An impeller for a planet carrier of a epicyclic speed reduction gear of a turbine engine is fixed in rotation to the planet carrier and is rotatable about an axis of the reduction gear. The impeller has an annular shape about the axis and includes means for lubricating in particular planet gear bearings of the reduction gear. The lubricating means include an annular cavity located at the inner periphery of the impeller, wherein the impeller has an inner peripheral wall that closes the cavity in the radial direction. The impeller further includes an annular aperture that extends around the axis and opens in the axial direction into the cavity to supply lubricating oil thereto.

The disclosed subject matter relates in particular to an impeller for a planet carrier of an epicyclic speed reduction gear of a turbine engine.
An epicyclic speed reduction gear of an aircraft turbine engine typically comprises a sun gear coupled to a first shaft and a ring gear extending around the sun gear. Planet gears are arranged between the sun gear and the ring gear and are meshed with them and carried by a planet carrier coupled to a second shaft.
FIG. 1 shows a planet carrier 10 as described in French Patent Application FR-A1-3 036 763. This planet carrier 10 comprises a cylindrical body 12 intended to be coupled to the second shaft and connected at one longitudinal end to an annular wall 14 for supporting axles 16 parallel of rotation of the planet gears 18. The axles 16 are evenly distributed around the axis A of rotation of the planet carrier and are secured to one of their longitudinal ends to the aforementioned annular wall 14. An impeller 20 is mounted and fixed to the opposite longitudinal ends of the axles 16.
The impeller 20 is secured to the planet carrier 10 by virtue of its connection to the axles 16 for supporting the planet gears 18. The impeller 20 is therefore intended to be rotated during operation about the axis A by being secured to the rotor of the reduction gear.
The impeller 20 is generally annular in shape around the axis A and comprise hydraulic connections on its outer periphery to the axles 16 of rotation of the planet gears 18. The impeller 20 comprises means for lubricating, on the one hand, bearings mounted between the axles 16 and the planet gears 18, and, on the other hand, gear teeth of the planet gears 18 and the sun gear 22. These lubricating means comprise an annular groove 24 located on the inner periphery of the impeller 20 and opening radially inwards, i.e. towards the axis A.
Lubricant nozzles, carried by a stator of the reduction gear or turbine engine, are arranged radially inside the impeller (they are not shown in FIG. 1), and project lubricant directly into the groove 24 of the impeller, to supply the lubricating means.
The lubricant is supplied to the nozzles by a pump in a lubrication unit of the turbine engine, which delivers a predetermined flow rate of lubricant to the nozzles. With the current technology described above, the lubricant sprayed into the groove is conveyed to the lubricating means by centrifugal effect only.
The impeller therefore distributes pressurized oil into the reduction gear using the centrifugal forces generated during operation.
However, the oil pressure in the impeller depends on the height of the oil column and the speed of the impeller. One solution to increase the oil pressure is therefore to increase the height of the oil column by reducing the internal diameter of the impeller. However, the inside of the impeller is blocked by the lubricant nozzles in the groove of the impeller. Furthermore, these lubricant nozzles are cumbersome and risk coming into contact with the first shaft meshed with the sun gear of the reduction gear.
The disclosed subject matter is a further development of this technology, which provides a simple, effective and economical solution to the problem of lubricating an epicyclic reduction gear.

Impeller for a planet carrier of an epicyclic speed reduction gear of a turbine engine


A packaged semiconductor device includes a carrier having a die attach surface, a semiconductor die mounted on the die attach surface and comprising first and second conductive terminals disposed on an upper side, a first clip that extends over the semiconductor die and is electrically connected to the first conductive terminal, a second clip that extends over the semiconductor die and is electrically connected to the second conductive terminal, and an electrically insulating encapsulant body that encapsulates the semiconductor die. An outer end of the first clip is exposed from the encapsulant body and provides a point of external electrical contact for the first conductive terminal. An outer end of the second clip is exposed from the same or a different side face of the encapsulant body as the first clip and provides a point of external electrical contact for the second conductive terminal.

