Abstract: An impact drive actuator comprises a fixing member, a vibrator, a vibrating member, a movable body, a drive circuit, and a friction adjustment section. The friction adjustment section includes a first electrode disposed on a surface of the movable body that faces the vibrating member and a second electrode disposed on a surface of the vibrating member that faces the movable body and electrically isolated from the first electrode. An electrostatic force is caused to act between the first and second electrodes to change an electrostatic force between the vibrating member and movable body so as to change the frictional force acting between the movable body and vibrating member.

Abstract: A toner that is emulsion aggregation toner particles having an acrylate-containing polymer binder and at least one colorant has an average particle size of from about 5.0 ?m to about 6.7 ?m and an average circularity of about 0.950 to about 0.970. The toner preferably is comprised of styrene-butyl acrylate binder and gel. The toner preferably exhibits a transfer efficiency of about 0.8-1.0, a developability of about 0.3 to about 1.5 mg/cm2, and a charge to diameter ratio (q/d) of about ?0.7 to about ?0.1 fC/micron. A developer containing the toner and a method of forming an image using the toner are also described.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented for image comparison by metric embeddings. In one implementation, a graph is created from each image to be compared. Graph metrics are then embedded in families of trees for each image. Minimum differences between the respective families of trees for different images are compiled into a matrix, from which a similarity measure is obtained for image comparison.

Abstract: To fill a conductive material in an opening portion formed in a base of an electronic component, a groove is formed to surround an opening in an upper conductor, and the upper conductor is divided into a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion surrounding the first conductive portion. A mask is formed such that a conductor to be filled in the opening portion may not contact the second conductive portion. Metal plate is grown from the side of a lower conductor in the opening portion by using the lower conductor as electrode to fill the opening portion with metal plate. The metal plate filled in the opening portion and the upper conductor are joined by plating by using the upper conductor or the lower conductor as electrode.

Abstract: A turbine blade system for a gas turbine engine includes a turbine blade having a trailing edge region extending in a lateral direction and in a lengthwise direction from a pressure side surface to a trailing edge. The trailing edge region includes a plurality of riblets extending in the lengthwise direction from the pressure side surface toward the trailing edge. The trailing edge region defines a plurality of ejection slots each laterally disposed between two of the riblets. The plurality of riblets each define an upper surface having at least a portion in the lengthwise direction being curved relative to the pressure side surface so as to generally shield the upper surface from a high heat load propagating from the pressure side surface and to facilitate cooling air flowing from the ejection slots to flow over the upper surface.

Abstract: A method and apparatus shares image data between devices in which a user can automatically search for desired data using time and geographical position data and then negotiate an exchange for any located data.

Abstract: A system and method for location-specific searching. The invention correctly identifies explicit and implicit locations in a search query, and provides an appropriate dominant location. Top search results are obtained and analyzed to determine which terms in the query often appear in combination, and the query is tokenized based on the analysis. An explicit location indicating a location intent is most likely treated as an individual token, and the explicit location is treated as the dominant location of the query. In the case of a false positive, wherein the explicit location in a query is not the location intent, the explicit location is likely to be present with other terms that provide context. A token will likely include these terms together. The explicit location will therefore not be used to generate location-specific results in the case of a false positive.

Abstract: An antenna coil includes: an air-core type flat coil body; and a coil support member disposed between the coil body and a substrate so that the coil body is supported on a surface of the substrate. The thickness of the coil body is smaller than a radius of a circle, an area of which is equal to an area of a region surrounded with an outline of a projected coil body, the projected coil body provided by projecting the coil body on a projection plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the coil body. The coil support member is made of resin hardened soft magnetic material.

Abstract: A method of selectively sharing a discussion thread with a user can include identifying at least one user specified by an access control structure associated with a discussion thread in a forum and determining that the at least one user is not a member of the forum. The method further can include publishing the discussion thread to the user.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery charger control circuit having a voltage detector to generate a signal indicative of a source voltage level to select one of a first charging mode and a second charging mode, and a charge controller coupled to the voltage detector to enable charging in accordance with one of the first charging mode and the second charging mode based on the signal from the voltage detector. The first and second charging modes establish charging at differing, non-zero rates. The source voltage level may be sampled at a sampling rate to minimize power consumed by monitoring the source voltage level.

Abstract: A method for facilitating the routing of flexible cables is disclosed. A minimum cable bend requirement of a flexible cable is initially ascertained. Then, a cable routing trough is formed into a location on which the flexible cable is to be attached according to a cable route. The ascertained minimum cable bend requirement is observed by the cable route. Subsequently, the flexible cable is routed inside the cable routing trough. Finally, the flexible cable is bounded to the cable routing trough.

