An apparatus used for measuring a holding force expected to be applied to a pressure member of a press, before the lower and upper dies and the pressure member are installed on the press. The apparatus includes a measuring member to be placed on cushion pins of the press associated with a fluid-actuated cylinder via a cushion pad. A sensing element is disposed on the measuring member or a main slide carrying the upper die, such that the holding force produced by force applying means which includes the cylinder acts on the sensing element, when the measuring member is lowered with the sensing element by the main slide in its downward movement towards a bolster on which the lower due is fixed. A load detecting device is disposed on the sensing element for detecting the holding force acting on the latter. The apparatus also includes a device for recording the holding force as detected by the load detecting device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring a force or load acting on a pressure member for holding a blank or workpiece in a pressing machine.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There has been widely used a pressing machine equipped with a so-called "cushioning mechanism", which is adapted to draw a blank in the form of a metal strip or sheet. This type of pressing machine includes (a) a stationary bolster on which a lower die is fixed, (b) a movable main slide which carries an upper die fixed thereto, (c) a pressure member disposed below the main slide, (d) a plurality of cushion pins which extend through the bolster and support at their upper ends the pressure member such that the cushion pins and the pressure member are movable in the longitudinal direction of the pins, (e) a cushion pad associated with the lower ends of the cushion pins to move the cushion pins, (f) force applying means for applying a holding force to the pressure member. The force applying means has a fluid-actuated cylinder with a piston actuated by a fluid pressure for biasing the cushion pad upwards in the longitudinal direction of the cushion pins. In a drawing operation of the press, a force is transmitted to the cushion pad via the pressure member and the cushion pins, whereby the cushion pad is forced to be lowered, with a result of a retracting movement of the piston which causes an increase in the fluid pressure within the cylinder. Thus, a reaction force corresponding to the fluid pressure is applied to the pressure member so that the pressure member cooperates with the upper die to hold the metal strip under drawing. This force acting on the pressure member is hereinafter referred to as a "holding force".
An example of a press of the type discussed above is illustrated in FIG. 1, in which a drawing operation is performed by an upper die 18 and a lower die in the form of a punch 12, while a metal strip is held between a pressure member 30 in the form of a ring and the upper die 18. The press uses a fluid-actuated cylinder in the form of a pneumatic cylinder 42 for biasing a cushion pad 28 in the upward direction, by a pneumatic pressure Pa generated by the cylinder 42, so that the holding force is applied to the pressure member 30 via a plurality of cushion pins 24.
In a known pressing machine constructed as described above, the pneumatic pressure Pa is commonly adjusted or determined by a "trial-and-error" procedure conducted in trial or test operations on the specific blank to be drawn. With this procedure, the appropriate pneumatic pressure Pa which assures a drawing operation without cracking or wrinkling of the blank strip is eventually established. In this respect, it is noted that the optimum holding force suitable to permit the drawing operation as needed differs depending upon the specific die set (upper die and lower punch) and the specific pressure member. That is, different die sets are used for different blanks, and different pressure members having different weights are used with different die sets. Accordingly, the conventional procedure to determine the holding force and the pneumatic pressure Pa which assure a drawing operation on a specific blank without cracking and wrinkling requires installation of appropriate die set and pressure member on the press, and a trial drawing on the specific blank.
It is considered to replace the above manual trial-and-error procedure by an automatic procedure in which the optimum pneumatic pressure Pa for a specific blank is automatically established by suitably controlling the air pressure Pax in an air tank 44 by operating a solenoid-operated pressure control valve 46. In this case, the optimum pneumatic pressure Pax is calculated according to the following equation (1), on the basis of the following parameters: an optimum holding force Fso for assuring an adequate drawing operation on the specific blank; a weight Wr of the pressure member 30 suitable for the die set used for the blank; number n of the cushion pins 24 used with the pressure member 30; a weight Wa of the cushion pad 28; a weight of the cushion pins 24; and a pressure-receiving area Aa of the pneumatic cylinder 42. The parameters Fso, Wr and n are known from a trial or test drawing operation conducted on a test press using the relevant die set. This considered procedure eliminates the conventionally required cumbersome adjusting operation at the job site, and reduces a work load of the operator of the press, while assuring high stability in the quality of formed products, with automatic establishment of the holding force applied to the pressure member. EQU Pax=(Fso+Wa+Wr+n.WP)/Aa (1)
In the above procedure, however, the weight Wa of the cushion pad is estimated based on the nominal weight as designed, or the weight Wa of the cushion pad is actually measured when the cushion pad is not installed on the press. Therefore, the optimum pneumatic pressure in the air tank as calculated according to the above equation does not reflect influences of a sliding resistance between the cushion pad and its guide member, and a sliding resistance of the piston of the fluid-actuated cylinder. Thus, the above procedure does not permit an effective pneumatic pressure which determines the actual holding pressure, and is not satisfactory to assure practically sufficient reliability of the automatically established holding pressure Fso, and may lead to cracking or wrinkling of the formed products. Another factor which prevents the sufficient reliability of the holding force Fso is the use of the nominal or design value of the pressure-receiving area Aa of the fluid-actuated cylinder, without taking a leakage flow of the fluid into account. The nominal pressure-receiving area Aa is different from the effective value which varies with a degree of the fluid leakage of the fluid-actuated cylinder.
Further, even assuming that the holding pressure Fso acting on the pressure member is kept at an optimum level, this does not necessarily assure that the holding pressure Fso is substantially evenly or uniformly distributed throughout the entire area of the pressure member. The uneven distribution of the holding force Fso may result in cracking or wrinkling of the formed products. This problem is encountered not only in mass production of a given product on the production press, but also in a trial or test operation on a trial press which is conducted for the purpose of determining the positions of the cushion pins. In the latter case, the uneven distribution of the holding force makes it difficult to correctly determine the positions at which the cushion pins are disposed.

Apparatus for measuring blank holding force acting on pressure ring of a press


A clasp for securing two items together includes a first section, a second section, least one pin and a force mechanism. The first section defines a cylindrical passage opening to the first face. The cylindrical passage defines at least one longitudinal J-shaped groove disposed longitudinally along the cylindrical passage. The J-shaped groove includes a main longitudinal portion, a transverse portion and a hooked portion. The second section has a top portion and a piston portion. The piston portion is complementary in dimension to the cylindrical passage. The pin extends transversely to the piston portion and is complementary to the J-shaped groove. The force mechanism applies a repulsive force between the second section and the first section so that when the pin is aligned with the hooked poration, the repulsive force drives the pin into the hooked portion, thereby inhibiting the second section from disengaging the first section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors and, more specifically, to a clasp for securing chains and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ends of chains, lines and ropes are often secured to each other objects through use of some sort of securing mechanism. For example, chains used in jewelry often employ spring-loaded clips that hook into a loop to secure the chain around the neck of the wearer. Another example of a common jewelry chain securing mechanism is a clasp in which one end of the chain includes a male-threaded member and the other end of the chain includes a female-threaded member that is complimentary in shape to the male-threaded member. The female-threaded member is placed in contact with the male-threaded member and twisted relative thereto, causing the threads of the male-threaded member to engage the threads of the female-threaded member, thereby securing the members to each other.
Other types of objects, such as large scale chains, lines, ropes, cable and the like employ clasps or other types of connectors that are used to secure the objects to other objects and themselves. In some applications, such as sailing, it is important to have lines that can be connected quickly and securely.
These types of clasps have the disadvantage of being difficult to use, especially for users having poor near-vision eyesight and arthritis, especially when the clasps are small (as with many jewelry chains). The threaded clasps also have the disadvantage of sometimes becoming unseated as a result of vibration causing the threads to disengage.
Therefore, there is a need for a clasp that is easy to use and that provides secure engagement.


The present invention provides a backlight unit and a control method thereof, and a liquid crystal display device. The control method includes steps as follows: obtaining backlight data corresponding to each partition, wherein the backlight data comprises a plurality of bits of data; dividing the light-emitting unit of each partition into a plurality of subfields with different durations in a light-emitting process during a frame, wherein each subfield corresponds to one bit of data, and any two subfields comprise different numbers of secondary subfields; and outputting the plurality of subfields in a preset order.

With vigorous development of information society, people's demand for information display has become increasingly urgent and extensive, and requirements are increasingly stringent. Display technology of panel industry has developed rapidly since the 1990s and gradually matured. Due to advantages of high definition, good image color, power saving, lightweight and thinness, portability, etc., flat panel displays have been widely used in the above information display products and have broad market prospects. As driving technology of the panel industry matures, opportunities and challenges will follow. Due to limitations of backlight of liquid crystal display devices, such as high power consumption and low contrast, the backlight is forced to develop in a direction of local dimming.
Traditional sub-millimeter light-emitting diode (mini LED) backlights adopt a static driving scheme or a passive matrix (PM) driving scheme to realize local backlight control. Since each region needs to be controlled by a data line, a number of backlight partitions is generally less than 2000 partitions and too many driver chips are required, resulting in high product costs.
Therefore, only by finding cost-reducing technical solutions would there be an opportunity to see actual mass-produced products in the market.

