A spinning arrangement in which the working elements for the processing of fiber material are arranged within an adjustable climate-controlled zone. The climate-controlled zone can be adjusted in such a manner that the fiber material fed to the working elements has the tendency to supply humidity to the ambient air of the climate-controlled zone. Before the feeding, particularly when deposited in a can or on a roving bobbin and/or on the transport path to the working elements, the fiber material is surrounded by air whose climate differs from the climate in the adjustable climate-controlled zone of the working elements. During the processing, the fed fiber material and the working elements are each in a different climatic condition that is optimal for the processing.

This invention relates to a process for the spinning of yarn from fiber material which, in the case of an arrangement for spinning, is transported from a supply of fiber material to the working elements of said arrangement for spinning, with at least some of said working elements being arranged within a climate-controlled zone which contains a fluid whose climate can be adjusted. The invention also relates to an arrangement for the spinning of yarn from fiber material, comprising a device for making a supply of fiber material available, and comprising working elements for the processing of the fiber material which is removed from the device for making the fiber material available. While travelling along a transport path, the fiber material is supplied to the working elements, at least some of which are arranged within a climate-controlled zone which contains a fluid whose climate is adjustable.
Conventionally, in practice, the climate of the working elements of spinning arrangements which process the supplied fiber material is controlled in that the whole spinning machine containing the spinning arrangements, including the fiber supply, are subjected to a uniform climate existing in the spinning room. This type of climate control is known from German Patent Document DE 41 00 618A1. For generating uniform climatic conditions, it is suggested there to construct the platform which is arranged above the machine frame and the working elements of the spinning arrangements and on which the cans with the sliver are deposited, in a permeable manner in order to permit a free circulation of the conditioned air. As a result, a uniform climate is obtained for the sliver and the working elements carrying out the spiraling. In this case, the fed sliver supplies no humidity to the ambient air during the processing. The uniform climate permits an essentially perfect functioning of the working elements and an essentially proper capacity to be processed of the fiber material.
In the published German patent application with the reference number DE 41 09 110 A1, a spinning machine is described in which cans containing sliver are deposited on a platform arranged vertically above the machine frame and the working elements of the spinning arrangements. For the purpose of climate control, air inlet and air outlet ducts are provided which are arranged such that conditioned fluid flows penetrate the drafting units in the vertical direction and form climate-controlled zones in this manner which fill only a portion of the spinning room. As a result, a low energy consumption is achieved because the whole spinning room does not have to be climate-controlled.
From published German patent application DE 39 19 284 A1, it is known to control the climate of only the spinning material which is deposited in a container, in which case the working elements of the spinning machine are at any room climate. As a result, the spinning material is to be put into an optimal climatic condition in order to improve the quality of the product to be produced.
From British Patent Document GB-PS 11 83 208, it is known to supply the fiber material from cans, which are arranged on platforms above the spinning machine, to the spinning arrangements through tubes. In this case, the fed slivers are subjected to an air flow with a certain humidity content on the transport path in the tubes in order to control the humidity content of the slivers.
It is an object of the invention to produce optimal climatic conditions for the operation of the working elements of spinning arrangements as well as for the processing capacity of the supplied fiber material.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a process for the spinning of yarn from fiber material in an arrangement for spinning, the method comprising transporting the fiber material from a supply of fiber material to working elements of the arrangement for spinning, with at least some of the working elements being arranged within a climate-controlled zone which contains a fluid whose climate is adjustable, and adjusting the climate such that at least one of the fiber material and yarn spun from the fiber material have a tendency to supply humidity to the fluid of the climate-controlled zone.
The objects are also achieved by an embodiment of the present invention which provides an arrangement for spinning yarn from fiber material, comprising a device for making available a supply of fiber material, a climate-controlled zone containing a fluid with an adjustable climate, and working elements for processing of the fiber material, with at least some of the working elements being within the climate-controlled zone. A transport path is provided between the device for making available and the working elements, the fiber material being removed from the device for making available and supplied to the working elements while travelling through the transport path. A climate is produceable in the climate-controlled zone which differs from a climate of the fluid which surrounds the fiber material in at least one of the device for making the fiber material available and on the transport path to the working elements.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the fluid is air or another suitable gas.
The present invention provides the advantage of optimizing the processing capacity of the fiber material and therefore the quality of the end product as well as optimizing the functioning of the working elements used for spinning.
The invention is based on the recognition that the working elements operate optimally, that is largely faultlessly, under certain climatic conditions and that the fiber material to be processed under certain climatic conditions can be processed to an optimal degree. In this case, the optimal climatic conditions differ with respect to the operation of the working elements and with respect to the processing capacity of the fiber material.
If optimal climatic conditions were to be provided for the fiber material to be processed and the working elements were to be subjected to the same climatic conditions, so that no humidity is supplied by the fiber material to the fluid surrounding the working elements, disturbances may occur in the operation of the working elements. For example, when the humidity of the fluid surrounding the working element is too high, individual fibers may wind around the drafting unit top rollers.
If optimal climatic conditions were provided for the working elements and the fiber material to be processed were to be subjected to the mentioned climatic conditions as the working elements, the humidity content of the fiber material may be too low for a good processing. When the humidity content is too low, the processing capacity of the fiber material and the quality of the end product will deteriorate.
With the known uniform climate control for the supplied fiber material and the working elements, non-optimal but acceptable climatic conditions are achieved with respect to the processing capacity of the fiber material as well as the running characteristics of the working elements. With the known climate control of only the fiber material, optimal conditions are endeavored with respect to the processing capacity but not with respect to the operation of the working elements. In contrast, with the climate control of the present invention, optimal climatic conditions are created with respect to the operation of the working elements as well as with respect to the processing capacity of the fiber material.
For optimum functioning of the working elements, particularly of the drafting unit rollers of a drafting unit, it is required that the fluid surrounding the working elements does not have an excessive relative humidity. In contrast, the humidity content of the fiber material must be relatively high for an optimal processing capacity. The humidity content should be at least so high that the fed fiber material, when it enters the climate-controlled zone that includes the working elements, will have the tendency to supply the humidity to the fluid of the climate-controlled zone. It is important in this case that at least the climate-controlled zone surrounding the working elements can be adjusted relatively precisely with respect to its climate, whereas the humidity content of the fed fiber material does not necessarily have to be adjusted precisely.
The climate-controlled zone surrounding the working elements is expediently produced by the present invention in that a fluid is supplied whose temperature and/or relative humidity can be adjusted. In this manner, a precise adjustability of the climate within the climate-controlled zone can be achieved.
In certain embodiments of the invention, it is provided that a fluid is supplied to the fiber material at the supply of fiber material and/or during the transport to the working elements, the temperature and/or relative humidity of the fluid being adjustable. In this case, it is not absolutely necessary that the fluid is supplied during the whole transport; on the contrary, the supplying of the conditioned fluid in a partial area of the transport path may also be sufficient so that a satisfactory effect is achieved. Naturally, it is also possible to supply the conditioned fluid only to the supply of fiber material or only to the transport path or to a part of it. As a result of this measure, it is possible to influence the humidity content of the fed fiber material.
In these embodiments, the adjustment advantageously takes place in that the temperature and/or the relative humidity of the fluid surrounding the fiber material differs from the temperature and/or the relative humidity of the fluid in the climate-controlled zone. In this case, it may be advantageous to select for the fluid surrounding the fiber material a high relative humidity and to select for the fluid surrounding the working elements a low relative humidity. The fiber material may then absorb humidity at the deposited supply or during the transport to the working elements so that it has the tendency to supply humidity at the working elements.
In an advantageous embodiment of file present invention, it is provided that only fluid is supplied to the climate-controlled zone which had previously been fed to the fiber material at the supply of fiber material and/or during the transport to the working elements, in which case the supplied fluid is heated at the climate-controlled zone of the working elements. Because of the heating, the relative humidity of the fluid will fall in the climate-controlled zone so that the fiber material which previously has absorbed humidity from the fed fluid, has the tendency to supply humidity in the climate-controlled zone.
In this embodiment, it is advantageous for the climate of the fed fluid to be adjusted as a function of the heating occurring in the climate-controlled zone. While the occurring heating is taken into account, the fluid will then have the desired relative humidity in the climate-controlled zone. As a result, it is possible to adjust the climate in the climate-controlled zone very precisely so that optimal conditions are obtained with respect to the operability of the working elements. In the case of the climatic conditions of the fluid surrounding the supply of the fiber material and/or the transport path of the fiber material, a certain bandwidth could definitely be accepted without leaving the range of the optimal climatic condition for the capacity to be processed of the fiber material. In addition, it should be possible in this embodiment, also for a precisely determined and constant temperature and/or relative humidity in the area of the climate-controlled zone of the working elements, to obtain by means of the corresponding adjustment of the climate of the supplied fluid a precisely predeterminable value in the case of the climate of the fluid surrounding the fiber material at the supply and/or during the transport.
In this embodiment, it is advantageous to measure the temperature and/or the relative humidity in the climate-controlled zone and adjust, according to the measured value, the temperature and/or the humidity of the supplied fluid.
It is also advantageous for the fluid supplied to the climate-controlled zone to be heated only by the waste heat produced by the working elements during the spinning operation. The supplied fluid will then be adjusted corresponding to the produced waste heat and to the resulting heating of the climate-controlled zone with respect to its temperature and/or its humidity. The temperature and/or relative humidity which exists in the working elements during the operation of the spinning machine may be measured. Also, the heating occurring at the working elements as a result of the operation can be calculated at least approximately. It can therefore be determined for the adjusting of the climate-controlled zone to what extent, in the case of a measured or calculated temperature difference, the relative humidity of the fluid in the climate-controlled zone will change with respect to the relative humidity of the fluid in the area of the supply of the fiber material and/or the transport of the fiber material.
For achieving the desired climatic conditions, in the case of an arrangement for the spinning of yam, a climate-controlled zone is provided in the case of the working elements which is adjustable with respect to its climate and in which a climate can be produced which differs from the climate of the fluid which surrounds the fiber material at the device for making the supply of the fiber material available and/or on the transport path of the fiber material to the working elements. As mentioned above, it is not absolutely necessary in this case that the whole transport path is surrounded by a fluid whose climate differs from the climate of the climate-controlled zone surrounding the working elements.
It is advantageous in this case for the climate to be adjustable in such a manner that the fluid in the climate-controlled zone has a lower relative humidity than the fluid which surrounds the fiber material at the device for making it available and/or on the transport path to the working elements.
It is also advantageous to arrange the climate-controlled zone in such a manner that, of the working elements of a spinning arrangement, at least the drafting unit and/or the ring spindle are situated within the climate-controlled zone, in which case the fiber material deposited as sliver in a can is situated outside the climate-controlled zone. Particularly in the case of drafting devices, considerable running disturbances may occur when the air-conditioning is not appropriate. Also, in the case of the above-mentioned arrangements, an air-conditioning of the drafting unit and/or of the ring spindle is particularly advantageous because a clear separation can be achieved between the area of the/bed of the sliver and the processing of the sliver.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the mentioned deviation of the climate in the climate-controlled zone can be achieved in that a partition is provided which separates the area of the working elements from the area of the fiber material feed and the transport path, in the case of which the two areas are connected with one another by a passage opening for the fiber material.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the machine frame which carries the working elements is arranged on the same side of the partition as the climate-controlled zone.
Expediently, a common climate-controlled zone is arranged in the spinning machine for the working elements of all arrangements for the spinning.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided to arrange, in a spinning machine, the devices for making the fiber material available on a platform which is arranged vertically above the machine frame of the spinning machine. In this case, it is advantageous to provide the partition at the platform. As a result of this measure, an effective separation can be achieved of the areas with the different climates.
In another embodiment of the present invention, in the case of a spinning machine, the devices for making a supply of fiber material available are arranged on surfaces which are situated opposite one or both longitudinal sides of the spinning machine. In the case of a one-sided spinning machine, the surfaces are arranged on the rear side of the spinning machine. In the case of a two-sided spinning machine, the surfaces are arranged in parallel to both operating sides of the spinning machine, and an operating aisle is provided between the surfaces and the spinning machine.
In certain embodiments, the relative humidity and/or the temperature of the fluid of the climate-controlled zone are adjustable. In certain embodiments, the climate in the climate-controlled zone is produced by a fluid flow which is supplied by a feeding duct and is discharged by a discharge duct.
In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the feeding duct is arranged on the side of the partition which has the device for making the supply of fiber material available and/or the transport path, and the discharge duct is arranged on the side of the partition which has the working elements, in which case the partition has a passage opening for the fluid flow which extends to the working elements. In this embodiment, a separate adjustment is not possible of the fluid contained in the climate-controlled zone on the side of the working elements, on the one hand, and of the fluid surrounding the fiber material on the side of the device for making the fiber material available and/or of the transport path, on the other hand. On the contrary, only the climate in the climate-controlled zone on the side of the working element is adjusted. The adjustment of the climate on the side of the feed of the fiber material and/or of the transport path therefore depends only on the temperature and/or the relative humidity which is desired in the climate-controlled zone. For this embodiment, it is taken into account that the fluid supplied through the feeding duct supplies humidity to the fiber material, if this fiber material can still absorb humidity, and that the supplied fluid is heated at the climate-controlled zone by the working elements of the spinning arrangements and possibly, by additional rotating machine elements.
It is advantageous in this embodiment to arrange a sensor at the climate-controlled zone of the working elements which can measure the climate of the fluid with respect to its temperature and/or its relative humidity. The sensor is connected with a device by means of which the climate of the fluid can be adjusted, which fluid is supplied through the feeding duct onto the side of the partition which has the device for making the fiber material available, and/or the transport path. With respect to its climate, the fed fluid is adjusted corresponding to the temperature measured in the climate-controlled zone and/or the relative humidity. In the case of the adjustment of the climate of the supplied fluid, the heating occurring in the climate-controlled zone is taken into account.
The device for making the supply of the fiber material available and/or the transport path are therefore situated within a second climate-controlled zone which is formed by the fluid supplied through the feeding duct. This second climate-controlled zone cannot be adjusted separately: however, the climate in this second climate-controlled zone is a function of the adjustment of the climate in the first climate-controlled zone which contains the working elements. A precise adjustment of the climate in the second climate-controlled zone is also not absolutely necessary, for achieving good spinning results. The relative humidity in the second climate-controlled zone is higher than in the first climate-controlled zone because the relative humidity of the fluid falls because of the heating.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Process and arrangement for spinning of yarn from fiber material having an adjustable climate-controlled zone for the working elements


