An electronic apparatus is provided. A component part containing chamber provided in the inside of a case constituting an armor of an electronic apparatus is so configured that a rectangular plate-like battery can be mounted and dismounted via a rectangular first opening opened in the lower surface of the case. One side wall in the vicinity of the first opening is provided with a second opening, and a component part containing space communicated with the second opening is provided in the inside of the case. A holder is provided which includes a first plate portion detachably attached to the second opening to shut off the second opening, and a second plate portion projecting from the first plate portion and extending in the component part containing space in the condition where the first plate portion shuts off the second opening, and a separable body is contained in the component containing space together with the holder. By this configuration, it is possible to provide an electronic apparatus which is not impaired in appearance quality and in which the operation of removing the separable body such as a secondary battery and electrical component parts at the time of discarding the electronic apparatus can be easily carried out.

The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus.
In recent years, laws or regulations related to recycling of batteries are executed in countries, and there is a demand for a structure such that electric component parts, a backup secondary battery and the like incorporated in an electronic apparatus can be easily removed from the electronic apparatus and separated from the electronic apparatus at the time of discarding the electronic apparatus.
For example, a configuration in which a secondary battery is preliminarily detachably attached to a printed wiring board disposed in the inside of a case constituting an armor of an electronic apparatus, a case portion fronting on the secondary battery is provided with an opening for removing the battery therethrough, and the opening is shut off with a lid, has been disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 8-255606).
In such an electronic apparatus, the separation of the secondary battery from the electronic apparatus is conducted by removing the lid from the opening, removing the secondary battery from the printed wiring board, and drawing out the secondary battery to the exterior of the case.
However, in the above-mentioned electronic apparatus, the opening and the lid front on the outside of the case, so that they impair the appearance quality of the electronic apparatus.
In addition, there may be contemplated a structure in which such opening and lid are not provided and in which the secondary battery is taken out after disassembling the case. In this case, however, the operation of taking out the secondary battery is troublesome, which is poor in practicality.


A signal transmission method is provided, wherein, when a transmitter transmits a signal to a receiver, a transmitter processor multiplexes a plurality of data for a plurality of connections to be transmitted to one specific receiver, and constitutes a multiplexed medium access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU) containing a MAC header part for receiving the multiplexed data, and a MAC PDU payload containing the multiplexed data, and the transmitter transmits the multiplexed MAC PDU to the specific receiver. The MAC header part includes a first header part containing a generic MAC header, and a second header part containing an extended header indicator serving as a 1-bit indicator for indicating the existence of an extended header (EH) for each flow ID for each of the plurality of connections. The MAC header part further includes a third header part which selectively contains the extended header for each flow ID in accordance with the extended header indicators for each flow ID.

An Internet based communication system is generally comprised of a protocol stack of five layers and each protocol layer is configured as illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an Internet protocol stack, which is generally used.
Referring to FIG. 1, an uppermost layer of the protocol stack is an application layer and serves to support network application such as FTP/HTTP/SMTP/RTP. The protocol stack further includes a transport layer which serves to transmit data between hosts using TCP/UDP protocol, and a network layer which performs setup of a data transmission path from a source to a destination through IP protocol. Furthermore, the protocol stack includes a link layer which serves to perform data transmission and Media Access Control (MAC) between peripheral network entities through PPP/Ethernet protocol, and a lowermost physical layer which transmits data in units of bits using wire or wireless media.
FIG. 2 illustrates an operation of each layer for data transmission, which is generally used.
Referring to FIG. 2, a transport layer of a transmitting side generates a new data unit by adding header information to a message payload received from an uppermost layer, i.e., an application layer. The transport layer transmits the data unit to a lower layer, i.e., a network layer. The network layer generates a new data unit by adding header information used for the network layer to the data received from the transport layer, and transmits the data unit to a lower layer, i.e., a link layer. The link layer generates a new data unit by adding header information used for the link layer to the data received from the upper layer, and transmits the generated data unit to a lower layer, i.e., a physical layer. The physical layer transmits the data unit, which has been received from the link layer, to a receiving side.
A physical layer of the receiving side receives the data unit from the transmitting side and transmits the data unit to an upper layer thereof, i.e., a link layer. The receiving side processes a header added to each layer and transmits a message payload, from which a header has been removed, to an upper layer. Data transmission and reception between the transmitting side and the receiving side are performed through the above procedure.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, for data transmission and reception between the transmitting side and the receiving side, each layer performs control functions such as data addressing, routing, forwarding, and data retransmission by adding a protocol header.
FIG. 3 illustrates a protocol layer model defined in a wireless mobile communication system based on an IEEE 802.16 system, which is generally used.
Referring to FIG. 3, a MAC layer belonging to a link layer may include three sublayers. A service-specific Convergence Sublayer (CS) may convert or map external network data, which is received through a CS Service Access Point (SAP), into MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) which are received by a MAC Common Part Sublayer (CPS). In this layer, SDUs of an external network are classified and a function that associates them to a corresponding MAC Service Flow IDentifier (SFID) and Connection IDentifier (CID) may be included.
The MAC CPS provides a core MAC function such as system access, bandwidth allocation, connection setup, and connection maintenance and receives data which is classified by a specific MAC connection from various CSs through the MAC SAP. In this case, Quality of Service (QoS) may be applied to data transmission through a physical layer and scheduling.
A security sublayer may provide an authentication function, a secure key exchange function, and an encryption function.
The MAC layer provides a connection-oriented service and is implemented by the concept of a transport connection. When a mobile station (MS) is registered in a system, a service flow may be provisioned by negotiation between the MS and the system. If service requirements change, a new connection may be established. The transport connection defines mapping between peer convergence processes that utilize MAC and a service flow. The service flow defines QoS parameters of a MAC PDU that are exchanged in a corresponding connection.
A service flow for a transport connection performs a core role in operating MAC protocol and provides a mechanism for uplink and downlink QoS management. In particular, the service flow may be integrated with a bandwidth allocation process.
In a general IEEE 802.16 system, an MS may have a 48-bit universal MAC address per radio interface. This address uniquely defines the radio interface of the MS and may be used during an initial ranging process to establish a connection with the MS. Since a Base Station (BS) verifies MSs by different IDs of the MSs, the universal MAC address may be used during part of an authentication process.
Connections may be identified by a 16-bit CID. During initialization of an MS, two pairs of management connections (uplink and downlink) are established between the MS and the BS and three pairs including the management connections may be optionally used.
The above-described IEEE 802.16-series standard is completing specification of IEEE 802.16e and is underway under the name IEEE 802.16m. Hereinafter, IEEE 802.16e will be briefly referred to as 16e and IEEE 802.16m will be briefly referred to as 16m, unless confusion would arise.
FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining the structure of a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) specified by the 16e standard, and FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining in detail the structure of a generic MAC header in the MAC PDU shown in FIG. 4.
Generally, a link layer (or MAC layer) and a physical layer, which are located at a second layer or below, differently define protocol according to each system such as LAN, Wireless LAN, 3GPP/3GPP2 or Wireless MAN and a header format of a MAC PDU according to the protocol. A MAC header may include a MAC address of a node or a link address for data transmission between nodes in the link layer and may include header error check and link layer control information.
Referring to FIG. 4, each MAC PDU starts with a MAC header of a certain length. The header is located in front of a payload of the PDU. The payload of the MAC PDU includes a subheader, a MAC SDU, and a fragment. The length of payload information may vary to contain a variable number of bytes. Therefore, a MAC sublayer can transmit various traffic types of an upper layer even without recognizing the format or bit pattern of a message. All reserved fields are set to '0' during transmission and are disregarded during reception.
The MAC PDU may include Cyclic Redundancy Check for error detection. A CRC function may be implemented in a physical layer of an OFDMA system. All reserved fields in the MAC PDU are designated as '0' and are disregarded during reception.
Hereinbelow, one scale of a block indicating a header structure including the structure of FIG. 5 denotes one bit, a horizontal column denotes one byte, and going downward denotes sequential arrangement from a Most Significant Bit (MSB) to a Least Significant Bit (LSB).
Referring to FIG. 5, six subheaders may be used for a MAC PDU together with a generic MAC header. Subheaders for each MAC PDU are inserted to the rear of the generic MAC header. Each field included in the MAC header will be described below.
A Header Type (HT) field represents a header type, more particularly represents whether a corresponding MAC PDU is a generic MAC header which includes a payload at the rear thereof or a signaling header for control such as a bandwidth request. An Encryption Control (EC) field represents encryption control, more particularly represents whether a payload has been encrypted. A Type field represents the presence/absence of a subheader suffixed to the header and the type of the subheader. An Extended Subheader Field (ESF) field represents the presence/absence of an extended subheader suffixed to the header.
A CRC Indication (CI) field represents whether CRC is suffixed to the rear of payload. An Encryption Key Sequence (EKS) field represents an encryption key sequence number used for encryption if the payload is encrypted. A Length (LEN) field represents the length of the MAC PDU. A CID field represents a connection identifier to which the MAC PDU is transferred. A connection is used as an identifier of a MAC layer for data and message transmission between the BS and the MS. A CID serves to identify a specific MS or a specific service between the BS and the MS. A Header Check Sequence (HCS) is used to detect an error of the header. In FIG. 5, a number in parenthesis next to each field name represents the number of bits occupied by each field.
Meanwhile, the IEEE 802.16Rev2/D4 standard specifies the concept of MAC PDU concatenation to simultaneously transmit a plurality of MAC PDUs in uplink or downlink transmission.
FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining the concept of MAC PDU concatenation.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, when MAC PDU concatenation is used, MAC PDUs are distinguished by CIDs. In addition, a MAC management message, user data, and a Bandwidth Request (BR) MAC PDU may be concatenated for simultaneous transmission. Since the respective MAC PDUs are distinguished by the respective CIDs, a reception MAC entity can provide a MAC SDC by recombining one or multiple MAC PDUs with a corresponding MAC SAP.
Although the MAC PDU concatenation described in conjunction with FIG. 6 has an advantage of transmitting the MAC PDUs transmitted to the same MS by concatenation, MAC PDU headers should be attached to all payloads since data transmitted for each connection is distinguished by the MAC PDU headers. Even if this is efficient for optimization for a MAC message, optimization for the MAC header is not achieved.