Backlight unit and control method thereof, and liquid crystal display device

TCL CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


In a data transmission system, a first node receives at least two sets of input data signals including at least two signals being based on different synchronization sources. The first node extracts a respective clock signal representing the embedded clock signals from the sources, samples and formats these signals for transmission according to a TDM structure. The TDM formatted signals are transmitted as at least one bit stream over a transmission medium to at least one second node, where the bit stream is demultiplexed into at least two sets of output data signals respective demultiplexed clock signals representing the sampled clock signals. A jitter attenuating mechanism reduces an amount of frequency jitter to below a predefined level to produce a respective clock signal having a synchronization quality superior to that of the demultiplexed clock signals. An interface module recombines each data signal with its associated clock signal.

1. Related Field
The present invention relates generally to data transmission wherein digital signals are multiplexed and demultiplexed. More particularly the invention relates to a data transmission system according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method according to the preamble of claim 14. The invention also relates to a computer program according to claim 24 and a computer readable medium according to claim 25.
2. Description of Related Art
In telecommunication systems of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) type, the synchronization signals may be carried by so-called E1 signals (2.048 Mbit/s). Similarly, in Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) systems, the synchronization signals may be carried by so-called T1 signals (1.544 Mbit/s). In both cases it is the inherent clock frequency of the signals E1/T1 (i.e. 2.048 MHz and 1.544 MHz respectively) that carries the synchronization information through the systems.
A telecommunication system normally uses atomic clocks to create the synchronization signals. These signals (e.g. of E1 type) are then transported through the network, and far out in the network the signals may be fed to a base station having a radio interface. In such a case, the synchronization signals will control the radio frequencies transmitted by the base station for communication with for example cell phones. Hence, even very small fluctuations of the clock frequencies, may cause substantial performance problems. To avoid this kind of problems, the wander of the synchronization signals must be lower than predefined limits, e.g. as specified in the standards ITU-T G.823 and ITU-T G.813.
Typically, each mobile operator distributes a separate clock signal in its network. A so-called backhaul operator may provide network resources for two or more mobile operators. This means that in a given physical network signals originating from different clock sources may have to co-exist. Furthermore, multiple mobile operators may sometimes share a specific base station site. Such a site is a location, e.g. a tower, where a plurality of base stations may be installed. A site sharing situation may arise when one backhaul operator serves a number of mobile operators via one base station (or cell) site. Here, the technical problem for the backhaul operator is to send the different synchronization signals, together with the traffic signals, to the respective mobile operator at the cell site as efficiently as possible.
Let us assume that E1 signals are used. Then, each mobile operator uses his own atomic clock to generate all the E1 signals in his system. Since these E1 signals all originate from the same source (in most cases an atomic clock), a group of E1 signals from a given mobile operator may be referred to as a particular synchronization group.
For example, an STM-1 signal of 155.52 Mbps may carry up to 63 E1 signals and all these E1 signals would then belong to the same synchronization group. The atomic clock for this synchronization group controls the frequency corresponding to the bit rate, namely 155.52 MHz. The 155.52 MHz frequency will therefore be extremely exact because it originates from an exact clock. The inherent frequency of the E1 signals will be 2.048 MHz and this frequency will also be extremely exact due to that 2.048 MHz is exactly 16×155.52/1215=2.048 MHz. This means that if for example the 155.52 MHz is multiplied with 16 (e.g. with a phase locked loop, PLL) and divided by 1215, an exact clock frequency of 2.048 MHz would be generated. Alternatively, the frequency 2.048 MHz can be generated directly from 155.52 MHz by using so called fractional division.
Nevertheless, it has proven to be very difficult to transmit two or more data or clock signals on a multiplex format with good synchronization quality/phase accuracy via a common medium. This is especially true if the signals have the same nominal frequencies, however where the signals show slight frequency deviations relative to one another. In particular, difficulties are here encountered in the demultiplexing process, where the wander must be sufficiently low, for instance to meet the requirements of given a telecom standard, such as ITU-T G.813. The term "wander" is defined as low frequency jitter, normally up to 10 Hz.
When transferring a single signal, so-called low-factor oversampling may be employed to preserve phase information. By low-factor oversampling is here understood a factor higher than one, however typically lower than two. U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,853, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,545 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,109 show different solutions of this type. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches as such can be used to tackle the above-mentioned problem.
In the prior art, the problem has instead been avoided by embedding the necessary synchronization signals in the packets of Ethernet streams. Thereby, it has been possible to reconstruct an original signal on a receiver side, and thus through the use of packets, emulate a so-called circuit connection. This strategy is often referred to as "Pseudo Wire" or the high precision time synchronization protocol IEEE 1588 V.2.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,684 shows system for multiplexing, transmitting and demultiplexing signals having different frequencies. Here, a reference sample signal is used, which is obtained by multiplying a frequency equal to, or higher than, the frequency of the maximum frequency among the transmitted signals with the number of transmitted signals. Each signal to be transmitted is sampled based on the reference sample signal before being multiplexed into the time division format. Any empty time slots are filled with a dummy signal. Consequently, the frequency requirements may become extreme, and substantial bandwidth resources risk being wasted.
US 2008/0025346 describes a solution for synchronizing and multiplexing asynchronous signals. Here, so-called frame phase absorption is carried out with respect to the incoming asynchronous signals. As a result, synchronous signals are generated to which pointer values are assigned that describe the asynchronous properties. The synchronous signals are then multiplexed through processing of changing pointer values by a pointer transmission section.
US 2002/0018493 reveals a digital data transmission system, wherein a plurality of data signals are embedded in a carrier signal using a time division multiplex (TDM) operation. Rate matching is here undertaken between the data signals and the carrier signal by means of stuff locations. Data to be stuffed and the management information for the reassignment are embedded in a path layer overhead of the carrier signal superframe.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,826 discloses a solution, which enables multiple clock signals to share processing resources. Here, pointers are stored in FIFO buffers, and this in turn, renders it possible to compensate for timing differences between a system clock and the respective outgoing line clock signals, so that the clock signals can be regenerated on the receiver side.
US 2005/0078683 describes a data communication system for transferring one or more payload streamed data signals and an auxiliary data signal via a common medium. The auxiliary data signal is organized as data packets, and a transmission data formatter formats these packets into a streamed data signal format.
Then, the signal is multiplexed with the payload streamed data signals into a bit stream for transmission.
Despite the various TDM-based approaches described above, there is no prior solution enabling the transmission of two or more data or clock signals on a multiplex format via a common medium with a sufficiently high phase accuracy to meet the wander requirements of today's most important telecom standards, if said signals are based on different synchronization sources.

Data transmission involving multiplexing and demultiplexing of embedded clock signals


An adjustable height mounting pedestal for public or coin telephones comprises a tubular post having a plurality of knockouts at varying heights ranging from a drive-up curbside height to a standard handicap access height. A backboard mounting enclosure includes an opening therein that conforms to the peripheral configuration of the telephone for which the mounting is adapted. The configuration of the backboard extends about the telephone housing forward of the rear edge of the front housing of the telephone so as to protect the telephone from prying tools. The backboard and post include dividers for dividing the space within the backboard and post into electrically isolated channels for telephone wiring and for power wiring. Adjustable channels fit within selected knocked-out openings in the post when a particular height for the backboard is selected. The mounting channels and backboard are temporarily supported during assembly, to facilitate assembly by a single worker. The mounting post allows mounting of at least one backboard and telephone at a selectively variable height, and also allows the mounting of a second backboard and telephone to the opposite side of the post.