Semiconductor packages are commonly used to provide connective compatibility between a semiconductor die and an external apparatus, such as a printed circuit board (PCB). Additionally, semiconductor packages protect the semiconductor die from potentially damaging environmental conditions, such as temperature variations, moisture, dust particles, etc.
Power applications that require high voltage and/or current switching have special design requirements with respect to the design of the semiconductor package. Power semiconductor packages should provide low resistance electrical connections between the semiconductor die and the external terminals. Moreover, power semiconductor packages should be designed to accommodate high temperature operation, which may induce thermal expansion of the package materials. Conventional solutions for managing these high currents and high temperatures include shortening bond wire lengths and using fused leads. However, these solutions are reaching practical limitations in modern power applications. Moreover, fused lead designs reduce the I/O (input output) count for a given size package.
Thus, there is a need for a power semiconductor package with high current carrying capability, low thermal resistance and high I/O count within a small package footprint.

Quad package with conductive clips connected to terminals at upper surface of semiconductor die


A door operator of a fireproof door comprises a force applying end through which a driving force is transmitted by an input shaft; an output end for sustaining the weight of the door curtain which is transmitted to a central shaft through an output shaft; a clutch mechanism connecting the central shaft to the input shaft; a brake mechanism including a torsion spring disposed on the input shaft which bears the loading force transferred through the central shaft to vary the inner diameter of the torsion spring so as to restrain the input shaft from rotating; when an external force is applied to the input end, the inner diameter of the torsion spring is extended so that the input shaft is rotatable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door operator of a rolling door, more particularly to a door operator of a fireproof door which can be shut by rolling-down of door curtain due to its own weight in the event of a fire accident.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a door operator used in a fireproof rolling door comprises either a failsafe type or a non-failsafe type door operator according to the type of operation. In power interruption condition, the failsafe type door operator releases a brake so as to close the fireproof door at once regardless of the cause of power interruption. In other words, even in the case that the power is not interrupted in the event of a fire accident, the power source can be cut off to release the brake by a fire fighting control device such as a smoke detector, a temperature sensor or the other fire monitoring device so that the door curtain is rolled down due to its own weight to close the door. The main feature of this type lies in that the door can be immediately closed in an event of a fire incident so as to block the fire and the dense smoke from spreading if the power interruption is certainly caused by fire.
In contrast to the above, the non-failsafe type door operator in power interruption condition still keeps the brake in an activated state regardless of the cause of power interruption so that the fireproof door is not shut immediately. Only in the case that the fusible link is melted by a high temperature caused by a fire, the mechanical type brake is actuated mechanically so that the door curtains fall downward due to their own weight to close the door. The main feature of this type lies in that personnel entering/leaving through the fireproof door is not interrupted if the power interruption is caused by non-fire factors.
So far, several documents concerning the failsafe type door operator of fireproof door have been proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,514 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,234. Basically, two electromagnets are used to maintain a brake device in a braking state under power-on condition, or to release the brake so as to close the door at once in the power interruption state. The structure of this failsafe door operator of fireproof door is very complicated and has a huge volume. On the other hand, documents concerning the non-failsafe door operator of fireproof door such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,392 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,891 are known to the public, in which either the manual operation of the door operator should be done through mode-switching or a chain is pulled to move a chain disc and at the same time the brake should be released to rotate a rotary shaft. Hence, improvement to use and structure of the conventional art is expected.


A connector for an implantable medical lead that is electrically and mechanically connectable to an implantable medical device, has a connector pin made of a first conducting material. A tubular insulator made of an insulating material concentrically surrounds at least a portion of the pin. A connector ring made of a second conducting material is concentrically positioned around at least a portion of the insulator. The insulator is connected to the connector ring by spark plasma sintering in the case of an active fixation lead, and is connected to the ring and the pin by spark plasma sintering in the case of a passive fixation lead.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to implantable leads, and in particular to proximal end portions for such implantable leads.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Body implantable electrical leads form the electrical connection between an implantable medical device (IMD), such as cardiac pacemaker, cardiac defibrillator or cardioverter, and body tissue, such as the heart, which is to be electrically stimulated. As is well known, the leads connecting the IMD with the tissue may be used for pacing/defibrillation and for sensing electrical signals produced by the tissue.
The implantable leads of today are complex arrangements, generally including multiple different lead elements of different materials and therefore having different characteristics. In particular, connector arrangements or proximal end portions of implantable leads are complex arrangements, generally consisting of a multitude of different lead elements that have to be interconnected to form the final connector. This assembling process is complex and time-consuming having multiple separate sub-assembly steps.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of producing a proximal connector end of an implantable lead