A vibrating grip assembly for providing a sensory response to excess gripping pressure on a golf club. The vibrating grip assembly comprises a grip body, defined by a rubber cover and a vibrating transducer, and a removable battery compartment. The vibrating grip assembly is configured to be placed around the gripping area of a golf club, replacing the conventional grip on a golf club. In operation, when manual pressure which exceeds a predetermined threshold is exerted in a compressing direction on the rubber cover, the vibrating transducer uses a integrated sensor to convert the mechanical energy from the manual pressure into electrical energy and an integrated actuator to accept the electrical energy and product vibration. This action results in the vibrating grip assembly vibrating in a user's hands in response to manual pressure in a compressing direction which exceeds the predetermined threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to grip accessories and, more particularly, to a grip assembly adapted to vibrate in response to manual gripping pressure exceeding a predetermined threshold.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The design of golf clubs and the basics when it comes to their use is well known. What is lost on many, however, are the nuances that can make the difference between success and failure when it comes to their use. Countless amounts are spent each year by golfers seeking to learn such nuances and otherwise improve their ability to properly use a golf club. Notwithstanding the amount of resources spent on improving the ability to use a golf club, one of the most effective techniques is also one of the most simple; loosen the grip on the club.
Many golfers grasp their golf clubs too tightly as they swing. This results in disadvantageous effects to their upper body posture as well as the results from the swing. While all types of training equipment and facilities exist for teaching people other aspects of golfing, there are limited self executing educational devices for correcting the grip on a golf club. Thus, there remains a need for a vibrating grip assembly which would provide a sensory response to excess gripping pressure on a golf club. It would be helpful if such a vibrating grip assembly responded to excess gripping by simply vibrating where the excess gripping was occurring. It would be additionally desirable for such a vibrating grip assembly to utilize a replaceable power source to reduce any ongoing maintenance costs on end users.
The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a grip assembly adapted to vibrate in response to manual gripping pressure exceeding a predetermined threshold. The primary components of Applicant's vibrating grip assembly are a rubber grip, a removable power source, and a vibrating transducer. When in operation, the vibrating grip assembly allows a user to learn the proper amount of gripping force to use while holding a golf club from localized automatic feedback. As a result, many of the limitations imposed by the prior art are removed.