Abstract: An information writing device in which the information can be written accurately efficiently and in which variable formats of the disc-shaped recording mediums can be coped with without the necessity of providing master discs from one format of the disc-shaped recording medium to another. A grating interferometer clock scale system is formed by a clock pattern disc 50 having a clock track 52 carrying an optically readable clock pattern 51 and an optical head 60 for optically reading out the clock pattern 51. Clock signals are generated in a clock generator 90, to which is transmitted, via an optical fiber 80, the interference light obtained as an optical output obtained in turn by optically reading out the clock pattern 51 by the optical head 60, based on electrical signals obtained on photoelectrically transducing the optical output. The servo information synchronized with the clock signals is generated by a servo information generating part 93.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprises a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and switching elements each disposed in the proximity of one of intersections between the plurality of gate lines and the plurality of data lines. The LCD further comprises a plurality of pixel electrodes disposed over the gate lines and the data lines via an interlayer insulating film, wherein, when viewed from upside, that is, from the side of a gap between adjacent pixel electrodes toward the side of the gate line, the gap between adjacent pixel electrodes at least partially overlaps with the gate line, and a plurality of control electrodes each disposed under the gap between adjacent pixel electrodes and over the gate line, wherein, when viewed from upside, the control electrode covers the gate line.

Abstract: A method of receiving and processing e-mail includes monitoring available space in an electronic mailbox and, upon predetermined space related parameters being met, applying compression and/or truncation rules to incoming e-mail. The rules are related to predetermined threshold levels such that different steps or levels of compression and/or truncation are applied to incoming e-mails and/or attachments as the predetermined threshold levels are reached or exceeded. The threshold levels are related to the amount free of storage capacity allocated to the mailbox, and as the free space is used up, the degrees of compression and truncation are progressively increased.

Abstract: A fastener feeding device may include a housing that is securable to a power tool, a glider assembly that is slidably coupled to the housing, a depth control nose slidably coupled to the glider assembly and the housing, and a locking member pivotally coupled to the glider. The locking member may include a mounting sleeve coupleable to a power tool for providing a quick release connection of the feeding device to the power tool. A depth stop may be coupled to the mounting sleeve and may be engageable with a depth stop adjusting ring to adjust a depth to which a fastener driven by the system is driven relative to a surface of a workpiece. A depth control locking member may be pivotally coupled to the glider assembly for adjusting the depth nose control nose with respect to the glider assembly. An extension may be connectable between the power tool and the feeding device.

Abstract: A testing apparatus for testing an electronic device, includes a deterministic jitter applying means for applying deterministic jitter to a given input signal without any amplitude variation component occurring and supplying the input signal applied with the deterministic jitter to the electronic device, a jitter amount controlling means for controlling magnitude of the deterministic jitter to be applied by the deterministic jitter applying means and a judging means for judging quality of the electronic device based on an output signal outputted by the electronic device in response to the input signal.

Abstract: Projector and camera arrangements are provided for use in electronic whiteboard systems. Specifically, the present invention provides projector and camera arrangements wherein the projector and camera share the same imaging optics. By sharing the same projection and camera optics, the distortions that affect the projection system are the same as those of the camera system. Thus, the calibration step required in conventional whiteboard systems where the projector and camera are separate, i.e., each having their own distinct optics and settings, is no longer needed. Further, the arrangements provided in accordance with the invention are self-aligning, even when lens distortions are large and even in the presence of strong perspective effects. The shared optics projector and camera arrangements of the invention also provide for dynamic zooming. In addition, various active and passive optical marker or lightpen designs are provided for use in electronic whiteboard systems.

Abstract: Network resource management systems are provided. A representative network update manager includes an updater coupled to a persistent database and to an administrative application residing on an application server and a memory operable to store a plurality of delayed updates. The network update manager is preferably operable to receive at least one update from the administrative application and subsequently update the persistent database. Methods and other systems for network resource management are also provided.

Abstract: A system and method for enabling a graphical programming development environment to provide suggested graphical programming operations, such as suggested nodes or icons to include in a graphical program. User input specifying one or more nodes to include in the graphical program may be received. The one or more specified nodes may then be included in the graphical program. One or more suggested nodes to include in the graphical program may be then be automatically displayed or otherwise suggested to the user. The one or more suggested nodes may be based on the nodes already included in the graphical program. In various embodiments, the one or more suggested nodes may be displayed or otherwise suggested in various ways.