Abstract: A process for spot-welding hydroformed members allows at least one hydroformed member to be positioned with an end butted against a lateral side of the second hydroformed member. A structural shell member sandwiches the joint around the two hydroformed members to provide a surface to which each of the hydroformed members can be spot-welded. The U-shaped structural support receives the lateral side of one hydroformed member in the bight portion thereof and has arms that are positioned against the perpendicularly positioned second hydroformed member. Each of the hydroformed members are formed with access openings therein to allow spot-welding electrodes to be positioned against an appropriate wall of the hydroformed member and the adjacent portion of the U-shaped structural shell member. The joint is rigidly formed by spot-welding each of the hydroformed members to the structural support. The process is particularly adapted for utilization in the manufacture of automotive frames.

Abstract: Device for opening/closing an opening in a vehicle roof by means of a transparent sunroof cover on the one hand and an opaque sunscreen cover on the other hand, which covers can be actuated separately from each other in accordance with a manual actuation of a control device, whereby, from a fully open or a fully closed position, the sunscreen cover can be moved first in the opening in each case.

Abstract: A portable high chair including a flexible seat portion, a flexible tray portion, and a flexible restraint portion secured to both the seat portion and the tray portion.

Abstract: A method and a device are provided for adjusting a vehicle reclining seat which can be moved together into a resting position, the backrest of a front passenger seat being able to be folded downward to the rear and forming a resting surface together with a backseat. Provision is made for the front passenger seat and the rear seat to be movable automatically into a resting position and back into the seating position.

Abstract: A unique and versatile seating system for automobiles is provided. The seating system includes aspects to improve the functionality of the seating arrangement while maintaining the safety and comfort of the automotive seats. In certain embodiments, the seating system includes a reversible automotive seat that includes a seat cushion and a backrest. The backrest is movable between a forward seating position and a rearward seating position and includes an integrated restraint system which is operable to secure an occupant seated when the backrest is in either the forward or rearward seating positions.

Abstract: Portable platform assemblies, e.g., tray, desk, or shelf, are provided for placement on the backrests of chairs or seats or similarly vertical surfaces. More particularly, the subject invention pertains to platform assemblies that can be placed on the backrest of a front seat in a vehicle, for example, but not limited to, an automobile, and are useful to someone sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. The tray or shelf assembly can be extended, as well as adjusted to a variety of angles useful for writing, reading, eating or other uses. The platform assembly also provides a safety feature that allows the platform to be automatically collapsed and folded upwards or downwards when sufficient pressure is applied at or near the front of the platform assembly.

Abstract: An automotive seat of the type allowing a child seat to be mounted thereon and including a center back portion, wherein a shape-retaining/locking element is provided to a lower region of the center back portion. The shape-retaining/locking element includes a rigid hollow support body; a cut-away portion defined in the support body; a female engagement element to which the child seat is lockably engaged, the female engagement element being exposed outwardly in such cut-away portion; and a cover element for covering the hollow support body and cut-away portion. The cover element includes a layer of hard synthetic resin material with a certain elasticity, such that it normally tends to retain its original shape generally conforming to a forwardly facing surface portion hollow support body. One end of the cover element may be releasably connected to the lower region of the hollow support body.

Abstract: The chair includes seat and back assemblies interconnected in a four-bar linkage. The chair further includes a tension mechanism comprising a coil spring projecting forwardly from a base and an adjustment linkage which is connected to said coil spring and to a front link of said four-bar linkage. A back linkage end of said adjustment linkage being axially movable along an axis of said coil spring and a front linkage end being vertically movable along said front link to adjust displacement of said adjustment linkage during rearward pivoting of said front link.

Abstract: A fitting for a vehicle seat, in particular for a motor vehicle seat, has a first fitting part (11), a second fitting part (12) in geared connection with the first fitting part (11), and an eccentric (26, 27) for driving a rolling movement of the second fitting part (12) on the first fitting part (11). The eccentric is defined by at least one driving ring (26) and two wedge segments (27). The wedge segments (27) are braced with respect to one another. The driving ring (26) encloses the wedge segments (27). For each of the wedge segments (27), the outer side of the wedge segment bears along at least one outer supporting line (33) against the driving ring (26).