Disclosed is a template-based automatic question and answer method for software bug. An entity relationship triple is extracted from a bug corpus and a natural language pattern is acquired; an entity relationship in the triple is determined; a query template corresponding to the natural language pattern is acquired; an entity in a question q proposed by a user is replaced with an entity type to acquire a question q′; then, the entity type in q′ and an entity type in the natural language pattern are compared and searched for and a similarity is calculated; then, a SPARQL query pattern of the question q is acquired according to the similarity and the entity in the question q; and finally, the SPARQL query pattern of the question q is executed so as to acquire an answer to the question q.

In order to solve some new software bugs encountered, software developers and maintainers generally need to use search engines and software bug databases to question and answer about software bugs. However, search engines generally express search requirements based on the logic of the combination of keywords, and search requirements of users are generally complex and special. Therefore, search engines cannot understand users' intentions in detail and accurately, and thus naturally cannot retrieve answers that satisfy users. In addition, since most of the software bug databases adopt a search method based on traditional relational databases, the results obtained by the search contain a large amount of information and attributes of the software bugs which generally have little relevance with the questions that the software developers and maintainers want to know, so that the software developers and maintainers cannot be helped to fix the new software bugs. In addition, the method for searching the software bug information in search engines and software bug databases directly adopts a keyword matching technology, so that search space is large, time is greatly consumed, and the search results obtained by only depending on the keyword search are not accurate. Therefore, such a time-consuming and power-consuming question-and-answer manner makes it difficult for searchers to find the information they really need.

Template-based automatic software bug question and answer method


A collet lock assembly for use on a downhole tool allows repeat cycling of a “RELEASE” and “SET” position. In the “RELEASE” position, the collet lock assembly allows bi-directional relative movement of the mandrel in relation to the collet lock assembly, while in the “SET” position, the assembly allows bi-directional load transfer along the mandrel directly into the slip assembly while diverting axial loads away from components positioned along the downhole tool.

In conventional downhole assemblies, various components are positioned along the assemblies. A packer element is one such component that is utilized to isolate portions of the wellbore. When a packer is activated, it exerts a radial compressive force on the mandrel which, in turn, applies a collapse pressure on the mandrel. In addition, axial forces applied to the tool can act on the packer to create tensile or compressive forces within the mandrel, thus increasing the risk of crushing the mandrel or increasing the risk of bursting the mandrel above the elements in situations of applied internal pressure. Depending on tool configuration, these axial forces can also be directed through the elements, thus greatly increasing the resulting radially applied collapse pressure on the mandrel.
In the conventional art, there are devices which allow for some control of these axial load paths. Body lock rings and internal slips are two methods to allow for the desired load diversion. These are, however, limited by the fact that they only allow free movement in one direction and load transfer in the opposite direction. They are further limited by their inability to be released from their directional load transfer. Once they are engaged, they cannot be released.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a tool which allows axial loads along the tool to be isolated from tool components, while also allowing for bi-directional movement when disengaged, bi-directional load transfer while engaged, and a method for switching between these states.

