The invention encompasses compositions and methods for designing or producing three-dimensional articles layer-by-layer, whereby the specific approach to build-up a region of a single layer by fusion, deposition of material, or other path-based process or non-path process that creates track-like geometries requires either differing track or track-like geometry, or track or track-like geometry printing parameters, within a region of a single layer or within adjoining regions of multiple layers, is disclosed. Employing this method, single layer or multilayer parameter-varying fusing and deposition strategies can be generated that reduce article fabrication time and improve article physical properties, in part by targeting a distribution of scan paths that satisfy covering problem overlap and/or dense packing criteria. Additionally, methods and compositions for designing or producing three-dimensional articles by altering the thickness of a material layer deposited during a print relative to the slice thickness or net displacement of a stage or of a material and/or energy-depositing print head, are disclosed. Employing this method can result in the reduction of article fabrication time and/or the improvement of printed article physical properties, where these results advantageous to printing are dependent on the print process, material properties, and feedstock properties employed during the print.

Additive manufacturing (AM), often called 3D printing, can be described as a process of building up a three-dimensional solid or porous article comprised of one or more materials by fusing, bonding, or otherwise attaching successive layers of the article to one another. The layers in AM are often represented conceptually or in a computer or drawing by a set of finite-thickness slices of a three-dimensional article, where each slice is most commonly the intersection between the article and one of a set of stacked finite-thickness Euclidean planes, where the planes are defined as those with normal vector in the chosen direction of build-up of the article. Slices can be defined by a different set of sections other than planes, but the sections generally maintain the property that when all sections of the article from the set are combined in specified order, the three-dimensional article is retrieved. By way of example, a non-planar set of slices might be the intersection between the article and a number of radially increasing hemi-spherical surfaces (the sections) where the increase in radius of curvature between each successive section is the radial thickness of the preceding section. In this case, the build-up direction at every point on the slice might be in the direction from the spherical-center of the section to the point (radially outward).
There are multiple AM article fabrication methods, including fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, binder jetting, material jetting, multi-jet fusion, powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, laminated object manufacturing, and many others. In each of these methods, a certain type of printer is employed, where the printer is the machine or system of machines that constructs layers and successively fuses, bonds, or otherwise attaches these layers to one another in order to create a three-dimensional article. Generally, the printer and its components are controlled by a computer, where this computer has stored in its memory certain data representing instructions for the printer's hardware components on how to approximately produce each slice of a three-dimensional article and fuse, bond, or otherwise attach the layer represented by each slice to previous and successive layers. Those instructions are also generated by a computer (the same or different), where the latter computer contains a data-based geometric representation of a three-dimensional article, the capability (through software) to divide these geometric representations into slices, and the capability (through software) to issue the data representing the instructions, readable by one or more printers, to approximately produce and fuse, bond, or otherwise attach successive layers to one another.
Printers collectively are capable of fabricating objects from a wide variety of different materials, including by way of example polymers, thermoplastics, metals, ceramics, glasses, and composite combinations of any of these. Each type of printer is, however, generally targeted toward producing three-dimensional objects from a more narrow range of materials. For example, stereolithography printers generally print objects from photopolymers by first depositing a thin layer of photopolymer on a surface, and then exposing a region of that surface representative of a slice of the article at that layer to UV or other light in order to harden or solidify that region. The layering and exposure process is then repeated at least once, but generally a multitude of times, where each layer deposited builds the height of the article at every point in the build-up direction, and where each successive region exposed is in the approximate shape of a successive slice of the same three-dimensional article. Generally, the successive layers that comprise the article fabricated sit atop a build platform, shown in FIG. 1, that in turn sits atop a precision stage, and this precision stage is lowered a certain distance after each deposition step and exposure step, where this distance is roughly equal to the thickness of the layer of photopolymer deposited in each step.
Generally in printing, the approximate average thickness of each layer is roughly equivalent to the absolute value of the distance traversed by either; a) a stage, as in the case of stereolithography printing, or b) in some cases where a material or energy-depositing nozzle is used, between a given point on one slice or its representative layer n and the point on the successive slice or layer n+1 that is defined as the intersection between 1) a vector starting at the point on n and oriented in the build-up direction, and 2) the successive layer n+1. This approximate thickness for the entirety of each slice or layer, or at each point on a slice or layer, is generally called the layer thickness; in FIG. 1, by way of example for printing employing a stage, the layer thickness is shown as LT.
In material jetting processes, to fabricate a planar layer, a dispenser generally deposits a material, often in a suspension, slurry, liquid, gel, powder, or other form, in coordinated adjacent paths, often lines, such that the rough shape of the area covered by a multitude of these tracks of material is representative of a slice of the article. Material jetting printers might also deposit energy in addition to material, and they might deposit one track at a time or many, for example, by employing more than one nozzle, where different materials could be used in different nozzles.
Generally, the specific approach used to deposit many adjacent tracks of material (and/or energy) so as to form the rough shape defined by a slice of the article can be called the scan strategy for that slice or layer. The order of track production within a layer is not necessarily critical to the process, though a faster process usually results from fabricating nearest-neighbor tracks sequentially due to this approach tending to minimize the time expended for each layer in moving the print head or otherwise redirecting material or energy to produce tracks. The material deposited generally thickens or solidifies a short time after deposition of material or energy in the rough shape of its slice. The tracks deposited have a height that is very roughly equal to that of the layer thickness and are spaced in a fashion that is generally roughly consistent with their width, as shown in FIG. 2, where the spacing between adjacent track paths is often call the hatch spacing. As with a stereolithography process, a precision stage can used, but in contrast to stereolithography, a nozzle or nozzles, in order to deposit material for a successive layer, might also be raised in the build up direction by a distance approximately equal to the layer thickness at that point.
Binder jetting processes are in some ways similar to material jetting processes in that for each layer, adjacent tracks of material are deposited in the rough shape of a slice of a three-dimensional object representative of that layer, according to any of a number of scan strategies. However, in a binder jetting process, a thin layer of powdered material is first deposited across the entirety of a build area, and the material deposited in adjacent paths is a binding agent, or glue, that is cured or otherwise solidified in order to hold the powder particles in rigid relation to one another. The green article that is fabricated in successive layers is comprised of both powder particles and hardened binding agent.
Powder bed fusion and laser or other sintering processes are similar to binder jetting processes in terms of powder deposition, but in these processes, an energy source melts or sinters powder particles so that a solid layer is formed either from material that resolidifies after melting, or from partially melted (sintered) particles that are roughly fixed in space in rigid relation to one another. FIG. 3a illustrates two layers of a scan strategy that is commonly used in powder bed fusion and laser sintering processes, as well as other printing processes. In this case, as is often the case in the other processes just described, the direction of scan paths, where a scan path is defined as the one-dimensional path along which material is deposited or an energy source scans in order to form a track, can be rotated in a controlled fashion from layer to layer in order to produce desirable physical characteristics in fabricated articles, including by way of example increased isotropy of elastic properties, reduced porosity, or increased throughput/reduced costs of printing. FIG. 3b is a top-down image of scan tracks in a single layer of a powder bed fusion process printed according to the scan paths illustrated in FIG. 3a. FIG. 3c is an image of a section of an article fabricated employing the scan strategy depicted in FIG. 3a. Additionally, some powder bed fusion processes exist that are not path based, but instead pattern based in a similar fashion to stereolithography. In these processes, a pattern of energy is projected onto a broad area of the build surface as opposed to a small energy spot being rastered or scanned over the area.
Some past patents and research have discussed scan strategies that are claimed to be advantageous to printing in terms of improving article physical characteristics or improving economic and/or manufacturing considerations of printing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,324 dated Oct. 13, 1992, discusses a selective laser sintering process in which over successive layers, scan lines that are parallel and anti-parallel within one layer are rotated a given amount in each successive layer. U.S. Pat. No. 7,569,174 dated Aug. 4, 2009, discusses a selective laser sintering process whereby each layer in an article is scanned by a laser once with higher energy, covering the entirety of the planar cross-section of the article at that slice, and then scanned at least one more time at relatively lower energy. The intent of this process is to anneal or further melt each layer of the article, and strength improvements up to 100% are reported.
Additionally, there are a number of patents that discuss compositions fabricated using specific scan patterns. Compositions are often linked to scan patterns due to the nature of building up a part layer-by-layer, and/or track by track. For example, when articles are fabricated with tracks that are produced by scanning in only one direction (and/or anti-parallel to that direction), article strength, ductility, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and other characteristics are typically increased in that direction, but decreased in other directions, particularly in directions near the two directions perpendicular to the scanning direction, though this is not a hard and fast rule. This change in article elastic, mechanical, and other physical properties is due to the local phase, bonding, and crystalline structure imparted by the elongated nature of scan tracks and the lamellar nature of layer-wise manufacturing. Grain boundaries and other types of chemical/microstructural boundaries tend to form at the edges of scan tracks, leading to substantial changes in elastic and transport phenomena as a function of the position and concentration of these boundaries. In the prior example of scanning all tracks in a single direction, no track boundaries are crossed by progressing in the scan direction (or anti-parallel to it), leading to substantial anisotropy in physical properties.
There are also a small number of patents and research papers that discuss a specific scan strategy for which not only the angle, but also the relative position of scan lines in successive planar layers is specified. In this method, scan lines are "interleaved" between layers such that the scan lines in layer n+1 are placed at the midpoint between the scan lines in layer n, without rotation, as shown in FIG. 4. U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,224 discusses this method for a material jetting or fused deposition modeling process, stating that the surface finish of the article can be improved by employing such a method over about ˜10 layers near the physical top of the article. U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,554 discusses this method for a selective laser sintering process, stating that the number of total scan lines and therefore the sum of the lengths of all scan lines can be reduced with this method, leading to an increase in article fabrication throughput, and possibly to an increase in article strength. The journal article: X. Su and Y. Yang, Research on track overlapping during Selective Laser Melting of powders, Journal of Materials Processing Technology 212, pp. 2074-2079 (2012), studies this method for a selective laser melting (powder bed fusion) process, for the stated purpose of avoiding nonuniform distribution of energy input.