Abstract: A vehicle seat is provided with a pair of left and right seatback side frames comprising a seatback frame. The seatback frame is connected to the rear end of a seat portion frame via a reclining mechanism. The vehicle seat is further provided with a torsion bar that is an elastic body between the reclining mechanism and the seatback frame. When the seatback frame displaces and falls forward relative to the seat portion frame, the torsion bar deforms and resists the displacement of the seatback frame. The torsion bar is arranged at the upper region of the seat occupant's pelvis.

Abstract: A lounge chair having movable armrests. The lounge chair comprises a seat, a back, legs and armrests. The armrests may be placed in a raised position for use by the occupant or may be swing down to provide more room or to allow the occupant to easily exit the lounge chair. The armrests are preferably attached to each other such that moving one arm to the lowered position simultaneously moved the other arm to the lowered position.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a brush includes inserting bristles into bristles insertion holes, and implanting the bristles in a resin material. The inserting further includes preparing sleeves corresponding to cross sectional shapes and cross sectional areas of the bristles insertion holes; introducing the bristles into the sleeves; and independently inserting the bristles within each of the sleeves to the corresponding bristles insertion holes.

Abstract: A wheel hub having two separable components. The wheel hub includes a sleeve rotatably mounted to a vehicle axle. A wheel-mounting flange for mounting a wheel of the vehicle is positioned substantially around the sleeve, and a bolting lip of a brake rotor (or brake drum) is sandwiched between the wheel-mounting flange and a bolting flange of the sleeve.

Abstract: A braking system 12 for use with an electric vehicle 10 including an electric motor/generator assembly 14, and a conventional electrical energy storage device 16. Motor/generator 14 selectively drives wheels 20 of vehicle 12. The braking system 12 includes a motor control module 26 which is communicatively coupled to motor/generator 14 and which selectively causes motor/generator 14 to provide a regenerative braking function at wheels 20 of vehicle 10. Braking system 10 further includes an antiskid braking system which selectively provides friction braking at wheels 20 and 24 of vehicle 10. The braking system 12 is effective to detect antiskid braking events at each of the wheels 20, 24, to selectively provide an antiskid braking function at each of wheels 20, 24 where the antiskid braking events are detected, and to selectively disable the regenerative braking function only when an antiskid braking event is detected at either of wheels 20.

Abstract: A method for performing entropy coding comprising the steps of (A) receiving an input stream and side information and (B) replacing the input stream with an index to a list of a number of valid input streams that satisfy all constraints associated with each specific type of the side information, where the list of the number of valid input streams that satisfy all constraints associated with each specific type of side information is based on an amount of redundancy in a system.

Abstract: An outdoor storage compartment with a housing having exterior rectangular side walls, an interior semicircular side wall, with an open-side, a center swinging door with an integral tray, and a magnetic closure. The door has a center elongate bearing, to hingedly rotate on an axial pin that is vertically spanning the open-side of the housing. The magnets in the magnetic closure are not in contact. When opened, the integral tray is conveyed from the protective interior of the housing to the exterior of the housing. As the door is opened it sweeps the interior semicircular side wall. The door has one radial length section that is slightly shorter than the second radial length section, where the radial length is the length of door measured from the elongate bearing to an end of the door. The shorter section and the integral tray can sweep through the interior of the housing, while the longer section is restrained.

Abstract: A sliding assisting apparatus assists a movable body to move between a drawn-out position and a drawn-in position. The apparatus includes a unit main body to be attached to a main body or the movable body, and a pair of strikers to be attached to the main body or movable body. The unit main body includes a pair of sliders slidably disposed inside a case, lock members movably supported on the respective sliders, coupling parts provided on the case for engaging the lock members, and an urging device provided between the sliders for accumulating a force when the sliders slide away from the other. One striker switches one slider between a case restrained position in which one coupling part engages one lock member and a case restraint released position in which the one coupling part releases the one lock member.