Collet lock assembly and method for downhole load diversion


A method and an electronic circuit, the electronic circuit includes: a module that comprises multiple flip-flops and a control signal providing circuit; a power management circuit arranged to provide to the module a supply voltage of a functional level when the module is in a functional mode, and to provide to the module a supply voltage of an idle level when the module is in an idle mode; wherein the control signal providing circuit is arranged to provide to the multiple flip-flops, when the module is in the functional mode, a control signal that facilitates a state change of each of the multiple flip-flops; wherein the control signal providing circuit is arranged to provide to the multiple flip-flops, when the module is in the idle mode, a control signal that prevents a state change of each of the multiple flip-flops; wherein the each of the control signal providing circuit and a plurality of flip-flops of the multiple flip-flops comprises at least one hybrid circuit that comprises a low-threshold transistor that is coupled in parallel to at least one high-threshold transistor; wherein each hybrid circuit is arranged to maintain information or a control signal when provided with the supply voltage of the idle level; and wherein high-threshold transistors of each hybrid circuit are arranged to maintain information or a control signal when provided with a supply voltage of a level that is higher than the idle level.

Various strategies have been developed to help reducing power consumption of an integrated circuit while maintaining the same levels of performance and functionality. For example, the integrated circuit can be maintained in an idle mode from time to time, thus reducing the power consumption of the integrated circuit.
A high performance level requires using low-threshold transistors that are fast but suffer from high leakage. A low level of power consumption requires using high-threshold transistors that exhibit low leakage but are slow and may require a high idle voltage in order to maintain information when in an idle mode.

Electronic circuit and method for operating a module in a functional mode and in an idle mode


A color plasma display device for preventing phosphor sputtering phenomenon and the image spread phenomenon. The phosphor coating layer is separated by a transparent insulating layer from the gas discharge space by sequentially positioning the phosphor material coating layer. A black layer containing holes therein and a transparent insulating layer below an upper glass substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the construction of a color plasma display device, hereinafter referred to as a color PDP, and, more specifically, to a color PDP construction for preventing phosphor sputtering phenomenon and image spread phenomenon by separating the gas discharge by a transparent insulating layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to a typical color PDP display method, when the gas of the internal cell is discharged by means of an externally applied voltage, the phosphor is excited by the ultraviolet rays generated and thus exhibits its color. Accordingly, the phosphor is required to have high light emitting efficiency with a small amount of energy. It is common for the phosphor layer to be located on the anode side for use of the large light flux.
The common color PDP has problems in that cathode sputtering can occur from the gas discharge by means of an external applied voltage. The particle sputtering adheres to the phosphor layer and coats the phosphor layer, which determines the life of a color the PDP generates. In other words, the contamination of a phosphor layer induces the breakdown voltage of a discharge. Secondly, the light emitting efficiency of a phosphor due to the shielding action from ultraviolet rays is degraded.
Meanwhile, the conventional color PDP, to realize colorization is constructed so that a phosphor is coated on an overall glass plate in a single color PDP. Because the surface phosphor layer is directly exposed to the gas discharge space, phosphor sputtering caused by the electron collision also causes another serious defect in that the cathode electrode is contaminated by the phosphor layer sputtering and the discharge efficiency thereof reduces and its life is shortened. Namely, if the cathode electrode is contaminated, the amount of electron discharge is reduced and the ionization of a gas can not be sufficiently achieved, therefore the picture quality is degraded.
This type of application is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,629,638, 3,644,925, and 4,352,040. In these patents a plurality of holes of the internal and external member are arranged in a predetermined pattern, the electrode is performed to accord with the hole of a member, and consequently a gas is sealed therein. Also, said first U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,638 is directed to a plasma display device that prevents the depression of a light output by radiating the emitted light outward without transmitting the light toward the electrode.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,925, there is disclosed a display panel of a gas discharge that arranges the discharge-type supplementary cell not to be seen from the display surface while not preventing observation of a display character for supplying the first electron required to speedily and continually generate the discharge.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,040, reference is made to a display panel displaying the dot matrix having a memory. In order to receive the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, a first groove of a plate is molded by an etching process and a second deep groove is molded by an etching or pounding process.


