The present invention relates to the field of solid state capacitors. The invention particularly relates to capacitors of the type in which a powder-formed valve action material, typically tantalum, forms a highly porous anode body portion of a solid state capacitor. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a solid state capacitor including: providing an electrically conducting substrate; forming a plurality of upstanding porous electrically conducting anode bodies on a surface of the substrate, each body electrically connected to the substrate; forming an electrically insulating layer on the exposed surface area provided by the porous bodies; forming a conducting layer on the insulating layer; dividing the substrate into capacitor units, each having a portion of substrate provided with a porous capacitive body, and for each unit: providing a cathode terminal in electrical contact with the conducting layer on the capacitive body, providing an anode terminal in electrical contact with the substrate portion, characterized in that the cathode terminal is formed on a surface of the capacitive body distal to the substrate portion and the anode terminal is formed adjacent to and substantially co-planar with the cathode terminal, an electrically conductive wick providing electrical contact between the substrate portion and the anode terminal, so that the capacitors have anode and cathode terminals on a common face. By forming a capacitor with anode and cathode connections on a common face the footprint of the capacitor is minimized, whilst facilitating connection with a circuit board.

The present invention relates to the field of solid state capacitors. The invention particularly relates to capacitors of the type in which a powder-formed valve action metal forms a highly porous anode body portion of a capacitor, an electrically insulating dielectric layer is formed though the porous structure of the anode body, and a conducting cathode layer is formed on the dielectric layer and which is then electrically connected to a cathode terminal, the anode body being electrically connected to an anode terminal.
U.S. patent specification No. 5,357,399 (Salisbury) describes a method for simultaneously manufacturing multiple such capacitors from a porous tantalum layer sintered to a tantalum substrate. The layer is machined to form anode body portions of each capacitor. After processing a top plate (substrate lid) is bonded to the processed anode body top ends. The plate forms a lid which, after machining of the substrate/anode body/plate sandwich, becomes the cathode terminal of each capacitor. PCT application GB 99/03566 concerns a modified version of the Salisbury method in which the volumetric efficiency of the capacitors produced is optimized by removing the need for a substrate lid as the cathode terminal of each capacitor, thereby increasing the specific capacitive volume.
The foregoing methods permit the manufacture of very small but highly volume efficient capacitors. However the continued pressure of electronic circuit board design towards miniaturization of components and ease of assembly of such boards maintains a continued need for capacitors of improved volumetric efficiency and reduced component windows (or footprint) on the circuit board.
The present invention seeks to provide improved capacitors and improved methods of manufacturing such capacitors.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a solid state capacitor comprising: providing an electrically conducting substrate; forming a plurality of upstanding porous electrically conducting anode bodies on a surface of the substrate, each body electrically connected to the substrate; forming an electrically insulating layer on the exposed surface area provided by the porous bodies; forming a conducting layer on the insulating layer; dividing the substrate into capacitor units, each comprising a portion of substrate provided with a porous capacitive body, and for each unit: providing a cathode terminal in electrical contact with the conducting layer on the capacitive body, providing an anode terminal in electrical contact with the substrate portion, characterized in that the cathode terminal is formed on a surface of the capacitive body distal to the substrate portion and the anode terminal is formed adjacent and substantially co-planar with the cathode terminal, an electrically conducting wick providing electrical contact between the substrate portion and the anode terminal, so that the capacitors have anode and cathode terminals on a common face.
By forming a capacitor with anode and cathode connections on a common face the footprint of the capacitor is minimized, whilst facilitating connection with a circuit board.
The electrically conducting wick may be formed by a process in which a plurality of upstanding electrically conducting wick bodies are formed on the surface of the substrate alongside the anode bodies, the substrate division producing capacitor units comprising a portion of substrate provided with both a porous capacitive body and a wick body, and wherein the anode terminal is formed on a surface of the wick body distal to the substrate portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the anode bodies are formed by configuration of a pre-form layer of porous conducting material applied to the surface of the substrate. Conveniently, the wick body is a porous conducting body, which may be formed by configuration of the pre-form layer.
By xe2x80x9cconfigurationxe2x80x9d the reader is intended to understand any shaping or forming process which can form the required bodies. Typical examples are cutting and machining, for example by saws or cutting wheels. However it may be that the worker may wish to employ laser cutting, water cutting, etching or other known methods to form the body shapes.
The wick bodies may be allowed to be provided with insulating and conducting layers along with the anode bodies. In this case an electrical connection through the insulating layer is provided by subsequent removal of the applied layers. This removal may be by machining, cutting, grinding, etching or the like, so long as the underlying conducting wick material is exposed.
In one embodiment of the invention, the dividing of the substrate preferably involves machining or cutting through a plane which passes through the wick bodies, thereby to expose un-coated wick material with which an anode terminal contact may be made. In this way no separate cutting process or machining is necessary to remove the insulating layers; it is included in the substrate division process.
In another embodiment the removal of insulating and conducting layers is carried out on a face of each wick distal to the substrate thereby to expose uncoated wick material with which an anode terminal contact may be made. This has the advantage of exposing a surface which is adjacent and co-planar the anode body top face, simplifying contact with the terminals.
A conductive material bridge may electrically connect the anode terminal and the exposed un-coated wick material. Typically the bridge material is applied as a conducting paste (e.g. silver paste) which sets to from a solid coating. To enhance the contact a carbon layer may first be applied.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a state capacitor comprising a substrate portion and a capacitive body, which body comprises a porous anode body electrically connected to the substrate portion, an electrically insulating layer formed on the anode body surface area, and a conducting layer formed on the insulating layer, a surface of which capacitive body distal to the substrate portion is provided with a cathode terminal, characterized in that an anode terminal is provided adjacent and substantially co-planar with the cathode terminal, an electrically conducting wick providing electrical contact between the substrate portion and the anode terminal, thereby providing a capacitor having anode and cathode terminals on a common face.
In certain embodiments, in each capacitor, there are a plurality of anode terminals adjacent and substantially co-planar with the cathode terminal, each anode terminal electrically connected to the substrate by an associated wick. The wicks may each be formed form the same porous conducting material as the anode body.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing multiple solid state capacitors comprising a method as hereinbefore described wherein a plurality of anode and wick bodies are formed on the substrate, and the substrate is divided to provide a plurality of individual capacitor units.
As the terminals are coplanar, the capacitor may stand on a flat surface with the cathode terminal and anode terminal contacting the flat surface. This makes the capacitor very well adapted for placement on and attachment to a circuit board.
The pre-form may be applied to the substrate by laying a green, unsintered mixture of valve action metal powder and binder/lubricant on the substrate. The green mixture may then be sintered to fuse the powder into a solid highly porous pre-form, the binder/lubricant being burnt off during sintering.
The pre-form layer maybe machined to form the anode bodies and the wick bodies. Typically longitudinal and lateral grinding cuts may be employed in order to produce an array of rectilinear anode and wick bodies on the substrate, separated by xe2x80x9cstreetsxe2x80x9d corresponding to the path of the grinding cut. Naturally more complex shapes can be produced by conventional machining techniques, as required.
The processing is facilitated if both wick and anode bodies are coated with the insulating layer and the conducting cathode layer. An alternative would be to mask the wick bodies in order to prevent coating of the anode bodies from, but this would be a rather difficult and more complicated process.
The insulating layer may be a dielectric layer of an oxide of the valve action material, applied for example by conventional anodization techniques in order to build up gradually an oxide of the required thickness and integrity. In on example, in which the valve action layer is tantalum, a layer of tantalum pentoxide is built up on the bodies.
The conducting layer may be applied by dipping of the anode and wick bodies into a precursor solution of, for example manganese nitrate solution. The layer of manganese nitrate formed on the bodies may be heated to oxidize the nitrate to manganese dioxide. Repeated dipping steps may be necessary in order to build-up the optimum cathode layer.
Building-up of the conducting or xe2x80x9ccathodexe2x80x9d layer completes the formation of the anode body into a capacitive body.
In the case where both the anode bodies and wick bodies are subject to the application of an insulating layer and a cathode layer it is necessary to isolate electrically the cathode layer material on the anode bodies from that on the wick bodies, in order to prevent a short circuit in the final capacitors. This may involve removal of all cathode layer material bridging the anode and wick bodies. Typically this may be achieved by a grinding cut through the conducting layer, and inevitably through the insulating layer also. In this case a replacement electrically insulating layer may be formed on any exposed surfaces revealed by cathode layer removal. This process is known as reformation. Again this may be conducted by a re-anodization process.
As well as isolating the conducting layers of the respective anode bodies and wick bodies one from another, it is necessary to remove conducting layer and insulating layer material from those parts of the wick bodies which are to contact or form the anode terminals, so that an electrical connection to the valve-action substrate material may be made. Removal of the layers may be by machining, for example grinding. In one example grinding cuts are made along a top surface of each wick body, thereby exposing valve action material. The top surface may then be subjected to a termination process to form the anode terminal. Typically this involves application of a first layer of conducting carbon paste which is then cured. Next a second layer of conducting silver paste is applied, and cured. Finally a solder-facilitating tri-alloy layer, or the like, may be applied to enable a good soldered contact to be made. A similar termination process is also carried out on a top surface of the capacitive body, in which carbon and silver layers are formed on the conducting cathode layer of the top surface, optional followed by application of a tri-alloy layer. These conducting layers provide a terminal for electrical connection, by for example soldering, to an electrical or electronic circuit.
In the un-divided substrate, the spaces between the anode bodies and the cathode bodies may be filled with an insulating material, for example a liquid plastics resin which solidifies to form a protective encapsulation of the bodies. Naturally the resin should leave the upper surface of the capacitive and wick bodies exposed, by masking if necessary. Other wise removal of the resin layer back to expose these faces is required.
The next step which must be carried out is separation of the or each capacitor unit from the bulk substrate. This may be achieved by machining by for example a grinding cut. If necessary a rigid backing support may be provided for the substrate to as to provide the necessary structural rigidity to permit cutting without damaging the capacitors.
In another aspect of the invention the dividing comprises cutting along a plane or path which intersects with one or more wick bodies, thereby to cut through or remove conducting layer material and insulating layer material applied to the wick, and to expose a cut surface of uncoated wick body. Preferably the wick bodies may be arranged on the substrate in rows, and the dividing comprises cutting along one or more of the rows.
The cutting plane preferably intersects with a wick body surface region distal from the associated anode body of the capacitor unit to be divided.
The cutting is preferably carried out through a plane or planes perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. The cutting may comprise grinding, but could also include water cutting or other cutting methods.
The terminal may be provided on the expose cut surface of the wick body by a termination process comprising liquid coating of that surface by a conducting paste, and allowing the coating to solidify. The termination processes may further comprise electroplating the solidified coating to form a layer of metallic material on the respective body or bodies.
Preferably, before dividing, the substrate is coated with a protective insulating material which infiltrates in between the anode and wick bodies, and wherein the dividing process comprises cutting along the protective material, thereby to leave a sidewall of protective material around each anode and cathode body of each cathode portion, the wall being absent in the said side regions of the anode bodies which intersect with the cut.
The protective material may be a resin material which is infiltrated as a liquid and subsequently allowed to set.
A termination layer of metal plate may be applied, for example by electrodeposition. Typically a layer of nickel and tin/lead or gold is applied. This provides a solder compatible surface for electrical connection.
Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings of methods of putting the present invention into effect.