Efficient MAC header design and communication using same


An input device for the selection of medical images for representation on a large display is provided. An image configuration can be selected for display on the large display from a plurality of image configurations by the input device. Selecting the image configuration enables a plurality of images for display on the large display and their arrangement on the display to be determined. The image configuration is created according to requirements of a medical workflow associated with the image configuration. A representation suitable for a medical workflow may be displayed on the large display.

The present embodiments relate to the selection of medical images for representation on a large display.
During medical examinations in hospitals, a plurality of representations and/or images may be used to capture (illustrate) the part of the body under examination. Several different perspectives can be represented, for example, by a medical imaging procedure. Different imaging techniques or procedures (e.g. X-ray, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance tomography, video, scattering of laser beams, etc.) are combined, in order to obtain as much information as possible about the patient's health problems. Several images may be used when recorded images are superimposed under various conditions (e.g. before and after absorption of contrast medium) in order to obtain the most high-contrast representation (e.g., using a difference method).
Different medical images are represented on individual, dedicated image reproduction devices. Accordingly, a separate image reproduction device is required for each video (e.g., graphics card) output of a medical imaging system. An X-ray system examination unit may have eight or even more image reproduction devices in an examination room, including color displays for echocardiogram (ECG) and ultrasound.
A solution with many displays is confusing, inflexible and not easy to scale up. The publication "New Display Solutions for the Image-Centric Era of Healthcare" by S. Bonfiglio and L. Albani in SID Symposium Digest of Technical Papers—May 2007—Volume 38, Issue 1, pp. 123-126 discloses the representation of a plurality of medical images on a large display. The display is used to manage the examination with one display per examination unit. The publication discloses an input device by which images to be displayed on a large display can be selected from a plurality of possible medical images. The input device (tablet PC) has a display, which includes a first region with images that can be selected and a second region in which the images represented on the large display are shown. By moving an image from the first region to the second region, the image is selected and it is then represented on the large display.
With a plurality of images or image streams it is not always easy to arrange these optimally on a large display. The arrangement would generally have to be carried out by the physician because this must also be carried out according to medical criteria.

Input device for the representation of medical images on a large display


In monitoring a network in which nodes such as a host, a hub, rooter, etc. are interconnected, each node is indicated by an icon, and the connection between the nodes is indicated by a line. A node to be regarded is positioned in the center of the map as a root, and a node directly connected to the root is arranged as a node at the second hierarchical level on the circumference of the circle with the root centered. The node connected to the node at the second hierarchical level is arranged as a node at the third hierarchical level on the circumference of the concentric circle, with the root centered, having a larger radius than the node at the second hierarchical level. Similarly, the network configuration is assumed to be a hierarchical structure with the root centered, and an icon indicating an object at a higher hierarchical level is arranged on the circumference of a concentric circle having a larger radius.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for monitoring objects and the correlation between the objects on a map showing the correlation between objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a system for monitoring a host, router, hub, etc. provided in a network, an object to be watched or monitored can be a node such as a host, a router, a hub, etc. In this case, when the correlation between a node (root) to be monitored and another node subordinate to the node is monitored, it is required that the correlation can be correctly obtained and information can be easily referred to. In a network monitor system, the information about a host to be monitored and the connection to another host must be easily referred to. To represent the connection between nodes, it is effective to graphically represent the correlation between nodes on a map. When a map is drawn, an appropriate method of drawing pictures is required to easily refer to necessary information in monitoring nodes.
Conventionally, a tree-structure map drawing method is used to represent the correlation between a root and subordinate nodes.
FIG. 1 shows a method of drawing a conventional tree-structure map.
In this method, the icon of the root is drawn as the top, and the icons of the subordinate nodes assigned the same hierarchical level of hierarchical position are arranged in the same line. Adjacent icons are connected via lines. Thus, the correlation between the root and the subordinate nodes can be represented by multiple hierarchical levels of a tree structure. In the following descriptions, a hierarchical level having a larger ordinal number is a higher hierarchical level, and the hierarchical level having a smaller ordinal number is a lower hierarchical level. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the first hierarchical level, or the root, is the lowest hierarchical level. The lower positions in FIG. 1 refer to higher hierarchical levels.
In the conventional method, the node indicating a root is assigned the top position. The number of nodes increases downward. Since the network configuration is represented based on the root, the representation cannot be flexibly changed. Furthermore, since the number of nodes displayed at the same hierarchical level increases at a higher hierarchical level, the number of displayed icons (corresponding to nodes) increases at a higher hierarchical level, thereby causing the problem that each icon cannot be easily recognized on the display screen.
The node of a root is the center of a network such as a host, etc. In the conventional tree structure, the displayed configuration of the network does not represent an actual network.
In the conventional method of drawing a tree-structure map, the map contains the icon indicating the root as the top regardless of the physical configuration of a target to be actually monitored. Therefore, when the user is going to monitor the target using the map, it is difficult to know the entire configuration of the target to be monitored or to intuitively monitor a specific target, thereby failing to efficiently monitor a target.

Icon display and method which reflect the intuitive perspective of correlation between icons which have hierarchical relationships