Abstract: As an arrangement to reduce an operational force to draw the drawer 3 forward from the drawer storage position 2, wherein at least a rear end side of a drawer 3 is supported in a drawer storage portion 2 in a manner movable along back and forth and a front end 3b side thereof is supported in a manner movable along back and forth by a floor F at least through a rolling supporting body, the rolling supporting body adopts a free motion rotating body 12 whose upper end 12b makes an abutting contact with a downward facing surface 3a of the drawer 3 and whose bottom end 12a contacts the floor F and the free motion rotating body 12 supports the front end 3b side of the drawer 3 with making a rolling movement at a half traveling speed of the drawer 3.

Abstract: A supporter for a clothes washing machine and a clothes drying apparatus for smoothly sliding a drawer in and out of a case regardless of temperature change by improving the structure of the drawer to be installed in the case. The supporter includes a case to support a clothes washing machine or a clothes drying apparatus and a drawer to be inserted into the case. The drawer includes a main body having an accommodating space, slide rails to be coupled with lateral sides of the main body, a connecting member to connect and support the slide rails, and a front panel to be coupled with a front side of the main body. The slide rails and the connecting member include first screw holes, and the main body further includes bosses at the lateral sides and the rear side of the main body. The bosses include second screw holes corresponding to the first screw holes. The connecting member and the main body include a position determining hole and a position determining protrusion at respective rear central portions.

Abstract: A liquid container, comprising: a housing containing therein liquid; a liquid supply opening formed in the housing for withdrawing the liquid from the housing; a liquid sensor mounted on the housing for detecting a level of the liquid which is variable in accordance with a consumption of the liquid; and a first partition wall extending in an interior of the housing and defining the interior of the housing into at least two liquid accommodating chambers which communicate with each other, the liquid accommodating chambers comprising: an air-communication side liquid accommodating chamber which communicates with ambient air; and a detection side liquid accommodating chamber in which the liquid sensor is disposed at an upper portion thereof.

Abstract: A printhead module for receiving dot data to be printed using at least two different inks and control data for controlling printing of the dot data, the printhead module including a communication input for receiving the dot data for the at least two colors and the control data.

Abstract: In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method for driving a droplet ejection device having an actuator, including applying a multipulse waveform that includes two or more drive pulses to the actuator to cause the droplet ejection device to eject a single droplet of a fluid, wherein a frequency of the drive pulses is greater than a natural frequency, fj, of the droplet ejection device.

Abstract: Measuring a feed spindle length change in a printing exposer, having at least one exposure head on a carrier moved axially along the drum in a feed direction by a stepping motor and the spindle, carries out the measurement by determining the number of stepping motor cycles needed by the carrier to travel through a reference section parallel to the feed direction. During calibration, an optimum number of cycles per revolution of the exposure drum is set, and the number of cycles needed to travel through the reference section is determined. During an operating phase, the number of cycles needed to travel through the reference section is determined and a corrected number of cycles per revolution of the exposure drum is determined in accordance with the relationship Kk=K0×Mx/M0. The temperature of the components involved in the measurement is kept constant with a temperature control system.

Abstract: The present invention provides a printing method comprising a selecting method of selecting defective print elements to be corrected on the basis of, for example, the positional relationship among the defective print elements in a print head so that if there are a plurality of defective print elements such as non-ejection nozzles, not all pixels otherwise printed by the defective print elements are to be corrected but efficient corrections can be achieved on the basis of correlations with the lifetimes of other normal print elements, as well as a correcting method of making up for print data corresponding to the defective print elements selected, and a printing apparatus using the printing method.

Abstract: On detecting an operation instruction for interrupting a power supply, a maintenance mechanism and an ink head are moved with respect to each other in such a manner that the maintenance mechanism is disposed facing the ink head, and thereafter a power supplied to main body of an image forming apparatus is interrupted in a state in which droplets of ink liquids are received by a container of droplet receiving.