Solid state capacitors and methods of manufacturing them


A method of brokering a network resource 10 includes providing a service broker processor 12 and a service broker registry 13. On receiving a request at the service broker processor to register a network resource to provide a network service, the service broker processor authenticates the request and authorises registration in the service broker registry. A network client 14 is updated with the availability of the registered network resource so that on receiving a third party request for the network service, the network client requests allocation of the registered network resource. A bearer path 54 is set up between the third party 21 and the network resource 10 to provide the requested network service.

When an end-user seeks network services or resources, such as teleconferencing, voicemail and database services, from a network operator, the network operator creates a bespoke solution by approaching individual vendors and obtaining the required services from different vendors to create a multi-vendor solution. The network operator cannot obtain the services from a single source.
That is, the network resources are held in closed environments which are proprietary implementations, so that the network resources are not available, or even visible, to other users.
Moreover, the same network resources are replicated to provide services to different users, for example in different time zones, even although a network resource in one time zone may be idle while a corresponding network resource in another time zone is in use, and vice versa.
It is desirable to maximise use of network resources and bandwidth, to make different services available from a single source and, in particular, to avoid unnecessary multiplication of network resources.


A method of operating a particle beam microscopy. A particle beam is scanned across a scanning region of a surface of the object. Particles are detected by a detector system for a plurality of impingement locations of the primary beam within the scanning region. A detector system generates detector signals which represent for each of the impingement locations an intensity of the detected particles. Material data of the interaction regions are calculated depending on the detector signals and depending on topography data, which represent a topography of the object surface in the scanning region.

There are known particle beam microscopes, which are configured to scan a focused primary electron beam across a region of the object surface and to detect particles, which are emitted from an interaction region where the scanning primary electron beam interacts with the object.
Depending on the detector system that is used, the detected particles are backscattered electrons and/or secondary electrons. The backscattered electrons are electrons, which are backscattered from the object. The secondary electrons are object particles, which are emitted from the object by the impact of the primary electron beam.
The backscattering coefficient of the backscattered electrons is significantly dependent on the atomic number of the material located at the impingement location of the electron beam. As a consequence, electron microscopic images, which are generated by detecting backscattered electrons, typically show regions of different material composition.
However, it has shown, that using these images, it is not possible to reliably determine material properties in the interaction regions of the scanned electron beam with the object.
Hence, it is desirable, to provide a method and a particle beam microscope, which allow to obtain reliable data about material properties of the object.

Particle beam microscope for generating material data


A cable stand-off for use with an electrosurgical system includes an accordion body portion having a plurality of panels, and a plurality of hinges. Each panel has at least one hole formed therethrough. The holes of the plurality of panels are axially aligned with one another. The plurality of hinges couples adjacent panels to one another. In one embodiment, the hinges couple adjacent panels in a tip-to-tail fashion. The accordion body portion may be made of a flexible material. Each panels may further include at least one slot extending from a hole to an edge of the panel.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a device and method for managing multiple cables, tubing or wires of surgical instruments and devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an accordion style cable stand-off configured to isolate relatively hot cables of surgical systems from surrounding structures.
2. Background of Related Art
Electrosurgical systems are well known in the art. Some electrosurgical systems employ microwave energy to produce a number of therapeutic effects in and/or on tissue at a target surgical site during any number of non-specific surgical procedures. Many electrosurgical systems transmit microwave energy as well as other kinds of energy through conduits, such as, wires, cables, tubing or other suitable energy transmission structure. Generally, the energy transmitted in electrosurgical systems heats the conduits and produces detrimental heat build-up therein and heat transfer to adjacent structure. Accordingly, in operation, it is beneficial to isolate or separate the heated conduit from other structures or objects in order to prevent undesirable heat transfer therebetween.
Usually, electrosurgical systems have multiple energy transmission conduits. Users may often find that managing multiple energy transmission conduits can be a cumbersome process.


A method for bonding a rubber substrate to a metal substrate wherein a primer composition is first applied to the surface of said metal substrate and the rubber substrate is then bonded to the primer composition-containing metal substrate surface using a rubber-to-metal bonding adhesive, the improvement comprising employing as the primer composition a mixture comprising an epoxidized diene polymer having a molecular weight of about 500 to 30,000 and a resole type phenolic resin, in a weight ratio of about 2 to 100 parts of said diene polymer per 100 parts of said resole type phenolic resin.

This invention relates to improvements in rubber-to-metal bonding. More particularly, the invention is directed to using a mixture comprised of epoxidized diene polymer and methylolated phenolic resins as a primer in rubber-to-metal bonding operations.
In the adhesive bonding of rubber to metal, a primer is usually required so as to insure the formation of a strong adhesive bond. Furthermore, in many applications the primers must also be flexible to accommodate metal forming operations without loss of metal to primer adhesion, resistance to corrosion, thermal or chemical degradation and anodic or cathodic deterioration. In formulating primer compositions which possess the foregoing properties, the formulator must also consider the requirement that the primer must not only form a strong adhesive bond with the final or cover coating but also enhance the bonding between the adhesive and the metal.
Many structural parts utilized in various industrial applications contain rubber-to-metal adhesive bonds. One example of an industrial application which utilizes metal parts bonded to rubber substrates can be found in the automobile industry where fluid-filled engine mounting devices are used to mount engines to automobile frames in order to isolate engine vibration. The mounting devices employ rubber-to-metal bonds which are exposed to fluids such as ethylene glycol. At the increasingly high temperatures being experienced in current automobile engines, many of the traditional rubber-to-metal adhesives utilized in the mounting devices are exhibiting deterioration and unacceptable flexibility in these high temperature fluid environments.
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to bond rubber-to-metal substrates using a primer composition which after cover coating provides a bonded rubber-to-metal article of manufacture exhibiting outstanding flexibility and bonding properties.
Another object of the invention is to provide a rubber-to-metal adhesively-bonded assembly whose adhesive bonds exhibit strong resistance to corrosion, heat, humidity and chemicals such as ethylene glycol/water systems.