An image forming method including charging an image bearing member by applying combination of DC voltage and AC voltage with frequency of 6.5 to 8.5 cycle/mm; irradiating the image bearing member with light to form an electrostatic image; developing the electrostatic image with a developer including toner to form a toner image; transferring the toner image onto a receiving material; fixing the toner image; cleaning the image bearing member with a blade; then applying a lubricant to the image bearing member; and then spreading the lubricant with a spreading member countering the image bearing member. The toner includes toner particles granulated in an aqueous medium; and at least three kinds of external additives including a first particulate hydrophobic silica, a particulate hydrophobic titanium oxide and a second particulate hydrophobic silica respectively having BET specific surface areas of 20 to 40 m2/g, 40 to 80 m2/g, and 130 to 300 m2/g.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming method and apparatus, which form images using a recording technology such as electrophotography and electrostatography. In addition, the present invention relates to toner for use in image forming apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
Electrophotographic image forming apparatus typically perform the following image forming processes.    (1) Charging a surface (i.e., an image forming area) of an image bearing member such as photoreceptors (charging process):    (2) Irradiating the charged image bearing member with light to form an electrostatic latent image on the image bearing member (light irradiation process);    (3) Developing the electrostatic latent image with a developer including a toner to form a toner image on the image bearing member (development process);    (4) Transferring the toner image onto a receiving material fed from a sheet feeding device optionally via an intermediate transfer medium (transfer process);    (5) Fixing the toner image to the receiving material upon application of heat and pressure thereto (fixing process); and    (6) Removing toner particles remaining on the image bearing member and intermediate transfer medium without being transferred so that the image bearing member and intermediate transfer medium are ready for the next image forming processes (cleaning process).
Charging methods for charging an image bearing member are broadly classified into DC charging methods in which a DC voltage is applied to an image bearing member, and AC charging methods in which a DC voltage on which an AC voltage is superimposed is applied to an image bearing member.
Since AC charging methods have advantages such that the image bearing members can be uniformly charged and the potentials of the charged image bearing members can be easily controlled, the AC charging methods are broadly used for low-speed or medium-speed electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Charging rollers are typically used as the charging member. The charging methods using a charging roller are hereinafter referred to as AC roller charging methods. Among the AC roller charging methods, short-range AC roller charging methods, in which a charging roller arranged in the vicinity of an image bearing member with a small gap therebetween is used for charging an image bearing member, are broadly used particularly for durable-use image forming apparatus attaching importance to durability. This is because the degree of contamination of the charging rollers used therefor is smaller than that of charging rollers used for contact roller charging methods, resulting in improvement of durability of the charging rollers.
In AC roller charging methods, at least a certain number of electric discharges have to be performed per unit length in the sub-scanning direction in order to uniformly charge the image bearing member. In general, the frequency of the AC voltage is set to be from 6.0 to 7.3 cycles per millimeter.
Since AC charging methods repeat negative and positive electric discharges, the AC charging methods expose the image bearing members to relatively serious hazards compared to DC roller charging methods and corona charging methods. Specifically, AC charging methods tend to easily cause problems in that the surface of the image bearing members (such as photoreceptors) is abraded, and/or foreign materials such as toner particles and dust of paper sheets used as a receiving material are adhered to the surface of the image bearing members, resulting in formation of a film (such as toner film) on the surface of the image bearing members (hereinafter referred to as a filming problem), thereby deteriorating image qualities. This is a drawback of the AC charging methods. These problems are typically caused when the image forming apparatus are high speed image forming apparatus, or large-size image forming apparatus capable of forming images with an A3 size or a size slightly greater than A3 size. The reason therefor is that in these image forming apparatus, the diameter of the charging roller is larger (i.e., the curvature of the charging roller is smaller) than that in low speed image forming apparatus, and therefore the discharge area of the charging roller increases, resulting in increase of the risk of AC charging problems. In order to further improve the image qualities and to uniformly charging image bearing members, the AC frequency is preferably from 7.5 to 8.0 cycle/mm.
For the reason mentioned above, high speed image forming apparatus with a linear speed of 250 mm/s or more hardly use an AC roller charging method. However, there are some high speed image forming apparatus using an AC roller charging method. Such image forming apparatus use a short-range charging method, and therefore the charging roller has good resistance to contamination, i.e., the charging roller has a relatively long life. However, the gap between the charging roller and the image bearing member increases in such image forming apparatus, thereby increasing the risk of the filming problem. In attempting to prevent occurrence of the filming problem, a lubricant such as zinc stearate is coated on the surface of the image bearing member. Therefore, a large-size lubricant has to be set in the image forming apparatus to lengthen the life of the image bearing member, resulting in jumboization of the image forming apparatus.
Toners prepared by a pulverization method including kneading toner components such as binder resins, colorants (pigments), charge controlling agents, and release agents while heating; cooling the kneaded mixture; pulverizing the kneaded mixture; and then classifying the pulverized mixture, have been typically used for image forming apparatus. However, it is difficult for such a pulverization method to control the particle diameter and shapes of the toner particles. In attempting to control the particle diameter and shapes of toner particles, polymerization methods (such as emulsion polymerization methods, and solution dispersing methods) in which toner particles are prepared in an aqueous medium have been actively developed and used.
In addition, a particulate material having an average particle diameter of from 5 to 25 nm is added as an external additive to toner particles, followed by mixing to improve the fluidity and chargeability of the toner. For example, techniques such that silica or titanium dioxide is added as an external additive to toner to improve the fluidity of the toner have been proposed. In addition, techniques such that an external additive whose surface is treated with an organic silicon compound such as silane and silicone oils to improve the hydrophobicity and chargeability of the toner have been proposed. Further, techniques such that a titanium oxide having a low electric resistance is used as an external additive have been proposed.
However, when the toner having such an external additive thereon is mixed with a carrier to be used for a two-component developer, a problem in that the external additive is embedded into toner particles when receiving stress from the carrier, resulting in deterioration of the fluidity of the toner tends to occur. In attempting to prevent occurrence of the problem, it is effective to add a combination of an external additive having a relatively small particle diameter and another external additive having a relatively large particle diameter. However, the larger external additive is easily released from toner particles, and thereby the smaller external additive is embedded into the toner particles, resulting in deterioration of the fluidity of the toner. In this case, problems which occur are that image density decreases; and developing properties of the developer are changed due to the larger external additive released from the toner and remaining in the developer, resulting in occurrence of background development in which the background areas of images are soiled with toner particles.
In addition, it is well known that when an external additive released from toner particles is adhered to carrier particles, the chargeability of the carrier deteriorates depending on the properties of the external additive. In this regard, it is known that when the external additive has a low electric resistance, the charging ability of the carrier seriously deteriorates. Further, an external additive having a relatively large particle diameter and released from toner particles tends to easily form a film on the image bearing member (such as photoreceptors). In this case, blurred images are formed particularly under high temperature and high humidity conditions. In attempting to prevent an external additive having a relatively large particle diameter from being released from toner particles, several techniques have been proposed. For example, Japanese patent application publication No. 2004-246057 discloses a method in which a particulate resin having a relatively large particle diameter is mixed with toner particles for 2 minutes using a hybridization system, in which the rotor is rotated at a revolution of 12000 rpm. According to the present inventors' study, it is found that the charge properties of the toner particles to which such a particulate resin is fixed by this method deteriorate.
Because of these reasons, a need exists for a high speed image forming apparatus, which uses a non-contact AC roller charging method and which can stably produce high quality images over a long period of time without causing the filming problem and the problem in that the chargeability of the carrier deteriorates due to the released external additive.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and toner for image forming apparatus


Disclosed are a touch flexible printed circuit, a display panel and a display apparatus. The touch flexible printed circuit includes at least two unfoldable portions and at least one foldable portion, the foldable portion is located between and connected to adjacent unfoldable portions, and the foldable portion is configured to make the adjacent unfoldable portions at least partially overlap to form a fold portion, when the foldable portion is folded.

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display apparatuses have the advantages such as ultra-thinness, large viewing angle, active light emission, high brightness, continuous and adjustable color of emitted light, low cost, fast response, low power consumption, wide operating temperature range and flexible display, and have gradually become a promising next generation display technology.
In the display technology, there are mainly three methods to realize touch control in technology, namely On-Cell, In-cell and Out-cell. The On-cell mode is one of the most widely used methods for realizing touch control function in OLED display devices. It has the characteristics of high sensitivity, fast transmission, high accuracy, etc. In the overall product design, Touch Flexible Printed Circuit (TFPC) is one of the main devices to realize the touch control function. Therefore, to optimize the structure design of the touch flexible printed circuit is one of the main directions to realize the improvement of the touch control function.

Touch flexible printed circuit, display panel and display apparatus

Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.

Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.


An optical sampler includes a first and second 1×n optical beam splitters splitting an input optical sampling signal and an optical analog input signal into n parallel channels, respectively, a plurality of optical delay elements providing n parallel delayed input optical sampling signals, n photodiodes converting the n parallel optical analog input signals into n respective electrical output signals, and n optical modulators modulating the input optical sampling signal or the optical analog input signal by the respective electrical output signals, and providing n successive optical samples of the optical analog input signal. A plurality of output photodiodes and eADCs convert the n successive optical samples to n successive digital samples. The optical modulator may be a photodiode interconnected Mach-Zehnder Modulator. A method of sampling the optical analog input signal is disclosed.

Increased global datacom bandwidth demands have pushed internet transmission system providers to improve aggregate data rates through increased modulation speeds and multi-level signaling. The fidelity of the transmission link may be improved through real time processing of the received optical signal using digital signal processing techniques. Digital signal processing may allow for more of the receiver functions to operate in the digital domain. These include electronic dispersion compensation, error correction, signal conversion, out-of-band rejection, and filtering among other applications. The primary enabler for digital signal processing applications in this context are analog-to-digital converters (ADC).
In particular, high-speed ADCs may enable not only the real-time observation and processing of high-speed optical communications, but also storage of the signal for off-line processing. Such ADCs may also find applications in advanced radar, spread spectrum communications, radio astronomy, and signal transmission for remote antenna systems.
The demands of these systems call for high-bandwidth (>40 GHz), high-resolution ADCs which cannot be met by current electronic analog-to-digital converters (eADC). Although time interleaving could potentially relieve bandwidth demands, the jitter associated with electronic sampling limits the resolution of such configurations.


Electron gas transistor of normally open type, includes a first semiconductor layer laid out along a layer plane and a second semiconductor layer formed on the first semiconductor layer and laid out along the layer plane, the first and second semiconductor layers forming an electron gas layer at the interface thereof; a third semiconductor layer with P type doping formed on the second semiconductor layer and laid out along the layer plane, a first zone with N type doping of which a part is arranged within the thickness of the third semiconductor layer, the first zone-delimiting a source zone; a second zone with N or metal type doping having at least one part arranged in the second semiconductor layer; a source electrode formed on the source zone; a drain electrode formed on the first semiconductor layer; and a gate located between the source electrode and the second zone.