An image forming apparatus having a cleaner for cleaning a surface of a dust-proof glass disposed on a housing of a laser scanning unit for irradiating a photosensitive member with a laser modulated in accordance with image data. The cleaner is supported by a frame of the image forming apparatus body such that the cleaner is movable while keeping in contact with the dust-proof glass and such that the cleaner stays in a stand-by position while keeping out of contact with the dust-proof glass and the housing of the laser scanning unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copying machine, comprising a laser scanning unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Image forming apparatuses, such as electrophotograhic copying machines and printers, generally comprise a laser scanning unit for illuminating a photosensitive member with a laser modulated in accordance with image data. In such a laser scanning unit, a dust-poof glass is provided to a radiation window so that toner and dust particles suspended in the air inside a machine will not enter into the unit. However, it is likely that these particles stick to the surface of the dust-proof glass, and in this case, the picture quality of a formed image is lowered (white stripes are seen in a formed image). Especially when the laser scanning unit is located under a processing unit including a photosensitive member, the trouble caused by the adherence of particles to the dust-proof glass is notable.
In order to avoid the trouble, conventionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-72321 suggests that a cleaner be provided in the laser scanning unit. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-72321 also suggests that the cleaner be kept out of contact with the dust-proof glass when the cleaner is in a stand-by position, while the cleaner be moved to clean the surface of the dust-proof glass at desired times. However, when the cleaner is supported by a housing of the laser scanning unit, even if the cleaner is kept out of contact with the dust-proof glass, the housing of the laser scanning unit may be deformed by the load of the cleaner, which may cause a problem that the optical characteristics of laser radiation are lowered.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


A boat loading guide system for use on a boat trailer and particularly for pontoon boats and the like. The boat loading guide is highly visible during loading, comprising two guide posts visible throughout the loading process. When not in use, or when towing the trailer, the guide posts are stowed such that the trailer and guide posts do not exceed a pre-determined width, and thus the trailer will be able to be operated legally on public roadways. The guide posts can be of sufficient length so that even when the rear portion of the trailer is well submerged, the guide posts will extend above the surface of the water and be visible to the operator.

Watercraft such as boats are typically transported from one site to another by means of portable trailers. Trailers are generally designed with a bed on which the boat will rest, and some form of winching system that is designed to move the boat and off the trailer. In most cases, trailers are designed such that the trailer and boat are backed down a slope so that the stern is placed in the body of water. The boat can then be unsecured from the bed and allowed to float off the trailer. The winching system can be designed, for example, to provide a cable that is unwound once the boat is in the water, such that the trailer can then be pulled back up the slope fully and removed from the water, leaving the boat behind. When convenient, the boat can then be disengaged from the winch upon which it is now completely separated from the trailer and is free floating. When extracting a boat from a body of water, the process is reversed. The winch system is used to engage the boat which is pulled towards the trailer, which is typically partially submerged so that the boat can be floated back onto the trailer bed.
One of the challenges in loading a boat onto a trailer is in achieving proper alignment such that the boat comes to rest in a position that is symmetrical with the trailer bed. Failure to do so can result in asymmetric loading of the trailer, which in turn can cause handling problems for the vehicle pulling the trailer. In addition, not having the boat placed squarely on the trailer runs the risk of the boat falling off the trailer. This can lead to damage of the boat, and more importantly, a particularly dangerous and potentially fatal situation should this happen during transport.
In order to assist a user loading a boat onto a trailer, many prior art trailers have include load guides to aid the person loading the boat in placing the boat in a portly aligned configuration as the boat is drawn up onto the trailer bed. Commonly used guides of this type are permanently mounted on either side of the trailer such that there is a few inches of clearance between the guides and the boat as it is being loaded. In use, the boat is allowed to bump back and forth between the guides as it is being hauled onto the trailer deck by the winching system.
A serious limitation in these permanently mounted guides is that by definition they increase the effective width of the trailer. Within North America, and in many countries around the world, vehicles and trailers are limited to certain maximum dimensions. In most North American jurisdictions, the maximum width for a trailer is 102 inches. As a result, permanent mounting of trailer guides on the outboard portion of a boat trailer by definition reduces the maximum width of the trailer deck and in turn limits the width of the boat that can be transported. This is especially problematic in the case of pontoon boats, which typically have widths of 96-102 inches. Thus, transporting a typical pontoon boat on a trailer with outboard guides would in many cases result in a transport configuration that would be in violation of the law.
One prior art solution to the problem posed by pontoon boats has been to provide a trailer with "inboard" guides, that is, guides that are positioned between the pontoons. While this solves the trailer width issue, it results in another problem that makes this a less than ideal solution. Guides spaced to be positioned between the pontoons when the boat is loaded on the deck must be short enough to fit between the pontoon tubes when it is on the trailer. As a result, when the trailer is backed into the water in order to load the boat, the guides will frequently be completely submerged and not visible to the operator performing the loading operation. In addition, even when not completely submerged the operator's ability to view the guides will be blocked by the boat itself as it is winched up onto the trailer deck.
Therefore, what is needed is a boat trailer system including guides that are visible when loading and unloading a boat, especially a pontoon boat, and which when the trailer is configured for transport do not cause the trailer to exceed the maximum allowable width for such units.


The disclosure provides Internet of Things (IoT) systems organized as tree hierarchies in which rule processing can occur at each level of the tree hierarchies. In the IoT system according to one embodiment, formulas are defined and centrally managed at a cloud hub that is a root of a tree hierarchy. Each formula defined at the cloud hub is further percolated down to a hub, which may be the cloud hub itself or a local hub, in the tree hierarchy that is logically closest to devices specified in the formula. Each of the cloud and local hubs in the IoT system may utilize the same core IoT platform image, providing ease of management. In addition, formulas may be defined with basic stimuli and responses, as well as with higher-order stimuli and responses that combine one or more other stimuli and responses, respectively.

"Smart devices" have become increasingly popular and can be found in many places, including cars, home security systems, and health monitors, among others. A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks, that can operate to some extent interactively and to some extent autonomously. Smart devices include sensors that collect sensor or measurement data about their environments, and actuators that accept instructions or commands and perform actions in the physical world. Examples of sensors include smart smoke detectors, thermometers, heart rate monitors, continuous glucose meters, etc. Examples of actuators include smart fire alarms, sprinkler systems, insulin injector implantations, etc. Many smart devices are able to communicate with other devices over the Internet. Together, smart devices communicating with each other are popularly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). The terms "IoT device" and "smart device" are used interchangeably herein.
IoT systems have been developed that allow responses to be triggered by actuator device(s) upon the receipt of appropriate stimuli from sensor device(s). For example, a diabetes patient can connect his or her continuous glucose meter (CGM) into the cloud, where a rule may execute causing insulin to be injected via an insulin injector device implanted on the patient's body (the response) if the patient's blood sugar level as measured by the CGM crosses a threshold value (the stimulus). Such IoT systems currently exist as cloud-based PaaS (platform as a service) solutions or are run privately as middleware applications by, e.g., enterprises. In the cloud-based PaaS solutions, sensors and actuators are connected to a cloud, where the processing and storage of sensor data and the triggering of responses occurs. Popular cloud-based PaaS solutions include AWS® IoT Cloud, IBM Bluemix®, and Azure® IoT. The advantages of such cloud-based PaaS solutions include central management of devices in the cloud, scalability (any number of additional IoT devices may be connected to the cloud and rules added to the cloud), and fault tolerance. The disadvantages of cloud-based PaaS solutions include network latency and unreliability, as the triggering of responses may be delayed by network latency or not occur at all if the Internet connections of sensors and/or actuators are lost. Privacy is also a concern when sensitive data from a sensor belonging to one organization is sent to a "public" cloud that is managed by a different organization and shared by many tenants. There may also be legal limitations to sending confidential sensor data to the cloud. For example, some sensor data may not be allowed to be stored across certain geographic boundaries if the data is for government, defense, or financial institutions. This is an issue because the exact storage location of a public, multi-tenant cloud is usually not controlled by tenants.
In contrast to cloud-based PaaS solutions, private IoT systems ensure data privacy by using a local server or cluster of servers to process (and store) sensor data and to send instructions to actuators. Popular private IoT systems include ThingWorx®, Nextcloud® Box, and the open source Kaa. The disadvantages of private IoT systems include lack of scalability and difficulty incorporating new domain knowledge and sensors. Scalability may be an issue, as privately managed data centers are expensive to run and expand. For example, in an industrial automation scenario, the number of smart devices may increase exponentially as new smart devices are adopted, but a private IoT system may be not be scalable to incorporate such new smart devices. New domain knowledge and sensors are difficult to incorporate into private IoT systems, as doing so typically requires the rules engine of a local server or cluster of servers (of which there may be many) to be manually updated each time new domain knowledge or sensors are added. For example, a medical IoT system should be able to administer different combinations of drugs or interpret symptoms differently based on the latest research without changing existing sensors, but it can be difficult to continuously update a local rules engine in a private medical IoT system based on the latest research.

Reusing domain-specific rules in a cloud-based internet of things system


A polyester elastomer is provided, which includes a product of reacting (a) amide oligomer, (b) polyalkylene glycol, and (c) poly(alkylene arylate). (a) Amide oligomer has a chemical structure of

Thermoplastic polyester elastomers (TPEE) are important polymer engineering materials due to their advantages such as high thermal resistance, excellent repeated fatigue properties, high toughness, and high flexibility at low temperatures. In addition, the TPEE have heavy weight-loading abilities, a high elastic recoverability, and excellent oil/chemical/solvent resistance. The TPEE can be processed to mold using standard thermoplastic processing equipment and skills, such as extrusion, injection, blowing, and the like. The TPEE free of sulfurization can be directly used to produce rubber products, thereby increasing the production efficiency. The scrap of the TPEE can be recycled to conserve resources, which is beneficial to environment protection. In general, it is not easy to prepare a TPEE with excellent thermal resistance and an elastic recoverability, such that the development of its related materials is important.