Abstract: An inkjet printhead which comprises a plurality of nozzles (46) and one or more heater elements (10) corresponding to each nozzle. Each heater element is configured to heat a bubble forming liquid (11) in the printhead to a temperature above its boiling point to form a gas bubble therein. The generation of the bubble causes the ejection of a drop of an ejectable liquid (such as ink) through the respective corresponding nozzle, to effect printing. The printhead includes a structure (2) which is less than 10 microns thick, on which the nozzles are incorporated.

Abstract: A fluid ejection device includes a chamber, a first fluid channel and a second fluid channel each communicated with the chamber, a first peninsula extended along the first fluid channel and a second peninsula extended along the second fluid channel, and a first sidewall extended between the first peninsula and the chamber, and a second sidewall extended between the second peninsula and the chamber. The first sidewall is oriented at a first angle to the chamber and the second sidewall is oriented at a second angle to the chamber such that the second angle is different from the first angle.

Abstract: The liquid discharge apparatus includes a head having liquid dischargers capable of deflecting the trajectories of discharged droplets in a plurality of directions. At least two of the liquid dischargers neighboring each other are capable of discharging droplets in the same pixel area. When there is a shut-off liquid discharge due to droplet discharge failure, this information is stored. According to the stored information, the discharge signal corresponding to the droplets the shut-off discharger were supposed to discharge is transferred to another liquid discharger in the vicinity of the shut-off discharger. This other liquid discharger alternatively discharges droplets so that the droplets land in a position the droplets would have had landed if they were discharged by the shut-off discharger.

Abstract: In general, in a first aspect, the invention features a droplet deposition system, including a jetting assembly comprising one or more modules capable of ejecting droplets, a plurality of conduits in fluid communication with the jetting assembly, and a valve coupled to the conduits and adjustable between a first state in which fluid flow through the conduits is substantially prevented and a second state in which fluid flow through the conduits is allowed.

Abstract: A printing cartridge for an inkjet printer includes a housing which is engageable with the printer. An ink supply arrangement is positioned in the housing and is connectable to an ink feed arrangement of the printer to feed ink to the printer when the housing is engaged with the printer. A print media supply arrangement is positioned in the housing and incorporates a roll of print media. The housing defines an exit slot from which the print media can be fed. A print media feed arrangement is positioned in the housing and is operable to feed print media from the exit slot. An array of detectable formations is positioned on the housing to be sensed by a sensing arrangement positioned in the inkjet printer. The array represents a two-dimensional code relating to at least one of the ink and the print media.

Abstract: An ink jet cartridge which includes an ink jet housing including a first valve and a primer portion coupled to the ink jet housing and covering the first valve is disclosed The primer portion includes a priming bulb and a second valve in the priming bulb, air flowing into the ink jet housing via the first bulb when the priming valve is actuated, air flowing into the priming portion via the second valve when the priming bulb is released.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink for inkjet recording capable of giving a color image having excellent fastness to ozone gas and provides an ink set for inkjet recording and an inkjet recording method, which can form an image having excellent color reproducibility and high light fastness, in which the ink for inkjet recording includes an azo dye having a specific structure; an ink set for inkjet recording, including a yellow ink, a magenta ink and a cyan ink as minimum constituent elements, wherein these inks includes the above-described azo dye; and an inkjet recording method using the ink for inkjet recording or the ink set for inkjet recording.

Abstract: In a water base ink set for ink-jet recording, a pigment ink has a total ion concentration of lithium ion, potassium ion, and sodium ion of not less than 60 ppm and a total ion concentration of divalent or multivalent metal ion or ions of not more than 10 ppm, and a dye ink has a total ion concentration of lithium ion, potassium ion, and sodium ion of not more than 1,800 ppm and a total ion concentration of divalent or multivalent metal ion or ions of not more than 10 ppm, wherein the total ion concentration of lithium ion, potassium ion, and sodium ion of the dye ink is 3 to 25 times that of the pigment ink. Accordingly, the water base ink set in which the pigment ink and the dye ink can be reliably used in combination without complicating a maintenance system is provided.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording method and an ink-jet recording apparatus, wherein ink image with high quality and good abrasion resistance without generation of beading and bleeding are formed on recording media, in ink-jet recording using an intermediate transfer body, are provided. An ink image is formed by applying an image fixing component (for example reacting liquid) to an intermediate transfer body, and then applying inks of colors, Y, M, C, and K, from print heads corresponding each color. Then a supplementary liquid is applied to the ink image, and the ink image is transferred to a recording media.

