Abstract: In a mobile telephone, it is planned to divide the functions usable by this mobile telephone into basic functions and comfort functions. It is planned that access to the comfort functions should be possible only if, in a test of comparison, an operator code stored in a memory of the mobile telephone corresponds to an operator code stored in a security circuit delivered by this operator when a purchaser purchases the mobile telephone, at the same time as he takes out a subscription with this operator. It is shown that, by acting in this way, it is possible to modulate the price of the subscription which may be attractive as well as the availability of the comfort functions of the mobile telephone. This can be done in such a way that economic profitability is ensured either by encouraging the user to keep his subscription with this operator or pay a fee to the operator a fee corresponding to an additional amount that absorbs the cost of the mobile telephone.

Abstract: To provide an expansion valve which permits both the assembling cost and the cost of parts to be effectively reduced by a large margin and thus is highly economical. A high-pressure refrigerant pipe, a valve casing and a low-pressure refrigerant pipe are previously formed integrally with an evaporator. At the time of assembling, an expansion valve unit having a minimum function to serve as an expansion valve is inserted into the valve casing and fixed thereto by a clip, and a distal end portion of a temperature sensing cylinder is fixed to an outlet pipe of the evaporator, thereby constructing an expansion valve. No special joints are required to connect the expansion valve unit to the high-pressure and low-pressure refrigerant pipes, and therefore, the cost of parts can be cut down.

Abstract: To facilitate the customization of instruments, especially mobile telephones whose operation is validated by a chip card, it is planned to use a cargo chip card provided in its memory firstly with complementary function elements and, secondly, with unloading units. As and when the functions are unloaded into the mobile telephone, the units are obliterated. It is shown that in this way the distribution of the services is organized in a simple manner in preventing piracy on the one hand and complicated procedures on the other.

Abstract: A method for the deposition of a coating layer on an optical fiber while it is being drawn. The coating layer is designed to reduce the permeability of the optical fiber to water vapor and therefore to increase its lifetime. The method is characterized in that it consists in carrying out a decomposition of a gas mixture of boron halogenide and hydrogen and/or boron halogenide and ammonia gas by a microwave plasma-assisted addition of energy and in that the operation is conducted in the presence of a carrier gas in order firstly to carry the gas mixture to a reaction medium and secondly to activate the plasma.

Abstract: A container with an integrally molded flap for covering an opening has a top that is deflected during cooling to provide a self-closing capability. This capability is provided by causing the top to cool to room temperature when the flaps are closed into a warped shape, either concave or convex in which the hinge formed integral with the flap and the rest of the cover is curved with the flaps closed. This could be done by careful design of the cap such that it warps this way during cooling naturally, or by pressing on the cap during cooling to “set” the cap and hinge in a curved shape. When the flap is opened, the arrangement of the flap and hinge reduce the chance that the flap will return to its as-molded position and jam.

Abstract: A diffuser master is provided which is manufactured mechanically instead of holographically. The master can be made from a suitable substrate including relatively hard materials such as plastic, glass or metal. A substrate having a first side is worked to form a diffuser surface relief structure thereon. The substrate can be buffed using a buffing agent of a selected grit in order to form surface scratches in the first side of the substrate. The substrate can also be blasted with shot particles in order to form indentations and depressions in the first side. The substrate can alternatively be acid or alkali etched in order to form surface irregularities in the first side. The scratches, depressions or irregularities can be formed in order to create a desired surface relief and hence desired diffuser output characteristics.

Abstract: A plastic cap has one or more hinged flaps that cover openings in the cap, as well as a stepped sealing ring against which the top of a plastic bottle seals. The sealing ring is stepped, much like the rows of seats in a circular stadium. This stepped arrangement permits the cap to be used with many different bottle rim diameters and automatically corrects any ovality of the bottle rim by forcing it to flex into a more circular shape as it engages the steps of the stepped ring.

Abstract: A holographic light shaping diffuser (LSD) is formed from a monolithic glass material by recording light shaping structures (sometimes collectively known as “speckle”, particularly when the structures extend into the interior of the diffuser) in the glass material during its formation. A volume LSD may be produced by the photolithographic writing or other imaging of light shaping structures in a photosensitive glass material. Alternatively, a surface LSD may be produced by this imaging process or by embossing light shaping structures onto a high quality optical glass or by embossing a light shaping structures on a glass film layer coated onto a substrate. Both types of diffusers control the angular spread of transmitted light while homogenizing otherwise spatially noisy light sources such as LCDs and filamented light sources and while maintaining damage thresholds consistent with any glass optical element.

Abstract: A gamma camera is made with two rings, each ring bearing a detector. A flap of a support of the detector can be unfolded or folded against a front face of the machine. In the folded position, the machine can be used to carry out tomography scans or standard whole-body examinations. In the unfolded position, the flap enables the performance of whole-body examinations on a bed-ridden patient who remains in his hospital bed.