Numerous electronic applications henceforth require an improvement in performance, for example in onboard electronics intended for automobiles and terrestrial transports, in aeronautics, in medical systems or instead in home automation solutions. These applications require in most cases switches for high power operating in frequency ranges frequently above the megahertz.
Historically, power switches have for a long time resorted to field effect transistors based on a semiconductor channel, usually made of silicon. For lower frequencies, junction transistors were preferred because they withstand higher current densities. However, due to the relatively limited breakdown voltage of each of these transistors, power applications require the use of a large number of transistors in series, or longer transistors, which results in a higher conduction resistance. The losses through these transistors in series are considerable, not just in steady state but also during switching.
An alternative for power switches, notably at high frequencies, is the use of heterojunction field effect transistors, also designated by the term heterostructure field effect transistors. Such transistors notably include electron gas transistors.
In particular, an electron gas transistor comprises a superposition of two semiconductor layers having different band gaps which form a quantum well at the interface thereof. Electrons are confined in this quantum well to form a two-dimensional gas of electrons. For reasons of high voltage and high temperature resistance, these transistors are chosen in such a way as to have a wide energy band gap.
Among electron gas transistors with wide energy band gap, transistors based on gallium nitride GaN are very promising. Their energy band gap width induces a higher avalanche voltage compared to conventional materials used in electronics (Si, SiGe, GaAs, InP), a high rate of saturation of the carriers and good thermal and chemical stabilities (enabling use in difficult environments). The breakdown field of gallium nitride may thus be greater than 3×106 V/cm, which makes it possible to easily produce transistors with breakdown voltages greater than 100 V. In addition, such transistors enable very high current densities on account of the very high electron mobility in the interface gas.
Gallium nitride has an energy band gap width of 3.39 eV. In addition, ternary alloys such as AlGaN or InGaN can be produced easily from a machine for forming GaN by epitaxy. An electron gas transistor based on gallium nitride may also be produced on a silicon substrate (which is the basic substrate of the semiconductor industry). The GaN electron gas transistor thus has a much lower production cost than a transistor based on SiC for example. Even if a transistor based on SiC also has a wide energy band gap, ternary alloys may hardly be produced from this material, and it cannot be produced on standard silicon substrate, which makes the manufacturing cost prohibitive and greatly limits the applications thereof.
For certain applications, notably safety applications with a view to isolating a circuit in the event of malfunction of a control system, electron gas transistors of the normally open or normally closed type are used, that is to say that their threshold switching voltage is positive, such that the transistor remains blocked in the absence of control signal.
To produce a GaN electron gas transistor of the normally open type, it is known to resort to a cascode mounting or to use a particular gate architecture, as described in the document "IEEE Journal of emerging and selected topics in power electronics", E. A. Jones et al., vol. 4, no. 3, September 2016, pp. 707-719.
The cascode mounting comprises a GaN electron gas transistor normally on and a MOSFET normally open in series. Yet, such a mounting has a high resistance in the on state and requires numerous manufacturing steps, which leads to additional costs.
The document describes several gate architectures and notably a first architecture with a gate made of P doped gallium nitride GaN, a second architecture with an insulating gate with CF4 plasma treatment and a third architecture with an insulating gate with an etching cutting the gas of electrons.
However, these gate architectures have drawbacks.
Indeed, the first architecture and the third architecture do not make it possible to obtain high threshold voltage values, namely at least equal to 3 V, to prevent the transistor passing into the on state in an undesired manner when the gate undergoes disruptions, and the second architecture induces a dispersion of the threshold voltages due to movements of the plasma charges.
There thus exists a need to obtain an electron gas transistor having a relatively high positive threshold voltage, not subject to dispersion of threshold voltages and with a low resistance in the on state.

Electron gas transistor, one-piece device comprising at least two transistors in cascode and associated manufacturing methods

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES


Disclosed is a method for reading or writing data on a tape which has a plurality of data tracks and at least a first dedicated servo track. A multiple channel head with at least three channels, each having at least one element for reading or writing, is used to access the tracks on the tape. The head is moved proximate one of a plurality of predetermined positions. The channels are located so that, in any one predetermined position of the head, one channel accesses the center of a dedicated servo track on the tape and at least two other channels will access the center of distinct data tracks. Depending on the predetermined position of the head, different channels will access a dedicated servo track. The position information on a dedicated servo track is used to move the head to one of the predetermined positions once the head has been moved proximate that predetermined position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for reading or writing data on magnetic tape using a multiple channel head which is transversely movable with respect to the recording tape. The present invention also relates to magnetic head mechanisms, particularly with respect to a multiple channel head controlled by a servoing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Data recording cartridges containing magnetic tape and recorders adapted for their use are disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,225 (von Behren). The recorders adapted to use such data cartridges originally employed fixed multitrack heads for accessing the tracks on the magnetic tape in the data cartridge. These fixed, multitrack heads were complex, expensive and difficult to maintain in proper alignment.
To eliminate the multitrack heads, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,143 (Zarr) disclosed a head positioning mechanism by which a single track head could be transversely positioned with respect to the width of a magnetic tape having a plurality of parallel tracks. The system disclosed in Zarr works satisfactorily but a different system was needed when the data cartridges and recorders were miniaturized. The type of head positioning mechanism which works satisfactorily in a smaller recorder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,067 (Gerfast). Gerfast uses a stepper motor to accurately move the head in a direction transverse to the tape.
Even with the head positioning mechanism of Gerfast, the number of tracks on the magnetic tape which can be accessed by a head is limited by the accuracy of head positioning possible with a stepper motor system and the variability of tape position within a cartridge as the tape crosses the head.

Method and apparatus for reading or writing on tape using a servo positioned multiple channel head

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A memory has magnetic tunnel junction elements with different resistances in different logic states, for bit positions in memory words accessed by a word line signal coupling each bit cell in the addressed word between a bit line and source line for that bit position. The bit lines and source lines are longer and shorter at different word line locations, causing a resistance body effect. A clamping transistor couples the bit line to a sensing circuit when reading, applying a current through the bit cell and producing a read voltage compared by the sensing circuit to a reference such as a comparable voltage from a reference bit cell circuit having a similar structure. A drive control varies an input to the switching transistor as a function of the word line location, e.g., by word line address, to offset the different bit and source line resistances.

This disclosure concerns circuits and methods configured to adjust the voltage applied to control a bit cell transistor that switches a read bias current through addressed magnetoresistive memory bit cell elements in a memory array, during memory read operations.
In memory arrays, bit cells can be addressed separately according to their word line addresses, and when addressed are coupled to bit positions of memory words that are input (written) or output (read). The bit cells at a given bit position, for all the word lines, occupy successive locations along the associated bit line and source line of that bit position. When the word line of a bit cell is addressed, the addressed bit cell conducts current from a biasing source, at an amplitude according to the operational and logic states of the bit cell. That current passes through a portion of the bit line to bit cell, and then from the bit cell through a portion of the source line, when conducting from the biasing current source to current sink.
Because the bit cells have different locations along the bit line and the source line, namely nearer to the far end of one or the other of the bit line and source line, the relative lengths of the bit line and source line conductors coupled in series with the bit cell differ, according to the location of the bit cell in the array. Differences in length lead to differences in the distribution of resistance in series with the bit cell, between the bit line and source line side, even if the total resistance is the same because when the bit line is relatively shorter, the source line is correspondingly longer, and vice versa.
It is advantageous to accommodate certain effects caused by differences in the distribution of resistances, particularly in magnetoresistive bit cell memories.

Accommodating balance of bit line and source line resistances in magnetoresistive random access memory

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


This application relates to a portable electronic device. The portable electronic device includes a housing including (i) a first case, and (ii) a second case that is capable of pivoting relative to the first case. The portable electronic device further includes a linkage assembly that includes a first joint that is joined to the first case, a second joint that is joined to the first case, a third joint that is joined to the second case, where the second and third joints define a first link, and a fourth joint that is joined to the second case, the first and fourth joints defining a second link, where when an input motion is applied at the second link, the second link oscillates to cause the first link to move such that the first and second cases pivot between a closed configuration and an open configuration.

A portable electronic device (e.g., a laptop, etc.) may include multiple operational components for performing complex functions. In particular, the operational components (e.g., keyboard, touchpad, etc.) of the portable electronic device are capable of performing complex functions such as internet browsing, graphic design, word processing, media streaming, etc. However, including these operational components may increase the thickness of the portable electronic device, thereby reducing portability of the portable electronic device. Accordingly, there is a need to include these operational components without increasing the thickness of the portable electronic device.

Linkage assembly for a portable electronic device


A water treatment method and a method for producing ultrapure water are provided in which urea in raw water is sufficiently decomposed, and an organism (bacterial cells) in biological treatment is prevented from flowing downstream. In a water treatment method for performing biological treatment of raw water containing urea, a carbon source is added to the raw water, and the raw water is then supplied to biological treatment means 1 and 2 having a fixed bed formed of an organism-supporting carrier to perform the biological treatment. The biological treatment after the addition of the carbon source to the raw water improves the efficiency of decomposition and removal of urea. The biological treatment means using a fixed bed formed of an organism-supporting carrier decreases the number of bacterial cells flowing downstream.