Definitions:
Packing problem: A packing is a configuration (spatial arrangement) of nonoverlapping objects in a subregion of d-dimensional Euclidean space or d-dimensional curved spaces. A periodic packing in Euclidean space is one in which γ objects, called the basis, are contained within a unit cell of volume vU that is periodically replicated in space. The shape and symmetry of unit cell is defined by "d" lattice basis vectors b (not to be confused with the basis objects). The objects can be of arbitrary shape, including convex (e.g., circles, ellipses, spheres, ellipsoids, cylinders) and concave (e.g., star of David, crosses, stellated polyhedra and hyperbolic paraboloids) shapes. Polydisperse packings are those in which the objects have different sizes and/or shapes. Binary packings are those that have two different sizes and/or shapes. Ternary packings are those that have three different sizes and/or shapes. Each object is configurationally defined by its coordinate r, which accounts for both its position and orientation; by way of example, in three dimensions, this coordinate r might include three spatial coordinates (x,y,z) representing object center of mass, and two angular coordinates (θ,φ) representing longitudinal and latitudinal displacements about the object center. A basic property of a packing is the packing fraction, which is the fraction of space occupied by the objects. The packing fraction of a periodic packing is the total volume of the γ basis objects within the unit cell divided by vU. An efficient packing has a high packing fraction. The best packing has the highest packing fraction among all packings.
Covering problem: A covering is a configuration of overlapping objects that completely covers a subregion of d-dimensional Euclidean space or d-dimensional curved spaces. A periodic covering in Euclidean space is one in which γ objects, called the basis, are contained within a unit cell of volume vU that is periodically replicated in space. The shape and symmetry of unit cell is defined by d lattice basis vectors b (not to be confused with the basis objects). The objects can be of arbitrary shape, including convex (e.g., circles, ellipses, spheres, ellipsoids, cylinders) and concave (e.g., star of David, crosses, stellated polyhedra and hyperbolic paraboloids) shapes. Polydisperse coverings are those in which the objects have different sizes and/or shapes. Binary coverings are those that have two different sizes and/or shapes. Ternary coverings are those that have three different sizes and/or shapes. Each object is configurationally defined by its coordinate r, which accounts for both its position and orientation; by way of example, in three dimensions, this coordinate r might include three spatial coordinates (x,y,z) representing object center of mass, and two angular coordinates (θ,φ) representing longitudinal and latitudinal displacements about the object center. A basic property of a covering is the covering density, which is the total volume of the objects per unit volume. The covering density of a periodic covering is the total volume of the γ basis objects within the unit cell divided by vU. An efficient covering has a low covering density. The best covering has the lowest covering density among all coverings.
Track cross section: The average of the shapes defined by the intersection of a surface, most simply a plane, and a single track of material, where the intersection is taken at various points along the scan path of the track, we define as a track cross section. Most simply, a track cross section is formed by the intersection of a track and a plane with unit normal parallel to the direction of track or scan propagation at that point, and where an average shape is taken by spatial averaging over a plurality of these intersections at different points along the track or scan path. For the sake of clarity, we will refer to track cross sections formed in this fashion as path-tangent track cross sections, recognizing however that the choice of the track-intersecting surface and its orientation are not essential to forming a track cross section, though a consistent choice of intersecting-surface and orientation is useful in identifying differences between tracks and in designing scan strategies. FIG. 5 includes images of several different path-tangent track cross sections from a laser powder bed fusion printer, where the difference in shape and size of the track cross sections is dependent on the printing parameters including but not limited to laser power and scan speed.
One or more track cross sections, with or without fixed angular orientation, can be used as a basis set for a covering problem solution. The same holds true for geometric approximations (the simplest being a cylinder) of one or more actual tracks in three-dimensions. Additionally, more simply, a packing consisting of one or more same-sized or differently-sized objects, most simply (but not limited to being) disks in two-dimensions and cylinders in three-dimensions, serving as a basis, respectively, in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional unit cell, can be thought of as representative of track cross sections in two dimensions or approximations of tracks in three dimensions, and therefore employed to generate scan strategies. In this way, a mapping exists being track cross sections, packings and scan strategies, and track cross sections, covering problem solutions and scan strategies.
Slice Thickness, Layer Thickness, Material Thickness, and Net Displacement: Generally, slice thickness, material layer thickness (powder layer thickness before energy or material deposition in printing processes involving powder beds), and the absolute value of net displacement of a stage or material- (and possibly energy-) depositing print head at each point, or for each slice or its representative layer, are all thought of as the same concept, called the layer thickness. Fundamentally though, slice thickness, material/powder thickness, and net displacement need not be the same; in particular, employing different values for the material thickness and net displacement in a print can yield positive benefits to printed part quality and the printing process, as we describe in detail later in this document.
The term slice thickness is used herein to refer to the thickness of a slice of a three-dimensional article in the vicinity of a given point on that slice, with "slice" as defined previously. We employ the term slice in reference to the design, whereas we generally employ the term layer in reference to the fabricated article. In this usage, the thickness of the material layer and the thickness of the slice are not necessarily the same, either in average or at a particular point.
The average material layer thickness of a single layer or the thickness local to a specific point in a layer can vary substantially, and it can vary significantly from the maximum height of the track. In FIG. 2, track height varies locally, with variations in height occurring periodically on the order of track width; this is also the case in a similar fashion for powder bed fusion printing, as may be seen in FIGS. 3b, 3c, and 5, and generally for all scan and track based, or similar, printing processes. Consequently, at a local level, the thickness of the layer or track of material deposited is not the same as the thickness of the slice: only the average deposited material thickness over many tracks and many layers is approximately the slice thickness. This latter statement is made under the assumption that the length scale represented in the design is approximately replicated by the printer in fabricating the physical article.
In powder bed fusion printing and other powder-based printing processes, the differences in the concepts of slice and layer thickness are also due both to the local variation in the thickness of the layer of powder deposited, which varies laterally on the order of a few powder particle diameters according to particle size and shape distribution, and in powder bed fusion to the fact that track depths tend to be much larger than slice thicknesses due to the practice of remelting previously melted layers in order to achieve near-full density fabricated articles. Further, as is described in this invention, the material thickness or powder thickness, defined simply as the average thickness of deposited material in the vicinity of a point (before binding, fusing, melting, sintering, or other print process is applied), does not need to be the same as the slice thickness or the average layer thickness. This is an important consideration from the perspective of track shape and therefore track cross section shape because varying the material thickness can alter track and track cross section shape.
Often, the material thickness is intended to be roughly constant across a layer of deposited material. Nevertheless, the thickness of a deposited layer is dependent on material characteristics and printer parameters, for example, in the cases where a powder shuttle is used to deposit or spread powder, the distance between the blade, wiper, roller, or other spreading tool on the shuttle and the built-up physical article height has a strong influence on powder thickness. This latter distance is often controlled by a stage, which during the process of printing a layer may move several times in or against the build-up direction of the article. Over the course of printing a layer, the net movement of this stage is one example of the net displacement. For a print process involving a powder bed and a stage, the net displacement at a given point is most similar to the slice thickness at that point. Critically, because powder may be deposited at any displacement of the stage, the powder thickness and the net displacement can be individually controlled, meaning that the net displacement (slice thickness) and powder thickness do not need to be the same. FIG. 6 is an example of this concept where slice thickness and net displacement are constant over the slice shown, and where a 35 um powder thickness is employed for 50 um net displacement (and 50 um slice thickness).
The material (or powder) thickness and slice thickness may also vary for an AM process with a print head and no stage, or with both a stage and a print head; the average thickness of material deposited in the vicinity of a point on a slice does not need to be the same as the net displacement of the print head at that same point. By way of example, a slice thickness that is constant across the slice from position x=0 to x=L could be employed for layer n, with average deposited material thickness varying linearly across that distance, with smallest material thickness to microns of material deposited on at x=0 and largest material thickness tL microns of material deposited at x=L.
Filling Strategies, Contours Scans, Support Structures, Print Lattices, and Others: Printers and printing that employ path, scan, and track based processes have the capability to employ different printing parameters to distinctly structurally different regions of an article, as defined on the scale of the article. Critically, while different print parameters can be employed within a single layer in order to implement the families of scan strategies that include; filling strategies, contour scans, support structures, print lattices, and others; different print parameters are not employed within the same strategy, and different strategies are employed across regions of the article defined by (larger) targeted article geometry rather than in a periodic, alternating, or other fashion defined on the (smaller) scale of scan tracks.
Contour scans are often employed on the surfaces of parts in order to: improve part surface finish, improve the geometric match between the fabricated article and the plan, image, or computerized data intended to be fabricated, or to reduce porosity around article surfaces, among other reasons. Multiple contour scan tracks can be placed side-by-side, but the number of such side-by-side tracks is often limited to one, two, or three.
Support structures are employed in order to prevent fabricated article warping, to conduct heat away from thermally isolated regions of the print, and to hold the article to the build platform, among other reasons. Support structures are often produced using evenly spaced single scans, with unprinted space between the scans, that produce a series of interlinked thin walls, spikes or columns. Distinctively, support structures are not meant to be part of a finished article and are nearly always cut away, dissolved away, or otherwise removed after printing.
Print lattices, not to be confused with the mathematical concept of lattice defined previously, are scaffolding-like structures that are composed of single three-dimensional units or voxels of space containing both printed and unprinted material, replicated many times over to cover a region of space spanning many voxels. Print lattices can be described as strut and node structures, in that they consist of nodes from which struts of printed material extend in various directions, connecting with other struts at other nodes. They can be generated with single scans like support structures, or each strut can be produced by multiple adjacent overlapping or nearly overlapping tracks.
Filling strategies are designed to fill space, and are distinct from the previous strategies in that they are intended to produce a solid region either with very low porosity, or with a stochastic porosity where pore sizes are roughly on the order of hatch spacing or smaller. Some examples of fill strategies are depicted in FIGS. 3a and 4. Fill strategies can also be employed to fill the struts and nodes of print lattices where those struts are not formed by single tracks. Additionally, the delineation between fill strategies and contour scans is somewhat blurred when larger numbers of contour scans are employed near the surfaces of printed articles. Further, some filling strategies and other strategies are termed skins, or other terms, implying that the lateral extent of such filling strategies is significantly greater than their thickness.