Abstract: A fuzzy steering controller for wheel-type agricultural vehicles with an electrohydraulic steering system is disclosed. The fuzzy controller was developed based on a common-sense model of agricultural vehicle steering. The controller implements steering corrections based upon the desired steering rate and the error between the desired and the actual wheel angles. The controller consists of a variable fuzzifier, an inference engine with a steering control rulebase, and a control signal defuzzifier. The controller could be used on different platforms. Tuning of the fuzzy membership functions will accommodate for physical differences between the platforms. The controller achieves prompt and accurate steering control performance on both a hardware-in-the-loop electrohydraulic steering simulator and on an agricultural tractor.

Abstract: A gate valve including a valve disc for opening and closing an opening formed in a partition wall for separating a processing chamber from an other chamber, a valve seat formed on the wall around the opening, and a block provided on a side surface of the valve disc facing the processing chamber for filling up the opening. The valve disc is moved selectively brought into contact with the valve seat. When the opening is closed by the valve disc the block is positioned in the opening to close the opening, and when the opening is not closed by the valve disc the block is not positioned in the opening. A gate valve includes a valve disc for opening and closing one side of an opening formed in a partition wall for separating a processing chamber from an other chamber, a valve seat formed on one side surface of the wall around the opening, a closing member for opening and closing the other side of the opening, and a groove formed in the wall for receiving therein the closing member.

Abstract: According to the method for heating the paving screed of a road finisher, said paving screed including a heating means with several heat elements being supplied with electric power from a rotary current generator and being switched on and off by means of a control device, at least two of said heating elements are switched on and switched off periodically and alternatingly in dependence from the operation temperature of said generator and/or the operation temperature of paving screed components contacting paving material. Said heating means comprises in its control device a microprocessor management section with a program for alternatingly switching between heating elements in cycles under consideration of a predetermined combination of operational parameters.

Abstract: Systems and methods using a spectrometer system for real-time automatic evaluation of tissue injury are described. A method of assessing an injury to tissue comprises reflecting an electromagnetic signal from the tissue to produce a reflected electromagnetic signal; producing spectral data pertaining to the intensities of individual wavelengths of the reflected electromagnetic signal; analyzing the spectral data to obtain a set of results; and providing an indication of the nature of the injury to the tissue based upon the set of results.

Abstract: In a capacity control apparatus of a variable capacity compressor 10 a chamber 30 between a valve seat 26 and diaphragm 24 communicates with a pressure control chamber 12 of the compressor 10. Said valve seat 26 communicates outside said chamber 30 with an inhalation chamber 3 of said compressor. A valve element 25 which is pressure balanced in relation to the pressure Pc in pressure control chamber 12 is axially moveable within said chamber 30. The pressure effective areas of said valve seat 26 and of a diaphragm 24 co-acting with said valve element 25 are formed with equal sizes. Due to the relatively small diaphragm size a small sized and cheap solenoid can be used for the actuation of valve element 25. The cross-section area of valve seat 26 is relatively big and prevents a delayed control response behavior of the capacity control apparatus.

Abstract: In a main valve having a solenoid pilot operated valve, a movable core and a hollow plunger are movably received in a sleeve extending from a pressure control chamber through an electromagnetic coil. The plunger is structurally separated from a main valve member. A shaft is slidably received in the plunger. One end of the shaft carries a pilot valve member. A spring engages at the plunger and the shaft such that the free end of the shaft projects a predetermined length beyond an end face of the plunger. As long as the coil is deenergized, the spring separates the pilot valve member from a pilot valve seat. As soon as the coil is energized, the plunger is attracted to the core, the shaft is displaced in relation to the plunger, and the pilot valve member projecting from the lower end of the plunger closes the pilot valve seat. Due to the developing pressure difference, the main valve is closed and kept in a closed state.

Abstract: A method of operating a probe-based instrument comprises placing a probe of the probe-based instrument in an operative state in which the probe interacts with a heated sample, measuring a parameter of probe operation indicative of a characteristic of the heated sample, and during the measuring step, maintaining interaction between the probe and the heated sample that is substantially free of influences caused by condensation on the probe. The maintaining step includes heating the probe to a temperature at which the measured parameter of probe operation is substantially free of influences caused by condensation on the probe. Heating the probe reduces or eliminates the formation of condensation on the probe from water or materials that have evaporated from the heated sample. The invention is especially useful in connection with atomic force microscopes and other probe-based instruments.

Abstract: A light pipe for a backlight assembly has a front surface and a back surface. The back surface includes an integral surface diffuser microstructure formed thereon. The front surface may also have an integral surface diffuser microstructure formed thereon as well. A backlight assembly has a reflective surface adjacent the back surface of the light pipe and a separate diffuser film layer disposed against the front surface. A pair of brightness enhancing film layers for collimating light are placed adjacent the diffuser film layer. A protective layer is disposed over the brightness enhancing film layers. The integral diffusers on the front and back surfaces of the light pipe significantly enhance the brightness and light distribution uniformity of the assembly without adding additional components or reducing other performance characteristics of the assembly.

Abstract: A secured system of access checking using a portable storage carrier (C) on which there is recorded an electronic key (CL), a digital data processing instrument (LE) for the production of keys, and an electronic lock (L) function capable of authorizing access should the storage carrier have the requisite electronic key. To transfer an entitlement to produce keys (CL) from one production digital data processing instrument (LE) to another, it is loaded with a new public key (K′) and the signature (CER′) of this key.