A passenger restraint system for motor vehicles is equipped with a safety belt, a belt tensioner, an inflatable airbag and with a switch member which detects the functional position of the safety belt and which is arranged in a belt lock of the safety belt. Activation of the airbag and of the belt tensioner takes place in dependence on the functional position of the safety belt. In order to reduce the risk of injury by the safety belt at medium speeds during the operative period of the airbag, an activatable belt-clamping device on the belt lock and an activatable belt pull-out detent for the shoulder belt are provided. In the presence of a second threshold signal indicating a moderate to serious injury, the airbag is released, the belt-clamping device is arrested. Additionally, the belt pull-out detent is released during the operative period of the airbag.

The invention relates to a passenger restraint system for motor vehicles comprising at least one safety belt on which a belt tensioner is provided; at least one airbag; at least one switch member detecting the functional position of the safety belt and arranged in a belt lock of the safety belt, and at least one sensor that transmits threshold signals, at least in dependence on the effective change of speed of the vehicle, for the activation of the airbag and of the belt tensioner in dependence on the functional position of the safety belt.
A passenger restraint system of this general type is known from German Pat. Specification No. 3,413,768. For protection of the passengers in the event of an accident, that motor vehicle passenger restraint system has safety belts connected to a belt tensioner and at least one inflatable airbag. The passenger restraint system is connected to a control unit having a sensor which activates the individual components of the passenger restraint system in dependence on the effective deceleration of the vehicle. In the presence of a first lower threshold signal of the sensor and with the safety belt fastened, the airbag is not activated. Activation of the airbag occurs only when the second upper threshold signal is transmitted at the sensor. In order to protect the driver effectively and even when the safety belt is not fastened, the first threshold signal is transmitted to the restraint system for causing the release of the airbag. The functional position of the safety belt is detected by a switch member arranged in the belt lock.
In the event of moderate to serious accidents, it has been shown that a fastened shoulder belt can, in some cases, contribute to increasing the risk of injury.
The object on which the invention is based is to design a restraint system of the above general type wherein risk of injury by the shoulder belt is reduced at medium speeds when the airbag is released.
In a restraint system of the relevant generic type, this object is achieved by having an activatable belt-clamping device on the belt lock and an activatable belt pull-out detent for the shoulder belt. Here the sensor transmits at least three different threshold signals. There is a control unit which, when the safety belt is fastened and when the second threshold signal indicating a moderate to serious accident is reached, releases the airbag, arrests the belt-clamping device and releases the belt pull-out detent during the operative period of the airbag and wherein, when the safety belt is fastened and when the third threshold signal indicating a serious accident occurs, arrests the belt pull-out detent. The restraint system according to the invention is based on the knowledge that at medium speeds of between 20 and 50 km/h, the effect of the airbag is sufficient to protect the vehicle passengers in the event of an accident. Therefore, according to the invention, the shoulder belt has an activatable belt pull-out detent which releases the shoulder belt during the operative period of the airbag. During this operative period, the upper body of the vehicle passenger is merely braked by the released airbag. An activatable belt-clamping device is arranged on the belt lock of the safety belt that retains the pelvic region of the vehicle passenger. In this restraint system, there is a sensor which transmits at least three different threshold signals. The first threshold signal is obtained in the event of only minor accidents. The second threshold signal is transmitted in moderate and more serious accidents and the third threshold signal is transmitted in the event of very serious accidents.
If the passenger's safety belt is fastened when the first threshold signal is obtained, there is no activation of the passenger restraint system. In the presence of the second threshold signal and if the vehicle passenger's safety belt is fastened and the airbag is triggered, the shoulder belt is released by means of the activatable belt pull-out detent and the pelvic belt is arrested by means of the activatable belt-clamping device on the belt lock. After an operative period of the airbag, the shoulder belt is once again locked via the belt pull-out detent. In the presence of the third threshold signal and with the vehicle passenger's safety belt fastened, the airbag has already been released in response to the second threshold signal Since the sole effect of the airbag is not sufficient in these accidents, the shoulder belt has to be locked. This is brought about by activating the belt pull-out detent.
In an advantageous embodiment the passenger restraint system is equipped with pelvic-belt and shoulder-belt tensioners separate from one another. In the presence of a second threshold signal in response to which, as stated above, the pelvic belt is fixed by means of the activatable belt-clamping device on the belt lock, an especially good securing of the pelvic region of the vehicle passenger is achieved by means of the pelvic-belt tensioner. After the operative period of the airbag, the belt pull out detent is arrested and at the same time the shoulder-belt tensioner is actuated. The vehicle passenger is thereby protected against a secondary impact.
In another advantageous development the sensor transmits a fourth threshold signal which indicates that the vehicle has overturned. In response to this fourth threshold signal, the control unit is designed so that the pelvic-belt and shoulder-belt tensioners are activated and the belt pull-out detent is arrested. The airbag is consequently not released. If a second threshold signal follows after an overturning (fourth threshold signal), then the shoulder belt remains locked.
In another advantageous embodiment, if the safety belt is not fastened, the airbag is already released when the first threshold signal occurs. The vehicle passenger is thereby protected, in the event of accidents at low speed and with the safety belt not fastened.
It is also advantageous if the belt lock has a first switch contact which, when the safety belt is fastened, breaks a first control line which is connected to an output of the sensor transmitting the first threshold signal to activate the airbag. The switch member possesses further switch contacts which are arranged in further control lines connected to further outputs. To activate the belt pull-out detent of the shoulder belt, there are two flip-flop elements with outputs connected to the belt pull-out detent via an AND element. In a reset state, logically inverted output signals are present at the outputs of the flip-flop elements. The input setting of the first flip-flop element is connected to the second control line and the resetting input of the second flip-flop is activated by means of a timing element. The belt-clamping device is controlled via a third flip-flop element with its input setting connected to the second control line via a control line. The resetting inputs of the first flip-flop element, of the third flip-flop element, and the setting input of the second flip-flop element are activatable by means of a resetting device.


A discrete transform image data compression system in which frequency transform coefficients are modified in accordance with a matrix of quantizer values employs a predefined plurality of quantization matrices to adaptively select, on a document-by-document basis, an approximate memory packet size for each document's compressed image data storage by selecting one of the plurality of quantization matrices in accordance with the packet size estimate obtained for each document image. Additionally, the system employs generation of contrast reduction and gray level stretch remapping curves as a function of global image data characteristics, such as a gray level histogram of the document image data. The remapping curves are utilized to preprocess the image data for more effective data compression.