Multilayer parameter-varying fusion and deposition strategies for additive manufacturing


A bookmark includes a plurality of strings; two moveable place markers on each string; at least one moveable reference marker bead on each string; and anchor means interconnected with the strings for securing the strings to the book. The anchor means may comprise either a spring clamp for grasping the spine of a book or VELCRO-type hook and loop fastener material for adhering to the book spine.

The basic purpose of a bookmark is to mark the page at which the reader last left off reading. Most bookmarks serve this purpose admirably, at least to the extent of narrowing the choice down to two pages (i.e. the left-hand and the right-hand, when the book lies open at the marker).
There is a need, however, particularly among students and other readers of complex literature, to mark not only the particular page, but also the particular passage of text on that page to which the reader later wishes to return. The reader may wish to find this precise passage because that is where he or she last left off reading or because the passage contains material to which easy access for later reference is desired. In the latter case, more than one passage may need to be marked.
There is also a need to reference or signal the general subject matter of marked passages, which reference may be interpreted while the book lies closed.
Conventional bookmarks are inadequate to serve these additional needs of discerning readers.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,011,471 J. C. Tam 12/05/61 3,898,951 G. M. Clare 08/12/75 4,574,727 R. P. Martin, Jr. 03/11/86 2,591,094 J. O'Neill 04/01/52 1,322,796 M. J. Kissel 11/25/19 4,507,830 I. Dahan 04/02/85 4,505,219 M. G. Mangano 03/19/85 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,951 teaches a bookmark in which hook and loop fastener material, such as that sold under the trademark VELCRO, is used.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,591,094, 4,574,727 and 3,011,471 teach bookmarks which adhere to the book spine, wherein the bookmark is looped over the page.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,322,796 teaches a bookmark which has tips on the ends of two strings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,830, while not really a bookmark, is classified with the bookmark art. It shows a string with non-moveable (col. 2, line 67) beads that can be used to retain sheet material, such as maps.


An adjustment tool enables manipulation of a prosthetic anatomical device such as an annuloplasty ring. The tool includes a compression member which is operative for retarding rotation of the adjustment shaft to preclude inadvertent rotation thereof during use of the tool by the surgeon. A locking device is associated with the adjustment tool to enable the releasable attachment of the tool to the anatomical device during its adjustment by manipulation of the tool. The locking device is oriented into operative and inoperative positions by the engagement and disengagement of locking elements. A scale may be provided on the adjustment tool to assist a surgeon in determining the size or amount of adjustment to the size of the anatomical device during its adjustment.

The present invention relates in general to a tool for adjusting a prosthetic anatomical device, and more particularly, to a tool for adjusting the Seguin size and/or shape of an implantable device.
Heart valve disease is a condition in which one or more valves of the heart fail to function properly. Diseased heart valves may be categorized as either stenotic, wherein the valve does not open sufficiently to allow adequate forward flow of blood through the valve, or incompetent, wherein the valve does not close completely causing excessive backward flow of blood through the valve when the valve is closed.
By way of one specific example, the mitral valve is the inflow valve for the left side of the heart. Blood flows from the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, through the pulmonary veins, to the left atrium of the heart. After the left atrium fills with blood, the mitral valve allows blood to flow from the left atrium into the heart's main pumping chamber called the left ventricle. It then closes to keep blood from leaking back into the left atrium or lungs when the left ventricle contracts to push blood out to the body.
Valve disease relating to the mitral valve often involves secondary mitral regurgitation which is the backward flow of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium resulting from imperfections in the mitral valve. One repair technique for treating regurgitation is called annuloplasty, in which the size and/or shape of the valve annulus is modified by securing a prosthetic adjustable annuloplasty ring to an interior wall of the heart around the valve annulus. The size and/or shape of the annuloplasty ring is adjusted in situ for maintaining coaptation to prevent reversed blood flow.
Examples of an adjustable annuloplasty ring are disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0066231, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The disclosed annuloplasty ring includes an adjustment assembly for expanding or contracting the Seguin size of the opening formed by the ring. A suitable tool is also disclosed to engage the adjustment assembly to enable adjustment of the annuloplasty ring in situ once implanted into a patient.