Abstract: or a combination thereof, wherein R1 is C4-8 alkylene group, R2 is C4-8 alkylene group, and each of x is independently an integer of 10 to 20. (b) Polyalkylene glycol has a chemical structure of

Abstract: wherein R3 is C2-10 alkylene group, and y is an integer of 20 to 30. (c) Poly(alkylene arylate) has a chemical structure of

Abstract: or a combination thereof, wherein Ar is

Abstract: R4 is C2-6 alkylene group, and z is an integer of 1 to 10.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


An operating method for a hybrid car which has an electric motor for driving the vehicle and an internal combustion engine for power generation. Using an operational expression including a motor output correction factor whose value is variably adjusted to different values depending on whether the engine is operated for battery charging or the engine is stopped, a required motor current supply that matches the vehicle operating state represented by an actual vehicle speed and an accelerator pedal depression depth is calculated, and the motor current supply is controlled in accordance with the result of the calculation. Consequently, the cruising range of the hybrid car is increased, and also the power performances and exhaust gas characteristics of the hybrid car are improved.

The present invention relates to a hybrid car provided with an electric motor used to drive the vehicle and an internal combustion engine for power generation, and more particularly, to an operating method for a hybrid car, which permits an increased cruising range and improved power performances of the vehicle, without abandoning an advantage of an electric car that the exhaust gas characteristics are excellent.
Recently, the regulations on exhaust gas from those vehicles which use an internal combustion engine as their drive source have been made more rigorous to tackle environmental pollution. In this respect, various new technologies have been developed. Electric cars, which use an electric motor as their drive source and produce no exhaust gas, should be ideal motor vehicles for reduction of the exhaust gas amount. Typical electric cars are designed so that a battery is used to supply the electric motor with electric power. Naturally, however, the available battery capacity for each vehicle is limited, so that the power performances are poorer and the cruising range is shorter than those of the vehicles which use an internal combustion engine as the drive source. In order to make the electric cars more popular, these technical problems are expected to be solved.
Hybrid cars, which are equipped with an electric motor for vehicle drive and an internal combustion engine for power generation, are believed to be promising modern electric ears which can enjoy an increased cruising range. In hybrid cars, a driving current, with which a required motor output determined according to vehicle operating conditions can be produced, is supplied to the electric motor to obtain required power performance. When the storage amount of the battery is reduced, a generator is driven by the engine to charge the battery with the power generated by the generator; and when the battery charging is unnecessary, the engine is stopped.
However, in the case where the engine is operated or stopped depending upon the presence/absence off the need of battery charging, it is in actuality difficult to always produce a required motor output with accuracy even if the electric motor is supplied with a driving current such that the required motor output can be produced. In general, the voltage of power generated by the generator is higher than the output voltage of the battery, and the voltage applied to the motor is higher during operation of the engine than during stoppage of the same. Thus, even if the driving current supplied to the motor is maintained at a constant value, the actual motor output is greater during operation of the engine than during stoppage of the same. Accordingly, even when the vehicle operating condition remains unchanged and the motor output must be maintained at a constant level, the actual motor output varies and also the running characteristics of the vehicle vary, depending on whether the engine is operating or stopped. Likewise, also when the vehicle operating condition changes, the running characteristics are likely to vary, depending on whether the engine is operating or stopped. In such cases, the behavior of the running vehicle becomes contrary to the driver's intention, giving rise to a problem that the driver receives different feelings when operating the vehicle.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A sensor that that can be, but do not have to be, communicatively coupled with luminaires, includes a sensor module having an electronics board and a battery enclosure. The electronics board includes a sensing component, a controller, and a flex antenna. The battery enclosure is couple with the electronics board and includes a base and a side wall having an outer wall surface. The flex antenna is supported on the outer wall surface such that the flex antenna forms a radially outermost portion of the sensor module, and the flex antenna is conformable to a profile of the outer wall surface. In certain aspects, the sensor module is configured to support a power source on the sensor module. In some cases, the sensor is an indoor sensor.

Sensors may be integrated with systems such as luminaire systems to provide an indication of some detected event and/or to trigger an event on another device. For example, an occupancy sensor may turn luminaires on and off based on a detected occupancy or motion in a particular area. Existing sensors typically rely on fasteners to hold separate components together and have battery connectors that are wired to a printed circuit board as well as wire antennas that are held in place by mechanical features. These existing sensors may be susceptible to detuning or may otherwise negatively impact wireless communication performance and require the use of tools or secondary assembly processes (e.g., hand soldering) that increase cycle time (assembly and/or disassembly) and cost.


The present disclosure relates to a mold apparatus, and according to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a mold apparatus including a cavity mold comprising a cavity mold plate formed with a cavity at a front surface thereof and provided with a heating means at an inner portion thereof, and a cooling plate brought into contact with or separated from a rear surface of the cavity mold plate and provided with a cooling means at an inner portion thereof; and a core mold configured to determine the cavity together with the cavity mold plate, wherein the cooling plate is formed with at least two or more divided surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an injection mold apparatus for manufacturing a resin injection molded article, and more particularly, to an injection mold apparatus having a heating means and a cooling means in the mold apparatus to heat or cool a mold during the injection process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Injection mold is a typical method of molding a synthetic resin such as plastic or the like. For such an injection mold, molten resin is injected and filled into a cavity of the mold formed in a certain shape and then cooled and hardened to mold a product having the same shape as the cavity.
In general, a surface of the injection molded product is roughly formed and thus an additional painting or surface treatment process is required, and accordingly, the process becomes complicated.
Consequently, in order to smoothen the molded surface and simplify the process, a cold mold in which injection molding is carried out and then only an outer portion of the mold is cooled down but an inner portion thereof is slowly cooled down has been developed. In this case, thermal strength can be enhanced, but the inner portion is in a low-temperature state at the initial stage even when a high-temperature mold compound is injected and thus it is difficult to maintain the temperature, thereby causing difficulty in smoothening the surface of the injection molded product.
Accordingly, molding technologies in which injection is carried out while maintaining the mold at a high temperature and then the mold is rapidly cooled down have been studied, and as a result a high-temperature mold technology has been developed. In the high-temperature mold technology, the temperature of the mold is maintained at a high temperature by a hot wire or the like embedded in the mold to perform injection and thus resin is uniformly filled into the cavity. Furthermore, rapid cooling is uniformly carried out through a coolant passage embedded in the mold. As a result, the surface of the molded article is uniformly formed to allow the formation of a smoothened appearance. Furthermore, an additional surface treatment process is not required, thereby allowing the simplification of the process through no-painting.
In such a high-temperature mold technology, the process of increasing the mold temperature and decreasing the mold temperature becomes a key factor for determining. the surface state of the injection molded article. For the technology of decreasing the mold temperature, a cooling plate is provided at a rear surface of the cavity mold plate having a heating means, and the cooling plate is brought into contact with the cavity mold plate during the cooling process, thereby performing rapid cooling.
Here, the cooling plate should be uniformly brought into contact with the cavity mold plate to enhance the cooling efficiency and reduce the cooling temperature variation, thereby improving the surface state of the injection molded article. However, the cavity mold plate is rapidly cooled down in a high-temperature state, and therefore thermal expansion and deformation occurs in a mass production system requiring frequent use. As a result, the cavity mold plate and the cooling plate are not uniformly brought into contact with each other, thereby causing a problem of severe cooling temperature variation.


The present invention relates to an adjustable feeding and striking ramp which permits for adjusting an angular disposition of feed material fed to an impacting radial pathway of shearing teeth carried by a rotor. By adjusting the feeding and striking ramp to a predetermined striking position, fragmenting efficacy may be significantly enhanced while also substantially reducing fouling.

