A stereo-observation system includes a stereo imaging unit which has at least two entrance pupils and an imaging means forming a first image for the left eye and a second image for the right eye which have parallax and a stereo display unit which has two image display means displaying two images formed by the stereo imaging unit. In this case, the stereo display unit is constructed so that an angle of vergence α2 is made by the line of sight of the left eye of the observer viewing the center of the first image displayed by the image display means with the line of sight of the right eye of the observer viewing the center of the second image displayed by the image display means, and the angle of vergence α2 satisfies the following condition:(α1−2 tan−1(d/2L))×(w2/w1)×0.83≦α2≦{2 sin−(G/2D)−(2 tan−1(d/2S)−α1)×(w2/w1)}×1.2where α1 is the angle of vergence (the inward angle) of the stereo imaging unit, d is a distance between the centers of the two entrance pupils of the stereo imaging unit, L is a distance from a far point of the depth of field of the stereo imaging unit to the entrance pupils of the stereo imaging unit, S is a distance from a near point of the depth of field of the stereo imaging unit to the entrance pupils of the stereo imaging unit, w1 is the field angle of the stereo imaging unit, w2 is the field angle of the stereo display unit, G is an interpupillary distance of the observer, and D is a distance from the pupil position of the observer to the observation image.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stereo-observation system which is suitable for stereoscopic observation on left and right images with parallax, formed by a stereo imaging apparatus, such as a stereo endoscope, having a wide range of depth of field.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the technique of using the stereo-observation system, such as the stereo endoscope, has been popularized in the field of medical treatment, notably surgery.
Originally, the technique of using a conventional endoscope and special treatment tools enables minimally invasive treatment to be received under the endoscope with respect to a disease that has required laparotomy. Furthermore, the endoscope has been designed so that a stereoscopic vision is possible, newly obtained information in a depth direction allows the treatment tool to be securely conducted into the human body, and a higher degree of finer treatment can be received in a shorter time than in the conventional endoscope. Consequently, it is expected that a surgical operation under the stereo endoscope which is a minimally invasive technique will be developed in the future.
In general, the stereo-observation system is of a binocular type, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes three units: a stereo imaging unit 2 incorporating imaging optical systems and image sensors to form left and right images of an observation object 1 with parallax, a stereo image signal processing unit 3 in which a stereoscopic image is produced by the image signals of the left and right images obtained from the stereo imaging unit 2, and a stereo display unit 4 displaying the produced stereoscopic image.
In the stereo-observation system, the images of the object are formed on the imaging surfaces of the image sensors by the imaging optical systems of the stereo imaging unit 2. In order to obtain the left and right images with parallax, various systems are used in the imaging optical systems. The left and light images obtained by the image sensors are transmitted as the image signals from the stereo imaging unit 2 to the stereo image signal processing unit 3. The stereo image signal processing unit 3 performs necessary signal processing in accordance with the stereo display unit 4 provided behind the unit 3. The stereo display unit 4 forms the left and right images on display elements on the basis of the stereoscopic image sent from the stereo image signal processing unit 3.
In order to separately transmit the left and right images to an observer's eyes, various systems are also used in the stereo display unit 4. As a typical example of the system of a stereo display apparatus, there is a virtual-image stereo-observation type in which light is projected directly on the left an right pupils (eyes) of the observer corresponding to the left and right images by optical systems located very close to the observer's face so that image information of a large image plane is equivalently thought of as a virtual image, which is observed stereoscopically.
A system combining the stereo endoscope with the virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus has been proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai No. Hie 8-313828). The stereo-observation system set forth in this publication establishes the relationship of the field angle between the stereo endoscope and the virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus in order to observe the image of the stereo endoscope in a natural, virtual reality.
The stereo endoscope has a large depth of field like a common endoscope, which is not constructed for a stereoscopic vision, so that the object is captured in the range of the depth of field and is observed at a desired position by moving the stereo endoscope close to, or far away from, the object. The depth of field refers to the limit of an object distance in which the object can be observed without blurring. In the observation, focus adjustment and the adjustment of an angle of vergence, required in accordance with a distance from the stereo endoscope to the object are not made.
FIG. 2A shows this state. In this figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a stereo endoscope; 6, an endoscope holding arm; 7, a virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus; 8, a display apparatus holding arm; and 9, an observer. FIG. 2B shows the enlargement of a distal end 10 of the stereo endoscope 5. Reference numeral 11 denotes an endoscope distal end; 12, a left-hand entrance pupil of a stereo endoscope optical system; 13, a right-hand entrance pupil of the stereo endoscope optical system; 14, an angle of vergence of the stereo endoscope; 15, a focal position of the stereo endoscope; 16, a range of the depth of field of the stereo endoscope; 17, an object located at a position A closest to the stereo endoscope in the range of the depth of field; 18, an object located at a focal position B of the stereo endoscope; and 19, an object located at a position C farthest away from the stereo endoscope in the range of the depth of field.
The observer 9 operates the stereo endoscope to move it backward and forward as mentioned above and captures and observes the object in the range from the position A to the position C. Observation images where the objects are located at the positions A-C are represented by reference numeral 20. Reference numeral 21 designates a pair of observation images when the object is located at the position A; 22, an observation image for the right eye; 23, an observation image for the left eye; and 24, center positions of individual observation images. Images 25 of the object are shifted inwardly from the center positions 24 of the observation images in both the left and right images. Reference numeral 22′ designates a pair of observation images when the object is located at the position B; 26, an observation image for the right eye; and 27, an observation image for the left eye. Images 28 of the object are located at the center positions 24 of the observation images in both the left and right images. Reference numeral 23′ designates a pair of observation images when the object is located at the position C; 29, an observation image for the right eye; and 30, an observation image for the left eye. Images 31 of the object are shifted outwardlyly from the center positions 24 of the observation images in both the left and right images. As mentioned above, the images of the object in the observation images are sometimes shifted inwardly or outwardly, depending on the distance between the stereo endoscope and the object.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 32 represents a virtual-image stereo-observation type  of display apparatus; 33, an eyepiece optical system for the right eye; 34, an eye piece optical system for the left eye; 35, an image display means for the right eye; 36, an image display means for the left eye; 37, an image of the object shifted outwardly, displayed on the image display means for the right eye; 38, an image of the object shifted outwardly, displayed on the image display means for the left eye; and 29, an observer.
In the virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus which previously has the angle of vergence of some degree, when the images of the object are mutually shifted inwardly, the lines of sight of the observer directed toward the left and right images of the object, as shown in FIG. 4, cross at a position fairly closer than numeral 40 denoting the positions of virtual images produced by the virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus and also the focal positions of the eyes.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 represents a virtual-image stereo-observation type of display apparatus; 42, an eyepiece optical system for the right eye; 43, an eye piece optical system for the left eye; 44, an image display means for the right eye; 45, an image display means for the left eye; 46, an image of the object shifted inwardly, displayed on the image display means for the right eye; 47, an image of the object shifted inwardly, displayed on the image display means for the left eye; 48, an observer; and 49, an intersection of the lines of sight of the observer directed toward the left and right images of the object. The eyepiece optical system 42 for the right eye and the eyepiece optical system 43 for the left eye are arranged to make an angle of vergence α.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, an object 1001 where it lies horizontally (FIG. 5A) and where it stands upright (FIG. 5B) are imaged by a stereo imaging apparatus 1000 at an angle of vergence α1. Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the object lying horizontally and the object standing upright, imaged by the stereo imaging apparatus, are observed through the stereo display apparatus which has an angle of vergence α2 appreciably smaller than the angle of vergence a α1 of the stereo imaging apparatus of FIG. 5A, an observation image 1002 of the object lying horizontally is considerably different in length visible to the eye from an observation image 1003 of the object standing upright. As mentioned above, in the stereo-observation system including the stereo imaging apparatus and the stereo display apparatus which are appreciably different in the angle of vergence from each other, the space of the object to be observed may be subjected to strong strain.


The direct coupled solid state-vacuum tube hybrid circuit matches a high impedance audio source to a low impedance audio destination. The resulting device supplies essentially unit gain and has both single ended and balanced outputs. The solid state operational amplifier and vacuum tube devices are DC coupled and supplied from a common low voltage DC power supply. The vacuum tube is incorporated directly in the feedback loop of the operational amplifier and a suitably chosen dampening resistor allows the circuit to provide vacuum tube characteristic warming effects without unwanted distortion or tube microphonics.