A balanced-torque butterfly valve (40) incorporates a pivot mechanism (52) designed to provide for bimodal movement of the valve plate (42). The valve plate (42) has a cavity (54) formed therein to receive the pivot mechanism (52) and to accommodate translational movement of the valve plate relative to the mechanism. This eliminates fluid dynamic effects that would be produced if the mechanism were positioned in the flow path (44) and external to the valve plate (42). The pivot mechanism (52) comprises a center shaft (70) rotatable relative to the valve plate (42), and a carrier shaft (72) which is in fixed rotational relation to the valve plate (42) and extends through the mounting body (46). This permits both translational movement of the valve plate (42), and detection of its rotational position from a vantage point outside of the flow path (44). In addition, the carrier shaft (72) cooperates with bearings (104) to minimize load-bearing requirements of rack and pinion gears (64, 66, 116, 118) which are used to convert rotational movement of the center shaft (70) to translational movement of the valve plate (42).

In butterfly valves, translational movement of the valve plate relative to the pivot mechanism can be used to effect dynamic torque balancing, and to facilitate actuation by using the torque exerted by fluid on the plate to rotate the latter. To applicant's knowledge, these principles were first set forth in the above-referenced patent application Ser. No. 374,897, filed on 6/30/89. They are schematically illustrated in FIGS. 12A-12C of the present application, wherein numerals 20, 22, 24, 26, and 28 indicate a valve plate, a pivot shaft, a duct, a bracket intersecuring the shaft and plate, and the direction of flow respectively. Arrow 30 and numeral 32 indicate the center of pressure associated with the forces exerted by fluid on the plate 20, and the pivot line about which the plate is rotatable.
In FIG. 12A, the shaft 22 is centered in relation to the longitudinal dimension of the plate 20 and the plate is in a closed position The center of pressure 30 is aligned with the pivot line 32, so the net torque exerted by the fluid on the plate 20 is zero. If the plate 20 is rotated to an open position as illustrated in FIG. 12B, and translated relative to the shaft 22 so that the center of pressure 30 is aligned with the pivot line 32 as illustrated in FIG. 12C, then the plate is effectively torque-balanced and the flow rate associated with the rotational angle 34 can be maintained with minimal input force required from the actuator 36. If the translational movement is too limited in range to achieve torque balancing at all rotational positions of the plate 20, it can still be used to advantage in minimizing the net torque exerted by the fluid, thus still minimizing the input force required from the actuator 36.
If it is desired to change the rotational angle 34, then the plate 20 can be translated relative to the shaft 22 in the appropriate direction to effect a misalignment of the center of pressure 30 with the pivot line 32, thus increasing the net fluid dynamic torque, and the force required to effect the change is exerted in whole or in part by the fluid conveyed in the duct 24.
Butterfly valves that are designed to provide for translational movement of the plate 20 relative to the shaft 22, for either or both of the above-described purposes, are referred to herein as "balanced-torque" butterfly valves.
The balanced-torque butterfly valves illustrated in FIGS. 12A-12C may have disadvantages in some applications. Since the bracket 26 and shaft 22 protrude from the plate 20, the structure as a whole is not well streamlined from a fluid dynamics perspective. This may result in application-dependent problems which are believed to be attributable to the effect of the shaft 22 and bracket 26 as flow restrictors. For example, in tests conducted for balanced-torque butterfly valves which have the shaft 22 positioned on the downstream side of the plate 20, the plate maintained a stable equilibrium position when partially open, but stability was dependent on pressure ratio (i.e. inlet/outlet air pressure). Above a critical pressure ratio, the plate 20 would latch open (i.e. move suddenly to a rotational angle 34 of about ninety degrees). When the valve was tested with the shaft 22 on the upstream side of the plate 20 as indicated in FIGS. 12, considerable stability was observed for rotational angles 34 ranging from zero to slightly in excess of sixty degrees Attempts to rotate the plate 20 out of an equilibrium position (i.e. a position at which the plate is translated relative to the shaft such that the center of pressure 30 is substantially aligned with the pivot line 32) were met with considerable aerodynamic torque resistance.
The current thinking is that the overall exterior shape of the valve plate 20 is the important variable in controlling the latching phenomenon, whereas resistance to rotational movement away from an equilibrium position is best controlled by translationally moving the plate out of the equilibrium position in order to facilitate rotation. In one aspect of the present invention, the latching problem is simplified by eliminating the fluid dynamic effects of the shaft 22 and the bracket 26.
Another disadvantage of previously described balanced-torque butterfly valves is that they sometimes are not well suited for providing feedback regarding the rotational position of the valve plate. That is, it is difficult to sense the rotational position of the valve plate from a location outside the duct unless the pivot shaft is in fixed rotational relationship with the valve plate. In addition, it may be desirable in many applications to provide for both rotational and translational movement of the valve plate via external actuation. A second aspect of the invention resides in the provision of a pivot mechanism which may be adapted to provide for both types of movement via external actuation, while simultaneously providing a ready means for determining the rotational position of the valve plate.
Another disadvantage relates to power transmission between the pivot shaft 22 and the plate 20. One method for translationally moving the plate 20 is to provide rack and pinion gears on the plate and shaft, respectively. However, when the plate 20 is subjected to pressure exerted thereon by the fluid conveyed in the flow path, the gears bear substantially the entire load. This may result in binding, and will almost certainly result in accelerated wear. A third aspect of the invention pertains to minimizing the load-bearing requirements of such power transmission components.