Outdoor telephone booths and pedestals are popular for use in strip-type shopping centers, malls, and other public businesses and other facilities as mountings for public or coin telephones. Many current telephone mounting arrangements are purchased and installed by building contractors and property owners rather than by telephone companies. In addition, many public or coin telephones are owned by property owners rather than by telephone companies, and the proceeds from operation of such telephones are retained by the property owner.
There is a variety of different applications for public or coin telephones in such facilities. For example, telephones are often provided in close proximity to buildings or other structures. A typical single-height mounting arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,927 and U.S. Pat. Des. 232,541 to Bartley et al. In other applications, telephones are provided for drive-up use, either in a curbside mounting or directly installed on the pavement of a parking lot. Curbside mounting for drive-up use is typically a lower mounting than a pavement mounting because of the height added by the curb. Additionally, in high density applications it is sometimes desirable to provide for two telephones mounted back to back. Yet still further, in some applications it is required to provide for a mounting of a telephone at standard handicap access height.
Prior to the present invention, each of these different outdoor applications has required a separate type of mounting arrangement to accommodate the varying height requirements. For heavy users of public or coin telephone mountings, this has necessitated inventory storage of several different types of mounting arrangements.
Additionally, it is known that outdoor telephone mounting arrangements placed at public locations are often susceptible to destruction by vandals or theft. There is considerable loss of money by telephone companies and private owners of the telephones as a result of such vandals and thieves who break into coin boxes of the telephones or remove the entire telephone assembly from the telephone booth mounting assembly when burglarizing. Accordingly, it is further important to prevent or delay unlawful attempts to remove or break into the telephone assembly.
Typical of such arrangements is U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,941 to Quigley, which employs a support wall, a mounting plate, and a partially-surrounding enclosure, and means for affixing the telephone to the mounting plate independently of enclosure. The above-mentioned Bartley et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,927 describes an arrangement whereby the juncture between the rear edge of the front housing of the telephone and front edge of the back housing of the telephone is protected inside the mounting post, to make it more difficult to pry into the telephone housing.
However, there is a need for an improved mounting system for public or pay telephones which is secure in the sense that vandalism and theft is discouraged, yet which is flexible and versatile in configuration such that a wide variety of mounting arrangements including variable height and back-to-back mountings are convenient.

Adjustable height mounting pedestal for public and coin telephones


A holding device includes first and second walls, an adapter card, a deformable sheet member, a set of contact pads, and a force-imparting unit. The first and second walls define an accommodating space, and an insertion space that is reduced in width from the accommodating space. The adapter card extends into the accommodating space through the insertion space. The deformable sheet member has a first end portion that is secured to the first wall, and a second end portion that is sandwiched securely between the adapter card and the first wall. The contact pads are attached to the deformable sheet member. The force-imparting unit is operable so as to impart a pushing force on the deformable sheet member for elastically deforming the deformable sheet member to a contact position, where the contact pads are flush with a planar surface of the adapter card.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a holding device, more particularly to a holding device for holding an electronic module that is to be tested by a testing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional holding device that includes a pair of opposing walls 211, a clamping unit 22, a pair of electrical connectors 23, and a hydraulic driving unit 24. With further reference to FIG. 2, the conventional holding device serves to hold a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) 1 that is to be tested by a testing apparatus (not shown). The DIMM 1 includes a printed circuit board, a plurality of integrated circuits mounted on the printed circuit board, and a set of contact pins 13 that are disposed along an end of the printed circuit board and that are coupled electrically to the integrated circuits. The walls 211 define an accommodating space 213 therebetween. The end of the printed circuit board is disposed in the accommodating space 213 when the DIMM 1 is held between the walls 211. The clamping unit 22 is disposed in the accommodating space 213, and includes a pair of clamps 221 that are operable so as to clamp the end of the printed circuit board of the DIMM 1.
Each of the electrical connectors 23 has first and second ends, each of which is provided with a set of electrical contacts 232, 233. The first end of each of the electrical connectors 23 is connected detachably to a respective one of the clamps 221 of the clamping unit 22. The electrical contacts 233 on the second end of the electrical connectors 23 are connected electrically to the testing apparatus. The hydraulic driving unit 24 controls the operation of the clamps 221 of the clamping unit 22. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the electrical contacts 232 of each of the electrical connectors 23 are respectively in contact with the contact pins 13 of the DIMM 1 when the clamps 221 of the clamping unit 22 are operated by the hydraulic driving unit 24 to clamp the printed circuit board of the DIMM 1, thereby permitting the testing apparatus to perform tests on the DIMM 1.
Although the aforementioned conventional holding device achieves its intended purpose, the hydraulic driving unit 24 generates undesirable noise. Moreover, since the electrical contacts 232 of the electrical connectors 23 are brought into contact with the contact pins 13 of the DIMM 1 by means of clamping, the first ends of the electrical connectors 23 are easily damaged, thereby requiring frequent replacement of the electrical connectors 23. Further, since the DIMM 1 is subjected to high temperatures during soldering of the integrated circuits on the printed circuit board, deformation of the DIMM 1 occurs. As such, since the clamps 221 of the clamping unit 22 are rigid, the electrical contacts 232 of the electrical connectors 23 may not be properly brought into contact with the contact pins 13 of the deformed DIMM 1, thereby making the test results inaccurate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,137, there is disclosed a conventional holding device that addresses the above-mentioned problems. The conventional holding device includes opposing first and second walls, a deformable sheet member, a plurality of contact elements, and a force-imparting unit. The first and second walls define an accommodating space for extension of a DIMM thereinto. The deformable sheet member has a first end that is connected to the first wall, and a second end that is opposite to the first end of the deformable sheet member and that is coupled to the first wall through a pivoting member. The contact elements are attached to the deformable sheet member and are coupled electrically to a testing apparatus. The force-imparting unit is mounted on the first wall, is in fluid communication with the accommodating space, and is operable so as to impart a pushing force on the deformable sheet member for elastically deforming the deformable sheet member to a contact position, where the contact elements are respectively brought into contact with the contact pins of the DIMM, thereby permitting the testing apparatus to perform tests on the DIMM.
However, the aforementioned conventional holding device is disadvantageous in that, since the second end of the deformable sheet member is coupled to the first wall through the pivoting member, the deformable sheet member swings along with the pivoting member when the pushing force imparted by the force-imparting unit on the deformable sheet member. As such, the contacts elements may be misaligned with the contact pins of the DIMM, thereby obtaining inaccurate test results. In addition, a high precision is required to manufacture the conventional holding device so as to mitigate the aforesaid misalignment drawback, thereby resulting in relatively high manufacturing costs.

Holding device for holding a tested electronic module


Copying apparatus capable of high speed document exchange and high speed copying. Sets an original at the exposure position and prefeeds at least two originals to their respective standby positions. Pre-fed originals are detected by various sensors. Prefeeds copy paper for the respective originals based on the aforesaid detection results. Copying efficiency is improved by prefeeding originals and prefeeding copy paper.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copying apparatus for forming an image of an original document placed on a platen on the surface of a copy paper sheet, and having an automatic document feeding device for feeding original documents onto a platen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Copying apparatus have been provided in recent years with automatic document feeding devices (hereinafter referred to as "ADF") to decrease the manual labor of exchanging original documents and increase copy processing capacity. The ADF feeds original documents one sheet at a time and places the fed sheet at a predetermined position on a glass platen, then discharges the scanned original document from the glass platen.
The ADF allows high-speed copy processing by prefeeding a next original document into the original feed path immediately after feeding a prior original document (hereinafter referred to as "prefeed process").
In conventional copying apparatus, however, the paper prefeed process is only executed for the second sheet. Therefore, even when there is suitable space available to allow a prefeed process for a third sheet due to a relatively long feed path extending from the feed opening to immediately in front of the image transfer portion, a prefeed process for a third sheet cannot be implemented, thereby preventing a subsequent increase in copy speed.
Conventional ADF separately provide a motor for driving a feed means for feeding original documents from the paper tray to immediately in front of the glass platen, and a motor for driving a transport means for transporting the original document onto the glass platen. In recent years, there has been strong demand for higher speed copy processing using ADF, and the percentage of mid-grade apparatus and basic-grade apparatus incorporating ADF has increased.
It is, however, extremely difficult to reduce the cost of conventional copying apparatus which use separate motors to independently drive the paper feed means and the paper transport means.