The present invention relates generally to audio signal processing circuitry and more particularly to a "direct box" circuit for coupling a high impedance audio source to a low impedance audio destination.
Many popular musical instruments today have a pickup or transducer by which the sound of the instrument is converted into an electrical signal which may then be electronically processed, amplified and recorded. Such instruments include electric guitars, which typically employ one or more magnetic pickups and acoustic instruments, outfitted with contact microphones and the like. In addition, musical instruments of all descriptions can be suitably played near a microphone to convert the sound into an electrical signal.
In the music and recording industries there is a wide variety of different pickups, transducers and microphones in use today. Where the instrument will be situated a long distance from the electronic processing, amplifying or recording equipment it is common to use a low impedance transmission line or cable system, often a balanced system, to minimize hum and ground loop problems. It is generally recognized that a low impedance transmission line or cable system is less susceptible to magnetically induced hum. Moreover, a balanced system, which conveys both in-phase and out-of-phase signals has the recognized advantage of eliminating common mode noise. Thus low impedance, balanced transmission lines or cables are frequently used in professional music and recording applications.
With the exception of professional low impedance, balanced microphones, most musical instrument pickups and transducers are high impedance, single ended (unbalanced) devices. For example, the classic guitar pickup may have an impedance in the range of about 50K ohms and the more modern guitar pickups with active electronic circuits may have an impedance in the range of 3K-4K ohms. When compared to a low impedance system, which is nominally 300 ohms or less, these guitar pickups are considered to be high impedance devices. Being high impedance devices, these pickups, and the transmission lines or cables connected to them tend to be quite susceptible to hum and noise.
To deal with the hum and noise problem in high impedance instruments it is common practice to use an impedance matching transformer or active electronic circuit to couple the high impedance source to a low impedance destination. Such matching transformers or circuits are sometimes referred to as "direct boxes" since they allow a high impedance device to be connected "directly" to a low impedance mixing console or other low impedance electronic device. Transformers have been employed for this purpose for many years but they are considered undesirable today, since transformers tend to degrade or color the sound by diminishing the high frequencies. Thus, today, many audio engineers prefer using active electronic circuits to match or couple the high impedance audio source to the low impedance audio destination.
To a large extent, active electronic circuits are implemented today using solid state transistor circuitry. There remains, however, a loyal group of audio engineers and musicians who favor vacuum tube circuitry because of its desirable, warm sound. Although the precise physics of this phenomenon are not fully understood, it is believed that the warm sound is attributable to the vacuum tube's tendency to produce even harmonics, which can add a subtle warming effect that is not normally found in solid state circuits. In contrast, solid state circuits may tend to produce a larger number of odd harmonics which to some sound somewhat strident or shrill.
The present invention provides a circuit for coupling a high impedance audio source to a low impedance audio destination which employs at least one solid state operational amplifier and at least one vacuum tube. The operational amplifier and vacuum tube are connected together so that the vacuum tube is in the feedback loop of the operational amplifier. The feedback loop includes a dampening impedance which permits the desirable warming characteristics of the tube to influence the output signal, but without inducing unwanted distortion or tube microphonics. The circuit is thus suitable for use in "direct box" applications particularly where the warm tube characteristic is desired.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawing.

Direct box employing hybrid vacuum tube and solid state circuitry


A combine harvester comprises a storage bin for storing harvested crop, an unload conveyor, a flow gate for regulating a flow of harvested material from the storage bin to the unload conveyor, a first sensor for detecting a position of the flow gate and a second sensor for detecting a position of the unload conveyor. The harvester further comprises a controller configured to enable a user interface for receiving from an operator of the combine harvester a set point for the flow gate, an on/off indicator for the unload conveyor and an unload conveyor position indicator, presenting a graphic element including a graphical depiction of the unload conveyor, and indicating, using only graphical variations of the graphical depiction of the unload conveyor, a position of the unload conveyor, an operating status of the unload conveyor, the set point of the flow gate and the position of the flow gate.

Agricultural harvesting machines include combine harvesters, forage harvesters and sugar cane harvesters by way of example. These harvesting machines include headers for cutting a standing crop or picking up a windrowed crop before gathering and processing the crop in a manner which depends upon the given machine. A combine harvester, for example, serves to thresh, separate and clean grain before collecting the grain in an on-board grain tank. The grain is periodically unloaded from the grain tank to a grain cart or grain truck via an unload conveyor. Other harvesters, such as forage harvesters, discharge the crop via an unload conveyor continuously throughout harvest.
Unload conveyors traditionally comprise an auger (or screw conveyor) inside a tube. However, other types of conveyor are known such as belt unloaders or blowers. The unload conveyor is normally swingable between a stowed (or transport) position and a deployed (or unloading) position. In the stowed position the conveyor typically extends along the side of the harvester body so as not to exceed the maximum permitted width on the highway and to avoid in-field obstacles such as trees or utility poles. In the deployed position the conveyor extends substantially transversely away from the harvester in order to reach a cart or truck which is driven alongside during unloading.
The process of unloading commonly occurs simultaneously with the process of harvesting and so the driver of the harvester is often required to pay attention to both the harvesting process and the unloading process at the same time. The relative position of the unload conveyor and the cart can be adjusted by varying the harvester forward speed, the cart forward speed or the swing angle of the unload conveyor, wherein the latter option is normally preferred because it does not affect the harvest process and the harvester driver has a better view of the cart. "Topping off" the cart or truck when nearly full can be especially challenging for an operator of the combine harvester and/or an operator of the cart or truck when also concentrating on forward movement and other operations of the machine.
It can be difficult for the operator of a grain cart or grain truck to know the status of the unload conveyor, further complicating the unload process. If the unload conveyor is pivoting relative to the harvesting machine, for example, the operator of the grain cart or grain truck may not know the position or direction of movement of the conveyor. Additionally, the operator may not know when the unload conveyor was activated or deactivated. Even the operator of a harvesting machine may not know the immediate status of the unload conveyor as there can be, for example, a delay between the time the operator activates the conveyor and when crop begins flowing from the conveyor spout.
The above section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

User interface control for metered grain discharge


A user equipment that supports a first set of beams accumulates transmit power control (TPC) commands to generate an accumulated correction factor during communication between the user equipment and a base station that supports a second set of beams. The user equipment is configured to use a first subset of the first set of beams during the communication and the base station is configured to use a second subset of the second set of beams during the communication. The user equipment detects a change in the first subset or the second subset. The user equipment resets the accumulated correction factor in response to detecting the change. In some cases, the user equipment generates a plurality of correction factors for a corresponding plurality of closed-loop processes. The user equipment resets some or all of the plurality of correction factors in response to detecting the change.

Wireless communications that operate according to standards such as the Fifth Generation (5G) standards defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) support communication over an air interface using multiple spatial channels for transmission or reception. The spatial channels are typically referred to as beams. For example, base stations that operate according to the 5G standards can support eight beams that have transmission or reception patterns oriented along different directions. For another example, user equipment that operate according to the 5G standards can support four beams that have transmission or reception patterns oriented along different directions. Communication between a base station and a user equipment utilizes a subset of the available beams, e.g., a base station uses a subset of four beams and the user equipment uses a subset of two beams to support uplink or downlink transmissions.
Power control algorithms are used to manage radio resources that support communication between base stations and user equipment. For example, uplink power control is used to adjust the transmission power of the user equipment to provide sufficient power to ensure reliable communication between the user equipment and a serving base station while minimizing interference with other users and, in some cases, maximizing battery life in the user equipment. Power control algorithms are therefore required to adapt to changing radio channel conditions such as path loss, shadowing, and fast fading. In closed loop power control algorithms, the base station transmits transmit power control (TPC) commands to the user equipment, which uses the received TPC commands to adjust its transmission power. The TPC commands indicate a relative change in the transmission power of the user equipment, e.g., a TPC command can indicate that the user equipment should increase its transmission power, decrease its transmission power, or keep the transmission power the same. The TPC command does not indicate the actual transmission power that should be used by the user equipment. The transmission power of the user equipment is determined (in part) based on a correction value that determined by accumulating TPC commands over transmission time intervals (TTIs).

Closed loop power control for beam specific uplink traffic transmission


A capacitor for a fluid level sensor that has first and second elongated expandable capacitor plates mounted in spaced relationship with respect to each other in a container to form a capacitor for measuring data representing the liquid in the container, the capacitor plates being continuously expandable from a first length to a second length with a given change in the shape of the container. Thus, the capacitor compensates for the change in container shape.

Fluid level sensors that use capacitors for the primary sensing elements are well known. However, prior devices have numerous drawbacks which result in either excessive cost, decreased accuracy or poor reliability and maintainability over extended periods of use. For example, ring plate capacitor devices are difficult, and hence costly, to manufacture. Detectors that use separate electronic circuits for each capacitor or group of capacitors require time-consuming and labor-intensive calibrations. RF circuits require extensive and precision components that introduce a much greater likelihood that one of those circuits will drift with age. Also, multi-circuit detectors must be reconfigured for each tank or container design. Further, it is well known that tanks or containers change their shape when filled with fluid as compared with their empty state; thus, a tank may have a depth of approximately 7 inches in its near empty state but may expand to a depth of 11 inches when it is filled with a liquid. No known devices exist which compensate for the expansion and contraction of the tank with the volume of liquid it contains. Thus, with a fixed fluid level sensor in the tank, the expansion and contraction introduces an error in the calculation of fluid depth in the tank.
The need, therefore, has long existed for an accurate yet inexpensive apparatus for detecting the level or quantity of fluid in a container and in particular a container which changes shape with the quantity of liquid it contains.