The invention concerns image data processing. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved method and arrangement utilizing a discrete frequency transform data compressor wherein the compression characteristics can be modified in real time on a per document basis.
Financial documents, such as checks or drafts, usually contain a magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) code line which is typically read by a sorter and which automatically sorts these documents into a plurality of bins. Prior to sorting, in current practice, these sorted documents are presented to banking personnel who physically handle the documents and mechanically enter, in MICR form, the dollar amount associated therewith upon each document by use of specialized amount entry equipment. Additionally, these individuals physically correct incorrectly read MICR data associated with each of the sorted documents.
These prior techniques of utilizing banking personnel to process financial documents have proven relatively costly and inefficient, in that many of these documents have been lost or destroyed during their physical handling, and the speed associated with the processing of the documents is limited to that associated with the processing capabilities of the banking personnel and the mechanical amount entry equipment they use.
To address these problems, document imaging systems have been introduced to eliminate much of the previously required physical handling of the documents themselves. In such known systems, functions such as image data element normalization, background suppression, scaling and document height detection are performed as preprocessing functions prior to compression of the document image data for storage or transmission to a data decompressor.
Previous approaches for effecting background suppression in document image processing systems to yield higher contrast images for data entry operators are complex. Additionally, for imaging systems to be associated with archival storage systems, the original image data cannot be discarded in a suppression technique, but must be maintained for archival integrity in order to store the document images in a near-photographicquality form.
One class of known compression techniques involves transforming gray level pixel values of the original document image data into a spatial frequency domain via a transform type compressor. The Joint Photographic Experts Group of the International Standards Organization (ISO/JPEG) is currently developing an international standard compression technique and interchange format which may be used to compress continuous tone gray scale or color imagery. The compression standard under development by this group is commonly referred to as the ISO/JPEG (or JPEG) image compression algorithm, and it is based upon a transform process known as the Discrete Cosine Transform. The JPEG compression standard is outlined in JPEG Technical Specification, Revision No. 6, dated Jan. 14, 1991. This document draft is also known as JPEG-9-R6.
The Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) image compression technique in its broadest aspects may be summarized as follows. Each document's image pixel data is partitioned into 8.times.8 sample blocks. Then, each 8.times.8 sample block is transformed mathematically using the DCT into a set of 64 values referred to as the DCT coefficients. Each of these 8.times.8 64 element coefficient arrays may be considered as a block of frequency coefficients in the DCT method. One of the block's coefficients is referred to as the DC coefficient, while the other 63 are referred to as the AC coefficients. Each DCT coefficient contains information concerning the spatial frequencies associated with that block of original image pixel samples. The DC coefficient is proportional to the average value of all the samples located in the block and represents the DC level (i.e. the zero spatial frequency) associated with that block of sample pixels. The AC coefficients indicate the degree to which certain spatial frequencies are present or absent in the sample 8.times.8 block being examined.
The DCT coefficients are next quantized using a predetermined and separate integer quantization factor for each coefficient in the block. The 64 integer quantization factors are stored in a 64 element array known as the quantization matrix. Quantization is performed by dividing each DCT coefficient by its corresponding quantization matrix element and rounding the result to the nearest integer value. Quantizing the DCT coefficients contributes significantly to the image compression process by discarding data that is considered not visually significant. The quantization matrix controls the tradeoff between image fidelity and image compressibility.
Finally, statistical characteristics of the quantized coefficients are used to encode the quantized coefficients present in the 8.times.8 sample block.
The instant invention is directed to a document image compression approach which (a) uses a JPEG image compression algorithm to compress full gray scale document imagery, (b) provides a method to optimize the JPEG standard for compressing images and (c) provides a method to monitor and modify document image compression in real-time on a per document basis.

Document image compression system and method


An emergency rescue system and a handheld electronic device and an emergency rescue method are provided. The emergency rescue system comprises a help-seeking device, a rescue device and a server. The help-seeking device is used to position, and used to provide a help-seeker to input situation information to send a help-seeking message to the server. The rescue device is used to position and send a positioning message to the server. The sever is used to compare the help-seeking message and the positioning message to execute a supply-demand pairing, and used to send the help-seeking message and the positioning message to the help-seeking device and the rescue device respectively for making the help-seeking device can communicate with the rescue device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an emergency rescue system and it help-seeking device and emergency rescue method, and more particularly to an emergency rescue system and a help-seeking device and emergency rescue method utilizing a GPS electronic device to provide a help-seeker to transmit help-seeking information at fast and various manner and capable of linking with a rescue side having a GPS functional device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, global positioning systems (GPS) are so popular, especially for devices of satellite navigators or mobile phones applied in automobiles or motorcycles. Everyone has a mobile phone. Absolutely, for some people, the mobile phone must be carried at any time and is a necessary device in daily life. The satellite navigator is also a device that is frequently used while driving the automobile or riding the motorcycle.
The satellite navigator, the mobile phone having the GPS function or other electronic device having the GPS function has functions of mobile positioning and route navigation to allow the user can use related functions and services to quickly and correctly reach destinations. However, when the devices having the GPS function is used in a rescue mission, the mobile positioning is not enough. If a help-seeker has the electronic device having the GPS function in case of emergency, the device can merely position his/her orientation through mobile positioning to allow a rescuer to search the help-seeker based upon a positioned location and may not provide the help-seeker to directly communicate with the rescuer to notify self-condition and injury so that the rescuer is unable to provide real-time rescue. Moreover, a positioning signal sent by the GPS electronic device of the help-seeker is usually only transmitted to a specific unit such as a rescue team or a fire bureau and may not be transmitted to nearby GPS electronic devices directly. Consequently, the rescue service may not be on time. Upon the foregoing reasons, a system capable of analyzing, planning and distributing a help-seeking message and location information through a digital manner to effectively improve the rescue efficiency is required.

Emergency rescue system and help-seeking device and emergency rescue method


A method of analyzing a geologic formation having a borehole therein may include operating at least one tool within the borehole to collect respective borehole dimensions at different depths in the borehole, and collect respective total values for a given element at the different depths in the borehole. Each total value may be based upon both a value for an adjacent portion of the geologic formation and a value for material within the borehole. The method may also include determining each value of the given element in the adjacent portion of the geologic formation based upon the total value and the corresponding borehole dimensions.

Various neutron-gamma spectroscopy techniques are based on the use of neutrons to create excited states in a nucleus which then decays via emission of one or more gamma-rays. The gamma-rays of each isotope have a characteristic energy spectrum which may be used to distinguish an elemental concentration.
The neutrons can be generated either by isotopic sources like 241AmBe or 252Cf, or alternatively by an electronic neutron generator. The neutron generator may use the d-T reaction for the neutron generation, but other neutron reactions may be used. The neutron generator may be pulsed, i.e., it emits bursts of neutrons in a defined sequence. This may allow it to distinguish between capture and inelastic gamma-rays and may make it possible to determine additional quantities of interest, such as, for example, slowing down time, the geologic formation or borehole thermal neutron capture cross section, geologic formation bulk density (neutron-gamma density), and others.
Gamma-rays may be detected in gamma-ray detectors spaced away from the neutron generator. These gamma-ray detectors measure the spectrum of gamma-ray energies deposited in the detector material. Suitable detectors may be scintillation detectors or other gamma-ray detectors that have a desired detection efficiency and spectral performance.


A system and method of controlling copying including a management table for managing an update target data in a first storage volume and stored locations of before-update data of the update target data in a second storage volume, and relocating data in the second storage volume upon confirming a predetermined range of the first storage volume has been copied into the second storage volume using the management table.

The present invention relates to a technique for controlling data backup in a storage, and more particularly to a backup technique for copying data before an update in a data area (i.e., at updated locations) of a copy source volume, which has become an update target, to a copy destination volume.

Storage system, copy control method, and copy control unit


A motorized roller shade includes a shade tube, including an outer surface upon which a shade is attached, an inner surface defining an inner cavity and two end portions, a motor/controller unit, disposed within the shade tube inner cavity and mechanically coupled to the shade tube inner surface, including a support shaft configured to attach to a mounting bracket, and a DC motor having an output shaft coupled to the support shaft such that the output shaft and the support shaft do not rotate when the support shaft is attached to the mounting bracket. A wireless receiver is coupled to the motor/controller unit to receive wireless signals and an antenna is arranged on or in at least one of the two end portions.

A roller shade is a rectangular panel of fabric, or other material, that is attached to a cylindrical, rotating tube. The shade tube is mounted near the header of a window such that the shade rolls up upon itself as the shade tube rotates in one direction, and rolls down to cover a desired portion of the window when the shade tube is rotated in the opposite direction.
Rotation of the roller shade is accomplished with an electric motor that is directly coupled to the shade tube. Recently-developed battery-powered roller shades provide installation flexibility by removing the requirement to connect the motor and control electronics to facility power. The batteries for these roller shades are typically mounted within, above, or adjacent to the shade mounting bracket, headrail or fascia. The motor may be located inside or outside the shade tube, is fixed to the roller shade support and is connected to a simple switch, or, in more sophisticated applications, to a radio frequency (RF) based system that controls the activation of the motor and the rotation of the shade tube. These RF based systems typically need an antenna to transmit and receive RF signals and associated cabling to connect the antenna to a controller. Unfortunately, these RF based systems suffer from many drawbacks, including, for example, poor performance, need for a large area for an antenna, increased costs, increased complexity, and/or the like for the antenna and cabling.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Motorized roller shade or blind having an antenna and antenna cable connection


A polished rod elevator has a top lift platform defining a polished rod passage and a mouth to laterally receive a polished rod into the polished rod passage; a plurality of linear actuators depending below the top lift platform and radially spaced from an axis of the polished rod passage to define a production tree receiving gap; and a plurality of arcuate wellhead flange mounting base plates connected to base ends of the plurality of linear actuators. Related methods of use and kits are discussed.