Copying apparatus with automatic document feeding device


A system and method are provided for improving efficiency of operation and convenience of access to a fleet of taxis, or other service vehicles, requiring rapid, on-demand dispatch to customer-determined locations. Automatic speech recognition (ASR) and/or radiolocation technology are used to automate the entry of the customer pickup location, and optionally the dropoff location and other relevant information as well. A customer speaks the pickup location into a cellular telephone which then digitizes and transmits it as a data communication to an ASR system. The ASR system decodes the digitized utterance into a pickup location which is passed to a vehicle matching and dispatch system. The vehicle matching and dispatch system matches a taxi and dispatches it to the pickup location. In one embodiment, the identified pickup location is transmitted to the customer's cellular telephone for confirmation or correction, before dispatch of the requested taxi.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of service vehicle hailing, and more particularly through use of a cellular telephone handset.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A dispatch-based taxi fleet comprises a collection of taxis (one type of service vehicle), distributed within some geographic region, and a central dispatch office. Typically, the central dispatch office has an automatic means for tracking the location of each active service vehicle, based for instance on the global positioning system (GPS), or some other suitable radiolocation technology.
A primary function of the central dispatch office is to receive customer pickup requests, match them with available service vehicles, and dispatch the service vehicle to the customer. This is typically done through the following steps:                1. A customer places a conventional telephone call to the central dispatch office, and is connected with a human operator, also called a "telephonist."        2. The customer supplies the desired pickup address. Sometimes the destination address, and additional information or parameters such as desired characteristics of the service vehicle (e.g., extra large capacity), may be supplied as well.        3. The telephonist identifies a suitable service vehicle, ideally located close to the requested pickup address.        4. The service vehicle is assigned to the customer, and proceeds to the requested pickup location.        5. The telephonist confirms the dispatch of the service vehicle to the customer.        6. Optionally, the telephonist may supply to the customer a reservation or confirmation number, and/or a number identifying the dispatched service vehicle. While not common in the US market, this is typical in the European market. The service vehicle identifier enables the customer to ensure that they are taking the right taxi. The reservation or confirmation number enables the driver to ensure that they are serving the right customer. The reservation or confirmation number also allows the customer to recontact the dispatch office at a later time to check the progress of the dispatched vehicle and/or cancel the dispatch request should the customer's needs change.        7. The telephonist and the customer end their telephone call and the customer waits for pickup by the service vehicle.        8. The service vehicle meets the customer and takes them to the desired location.
One major cost of operating this system is the labor cost of the telephonist. The telephonist is occupied, by a single caller, from step 1 through step 7 above inclusive. The labor cost of the telephonist, and the associated costs of office space, telephone equipment, etc., place a limit on the size of taxi fleet businesses.
Some attempts have been made to eliminate the telephonist. One solution uses automated speech recognition (ASR) technology to automate the interaction with the customer, deploying this technology in what is referred to as an interactive voice response (IVR) mode. In such a solution, the customer again places a conventional audio telephone call to the dispatch office. However, the call is answered not by a human operator, but by a computer system equipped with ASR and text to speech (TTS) technology. This computer system attempts to perform the function of a human telephonist. The customer is prompted to speak the pickup address. The customer's spoken response, propagated over the conventional telephone system, is then processed by the ASR technology in an attempt to yield the pickup address. The remaining steps are also completed by automatic means, and the service is nominally rendered to the customer as described above. This design is offered commercially now, by Raywood Communications Pty Ltd, of Victoria, Australia, and Sigtec Pty Ltd, of Seaford, Australia.
This prior approach, while in principle offering an advantage over the use of human telephonists, has limitations in practice. One problem is the use of a conventional wireline or wireless audio telephony channel, where the caller's audio is subjected to arbitrary noise, dropouts or other corruptions. This reduces the accuracy of the speech recognition system, sometimes rendering the proposed solution unusable. Another problem is the rigid structure of the computer system, which can accept and respond to only a limited number of predefined commands or inputs, and which must interact with the customer exclusively via audio input and output. All of these present obstacles to the success of this prior solution.
Another potential solution is the use of Short Message Service (SMS) or text messages, sent from a cellular telephone handset. With SMS, modern cellular telephones support the composition of brief text messages (up to 160 characters in length), which may then be transmitted wirelessly to another cellular telephone, or to a suitable computer interface. In such a system the customer composes a text message comprising the address of the desired pickup location. This text message is wirelessly transmitted to a suitable computer system operated by the taxi fleet operator. This computer interprets the address, and assuming it represents a valid pickup location, proceeds to assign a suitable service vehicle to the customer. The computer sends a confirming text message back to the customer, advising of imminent pickup. This design is offered commercially now, by Sigtec Pty Ltd, of Seaford, Australia.
However, this approach also has limitations, for example, the need for the customer to compose the text message containing the pickup address, a maximum text message size of 160 characters, etc.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved dispatch system that can eliminate the costs and inconveniences described above while still providing reliable and convenient customer service.

Automatic service vehicle hailing and dispatch system and method


The present invention pertains to an ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus for buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the like, as well as for open areas. In particular it pertains to an ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus by which means a suitable fragrance may be dispersed into the ambient air at a suitable time in the optimum concentration. By employing a material having increased surface area on the ultrasonic vibrating surface, it is possible with the present invention to generate a fragrant mist at an increased rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus for buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the like, as well as for open areas. In particular it pertains to an ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus by which means a suitable fragrance may be dispersed into the ambient air at a suitable time in the optimum concentration.
2. Prior Art
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in improving the ambience in the atmosphere of living, working, traveling areas and the like through the use of fragrances. Such applications include not only masking tobacco stench and the like, but also actually exerting a physiological and psychological effect on the individuals present in the ambience.
Previously, this concept of fragrances exerting a physiological and psychological effect on human beings was known empirically as "aroma therapy". More recently, from research in the area of concomitant negative variation (CNV) of human brain waves, it has been verified that certain aromatic substances have calming, or conversely, stimulating physiological effects. For example, it has been shown that when lemon, or similar fragrances are dispersed in the air conditioning air of conference rooms, key-punch areas, and the like, that an increase in efficiency occurs and that loss of efficiency through fatigue is diminished. Similarly, rosemary and related substances have been shown to have a calming effect.
The stimulating effects of aromas related to lemon (group A), and conversely, the calming effects of rosemary and similar aromatic substances (group B), are shown below in Table 1.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Lemon Group Fragrances (A) Rosemary Group Fragrances (B) ______________________________________ Stimulation Sedation Increased efficiency Relaxation Increased alertness Restful sensation Less fatigue Diminished nervous tension Improved concentration ______________________________________
By using appropriate fragrances and by dispersing them according to a suitable time schedule, the desired effects may be optimized. Taking the example of an office, a group A fragrance and a group B fragrance may be dispersed according to the patterns shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively, whereby a fragrance or mixture of fragrances having stimulating properties are dispersed during working hours and the sedating fragrances are dispersed during break periods. In the figures, N.sub.O indicates the lowest concentration of the fragrance detectable by the human nose (threshold value) and N.sub.1 indicates the concentration at which the fragrance is present during periods when its effect is not desired. It can be seen from the figures that even when the effect of the fragrance is unwanted, it is supplied at a low level below the threshold value. During the time blocks when it is desired to disperse the respective fragrance, its concentration is raised to a point above the threshold of detection by the human olfactory apparatus. Thereby, the appropriate fragrances are cycled throughout the day, each during its scheduled time zone, thus making it possible to accentuate the various "life rhythms" and at the same time, to constantly preserve the ideal ambience for the working environment. Furthermore, the advantageous properties of the various fragrances can best be used to enhance both the physical and mental well-being of those present in the controlled atmosphere.
In this way, using lemon group fragrances with mentally invigorating, stimulating (anti-drowzyness) properties, and thereby circulating an invigorating effect, lavender group fragrances with mentally calming, anti-stress, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant properties, rosemary group fragrances with relaxing, appetite promoting properties, phytoncides with anti-microbial effects against virus and bacteria harmful to human physical well being, thus using these various fragrances and thereby enhancing the various life cycles has been proposed.
While fragrances are generally in a liquid form, the various individual components which make up a given fragrance ordinarily number in the tens to hundreds of which the volatilization properties may all be different. Therefore, when the various components making up a fragrance are allowed to volatilize naturally, those that volatilize most easily end up entering the vapor phase first. Accordingly, over time, the composition of both the fragrance given off and that of the fragrance liquid varies, and it is thus difficult to obtain the desired effect of the fragrance.
For these reasons, when supplying a fragrance to the atmospheres of buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the like, as well as for open areas, rather that allowing the fragrant substances to volatilize spontaneously, it has recently been considered desirable to employ an ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus or the like by which means a suitable fragrance may be dispersed into the ambient air at a suitable time in the optimum concentration, thereby dispersing the various components of the respective fragrances uniformly over time.
However, with existing ultrasonic devices for dispersing fragrances, the fragrance solution is dropped onto a vibrating surface whereby a thin liquid membrane is formed, this membrane then absorbing energy from the ultrasonic waves and thereby promptly vaporizing. With such a device, in order to disperse the fragrance efficiently, the liquid membrane formed on the vibrating surface must be formed very thin. Therefore, to increase the output, the surface area of the vibrating surface must be increased. But as the size of the vibrating surface area is increased, so must the size of the fragrance solution vaporization vessel and that of the apparatus as a whole. There are limits to the maximum suitable size for the apparatus, and thus accordingly, limits to the fragrance output for such a device.

Ultrasonic fragrance generation apparatus


A circuit includes a phase adjustment circuit and a dead zone detect circuit. The phase adjustment circuit is operable to receive periodic signals and is operable to provide one of the periodic signals as a selected periodic signal based on a phase comparison between a data signal and the selected periodic signal. Each of the periodic signals has a different phase. The dead zone detect circuit is operable to cause the phase adjustment circuit to shift a phase of the selected periodic signal if the dead zone detect circuit determines that the data signal is in a dead zone. The dead zone detect circuit defines the dead zone based on two of the periodic signals. The phase adjustment circuit is operable to adjust a phase range of the dead zone.