The present invention relates to an adjustable feeding and support ramp for rotary fragmenting machines and, more particularly, to an adjustable feed ramp for adjusting an angular positioning of feed material fed and supportively fragmented by a fragmenting rotor equipped with breaking teeth, and the use thereof.
Rotating fragmenting machines equipped with a rotor and radially positioned shearing teeth such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,207,228 B1 and 5,975,443 rely upon a striker bar at a fixed radial positioning relative to the breaker teeth and feed material fed thereto. The feed material is partially fragmented or ground upon impacting of the rotating breaker teeth against the material supported upon a fixed striker bar. These machines will on occasion be inadvertently fed with an ungrindable material, such as a steel wrecking bar, which can cause machine damage or stop the drive motors. This problem led to a break-away carriage and screen assembly improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,443 which permits separation of a cradled screen and rigidly attached striker bar from the impacting rotor upon exposure to excessive shearing conditions. Although the break-away carriage and screen assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,443 does not materially affect machine fouling, it prevents excessive machine damage, especially when ungrindable feed materials are fed or lodged within the fragmenting chamber.
It has been unexpectedly discovered that the characteristics and properties of the feed materials fed to the rotating breaker teeth materially effect the fragmenting efficacy and fouling propensity of the fragmenting machine. It has been further discovered that by adjusting the angular disposition and support of the feed materials relative to the radial path of the striking breaker teeth rotating about a rotor, the fouling problem may be effectively alleviated for almost all applications. Thus, by predetermining the optimum radial positioning for any given feed material and adjusting the angular feed and support positioning to a predetermined setting for any given feed material, the fouling of feed material within the fragmenting zone of the rotary fragmenting machine may be effectively alleviated. This may be accomplished by providing a radially adjustable feeding and striking ramp, preadjusted to a predetermined angular position, which ramp serves as an impacting or supporting anvil in juxtaposition to the rotating teeth. The adjustable ramp permits radial adjustments to the proper radial disposition for any given material being fed and stricken by the rotating teeth. The less tenacious materials (e.g. soft woods) which splinter relatively easily may be processed at a more aggressive setting or impacting angle than those materials of a more tenacious and stringy character, such as the more fibrous types of woods, as typified by cottonwood, poplar, etc. Feed stock of longer lengths are sometimes more prone to fouling and may require a less aggressive setting than feed stock of shorter lengths.
The fragmenting machines are frequently mounted upon a semi-trailer and transported to various different processing sites for processing various types of different materials. Periodically the fragmenting machines are fouled by the feed material. The fouled materials typically require removal from the fouled machine and a repositioning of the releasable carriage assembly to an operative position in order to continue processing.
Feed materials fragmented by fragmenting machines equipped with rotating shearing teeth are conventionally fed to the fragmenting zone at a fixed angular positioning relative to the shearing teeth. The present invention provides an adjustable feeding and striking ramp for adjusting an angular disposition of feed material being fed onto a radial pathway of shearing teeth carried cylindrical drum or rotor of a fragmenting machine. This may be accomplished through use of a pivotally mounted feeding and striking ramp which may be angularly adjusted to a preadjusted angular positioning relative to a radial pathway as generated by the rotating shearing teeth. This permits the angular disposition of the feed material to be adjusted to a predetermined supportive striking position so as to optimize the fragmenting efficacy of the fragmenting machine and to alleviate machine fouling.


Systems and methods are disclosed for providing telecommunication services. In one embodiment, the system comprises an antenna at a customer premises, to transmit outbound voice communications in a wireless protocol and to receive inbound voice communications in the wireless protocol. A demarcation device is coupled with the antenna converts inbound voice communications from the wireless protocol to a wired format and converts outbound voice communications from the wired format to the wireless protocol. An interface to the customer premises is coupled with the demarcation device. The interface transmits inbound voice communications in the wired format to the customer premises via a first internal transport medium and transmits outbound voice communications received in the wired format on the first internal transport medium to the demarcation device.

The present invention relates to the provision of telecommunication services. In order to provide telecommunication services to a customer, wiring, such as copper cabling, must be wired from the central office to the customer's premises. This wiring may be used to provide a variety of services to the customer, including telephone service, video distribution (cable, vDSL, and the like), and data distribution (connectivity to xDSL modem or cable modem, Ethernet cable within the customer's premises, and the like). Installation costs to install wiring or upgrade wiring can be expensive. In some cases, the customer may not be able to obtain services because of non-existent or old cabling. In addition, the telecommunications service provider can incur high maintenance costs to maintain existing wire.

System and methods for providing telecommunication services


The transducer comprises only a simple coil in which a core normally connected to a device the position of which is to be measured is displaced axially. The core comprises a rod of ferromagnetic material surrounded by a tube of good electrical conductivity but of small magnetic permeability. The coil is supplied by an alternating current producing eddy currents in the tube. The drop of sensitivity due to the increase of the resistivity of the tube with the increase of the temperature is compensated by the increase of the sensitivity due to the increase of the permeability of the rod with the increase of the temperature. The transducer is of light weight and of small dimensions and it is compensated in temperature in the temperature range comprised between -40.degree. C. and +20.degree. C.

The present invention relates to a position transducer comprising a coil supplied by a source of alternating current in which a core the position of which has to be measured is capable of being axially shifted.
Such a position transducer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,187. The measuring coil is connected in one of the branches of a measuring bridge, the other branches of which comprises resistances. For temperature compensating the transducer, a temperature dependent resistance is connected in one of the branches of the bridge. This resistance only provides a good compensation in a relatively limited temperature range but does not permit utilization of the transducer at high temperatures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,158 describes a position transducer which outputs on the principle of eddy currents, the coil being connected in one branch of a measuring bridge. Like the transducer in CH 509,373 the transducer can be temperature compensated only in a relatively limited range of temperatures and it is not foreseen for working at high temperatures.
Generally speaking, one compensates for temperature dependency of a transducer by a differential measurement of the variation of the impedance of the coil as a function of the position of the core inside of the coil. However, such a differential measurement necessitates a set of coils arranged axially side by side, the overall length being practically three times as great as the length of a single measuring coil used in a direct, non-differential measurement. It is clear that according to the application, it would be useful to reduce not only the space taken by the transducer but also its weight. This is more particularly the case in aeronautical applications where the transducer can be used e.g. for measuring the inclination of the blades which determine the orientation of the flow of air provided by a distributor to a turbine or for measuring the inclination of the flaps of the elevators. In the first application, measurement of the inclination of the blades, the transducer must operate at temperatures of up to +250.degree. C. In the second application, the transducer must operate at an ambient temperature which may be as low as -40.degree. C. Therefore, it would be useful to have a position transducer of light weight and small dimensions capable of operating between -40.degree. C. and +250.degree. C. with a good stability as a function of temperature and, does not require a differential arrangement in order to simplify the transducer and reduce the costs thereof.

Position transducer with temperature dependency compensation having a coil and displaceable core made of conductive and ferromagnetic materials


An iterative method is provided for progressively building an end-to-end entanglement between qubits in first and second end nodes (91, 92) of a chain of nodes whose intermediate nodes (90) are quantum repeaters. At each iteration, a current operative repeater (90) of the chain merges an entanglement existing between qubits in the first end node (91) and the operative repeater, with a local entanglement formed between qubits in the operative repeater and its neighbor node towards the second end node (92). For the first iteration, the operative repeater is the neighbor of the first end node (91); thereafter, for each new iteration the operative repeater shifts one node further along the chain toward the second end node (92). A quantum repeater adapted for implementing this method is also provided.

In quantum information systems, information is held in the "state" of a quantum system; typically this will be a two-level quantum system providing for a unit of quantum information called a quantum bit or "qubit". Unlike classical digital states which are discrete, a qubit is not restricted to discrete states but can be in a superposition of two states at any given time.
Any two-level quantum system can be used for a qubit and several physical implementations have been realized including ones based on the polarization states of single photons, electron spin, nuclear spin, and the coherent state of light.
Quantum network connections provide for the communication of quantum information between remote end points. Potential uses of such connections include the networking of quantum computers, and "quantum key distribution" (QKD) in which a quantum channel and an authenticated (but not necessarily secret) classical channel with integrity are used to create shared, secret, random classical bits. Generally, the processes used to convey the quantum information over a quantum network connection provide degraded performance as the transmission distance increases thereby placing an upper limit between end points. Since in general it is not possible to copy a quantum state, the separation of endpoints cannot be increased by employing repeaters in the classical sense.
One way of transferring quantum information between two spaced locations uses the technique known as 'quantum teleportation'. This makes uses of two entangled qubits, known as a Bell pair, situated at respective ones of the spaced locations; the term "entanglement" is also used in the present specification to refer to two entangled qubits The creation of such a distributed Bell pair is generally mediated by photons sent over an optical channel (for example, an optical waveguide such as optical fibre). Although this process is distance limited, where a respective qubit from two separate Bell Pairs are co-located, it is possible to combine (or 'merge') the Bell pairs by a local quantum operation effected, between the co-located qubits. This process, known as 'entanglement swapping', results in an entanglement between the two non co-located qubits of the Bell pairs while the co-located qubits cease to be entangled, at all.
The device hosting the co-located qubits and which performs the local quantum operation to merge the Bell pairs is called a "quantum repeater". The basic role of a quantum repeater is to create a respective Bell pair with each of two neighbouring spaced nodes and then to merge the Bell pairs. By chaining multiple quantum repeaters, an end-to-end entanglement can be created between end points separated by any distance thereby permitting the transfer of quantum information between arbitrarily-spaced end points.
It may be noted that while QKD does not directly require entangled states, the creation of long-distance Bell pairs through the use of quantum repeaters facilitates long-distance QKD. Furthermore, most other applications of distributed quantum computation will use distributed Bell pairs.
The present invention is concerned with the creation of entanglement between spaced qubits and with the form, management and interaction of quantum repeaters to facilitate the creation of entanglements between remote end points.