A driver element is provided for an endless saddle chain in a saddle line, wherein the saddle chain includes saddle segments and receiver segments, with the saddle segments defining a substantially saddle-shaped roof of the saddle chain. The driver element is arranged to be detachably fastened without tools to a respective one of the receiver segments. The driver element includes two driving flaps that are pre-tensioned against each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a driving element for an endless saddle chain, especially in the processing of printed matter, and a corresponding endless saddle chain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Saddle chains and drivers are found in saddle stitchers, where signatures are placed on and along the saddle chain by feeders and transported by the drivers to a stitching station. There, the signatures lying one on top of the other are stitched and then cut at three sides in a trimmer so as to produce a finished print product. The signatures used in saddle stitchers are folded sheets, having a single or several folds, that are placed on the saddle-shaped chain along the at least one fold.
Such saddle stitchers with corresponding saddle chains and driver components are marketed, e.g., by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, under the type designation ST300, ST350 or ST400. Other configurations are known, e.g., European Patent EP 0 881 180 B1. Here, the driving elements are fixed to the ridge of the saddle chain, so that the saddle chain has a particularly narrow configuration. However, this has a drawback in that bearing blades arranged above the ridge must have a proper spacing from the feeders. Another known saddle stitcher is disclosed in European Patent Application EP 1 074 495 A1. Here, the driver elements are movably secured to the saddle chain so that they can swivel from a substantially vertical mounting position to a substantially horizontal mounting position.
As in other machines, the productivity of the machine does not depend primarily on the operating speed, but rather, on how many products can be processed with the machine in a specific amount of time. For saddle stitchers, one of the upper limits is the speed at which the saddle chain is driven, which is also associated with aerodynamic factors that make it difficult to transport the signatures lying loosely one on top of another on the saddle chain at higher speeds. In order to increase the number of products per unit of time and, thus, the productivity of the saddle stitcher without increasing the speed of the saddle chain, the chain pitch, i.e., the distance between the drivers on the saddle chain, is adjusted to the product size. Since a shorter spacing between the drivers on the saddle chain is sufficient for smaller products, by appropriately reducing this spacing, more products can be placed on the saddle chain per unit of time which increases the productivity. The problem with this in the prior art is that changing the chain pitch, if possible, is a costly operation, which in turn requires lengthy down time between jobs, which again reduces the productivity. Therefore, in some saddle stitchers, the saddle chain has saddle segments and receiver segments, and driver elements can be inserted in the receiver segments. The driver elements are polyurethane components which, due to their elasticity, remain form-fitted in the receiver segments and can be removed without the use of tools in order to change the pitch of the saddle chain. In practice, however, it has not always been possible to remove the driver elements from the receiver segments easily without the use of tools, since the driver elements often get jammed because of their configuration, and their removal can also result in damage to the driver elements and the saddle chain.