Adjustable annuloplasty ring sizing indicator


The present invention relates to the communication field and provides method and system for detecting repeater self-excitation and the repeater using the method and system. The method includes detecting an output power of an up link; judging whether the detected output power of the up link exceeds a threshold of self-excitation and, if so, adding a numerically-controlled attenuation to the up link accordingly; and judging whether the change in the output power of the up link is equal to that in the numerically-controlled attenuation and, judging whether the repeater is subject to a self-excitation according to the result of judgment regarding the change in the output power of the up link. The repeater self-excitation detecting method has the following advantages: 1. The self-excitation can be detected in time, thus avoiding had effect on the communication system; 2. The devices of repeater can be protected from being burned down; and 3. The cost incurred by the patrol inspection personnel can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the communication field and, more particularly, to a repeater and its self-excitation detecting method and system.
2. Description of Related Art
A repeater is an important component of the communication system and has a direct effect on the stability of the whole communication system. With the development of communication industry, the requirements for the repeater become stricter. The repeater, as an amplifying device, may cause a self-excitation if its engineering design is improper. The self-excitation will exert an influence on the repeater and seriously affect the relevant base station, thereby resulting in that the whole communication system fails to work normally, which will affect the quality of communication and may further lead to the paralysis of the whole communication network. Especially, CDMA system is more sensitive to the repeater self-excitation because it is a self-interference system with network coverage of respiration effect.
When the self-excitation occurs in the repeater, it is generally dealt with by the following two methods. In one method, the professional personnel use a testing device to detect the self-excitation by patrol inspection. However, this method involves the cost of manpower and instruments etc, and responds slowly due to the fact that the patrol inspection may not be at the right time. Or the self-excitation is dealt with only when it has an effect on the operation of network, so customers become increasingly unsatisfied with this method. The other method refers to that there should be an enough isolation between the donor antenna and the repeater antenna during engineering design, so as to avoid the generation of self-excitation. Generally an enough distance is kept between the donor antenna and the repeater antenna, or a shielding mesh is disposed between the donor antenna and the repeater antenna, ensuring a proper isolation between the donor antenna and the repeater antenna. However, this method is seldom put into operation because it may be subject to the limitation of geographic location or involve the increase in the cost of engineering design.
FIG. 1 is a structural block diagram of the existing repeater. As shown in FIG. 1, the repeater is mainly composed of a donor antenna 101, a first duplexer 102, an up power amplifier 103, a monitoring unit 104, a first radio-frequency numerically-controlled attenuator 105, an up low-noise amplifier 106, a second duplexer 107, a repeater antenna 108, a down power amplifier 109, a second radio-frequency numerically-controlled attenuator 110, and a down low-noise amplifier 111. The working process is described below in detail.
Working process in the down link is that: the donor antenna 101 receives from the space a downlink signal that may contain some noises, and then the downlink signal enters the first duplexer 102 of the repeater through a radio frequency connection cable. The first duplexer 102 sorts out the signal with the set frequency range by filtering, and sends the signal to the down low-noise amplifier 111 in which the weak signal is amplified. After amplification, the downlink signal, via the second radio-frequency numerically-controlled attenuator 110, is sent to the down power amplifier 109 in which the downlink signal is amplified into the high power downlink signal. Then the downlink signal, via the second duplexer 107, is transmitted to the repeater antenna 108 which in turn emits the downlink signal to the area required to be coverage. The processes of receiving, amplifying and retransmitting the downlink signal to the specified area are thus accomplished.
Working process in the up link is that: the repeater antenna 108 receives from the space the uplink signal that may contain some noises, and then the uplink signal enters the second duplexer 107 of the repeater through the radio frequency connection cable. The second duplexer 107 sorts out the signal with the set frequency range by filtering, and sends the signal to the up low-noise amplifier 106 in which the weak signal is amplified. After amplification, the uplink signal, via the first radio-frequency numerically-controlled attenuator 105, is sent to the up power amplifier 103 in which the uplink signal is amplified into the high power uplink signal. Then the uplink signal, via the first duplexes 102, is transmitted to the donor antenna 101 which in turn emits the uplink signal to the receiving base station. The processes of receiving, amplifying and retransmitting the uplink signal to the specified receiving base station are thus accomplished.
In practice, if there is insufficient isolation between the donor antenna 101 and the repeater antenna 108, the signal emitted by the repeater antenna 108 may be received by the donor antenna 101. Due to the fact that the signal lies within the working frequency range of the repeater, the signal may be amplified again using the process discussed above, generating a positive feedback and continuously circulating in this way, which is the so-called self-excitation. If the self-excitation occurs in the repeater, the signal of positive feedback can have a significant effect on local communication signals, and may burn down the devices in the repeater or even lead to the paralysis of communication system in case of a severe self-excitation.
At present, with the fierce competition in the telecommunication industry, it is urgent to ensure the reliability of communication system as well as the betimes of solving problems. Therefore, it is required to design a method to detect the self-excitation in the repeater in time and remove the defects in the system in real time in case of self-excitation existing in the devices of repeater, so as to solve the problems that the patrol inspection personnel fail to deal with in time.

Repeater and self-excitation detecting method and system


A sensor element for a motor vehicle, includes a sensor circuit for detecting a physical variable, a first housing, in which the sensor circuit is arranged, a second housing, in which the first housing is arranged, a thermoplastic, which at least partially encloses the first housing and fixes the first housing in the second housing in a positioning position, at least two positioning recesses for receiving positioning pins being formed in the first housing in order to fix the first housing in the positioning position while the first housing is being enveloped by the thermoplastic.

The overmolding of active electronic components such as sensors of various functions and structural designs is known in the prior art. Depending on the function and construction, the sensors have different sensitivities with regard to thermomechanical loading during the production process. Usually, such sensor elements are provided with carrier components, which can be encapsulated by means of additional seals.


A method is provided for forming a gasket for sealing opposing flange surfaces of a pipe having corrosive fluid flowing therethrough. The method comprises defining a gasket profile incorporating a serrated profile core having a flange extending radially inward therefrom. A deformable pillow extends radially inward from the serrated profile core, to define a gasket intermediate portion about the flange, and a gasket inner portion radially inward from the flange. The deformable pillow material and thickness are selected such that upon compression to a thickness no less than the core thickness, the gasket inner portion exhibits a stress level sufficient to preclude corrosive liquid flowing through the pipe from passing radially outward beyond the gasket inner portion, and the gasket intermediate portion exhibits a stress level sufficient to preclude gas and liquid flowing through the pipe from passing radially outward beyond the gasket intermediate portion.

The present invention is directed to a method for designing a gasket for fluid sealing for severe acid environments, e.g. in alkalization plants.
Sealing gaskets have been used in a variety of different applications. The construction of such gaskets is typically the function of the application, the environment in which the gasket will be utilized, the stress load and other factors. Where gaskets are intended to be used in severely corrosive environments, the gasket construction will preferably also take into account the location of the seal(s), the need for a plurality of seals to isolate the primary seal from the corrosive environment, and the need to seal the imperfections on opposing surfaces of the pipe flanges, caused by erosion from the corrosive material following through the pipe. Such imperfections are most common near the inner radius of the pipe flanges, which is closest to the corrosive material flowing through the pipe. Consequently, it is preferable to locate the primary sealing element away from the inner radius of the gasket, where the adjacent surface of the flanges is less likely to bear such imperfections.
The particular gasket material is also a factor that is affected by application and environment factors. A softer, more readily conformable material can be useful to seal imperfections in the flange surfaces near the flange inner radius. However, such softer material may be less suitable to provide a proper seal (of sufficient stress load) to isolate the primary seal from the corrosive material flowing through the pipe.
Further, many sealing elements operate most effectively at relatively high stress levels, e.g. 20,000 to 30,000 psi or more. However, the greater the load bearing surface of the gasket, the more distributed the gasket stress, and the lower the stress per square inch.
Accordingly, to achieve the optimum gasket design, consideration must be given to not only the general gasket architecture, bolt load, desired gasket stress, and environmental factors, but must also consider the need for the different gasket components to function cooperatively in a specific application. As such, the size, material, and functional characteristics of the individual gasket elements must be carefully engineered for cooperative interaction. Because different portions of a multi-element gasket may have different load bearing stress characteristics, sealing characteristics and compressibility, the gasket design is preferably optimized for a load specific application, allowing each element to contribute to the functionality of the gasket, without degrading the contribution of other elements.
The present invention is directed gasket design process, and a multi-zone gasket architecture, wherein each zone optimized for a specific function by a design process that produces a gasket that, under a normal load, can produce a consistent gasket sealing stress of 20,000 psi or more on the primary sealing element, which is effectively sealed from the corrosive environment, while also being sufficiently soft to seal imperfection in the flange surfaces.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention are described below, in conjunction with the illustrated embodiments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A heater unit for heating a supply of moist tissues within a container includes a housing having a top wall for receiving the moist-tissue container, and a bottom wall for stably supporting the housing and the moist-tissue container when received thereon on an flat horizontal surface; and an electrical heater element at the upper end of the housing to heat the moist-tissue container when supported on the housing top wall.

The present invention relates to a heater unit particularly useful for heating containers containing a supply of moist tissues used for refreshing or "dry wiping" purposes.
Moist tissues of the foregoing type are now commonly available. In one form, the moist tissues are contained within individual, sealed envelopes, which envelopes prevent the evaporation of the moisture of the tissue. Such a form of packaging of moist tissues, however, is relatively expensive, and moreover is relatively inconvenient to the user since the user must open each package in order to use the moist tissue therein.
In another type of packaging, a plurality of moist tissues are stacked within a container having an opening enabling each moist tissue to be individually removed as and when desired by the user. While this type of packaging is substantially less expensive than the former type, and is also substantially more convenient to the user, the tissues have a relatively "cold" feeling when applied to the user's face because of the larger rate of evaporation of the moisture within the container.
An object of the present invention is to provide a heater unit particularly useful for heating moist tissues within a container.