Quantum repeater and system and method for creating extended entanglements


Techniques for forming a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) top contact using a low temperature process are provided. In one aspect of the invention, a method of forming a TCO on a substrate is provided. The method includes the steps of: generating a source gas of the TCO using e-beam evaporation; generating atomic oxygen using RF plasma; and contacting the substrate with the TCO source gas and the atomic oxygen under conditions sufficient to form the TCO on the substrate. A photovoltaic device is also provided which includes a bottom cell; and a perovskite-based top cell on the kesterite-based bottom cell. The perovskite-based top cell includes a top electrode formed from a TCO.

Metal-organic halide perovskites are promising absorber materials for photovoltaics. However, these materials are delicate and degrade under harsh processing conditions (such as sputtering).
Tandem (multi-junction) photovoltaic devices require a transparent electrode at the top of the device through which light may reach the various layers in the device. This transparent electrode is often a transparent conducting oxide (TCO). The primary method for preparing most TCOs is sputtering.
Thus, tandem devices containing delicate materials in the top junction will require a less-aggressive method for preparing the TCO than sputtering to avoid damage to the material.

Transparent conducting oxide as top-electrode in perovskite solar cell by non-sputtering process

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention is a hand held apparatus used to measure the hardness, or compressibility, of a golf ball and also the sphericity, or roundness, of the ball. The apparatus is small enough to be carried in the typical golf bag and easily fits in the normal hand, thus enabling the user to use the apparatus anywhere. A golf ball is inserted into the apparatus and the ball is automatically centered between two opposing plates. One plate is attached to a calibrated spring while the other plate is attached to a screw, which will be used to drive the associated plate against the ball. The screw will be hand turned until a sensing mechanism will be actuated and thus indicate to the user to stop turning. Each ball being tested will be subjected to the same force and therefore compressed an amount determined by it's own hardness. The amount the ball is compressed is related to the commonly accepted ratings found on today's golf balls and the user will be able to read a compression rating directly from a scale located on the body of the apparatus. This invention will also provide capability to measure the diameter of the ball. By measuring the diameter on several axes, the sphericity of the ball can be determined. Obviously, a ball that is sufficiently "out of round" will not fly true.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand held apparatus intended to be used by golfers to measure a golf ball's compressibility, or hardness, and also the sphericity of the ball.
2. Description of Prior Art
The Compression Ratings used for golf balls have been in use since the 1940's and it has become commonly accepted that a rating of 100 is harder than 90. This practice is still the norm for today's balls. Originally, manufacturing methods had difficulty in producing balls with consistent hardness and quality and therefore the testing and rating systems were devised. The manufacturing process produced balls with a wide range of hardness and the harder balls were actually those balls which were produced when the manufacturing process was working at it's best. These balls were considered to be higher quality and were more costly to the golfer. For this reason, harder balls were considered to be better than the softer balls. These balls were manufactured using what is today referred to as a three part construction; a central core, a wound middle core and a soft balata cover.
Previous patents relating to this field are:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,278,416 to Atti (1942). This patent describes a portable test apparatus but is too large to be hand held but can be set up at golf clubs or stores. U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,496 to Wick (1953). This patent describes a hand held apparatus and utilizes a flexible circular ring through which to apply pressure against the ball along the perimeter of the ball and to also gauge sphericity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,757 to Hoag (1972). This patent is an adaptation to the Atti patent but includes a circular go no-go gauge to measure ball sphericity. U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,479 to Phillips (1972). This patent is an adaptation to the Atti patent to all the apparatus to be coin actuated. U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,757 to Valebrach (1985). This patent is designated to be used to measure and sort balls in a manufacturing environment.
All of the above cited patents used the same technique to apply force to the ball under test. This technique was based on having a plate being moved a predetermined and fixed distance against the ball. This movement caused the ball to be forced against an opposing plate which was attached to a calibrated spring. A rod was affixed to this plate and extended back through the spring to contact a stem on a Dial Indicator. As the stem was moved, it rotated the dial pointer and gave a visual reading to the user. These numbers were then used to sort the balls for their rating and became the commonly accepted ratings of 80, 90 and 100. Since the harder balls will compress less than the softer balls, they will move the stem more than the softer balls and will indicate a higher number.
As a result of this technique, there are two variables involved in the testing procedure. The force applied by the spring is a function of it's Spring Rate and the distance it is depressed. This is Hooke's Law and is expressed by Force=Spring Rate.times.Distance Depressed. Therefore, as the spring is depressed, the force increases against the ball. It is also clear from the previous patents that the harder balls are compressed less than the softer balls. This results in the harder balls compressing the spring more than the softer balls and in turn this creates more force against the harder balls than against the softer balls. Because of this method, the amount of force being applied against the ball under test is variable from ball to ball. The net result is that the hardness of the ball itself plays a role in determining the amount of force being applied and thus affects the test results.
Only the U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,496 to Wick (1953) describes a hand held golf ball tester. This patent also included a method for gauging the diameter of the ball under test by providing a circular ring into which the ball must fit prior to testing. Sphericity of the ball was determined by a visual observation of how the ball fit into the ring. Balls with larger diameters would not fit and could not be tested for hardness. This patent did not provide a direct read out of the ball's compression ratings as used today but referred to the amount of "compressional force in pounds" applied to the ball and the user was left to determine how much force was good or bad.
All these patents were made using metal for the material and had many moving parts, including levers and gears for the homemade dial indicators, except for Atti which used a off-the-shelf Dial Indicator. As a result, these devices were expensive and beyond the price range a typical golfer would care to pay.
The invention described herein is different from previous patents in that the testing is accomplished by applying an identical force against all balls and this force is not a function of the ball's hardness as is the case in the previous patents. This means that the same force is applied against each ball tested and then the amount of ball compression is measured and the rating is indicated directly to the user. A large portion of this device uses modem/high strength plastics and a minimum of moving parts and therefore costs will be within the price range of interest to the average golfer.
The invention described herein is capable of measuring the sphericity of any ball by measuring the ball diameter along any number of axis and therefore the sphericity is easily determined. This invention has a self centering method for the ball and does not require the user to place or hold the ball during testing.
Objects and Advantages
With the availability of new materials and manufacturing techniques, a new type of ball has emerged, called a two piece construction or two part ball. These balls are naturally harder than the three part ball and therefore do not conform to the long accepted ratings of 90 and 100 used for the three part balls. Tests on hundreds of balls of all types, three part and two part, has shown a range of 80 to 150 with the three part balls in the lower range.
Today, a harder ball does not mean better. In fact, it is now known that a golfer should try to match his or her swing speed to the proper ball hardness for optimum feel and distance. This is evidenced by the advertisements being put out by the manufacturers.
Today, there are a number of balls being sold and with many claims for distance, control feel, etc. but the old standards of hardness rating are not longer valid and can not be used to compare balls between different manufacturers or even the different types of construction. This means that a 100 ranting from one manufacturer is not necessarily the same 100 rating from another. Many balls are not even rated.
Golfers do not all have the same swing speeds and therefore do not strike the ball with the same force. Because of this, all golfers do not compress a ball the same amount and therefore some golfers may not be able to compress the ball to its designed maximum compression and consequently will not attain the balls' maximum performance.
Play testing different balls while having a specific rating beforehand as determined by this device means that the golfer will be able to match a specific rating to those balls which provides the optimum performance for their own swing speed. This rating can then be used to evaluate new balls by comparing measured ratings; lower, equal or higher.
It is the intent of this invention to provide the golfer with a modern and accurate tool by which the golfer can measure and/or sort any type of ball and match the ball's hardness to their specific swing speed.
Using this device will provide the capability to sort balls into high, medium or low categories based on hardness thus giving the professional and low handicap players the opportunity to play very tightly controlled balls. Using the device on the course will allow the player to measure and determine when a ball ay have become degraded. "Experienced" and X-OUT balls can be measured and those not meeting the same standards for new balls can be discarded before use. Each golfer will be able to precisely determine which balls have the best feel for their swing speed and therefore use a quantified measure to select balls for future play and therefore eliminate the need to purchase new balls and play test to determine desirability.
Using this device will allow the golfer to also measure the diameter of the ball along a number of different axis and therefore allow the user to measure the sphericity of the ball.

Hand held golf ball compression and sphericity tester


A method is described for determining a reference value of an actuating current that corresponds to a defined operating point of an electro-hydraulically actuated frictional shifting element of a continuously variable power-branched transmission, at which the shifting element transmission capacity is zero, and starting from which an increase of actuating force immediately increases the transmission capacity. The actuating current reference value of the shifting element, when closed with a further shifting element decoupled from the transmission output and when a transmission input rotational speed is higher than a defined threshold, is reduced until a rotational speed difference between the rotational speeds of the shifting element halves exceeds a predefined limit value such that, at the time when the limit value is exceeded, the reference value of the actuating current is the reference value of the actuating current that corresponds to the defined operating point of the shifting element.