The following paragraphs are not an admission that anything discussed in them is prior art or part of the knowledge of persons skilled in the art.
Lifting devices exist for adjusting pump spacing of a production well. The lifting device rests directly on a well head flange and provides an expansive force between the flange and a temporary polish rod clamp or collet device attached to a polished rod extending into the well head. Such devices include first and second hydraulic cylinders for simultaneously lifting the polished rod to provide a gap between a carrier bar and a polished rod clamp. Feet engage single bolts in the well head flange.

Polished rod elevators, and related methods of use


A vehicle dynamics control system for a motor vehicle having an active normal force adjustment system with which the normal force acting on a wheel may be adjusted is described. For coordinating the vehicle dynamics control system with the active normal force adjustment system, information about a change in the normal force is to be supplied to a control unit of the vehicle dynamics control system and may be taken into account in the vehicle dynamic control.

Vehicle dynamics control systems, understood to include all the devices that intervene in the driving operation via operation of brakes or drive such as ABS (anti-lock brake system), TCS (traction control system), ESP (electronic stability program) or MSR (engine drag torque control), help to stabilize motor vehicles in borderline situations in particular. To further improve controllability, vehicles are increasingly being equipped with active normal force adjustment systems, which are also referred to as spring-damper systems with which the normal force (wheel contact force) of a wheel is adjustable as a function of the driving situation. The function of the active normal force adjustment system such as CDC (continuous damper control) or ARC (active roll control) is to reduce vertical acceleration of the vehicle body and/or to compensate for the rolling motion of the vehicle when turning a corner and in horizontal leveling of the vehicle.
A two-channel ARC system has, for example, actuators on the front and rear axles which may be under tension independently of one another with respect to the passive state. However, when there is different tension on the front and rear axles, the normal forces (contact forces) on the wheels change. Because the lateral guidance force of the wheels increases only degressively as the normal force increases, the self-steering effect of the vehicle thus also changes. Depending on the setting of the normal force adjustment system, the vehicle thus exhibits either a more oversteering behavior or a more understeering behavior in comparison with the passive state. This has negative effects in particular on a vehicle dynamics control which is performed in parallel.
Vehicle dynamics control systems are usually based on a fixed self-steering effect. A self-steering effect altered by the normal force adjustment system may therefore result in faulty braking operations when the actual performance of the vehicle differs too much from the calculated setpoint performance.
In addition, the traction control implemented as part of the dynamics control is impaired. In order to adapt the brake slip controller to the particular driving situation, the normal forces acting on the wheels are usually estimated. Operation of the normal force adjustment system results in a deviation between the estimated and actual normal forces and may thus result in a malfunction of the traction control system.

Method for coordinating a vehicle dynamics control system with an active normal force adjustment system


A network system includes a print server to which a printer is connected, a file server, and one or more client terminals, wherein the print server, the file server, and the one or more client terminals are connected together on a network. The client terminal includes a printer driver that controls the printer, a first setting file in which setting information of the printer driver arranged in a first folder, in which the printer driver is arranged, is stored, and a second setting file in which the setting information arranged in a second folder other than the first folder is stored. When the setting information is newly created or changed, a third file in which the setting information is written is arranged in the file server. In addition, address information of the third file that is arranged in the file server is stored in a memory area of the print server.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printer driver and a network system that control a printer accepting a plurality of types of printing media.
2. Related Art
Printers of recent years have various uses from printing small-sized printing media such as postcards or L-size photo sheets to printing large-sized printing media exceeding A3 size. Accordingly, there are times when a printer driver that controls a printer needs to respond to a printing medium of a new size not considered at the time of shipment of the printer. However, in order to add the setting information of a new printing medium, the setting information should be added to a setting file and an installer of the printer driver should be rewritten. Accordingly, there is a problem that it is difficult to respond quickly to the above-described case.
In order to solve this problem, a method in which an installation set of a customized driver is written without installing the printer driver has been disclosed, for example, in JP-A-2006-309725.
However, in the typical method, the printer driver should be configured so as to acquire a response by generating a pseudo API and there is a problem that the configuration becomes complicated.
In addition, recently, the use of a printer under a configuration in which the printer is connected to a server terminal and the printer is used by a plurality of client terminals connected to a network has increased. In such an environment, when the printer driver corresponding to the printer is updated, printer drivers of the plurality of client terminals should be updated altogether.
In order to solve this problem, "Point and Print" technology in the Windows (registered trademark) operating system of Microsoft corporation disclosed, for example, in "Overview of Point and Print technology", [online], Jun. 18, 2003 [Searched on May 13, 2004], <URL:http://www.microsoft.com/japan/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/pointandprint.mspx> and the like have been developed.


Breathing apparatus for aircraft passengers and others comprising:. (a) means (1) for supplying respiratory gases to a user, said supply means being detachably connectable to a first respiratory gas source (3), and thereby constituting a first oxygen supply system, said supply means including valve means (2), which valve means, when said supply means (1) is detached from the first respiratory gas source (3), automatically closes and prevents admission of noxious or hot gases into said supply means (1),. (b) means for supplying (5) or enabling supply (50) of a second respiratory gas source to said supply means (1), and constituting a second oxygen supply system, in which an absorption means (4) for absorbing carbon dioxide is included; and either. (c) means (6A) for automatically switching from said first oxygen supply system to said second oxygen supply system when said supply means (1) is detached from said first respiratory gas source (3); or. (c') means (6) for manually or automatically causing said second oxygen supply system to become operative to supplement or replace said first oxygen supply system, said second oxygen supply system continuing to be operable when said supply means (1) is detached from said first respiratory gas source (3).

This invention relates to breathing apparatus, particularly for aircraft passengers.
In some aircraft accidents lives are lost due to the consequences of fire and in particular to the inhalation of smoke and fumes or hot gases. In some accidents passengers are overcome while still seated but do not show evidence of severe external burns. Some of these passengers could perhaps have been saved if a portable respirator, so called gas mask, had been available for each. Such devices can remove smoke and noxious gases by filtration and absorption. However, inhalation of very hot air, in the absence of noxious gases, can still cause death from thermal damage to the internal lining of the lungs. The use of a conventional gas mask would afford little or no protection against such very hot air. Furthermore in an aircraft fire noxious fumes from fuel and other sources may be present in such large amounts that normal filtration or absorption facilities can become blocked or exhausted. Additionally the fierce combustion of aircraft fuel can substantially reduce the oxygen content of the cabin atmosphere. In patho-physiological terms alveolar burns, pulmonary oedema and shock may contribute to acute anoxia which may be of anoxic, anaemic, stagnant or histotoxic type or to a combination of some or all of these. Lives might also have been saved if each passenger had a portable respirator with self contained compressed air cylinder, as used by firemen and subaqua divers, but such apparatus is not practicable because of cost, weight and a high degree of skill and training required to use it.
There are three main types of self contained breathing apparatus for aircraft passengers: firstly those which have filters to remove smoke and noxious gases, but these do not protect against hot gases; secondly those which provide a continuous supply of air or oxygen from a pressurised cylinder, but large volumes of gas are required and cylinders are heavy; and thirdly those which use pure oxygen in a rebreathing system with carbon dioxide absorber, but measures must be taken to maintain the absorbent material in good condition until it is needed and to remove nitrogen from the system.
The efficiency of the absorbent material is dependent upon many chemical, physical and other factors. Importantly, the material deteriorates and becomes exhausted if it is exposed to air but frequent replacement is very expensive in maintenance costs. The activity is preserved for many months if the absorbent is sealed to prevent contact with air, which contains carbon dioxide and water vapour, but this is not easy to do. There is a substantial amount of space between absorbent granules and this space is filled with air. If both ends of the container are sealed, the pressure within varies as the aircraft ascends and descends. This fluctuation may rupture the seal, even when there is a minimal volume of retained air.
It is dangerous to rebreath air in the presence of an absorber, for acute anoxia may occur without warning, but pure oxygen is safe. Nitrogen should therefore be reduced but this should be achieved without waste of oxygen. The apparatus will be used by passengers without training or experience and with very little instruction. Thus the system should be simple to use and where possible automatic. It may also have the oxygen source fixed to the conveyance means and may deliver oxygen to the reservoir. To reduce the risk of pure oxygen exacerbating a fire, an oxygen-rich atmosphere may be used rather than a pure oxygen atmosphere. If nitrogen wash out is not complete, the system is safe to use when the oxygen inflow is equal to or in excess of oxygen usage. If oxygen usage is in excess, then time is limited by the amount of oxygen remaining.
A harness with adjustable straps may be used to retain a face mask in position and obtain a good fit to prevent gas leaks. Provision must also be made for children and for infants.