Many high-speed field programmable gate array (FPGA) integrated circuits contain dynamic phase alignment (DPA) circuits. Some DPA circuits produce several candidate clock signals, all of which have the same frequency (related to the frequency of an input data signal received from outside the FPGA), and each of which has a unique phase. For example, there may be eight candidate clock signals, the phases of which are equally spaced over one clock signal cycle.
Phase detector circuitry compares the phase of transitions in the input data signal to the phase of transitions in one of the candidate clock signals. Assuming the phase detector does not detect a perfect phase match, the phase detector circuitry keeps moving from one candidate clock signal to the next trying to find the candidate clock signal having the phase that will be best for use in timing the sampling of the input data signal.
DPA circuits have dead zones. During the initial calibration, a DPA circuit may be unable to select a clock signal phase in the center of the sampling window of the input data signal if the initial clock signal phase falls within the dead zone.
A delay circuit can be inserted into the data path of the input data signal to move the input data signal outside the dead zone of the DPA circuit. However, the delay of the delay circuit varies based on variations in the process of the FPGA, the supply voltage provided to the delay circuit, the temperature of the FPGA, and the frequency of the input data signal. Variations in the delay of the delay circuit may cause the clock signal phase selected by the DPA circuit to remain in the dead zone. Also, the delay circuit in the data path of the input data signal may negatively affect the performance of other circuitry in the FPGA that is responsive to the input data signal.

Dead zone detection for phase adjustment


A dual purge ejector and a dual purge system using the same are provided. A first end of a main body is fully open and an ejecting end of a nozzle is located proximate to the opening hole. Therefore, even if the ejector is disconnected from an adapter, negative pressure is not formed in a main body, to prevent discharge of fuel evaporation gas into the atmosphere and a failure of the dual purge system may be reliably diagnosed.

Fuel evaporation gas in a fuel tank has a component of hydrocarbon and is a harmful emission substance that, along with nitrogen oxide, causes photochemical smog to adversely affect the human body and nature. Therefore, to prevent a direct discharge into the atmosphere, the fuel evaporation gas is collected in a canister, and then, suctioned into an engine by negative pressure of an intake manifold to be combusted. However, in a vehicle mounted with a turbocharger, positive pressure is formed in the intake manifold when the turbocharger operates, and thus, the fuel evaporation gas may not be suctioned into the intake manifold and normal treatment of the fuel evaporation gas becomes impossible.
Therefore, an ejector is installed in a pipe connecting a front end of the turbocharger and a front end of the intake manifold, compressed air is supplied to the ejector, and the ejector is connected to a purge control solenoid valve (PCSV), and thus, the fuel evaporation gas is suctioned into the front end of the turbocharger through the ejector and is supplied to the engine to be combusted when the turbocharger operates. When the turbocharger does not operate, the fuel evaporation gas is directly suctioned into the front end of the intake manifold from the PCSV.
As described above, a dual purge system is provided to allow the fuel evaporation gas to flow into the engine through two paths based on whether the turbocharger operates, and the ejector used in this system is referred to as a 'dual purge ejector', which hereinafter will be referred to as an "ejector" in the present specification for the sake of convenience.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ejector includes a nozzle unit 1, a cover unit 2, and a diffuser unit 3. A nozzle 1a through which compressed air flows in is integrally formed on one side of the nozzle unit 1. The cover unit 2 formed as a separate unit is mounted on top of the nozzle unit 1, and a fuel evaporation gas inlet pipe 2a is integrally formed in the cover unit 2. The diffuser unit 3 formed as a separate unit is mounted in a portion across from the nozzle 1a of the nozzle unit 1. The cover unit 2 and the diffuser unit 3 are laser-welded to the nozzle unit 1 to be integrated into an inseparable state from each other.
The diffuser unit 3 is connected to an adapter 4 to be installed at the front of the turbocharger in an intake line. The diffuser unit 3 is inserted into an insertion hole 4a formed in the adapter 4 and a mounting flange 3a formed on one side of the diffuser unit 3 is fixed to the peripheral portion of the insertion hole 4a with a bolt 5.
When the turbocharger operates, high pressure at the front end of the intake manifold is introduced into the nozzle 1a through a connecting hose. As compressed air is discharged through the nozzle 1a at high speed, the pressure is reduced to form negative pressure (negative pressure) in the inner space (mixing chamber) of the nozzle unit 1, and then, the air is diffused through the diffuser unit 3 to be discharged smoothly into the inside of the adapter 4. With the formation of the negative pressure in the nozzle unit 1 as described above, the fuel evaporation gas is suctioned through the fuel evaporation gas inlet pipe 2a to be discharged into the adapter 4 along with air. Therefore, the canister may be normally purged even when the turbocharger operates.
In addition, a pressure sensor configured to measure the internal pressure of the nozzle unit 1, that is, the pressure of the mixing chamber, is installed on the outer side of the nozzle unit 1, which is not shown in the drawing. The measured value of the pressure sensor is transmitted to an engine control unit (ECU) and used in determining whether the dual purge system has a failure. In other words, the engine control unit diagnoses the dual purge system as having a failure if negative pressure sufficient to allow normal suction of the fuel evaporation gas is not formed.
Meanwhile, the ejector may be disconnected from the adapter 4 as shown in FIG. 2 caused by loosening of the bolt 5 or damage to the mounting flange 3a. However, despite the ejector being disconnected from the adapter 4, since the diffuser unit 3 is coupled to the nozzle unit 1 (the nozzle unit 1 and the diffuser unit 3 are laser-welded with each other), negative pressure is normally formed in the mixing chamber in the nozzle unit 1.
Therefore, fuel evaporation gas may still be suctioned into the ejector and there was a problem that the fuel evaporation gas suctioned into the ejector could not be supplied to the intake manifold and was discharged into the atmosphere. In addition, there was a problem that, as negative pressure was normally formed in the nozzle unit 1, the engine control unit to which the measured value of the pressure sensor was transmitted determined a normal state and did not diagnose a failure even when fuel evaporation gas was not actually sucked into the engine. Therefore, there was a problem that a driver, unaware of the problem in the dual purge system, did not take a measure and that the fuel evaporation gas continued to be discharged into the atmosphere.

Dual purge ejector and dual purge system using the same


Jet impingement and two-phase cooling apparatuses with sloped vapor outlet channels are disclosed. In one embodiment, a cooling apparatus includes a fluid inlet channel, a jet orifice surface having one or more jet orifices fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet channel such that coolant fluid within the fluid inlet channel flows through the one or more jet orifices as one or more impingement jets, and a target surface. The target surface and the jet orifice surface define an impingement chamber where the one or more impingement jets impinge the target surface at an impingement region such that at least some of the coolant fluid changes to a vapor. The cooling apparatus further includes a plurality of sloped vapor outlet channels that are fluidly coupled to the impingement chamber. Coolant fluid flows through the plurality of sloped vapor outlet channels after it impinges the target surface.

Heat generating devices, such as power semiconductor devices, may be coupled to a heat spreader to remove heat and lower the maximum operating temperature of the heat generating device. In some applications, cooling fluid may be used to receive heat generated by the heat generating device by convective thermal transfer, and remove such heat from the heat generating device. For example, jet impingement may be used to cool a heat generating device by directing impingement jets of coolant fluid onto the heat generating device or a target surface that is thermally coupled to the heat generating device. Additionally, jet impingement may also be combined with two-phase cooling, where the heat generating device is cooled by the phase change of the coolant fluid from a liquid to a vapor. However, vapor bubbles are typically formed within the coolant fluid near the heat generating device. If not properly evacuated, the vapor bubbles will collect, leading to an increase in pressure. The saturation temperature of the coolant fluid increases with increasing pressure, which adversely affects the performance of the two-phase heat transfer.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative jet impingement, two-phase cooling apparatuses.

Cooling apparatuses having sloped vapor outlet channels

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A method is provided for providing dispatch assignments to a plurality of vehicles in an environment including a plurality of sources and a plurality of processing sites. Current information about the environment is obtained, as is information about optimal criteria. Based on the current environment and the optimal criteria information, a production plan is determined. Based on the production plan and consideration of a cooperative assignment and/or anticipated future environment conditions, a dispatch assignment is selected for each vehicle.