In continuously variable power-branched transmissions or building machine transmissions known from practice, hydraulically actuated frictional shifting elements are commonly used, which in the area of a piston chamber are filled with hydraulic fluid and acted upon by appropriate actuation pressure. The extent of filling of a piston chamber of such a shifting element significantly influences the transmission capacity of the shifting element and the torque that can be transmitted by the shifting element concerned at the time. In addition the actuation sequence of a shifting element, starting from an open operating condition of the shifting element, in which the shifting element can transmit essentially no torque and its transmission capacity is essentially zero, in the direction toward an operating condition in which torque can be transmitted by the shifting element operating in a slipping or slip-free mode, affects the closing behavior of the shifting element and therefore also the shifting comfort, which in turn is decisively determined by the torque applied in the area of a drive output of a vehicle or the variation thereof.
Since, as is known, manufacturing tolerances of mass-produced components used in shifting elements and hydraulic lines can sometimes show an undesirable degree of scatter, for each shifting element an individual calibration should be carried out in order to know the particular filling behavior of the shifting elements and to be able to actuate the shifting element so as to achieve an appropriate level of shifting comfort. The parameters that characterize the clutch filling in each case and which are determined by the calibration are stored in the area of a non-volatile memory of a transmission control system and taken into account when carrying out the actuation of a shifting element during every gearshift.
In this context, two parameters in particular are characteristic for the filling behavior of a shifting element. The first parameter is the so-termed rapid filling time, during which a shifting element is acted upon by a so-termed rapid filling pulse in order to fill the shifting element within short operating times. For this, the piston chamber of a shifting element is acted upon by a defined rapid filling pressure during the rapid filling time. The rapid filling phase is followed by a so-termed filling equalization phase, during which the actuation pressure applied in the area of the piston chamber falls from the level of the rapid filling pressure to a level of a filling equalization pressure that represents the second parameter, and remains there for a defined filling equalization time. At the end of the filling equalization phase, ideally the shifting element is in a defined operating condition in which the transmission capacity of the shifting element is essentially equal to zero, and starting from which, an increase of the actuation force of the shifting element results in an immediate increase of the transmission capacity of the shifting element.
From DE 100 51 537 A1 a method for the automated determination of the rapid filling time and the filling equalization pressure of shifting elements is known, whose filling and engagement process can be divided into a rapid filling phase and a filling equalization phase. The rapid filling time and the filling equalization pressure are determined by indirect measurement in a single run.
Disadvantageously, the known method is only partially suitable for changing a shifting element during operation to the defined operating condition in which the transmission capacity of the shifting element is essentially equal to zero and starting from which an increase of an actuating force results in an immediate increases of the transmission capacity. This follows from the fact that the electro-hydraulic regulation train usually provided for actuating a shifting element shows considerable tolerance variations in the area of the electrical components or the current specification, and accordingly a reference value specification for an actuating current of a shifting element, required for adjusting the filling equalization pressure determined, will most probably not correspond to the current value actually required for adjusting the filling equalization pressure determined.
In contrast to transmissions for passenger cars, which are made with hydrodynamic torque converters and respectively associated converter bridging clutches and which, when the converter bridging clutch is open, enable a correspondingly gentle or delayed response of a drive-train built in that way to variations of the torque transmitted in the drive-train, in vehicle drive-trains with continuously variable power-branched transmissions, which are designed correspondingly inflexibly, abrupt torque changes necessarily result in shifting jerks and for that reason an inaccurate actuation of a frictional shifting element that is actuated electro-hydraulically necessarily has an undesirably pronounced adverse effect on the shifting and driving comfort of a building machine.

Method for determining a reference value of an actuating current


An arrangement with a nacelle and with at least one instrument of a wind turbine is disclosed. The instrument is connected with a rod. A channel penetrates the wall of the nacelle. The channel interacts with the rod in a way that the rod and its assigned instrument are moved through the channel between a first and a second position. The instrument is positioned inside the nacelle at the first position for installation and/or service purposes, while the instrument is positioned outside the nacelle at the second position for operation purposes of the instrument.

It is known to use an instrument bar to support instruments of a wind turbine. The bar is located on top of the nacelle and usually comprises wind wanes, anemometers, aviation light etc.
The instruments need to be maintained, serviced, changed or repaired during the life time of the wind turbine. Thus personal has to leave the nacelle for this purpose. This task is dangerous due to the height of the wind turbine. Sometimes it is even not possible to leave the nacelle due to the weather conditions and due to high wind speeds, etc.
The instrument bar needs to be placed on top of the nacelle at a planned site with a crane. Thus personal has to climb out of the nacelle to direct the crane and to fix the instrument bar at the nacelle. This task is dangerous, too.
FIG. 4 shows a picture of this kind of work, as it is done today. A bar B, which supports instruments INS is placed on top of a nacelle N.

Arrangement with a nacelle and with an instrument


A processor, that may include at least one neural network that comprises at least one leaky spiking neuron; wherein the at least one leaky spiking neuron is configured to directly receive an input pulse density modulation (PDM) signal from a sensor; wherein the input PDM signal represents a detected signal that was detected by the sensor; and wherein the at least one neural network is configured to process the input PDM signal to provide an indication about the detected input signal.

In sound processing (www.wikipedia.org), the Mel-frequency cepstrum (MFC) is a representation of the short-term power spectrum of a sound, based on a linear cosine transform of a log power spectrum on a nonlinear Mel scale of frequency.
Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) are coefficients that collectively make up an MFC. They are derived from a type of cepstral representation of the audio clip (a nonlinear "spectrum-of-a-spectrum"). The difference between the cepstrum and the mel-frequency cepstrum is that in the MFC, the frequency bands are equally spaced on the mel scale, which approximates the human auditory system's response more closely than the linearly-spaced frequency bands used in the normal cepstrum. This frequency warping can allow for better representation of sound, for example, in audio compression.
MFCCs include applying complex steps such as taking a Fourier transform of (a windowed excerpt of) a signal, performing some intermediate steps and applying a discrete cosine transform on a list of mel log powers, as if it were a signal.
In Pulse density modulation (PDM) the MFCC is calculated using a pre-processing hardware stage that differs from a neural network—and is positioned between a PDM signal from a microphone and the input to a neural network.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art pre-processing hardware stage 12 between the microphone 11 and a neural network that was designed by deep-learning 20.
The microphone PDM signal is first converted to PCM by a digital Low-Pass-Filter (digital LPF) 13 and also down-sampled to a sampling-rate that is appropriate to voice processing (typically 8-16 KSamp/sec).
The PCM samples are then buffered into about 30 ms frames and converted to the frequency domain via fast Fourier transform unit (FFT) 15. The FFT data is then converted to MEL-filters representation by MEL filters 17 and finally converted to MFCC coefficients by MFCC unit 19. The MFCC coefficients are used as the input to the neural network.
FIG. 2 illustrates an analog sound signal 32 that is converted to a series of pulses 31.