An umbrella frame device includes a runner slidably sleeved on a stem for spreading and collapsing a canopy. A retaining member has a retaining end which is movable radially in a slot in the runner and which is extendable inwardly of the runner to slidably contact a slideway on a protuberance disposed on the stem. The retaining end is brought to slip over an upper edge of the protuberance so as to be retained on a shoulder when the runner is moved to an engaging position. A sleeve member surrounds and is movable relative to the runner, and has a cam surface portion which can depress the retaining end radially with a friction force that arrests the runner in the engaging position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an umbrella frame device, more particularly to an umbrella frame device with a sleeve member which is operable to move a runner between engaging and disengaging positions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional umbrella is shown to include an elongate stem with an upper elongate hole in which a spring-loaded stop is provided. A runner is sleeved slidably on the stem to support a rib assembly which is mounted on an upper end of the stem. The runner is movable along the stem between an upper position for stretching the rib assembly and a lower position for collapsing the same. At the upper position, the runner is retainingly supported by the stop.
In view of the fact that the stem of the conventional umbrella frame device has to be provided with the hole to receive the stop, a solid structure was not contemplated for the stem. Due to this inherent limitation of the stem, which is a primary part of the umbrella frame device in terms of strength, it is quite difficult to improve the rigidity of the stem, and hence the durability of the umbrella frame device. Moreover, it is uncomfortable to press an end of the stop for collapsing the rib assembly, which has an acute and rigid surface.
The object of the present invention is to provide an umbrella frame device which can be operated conveniently and comfortably to spread and collapse a canopy, and which has a simple construction to facilitate assembly.
According to this invention, the umbrella frame device includes an elongate stem which has an outer surrounding stem surface that extends along and that surrounds an axis in an axial direction. The outer surrounding stem surface has an upper end portion on which a canopy is adapted to be mounted, a lower end portion, and a middle portion between the upper and lower end portions.
A protuberance is disposed on the middle portion adjacent to the upper end portion, extends in the axial direction, and has a slideway thereon. The slideway terminates at an upper edge that forms a shoulder with the middle portion. The shoulder extends inwardly and radially of the upper edge.
A tubular runner is sleeved on and is movable relative to the stem between upper and lower positions respectively for spreading and collapsing the canopy. The runner has inner and outer surrounding runner surfaces opposite to each other in radial directions relative to the axis. The outer surrounding runner surface has a slot which extends radially through the inner surrounding runner surface. The inner surrounding runner surface is movable along the slideway.
A retaining member has a retaining end which is disposed to be movable radially in the slot and which is extendable inwardly of the inner surrounding runner surface to slidably contact the slideway. The retaining end is brought to slip over the upper edge so as to be retained on the shoulder when the inner surrounding runner surface is moved along the slideway relative to the axis from a disengaging position which corresponds to the lower position, to an engaging position which corresponds to the upper position.
A sleeve member has an inner surrounding sleeve surface which surrounds the outer surrounding runner surface, and which is movable relative to the outer surrounding runner surface along the axis. The inner surrounding sleeve surface has a cam surface portion which confronts the retaining member and which is configured to be disengaged from the retaining end of the retaining member when the runner is in the lower position and to depress the retaining end radially with a friction force that arrests the inner surrounding runner surface in the engaging position, while the sleeve member is held against gravity by the retaining member.


A system and method of simultaneous collaboration is described. The described systems and methods can work with virtually any document structure and do not require advance locking. A plurality of possibly hierarchical, possibly overlapping domains within the document structure is defined. The server handling the simultaneous collaboration requests must keep track of conflicts in edits using the domain information and inform clients whether the edits have been accepted or rejected based on whether or not the edits cause conflicts. A well-designed domain structure as described will avoid conflicts.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for simultaneous collaboration.
Many current collaboration and "versioning" tools have limitations. In the simplest example, such collaborative tools will have one user "lock" a file or group of files, preventing other users from making changes until someone, usually the original user, "unlocks" the file. This unlocking may be done manually by the user or automatically by the software they are using. This system of locks works well when the likelihood of any two users wanting to edit the same file at the same time is small, but becomes cumbersome and even prohibitive as this likelihood increases. It can also be problematic when manual unlocking is required and users forget to unlock files they are done working on.
Another technique, used in many software revision control systems (AKA Software Configuration Management Systems), is to allow all users to edit a file while checking for conflicting changes when the users save their changes to the central "repository." A conflicting change, in this case, is any change that affects the same file, or the same section of the same file. This works well for expert systems where users are capable of comparing the data manually and dealing with the conflicts themselves, and when conflicts are unlikely. However, the system does not work well for arbitrary binary data where conflicts are hard to understand and resolve, or situations where non-experts are using the system.
Neither of these techniques is adequate for real-time collaboration, because they involve manipulation of entire files. For real-time collaboration a technique is required that does not demand the transfer of entire files and can work with a wide variety of data-types, including binary data. Moreover, we would like to minimize the possibility of conflicts, and allow for easy resolution of conflicts on the occasions that they do occur.
It is possible to extend the above techniques such that instead of files, we work with relatively small chunks of data, such as database entries, which together form a complete set of data. This complete set may appear to the user to be a file, so, to avoid confusion, we will call the complete set a document. This technique may be more than adequate for implementing many types of documents, such as a simple spreadsheet, where each cell in the table corresponds to a database entry, and each chunk of data can be locked while one user is editing it. This allows other users to edit other entries without risk of conflict, and in some cases, this is sufficient. The risk of two users wanting to edit the same entry at the same time has been reduced simply because the granularity has been improved. This system can be further improved upon in straightforward ways, if necessary: for example, locks can timeout if the UI on the machine which has the lock is idle; users can request locks from each other if someone has a lock that they need, or administrators can override locks as needed. This overcomes some of the obstacles; however, there are still cases where edits to the document may affect large amounts of data in the database, or the complexity of the data-structures is limited by the need to segregate "lockable" items, where this technique has significant limitations. In our spreadsheet example, moving multiple cells, though possible with multiple locks, becomes difficult. More difficult are operations such as inserting table rows and columns and formatting multiple cells. This design does not lend itself well to formats such as text documents where insertion and deletion constantly change the structure of the document. Therefore, the document design is dependent on the collaboration technique and may be limited in complexity. Another issue with this technique is the delay between requesting the lock and obtaining it, which must be very short in order for this technique to be convenient and user-friendly.
One possible solution is to send change information and have each client transform that information into a form that is relevant to its current state, even if its current state is different from the state of the original client. While this solution, and its extensions, called Operational Transformation (OT) is a well-established and highly developed art, it does have at least two drawbacks: 1. OT requires either the development of a large number of transformation functions, or it requires all edits to be reduced to a small number of extremely elementary edits, and 2. OT assumes that the document data can be represented in a linear fashion. While the second condition is almost always possible to meet, it is not always practical for documents with complex structures, for example, documents with complex embedded dictionaries.

System and method of simultaneous collaboration


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having capacitor contact holes. The method comprises: forming a first insulating film to cover the gate electrode and the source/drain electrodes; forming a second insulating film on the first insulating film; forming a third insulating film made of material different from that of the second insulating film on the second insulating film; forming a first resist film on the third insulating film; patterning the first resist film by using a first exposure mask to form a patterned first resist film; selectively removing the third insulating film by using the patterned first resist film as a mask; forming a second resist film to cover the patterned first resist film; patterning the second resist film by using a second exposure mask to form a patterned second resist film; selectively removing the first and second insulating films on at least a portion of one of the source/drain regions in each of the element forming regions by using the patterned first and second resist films as a mask to form capacitor contact holes; and forming a conductive film to fill the capacitor contact holes.

FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic cross section of a semiconductor device having contact holes for capacitors manufactured according to a conventional method. FIG. 15A through FIG. 15C, FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C and FIGS. 17A through 17C are cross sectional views illustrating, in order of manufacturing processes, the conventional method of fabricating lower electrodes of capacitors of a semiconductor device. FIG. 18 illustrates a conventional exposure mask used for fabricating capacitor contact holes.
As shown in FIG. 14, in a conventional semiconductor device 100, element forming regions are defined on a semiconductor substrate 101 by using an insulating film 102 for element isolation, i.e., an element isolation film or an element isolation insulating film. In each of the element forming regions, source/drain regions 104 and a gate region 105 are formed. Each of the source/drain regions 104 is a region used as a source region or a drain region. On the gate electrode 105, a lower electrode 111 is formed, and the lower electrode 111 is coated with a capacitor insulator film 112. Also, on the capacitor insulator film 112, there is formed an opposing electrode 113. The source/drain regions 104 are wired by using a wiring layer 114.
Now, an explanation will be made on a method of manufacturing the above-mentioned conventional semiconductor device. First, as shown in FIG. 15A, the insulating film for element isolation 102 is formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 101. Then, in each of the element forming regions defined by the insulating film for element isolation 102, the source/drain regions 104 and the gate electrode 105 are formed. Also, on whole surface of the semiconductor substrate 101, a first insulating film 103 is formed. Further, a first resist film 106 is formed on the first insulating film 103. The first resist film 106 is used to form a mask for forming a capacitor contact hole 108 (FIG. 16A) in the first insulating film 103.
Next, by using an exposure mask 115 shown in FIG. 18, which exposure mask has a minute opening 116, an opening portion 107 is formed by performing an exposure on the first resist film 106, after registering the opening 116 of the exposure mask 115 with the location of the capacitor contact hole 108. That is, as shown in FIG. 15B, the opening 107 of the first resist film 106 is formed at a location of the first insulating film 103 in which the capacitor contact hole 108 is to be formed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15C, by using the first resist film 106 as a mask, portions of the first insulating film 103 are selectively removed by etching and so on.
Thereafter, the first resist film 106 is removed, and, as shown in FIG. 16A, the capacitor contact holes 108 are formed in the first insulating film 103.
As shown in FIG. 16B, a conductive film 109 is then formed on the first insulating film 103 such that the capacitor contact holes 108 are filled with the material of the conductive film 109. On the conductive film 109, a second resist film 110 is formed. The second resist film 110 is used as a mask when the conductive film 109 is patterned to form the lower electrode 111.
The second resist film 110 is exposed by using an exposure mask not shown in the drawing after registering the exposure mask with the structure already formed on the semiconductor substrate to form a resist pattern of the second resist film 110 as shown in FIG. 16C.
Next, as shown in FIG. 17A, portions of the conductive film 109 are selectively removed by etching and so on by using the resist pattern of the second resist film 110 as a mask.
Then, as shown in FIG. 17B, the remainder of the second resist film 110 are removed and the lower electrodes 111 constituted of the remainder portion of the conductive film 109 are formed.
Thereafter, an insulating film and a conductor film are sequentially formed on whole surface of the substrate, and are patterned by using photolithography and etching. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 17C, a capacitor insulator film 112 on the lower electrode 111 and an opposing electrode 113 on the capacitor insulating film 112 are formed. Then, an interlayer insulating film 117 is formed on whole surface of the substrate. At each location of the interlayer insulating film 117 corresponding to the source/drain region 104, a through hole 118 is formed by using photolithography and etching, and the like. A wiring layer 114 is formed such that the through holes 118 are filled therewith, and is patterned by using photolithography and etching, and the like. By these processes, a semiconductor device shown in FIG. 17C is fabricated.
However, in the conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, minute opening patterns had to be formed in an exposure mask 115 to fabricate minute capacitor contact holes, i.e., contact holes for coupling capacitor electrodes 111 with the drain/source regions 104. Since the size of each opening of the exposure mask was very small and resist patterns formed on a substrate by using such exposure mask was also very small, it was difficult to obtain sufficient exposure margin. Therefore, it was difficult to realize high yield of semiconductor manufacturing.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device having capacitor contact holes


A fluid pressure monitoring system for a balloon catheter includes a pressure transducer in fluid communication with the interior of the balloon. The pressure transducer includes elements for providing an electrical signal which is a function of the pressure in the interior of the balloon. An electronic digital display is responsive to the electrical signal from the pressure transducer to display the balloon pressure measured by the pressure transducer. The system is especially suited for coronary angioplasty in which a catheter is inserted through blood vessels in the human body to the vicinity of a stenosis. The catheter carries an inflatable balloon to the vicinity of the stenosis, where it is inflated, and the fluid pressure monitoring system of the present invention detects and digitally displays to the cardiologist the pressure inside the inflated balloon.

This invention relates to measurement of pressures in catheter balloons and is particularly suited for measurement of such pressures in connection with coronary angioplasty catheters.
Coronary angioplasty is a rapidly growing medical procedure. In angioplasty a coronary artery which has become partially blocked by a stenosis (an abnormal narrowing of the artery due to injury or disease) is opened by inflating a balloon carried by a dilatation catheter to the site of the stenosis.
For placement purposes the dilatation catheter carries a movable guidewire which is advanced from the mouth of the respective coronary artery to the area of stenosis in the coronary artery or in one of the branches off the coronary artery. The dilatation catheter is then pushed over the guidewire to the stenosis and is placed so that the balloon carried by the dilatation catheter is disposed in the stenotic area.
The balloon at this time is collapsed so that it fits through the passage through the stenosis. The dilatation or balloon catheter typically has a pair of lumens: one through which contrast media or other suitable inflating fluid flows under pressure to inflate or deflate the balloon, and one through which the guidewire moves. When properly positioned in the stenosis, the cardiologist manually inflates the balloon by forcing contrast media through the inflation lumen into the interior of the balloon. This expansion of the balloon, assuming the size of the balloon has been chosen properly, expands the passage through the blood vessel to something approaching its normal dimensions.
It is often necessary to pressurize the balloon to a pressure in the range of from seven to ten atmospheres and to sustain this pressure for up to thirty seconds or so. During this pressurization, it is desirable to know the pressure to which the balloon is being inflated to ensure that the proper force has been applied to open the passageway. At present this pressure is displayed by an analog pressure gauge disposed in the vicinity of the syringe which is used to inflate the balloon.
Although analog pressure gauges are fairly accurate, they are not particularly easy to read, and are fairly easy to misread. These gauges are also not extremely well suited for integration into a system which can display to the cardiologist other information which would be of interest, such as elapsed time of inflation of the balloon, total desired inflation time, number of times that particular balloon has been inflated, and so on.
During coronary angioplasty the walls of the vessel are stretched and it sometimes occurs that the walls of the vessel fail under the force exerted by the expanded balloon. This incipient failure is reflected in the pressure in the balloon, but analog gauges are not especially well suited to detect this rapid change or to provide some alarm or other indication thereof to the cardiologist so that pressure could be immediately relieved before further damage to the vessel could occur.
In order to determine the actual force exerted by the balloon on the walls of the passageway, prior to the procedure cardiologists sometimes test inflate the balloon in a fixture which measures the applied force. The analog pressure gauge can be observed during this test to correlate the applied force with the pressure reading shown by the analog gauge. Analog gauges, however, are not particularly well suited to automating this test procedure.
Even if the force exerted by the balloon is not tested, the balloon is typically inflated before the procedure to ensure the patency of the balloon and to check whether the balloon can withstand the desired pressure An analog gauge is typically used during this test to ensure that the desired pressure is applied. Such a gauge, however, is not particularly well suited to automation of this test either.
Although the problems described above arise in the connection with the coronary angioplasty procedure, it should be realized that other medical procedures involving balloon catheters have similar problems. Peripheral angioplasty, for example, is a very similar procedure with similar concerns. Other procedures in which the present invention can be used will no doubt come to mind to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Medical pressure sensing and display system


In an electronic module for a vehicle including a case in which an electronic component such as a relay is mounted, the electronic module includes a discharge hole which discharges liquid contained in the case, and the discharge hole includes a peripheral edge of a predetermined dimension determined based on surface tension of the liquid.

Conventionally, an electronic module accommodating an electronic component such as a relay is mounted in a vehicle.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-79093 discloses a power-supply apparatus which comprises a relay provided with an openable contact and with an exciting coil for switching the opening-closing of the contact, in which the contact of the relay is electrically connected to a bus bar and the bus bar is provided with a heat-dissipation mechanism so that the bus bar can function as a current path and a heat-dissipation path and the heat-dissipation of the relay can be improved.


A combination steel and aluminum wheel comprises a roll-formed steel rim, a stamped steel spider, a cast aluminum element disposed in spaced relation to the axially outer face of the wheel, and a structural adhesive disposed between the aluminum element and both the spider and the rim of the wheel.

The present invention relates generally to vehicle wheels and particularly to an improved combination steel and aluminum vehicle wheel.
A typical automobile wheel comprises an annular, tire-supporting rim that is welded to a central spider. The spider mounts to an axle of the automobile. Both the rim and the spider are typically made from steel with the rim being roll formed and the spider being stamped.
In use, a vehicle wheel is continuously subjected to forces tending to deform the rim from its initial circular shape. Circumferential deformation of the rim is induced by the vertical component of vehicle load as well as by severe road conditions, e.g., bumps, potholes, etc. Since the wheel spider experiences a relatively small amount of deformation, a bending moment is induced at the welded juncture of the spider and rim. Thus, such known wheels must rely solely on the strength of the steel spider, rim, and the weld therebetween.
Recent emphasis on high performance vehicles has created a need for a wheel configuration that is extremely strong yet effects cooling of the vehicle braking system. Cast aluminum wheels exhibit relatively efficient heat transfer characteristics and, in addition, are often provided with integral fins that function as fan blades to induce a flow of cooling air over the brake drum or disc. However, such wheels are inherently weaker than steel wheels and the cost of such wheels is a high multiple of the cost of a steel wheel. While fan characteristics can be molded into current plastic wheel covers, such covers do nothing to augment wheel strength.