Heater unit for heating container for moist tissues


An apparatus for deployment in an outdoor environment for extending the electrical communication distance of digital data signals includes electrical isolation means for various electromagnetic effects and a high speed pulse reshaper and repeater. The isolation means includes low capacitance electric pulse suppression means so that maximum signal distance can be achieved without loss of usable pulse shape and isolation transformers on differential signal pairs that retain magnetization at elevated temperatures so that signals are not blocked. As a further feature, extended logic is included whereby the type of signals can be distinguished, thus allowing the apparatus to be daisy-chained with like apparatus or used between a termination and a line.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to digital data communications over distance-limited wire media. In particular, this invention relates to an apparatus for extending the propagation distance of digital data signals.
There is a need to provide means to extend the effective distance over which digital data signals are communicated via wire in an outdoor environment. Distances may be greater than be supported by the conventional routers and switches. For example, known implementations of 100 BASE-TX physical layer integrated circuits such as the Broadcom AC104QF (from Broadcom, Inc.) typically handle only up to 150 m (492 ft.) of Category 5 cabling at room temperature for speeds up to 100 MBPS. Moreover, power consumption becomes a serious concern because power must be supplied and distributed by the outdoor network. Alternative schemes such as optical fiber are not cost effective for all applications, particularly over relatively short distances of several hundred meters.
A standard has been adopted for electrical and magnetic isolation of electronic circuitry intended to be operated in a severe outdoor environment. The standard is referenced as IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3ab and ANSI X3.236. The specifications provide for operation in a temperature range between 0 and 70 Celsius. For extended operation between xe2x88x9240 C and +85 C, which is more typical of actual experience in some environments, adoption of this standard would be inadequate for reliable operation. Because Category 5 cabling and installation are less expensive than the fiber optic alternative, it is desirable to be able to go farther than the 100 m (328) feet required by the IEEE standard using a low cost cable extender that is powered from the upstream network cable.
According to the invention, an apparatus is provided for deployment in an outdoor environment for extending the electrical communication distance of digital data signals. The apparatus includes electrical isolation means for various electromagnetic effects and a high speed pulse reshaper and repeater. The isolation means includes low capacitance electric pulse suppression means so that maximum signal distance can be achieved without loss of usable pulse shape and isolation transformers on differential signal pairs that retain magnetization at elevated temperatures so that signals are not blocked. As a further feature, extended logic is included whereby the type of signals can be distinguished for speed and duplex settings, thus allowing the apparatus to be daisy-chained with like apparatus or used between a termination and a line.
A network interface data rate and half/full duplex mode may differ from that of the network. Different devices are capable of different speeds and some are capable of only one speed. The speed and duplex mode of the lowest common denominator must be extended to the network switch port to avoid communications breakdown.
The invention will be better understood upon reference to the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A spray material is defined as composite particles consisting essentially of (A) particles of rare earth fluoride and (B) particles of rare earth oxide, hydroxide or carbonate, consolidated together. The spray material is plasma sprayed onto a substrate to form a sprayed layer containing rare earth oxyfluoride in a consistent manner while minimizing the process shift and releasing few particles. The sprayed member has improved corrosion resistance to halogen-based gas plasma.

The semiconductor device fabrication process involves the etching step of treating members in a corrosive halogen-base gas plasma atmosphere. Members having sprayed coatings are known to be fully corrosion resistant in such atmosphere. For example, coatings are deposited on the surface of metallic aluminum and ceramic (typically aluminum oxide) substrates by atmospheric plasma spraying of yttrium oxide (Patent Documents 1 and 2) or yttrium fluoride (Patent Documents 3 and 4). Such sprayed members are used in the area of an etching system or etcher which comes in contact with the halogen-base gas plasma. Typical corrosive halogen-base gases used in the semiconductor device fabrication process are fluorine-base gases such as SF6, CF4, CHF3, ClF1 and HF and chlorine-base gases such as Cl2, BCl3 and HCl.
Yttrium oxide-deposited members obtained by plasma spraying of yttrium oxide suffer from few technical problems and have long been utilized as semiconductor-related sprayed members. When yttrium oxide-deposited members are used in the etching step with fluorine gas, there arises the problem that the etching step becomes unstable because outermost surface yttrium oxide can react with a fluoride at the initial of the step, and so the fluorine gas concentration within the etching system changes. This problem is known as "process shift."
To overcome this problem, the replacement by yttrium fluoride-deposited members is under consideration. However, yttrium fluoride tends to have slightly weak corrosion resistance in a halogen-base gas plasma atmosphere, as compared with yttrium oxide. In addition, the yttrium fluoride sprayed coatings have many crevices on their surface and release many particles, as compared with the yttrium oxide sprayed coatings.
Under the circumstances, yttrium oxyfluoride having the characteristics of both to yttrium oxide and yttrium fluoride is regarded attractive as a spray material. Patent Document 5 discloses an attempt to use yttrium oxyfluoride. While yttrium oxyfluoride-deposited members are prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying of a yttrium oxyfluoride spray material, consistent deposition of yttrium oxyfluoride as a sprayed coating is difficult because oxidation gives rise to a compositional shift of fluorine depletion and oxygen enrichment, forming yttrium oxide.

Spray material, sprayed member and making method


A web-spool for a cartridge comprises a cylindrical core having an outer periphery at each end thereof with at least one core lug and an annular ring extending radially outward from each periphery in axially spaced relation to form a core peripheral groove therebetween at each core end. The annular rings at both core ends have respective inner tapered surfaces that face each other to initially guide a web being wound onto the core, and also to provide clearance between the wound web edges and adjacent core flanges, to thereby accommodate any web telescoping and thus permit the flanges to be readily secured to the core ends without interfering with the web edges. Each flange has an axially inner surface with an annular throat extending axially outward therefrom for receiving the core lug(s) and annular ring. Within the annular throat is at least one radially inwardly extending flange lug with recesses at both sides thereof, the flange lug(s) being adapted to nest within the core peripheral groove and the recesses being adapted to receive the core lug(s), when a core end is inserted into the flange throat and the core and flange are then turned relative to each other. Complementary ratchet teeth are provided on opposed mating surfaces of the core and flange, to permit relative rotation therebetween in one direction for securing the two together, and to prevent relative rotation in the opposite direction and consequent unintended disassembly of those members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spools, and more particularly to a web-spool for a cartridge or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the minilab printer art to provide long rolls of photographic paper, and in the computer output microfilmer art to provide longe rolls of 16 mm or 105 mm photographic film, each in convenient daylight-loading cartridges. Those cartridges generally comprise a cylindrical core onto which the film or paper is wound to form a web-roll. The web-roll is enclosed within the cartridge and rotatably supported by sidewalls thereof. The cartridge is provided with a web exit slot having opposed surfaces to which a plush or foam material is applied to allow the web to be withdrawn from the cartridge while excluding light from the cartridge interior. Typically, an anti-clockspringing bar to prevent rotatikon of the core during shipment is installed through holes in a cartridge rim surrounding the core end, and through one of a plurality of aligned castellations on the core end.
As a need has developed for greater web widths and longer web lengths, a problem has arisen in which the web-roll within the cartridge dishes or telescopes axially as a result of shock and vibration during shipment of packaged cartridges. When a web-roll dishes or telescopes, portions of the faces of the web-roll may rub against the interior side surfaces of the cartridge, resulting in an unacceptably high web withdrawal force. A further problem is breakage of the cartridge, core, or anti-clockspringing bar as a result of the high rotational, inertial forces caused by the longer, wider, and heavier web-rolls.
The aforementioned problems may be solved in part by attaching a pair of flanges to opposite ends of the cartridge core to constrain a roll wound on the core from dishing or telescoping into contact with the interior walls of the cartridge. With such a web-spool, the anti-clockspringing mechanism can be mounted on the cartridge, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,633, to engage the periphery of the flange instead of the cartridge core.
Tape- or film-spools are also well known in the art, as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,592 and the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,633. The film spool comprises three distinct elements, namely, two flanges and a cylindrical core, which are rendered integral by assembly. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,592, the core has annular throats into which project circular sectors separated by core notches provided for passage of lugs on the flanges. One disadvantage of that type of film-spool is that is would be extremely difficult to accurately wind the film onto the core prior to mounting the flanges on the core. The slightest axial telescoping movement of the film as it is wound would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to attach the flanges onto the ends of the core. That problem is overcome in the present invention by providing radially outwardly extending tapered guide rings facing each other at the ends of the core for initially guiding the web onto the core and to provide clearance between the web edges and the flanges. The clearance accommodates web telescoping so that the flanges can be secured to the core ends without any interference of resistance from the wed edges resulting from any axial telescoping of the roll that occurs during winding.


A vacuum cleaner is provided with a furniture guard that extends around at least a portion of the cleaner. The furniture guard is slotted so as to provide for outward ventilation of cleaner air.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and, more specifically, relates to a furniture guard for use with such a vacuum cleaner.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
The use of furniture guards with vacuum cleaners to protect adjacent furniture, room walls and room woodwork when the cleaners are in use is old and well known. These furniture guards generally extend around the periphery of their cleaners and, in canister cleaners, for example, quite often extend around these cleaners intermediate relative to their height. Even with this disposition of the furniture guard which is removed from the operator and the floor and its dust and debris, no one has advantageously utilized the furniture guard as an exhaust means for cleaner air. Nor have they taken advantage of the improved appearance of the cleaner afforded with the adoption of this structure.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a slotted furniture guard.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a vented furniture guard so as to afford a means for cleaner air discharge to atmosphere.
It is a still futher object of the invention to provide a new and improved furniture guard for a vacuum cleaner.