A system for training to play better at tennis includes indicia for indicating desired target areas of a tennis court and rules for determining points to be given for striking a desired target area. Preferably, points are given only on the last shot of a play.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to racquet and ball games such as tennis and more particularly to a high precision targeting system that helps athletes and other game participants such as tennis players improve. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a high precision targeting system in the form of a game that helps tennis players improve their skills and wherein the game includes a container that provides various components to the player including game instructions, suggested layouts or maps for different selectable games, and a temporary marking material that enables a player to add temporary markings to a tennis court or other game court (that could also provide permanent boundary markings), the markings providing score areas that provide points to the player that hits the particular area with the tennis ball during the game.
2. General Background of the Invention
When it comes to teaching and learning tennis, current target systems don't allow live tennis action because they either provide court obstructions, and/or interfere with the integrity of the bounce of the ball. In addition, most target systems don't allow for quick, positive reinforcement and feedback of the skills the student is trying to learn. This can lead to student boredom, frustration, and a high "drop-out" rate.
The tournament process often discourages young people who continue with tennis lessons and play in tournaments. Such tournaments have lengthy downtime between matches. In addition to long days sitting and watching instead of playing tennis, the majority of these young players fall into a consolation bracket, a form of negative feedback.
Many systems have been patented that relate generally to practicing the game of tennis. The following such U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,504,912; 4,045,422 No-line tennis court, 4,592,547 tennis practice and game apparatus; 4,948,372; 5,709,620; 5,816,953; 6,077,176; 6,135,456; 6,648,780 Tennis training device; 2004/0157686.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/1057686 discloses an evaluation system for tennis skills using target zones with a point system for grading the tennis skills of a tennis player.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,620 discloses a tennis court training target assembly with two-dimensional targets strategically placed to teach tennis skills.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,953 discloses an interactive system for training in tennis where various colors are placed on sections of the court to provide selected targets and evaluations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,176 discloses a tennis court trainer where removable targets are placed on the court.

Racquet and ball sport court and target system


An image forming apparatus 1 is provided with an apparatus main body 2 for performing a predetermined process on a sheet, a cover 34 openable and closable relative to the apparatus main body 2, a light emitting unit 51 provided in the apparatus main body 2 and including an emission source 511 for generating light, a control board 512 for controlling the emission source 511 and causing it to generate the light and wiring 513 electrically connected to the control board 512, and a display member 52 provided in the cover 34, arranged to face the emission source 511 and including an incident portion 521 on which the light is incident, an output portion 522 for outputting the light to the outside and a light guide portion 523 for guiding the light from the incident portion 521 to the output portion 522.

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, particularly to a display device for displaying state information of the image forming apparatus.
In a conventional image forming apparatus, various pieces of state information are generated according to an image forming process for forming an image on a sheet. The state information includes, for example, information notifying toner shortage, jam occurrence and sheet shortage. An LED (light-emitting diode) is often used as a means for notifying such state information to a user in the display device.
The display device generally includes a light emitting unit and a display unit. The light emitting unit includes an LED as an emission source, a control board for controlling the LED based on detection by a detector for detecting the state information of the image forming apparatus and generating light, and wiring for connecting the control board and the detector. The display unit has a display area for notifying the state information by the light of the LED.
The display device is often provided on an outer cover of an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus or on an outer cover of an automatic document feeder. The outer cover is openably and closably mounted for a jam processing and the like. Thus, when the outer cover is closed after the jam processing or the like is completed, the wiring connecting the control board and the detector may be caught by the outer cover. If the wiring is repeatedly caught, it is damaged and the LED cannot be properly controlled. As a result, the user cannot recognize the state information.
Accordingly, in view of the above situation, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing wiring from being caught as a cover is opened and closed.


The present invention provides a tandem pump unit that includes: a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump respectively having a first pump shaft and a second pump shaft respectively having adjacent ends connected together so that the first and second pump shafts are coaxially aligned and non-rotatably connected in tandem; a common housing for accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump; and a first center section and a second center section that respectively support the first and second hydraulic pumps.