A gas system using a liquid to provide an oil-free, virtually noiseless positive/negative pressure to a pressure vessel. A high-pressure gas-storage reservoir, a compression tank and a pump liquid supply reservoir are interconnected by a series of valves. To provide a high positive pressure to a gas, a low pressure gas is admitted to the compression tank and then liquid is pumped from the storage reservoir into the tank, which has a flexible membrane separating the gas and the liquid. The liquid compresses the gas which is then vented out of the compression tank to the gas storage reservoir and the pump liquid is drained back into the liquid supply reservoir. A low pressure may be applied to the compression tank by first filling the tank with liquid and closing all inlet valves. Then a drain valve is opened to the liquid supply reservoir causing evacuation of the tank.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a noiseless oil-free gas system for providing a high or low pressure gas to a pressure vessel.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventional gas compressors are generally piston driven devices in which the gas to be compressed is injected into the compression chamber and then a piston moving in a cylinder compresses the gas. The high-pressure gas is vented to a storage container or another compression stage and additional gas is injected into the compression chamber. Such pumps are generally very noisy as a result of the moving piston and the alternating opening and closing of the inlet/outlet valves producing a pulsating source of compressed gas. Such noise is very undesirable in most military submersible vehicles. Further, lubricating oil along the cylinder wall contaminates the compressed gas in most systems such that the high pressure air is not breathable. Multi-stage devices, or those yielding oil-free compressed gas, are still noisy and are generally large, complex and require high levels of maintenance. Similar limitations exist in conventional vacuum pumps. Other prior art devices which have storage reservoirs containing a liquid and a gas under pressure usually require some compensating mechanism to adjust for the gas absorbed by the liquid when under pressure in order to maintain the device at a desired operational state. The present device can convert a low-pressure gas to a high-pressure one or vice versa in a virtually noiseless, continuous, single operation. Further, the gas so produced is oil-free and no compensating mechanism is required to adjust for any gas absorbed by the liquid.


Example devices are described that include a computational unit configured to process first set of data bits encoding a first numerical value and a second set of data bits encoding a second numerical value. The computational unit includes a bit-stream generator configured to generate bit combinations representing first and second bit sequences that encode the first and second numerical values, respectively, based on a proportion of the data bits in the sequence that are high relative to the total data bits. The first bit sequence is generated using a first Sobol sequence source, and the second bit sequence is generated using a second Sobol sequence source different from the first Sobol sequence source. The device also includes computation logic configured to perform a computational operation on the bit combinations and produce an output bit-stream having a set of data bits indicating a result of the computational operation.

Stochastic computing (SC) is a low-cost noise-tolerant computing paradigm. In many stochastic computing systems, logical computation is performed on probability data in the [0, 1] interval. In some SC systems, the data is represented by bit-streams (e.g. uniformly distributed (random) bit-streams or pseudorandom bit-streams). In conventional SC systems, the ratio of the number of ones to the length of a given data unit (e.g., word) in the bitstream determines the value of the data unit. For example, a data unit of 1101011100 in the bitstream may be used as a representation of 0.6 in the stochastic domain.

Low-discrepancy deterministic bit-stream processing using Sobol sequences


An arrangement for supplying air with a controlled pressure to the main weft insertion nozzles of an air jet loom includes a single servovalve connected between a pressurized air source, an air vent, and a pressure manifold, and individual shut-off valves respectively interposed in branch lines connected from the pressure manifold to the individual nozzles. A pressure sensor measures the actual pressure provided to the manifold. An electronic controller receives a pressure control signal and controls the servovalve responsive to any difference between the pressure control signal and the actual measured pressure signal. The arrangement is simple, economical, and rapidly reacting, to avoid the need of individual throttle valves or pressure regulators for the individual nozzles.

The invention relates to a jet weaving loom, and especially an air jet loom with pneumatic weft insertion system and an air supply control and regulating system, or pressure controller, for controlling the supply of pressurized air to the main weft insertion nozzles and/or the auxiliary relay nozzles.
In jet weaving looms, and especially air jet looms, it is necessary to achieve a good impulse transfer or kinetic energy transfer from the transport medium such as air to the weft thread. In this regard, the characteristics of the particular thread type of the weft thread being inserted must be taken into account. For example, in connection with a so-called weft mixing in the weft thread insertion process, i.e. a transition from one weft thread type to a different weft thread type, it is known to vary the pressure of the transport medium being supplied to one or more weft thread insertion nozzles, in order to achieve a substantially constant weft thread flight time or transit time of the different thread types through the insertion channel of the weaving reed with a substantially constant rotational speed of the loom. This is important, because a weft thread that reaches the end of the weft thread insertion either too early or too late within a respective weaving cycle can lead to weaving faults.
One known proposal for achieving a constant weft thread flight or transit time for different weft thread types involves allowing so much time for each respective weft thread in a respective weaving cycle, and driving each weft thread with so much transport medium at such a pressure, so that it is practically ensured that both the slowest, as well as the fastest weft thread will be inserted through the insertion channel within the prescribed time window.
Another manner of carrying out the air supply control is that the pressure for all of the main weft insertion nozzles is controlled in common and set to a certain pressure level by a mechanical pressure regulator. Thus, the basic pressure level is first adjusted or set independent of the quality or characteristic differences of the individual weft threads. Additionally, a respective adjustable throttle valve is allocated to each main insertion nozzle, whereby this throttle valve is used to individually adjust and set the particular pressure level required for achieving the prescribed weft thread flight or transit time for this associated weft thread, i.e. respectively for each main insertion nozzle.
The two above-mentioned manners of carrying out the air supply regulation and control are both rather uneconomical with respect to the provision and the consumption of the transport medium, i.e. the compressed air. Moreover, the individual allocation of a respective throttle valve to each respective main nozzle, and further to each respective so-called tandem main nozzle if the loom needs to be equipped with such tandem main nozzles, is rather costly, complicated, and time consuming with respect to the structural and installation effort of the control and regulating system, and with respect to the individual adjusting of the respective blowing air pressures at the respective throttle valves.
German Patent 30 43 003 discloses an air jet loom that is equipped with a measuring arrangement for measuring the transport velocity of the inserted weft thread, and with a control system in which a signal representative of the thread transport velocity is converted into a control signal, which in turn is used to influence or control the components of the weft thread insertion system that determine the insertion velocity of the weft thread. A person of ordinary skill will recognize from this German Patent, that the weft thread insertion system includes the main weft insertion nozzles, and that a pressure control or regulating valve is respectively allocated to each main nozzle.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a control and regulating system for the pressurized fluid supply for the main weft insertion nozzles, and for the tandem main weft insertion nozzles when applicable, that is simple in its structure, operation, and maintenance, economical in its original manufacturing and installation costs, economical in operation with respect to the consumption of pressurized fluid medium, and also rapidly reacting, so that it can achieve the required pressure already at the start of the loom for the first weft thread insertion, as well as achieving any desired varied pressure level from one weft insertion to the next. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification.
The above objects have been achieved according to the invention in a control arrangement for controlling the supply of air to plural main weft insertion nozzles of an air jet loom. Each main nozzle can include a single main nozzle or tandem main nozzles. The overall air supply arrangement includes a pressurized air source, and a control and regulating system (also called a pressure controller herein for simplicity and brevity) interposed and connected between the pressurized air source and the main weft insertion nozzles.
Especially according to the invention, the control and regulating system for all of the main weft insertion nozzles includes only one single multi-path servovalve with an integrated pressure sensor and pressure regulation and control electronics. Particularly, the multipath servovalve may be any conventionally known 3/2 way or multipath servovalve, e.g. having a solenoid or other electromagnetic actuator. The pressure regulation and control electronics receive a control signal from an external controller. The pressure regulation and control electronics compare a measured pressure signal corresponding to the actual pressure measured downstream from the multipath servovalve, with the control pressure indicated by the external control signal. Responsive to any difference or deviation between the actual pressure and the desired control pressure, the pressure regulation and control electronics actuate the multipath servovalve to connect either the pressurized air source, an air vent, or a closed connection, with a main pressure line on the side of the multipath servovalve toward the main weft insertion nozzle arrangements, so as to regulate the actual pressure provided in this main pressure line to correspond to the desired control pressure. The electronics may comprise any hardware and/or software for receiving and comparing the actual pressure signal and the control pressure signal, e.g. including an amplifier, a comparator, etc.
According to further preferred embodiment features of the invention, the external controller provides the external control signal in consideration of or based on the measured actual value of the actual weft transport flight or transit time or the corresponding rotational angle of the loom main drive shaft, which actual value is compared with a prescribed nominal or rated value, whereupon the determined time or rotational angle difference is converted into the external control signal. Thereby, the pressure to be provided to the main weft insertion nozzles is adjusted to speed-up the weft insertion if the actual measured weft insertion was too slow, or to slow-down the weft insertion if the actual measured weft insertion was too fast.
Further preferably according to the invention, a pressure distributor (i.e. plenum or manifold) is connected to the main pressure line that extends from the output of the multipath servovalve of the pressure control and regulating system. In turn, plural respective secondary pressure lines branch off from the pressure distributor or manifold and lead individually to the plural main weft insertion nozzles. A respective individual servo shut-off valve is interposed in each of the individual secondary pressure lines. Thus, the multipath servovalve of the pressure control and regulating system sets the pressure being supplied to the pressure manifold, and the individual servo shut-off valves respectively individually control which weft insertion nozzle or nozzles will receive the pressurized air at the respective instantaneously prevailing pressure in the pressure manifold at any given time.
The inventive use of a single multipath 3/2 way servovalve with an integrated pressure sensor and pressure regulation and control electronics now advantageously makes it possible to adjust and set the pressure level of the pressurized air that will be supplied respectively to each individual main weft insertion nozzle in a direct manner, i.e. without requiring individual mechanical adjustment for each respective main nozzle arrangement via the control software of the air jet loom. Also, the system is substantially simplified in comparison to the prior art, because it is no longer necessary to provide the conventionally known allocation of a respective pressure control valve or throttle valve for each individual main nozzle or each tandem main nozzle, but instead to provide a single valve, which is able to switch from one pressure level to another pressure level in only a few milliseconds, for example within about 15 to 20 ms for switching from a first required pressure level of e.g. 2.5 bar to a second required pressure level of e.g. 5.0 bar. Thereby, it is possible to adjust the pressure level individually and successively for each weft insertion nozzle and for each successive weft insertion. The invention makes use of the fact that only one particular pressure level will be needed at any particular instant in time, regardless of how many total weft insertion nozzles are provided, for example for different selectable weft thread colors or thread qualities.