Ultrapure water production systems for producing ultrapure water from raw water, such as city water, groundwater, or industrial water, basically include a pretreatment system, a primary pure water production system, and a secondary pure water production system. The pretreatment system includes flocculation, floatation, and filtering apparatuses. The primary pure water production system includes two reverse osmosis membrane separators and a mixed-bed ion-exchange apparatus, or an ion-exchange pure water apparatus and a reverse osmosis membrane separator. The secondary pure water production system includes a low-pressure mercury lamp ultraviolet oxidation apparatus, a mixed-bed ion-exchange apparatus, and an ultrafiltration membrane separator.
In recent years, there has been a demand for the production of higher-purity ultrapure water. To this end, it is necessary to sufficiently remove urea in ultrapure water, which prevents a decrease in TOC.
Patent Literatures 1 to 3 disclose that removal of urea from water supplied to an ultrapure water production system can decrease the TOC of ultrapure water.
According to Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Publication 6-63592A (Japanese Patent 3468784)), a biological treatment apparatus installed in a pretreatment system decomposes urea. According to Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Patent Publication 6-233997A (Japanese patent 3227863)), mixed water of water to be treated (industrial water) and recovered semiconductor rinse water is supplied to a biological treatment apparatus installed in a pretreatment system. An organic substance in the recovered semiconductor rinse water serves as a carbon source for a biological treatment reaction and increases the decomposition rate of urea. However, a large number of ammonium ions (NH4+) sometimes contained in the recovered semiconductor rinse water can serve as a nitrogen source like urea and prevent the decomposition of urea. In order to solve this problem, Patent Literature 3 (Japanese Patent Publication 7-313994A (Japanese patent 3417052)) discloses that water to be treated (industrial water) and recovered semiconductor rinse water are separately subjected to biological treatment, are then mixed, and are supplied to a primary pure water production system and a secondary pure water production system.
The addition of a carbon source to water to be treated, as described in Patent Literature 2, can improve the efficiency of decomposition and removal of urea in a biological treatment apparatus but increases the number of bacterial cells grown in the biological treatment apparatus, thus increasing the number of bacterial cells flowing out of the biological treatment apparatus.
Furthermore, as described in Patent Literature 2, use of recovered semiconductor rinse water containing many ammonium ions as a carbon source results in prevention of the decomposition of urea due to the ammonium ions.
Patent Literature 4 (Japanese Patent Publication 9-94585A (Japanese patent 3919259)) discloses that sodium bromide and sodium hypochlorite are added to water to be treated to decompose urea in the water. Paragraphs [0030] and [0039] and FIG. 1 in Patent Literature 4 note that treated water after decomposition and removal of urea with sodium bromide and sodium hypochlorite is supplied to an activated carbon column to decompose and remove sodium hypochlorite.
According to Patent Literature 4, the activated carbon column is to decompose and remove residual sodium hypochlorite ([0039] in Patent Literature 4) and is not to biologically treat sodium bromide and sodium hypochlorite with activated carbon after the addition and decomposition of sodium bromide and sodium hypochlorite.

Water treatment method and method for producing ultrapure water


A centralized control processor provides a unified management mechanism for multiple multicast switches or servers running virtual switches that is also capable of sending query messages based upon a subset of ports.

Multicast groups enable several users of, e.g., wireless computers (colloquially referred to as "hosts") to access the same Internet video simultaneously with each other. Users must send messages to join multicast groups to receive the desired group packets, and provision must be made to eliminate certain messages to users who leave multicast groups. One example protocol for attending to these chores is known as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).
The above processes depend on identifying servers of multicast packets and network switches between the servers and the users. As understood herein, when virtual machines are employed as the servers and when the servers connect to the network using virtual switches, such recognition does not necessarily occur, resulting in flooding messages to nodes that do not need them and potentially failing to deliver messages to nodes that should receive them.

Central controller for coordinating multicast message transmissions in distributed virtual network switch environment


An automatic transmission which includes a clutch (6); a clutch actuator (7) for detecting and controlling a position of the clutch; a transmission (1); a transmission actuator (2) for driving the transmission; a vehicle speed detector (22) for detecting a vehicle speed; a throttle opening detector (11) for detecting a throttle opening; an automatic shift unit (30) including a gear shift map (30a, 30b) having a gear shift characteristic which is determined based on the vehicle speed and the throttle opening; a computer unit (30c) for computing an instant gear position of the transmission based on the vehicle speed and the throttle opening according to the gear shift map; a gear position selector (30d) for controlling the transmission actuator based on the instant gear position to upshift or downshift the transmission; a shift prohibit unit (40) for determining whether the instant gear position matches the previous gear position from a memory (40a) for a predetermined times in a predetermined period and, if they do not match for the predetermined times, invalidating the instant gear position and prohibiting any shift operation according to the gear shift map; and a shift determination unit (41) for establishing an upshift prohibit condition when the throttle opening is equal to or less than a predetermined value while releasing the upshift prohibit condition when the vehicle speed is low or the clutch is in a position toward disengagement from a half clutch position, or with a low-speed gears even if the throttle opening is equal to or less than the predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic transmissions for controlling the transmission based on the vehicle speed and the throttle opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 4 shows a conventional automatic transmission. A well known parallel axis gear type transmission 1 is controlled by a transmission actuator 2 which consists of a select actuator 2a and a shift actuator 2b. Both of the actuators 2a and 2b are driven by a hydraulic drive system 3 which consists of a tank 3a, a pump 3b, an accumulator 3c, and a hydraulic pressure switching electromagnetic valve (not shown) to control the drive gear of the transmission 1 via a pair of piston rods 2c and 2d. The actuator 2 is controlled by a drive unit (D/U) 2e, which in turn is controlled by a main control unit 4. Feedback control is made such that the actual position signals of a pair of potentiometers 2f and 2g agree with the target position signals M fed from the main control unit 4. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 5, the gear position is shifted from the neutral position 5g to the first gear 5a, second gear 5b, third gear 5c, fourth gear 5d, fifth gear 5e, or reverse driving 5f. A clutch 6 is linked to the piston rod 7a of a clutch actuator 7 for engagement and disengagement. The hydraulic drive system 3 drives the clutch actuator 7. The actual position of the piston rod 7a is detected by the potentiometer 7c, and the actual position signal is fed back to a drive unit 7b. The drive unit 7b is controlled by the main control unit 4 such that the actual position signal agrees with the target position signal F fed by the main control unit 4.
An engine 8 has a control unit 9 which is controlled by the main control unit 4. The rotation of the engine 8 is transmitted to an axle 10 via the clutch 6 and the transmission 1. Respective signals of an accelerator opening detector 11, a brake pedal detector 12, a key switch 13, an exhaust brake switch 14, and a selector 15 and the rpm output signal W of a vehicle speed detector 22 are fed to the main control unit 4 to control the drive units 2e and 7b and the engine control unit 9, a display panel 16, and a control unit 17a for controlling a gear position display panel 17. The rpm output signal W from the vehicle speed detector 22 is multiplied in the main control unit 4 by a constant which consists of the radius r of car wheels 23 and the gear ratio of a differential gear 24 to provide a vehicle speed V, which is displayed on an instrument panel (not shown) along with the engine rpm and the fuel reserve. Thus, the main control unit 4 controls the clutch 6 and the transmission 1 based on the throttle opening S or accelerator pedal depression, the vehicle speed V, and the position of the selector 15. The gear position is shifted from the neutral 5g to one of the shift positions 5a-5f as shown in FIG. 5.
As Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 59-1855 discloses, the main control unit 4 includes an automatic shift unit 30 for effecting automatic shifting according to input signals such as the vehicle speed and the throttle opening. The automatic shift unit 30 includes the first and second gear shift maps 30a and 30b having a gear shift characteristic N which is determined by the vehicle speed V (rpm W.times.constant) and the throttle opening S (accelerator pedal depression) as shown in FIG. 6, a computer unit 30 c for computing the gear position of the transmission 1 based on the gear shift characteristic N of the first or second gear shift maps 30a or 30b, and a gear selector 30d for controlling the actuator 2 based on the gear position from the computer unit 30c to make upshift or downshift. When the selector 15 is set in the automatic shift position "4", the automatic shift unit 30 controls the transmission 1 between the first and fourth gears based on the first gear shift map 30a while when the selector 15 is set in the automatic shift position "5" it controls the transmission 1 between the second and fifth gears based on the second gear shift map 30b.
For example, when the accelerator pedal is released to reduce the vehicle speed, with the transmission 1 in the second gear (point A of the gear shift map 30a), the automatic shift unit 30 upshifts the transmission 1 to the third gear despite the fact that the vehicle speed is reduced, thus failing to provide satisfactory engine braking.
Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 58-211061 discloses an automatic transmission which is able to detect the rate of accelerator pedal depression and, if the rate is above a certain value, prohibit any shift. Thus, if the rate of accelerator pedal change is above the certain value, no upshift from A to B is made so that the transmission 1 remains in the second gear, thereby providing satisfactory engine braking.
In the conventional automatic transmission, when the driver tries to apply engine braking by releasing the accelerator pedal at the certain rate, the transmission can be upshifted because the perception of the certain rate varies with the individual driver. In addition, to detect the certain rate, it is necessary to provide a differential circuit for differentiating changes of the accelerator pedal. This differential circuit is so sensitive to noise that it suffers from frequent malfunctions.
When the accelerator pedal is released abruptly after the vehicle starts to move with low speed gear and half clutch, the clutch is kept disengaged to prevent engine stop when the vehicle stops while the automatic transmission is put into the upshift prohibit condition. As a result, when the vehicle starts to descend downhill, for example, no upshift is made while the clutch is kept disengaged even when the vehicle speed is increased, thus presenting very dangerous running conditions. When the accelerator pedal is depressed under the upshift prohibit condition, the upshift prohibit condition is released instantly, failing to provide satisfactory acceleration despite the fact that the accelerator pedal is depressed for acceleration.