Abstract: A recording apparatus has a recording medium feeding mechanism for feeding a recording medium by one at a time, a recording head for performing recording, a discharging roller having a discharging driven roller and a discharge driving roller and a recording medium stacker capable of being changed to a first position in which recording is performed on a hard recording medium and a second position in which recording is performed on a recording medium fed by the recording medium feeding mechanism, wherein the discharging driven roller is in contact with the discharge driving roller in case the recording medium stacker is in second position, and the discharging driven roller is separated from a recording medium transfer path in case the recording medium stacker is in first position.

Abstract: A printed device is provided with an image printed thereon, having a relatively high durability.

Abstract: A corrective/ophthalmic lens comprising an impact lip extending from an anterior lens edge and a radial groove adjacent and parallel to the lens lip posterior surface, an eyewear system containing a corrective/ophthalmic lens and a method of making a lens is provided. The lens impact lip size is variable, determined by frame function and the degree of impact protection that is necessary. A posterior surface of the lens impact lip is beveled with a curvature that preferably substantially matches and coincides with the lens anterior curves, producing a lip with no corrective, low residual power effect or negative image effects. Due to the absence of image change and effects through the lens impact lip, in one aspect the present invention eliminates restrictions to the size of the impact lip.

Abstract: An ophthalmic lens with high definition, wide field of view and high magnification has, in one embodiment, a contact lens, an intermediate field lens and an image lens wherein a real image is formed inside the field lens. At least two of the lenses contribute to the magnification and three surfaces of the ophthalmic lens are aspheric to provide a better defined image. The ophthalmic lens is made disposable with high quality plastic lenses and a plastic holder. A portion of the holder changes appearance in response to change in environment to indicate that the disposable lens has been used.

Abstract: The invention relates to novel intraocular lenses. The lenses are capable of post-operative adjustment of their optical properties, including conversion from single focal lenses to multifocal lenses.

Abstract: An ophthalmic apparatus which allows a patient to experience a manner of view after surgery (after correction) prior to surgery (prior to correction) and is capable of obtaining information required for performing refractive surgery suitable for the patient. The apparatus, which allows a patient to experience a manner of view after correction of optical aberration of a patient's eye, includes a target presenting optical system for presenting a target which the patient's eye is made to visually recognize, an aberration correcting optical system, which is arranged within an optical path of the target presenting optical system and has a light shaping optical unit which performs light shaping, for correcting the optical aberration of the patient's eye, an input unit which inputs data for correcting the optical aberration of the patient's eye, and a control unit which controls driving of the aberration correcting optical system based on the inputted correction data.

Abstract: An eye-anterior-part observation system receives light reflected from an eye anterior part of the eye under measurement illuminated by an eye-anterior-part illumination light source. A movement-distance calculation section measures the displacement of the eye from an eye anterior image by the eye-anterior-part observation system. A wavefront compensation device compensates the wavefront of light reflected or transmitted. A wavefront-measurement section projects light on the eyeground, and receives light reflected from the eyeground through the wavefront compensation device. A calculation apparatus measures wavefront aberrations, based on the measured displacement of the eye and a light-receiving signal by the wavefront-measurement section. A wavefront-compensation-device control apparatus generates a control signal based on the wavefront aberration, and outputs to the wavefront compensation device to compensate the wavefront.