The present invention relates generally to dispatching systems, and more particularly, to a method and system for optimizing assignment of trucks in an open-pit mining environment.
In a number of industries, vehicles or other transportation methods are used to pick up loads from one location and deliver the loads to another location. Some exemplary industries that work within this model include shipping, package delivery, and taxi-cabs. This model has particular application in the mining industry, where material transportation involves a truck picking up a load of ore from a shovel site and transporting that ore to a processing site. Additionally, processed ore may need to be transported to a site of additional processing. Because of this, material transport is one of the most important aspects in the mining industry and can represent 50-60% of costs associated with open-pit mining.
Even a slight reduction in costs associated with material transport may result in significant savings. Thus, a dispatching system for controlling the trucks within a mine can be used to optimize material transport and reduce costs. The essence of a dispatching system is to determine, every time a truck leaves a site in the mine, where is the xe2x80x9cbestxe2x80x9d place for that truck to go. Determining the xe2x80x9cbestxe2x80x9d place involves optimizing one or more objectives, such as minimizing the waiting time of trucks at processing sites, maximizing the overall production of the mine, or minimizing hauling distances.
Two approaches have been used for truck dispatch systemsxe2x80x94single-stage and multi-stage. Single-stage systems dispatch trucks according to one or several criteria. Single-stage systems, however, do not take into account any production targets or constraints. Often single-stage systems use heuristic, or non-mathematical, rules to determine the truck assignments. Multi-stage systems, on the other hand, divide dispatching problems into multiple stages. Typically, multi-stage systems include an upper stage, which consists of setting production targets for each shovel, and a lower stage, which consists of assigning trucks to shovels to minimize deviation from the production targets suggested in the upper stage. Traditionally, regardless of the approach used, truck dispatching systems have been concerned with only one truck and/or one shovel or processing site. Further, truck dispatching systems can often only consider a single goal, such as maximizing production. For example, one such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,731, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod of and System for Rationalizing the Operation of Open-Pit Mines.xe2x80x9d This system evaluates the ore to be loaded at each loading station (or shovel) and determines the number of vehicles to be routed to each station. The system takes into account production quotas, number of vehicles waiting, and the travel times associated with each available vehicle. This system, however, is not able to truly optimize material transport because it does not provide adaptable guidelines, nor does it provide for real-time decision making that permits on-the-fly changes in response to unplanned events.
In order to truly optimize material transport, multi-stage systems must be able to, in the upper stage, adapt guidelines based on the current mine environment. For example, when a mine has a shortage of trucks, it is inefficient to minimize truck idle time, because it is unlikely that a truck would be required to wait in the xe2x80x9cunder-truckedxe2x80x9d scenario. Further, these guidelines must adapt to changes such as the break-down of a shovel. The adaptability of guidelines must not only take into account the current state of the mine, but also be able to account for upcoming events that may change the mine environment, such as a number of broken-down shovels becoming operational.
In the lower stage, the system must be able to make real-time dispatching decisions. Further, these dispatch decisions should account for the fact that multiple trucks may cooperate, rather than each truck seeking the best decision only for itself. The lower stage should dispatch a number of trucks to follow the guidelines determined by the upper stage. The lower stage must also have some mechanisms in order to react efficiently to minor, unplanned events, that were not considered by the upper stage.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems or disadvantages associated with the prior art.
A system is provided for providing dispatch assignments. The system includes a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of sources, a plurality of processing sites, and a base computer. The base computer is configured to provide dispatch information to individual vehicles based upon a cooperative assignment of multiple vehicles within the plurality of vehicles.
Further, a method is provided for providing dispatch assignments to a plurality of vehicles in an environment including a plurality of sources and a plurality of processing sites. Current information about the environment is obtained, as is information about optimal criteria. Based on the current environment and the optimal criteria information, a production plan is determined. A plurality of possible dispatch assignments for each vehicle is determined based on the production plan and costs associated with each possible dispatch assignment are determined. Based upon consideration of a cooperative assignment of multiple vehicles within the plurality of vehicles, a dispatch assignment is selected for each vehicle from among the possible dispatch assignments.
A computer readable medium including instructions for performing the above method is also provided.
Further, another system is provided for providing dispatch assignments within an environment. The system includes a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of sources, a plurality of processing sites, and a base computer. The base computer is configured to provide dispatch information to the plurality of vehicles based on anticipated future environment conditions.
Another method is provided for providing dispatch assignments to a plurality of vehicles in an environment including a plurality of sources and a plurality of processing sites. Current and anticipated future information about the environment is obtained, as is information about optimal criteria. Based on the current environment and the optimal criteria information, a production plan is determined. A plurality of possible dispatch assignments for each vehicle is determined based on the production plan and costs associated with each possible dispatch assignment are determined. Based on the production plan and anticipated future environment conditions, a dispatch assignment is selected for each vehicle from among the possible dispatch assignments.
A computer readable medium including instructions for performing the above method is also provided.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

Multi-stage truck assignment system and method


A refuse handling device for moving a refuse receptacle (12) between a lower level and a higher level and for emptying the receptacle at the higher level by tipping the receptacle, includes a cradle (11) for carrying a receptacle. A driving arrangement (9) lifts and lowers the cradle and also a device (31) for turning the cradle between an upright receptacle position and a receptacle emptying position. The cradle (11) is carried by an axle, which may be raised and lowered transverse to its longitudinal direction and which is rotatable. At its ends the axle has wheels (8), which are non-rotatably connected to the axle. Each of the wheels is rotatably journalled in a respective car (6, 7) for running in a respective elongated guide device (25). The cars are driven by a driving arrangement (9) by it being subjected to a force which is directed mainly in the longitudinal direction of the guide arrangement, thereby causing the lifting and lowering motion. Each of the wheels is in contact with the respective track, which extends along the associated guide arrangement and is forced to rotate by the effect of the force on the cars for rotating the axle during its lifting and lowering motion.

Lifting devices for refuse receptacles are previously known and are generally intended for mounting on refuse collection vehicles for picking up refuse at several places and emptying it at a refuse station. It is thus important that the region for lifting and emptying the refuse receptacles be as free as possible from lifting mechanisms and the like in order to achieve the greatest possible degree of flexibility when it comes to, e.g., the possibility of changing between different handling systems, such as, e.g., loading of garbage sacks or, as in the present case, emptying of receptacles. For this reason, driving arrangements for lifting and tipping receptacles have typically been mounted on the sides of the vehicle, normally as double devices, with one device on either side of the opening into which the refuse is dumped. Since the opening through which the refuse is dumped is generally relatively wide, the driving devices are thereby placed relatively far from each other, which, when using hydraulically or pneumatically driven power devices, leads to difficulties in achieving a synchronous, smooth lifting motion. In order to reduce these problems as much as possible it has previously been necessary to design the lifting mechanism to be very sturdy, especially in regards to the cradle for lifting and tipping the receptacle and its associated guides, in order to achieve a device which is as stable and has as great a torsional stiffness as possible. As a result of this, these previously known solutions require a relatively great deal of room and are heavy, and are consequently both cumbersome and expensive.


An apparatus and method for regulating multiple input voltages for a microelectronics device. The apparatus includes a controller configured to maintain each of the multiple input voltages supplied to one or more microelectronics devices within a range. The controller may be further configured to maintain input voltage according to a lower limit providing a wider regulation window for the power supply to operate without sacrificing performance for the microelectronics device or degrading its reliability. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to statically or dynamically adjust a gain factor for of a feedback loop in order to maintain the device input voltage according to a regulating loadline.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of power supply regulators, and, more specifically, to power supply regulators for microelectronic equipment.
2. General Background and Related Art
As the speed and performance of microelectronics devices have continued to increase, so too have the input power requirements for these microelectronics devices continued to increase. Such microelectronics devices include, for example, a microprocessor device utilizing a processor die embodied in an integrated circuit. However, it is desirable to reduce input power requirements from an engineering perspective in order to limit power consumption and to permit relatively smaller form factors still capable of providing the required heat dissipation. Therefore, techniques have been developed for reducing input power requirements while maintaining and increasing processing performance and speed.
For microprocessor devices, for example, reduction in the Central Processing Unit (CPU) supply voltage has been a widely employed technique used to achieve a reduction in power consumption. Another technique includes providing microelectronics devices designed to operate using multiple supply voltages in order to reduce the overall total power consumption of the device. One such technique in particular involves providing a microelectronics device (for example, a single processor die) designed for operation with either of two different input voltage ranges.
The amount of permissible deviation in the input supply voltage is a critical parameter in the design of microelectronics devices. The choice of design techniques and circuit configurations to be used in realizing the design of the microelectronics device may be limited due to a particular input supply voltage tolerance specification. Furthermore, if the input power (voltage or current) is not maintained within its required tolerances (also known as xe2x80x9cout of regulationxe2x80x9d), the behavioral characteristics of the microelectronics device""s circuitry may be adversely affected to cause a variety of unwanted behaviors, including device latchup or transitions into indeterminate states. For at least these reasons, it is desirable to maintain input power voltage and current within specified tolerances. Toward this end, power supply regulators are used to maintain input power received from a power source such as, for example, a battery or a loosely regulated source, within the required design tolerances.
The amount of permissible deviation in input voltage in particular may be expressed as a percentage tolerance centered at a particular voltage level. For example, an input voltage specification may require an input voltage VCC to be +2 VDCxc2x110%. In other words, the input voltage must be maintained by a regulator to within 10% of +2 VDC in order to be considered within regulation.
Microelectronics devices designed to utilize two or more input voltage specifications may present particularly challenging design issues. One such challenge is that the actual amount of permissible deviation in the input voltage may become smaller, or tighter, as the required input voltage level is reduced. Thus for the lower of the two (or more) input voltage levels, the permissible deviation of the input voltage can be significantly tighter than for the larger input voltage level(s), even as microcircuit devices demand increasing amounts of input current, ICC, at the lower VCC.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of the relatively tighter tolerance required to be maintained xe2x80x9cin regulationxe2x80x9d for the lower of two input voltage requirements. Referring to FIG. 1, in order to provide regulated input power for a given microelectronics device at a nominal voltage of VCC, under any load conditions the input voltage is required to be within a tolerance of, for example, a 10% VCC window, or VCCminxe2x89xa790%*VCC. Such a scheme is typically employed to limit the excursion of the supply voltage to a small window. As for an upper limit, device reliability may be reduced if the supply voltage presented to the microelectronics device rises above VCCx, a reliability limit voltage level greater than VCC nominal. The 10% window required for voltage regulation places a heavy burden on the power supply and power delivery system to meet a tight dynamic impedance range (ZDYNxe2x80x941) for a given current step, as impedance reduces linearly as the supply voltage decreases or load current increases.
The exemplary voltage values depicted in FIG. 1 are shown in an example for a dual VCC system. As shown in FIG. 1, in the case of the higher supply voltage (VCC=2.0 VDC) the regulation window available, or range, is about 200 mV whereas the regulation window decreases to 140 mV at the lower input voltage level of 1.4 VDC. As the microelectronics device supply voltage drops to the sub xcx9c1 Volt range, the regulation window increasingly becomes a critical design issue. In particular, the stringent tolerance requirement on the lower input voltage may be the cause of design difficulties and significantly increased product cost due to design constraints for avoiding electrical phenomena such as droops using decoupling effects, and also due to the increased circuitry required to regulate the input voltage to within such fine tolerances. In the environment of multiple input voltage required values, this problem may be exacerbated by, for example, static and transient voltage xe2x80x9cdroopxe2x80x9d characteristics occurring for the lower VCC input voltage required value when the microelectronics device demands relatively high supply current. Voltage droop describes a situation in which the input voltage provided by the regulator to the microelectronics device moves toward or is presented at a voltage level that is lower than the specified input voltage required value but is still within the specified tolerance level to maintain supply voltage in regulation.

