd.or move .Iaddend.circumferentially .Iadd.apart .Iaddend.in response to the threaded insertion of an ordinary screw within the hollow portion of the body. That screw engages an inclined surface within the body to cam the flanges outwardly. The flanges engage the back surface of the wall while a longitudinally .[.slit portion.]. .Iadd.split length .Iaddend.of the body expands within the hole created by drive-in penetration.