Air supply controller for weft insertion nozzles in an air jet loom


The invention concerns a procedure for controlling a metering device for metering fuel into the exhaust gas duct of a combustion engine for the regeneration of a particle filter, whereby the metering device supplies the fuel to the exhaust gas duct over a security valve, a first fuel pipe, a metering valve, a second fuel pipe and an injection check valve and whereby the pressure of the fuel is determined between the metering valve and the injection check valve in the second fuel pipe. It is thereby provided that an opening pressure of the injection check valve is determined from the pressure course between the metering valve and the injection check valve.

For the regeneration of particle filters in the exhaust gas of combustion engines fuel is injected into the exhaust gas duct of the combustion engine before an oxidization catalyzer and catalytically combusted in that oxidization catalyzer. Thereby the temperature of the exhaust gas is increased so far until the burn-off temperature of the particles that are accumulated in the downstream built-in particle filter is achieved. The particles are then combusted in an exothermal reaction.
For metering fuel into the exhaust gas duct first fuel is supplied to a metering valve over a security valve that is under pressure. Therefore the security valve is completely opened. The metering of the required fuel quantity takes place over the metering valve, which is controlled continuously or correspondingly cycled.
Due the high temperature in the exhaust gas duct the metering valve cannot be attached directly at the exhaust gas duct. Therefore an injection check valve is provided, over which the fuel is injected into the exhaust gas duct coming from the metering valve.
The calculation of the metering quantity takes place with the aid of a pressure measurement between the security valve and the metering valve. A second pressure measurement is provided between the metering valve and the injection valve and serves for the leakage detection in the metering device.
DE 10 2004 061 247 A1 describes a procedure for operating a combustion engine, in whose exhaust gas area an exhaust gas treatment device is arranged, at which a reagent is inserted into the exhaust gas area upstream before the exhaust gas treatment device, at which in the streaming direction of the reagent, which is set to a default reagent swelling pressure (pQRea), first a switchable reagent security valve (ReaCV), then a continuous reagent metering valve (ReaDV) and then a reagent injection check valve (ReaIV) are arranged, at which the reagent pressure (pRea) in the reagent path is detected, which lies between the reagent security valve (ReaCV) and the reagent metering valve (ReaDV), at which the reagent pressure (pRea) that has been detected in at least one default state of the reagent security valve (ReaCV) and/or the reagent metering valve (reaDV) is compared with a threshold value (pU, pabg, dpReaIV, dpReaCV, pQRea, dpRea/dt) and at which an error signal (F) is provided at a threshold exceeding.
DE 10 2004 061 247 A1 furthermore describes a device for operating a combustion engine. It is thereby provided that at least one control unit that is customized for implementing the procedure is provided.
Procedure and device enable the detection of a leakage in the reagent path as well as the checking of the function of the valves that are arranged in the reagent path.
The disadvantage of the familiar procedures and devices is that the metering accuracy of the fuel into the exhaust gas duct depends on tolerances of the injection check valve and is correspondingly limited.
It is the task of the invention to provide a procedure and a device, which improve the metering accuracy of the fuel metering into the exhaust gas duct.

Procedure and device for the increase in value of one dose arrangement


The invention relates to an electromagnetic valve for distributing cryogenic propellant for a space launch vehicle. The valve comprises two seats each oriented in a direction opposite to the other seat; a passage connecting the seats; and two shutters opening and closing the seats. The valve also comprises a magnetic circuit with a magnetic coil and a magnetic plunger that is driven by the magnetic flux of the coil and which in turn drives the shutters relative to their respective seats so as to open and close the seats. The plunger is placed between the shutters such that each shutter closes its seat by moving the plunger away from the corresponding seat. The movement for opening a seat is performed by moving the plunger towards the seat so that it does not crush the shutters against their seats.

A rocket is propelled with the aid of fuel and oxidizing agent. The fuel is generally propellant, which is contained in tanks and then distributed under cryogenic conditions in order to supply the thrusters in a precise manner, solenoid valves are connected to the tanks. The valves generally have electromagnetic actuators that utilize the current of the electric network of the rocket. The actuators must adapt to the amperage available over the network.
In order to keep an electromagnetic valve open, it is necessary to supply current continuously to the coil of the valve. However, the current that circulates there causes the valve to heat up, in some cases to as much as 100° C., which risks igniting the fuel.
The fuel and the propellant circulate in gaseous form and at a temperature reaching −200° C. and a pressure of approximately 400 bar. This pressure exerts destructive forces on the sealing elements, as do the mechanical vibrations of a rocket during take-off thereof. These vibrations can translate into accelerations of 60 g, which speed up the wear of sealing surfaces, together with the closing motion impacts.
Document FR 2 487 942 A1 discloses a valve with a distribution level and a regulation level of the distribution level. The distribution level comprises two balls cooperating with two opposite seats. A shaft disposed between these balls makes it possible to open and close them selectively, and a piston with bellows makes it possible to actuate one of these balls. The piston is controlled by the regulation level, which comprises two balls also connected by a shaft and held in a closed position by a spring. An electromagnetic actuator with a tappet plunger pushes one of the balls, which in turn pushes the other ball via the shaft.
This configuration is bulky. In addition, the ball cooperating with the plunger balls is exposed to significant forces, which degrade the seat of the ball, and therefore the seal deteriorates with use. Indeed, the closing motion means that the seat absorbs the kinetic energy of the plunger of the electromagnetic valve. At the same time, the tappet of the plunger is progressively work-hardened under force in order to crush the ball against its seat. Consequently, it is not possible to assure effective centring and correct plating of the ball towards its seat, and therefore the seal is again compromised. It would therefore be beneficial to propose a valve with a ball pushed from its seat from the corresponding orifice.

Autoclave cryogenic electromagnetic valve for a space launch vehicle


Apparatus for removing fluid residue from an outer surface of a probe after it has been exposed to a fluid sample; the apparatus includes a wiper having a contact surface for wiping the residue from the outer surface of the probe, and a fluid flow path that cooperates with the contact surface for withdrawing wiped residue away from the contact surface and the probe; and a mechanism is provided for causing the contact surface to be swept along the outer surface of the probe. An apparatus for cleaning the outer surface of a probe after it is exposed to a fluid sample including a wiper for contacting the outer surface of the probe and a mechanism for causing relative motion between the wiper and the probe to wipe fluid from the outer surface.

This invention relates to cleaning probes that touch fluids.
In a chemical analyzer, for example, liquid from an earlier sample may remain on the outside surface of such a probe, thus contaminating the next liquid sample into which the probe is inserted. It is known to clean the probe between samples by immersing it in a wash, or by blowing off the liquid, or by ultrasonic cleaning.