Abstract: An optometry apparatus comprising: a target projecting optical system adapted for diopter movement, for projecting a target onto a fundus of an examinee's eye to form an image of the target on the fundus, wherein the target projecting optical system including: an objective lens to be positioned at the front of the examinee's eye: a relay lens arranged so that a front focal point of the relay lens coincides with an approximate conjugate point of an anterior segment of the examinee's eye with respect to the objective lens positioned at the front of the examinee's eye; a plus-power lens arranged at the approximate conjugate point of the anterior segment with respect to the positioned objective lens, the plus-power lens having refractive power determined so that a front focal point of the plus-power lens coincides with an approximate conjugate point of the fundus with respect to the positioned objective lens; and an astigmatism correction optical element arranged between the relay lens and the plus-power lens, fo

Abstract: A corneal topography slit image alignment system 10, includes a half-slit projector 14 for projecting half-slit images onto a patient's eye 16. Half-slit images 28 and 30 are aligned into a single slit image. A camera 18 captures an image of the aligned slit image. Processor 20 including a memory 26 connected to the half-slit projector 12 and the camera 18 analyzes the alignment of the half-slit images 28 and 30. An edge detector 22 detects the edges of each captured half-slit image and determines an amount of misalignment of the half-slit images 28 and 30 relative to half-slit images being aligned into a single slit image. This amount of misalignment allows computer processor 20 to correct the three-dimensional coordinates of the slit images obtained by a slit beam system 14.

Abstract: Apparatuses whose system parameters and operation can be adapted in particular to a wide range of applications for imaging, testing, stimulating, measuring and treating the eye for carrying out a wide variety of examination tasks or treatment tasks substantially without taking technical steps in the manufacturing process through the control of beam manipulation units—EMS whose elements are independently controllable and which are in marked planes of the optical arrangement of the apparatus; methods for operating apparatuses of this type.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for measuring the thickness of a tear film layer and the heights of tear menisci around upper and lower eyelids of an eye. A plurality of images are acquired between consecutive blinks the eye using optical coherence tomography (OCT). The images depict the tear film layer and tear menisci as distinct from the cornea of the eye. In an embodiment, a plurality of reflectivity profiles from an OCT image are aligned and averaged. The difference between a first peak and a second peak of the average reflectivity profile is measured to determine the thickness of the tear film layer. The heights of the upper meniscus and the lower meniscus can also be measured from the same OCT image. In an embodiment, thickness measurements from the plurality of OCT images are combined. The measurements can be used to diagnose tear disorders, analyze treatments of dry eye and evaluate artificial tears.

Abstract: In a one-dimensional IP (vertical disparity discarding system), it is made possible to obtain a perspective projection image with no distortion or reduced distortion. A stereoscopic display device is provided with a display device including a display plane in which pixels are arranged flatly in a matrix shape; and a parallax barrier including a plurality of apertures or a plurality of lenses and being configured to control directions of rays from the pixels such that a horizontal disparity is included but a vertical disparity is not included.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method for a polarizing conversion assembly adapted to provide polarized light having an intensity distribution to complement an angular transmission distribution of a corresponding light modulator are disclosed herein.

Abstract: A prism assembly is provided. The prism assembly comprises a first prism component having a triangular cross-section along an optical path, a second prism component having a first quadrilateral cross-section along the optical path, a third prism component having a second quadrilateral cross-section along the optical path, a fourth prism component having a pentagon cross-section along the optical path, a first dichroic interface between the first and second prism components and between the third and fourth prism components and configured to reflect a first range of wavelengths of the light, and a second dichroic interface between the first and third prism components and between the second and fourth prism components and configured to reflect a second range of wavelengths of the light.

Abstract: A thin-shaped projection-type display apparatus capable of displaying a high-quality image without causing any ghost image is provided. The projection-type display apparatus includes a screen having a prism, and a projection optical system for guiding image light to the screen. The projection optical system includes a plurality of optical elements. An optical element disposed nearest to the screen on an optical path of the image light among the plurality of optical elements is a mirror. An angle made by the normal to a surface of the mirror approximately at the center of the mirror and the normal to a surface of the screen is between 75 degrees and 87.5 degrees inclusive.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method for projecting video onto a screen. A video unit (10) comprising a first component (30) configured to create a first beam of light with a first polarity, a second component (40) configured to create a second beam of light with a second polarity subsequent to the creation of the first beam of light, and a third component (42) configured to allow the first beam of light pass through it without a change of polarity and to change the polarity of the second beam of light to the first polarity.