Innovative regulation characteristics in multiple supply voltages


A low specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) power semiconductor device includes a power device and a transient voltage suppressor (TVS); wherein the power device comprises a gate electrode, a drain electrode, a bulk electrode, a source electrode and a parasitic body diode, the bulk electrode and the source electrode are shorted, the TVS comprises an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, the drain electrode of the power device and the anode electrode of the TVS are connected by a first metal to form a high-voltage terminal electrode, the source electrode of the power device and the cathode electrode of the TVS are connected by a second metal to form a low-voltage terminal electrode.

High-voltage power devices are an essential part of the development of high-voltage power integrated circuits. Since the circuit using power devices usually has inductive loads, when the current of inductive loads changes suddenly, a voltage spike will occur across the inductor, which may damage other components. Therefore, the breakdown voltage of power devices is generally required to be much higher than its operating voltage. High-voltage power devices are required to have high breakdown voltage, low on-resistance, and low switching loss. In order to achieve a high breakdown voltage, high-voltage power devices are required to have a low doping concentration in the drift region used to withstand the voltage. But in order to meet a low on-resistance, a high doping concentration is required for the drift region as a current channel. This contradiction restricts the application of high-voltage power devices in high-voltage power integrated circuits, especially in circuits that require low conduction loss and small chip area.
Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) is a commonly used novel high-efficiency circuit protection device. It has extremely fast response time (sub-nanoseconds level) and quite high surge absorption capability. When both terminals are subjected to a transient high-energy shock, the TVS can change the impedance value between the two terminals from a high impedance to a low impedance at a very high speed, in order to absorb an instantaneous large current and clamp the voltage at a predetermined value to protect subsequent circuit components from transient high-voltage spikes.

Power semiconductor devices with low specific on-resistance

UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRONIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA


An apparatus and method for modifying the surface of an object by contacting said surface with a liquid processing solution using the liquid applicator geometry and Marangoni effect (surface tension gradient-driven flow) to define and confine the dimensions of the wetted zone on said object surface. In particular, the method and apparatus involve contouring or figuring the surface of an object using an etchant solution as the wetting fluid and using real-time metrology (e.g. interferometry) to control the placement and dwell time of this wetted zone locally on the surface of said object, thereby removing material from the surface of the object in a controlled manner. One demonstrated manifestation is in the deterministic optical figuring of thin glasses by wet chemical etching using a buffered hydrofluoric acid solution and Marangoni effect.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to modifying the surface of an object by contacting said surface with a liquid processing solution using the liquid applicator geometry and the Marangoni effect (surface tension gradients) to define and confine the dimensions of the wetted zone on said object surface. In particular, the invention relates to contouring or figuring the surface of an object using an etchant solution as the wetting fluid and using real-time metrology (e.g. interferometry) to control the placement and dwell time of this wetted zone locally on the surface of said object, thereby removing material from the surface of the object in a controlled manner. One demonstrated manifestation of this invention is in the deterministic optical figuring of thin glasses by wet chemical etching using a buffered hydrofluoric acid solution and the Marangoni effect.
2. Description of Related Art
Small-tool finishing or figuring of optical surfaces basically involves moving a small polishing tool in a controlled manner to shape the surface of an optic. It is a critical technology for producing optics for applications ranging from camera lenses for the consumer market, to large-aperture optics for inertial confinement fusion and space telescope systems. Examples of optics figured by these techniques include complex-figured aspheric lenses, continuous contour phase plates, Alvarez lenses, and optics requiring local figure correction after processing via traditional lap polishing. Small-tool finishing is simultaneously a mature technology and one undergoing continuous development driven by the high cost and reproducibility problems of processes when applied to ever-tightening figure tolerances.
Traditional techniques employ rotary polishing pads. Recent developments (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,098 and references therein) utilize directed flow fields to impinge fine abrasive slurries onto the optical surface. Magnetorheological finishing (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,499,313, 5,795,212, 5,839,944, 5,951,369) extend this concept by controlling the viscosity of specially formulated abrasive slurry by application of magnetic fields. Ion-beam milling techniques (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,988,564, 5,969,368) are alternative, fundamentally different methods for high-accuracy optical figuring. All of the above-mentioned techniques suffer fundamental limitations. They rely on process knowledge of removal rates, and are therefore iterative processes: the workpiece must be dismounted from the machine and measured, reworked and remeasured, until specifications are met. Ion beam milling techniques require large, expensive vacuum processing chambers and are not applicable to all materials. Abrasive small-tool polishing techniques cannot be used to figure very thin optics since the local mechanical stresses involved cause workpiece deformations that impact removal control and can even cause breakage.
Material removal on optical surfaces can be accomplished by etching or dissolution methods (e.g. silicate glasses are soluble in hydrofluoric acid solutions), but until now, wet etching has not been employed to figure optics. The problem has been largely how to confine the wetted zone of etchant solution to a specific, stable geometry. A surface being etched is hydrophilic to the etching solution. If a bolus of etchant solution is moved along the surface of a workpiece, a thin liquid film will be left behind that will continue to etch the surface. Recently (U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,642), surface-tension gradient driven flow (the Marangoni effect) has been shown to be effective in causing this thin entrained film to flow off the surface of a workpiece back into the bulk liquid if said liquid is applied in the appropriate manner. The present invention utilizes the Marangoni effect to confine a wetted zone to a stable, defined geometry on the surface of a workpiece. The wetted zone remains of constant size and shape as it is moved around on the workpiece surface. This allows the fluid to act on the surface of the workpiece only in this wetted zone with no mechanical contact or induced mechanical stresses applied to the workpiece. This in turn allows for real-time local metrology of the processing, and allows for the processing of very thin 1 mm-thickness) plates that cannot be processed by other means.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for modifying the surface of an object by contacting the surface of said object with a zone of liquid processing fluid such as an etching or deposition solution, and confining this zone by means of surface tension gradients (Marangoni effect). The size and shape of this wetted zone is defined by the mechanical design of the liquid applicator and the Marangoni effect. Additionally, this confined wetted zone can be, if desired, moved relative to the object surface in a controlled fashion so as to generate a pattern on the surface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for using real-time metrology and control algorithms to move this wetted zone in a deterministic fashion on the surface of the object for control of the figuring process.
It is a further object of this invention to produce large ( greater than 5 cm major axis) thin ( less than 1 mm thickness) glass sheets figured flat to optical tolerances by use of the above methods and apparatus.
A key feature of this invention is the establishment of a meniscus of an aqueous processing liquid on the surface of the object to be processed, simultaneous with a means to establish a surface tension gradient in the meniscus region, such that the surface tension of said liquid is weakest where the liquid attaches to the solid. The means to achieve this has been reduced to practice by issuing the liquid upward and out of a vertical tube placed in proximity to a downward facing surface, such that a circular liquid wetted zone is established on said surface and the liquid flows down the outside surface of the tube. The liquid in the meniscus near its zone of attachment to the solid surface is relatively quiescent, while the liquid in the meniscus region where it transitions to the free surface falling film flow is continuously refreshed with liquid being pumped out of the supply orifice (tube). A surface tension gradient can be established in this meniscus by introducing a volatile organic compound (voc) into the vicinity of this meniscus, if such voc has the property that it is at least slightly water-soluble and produces a large reduction in the surface tension of water when dissolved in minute concentrations. Ethanol and isopropanol are examples of such voc""s that are of relatively minor hazard.
Higher concentrations of this voc are absorbed into the meniscus zone adjacent to the solid surface than are absorbed in the vicinity of the continuously refreshed zone near the free surface flow. Thus, the surface tension of the liquid meniscus is lower near the solid surface than near the flowing free surface. This surface tension gradient is sufficiently strong to cause a flow in the meniscus region away from the solid surface toward the falling film. This flow prevents the wicking of the aqueous processing fluid onto a hydrophilic surface, and prevents a thin film from being deposited as the wetted zone is moved slowly relatively to the workpiece surface while it is attached to said surface.
The voc can be introduced into the vicinity of the meniscus by evaporation of a pool of the liquid phase or from a porous medium saturated with the liquid phase of the voc. Alternatively, it can be introduced by forced convection of a carrier gas, containing a small amount of the voc, into this vicinity. The voc absorbed into the aqueous processing fluid can be removed by absorption on an activated carbon filter medium, for example, or can be allowed to build up without decreasing effectiveness for long periods when a sufficiently large processing liquid reservoir is used.
Surface tension gradients can also be established by thermal gradients. Heating the workpiece, for example, can lower the surface tension of the liquid at the attached meniscus in the vicinity of the workpiece surface compared with the surface tension of the cooler fluid flowing at the free surface flow. The resultant surface tension gradient is equivalent to that chemically produced according to the above description, and will result in an equivalent flow.
Contact of the processing fluid (such as an etchant solution) in the manner described above does not require mechanical contact with the workpiece and does not generate any mechanical stresses in the workpiece. When applied to etching of polished glass or crystal surfaces for optical application, a backpressure need not be applied to the backside of the workpiece, and it can be left open. This allows for back-side monitoring of the workpiece by such means as interferometry, whereby the local workpiece thickness can be measured and the resultant data used for real-time control of the motion of the wetted zone relative to the workpiece to achieve a desired figure. Also, the lack of mechanical stress generated by this process enables the figuring to optical tolerances of very thin extruded glass sheets that are very difficult or impossible to figure by traditional techniques.
The object of this invention is not limited to figuring of optics by etching, but can be applied to processes in which deposition occurs onto a surface from an aqueous solution, such as epitaxial layer growth from solution onto substrates. It can also be used for local treatment of surfaces with aqueous solutions while keeping adjacent areas on the surface dry. One skilled in the art will find other uses for the general concept.