Fiber optic assemblies including a plurality of optical fibers in a connector having a ferrule are disclosed. The ferrule has a front end face and a plurality of bores with the plurality of optical fibers being disposed within one of the respective plurality of bores. The fiber optic assemblies have the plurality of optical fibers recessed from the front end face of the ferrule by a suitable distance to inhibit physical contact of the plurality of optical fibers when mated with a complementary connection. Consequently, the fiber optic assemblies are suited for hundreds or thousands of connections and disconnections (i.e., mating cycles) with reduced susceptibility from damage and/or optical attenuation caused by dirt, debris and the like as expected with the consumer electronic/device environments.

The disclosure relates to fiber optic assemblies used for making repeated optical connections and disconnections. Specifically, the disclosure is directed to fiber optic assemblies having optical fibers that are recessed from an end face of a ferrule for allowing large numbers of connections and disconnections (i.e., matings) while providing suitable optical performance over its lifetime.
Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation. Because of these advantages, optical fiber is increasingly is used for a variety of applications such as transmission of broadband voice, video, and data transmission. Conventional fiber optic assemblies typically use a ferrule in the connector for holding and aligning the optical fibers during mating with another complementary connector. While it is advantageous for the craft to make optical connections that can be disconnected, reconfigured and/or replaced, the assemblies are not used in a fashion where they have relatively large numbers of mating cycles (i.e., disconnect and connect cycles). Instead, conventional optical connectors are typically designed to have low optical insertion loss.
In order to achieve low optical insertion loss conventional optical connections use and strive for physical contact between the optical fibers. In other words, the ends of the optical fibers actually physically contact, thereby providing a low-loss optical pathway by minizing/reducing gaps, reflections, and the like. As such, the optical fibers of conventional optical connectors' desire that the optical fiber is at, or past, the front end face of the ferrule for achieving physical contact and minimizing optical losses. Likewise, the conventional multi-fiber designs use physical contact since optical connection is much more difficult and complicated with multiple fibers while providing low-loss performance. In other words, multi-fiber optical connectors use physical contact over an array of fibers.
Of course, there are conventional fiber optic connector designs that do not use physical contact such as lens-based fiber optic connectors. Lens-based fiber optic connector designs generally use lens near the end of the optical fiber for beam expansion, thereby providing a larger area for detecting the optical signal. Like physical contact connectors there are drawbacks to the lens-based fiber optic connectors when experiencing large numbers of mating cycles. For instance, the lens-based fiber optic connectors have performance issues with contaminants such as dirt and debris. The assemblies disclosed herein solve the need in the art for a reliable, durable and rugged fiber optic connector with stable performance over a large number of mating cycles.

Fiber optic assemblies having connectors with recessed optical fibers


A method of use comprises providing an inline pipe grate component and at least partially burying the inline pipe grate component. The inline pipe grate component has a longitudinal axis and a plurality of slits oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to drainage, and more particularly to the use of a pipe containing a plurality of apertures as a gravity fed ground water or surface water drainage conduit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Water often accumulates above the ground and below the ground surface. Water accumulated above the ground may be referred to as standing water. Water accumulated below the ground surface may be referred to as ground water. In some circumstances accumulated water is desirable, while in other circumstances it is desirable to remove accumulated water.
Conduits are often used to collect, transport, and infiltrate water and other liquids. A collection conduit has a plurality of entry ports through which fluid may enter the conduit. A collection conduit may be used to collect standing or ground water. A transport conduit is generally fluid impermeable having only a single fluid entry port and a single fluid exit port. A transport conduit is used primarily to transport or convey fluid from a first location to a second location. An infiltration conduit has a plurality of exit ports through which fluid may exit the conduit. An infiltration conduit may be used to disperse transported fluid.