In a printer such as a laser beam printer utilized to print an image on a recording medium, an image transferring mechanism such as a photoconductive drum is disposed under the feed path of the recording medium so as to transfer an image such as a toner image onto the undersurface of the recording medium. The recording medium, on which the image is thus transferred is discharged and stacked with the image carrying side down in the proper order.

This invention relates to a printer such as a laser beam printer.
An image recording device is known, which utilizes an electrophotographic system in which a surface of a photoconductive drum is exposed to light to form a latent image on the drum surface. Toner is then applied to the latent image to develop the image, and the developed image is transferred onto a recording sheet and is fixed by a fixing unit. Such an image recording device is chiefly employed in a copying machine. In recent years, however, the image recording device is being utilized in a printer or the like, for printing output from a computer. One such printer is a laser beam printer.
The laser beam printer comprises, for example as illustrated in FIG. 1, a photoconductive drum 1. Arranged about the photoconductive drum 1 in due order in a rotational direction thereof are a charging station A, an exposure station B, a developing station C, a transferring station D, a toner-cleaning station E, and a discharge station F.
The arrangement is such that at the exposure station B, the laser beam scans the surface of the drum 1 which has been uniformly charged at the charging station A, to thereby form a latent image on the charged drum surface. Toner is then applied at the developing station C to the latent image to develop the same. Subsequently, the developed toner image is transferred, at transfer station D onto the recording sheet P, which travels at a velocity identical with the circumferential speed of photoconductive drum 1.
The recording sheet P carrying the toner image transferred thereon at the transfer station D is guided and/or fed by guide rollers to fixing station G. The recording paper P is then heated and/or pressed at fixing station G for the toner image to be fixed on the surface of the recording sheet P.
The constitution of the laser beam printer is principally similar to that of an electronic copying machine except for the exposure station. Actually, principal parts of the electronic copying machine are often commonly used for conventional laser beam printers.
The electronic copying machine is designed so that an image-carrying surface can instantly be viewed by transferring the toner image onto the upper surface of the recording sheet and discharging the recording sheet with the image-carrying side up (so-called "faceup exhausting"). This naturally results in the fact that the faceup discharging system is employed in the laser beam printer having the principal parts in common with the electronic copying machine.
However, printers are normally used to print onto sheets on a continuous baises and, if the sheets are discharged with the image-carrying surfaces up, they will be stacked in inverted order of pages.
What has been heretofore proposed to overcome the above defect is that the recording sheet is turned upside down before being discharged by guiding the recording sheet along a sheet discharge path extending from the fixing station, inside the printer, to the same side as the sheet introduction side.
However, with the aforementioned arrangement, the recording sheet feed path inside the printer becomes long and complicated, which causes jamming and other similar problems. Further, the printer tends to become large-sized.


A process for modifying or repairing a metallic component, such as a combustion cap effusion plate for a gas turbine, is disclosed. The method includes generating a notch or groove in the metallic component and depositing a filler material in the notch or groove. A pulsed laser is applied to the filler material. The pulsed laser has a power, frequency, and pulse width sufficient to apply heat to the metallic component and to the filler material to make at least a portion of the metallic component and the filler material melt in order to weld the filler material to the metallic component and repair or modify the metallic component. Various operating parameters of the pulsed laser can be configured to reduce undesirable heating affects.

Gas turbines typically include various metallic components that sustain damage during operation of the gas turbine. This is particularly true for metallic components formed from thin metallic plates that include a plurality of through-holes. For instance, combustion cap effusion plates used in combustion chamber assemblies often sustain damage such as cracks or fractures due to the dynamic loading resulting from combustion in a combustion chamber assembly. It is desirable to repair such damage without having to replace the entire metallic component.
Previously, weld repair of such damage using standard MIG (metal inert gas) or TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding techniques has been performed with limited success. The higher heat effects resulting from MIG or TIG welding processes often lead to crack propagation and difficulty in containment of damage. For instance, the heat affected zone generated by such MIG and TIG welding techniques often overlaps into the undamaged area of the effusion plate, which can lead to more damage.
Brazing processes are also known for repairing damage to metallic components of a gas turbine. Brazing is typically more successful than MIG or TIG welding. However, brazing is much more expensive and time consuming due to the necessary cleaning and brazing furnace cycles. Moreover, it is often difficult to perform the brazing techniques in situ, making convenient and timely repair of damaged articles more difficult.
Accordingly, a process for repairing metallic components of gas turbines that addresses at least certain of the present disadvantages associated with MIG/TIG welding and brazing would be useful.

Combustion cap effusion plate laser weld repair


A pillow adjustable to maximize comfortable support of the cervical area of the neck and head includes a cover comprising upper and lower fabric cover panels forming therebetween an interior space filled with a flowable filler material such as buckwheat hulls. Internally protruding snap fasteners in vertically aligned locations on inner facing sides of the upper and lower cover panels are fastenable and unfastenable by application of external pressing or pulling forces applied to the cover panels, thereby forming or unforming subdivisions of the interior space of the pillow into which filler material may be externally manipulated into or out of. In the preferred embodiment, a rectangular array of fasteners offset to one long side of a rectangular pillow allows narrow or wide tubular neck support sections to be formed by subdivisions within the pillow.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pads and pillows for comfortably supporting parts of the human body. More particularly, the invention relates to an adjustable cervical pillow for supporting the head and neck at adjustable relative positions.
B. Description of Background Art
A variety of pillows and pads for supporting the head, neck and other parts of the body are known. For example, pillows having a soft fabric cover and filled with a soft, yielding material such as feathers or down have long been in use. More recently, synthetic filler materials such as polyester fibers have been used as an alternative to down or feathers.
Usually, it is preferable that a pillow provide more support in the neck area than in the head area. Thus, health core professionals have found that a higher degree of neck support relative to head support helps to relieve pain and improve the rate of healing of certain injuries, owing to a reduction in mechanical stress on the muscles, tendons, nerve roots and other soft tissue structures in and around the spinal column.
To provide different degrees of support for the head ant neck, some prior art pillows have been constructed using fillers consisting of synthetic fibers (fiber fill), feathers, or down of various densities and fullness, with special shapes formed in the pillow, usually by sewing the cover to form hollow sections or compartments. However, pillows of this type are not adjustable to suit different users, or for treating different problems, Also, pillows having a fixed configuration generally do not allow the flow of filler material from areas on which high external pressures are imposed by the body, to lower pressure areas which are more lightly loaded by different parts of the body.
Another type of prior art pillow intended to provide varying degrees of support for the head and neck utilizes a foam rubber core of a selected resilience, pre-formed to a desired shape and size. Some pillows of this type employ replaceable foam inserts. A disadvantage of foam pillows of this type is that they generally must be custom-made to fit different individuals. Also, foam filled pillows tend to compress more in high pressure areas.
Another type of prior art pillow utilizes an inflatable bladder. While such pillows are adjustable in size, they are usually uncomfortable, and have a steep gradient in supporting force from portions of the body contacting the pillow to unsupported portions.
Prior art pillows have also been constructed utilizing a flowable inner filling such as polystyrene beads. Pillows of this type tend to be comfortable, since they conform readily to the contours of the user. However, pillows of this type sometimes may not be supportive enough in the neck area for certain conditions or users, particularly if made into larger sizes for use by larger individuals.
Other types of adjustable pillows known to the present inventor include those described in the following U.S. Patents:


A direct injection fuel injector includes a nozzle tip having a plurality of passages allowing fluid communication between an inner nozzle tip surface portion and an outer nozzle tip surface portion and directly into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. A first group of the passages have inner surface apertures located substantially in a first common plane. A second group of the passages have inner surface apertures located substantially in at least a second common plane substantially parallel to the first common plane. The second group has more passages than the first group.