Automatic transmission with upshift prohibit dependent on throttle and vehicle speed


A method is proposed for controlling tool change operations on a machine tool, wherein a machining procedure on a workpiece includes a sequence of machining operations having in each case a particular tool and in each case a particular duration, and for a tool change, tools of a tool spindle are provided by a second storage device in communication with a first storage device, and wherein there is associated with the machining procedure a sequence of tool provision operations in which a tool provision operation has in each case a particular duration, wherein the method includes a determination stage wherein the durations of the machining operations and the tool provision operations are determined, and a control stage wherein the tool provision operations are temporally grouped in relation to the machining operations such that the tool provision operations bring about a minimized idle time in the machining procedure.

The invention relates to a method for controlling tool change operations on a machine tool, wherein the machine tool includes: a machine frame, at least one tool spindle which is arranged on the machine frame and is displaceable relative thereto, a first storage device for tools and a second storage device for tools which is in communication with the first storage device and the at least one tool spindle, wherein a tool change at the at least one tool spindle takes place by way of the second storage device.
The invention further relates to a machine tool, including a machine frame, at least one tool spindle which is arranged on the machine frame and is displaceable relative thereto, a first storage device for tools and a second storage device for tools which is in communication with the first storage device and the at least one tool spindle, wherein a tool change at the at least one tool spindle takes place by way of the second storage device.
PCT/EP2012/067368, dated 6 Sep. 2012, discloses a machine tool including a machine frame, at least one tool spindle which is arranged on the machine frame and is displaceable relative thereto, a workpiece holder and a storage device for tools which is arranged on the machine frame, wherein at least one rotary disc-type store for tools which is in communication with the storage device and in communication with the at least one tool spindle is arranged on the machine frame, wherein a separate disc-type store is associated with each tool spindle, and wherein the storage device includes a rotational conveying device. In this machine tool, the storage device corresponds to a first storage device and the at least one disc-type store corresponds to a second storage device.
PCT/EP2012/067310, dated 5 Sep. 2012, discloses a machine tool including a machine frame, at least one tool spindle which is arranged on the machine frame and is displaceable relative thereto, a workpiece holder and a storage device for tools which is arranged on the machine frame, wherein a chain-type storage device is in communication with the storage device and the at least one tool spindle. In this machine tool, the storage device corresponds to a first storage device and the chain-type storage device corresponds to a second storage device.
DE 10 2006 028 970 A1 discloses a method for machining a workpiece, having the following steps: providing a machine tool having a tool receptacle for receiving a machining tool, providing a tool magazine having a multiplicity of storage positions which are equipped with a multiplicity of machining tools in a first spatial sequence in relation to one another, and machining the workpiece in a defined temporal sequence of machining tools, wherein in the course of the temporal sequence a respective preceding machining tool that is clamped in the tool receptacle is replaced by a successive machining tool from the tool magazine, and wherein the preceding machining tool is deposited in the tool magazine in a defined storage position. As they are returned to the tool magazine, the preceding machining tools are allocated to the storage position in a second spatial sequence, wherein the second spatial sequence is different from the first spatial sequence and corresponds at least in large part to the temporal sequence.
DE 43 04 361 A1 discloses a machine tool having an associated machine magazine for receiving a plurality of tools that are movable in a first transport direction, a change magazine for receiving a plurality of tools that are movable in a second transport direction and are to be replaced in or removed from the machine magazine, and having at least one transfer device for the tool change between the machine magazine and the change magazine. The first and second transport directions are opposed to one another.
US 2010/0004107 A1 discloses a tool exchange system which includes a tool conveyor assembly for holding tools and for conveying the tools between a tool magazine and a machining center, and includes a tool exchange arm, an intermediate magazine, and a computer for controlling the system by providing machining sequences and machining times.
JP 09029575 A discloses a method and an arrangement for reordering tools in a machine tool.

Method for controlling tool change operations and machine tool


An engine control apparatus works to determine a target value of each of performance parameters associated with different types of performances of a combustion engine based on operating conditions of the combustion engine, determine target values of combustion parameters associated with combustion states of fuel in the combustion engine based on the target values of the performance parameters using first correlation data representing correlations between the performance parameters and the combustion parameters, and calculate command values of controlled parameters for actuators as a function of the target values of the combustion parameters. When actual values of the performance parameters are in coincidence with the target values, the system changes or corrects the target value of a selected one of the performance parameters so as to enhance the level of a corresponding one of the performances of the engine based on the other performance parameters.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to an engine control system which may be employed in automotive vehicles and is designed to use an algorithm to control operations of actuators such as a fuel injector and an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve to regulate a combustion state of fuel in an internal combustion engine and also to control the performance of the engine.
2. Background Art
Engine control systems are known which determine controlled variables or parameters such as the quantity of fuel to be injected into an engine (which will also be referred to as an injection quantity), the injection timing, the amount of a portion of exhaust gas to be returned back to the inlet of the engine (which will also be referred to as an EGR amount below), the boost pressure, the amount of intake air, the ignition timing, and an open/close timing of intake and exhaust valves to yield desired engine performance. As parameters related to the engine performance (which will also be referred to below as performance parameters), there are the amount of exhaust emissions, for example, NOx or CO, the torque outputted by the engine, and the specific fuel consumption (or fuel efficiency).
Most of the engine control systems are equipped with control maps which store optimum values of the controlled parameters, for example, the quantity of fuel to be injected into the engine, etc. for achieving the desired engine performance. The control maps are usually made by adaptability tests performed by an engine manufacturer. The engine control systems work to calculate a target value (which will also be referred to as a command) of each of the controlled parameters needed to meet the desired engine performance using a corresponding one of the control maps and output the command to a corresponding actuator to bring the value of the performance parameter into agreement with its target value.
When the commands of the controlled parameters are set up independently of each other, it may result in interference between the different types of controlled parameters in that when one of the performance parameters reaches its target value, another performance parameter deviates from its target value, while when the another performance parameter is brought to the target value, the previously mentioned one of the performance parameters deviates from the target one. It is, therefore, very difficult to bring the different types of performance parameters into agreement with target values simultaneously.
Japanese Patent First Publication No. 2008-223643 teaches an engine control system which calculates a target value of each combustion parameter (e.g., a target pressure in a cylinder of the engine) based on an operating condition of the engine and brings an actual value of the combustion parameter, as measured by a sensor, into agreement with the target value in a feedback mode. Japanese Patent First Publication No. 2007-77935 teaches a feedback mode using a predicted value, as calculated by a simulation model.
The above prior art systems are designed to determine a target value of each of the combustion parameters as functions of the respective performance parameters such as the amount of exhaust emissions, the torque outputted by the engine, and the specific fuel consumption. Therefore, when an actual value of one of the combustion parameters is brought into agreement with the target value in the feedback mode, a corresponding one of the performance parameters will be adjusted to its target value, but however, it may result in a deviation of another of the performance parameters from the target value thereof. It is, thus, difficult to bring the different types of performance parameters into agreement with target values simultaneously.

Engine control system with algorithm for actuator control


A sound generating device comprises top, bottom and sound generating assemblies. The sound generating assembly comprises a microprocessor, sound chip, capacitor, speaker and power source that are electrically interconnected. The sound can range from animal and/or environmental sounds, music, congratulatory messages, other types of voice recordings, bells, whistles and the like, and the length of play can be varied. When the device is struck against a hard surface, the contact in the top is depressed and interacts with a receptor on the sound generating device to communicate with the microprocessor and sound chip to generate a sound, which can persist from about one or more seconds, depending on how the sound generating device had been programmed. Repeat strikes of the sound generating device against the surface will result in a repetition of the sound.