A rear suspension assembly for a drag racing vehicle in which the assembly includes a plurality of links with a brace assembly connecting a pair of links. The links provide a connection between the vehicle chassis and the rear axle housing. The brace assembly is attached to two links on opposite sides of the drive shaft, thereby maintaining the two links in a fixed spatial relationship. In one embodiment, the brace assembly includes members arranged in an X-shape, with the outboard ends of the X-shape attached to the distal ends of two links. In one such embodiment, the cross-brace assembly includes a cross-brace extending from the medial section of one link to the medial section of the opposite link and the cross-brace is connected to the center of the X-shaped brace. In another embodiment, the brace assembly includes members in a Y-shape in conjunction with members bridging the two links.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a rear suspension assembly for a drag racing vehicle. More particularly, this invention pertains to rear suspension assembly that includes members that stabilize the rear axle of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drag racing vehicles have unique requirements compared to oval or round track race vehicles or street vehicles. Not only must a drag racing vehicle have sufficient horsepower to win races, but that horsepower must be efficiently transferred into forward motion through the rear tires. Many factors contribute to the dynamic response of a drag racing vehicle during a run. The tuning of the rear suspension is crucial during the start because it is desirable for the majority of the vehicle weight to be supported by the rear tires equally to ensure straight launches and maximum traction.
Drag racers typically use two types of non-independent rear suspensions to improve the performance of their vehicles. A ladder bar suspension has one connection point forward and two connection points at the rear axle for each of two ladders. The ladder bar suspension allows the rear end to move in an arc having a center at the forward connection point. A four-link suspension has four links, two on each side of the rear differential, connecting the rear axle to the vehicle. The four-link suspension allows the rear end to move in an arc with a center well away from the forward connection points at a point called the instant center.
With both the ladder bar and the four-link suspensions, it is known to use a diagonal crosslink to prevent racking of the suspension. Racking is the sideways movement of the rear end relative to the centerline of the vehicle. The diagonal crosslink has one end attached to one front connection point and the other end attached to the rear axle housing diagonally opposite the front connection point. The ladders and four-links are arranged in a front-to-back configuration substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the crosslink is at an angle to the longitudinal axis, when viewed from above. The diagonal crosslink does not prevent roll or twisting of the rear axle.
It is also known to use an anti-roll bar with these suspensions in order to increase the suspension's roll stiffness, which is its resistance to roll in turns. Anti-roll bars are also called sway bars, anti-sway bars, and roll bars. Anti-roll bars are typically attached to the vehicle and the rear axle housing independent of the ladder bars and four-link suspension components. Drag racing vehicles have little need for anti-roll bars because these vehicles typically travel in a straight line. But, drag racing vehicles have a need for rear suspensions that equalize the loading of each rear tire as power is applied to the tires from the drive chain.

Rear suspension assembly for a drag racing vehicle


An electronic device including a conductive element, a conductive layer, and a case is provided. The case has a surface, a first supporting member, and a second supporting member. The first supporting member and the second supporting member are disposed on the surface, and the first supporting member has a suspending arm. The case, the first supporting member and the second supporting member are integrally formed, and the conductive layer exists on the surface of the case, the first supporting member, and the second supporting member. The conductive element presses the first suspending arm to contact the second supporting member, such that a ground circuit is formed with the conductive element, the first suspending arm, the second supporting member, and the surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic device and more particularly, to a case of an electronic device having a ground circuit function.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the progress in semiconductor technology, various electronic devices are developed with functions of portability and convenience such as notebooks or portable electronic devices or the like. However, a human body carries more or less static electricity, such that the electrostatic charges are transmitted from fingers to the inside of a notebook and causes the electrostatic discharge (ESD) when the user operates the notebook. The electrostatic current formed by the electrostatic discharge is transmitted from the opening of the case (e.g., the opening of a connector) to the circuit board disposed within the notebook and damages the elements of the circuit board. Similarly, if an electric leakage occurs in the elements of the notebook, the electric current of the electric leakage may be transmitted from the opening to the outside of the case and it may cause the user to get an electric shock when the user touches the touch panel.
To solve the above problems, fabricating the case with metal is one of the resolving ways, but it may increase the weight of the notebook and does not comply with the compactness trend. In addition, a metal layer being sputtered to the internal wall of the case is another resolving way of the above problems. After the circuit board with a connector being assembled to the case, a conductive cloth or a conductive sponge is disposed and electrically bridged the connector and the metal layer of the case. Though the resolving way described above needs less and simple element, the conductive cloth or conductive sponge has to be attached manually. Thus, it has problems of positioning or tolerance, and further if a re-processing is needed, the stickiness of the detached conductive cloth or the conductive sponge may be reduced, or the metal layer of the case may be peeled off with the conductive cloth or the conductive sponge.
On the other hand, another resolving way is to dispose a metal spring between the connector and the metal layer of the case to form a ground circuit. Though it may improve the aforementioned positioning or tolerance problem of the conductive cloth or the conductive sponge, the manufacturing cost of spring is much higher than the conductive cloth or the conductive sponge.


A swing weight for a golf club wherein the swing weight includes a main body sized and adapted to be received in a tubular shaft of the golf club, a flange adjacent one end of the main body and having larger cross-sectional dimensions than the main body, and a locking region on the main body adjacent to flange. The locking region has a cross-sectional dimension which is less than a cross-sectional dimension of the flange and which is greater than a cross sectional dimension of other regions of the main body.

In order to provide the desired characteristics to a set of golf clubs, it is common practice to appropriately weight each of the clubs using swing weights of predetermined magnitudes. A variety of techniques can be used to accomplish this including the techniques shown and described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,336 and in my U.S. application Ser. No. 027,410 filed on Mar. 8, 1993.
A typical golf club includes a golf club head having a passage terminating in the head and elongated tubular shaft having a generally axially extending bore opening at one end of the shaft. An end portion of the shaft is received in the passage of the golf club head and is affixed to the golf club head. It is common practice to retain the swing weight in the end portion of the shaft which is received within the golf club head.
In the manufacture of golf clubs of this type, a swing weight of the desired weight is coated with an adhesive, such as an epoxy, and a main body of the swing weight is inserted into the bore of the shaft. The swing weight has a flange which is too large to enter the bore and which remains outside the bore adjacent one end of the shaft. An end portion oft he shaft is then coated with an epoxy and inserted into the hosel of a golf club head.
One problem with this technique is that when the shaft is removed or partly removed from the golf club head, the swing weight may come out of the shaft and become lodged in the hosel. This can make it difficult to remove the swing weight from the hosel and slows down production.

Swing weight with locking feature and golf club and method utilizing the same


A system and method are provided for damping a vibrating surface, such as a drumhead, of a percussion instrument by attaching a patch made from a viscoelastic urethane polymer to an exterior face of the vibrating surface. Such a patch has a self-adhesive quality and may be attached by contacting the vibrating surface. In one embodiment, the patch has a tapered edge that serves to improve the quality of the bond between the patch and the surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to percussion instruments and more specifically to damping a vibrating surface of a percussion instrument.
2. Background Information
Percussionists often desire to damp their musical instruments, for example drums, in order to control or change the sound emanating from the instruments. To better understand damping, it is useful to review how a drum produces a distinctive sound.
A drum is basically a tensioned membrane fixed over a resonating chamber, enclosed by a rigid shell, typically cylindrical in shape. The membrane (commonly referred to as the drumhead) is often made of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate polyester (commonly referred to by the trade name Mylar® registered to DuPont Teijin Films L.P.), though animal skins and other poly-spun fibers are also used. A drum's distinctive sound is actually a combination of two different sounds; "attack," which is the sound made by a drumstick or hand striking the drumhead, and "resonance," which is the sound produced by vibrations of a resonating chamber of the drum. When the drumhead is struck, vibrations of the drumhead are transmitted to the shell at a bearing edge where the drumhead meets the shell (often termed a counterhoop or rim). Also, movement of the drumhead causes air to impact the interior walls of the shell and a bottom membrane (bottomhead) of the drum. All these vibrations interact to produce a resonance.
Any modification of a vibrating surface of a percussion instrument generally affects the vibrations produced. For example, modification of a drumhead has a dramatic effect on a drum's sound. Accordingly, musicians have employed various techniques to change the sound of percussion instruments, often by attempting to damp the instruments.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,839 discloses a damping structure that includes an inflatable balloon-like cushioning member that may be mounted inside a drum to contact with an interior face of the drumhead. The cushioning member is attached to a rod that spans the drum, holding it in place.
By way of further example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,819 discloses a self-adhesive gel patch that adheres to a vibrating percussion instrument surface. The gel in the gel patch is primarily composed of a PVC copolymer resin.
Yet, these and other existing techniques have been found unsatisfactory in practice. Damping systems disposed inside of a percussion instrument are often cumbersome to install and difficult to add or remove quickly, as often required during a musical performance. Further, assemblies disposed inside a percussion instrument have a tendency to produce rattles and other unpleasant sounds. Similarly, existing systems that damp by attaching to the exterior of a percussion instrument suffer a variety of shortcomings. Such systems typically use adhesives that may transfer to or soil the surface of the percussion instrument, or lose their adhesive properties over time. Even when new, such known adhesive based systems commonly do not adhere well, and due to a lack of adhesion, provide insufficient damping effect. Other systems may use colloidal suspensions or gels, yet these systems also often lose their adhesive properties over time. Further, devises employing colloidal suspensions or gels often do not feel responsive when struck and therefore limit a musician's options in performances.

Viscoelastic polymer damping for percussion instruments


A machine for compacting a row of tires in side-by-side relationship comprises a support housing containing a dual action hydraulic cylinder. A first compactor plate, contacting a first tire of the row is mounted on the support housing. An extended piston rod carrying a suitably dimensioned sleeve forms a probe that passes out of the support housing, through the first compactor plate and extends through the uncompacted row of tires, defining an external segment of the probe which varies in length as the piston is extended and retracted. A second compactor plate, mountable on the probe, contacts the last tire of the row. Thus the row of tires is compacted between the first compactor plate and the second compactor plate when the probe is retracted and the external segment is shortened. The probe is fully retractable through the first compactor plate to easily release the compacted row of tires therefrom. The compactor plates each have a plurality of slots for receiving binding wires therethrough, and the probe includes wire guides so that a wire can be wrapped about the compacted row of tires.