The conventional combustion process in diesel engines is initiated by the direct injection of fuel into a combustion chamber containing compressed air. The fuel is almost instantaneously ignited upon injection into the highly compressed combustion chamber, and thus produces a diffusion flame or flame front extending along the plumes of the injected fuel. The fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber by a fuel injector having a nozzle tip extending into the combustion chamber. For example, the nozzle tip may extend slightly into the combustion chamber from a wall of the chamber located opposite a reciprocating piston of the combustion chamber.
More demanding emissions standards have necessitated attempts at reducing smoke and NOx byproducts of the combustion process, while maintaining or improving fuel efficiency. One approach to meeting the difficult emissions standards includes incorporating what has been referred to as a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) process into the engine cycle. The HCCI process may be more accurately referred to as a controlled auto-ignition process. Such a process operates by injecting fuel into the combustion chamber prior to the point at which the combustion chamber reaches a pressure sufficient to auto-ignite the fuel. Such a fuel injection timing allows for compression of a diluted mixture of air and fuel until auto-ignition occurs. This controlled auto-ignition process provides a combustion reaction volumetrically within the engine cylinder as the combustion chamber volume is reduced by the piston. This type of combustion avoids localized high temperature regions associated with the flame fronts, and thereby reduces smoke and NOx byproducts of the combustion.
Conventional fuel injectors used for injecting fuel into highly pressurized or relatively lower pressurized combustion chambers include a nozzle tip having a plurality of passages allowing fuel from the injector to be injected into the combustion chamber. The number, size, and orientation of the passages in the nozzle tip affect the production of smoke, production of NOx, and fuel efficiency associated with the combustion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,093 to Hiraki et al. discloses a direct injection type diesel engine having a fuel injector nozzle tip including a plurality of injection holes arranged in two rows concentrically relative to a longitudinal axis of the injector nozzle. The injection holes of the two rows are disclosed as forming a zigzag pattern. Accordingly, as disclosed in the illustrated embodiments, each of the two rows include the same number of injection holes. Further, Hiraki et al. discloses that the distal-most row of holes form an acute angle of 45° or greater with the longitudinal axis of the injector nozzle.
The number, size, and orientations of the holes of the fuel injector nozzle tip of Hiraki et al. provide a narrow range or diffusion of fuel plumes into the combustion chamber. This is evidenced by the fact that the injector holes of the distal-most row of the nozzle tip are orientated to form an arc of 90° between opposing nozzle holes of the row. Accordingly, a majority of the area within the combustion chamber formed by the 90° arc does hot directly receive injected fuel. Such a narrow range of diffusion of fuel plumes limits the mixing of the fuel with the air, thus increasing the localized high temperature regions in the combustion chamber and thereby producing unwanted smoke and NOx.
The present invention provides a fuel system for an internal combustion engine that avoids some or all of the aforesaid shortcomings in the prior art.

Fuel injector nozzle for an internal combustion engine


A four way directional control valve comprises a valve body having a sleeve formed therein, a spool slidable in the sleeve, two output ports, a pump port and two tank ports formed in the valve body so that the output ports can be a pressure side and an exhaust side by operation of the spool. The four way directional valve further comprises a communicating passage formed in the valve body to provide communication of the output ports with each other, a fixed orifice disposed in the communicating passage, a control passage, formed in parallel with the communicating passage, a control spool disposed in the control passage movable in response to a differential pressure between the output ports to block the communicating passage.

The present invention relates to a directional control valve. More specifically, the present invention relates to a directional control valve, such as a four way directional control valve or a two way directional control valve.
For example, in a four way directional control valve, when the two output ports are blocked, the rate of change of the differential pressure between both the output ports relative to the displacement of the spool is referred to as "blocked pressure gain".
In a four way directional control valve having a metering position, since the communication of the ports is switched at the neutral position of the spool, theoretically speaking, the blocked pressure gain must be infinite at the switching position under the zero lap condition.
However, in an actual valve, because there are clearances between the sleeve and the spool, a small amount of working fluid leaks through the clearances, and therefore, the observed pressure gain is finite as illustrated in FIG. 3.
It is usual in commercially available four way control valves that the maximum differential pressure, i.e., 100% pressure, is obtained at a spool stroke between 5 and 20 micron meter.
In the meantime, it has been observed that the pressure gain as illustrated in FIG. 3 is too large for a circuit for chucking a fragile article or for a circuit for actuating simultaneously hydraulic equipment disposed in parallel, for example, in an aircraft, wherein a so called "force fight" may occur easily because a plurality of actuators are disposed. In such a case, a circuit as illustrated in FIG. 4, i.e., cross bleeding, has been often used to lower the blocked pressure gain.
More specifically, two output ports 5 and 6 are communicated with each other via a fixed orifice 22, and bleeding therebetween is permitted.
When the blocked pressure gain is lowered by cross bleeding which is illustrated in FIG. 4, the obtained pressure gain typically draws such a curve as illustrated in FIG. 5.
However, there occur the following problems if a directional control valve having a pressure gain as illustrated in FIG. 5 is used.
Since bleeding of the pressure occurs through the fixed orifice 22 communicating both the output ports 5 and 6, the required maximum pressure cannot be achieved. In other words, in a control system having this directional control valve installed therein, the power of the pressure in the system cannot be fully utilized.
In addition, as is apparent from FIG. 5, since the pressure gain is not linear, the gain nears zero at region where the differential pressure is relatively high. Accordingly, in an actual control system, a steady-state deviation increases beyond an acceptable level under a large load.


An integrated circuit for programming an electrical fuse includes a first programming device coupled to the electrical fuse for selectively providing the same with a first programming current, and a second programming device coupled to the electrical fuse for selectively providing the same with a second programming current. A detection module is coupled to the electrical fuse for generating an output indicating a resistance level of the electrical fuse, wherein the resistance level has three or more predetermined states, which are provided by selectively programming the electrical fuse with the first or second programming current.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) designs, and more particularly to a multi-state electrical fuse.
Electrical fuses are utilized by modern ICs for adjustments and repairs that are often made late in the IC fabricating process. The electrical fuse is designed to be programmed when a current flowing through the fuse exceeds a threshold, thereby causing its resistance to increase. The original and increased resistance values of the fuse can be used to represent two logic states, such as "0" and "1." Changing the fuse logic states can therefore be utilized for circuit adjustments and repairs.
Conventionally, the electrical fuse is designed to have only two states, programmed or not programmed. One drawback of the two-state electrical fuse is the layout inefficiency. As each fuse can only be programmed to represent a bit of data, a number of electrical fuses are needed for representing a corresponding number of bits. For example, eight electrical fuses are needed to represent a byte of data. Thus, a great number of electrical fuses are needed when a great number of data are needed to be programmed for circuit adjustments and repairs. These electrical fuses occupy a great amount of layout area, which becomes increasingly limited as the modern IC continues to shrink in size.
As such, desirable in the art of IC design is an electrical fuse that can be programmed to represent more than one bit of data in order for reducing the total number of fuses that need to be implemented in an IC.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


An emergency call system includes at least one wireless receiver located at a property having a plurality of residences for receiving wireless alarm signals from resident wireless devices and reset signals from attendant wireless devices, such as pendants. The wireless device module is operatively connected to the at least one wireless receiver for determining identity of respective resident devices and determining the response time in which an attendant has responded to an alarm signal from the resident device and which the attendant resets the alarm. The xe2x80x9cstaff resetxe2x80x9d pendant contains a unique code identifying which staff pendant was used for a reset.

This invention relates to emergency call systems, and more particularly, this invention relates to emergency call systems that monitor multiple resident apartments.
The senior living industry is rapidly growing and the need for advanced technology in communications, safety, and security systems is mandatory in order to maintain, track and respond to alarm signals, including smoke warnings, common area emergency alarms, door alarms, pendant alarms actuated by a resident, and other security and alarm features common in the senior living industry. Various prior art systems have been used in this industry, including direct connect, i.e., hard-wired systems, wireless systems, and telephone systems. For example, a direct connect (hard-wired) system allows reliable integration with dedicated wiring to provide reliability. Fixed location devices located within each resident apartment of a retirement property can initiate a call. An example would be an intercom. Smoke detectors can be used and emergency call stations, such as those having a pull cord, a check-in station, a door switch, corridor speaker, security screen, and/or other hard-wired devices as known to those skilled in the art are commonly used in direct connect systems. A drawback of a hard-wired system is the requirement of a dedicated hard-wired physical cable or line, and the expense associated with a direct copper connection or other similar communications line connection.
A wireless system, on the other hand, offers the advantage such that a dedicated copper line or other hard-wired communications line is not required. Wireless systems are typically easy to install and include personal transmitters, such as wireless pendants worn about the neck of a user, which can be user actuated by a resident to generate an alarm signal to a wireless receiver. A wireless station, such as a check-in station or emergency call station, also can be used. These devices allow a user to pull an emergency cord or line for generating a wireless alarm signal to the wireless receiver. The alarm signal can be coded for origin and identification of a resident. Wireless receivers receive the alarm signal and forward the alarm signal as an electrical communication alarm signal to a central console. One drawback of a wireless system is the lack of perfect coverage in any building and the added requirement that most residents must wear a pendant or other type of personal transmitter at all times.
Another type of system uses a standard telephone or similar device to provide a telephone system that combines some features of each of the wireless and direct connect systems. This system, however, lacks the ability to integrate common area emergency calls, door alarms, and similar alarms and calls because signals are generated from the telephone through a telephone company and require a phone line connection.
Other drawbacks of similar prior art emergency call systems include a lack of system integration and the tracking of emergency calls, alarms, and proper databases for maintaining records. Additionally, an increased number of senior residents living in larger numbers of geographically spaced properties complicate different services associated with the systems, including administrative services, increased control, database upkeep, tracking, and report generation.
The present invention is advantageous and provides an emergency call system that integrates direct connect (hard-wired), wireless and telephony systems into one emergency call system. Thus, the disadvantages of using individual systems are minimized, while the advantages of each system can be advantageously used to maintain control over an entire emergency call system, while enhancing various functions, such as report generation.
An emergency call system includes at least one wireless receiver located at a property having a plurality of residences for receiving wireless alarm signals from resident pendants and reset signals from attendant pendants. A wireless device module is operatively connected to the at least one wireless receiver for determining identity of respective resident pendants and determining the response time in which an attendant has responded to an alarm signal from the resident pendant.
In one aspect of the present invention, a computer is operatively connected to the wireless device module and maintains a database of alarm events pertaining to any alarm and reset signals. The wireless alarm signals and reset signals from respective resident and attendant pendants are packets having identifiers for identifying the identity of a respective resident or attendant. A printer is operatively connected to the wireless device controller and prints a report of alarms and response times.