In recent years, greeting cards have been sold that contain sound modules which can play back a recorded sound when the card is opened. Often, the recorded sound is a message such as "Happy Birthday", "Happy Anniversary", or other type of congratulatory message. More recently, the card manufacturers have sold cards in which the purchaser can make their own recording onto the card for playback of a personalized message when the recipient opens the card.
Manufacturers have started placing sound modules into other products, such as for gift items or for promotional items, such that when the package containing the item is opened, the sound played back may announce that the user has won something, plays a congratulatory message, or otherwise tries to call the attention of others to the recipient in order to promote the manufacturer's product.
In contrast, (non-video) game play is generally a quiet activity, with most noise coming from the players between moves, during conversation or breaks in the game play, with no sound generally coming from any of the game pieces. While such game play can be considered as pleasant, the generation of sound from one or more of the game pieces could add to the entertainment value, or add further interest to a player, when used in conjunction with the game.
As an example, in a chess game, a piece such as the knight could produce the sound of a horse when the knight's move is completed, or a pawn state "you're captured". A checker could produce "king me" or a similar sound when the checker advances across the board to other sides and can be crowned a king. Fantasy type game pieces can generate sounds such as that of a dragon, an owl, gorilla or other animal or the like when the device is struck against a hard surface, for example, a chess board. The sound can be any sound selected by the manufacturer of the sound generating device, and can range from animal and/or environmental sounds, music, congratulatory messages, other types of voice recordings, bells, whistles and the like.


A method and apparatus for continuous galvanizing of a linear element wherein controlled flow of molten zinc onto the linear element is effected through one or more nozzles, whereby galvanizing may be accomplished without immersion of the linear element in molten zinc. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus of the invention comprises an annular nozzle having a central opening through which the linear element is axially advanced. The nozzle is configured to provide a converging, generally frustoconical curtain of molten zinc flowing continuously onto the exterior surface of the linear element.

This invention relates to a continuous process for galvanizing linear materials such as wire, rod, tube or pipe, by immersing the axially moving linear element incrementally in molten zinc.
The galvanization of the exterior surface of pipe or conduit as part of the continuous manufacture thereof from an endless strip of sheet metal has been practiced commercially for a number of years. The process basically consists of roll-forming the metal strip into tubular form after drawing it from an endless supply, welding the seam, scarfing and dressing off the weld, and passing the continuously formed tube through a pickling bath and rinse. The tube is then passed through a preheating station and then through a bath of molten zinc, after which the excess zinc is removed, the tube cooled to handling temperature in a water bath, and the tube sheared into finite lengths. The tube may be subjected to a sizing operation after being cooled, prior to the shearing operation.
Such an integrated continuous manufacturing process is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,817, with particular emphasis on the galvanization step of the process in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,226,817, 3,259,148 and 3,877,975.
In the galvanizing stations of such prior integrated processes, the continuously-formed, rapidly moving tube, after appropriate preparation, was passed through an elongated trough positioned above a pool of molten zinc in a large vat, from which a stream of the liquid metal was pumped to maintain a substantial and overflowing body of molten zinc in the trough as well as to replace the zinc being carried away from tile trough as a fluid coating on the tube.
As described in co-pending application No. 07/892,432, filed Jun. 9, 1992 pending, it has recently been found that coating of linear elements in a continuous galvanizing process may be effected by immersion of the linear elements in molten zinc in an open tube, with zinc flowing out of the opposite ends of the tube. This arrangement enables galvanizing to be accomplished with reduced zinc flow as compared with prior methods employing overflowing troughs. Reduction of zinc flow is generally desirable due to the consequent reduction of the corrosive and abrasive effects of molten zinc on pump components and other system components.

Method and apparatus for galvanizing linear materials


The invention concerns a measuring system in a fluid circuit of a continuous inkjet printer. According to the invention, a system for measuring the quantity of ink is realized using a continuous sensor (15) equipping a measuring tank (12), which is first emptied then connected by communicating vessel with an intermediate tank (11) storing the ink which, pressurized, supplies the printing head and The measuring system advantageously constitutes a multifunctional system since it makes it possible, using a dedicated constant level tank (13) communicating with the intermediate tank (11) and also by communicating vessel with the measuring tank (12), to measure the viscosity of the ink and the correction thereof if necessary by adding solvent from a dedicated solvent tank (14).