The present invention relates to a tandem pump unit used for various purposes.
More particularly, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a tandem pump unit with first and second hydraulic pumps, which respectively cooperate with first and second actuators driven through a hydraulic effect.
A hydraulic pump is used in various applications and in particular as the hydraulic pump adapted for operation in association with an actuator driven through the hydraulic effect. The description will hereinafter be made for the tandem pump unit by taking for example the case where it cooperates with first and second hydraulic motors serving as the actuators that respectively drive the right and left drive wheels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733 discloses a vehicle including first and second hydraulic pumps respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second hydraulic motors for driving the right and left drive wheels. In this vehicle, the first and second hydraulic motors respectively have outputs variable in response to the adjustment of the input/output flow rates of the first and second hydraulic pumps, thereby controlling the rotational speed and rotational direction of the right and left drive wheels.
The vehicle disclosed in the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733 has the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump separately arranged from one another, the former being operated in association with the first hydraulic motor, and the latter being operated in association with the second hydraulic motor. These separate hydraulic pumps pose various problems, such as troublesome mounting operation of the first and second hydraulic pump, troublesome conduit setting work between the pumps and the motors, and requiring separate housings which respectively accommodate the first and second hydraulic pumps.
The first aspect of the present invention has been therefor conceived in consideration of the prior arts. It is an object of the first aspect of the present invention to provide a tandem pump unit with first and second pumps connected to each other in series, while being connected to actuators via first and second hydraulic lines respectively, and is capable of lowering the manufacturing cost through the simplification of mounting operation and the reduction of the number of parts.
The second aspect of the present invention relates to a tandem pump unit with first and second hydraulic pumps, which respectively cooperate with first and second actuators driven through a hydraulic effect.
A hydraulic pump is used in various applications and in particular as the hydraulic pump adapted for operation in association with an actuator driven through the hydraulic effect. The description will hereinafter be made for the tandem pump unit by taking for example the case where it cooperate with first and second hydraulic motors serving as the actuators that respectively drive the right and left drive wheels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733 discloses a vehicle including first and second hydraulic pumps respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second hydraulic motors for driving the right and left drive wheels. In this vehicle, the first and second hydraulic motors respectively have outputs variable in response to the adjustment of the input/output flow rates of the first and second hydraulic pumps, thereby controlling the rotational speed and rotational direction of the right and left drive wheels.
The vehicle disclosed in the above cited U.S. patent has the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump separately arranged from one another, the former being operated in association with the first hydraulic motor, and the latter being operated in association with the second hydraulic motor. These separate hydraulic pumps invite a complicated structure of the feeding passage for charging working hydraulic fluid to the pair of the first and second hydraulic lines, and pose various other problems.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to a pump unit with first and second hydraulic pumps that are respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to first and second actuators driven through a hydraulic effect.
A hydraulic pump is used in various applications and in particular as the hydraulic pump adapted for operation in association with an actuator driven through the hydraulic effect. The description will hereinafter be made for the pump unit by taking for example the case where it includes the first and second hydraulic motors serving as the actuators that respectively drive the right and left drive wheels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733 discloses a vehicle including first and second hydraulic pumps respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second hydraulic motors for driving the right and left drive wheels. In this vehicle, the first and second hydraulic motors respectively have outputs variable in response to the adjustment of the input/output flow rates of the first and second hydraulic pumps, thereby controlling the rotational speed and rotational direction of the right and left drive wheels.
The vehicle disclosed in the above cited U.S. patent has the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump separately arranged from one another, the former being operated in association with the first hydraulic motor, and the latter being operated in association with the second hydraulic motor. Such a separate arrangement of the hydraulic pumps invites a complicated structure of a feeding passage for feeding working hydraulic fluid from a reservoir tank to the first hydraulic line and the second hydraulic line, and poses various other problems.
The third aspect of the present invention has been therefor conceived in consideration of the above prior art. It is an object of the third aspect of the present invention to provide a pump unit with the first and second hydraulic pumps that are respectively connected via the first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second actuators driven through the hydraulic effect, and that is capable of achieving a simplified structure of the feeding passage for feeding working hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic lines extending between the actuators and the hydraulic pumps.
A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a pump unit with first and second hydraulic pumps that are respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to first and second actuators driven through a hydraulic effect.
A hydraulic pump is used in various applications and in particular as the hydraulic pump adapted for operation in association with an actuator driven through the hydraulic effect. The description will hereinafter be made for the pump unit by taking for example the case where it includes the first and second hydraulic motors serving as the actuators that respectively drive the right and left drive wheels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733 discloses a vehicle including first and second hydraulic pumps respectively connected via first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second hydraulic motors for driving the right and left drive wheels. In this vehicle, the first and second hydraulic motors respectively have outputs variable in response to the adjustment of the input/output flow rates of the first and second hydraulic pumps, thereby controlling the rotational speed and rotational direction of the right and left drive wheels.
The vehicle disclosed in the above cited U.S. patent has the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump separately arranged from one another, the former being operated in association with the first hydraulic motor, and the latter being operated in association with the second hydraulic motor. Such a separate arrangement of the hydraulic pumps invites a complicated structure of a feeding passage for feeding working hydraulic fluid for an HST (hydrostatic transmission) from a hydraulic fluid tank to the first hydraulic line and the second hydraulic line, and poses various other problems.
As a further disadvantage, the working hydraulic fluid between the hydraulic pumps and the actuators may increase in temperature due to the load from the outside. Such an increase in temperature of the working hydraulic fluid may invite various problems such as lowering of the volumetric efficiency, or lowering of the axle revolution speed if the hydraulic motors are used as the actuators for driving the drive wheels of the vehicle, deteriorating of the durability. However, the above-cited U.S. patent does not teach any solutions to limit the temperature of the working hydraulic fluid of the HST.
The fourth aspect of the present invention has been therefor conceived in consideration of the above prior art. It is an object of the fourth aspect of the present invention to provide a pump unit with the first and second hydraulic pumps that are respectively connected via the first and second hydraulic lines to the first and second actuators driven through the hydraulic effect, and that is capable of effectively limiting the increase in temperature of the working hydraulic fluid to be replenished to the hydraulic lines between the actuators and the hydraulic pumps.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tandem pump unit that includes: a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump respectively having a first pump shaft and a second pump shaft respectively having adjacent ends connected together so that the first and second pump shafts are coaxially aligned and non-rotatably connected in tandem; a common housing for accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump; and a first center section and a second center section that respectively support the first and second hydraulic pumps.
The tandem pump unit of the above arrangement can reduce the number of the parts and hence the manufacturing cost, in comparison with a conventional tandem pump unit, which requires a separate housing for each pump unit. As an additional advantage, the tandem pump unit allows both the first and second hydraulic pumps to be mounted in position only by mounting the common housing with the first and second hydraulic pumps therein. Whereby, the efficiency in assembling operation can be enhanced.
Furthermore, the common housing has first and second openings respectively formed at opposed ends of the housing with respect to the pump shaft direction, and a bearing wall located midway between the first and second openings. The first and second openings allow the first and second hydraulic pumps to pass therethrough, and the bearing wall supports the connection portions of the first and second pump shafts. The first and second openings are adapted to be respectively sealed by the first and second center sections respectively supporting the first and second hydraulic pumps.
Therefore, the first and second hydraulic pumps can be respectively placed through the first and second openings into the housing with the first and second hydraulic pumps being respectively supported by the first and second center sections. Thus, the assembling efficiency of the tandem pump unit can be enhanced. In addition, either one or both of the pumps can easily be removed from the housing, while the housing is still mounted on an object such as a vehicle, thereby achieving an improved operation efficiency in maintenance work, or the like.
Furthermore, the tandem pump unit of the first aspect of this invention is designed so that the first and second center sections are disposed at the opposed ends of the housing with respect to the pump shaft direction in the housing excluding the portion between the first and second hydraulic pumps, thereby allowing for great flexibility in designing the adjacent ends of the first and second pump shafts to be connected together.
The tandem pump unit of the first aspect of this invention preferably includes a coupler for non-rotatably receiving the adjacent ends of the first and second pump shafts.
Preferably, the coupler is rotatably supported in a bearing hole formed in the bearing wall via a bearing member.
In the case where the first and second hydraulic pumps are axial piston pumps of a variable displacement type respectively having first and second angularly adjustable swash plates of cradle type, the bearing wall is preferably designed to have a side facing the first and second hydraulic pumps that forms guiding surfaces for slidingly guiding spherical convex surfaces formed in rear sides of the swash plates, which rear sides are opposed to surfaces facing the first and second hydraulic pumps.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tandem pump unit that includes the integral arrangement of a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump. The first hydraulic pump with a first pump shaft is adapted to be connected to a first actuator via a first pair of hydraulic lines. The second hydraulic pump with a second pump shaft is adapted to be connected to a second actuator via a second pair of hydraulic lines. The first pump shaft and the second pump shaft respectively have adjacent ends connected together so that the first and second pump shafts are coaxially aligned and non-rotatably connected in tandem. The tandem pump unit of the second aspect of the present invention further includes a charge line disposed within the tandem pump unit and having a first end communicating with either a reservoir or a hydraulic fluid feeding mechanism and a second end adapted to communicate with the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines, respectively.
The tandem pump unit of the above arrangement allows hydraulic fluid to be replenished into the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines, only by connecting a hydraulic fluid feeding mechanism such as a charge pump to the first opening of the charging line. Whereby, the piping structure for charging can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be lowered through the reduction of the number of parts and the improved efficiency in assembling operation. Also, the workability in maintenance can be improved.
As an additional advantage, the charge line disposed within the pump unit is unlikely to be damaged by the contact against external parts, thereby effectively preventing the leakage of the hydraulic fluid to the outsides from the charge line. This hydraulic fluid leakage preventive arrangement is advantageous particularly when the pump unit is used in vehicles for traveling on lawns or other grounds such as a riding mower, a walk behind mower, a commercial ride-on mid-mountdeck lawnmower, a tractor, or other device.