Emergency call system and method with attendant and resident pendant actuation


Systems and methods for collection, management, and distribution of data with a crowdsourced knowledge data base are disclosed. The systems and methods may be configured for: storing information in a standardized format in one or more network-based databases having a collection of records stored thereon; providing remote access to users over a network so any one of the users can update the information about a record in the collection of records in real time through a graphical user interface, wherein the one of the users provides the updated information in a non-standardized format; converting the updated information into the standardized format; storing the standardized updated information in the database in the standardized format; generating a message containing the updated information whenever one has been stored; and transmitting the message to all of the users over the network in real time, so that each user has immediate access to up-to-date information.

Over the course of a person's life, as one goes through a wide variety of experiences, the person gains various insights that may be helpful for future activities. The person may share these insights with others through various means such as ordinary conversations, writings, advices, and demonstrations. People that learn the insights also, in turn, share them with others, leading to an organic transfer of knowledge.
Peer-to-peer knowledge transfer via direct interactions between people is often the most accurate means of transferring knowledge. However, its reach is limited to a small network of people that interacted with the original knowledge bearer. Reaching more people requires the recipients to share the knowledge with other people, which can introduce false memories (both intentional and unintentional) or cause the knowledge to deviate from its initial state. Books, media, and the Internet has substantially expanded the reach of knowledge transfer, but transfer of knowledge through such means flows largely from a knowledge bearer to recipients, where the recipient is unable to share his/her knowledge with the benefactor.
Some have attempted to solve these shortcomings through a technical solution enabled by advances in information technology and widespread adoption of computers. A web forum or a group chat room are common examples of such efforts, where participants can share information freely. However, information shared in these virtual forums are often accompanied by large amounts of noise (e.g., off-topic conversations). People share information in non-standardized ways (e.g., different words to mean the same thing, different syntax, typeo), which makes organizing and searching for a particular topic difficult. The forums may quickly spin out of control with only a handful of bad actors in the absence of moderators. They may enable false information to spread without check. Some knowledge may be lost over time because they are not circulated to new participants. Existing participants have already acquired the knowledge and may not be aware that the new participants have not, while the new participants are simply oblivious to the fact that such knowledge even existed.
The same difficulties arise within a company, where the company may wish to promote efficient and accurate transfer of knowledge between its workers. Without an effective means of preserving a veteran worker's know-hows and disseminating them to the rest of the workers, the company will need to expend a lot of resources to relearn the same knowledge over and over.
Therefore, there is a need for a network-based knowledge management system and method that collect, convert, and consolidate knowledge about different matters from various members at geographically dispersed areas into a standardized format.

Systems and methods for collection, management, and distribution of data using a crowdsourced knowledge database


The present invention relates to side tensioning assemblies for retaining screen media to the side plates of a vibrating-type screening machine. The side tensioning assembly includes a tensioning rail and at least one angle box mountable to a side plate. At least one bolt assembly provided for fastening the tensioning rail to the side plate and to angle box. Bolt assembly is provided with is a shoulder bolt that is secured to a terminal end of the bolt. The angle box includes an aperture sized to allow the bolt assembly passage therethrough, and a movable plate with a cutout. The cutout is sized larger than the bolt but smaller than a nut. The movable plate has a bolt-securing position and a bolt-releasing position to allow access to the aperture in the angle box such that the bolt assembly can be detached from the angle box without being disassembled.

Vibrating-type screening machines typically have vibrating mechanism operatively connected to deck frames which support screen media. In many such machines, the screen media is tightly held by side tensioning and supported below by a suitable structure typically imparting a curved shape to the screen media. This involves employing tensioning assemblies affixed to side plates which stand tall of the deck frame. A typical side tensioning assembly includes a tension rail fastened to the side plate using fastening hardware. The tension is configured to engage tensioning hooks connected to side edges of the screen media. When deployed, the tension rail applies a tensile force on the tensioning hooks which operates to draw the screen media down toward the deck frame and outward toward the side plate.
In some tensioning assemblies, the direction of the tensile force can be adjusted using an angle box mounted to the outer surface of the side plate. The angle box has a wedge-like structure which has an oblong opening formed therein that is configured to communicate with an aperture defined in the side plate. The oblong opening in the wedge-like structure and the aperture defined in the side plate are aligned to receive therethrough a bolt having a particular angled orientation which corresponds to the desired direction in which the tensile force is to be applied. The bolt is part of the fastening hardware that is used to tie the tension rail to the side plate.
In a typical installation of such a tensioning assembly, the bolt is first fitted through an aperture formed in the tension rail. The remaining portion of the bolt is inserted through the aperture defined in the side plate and extends through the oblong opening in the angle box. The terminal end of the bolt protrudes from the angle box away from the side plate, where a washer and nut engage the bolt. In order to create the requisite tension to retain the screen media, the nut is tightened against the washer which sits between the angle box and the nut.
Such tensioning assemblies tend to be effective in tightly retaining the screen media between the side plates. However, concerns have been expressed regarding the number of loose parts in such tensioning assemblies. More specifically, in the tensioning assembly of the type described above, the fastening hardware includes a bolt, a nut and a washer, and then there is also the tension rail. Some vibrating-type screen machines can be quite large and have multiple deck frames stacked one over the other. Such machines tend to require many sections of tension rail and many tensioning assemblies, thereby further exacerbating the problem of having too many loose parts. Such parts take time to assemble and can easily be dropped, mishandled or lost, thereby leading to increased downtime of the machine while the screen media is being replaced. As a result, a steady supply of replacement fastening hardware must be kept on hand. This can be a serious disadvantage in applications which require frequent replacement of the screen media due to wear and tear or other reasons. All the more so, because such screen media maintenance or service activities typically require two workmen to carry them out.
In light of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to have a tensioning assembly which can easily be deployed rapidly and with ease, and which obviates the above-described drawbacks associated with known tensioning assemblies that employ angle boxes.

Side tensioning system for retaining screen media in a vibrating-type screening machine


A photoelectric transfer element of which a reading sensor for reading written materials such as facsimile documents has a controlled photosensitive region within the photoelectric transfer element. Thus photosensitivity in a region of the photoelectric transfer element is reduced to improve element performance. The specific photosensitivity control methods include an electric field control, increased impurity concentration, and irradiation ultraviolet light.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to line image sensors to be used for reading written materials such as facsimile documents, and to element structures which control photosensitivities of photoelectric transfer elements of which the line image sensors consist either on an inter-element basis or on an element basis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional photoelectric transfer elements are, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 58-63164. They are of such sandwiched type with a photoconductive film is interposed between a top transparent electrode and a bottom metal electrode. On the other hand, photoelectric transfer elements which receive light along the side of the bottom electrode are discussed in pages 53 to 56 in the proceedings of the Electronic Photography Society Symposium "Where Are We Now with Amorphous Silicon Devices" published in May 1985.
Conventional photoelectric transfer elements are of the so-called sandwiched type in which a photoconductive film is interposed between a bottom electrode and a top transparent electrode. Both electrodes sandwiching the photoconductive film are so arranged that the photoconductive film protrudes out from the bottom electrode in order to prevent both electrodes from being short-circuited by the photoconductive film. For this reason, when performing a so-called direct contact type reading in which written material is irradiated through a substrate by a light source provided at the rear side of the substrate with reflected light received. The light from the light source directly irradiates the photoconductive film which protrudes from the bottom electrode. Thus a photoelectric current is generated, and such photoelectric current becomes noise against photoelectric current generated by the light reflected from the written material irradiating the photoconductive film, thereby causing the reading quality to be impaired, and this has long been a problem. Furthermore, in conventional photoelectric transfer elements, since the photoconductive film continuously covers a plurality of photoelectric transfer elements, a problem has existed in that they are susceptible to so-called "cross talk," or output current variations caused by voltages of neighboring photoelectric transfer elements and the amounts of the irradiated light.

Line image sensor with controlled photosensitivity