1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for compacting tires into a bundle. More particularly, this invention relates to a machine and method for compacting a number of tires arranged in a row into a concentrated bundle for easy handling and disposition.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
In recent years the problem of recycling or otherwise disposing of the common automobile and truck tires has become an increasing problem in the United States and elsewhere in the world. With increased environmental restrictions it is generally no longer feasible to merely burn the tires, or dispose of them in landfills. Recycling possibilities are the subject of considerable research, and tires are increasingly being recycled or used for other purposes. In addition to chopping up tires to from raw material for other processes, tires can be bundled and used to form artificial reefs, breakwaters for marinas, and for a variety of structural applications. Because storage space for used tires is valuable, it is desirable to compress and compact the tires into concentrated bundles for storage until final disposition. As tires are intentionally made to be very tough and resilient for their primary purpose, they present a formidable problem when it is desired to compact and bundle them into a dense, easily handled form.
Various hydraulically actuated machines are known for compacting a number of tires into a bundle by a movable plate compressing a row of tires against a fixed plate. In order to be commercially successful, twenty to thirty tires must be compressed at a time, which has required machines approaching 30 feet in length, and having very long piston stroke lengths. Buckling of the assembled tires during compacting has been a matter of concern. Stability of the fully extended piston rod, lateral stress on the rod, and rapid cylinder wear have also been problems in the art. My U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,680 discloses a compacting machine having a relatively short footprint and increased stability. While this device works well, it requires a relatively complex mechanism for insuring stability of the extended piston rod, and improvements in cycle time have been desired. This device further demands the physical extraction of a fully compacted and bundled group of 20-30 tires from its probe. In practice this increases operational expense, as tire-handling machinery must be provided to handle the heavy tire masses.


A seal mountable to the rim of an open mouth container the seal including a resiliently flexible central panel separately formed from and intimately bonded to a substantially rigid peripheral mounting ring adapted to snap-mount to the rim of the container with the central panel being selectively flexible both inward and outward relative to the interior of the container for the accommodation of both overfilled and underfilled conditions through a variation in the head space beneath the mounted seal.

The present invention is broadly concerned with containers of the type normally utilized in a kitchen environment for the storage of foodstuffs. More particularly, the invention is concerned with seals for such containers.
The conventional seals, for the most part, are adapted to snap-lock to the container rim and, depending upon the nature of the specific seal, provide particular advantages including an effective sealing capability, ease of mounting and/or removal, the capability of accommodating itself to overloaded containers, and the like.
Of interest with regard to the known prior art, is U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,729 B1, issued Jul. 17, 2001, to Mitchell et al. which discloses a one-piece highly elastic sealing cover wherein both the corrugated central panel and peripheral integral bead are elastically stretchable outwardly to both conform to different size and shape containers and laterally expand to accommodate foodstuffs projecting above the top rim of the container. A similar product is sold by a company known as EMSA which is a flaccid sheet with an integral peripheral bead, much in the manner of a bathing cap or shower cap, which can be stretched over the top of a container regardless of variations in the container configuration.
One-piece seals with central panels which flex slightly to assist in mounting the seal will be noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,088, issued Jul. 25, 1972, to Swett et al and U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,208, issued Sep. 19, 1972 to Croyle et al.

Container seal with flexible central panel


The present invention relates to polymeric compositions comprising at least one polyolefin and a compatibilizer and/or a modifier. The polymeric composition comprises a first component and a second component, the first component being a first polymeric material comprising C2 to C20 linear or branched stereoregular polyolefins. The second component is a polyolefinic homopolymer having an isotacticity within the range of 25% to 60% of [mmmm] pentad concentration.

The present invention relates to polymeric compositions comprising at least one polyolefin and a compatibilizer and/or a modifier.
Stereoregular polypropylene and in particular isotactic polypropylene enjoys widespread usage throughout the industry. For example, isotactic polypropylenes, polymeric blends as well as plastic materials based on isotactic polypropylene are applied for the manufacture of films, fibers, bodies, foams, adhesives, coverings, and the like. The manufacture of isotactic polypropylene such as by metallocomplex catalysis polymerization reaction is well known in the art.
The manufacture of syndiotactic polypropylene and atactic polypropylene is also well known in the art. Due to their material properties, however, the latter two materials as such do not lend themselves to widespread industrial usage.
Isotactic polypropylene is a highly crystalline polymer. Accordingly, isotactic polypropylene is a brittle, stiff material with high tensile strength. It can be processed successfully without thermal destruction due to its low melting point. For the alteration of the material properties, however, for example a platicizer is required. Syndiotactic polypropylene is also a highly crystalline polymer but syndiotactic polypropylene is very difficult to process thermally because of its high melting point. Atactic polypropylene is amorphous at room temperature and accordingly has poor mechanical properties and is sticky at room temperature.
It is a generally known technique to form compositions of polymers having different properties in order to adjust the material properties of the individual polymers. It is particularly desirable to mix polymers of the same monomer but with differing stereo chemistry. However, in the case of polyolefins and in particular in the case of polypropylene the known polymers having differing stereo chemistry are completely immiscible.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a polymeric composition which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art polymeric compositions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a polymeric composition in which the material properties such as impact resistance, elasticity, and extensibility of the basic polymeric can be adjusted by adding a variable amount of the same polymer with a different stereo chemistry, in particular with a polymeric composition comprising a polyolefin, preferably polypropylene.
It is a further object the present invention to provide a polymeric composition which comprises a first component and a second component which are immiscible and which comprises a third component acting as a compatibilizer to stabilize the polymeric composition.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for blending two immiscible polymeric materials such as two polyolefins, in particular polypropylenes with differing stereo chemistry.
The present invention provides a polymeric composition comprising a first component and a second component, said first component being a first polymeric material comprising C2 to C20 linear or branched stereoregular polyolefins, characterized in that said second component is a second polyolefinic homopolymer having an isotacticity within the range of 25% to 60% of [mmmm] pentad concentration.

Compatbilizer and modifier for polymeric compositions comprising polyolefins


The present invention discloses an online game provision system using a storage medium and a method thereof. The online game provision system includes a database server, a storage medium, and a Personal Computer (PC). The database server stores patch files corresponding to a video and image file, a sound file and a game program executable file which are necessary to play the game, and information about the version of each of the patch files. The storage medium stores the video and image file, the sound file, the game program executable file, the latest patch executable file, and an account authority processing executable file which are necessary to play the game. The PC is connected to the database server, receives the input of the storage medium, and includes an Operating System (OS) for detecting the input of the storage medium and automatically executing the latest patch executable file.

Online games refer to games which can be played by connecting computers to external systems via telephone or cables, and have grown in considerable fields and in various genres, such as Role-Playing Games (RPGs), Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), arcade games and simulation, so that the market size thereof and the number of game users have become huge.
Based on such growth in online games, game providers have distributed online games to users for the most part using two methods.
The first is an offline method in which compressed game data and an installation file that unpacks the compressed game data are packaged with each other, after which they are provided on a specific storage medium (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)). When a game is installed using the above-described method, a person who wants to enjoy the game should perform a separate installation process on his/her PC that is going to be used.
In greater detail, the storage medium for recording a game program includes a program for the game, a program which enables playing on a network, the product key or serial number (hereinafter, referred to as the CD Key) of the storage medium, and a CD key determination program which enables authenticity to be determined. Users should execute an installation file stored on the storage medium, write the CD Key, determine whether the value of the CD key is authentic using the CD Key determination program, and then install the corresponding program.
The second is an online method in which a game, packaged in the same manner as in the offline method is requested from a server in not an offline but in an online manner, is downloaded and then installed, or alternatively in which the corresponding file is fetched from the server and installed while an installation file is executed.
Currently, the offline method is typically used.
However, with the generalization of computing environments in which account authority is set, the compensation of data stored on a storage medium is not realized depending on account authority.
In greater detail, it has been very difficult to install data stored on the storage medium on a PC that a user desires to play the game on or to play the game while supporting the data from the latest version because of account authority.
That is, the above-described prior art has the following problems:
There is the problem of complexity because, when users want to play the online game on a PC, the users should perform a separate game installation process before playing the game. Online game providers provide one or more patches in order to improve the instability of the program, which is detected when a game service process is running, and in order to change and add functions. The patches are not provided once but are provided to users whenever one or more program errors are corrected or the functions of the game are changed or added to. Therefore, there is the problem of complexity because the users should frequently collect patches at a time and install the patches over a long period of time, and then play the game.
Further, in the prior art, with the current generalization of computing environments in which account authority is set up, games cannot be run on a PC where the user does not have account authority unless account policies are not modified, so that there is the problem of inevitably bringing about sensitive matters, such as security issues.

Online game provision system using storage medium and method thereof