Apparatus for etching or depositing a desired profile onto a surface

The Regents of the University of California


A sewing machine that can set the sewing conditions for each stitch pattern and can store the set sewing conditions in a non-volatile memory in correspondence with each stitch pattern. The sewing conditions previously set for a certain stitch pattern can be used when the same stitch pattern is selected later.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a sewing machine. Particularly, to a sewing machine that sets the sewing conditions, such as the stitch width, stitch length, and thread tension, for each stitch pattern and rewritably stores the set sewing conditions in a non-volatile memory in correspondence with each stitch pattern.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional sewing machine with a display commonly displays various types of sewable stitch patterns to allow an operator to select a desired stitch pattern therefrom, as a stitch pattern to be sewn, and also displays at least part of the selected stitch pattern or the name of the selected stitch pattern to notify the operator of the selected stitch pattern.
An electronically controlled sewing machine of this kind is widely available and is designed to display, on a display, the sewing conditions (stitch width, stitch length, thread tension, and the like) for a selected stitch pattern if it is a utility stitch pattern, such as a straight stitch pattern or a zigzag stitch pattern, in order to allow an operator to set the sewing conditions using sewing condition setting keys.
As shown in FIG. 13, a sewing machine the applicants have put to practical use has a display 100 and a plurality of touch keys provided on the surface of the display 100. The functions of the touch keys are displayed on the display 100. For example, when a zigzag pattern key 102 is pressed on a utility stitch pattern selection screen 101, a zigzag stitch pattern is selected as the stitch pattern to be sewn.
Then, at the top of the display 100, a horizontal zigzag stitch pattern and the stitch pattern name "Zigzag (C)" are displayed. Also, below a plurality of stitch patterns, as displayed on the display 100, the stitch width "7.0 mm", the stitch length "2.5 mm", and the thread tension "5" are displayed as the sewing conditions of the selected zigzag stitch pattern. The thread tension "5" represents the fifth level from the weakest level on a 1-to-9 scale, and is indicated by an illuminating indicator lamp that is the fifth from one end of a row of nine indicator lamps.
Default values for the sewing conditions for various types of stitch patterns are prestored in a ROM of a control unit. Assuming that FIG. 13 shows a screen displayed immediately after a zigzag stitch pattern has been selected, the stitch width "7.0 mm", the stitch length "2.5 mm", and the thread tension "5" are displayed as the sewing condition default values for the zigzag stitch pattern.
On the utility stitch pattern selection screen 101, a plurality of touch sewing condition setting keys 103a, 103b, 104a 104b, 105a-105c are provided to allow an operator to change the sewing condition default values to desired values.
As described above, in the conventional electronically controlled sewing machine, the sewing condition default values are read from the ROM each time a stitch pattern is selected, and an operator uses the sewing condition setting keys to change the sewing condition default values to desired values. As desired sewing conditions are hard to set only by judging from the displayed sewing conditions, the sewing conditions are set, in many cases, and a trial sewing is then performed.
In the conventional electrically controlled sewing machine, the sewing condition default values stored in the ROM are set as the sewing conditions, each time a stitch pattern is selected. Thus, even when the sewing condition for a certain stitch pattern has been set as desired, the set sewing conditions cannot be used when the same stitch pattern is selected later.
The sewing conditions previously set for a certain stitch pattern are often desired to be used again when the same stitch pattern is selected. In such a case, however, the desired sewing conditions must be set again, using the sewing condition setting keys to change the sewing condition default values. Trial sewing must then be again performed if needed to verify the stitch is as desired. This procedure is very tedious.
On the other hand, because the sewing condition default values for a stitch pattern are normally set to be optimal values so as to provide preferable conditions for sewing the stitch pattern, there is a case where the sewing conditions changed for a certain stitch pattern are desired to be reset to the default values when the same stitch pattern is selected later.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-228275 discloses an embroidery machine in which its operating environment is set and registered in an EEPROM for each operator or for each machine part condition, and the operating environment is suitably set by selecting the operator or the machine part condition to be used. In this embroidery machine, however, the sewing conditions cannot be set for each stitch pattern.

Sewing machine having a non-volatile memory


A method of dewatering oil mud that occurs on board ships during the processing of heavy, diesel, and lubricating oils and consists of a mixture of water and mineral-oil residue that is intercepted on board and subjected to centrifuging. The liquids contaminated with mineral-oil residue that occur on board are collected in two separate containers. The liquids that contain heavy oil and diesel oil are conveyed to the first container and the liquids that contain lubricating oil are conveyed to the second container along with the water that occurs when the oils are processed. The contents of the containers are then conveyed sequentially to one and the same centrifuging device to concentrate the solids. The resulting liquid phases are subjected to separate further processing with on-board equipment, allowing complete disposal or further use of the liquids.

The invention concerns a method of dewatering oil mud that occurs on board ships during the processing of heavy, diesel, and lubricating oils and consists of a mixture of water and mineral-oil residue that is intercepted on board and subjected to centrifuging.
"Oil mud" means the mixture of water, oil, and solids that occurs during separation and filtration. The oil muds can either be removed in the harbor by pumping them into waste-disposal ships, which is expensive, or processed on board the original vessel.
A method of treating oil muds that involves collecting all the liquids in a buffer container and subsequently centrifuging them is known from German OS 2 438 602. The centrifugal separation of this mixture of various oils and water is not free of problems in that only relatively low throughputs can be attained and the separated phases are not satisfactorily pure. Since oil mud also contains waste water that in turn includes oil, considerable volumes of a material that can only be considered difficult to separate are involved.
German AS 2 362 665 describes a method of processing large volumes of muddy and oily waste material. The mud is treated at temperatures of 500.degree. to 600.degree. C., requiring a considerable consumption of outside energy. The method is very complicated and is accordingly appropriate only for stationary plants.
Using separate separators to process heavy oil and diesel oil is known from German OS 3 020 501. The resulting oil mud is collected in a mud tank and conveyed through a line to a mud burner. This method also requires considerable energy.