In one case, the tandem pump unit of the second aspect has preferably a common center section having oppositely facing sides with respect to the pump shaft direction, respectively supporting the first and second hydraulic pumps via the oppositely facing sides, and a first pump housing and a second pump housing for respectively accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump. The common center section forms a first pair of inlet/outlet ports and a second pair of inlet/outlet ports. The first pair of inlet/outlet ports respectively serve as connection ports for connection with the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of inlet/outlet ports respectively serve as connection ports for connection with the second pair of hydraulic lines. The charge line has a first bore portion, a conduit and a second bore portion. The first bore portion is formed in a peripheral wall of either the first pump housing or the second pump housing with a first end opening to the outside of the either the first pump housing or the second pump housing so as to communicate with the either the reservoir or the hydraulic fluid feeding mechanism and a second end opening to the inside of the either the first pump housing or the second pump housing. The conduit is disposed within the either the first pump housing or the second pump housing with a first end connected to the second end of the first bore portion and a second end extending to the common center section. The second bore portion is formed in the common center section with a first end connected to the second end of the conduit and a second end communicating with the first pair of inlet/outlet ports and the second pair of inlet/outlet ports, respectively.
In another case, the tandem pump unit of the second aspect also includes a common center section having oppositely facing sides with respect to the pump shaft direction, respectively supporting the first and second hydraulic pumps via the oppositely facing sides, a first pump housing and a second pump housing for respectively accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump. The common center section forms a first pair of inlet/outlet ports and a second pair of inlet/outlet ports. The first pair of inlet/outlet ports respectively serve as connection ports for connection with the first pair of hydraulic lines, and the second pair of inlet/outlet ports respectively serve connection ports for connection with the second pair of hydraulic lines. The charge line has a third bore portion and a fourth bore portion. The third bore portion is formed in a peripheral wall of either the first pump housing or the second pump housing with a first end opening to the outside of the either the first pump housing or the second pump housing so as to communicate with the either the reservoir or the hydraulic fluid feeding mechanism and a second end extending to the common center section. The fourth bore portion is formed in the common center section with a first end connected to the second end of the third bore portion and a second end communicating with the first pair of inlet/outlet ports and the second pair of inlet/outlet ports, respectively.
Preferably, the common center section forms a hydraulic fluid communication hole for communication between the first and second pump housings.
In still another case, the tandem pump unit of the second aspect of the present invention also includes a common pump housing for accommodating the first and second hydraulic pumps, a first center section and a second center section for respectively supporting the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump. The common pump housing has a first opening and a second opening respectively formed at opposed ends of the pump housing with respect to the pump shaft direction. The first and second openings allow the first and second hydraulic pumps to pass therethrough. The first and second center sections are respectively connected to the common pump housing so as to seal the first and second openings in a liquid tight manner. The first and second center sections respectively form a first pair of inlet/outlet ports and a second pair of inlet/outlet ports serving as connection ports for connection respectively with the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines. The charge line has a first end opening to the outside of either the first center section or the second center section so as to communicate with the either the reservoir or the hydraulic fluid feeding mechanism, and a second end communicating with the first pair of inlet/outlet ports and the second pair of inlet/outlet ports, respectively.
Preferably, the common pump housing has a bearing wall located midway thereof with respect to the pump shaft direction to support the adjacent ends of the first and second pump shafts. The bearing wall divides the common pump housing into a first hydraulic pump accommodation chamber and a second hydraulic pump accommodation chamber for respectively accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump.
Preferably, the common pump housing is designed to allow hydraulic fluid to communicate between the first hydraulic pump accommodation chamber and the second hydraulic pump accommodation chamber.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tandem pump unit for operation in association with actuators. The tandem pump unit includes the integral arrangement of a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump. The first hydraulic pump with a first pump shaft is adapted to be connected to a first actuator via a first pair of hydraulic lines, and the second hydraulic pump with a second pump shaft is adapted to be connected to a second actuator via a second pair of hydraulic lines. The first and second pump shafts respectively have adjacent ends connected together so that the first and second pump shafts are coaxially aligned and non-rotatably connected in tandem. The tandem pump unit also includes a center section supporting the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump, a housing accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump, and a reservoir tank supportingly connected to the single unit for storing hydraulic fluid to be replenished to the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines. The first hydraulic pump, the second hydraulic pump, the center section and the housing are integrally connected together to constitute a single unit.
The pump unit of the above arrangement can improve an efficiency in mounting the first and second hydraulic pumps on an object such as a vehicle, and shorten the length of the piping for replenishing the hydraulic fluid from the reservoir tank to the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines, thereby lowering the manufacturing cost, and improving an efficiency in replenishing the hydraulic fluid through the decrease of the resistance force between the hydraulic fluid and the pipe wall, and producing other desirable effects
Preferably, the single unit of the tandem pump unit of the third aspect of the present invention is designed so that the housing can serve as a hydraulic fluid tank, and the pump unit further includes a hydraulic fluid communication passage for providing a free fluid communication between the reservoir tank and the housing. With this arrangement, the number of the pipes required between the first and second hydraulic pumps, and the first and second actuators can be reduced to substantially four pipes only, specifically the first pair of hydraulic lines and the second pair of hydraulic lines. Thus, as compared with the conventional arrangements, the pump unit of this arrangement can achieve a lower manufacturing cost, an unproved assembling efficiency and an excellent workability in maintenance. Since the housing itself also serves as a hydraulic fluid tank, the reservoir tank can compactly be made.
The tandem pump unit of the third aspect of the present invention preferably has the following arrangement. Specifically, the center section forms a first pair of hydraulic passages respectively having first ends communicating with the first hydraulic pump and second ends opening to the outside of the center section to form connection ports for connection with the first pair of hydraulic lines, a second pair of hydraulic passages respectively having first ends communicating with the second hydraulic pump and second ends opening to the outside of the center section to form connection ports for connection with the second pair of hydraulic lines, and a charging passage having a first end opening to the outside of the center section to form an inlet port for charging, serving as an inlet for the hydraulic fluid to be replenished and a second end communicating with the first pair of hydraulic passages and the second pair of hydraulic passages via check valves. The charging passage is connected to a pressure relief line communicating with the housing via a relief vale, and the inlet port for charging is connected to the reservoir tank via a hydraulic fluid replenishing passage.
The tandem pump unit of the third aspect of the present invention also preferably has the following arrangement. Specifically, the tandem pump unit includes a cooling fan provided near the single unit. The cooling fan is adapted to be driven in synchronism with the first and second hydraulic pumps. The reservoir tank is connected to the single unit in such a manner as to form a clearance therebetween, into which a cooling air stream is drawn from the cooling fan. The hydraulic fluid communication passage and the hydraulic fluid replenishing passage are disposed in such a manner to traverse the clearance. The thus arranged pump unit can limit the temperature increase of the hydraulic fluid stored in the reservoir tank and the housing, and also effectively limit the temperature increase of the hydraulic fluid flowing through the hydraulic fluid replenishing passage and the hydraulic fluid communication passage, thereby improving the transmission efficiency between the hydraulic pumps and the actuators.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tandem pump unit that includes: a first hydraulic pump and a second hydraulic pump respectively having a first pump shaft and a second pump shaft that are coaxially aligned and non-ratably connected in tandem; a center section supporting the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump; and a housing accommodating the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump. The housing is adapted to be used as a hydraulic fluid tank. A hydraulic fluid circulation mechanism is also provided for taking the hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic tank, and again returning the same to the hydraulic tank. The hydraulic fluid circulation mechanism is designed to cool the hydraulic fluid while circulating the same.
The tandem pump unit of the above arrangement can effectively limit the increase in temperature of the hydraulic fluid stored within the hydraulic tank, thereby effectively preventing deterioration in working efficiency of a hydraulic actuation device.
Preferably, the circulation mechanism of the tandem pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a circulation line, at least a portion of which serves as a conduit; the circulation line having a first end communicating with the inside of the hydraulic tank and a second end again communicating with the inside of the hydraulic tank. The conduit has at least a portion provided thereon with cooling fins.
Further, the pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention preferably has the following arrangement. The center section forms a first pair of hydraulic passages respectively having first ends communicating with the first hydraulic pump and second ends opening to the outside of the center section to form connection ports for connection with the first pair of hydraulic lines, a second pair of hydraulic passages respectively having first ends communicating with the second hydraulic pump and second ends opening to the outside of the center section to form connection ports for connection with the second pair of hydraulic lines, and a charging passage having a first end communicating with the hydraulic fluid tank to form an inlet port for charging, serving as an inlet for the hydraulic fluid to be replenished and a second end communicating with the first pair of hydraulic passages and the second pair of hydraulic passages via check valves. The tandem pump unit further includes: a charge pump for sucking the hydraulic fluid stored within the hydraulic fluid tank and then discharging the same into the inlet port for charging; and a pressure relief line having a first end connected to the charging passage via a relief valve and a second end forming a drain port through which the hydraulic fluid from the relief valve is drained. The second end of the pressure relief line is connected to the conduit, and the charge pump constitutes a part of the hydraulic fluid circulation mechanism.
Preferably, the pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention further includes a reservoir tank, in which the reservoir tank is in free fluid communication with the housing via a hydraulic fluid communication passage, and forms a hydraulic fluid tank in cooperation with the housing, and the inlet port for charging communicates with the reservoir tank via a hydraulic fluid replenishing passage.
Preferably the pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention further includes cooling fins provided on the hydraulic fluid replenishing passage and the hydraulic fluid communication passage.
Further, the pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention preferably has the following arrangement. Specifically, a cooling fan adapted to be driven in synchronism with the first and second hydraulic pumps is provided near the housing. The reservoir tank is connected to the housing in such a manner as to form a clearance therebetween, into which a cooling air stream from the cooling fan is drawn. The hydraulic fluid communication passage and the hydraulic fluid replenishing passage are disposed to transverse the clearance.
A cooling air duct is preferably provided in the pump unit of the fourth aspect of the present invention, so that a cooling air stream from the cooling fan is drawn into the clearance along the cooling air duct.