An image processing apparatus binarizes input multi-level pixel data by changing the same either to the minimum density data corresponding to white or to a minimum reproducible density data corresponding to the minimum density level reproducible by an image forming apparatus such as a printer, when the density defined by the input multi-level pixel data is of such a low level that it cannot be reproduced by the image forming apparatus. Error incurred by the binarization is reflected in the succeeding binarizing process so that the density of the whole image is preserved, whereby an image with a highlight portion can be recorded with reduced degradation of the image quality at the highlight portion.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus which can produce a half tone image from multi-level image data input thereto.
In recent years, a laser beam printer making use of electrophotographic process is attracting attention as one type of printers which can operate at a high speed with reduced noise. Such a laser beam printer is typically used for the purpose of recording data such as characters and line patterns. The images of the characters and line patterns are so-called binary images which can be expressed by two states: namely, black and white. Since reproduction of half-tone image is unnecessary, the construction of the printer can be simplified.
Methods are known which reproduce quasi-half tone image with a binary recording apparatus, such as the dither method and density pattern method. As well known to those skilled in the are however, the dither method and density pattern method are disadvantageous in that they cannot produce images with high resolution. Under this circumstance, a printer has been recently developed in which a semiconductor laser is driven by a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) image signal so that half-tone image can be formed even by binary recording methods. According to this PWM method, it is possible to obtain a print output with high degrees of resolution and gradation. In particular, this printing technique has become indispensable in color image printing apparatus.
Laser beam printers relying upon PWM methods, however, encounter with various problems peculiar to this type of printer. One of these problems pertains to lack of stability of the density in the printing of image. This problem is inherent in electrophotography. The other problem is encountered when a semiconductor laser is driven through pulse width modulation.
These problems will be discussed in more detail.
FIG. 11 shows the general construction of a printer portion used in an electrophotographic system. The printer portion has a photosensitive drum 301 adapted to be rotated in the direction of the arrow about the axis of a shaft 306, components arranged around the photosensitive drum 301 such as a charger 302, a developing unit 303, a transfer charger 304 and a cleaning device 305, and an optical system arranged at the upper side of the photosensitive drum 301 as viewed in the drawings.
The optical system includes a semiconductor laser unit 306, a polygonal mirror which rotates at a constant high speed, an f-.theta. lens 308, a light-shielding plate, and so forth. Time-serial digital pixel signals computed and output from an image reader or an electronic computer (not shown) are PWM modulated and delivered to the semiconductor laser unit 306. The semiconductor laser unit 306 turns on and off the generation of a laser beam in accordance with the levels of the PWM-modulated pixel signals and directs the beam towards the polygonal mirror 307. Since the polygon mirror 307 is rotating at a high constant speed, the laser beam applied to one side of the polygonal mirror 307 is reflected in an oscillatory manner so as to scan and expose the portion of the photosensitive drum between the charger 302 and the developing unit 303, from the proximal end to the distal end as viewed in the drawings.
In general, the photosensitive drum 301 exhibits changes in the exposure sensitivity and residual potential, due to a change in the environmental condition and elapse of time. In addition, the developing material such as a toner used in the developing unit 303 exhibits a large fluctuation in the developing density according to a change in the amount of charges. This problem, i.e., lack of stability of the image density, is a problem inherently possessed by electrophotographic technique itself, but significantly affects formation of low-density image by a PWM type laser printer.
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a PWM circuit proposed by the assignors, while FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a laser driver circuit. FIG. 12 is a timing chart illustrative of the operation of the PWM circuit.
Referring to FIG. 9, the PWM circuit includes a TTL latch circuit 401 for latching 8-bit pixel signals, a level converter 402 for converting a TTL logical level to a high-speed ECL logical level, an ECL D/A converter 403, an ECL comparator 404 for generating a PWM signal, a level converter 405 for converting an ECL logical level to a TTL logical level, a clock generator 406 for generating a clock signal 2f of a frequency which is twice as high as the pixel clock signal f, a triangular wave generator 407 for generating substantially ideal triangular wave signals, and a 1/2 frequency dividing circuit for conducting a 1/2 frequency division of the clock signal 2f. In order to enable the circuit to operate at a high speed, ECL logical circuits are arranged everywhere in the circuit.
The operation of this circuit will be explained with reference to FIG. 12.
In these Figures, signals (a) and (b) represent, respectively, the clock signal 2f and the pixel clock signal f having a period which is twice as large that of the clock signal 2f. In the triangular wave generator 40 also, a triangular wave signal (c) is generated after a 1/2 frequency-division of the clock signal 2f, in order to maintain the duty ratio of the triangular wave signal at 50%. Furthermore, the triangular wave signal (c) is converted to an ECL level (0 to -1 V) so as to form a triangular wave signal (d).
Meanwhile, the pixel signal latched by the latch circuit 401 is variable over 256 gradation levels between 00H (white) to FFH (black). The symbol "H" represents a hexadecimal notation code. The pixel signal (e) represents ECL voltage levels as obtained through a D/A conversion of a plurality of pixel signal values by a D/A converter 403. For instance, the pixel signal for the first pixel has a voltage of black pixel level FFH, the pixel signal for the second pixel has a voltage of a half tone level of 80 H, the pixel signal for the third pixel has a voltage of a half tone level of 40 H and the pixel signal for the fourth pixel has a voltage of a half tone level 20 H. The comparator 404 is adapted to produce, through a comparison between the triangular wave signal (d) and the pixel signal (e), PWM signals such as pulse widths T, t.sub.2, t.sub.3 and t.sub.4. The PWM signal is then converted to a TTL level of 0 V or 5 V so as to become a PWM signal (f) which i delivered to a laser driver circuit 500.
FIG. 10 shows the laser driver circuit which is of a constant current type, and the semiconductor laser device 501. This semiconductor laser device 501 emits a laser beam when the switching transistor 502 is on and terminates the emission when the switching transistor is turned off. The switching transistor 502 cooperated with a transistor 504 in forming a transistor pair which in turn forms a current switching circuit capable of controlling on/off (conversion) of the constant current which is to be supplied to the semiconductor laser device 501, in accordance with the PWM signal input thereto. This constant current is supplied from a constant current source transistor 505 and can be varied. The input laser power value input thereto is converted into an analog voltage by a D/A converter 503 and is compared with a reference voltage. The level of the constant current is determined in accordance with the result of the comparison.
However, the following problem is still encountered even when the above-described control is conducted, due to response characteristics of the semiconductor laser device 501. Referring to FIG. 12, representing the maximum emission time per pixel by T (sec), a change in the pulse width between 0 and T (sec) theoretically should cause the semiconductor laser device 501 to emit the beam over a time which corresponds to the pulse width. Actually, however, a signal waveform (g) for driving the laser device is different from the PWM signal (f) due to the fact that the PWM signal (f) is transmitted through the semiconductor laser device 501 and the driving circuit 501, with the result that a delay is caused in the turning on and off of the laser beam. This delay does not cause any problem when the pulse width is T or t.sub.2. However, when the pulse width is t.sub.3, the signal for driving the semiconductor laser device cannot be completely switched to ON state. When the pulse width is t.sub.4, the semiconductor laser device 501 fails even to operate materially. A beam effect (h) two-dimensionally illustrates the state of emission of the laser beam. The first pixel is completely black, so that the laser beam is kept on whole through one pixel period. However, when the pulse width of the PWM signal is extremely short as, for example, t.sub.3 =10 ns, the state of generation of the laser beam is too unstable to form an image by electrophotographic process, not to mention a problem as to whether the laser beam is actually generated. In such a case, stable formation of density can no more be expected. Thus, in the gradation expression according to the PWM method, there is a practical limit in the minimum pulse width which can form an appreciable density. If this limit is t3=10 ns for example, gradation is always white whenever the pulse width is below this lower limit of 10 ns, i.e., in the highlight portion.

Image processing apparatus with reduced image deterioration in highlight portions


A collapsible folding stand for use with a portable table saw that is attached to the stand. In a closed position, the stand is generally vertically oriented with the object attached to a top frame. To open the stand a locking mechanism is released which enables a folding mechanism supporting the top frame to unfold in a manner whereby the rear legs having wheels that separate from forward side struts which contact the ground, with the center of gravity of the object being positioned between the wheels and the front ground contact points so that the weight of the object tends to separate the same and bring the top frame into a generally horizontal position. To move the rolling stand to its closed position, the user needs only to lift the handle and the top frame will then move to its generally vertical closed position.

The present invention generally relates to rolling support stands. Rolling hand trucks or support stands for large and/or heavy objects have been known for decades and are useful for transporting such objects from one location to another. Some of such known support stands are collapsible to some degree and many different designs of the hand trucks or rolling support stands are particularly suited for specific uses. While such products may be used in many different industries and applications, one noteworthy use is that of transporting objects, such as portable table saws, miter saws and the like to and from construction sites.
In the home building trade, carpenters generally have table saws as well as other types of saws that are brought to a jobsite every day in the tradesman's truck or are stored in a secure location at the jobsite and must be removed from the truck or stored location and be set up on the jobsite while work is being done. At the end of the work day, the tradesman must pack up the saw and return it to his truck or secure location for safe keeping. Because such tools are valuable, they cannot be left unattended overnight without a significant risk of theft.
There is also an issue of setting up the saw at the worksite. Even though early prior art roll stands or hand trucks may help the tradesman to move the saw to the desired location, it was often necessary to have a table or other surface, such as wooden planks resting on saw horses or the like to bring the saw to a convenient working height during use. Although more recent designs have evolved which have a rolling stand that can be unfolded to support the saw at an appropriate working height, all known designs that double as a stand require the tradesman to lift a substantial portion of the weight of the saw which is typically relatively heavy.
Most portable table saws are very similar in design to standard table saws except they do not have a stand with legs beneath them and must be supported by a separate structure. Such portable table saws are rugged commercial tools that are built for an extended useful life and are therefore relatively heavy. Typical table saws of this type may weigh 60 pounds or more. While most tradesmen can usually lift 40-60 pounds, such exertion is inconvenient and perhaps dangerous in certain circumstances.
Other types of stands may unfold using a spring biasing mechanism that is released and which then supplies a major force tending to place the stand with the saw attached to it in its proper working generally horizontal position. However, stands of this type may be dangerous if the folded stand has the mechanism released when the weight of the saw is not over the stand mechanism. If there is no load on the mechanism, it can unfold very rapidly which can be quite dangerous if a tradesman or any other person is struck by the mechanism.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.