Continuous inkjet printers are well known in the field of coding and industrial marking of various products, for example to mark barcodes or the expiration date on food products directly on the production chain and at high speed rate. This type of printer is also found in certain decorative fields where the graphic printing possibilities of the technology are exploited.
It is traditionally distinguished two categories within continuous inkjet printers:                on one hand, multi-deflection continuous jet printers where each drop of a single jet (or few jets) can be sent on various paths corresponding to controls for different deflections of the drops, thereby achieving a raster stroke that prints a column of dots on the zone to be printed, in a direction which is the deflection direction;        on the other hand, binary continuous jet printers where a plurality of jets placed side by side each have only one path designed for printing; the synchronous control, at a given moment, of all of the jets makes it possible to print on the medium according to a pattern corresponding in general to that of the nozzles on the nozzle plate.
In both types of printers, the printing of a surface is achieved by the relative movement between the printing head and the medium to be printed.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, these printers include a printing head 1, generally distant from the body of the printer; it is connected thereto by an umbilical 19 bringing the hydraulic and electrical connections necessary for the operation of the head.
The head 1 has a drop generator 2 supplied with pressurized electrically conductive ink and capable of emitting one or several continuous jets 9 through nozzles, the jets being transformed into a succession of drops under the action of a periodic stimulation system situated upstream from the nozzle(s). When the drops are not intended for printing, they are directed toward a gutter 3 which recovers them in order to be recycled. Devices 4 placed along the jet (charge and deflection electrodes) make it possible, upon command, to electrically charge and deflect the drops; these drops are deviated from their natural ejection trajectory from the drop generator. The drops intended for printing escape the gutter and are deposited on the medium to be printed (not shown).
Inkjet printers also comprise a fluid circuit which performs the two basic functions, i.e. providing ink to the drop generator at a suitable pressure and with a suitable quality, and recovering, by suction, the ink not used for printing from the jets.
Inkjet printers also comprise a controller capable of managing the action sequencings (sensor output measurements, active component controls . . . ) and performing the processing enabling the activation of the different functions.
These printers lastly comprise an interface which gives the operator a means to run the printer and in return to be informed of the operation thereof.
The general opinion is that the reliable operation of an inkjet printer requires the completion of periodic maintenance interventions.
Some are manual, such as resupplying the printer with consumables (ink and solvent) to replace the consumed fluids: it is then useful, or even imperative for the printer to notify the user of the exhaustion of reserves. In this category we can also cite the changing of life-limited components or wearing parts, such as the filters or mobile pump elements through preventive maintenance. Other maintenance operations have every interest in being automatic for reasons of frequency, accessibility of the components and reliability (by repetitiveness) of execution.
The operating functions of the head are in this last category. These functions concern the jet stops and starts, the cleaning or rinsing of the drop generator, the nozzle and the gutter, and the stability checking of the jet; they contribute greatly to the overall reliability of the printer. This is why many existing printing heads are provided with hydraulic switching elements (solenoid or one-way valves) making it possible to connect the drop generator to the pressurized ink source and to a solvent source, as well as to a vacuum source. Likewise, the ink recovery gutter can be provided with a closing element, and potentially with a supply of solvent. The command sequencing for these hydraulic elements makes it possible to perform jet stops and starts optimally.
This type of arrangement is for example described in patent applications JP2001071532 by Keyence and FR 2879961A1 by the applicant.
The functions performed by a continuous inkjet printer fluid circuit according to the prior art can be broken down into two categories:                the functions, which can be called "basic", of which there are two, which consist of providing ink at a regulated pressure to the drop generator of the head and recovering, by suction, the fluids not used for printing returning from the head,        the functions, which can be called "utility" functions, which are related mainly to the supply of consumables (ink and solvent), monitoring and control of the ink quality, maintenance of the head.
These two types of functions have very different purposes and technical requirements. They are activated and sequenced by the controller of the printer.
Basic Functions of the Fluid Circuit:
In the prior art, we find different ways of performing the basic functions of a fluid circuit for continuous inkjet printer. The pressurization of the ink is generally done either by using pumps, which can be of various technologies, or by pressurization of a tank using compressed air in which the ink has been transferred. The vacuum or suction is generally generated either by the direct use of a pump or a hydro-ejector powered by a flow of pressurized ink, or by a tank depressurized using, for example, a venturi supplied with compressed air.
Among all of the solutions available in the prior art, there is one particularly simple, reliable and proven solution: the ink is pressurized using a gear pump (proven technology used by a large number of manufacturers of this type of printer) for example driven by a motor (direct current or step-by-step) whereof the controller can control the speed of rotation. The ink thus pressurized passes through an anti-pulsation system making it possible to damp the pressure undulations generated by the gears. This solution is for example used in the printers marketed in the name of the company Markem-Imaje under the product name 9040. The pressure of the ink is measured using a pressure sensor before being filtered by the main filter and directed toward the printing head. The pressure value measured by said sensor can be used by the controller to control the ink pressure at a given set point by acting on the speed of rotation of the motor. A second control mode is generally implemented when the jet speed is available (measured at the head), the controller can then act on the speed of the pump motor to control the speed of the jet at a given value, the pressure sensor is then used as indicator for monitoring of the machine. In general, the temperature of the ink is also measured at the outlet of the pump in order to take it into account in the different control functions of the printer.
Since the gear pumps generally have a flow much greater than the flow required for the ejection of an ink jet, it has already been proposed in the prior art, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,278 by Domino Printing Science PLC, to use this driving power in a hydro-ejector (venturi) in order to perform the second basic function, i.e. the suction necessary for the return of fluids coming from the head.
Utility Functions of a Fluid Circuit:
In order to supply the printing head with ink, most ink circuits for continuous jet printers of the prior art use at least one tank which can be described as intermediate.
Indeed, in this intermediate tank the ink of suitable quality, i.e. ink with a suitable viscosity and/or concentration, is prepared, and then supplied under pressure to the printing head. Moreover, the fluids (related ink and solvent) not used for printing returning from the head are recovered in this intermediate tank. The ink used for printing must be replaced in the intermediate tank from, in general, an external reserve (cartridge or can) provided by the user (operator) of the printer.
As previously stated, the pressurized ink which supplies the head for printing purposes must be of suitable quality. Indeed, because the solvent evaporates during the recycling of the unprinted ink, the viscosity and/or concentration of the ink must generally be adjusted periodically by adding solvent in the intermediate tank, in general from an external reserve (cartridge or can) of solvent provided by the user of the printer.
Thus, a first utility function consists of determining the quantity of ink. In the prior art, this involves detecting characteristic levels of ink in this intermediate tank. Given the expected characteristics of the fluid circuit in general, it is only necessary to detect two or three discrete levels in this intermediate tank: a high level to make it possible to avoid overflowing, a working level which the controller will try to maintain by adding new ink, and a low level to make it possible to avoid ingestion of air by the ink pressurization system. In certain cases, only the high and low levels are exploited.
Many discrete level detector technologies have been used in the prior art, one of the most reliable and easiest to implement uses the principle of rod level sensors dipping into the tank; this principle takes into account the fact that the liquid to be detected is conductive. The resistivity is measured between two rod level sensors dipped into the tank, and if the ink short circuits the rods, the drop in resistivity is detected to declare a presence of ink at that level. This system remains, however, costly due to the electronic protections which the standards require be implemented when electrical currents pass in flammable environments, which is in general the case of ink with volatile solvent. Furthermore, this type of detector cannot be used with insulating fluids as solvents generally are.
A second utility function is the viscosity measurement. In the prior art, the viscosity is often measured by determining the time necessary for the flow of a given quantity of fluid through a calibrated hydraulic restrictor. This device generally requires the implementation of dedicated means: a measuring cavity, at least two level detectors, hydraulic switching means to fill and empty the cavity.
Quasi-identical means are necessary to implement a rolling ball viscosity meter which is also found in the prior art (for example as shown in application WO 2007/129110). In this type of viscosity meter, the lowering speed of a ball in a vertical tube having an internal diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the ball is representative of the viscosity of the fluid contained in the tube. These devices require the implementation of a significant number of components. The evaluation of the viscosity can also be done without viscosity meter, in a continuous inkjet printer, by measuring the parameters of the jet when it is operational, and its speed, when possible. Indeed, one can identify, for a given situation (ink and nozzle in particular), a characteristic connecting the viscosity of the ink passing through the nozzle to the speed of the jet, for a measured ink pressure upstream from the nozzle and for a measured ink temperature (patent by Company Imaje EP 0 362 101 B1). This method does not provide all of the desired flexibility in all situations, in particular due to the need to have an operational ink jet, i.e. effectively ejected by the head at a speed close to the nominal speed, to perform the measurement.
A third utility function consists of correcting the viscosity (or concentration) of the ink contained in the intermediate tank. The major drawback of the solutions used by the prior art is that the quantity of solvent making it possible to correct a viscosity gap of the volume of ink contained in the intermediate tank can only be crudely evaluated since, on one hand, the concerned volume of ink is not precisely known, and on the other hand the volume of solvent added is also not precisely known. This is due to the fact that the means used do not allow it (time for passage of a poorly-defined flow of solvent through a distribution member: solenoid valve or pump). An approximate control of the viscosity in relation to the expected viscosity is of little consequence when robust inks are used but limits the possibilities for using the printer with sensitive inks.
Other utility functions are useful in order to decrease the risks of hazardous manipulations or to increase user comfort.
For example, it is interesting to evaluate the quantity of consumable available in the replacement reserves of consumed fluids. According to the prior art, solutions can consist of transferring cans (bottles) of consumable product into auxiliary tanks integrated into the fluid circuit. These tanks are provided with a level detector (Series S8 printer marketed by the company Imaje).
One can also use sealed and removable consumable cartridges which are tightly connected to the fluid circuit as needed. In this case, the evaluation of the quantity of consumable remaining in the cartridges is done using means external to the cartridges themselves, possibly requiring the implementation of dedicated sensors as described in patent application WO2009047497 by the company Videojet. The solution according to this document consists of considering that the quantity of remaining fluid is connected by a characteristic to the vacuum created by the withdrawal of the fluid from a semi-rigid sealed cartridge. This solution requires the implementation of a dedicated pressure sensor.
In other words, the implementation of these utility functions requires the use of many components with their control (electronic) members.
By inventorying commercial solutions and solutions described in the literature, the inventors came to the conclusion that there are, to date, three categories of design solutions for performing the basic functions and, if applicable, utility functions, of continuous jet printer ink circuits:
1/ a category according to which most of the functions of a fluid circuit are implemented independently using distinct means dedicated to each function. This solution, very often adopted by the suppliers of continuous inkjet printers, has advantages: on one hand, the components can be perfectly dimensioned for the concerned function and therefore be technically high-performing, and on the other hand the interactions between functions are reduced, which makes the operation of the fluid circuit robust and easier to develop. However, the number of components and associated control interfaces, the difficulty of assembly and the resulting bulkiness of the system lead to prohibitive production costs and a non-optimal commercial situation.
2/ a category using the elements of the preceding category but with a decreased number of components, to the detriment of the performance of the printer or the service provided to the user. These machines are intended for highly cost-sensitive markets which tolerate the induced limitations. These printers cannot be proposed for demanding applications. One solution in this category is illustrated in patent application WO2007/129110 in the name of the company Domino: it consists of using the removable renewal tank as intermediate tank and consumable reserve. Moreover, the levels in the tanks are not measured using detectors, but the remaining quantities are evaluated from the knowledge of the initial volumes present in the renewal tanks at the time of the change and an estimate of the ink and solvent consumption. The major drawback is that the evaluation is approximate, which makes it necessary to signal empty tanks (to be changed) with a sufficient safety margin, in order to avoid the ingestion of air by the head, well before the tanks are completely empty. This results either in losing a large quantity of consumable, or requiring the user to visually monitor the level of the tanks, which is not practical. Moreover, the absence of an intermediate tank leads to stopping printing during the changing of the removable tanks in order to avoid ingesting air, which would lead to triggering time-consuming maintenance operations.
3/ the third category can be analyzed as design solutions which get around the drawbacks of those of the first category without making compromises on the essential needs of a good-level printer. Thus, here it is a matter of performing both types of functions (basic and utility) of the ink circuits using shared means. This makes it possible to use fewer components and ensure greater compactness of the fluid circuit, but at the cost of significant complexity and a delicate reliability to master. Patent application WO88/04235 by the applicant describes a compact fluid circuit where many functions (utility and basic) can be performed from a variable volume cell connected to a pressure sensor and a multitude of solenoid valves making it possible to withdraw and direct the fluids into different tanks. The different functions are managed sequentially (in series); this efficient system is still, however, particularly complex to develop due to the critical aspect of the timings between the phase of the variable volume cycle and the control of the solenoid valves. This is complicated by the need to manage the response time of the different actuators of the system. The specific characteristics of the variable volume cell make it a sensitive component developed on specific needs. The large number of solenoid valves poses a reliability problem which requires technically high performances.
In the end, the drawbacks of the continuous inkjet printer ink circuits of the prior art according to their design can be summarized as follows:                ink circuits in which each function is performed independently of the other functions: they consist of an assembly of simple solutions, but use many components to be integrated and controlled, which leads to a bulky and costly assembly;        circuits with a sophisticated design to decrease the number of components (cost), but the complexity and reliability-related risk increases, by adding the development difficulty. The need to develop non-standard hydraulic components impacts the cost-effectiveness of the final product;        ink circuits with a very simplified architecture in order to obtain a low cost, but the technical and functional compromises lead to poor performance or decreased performance offered to the user and increased risk related to the feedback of insufficiently precise alarms.
An object of the invention is therefore to overcome all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks.
One aim of the invention is therefore to simply and reliably design a fluid circuit in a continuous inkjet printer which performs the basic functions and at least the utility function of determining the quantity of ink for printing.
Another aim of the invention is to propose a mechanical sub-assembly of a fluid circuit which performs at least the basic functions and at least the utility function of determining the quantity of ink for printing, which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Measuring system in a fluid circuit of a continuous inkjet printer, related fluid circuit and block designed to implement said measuring system