Apparatus and method of use of a drainage member


A susceptor for use in a vertical vapor-phase growth system designed to heat substrates by means of heat transferred and radiated from a susceptor heated to cause vapor-phase growth on the substrates. The susceptor has a large number of spot-faced portions for receiving substrates, respectively. Each spot-faced portion has a concentrical circular ridge to define a pair of inner and outer spaces at the inner and outer sides, respectively, of the ridge, each of the inner and outer spaces having a concave bottom having a circular radial section, so that a substrate is supported by the circular ridge. Thus, the substrate is uniformly heated by means of the RF induction heat from the susceptor, so that generation of a thermal stress exceeding the critical strength of the substrate is suppressed and substantially no slip occurs. Since silicon that is formed during a vapor-phase growth reaction is deposited on the bottom of the outer space, it is possible to prevent deposition of silicon on the periphery of the reverse side of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a susceptor used in a vertical vapor-phase growth system to support and heat substrates which are to be subjected to vapor-phase growth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a reactor used for epitaxial growth includes three elements;
(1) susceptor 1 to hold substrates 7, PA1 (2) reaction chamber, PA1 (3) heating means 3.
Several types of epitaxial reactors having various elements are used--for example, horizontal type, vertical type, barrel type.
In a vertical-type reactor, as shown in FIG. 1, a radio-frequency (RF) induction heater 3 and a susceptor 1 made of electro-conductive material, generally carbon graphite, are used. As shown in FIG. 7, susceptor 1-2 has a number of spot-faced portions 2--2 provided in the surface thereof to receive substrates, respectively, which are to be subjected to vapor-phase growth.
The substrates mounted on each susceptor 1-2 are heated by means of heat transferred and radiated from the susceptor 1-2. The spot-faced portions 2--2 for receiving respective substrates have heretofore been formed so as to have a bottom with a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration (see FIG. 8A), a flat bottom (see FIG. 8B), a bottom constituted by a single curved surface (see FIG. 8C), etc. (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication (KOKAI) Nos. 59-50095 and 62-4315).
When a substrate received in a spot-face portion in a susceptor is heated at high temperature, a thermal stress which exceeds the critical strength of the substrate is generated therein and slip, that is, a displacement of crystal planes, occurs. The slip is related to the cross-sectional configuration of the spot-faced portions and, therefore, various considerations have heretofore been given to improve the configuration of the spot-faced portions (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication (KOKAI) Nos. 59-50095 and 62-4315). There is also a known method wherein generation of slip is prevented by controlling the radial temperature gradient in each substrate and temperature variations within the plane (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication (KOKAI) No. 61-190921).
Thus, the improvements hitherto made in susceptors for vapor-phase growth systems aim mainly at preventing generation of slip in substrates.
Accordingly, in a continuous vapor-phase epitaxial growth reaction, silicon is deposited on the periphery of the reverse side of each substrate and this leads to problems in the device process, for example, damage to the mask during lithography process and peel off of chips during dicing process, which results in a lowering in the product yield.


An ejection head cartridge and an inhalation apparatus may limit turbulence in an air stream and reduce the likelihood of collisions of ejected drug in an air flow channel so that the drug can be conveyed in a uniform air stream. An ejection head cartridge that is attachable to an inhalation apparatus for ejecting drug for inhalation by a user and has a plurality of ejection ports includes, among end portions continuous to a surface provided with the ejection ports, an end portion parallel to an ejection port array having a shape that guides a part of the air stream generated in the direction orthogonal to the ejection-port providing surface along the surface.

An inhalation apparatus has been developed, in which the principle of the ink jet method is used to eject fine liquid droplets of drug into an air flow channel, where air inhaled through a mouthpiece flows, to allow a user to inhale the drug (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-511966). Such an inhalation apparatus provides an advantage that a predetermined amount of drug is precisely sprayed in the form of particles having a uniform diameter.
The general cross-section of the inhaler clearly specified in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-511966 is shown in FIG. 10. The inhaler includes an air inlet port 1 that introduces air to be taken from the outside into the body of a user with drug upon inhalation, an ejection head 3 that ejects the drug, and a mouthpiece 4 that the user holds in his/her mouth when inhaling the drug ejected from the ejection head 3 into the body. The ejection head 3 has ejection ports 5, and the drug, in a reservoir 7, is supplied to the ejection head 3. The inhaler is configured so that the drug is ejected in a direction generally parallel to the direction of an air stream, and the drug is conveyed without turbulence in the air stream toward an inhalation port.
The liquid droplets ejected from the ejection ports have an extremely small diameter suitable for deposition to respiratory organs, on the order of 3 μm to 8 μm, and are likely to be affected by the turbulence of an air stream in an air flow channel. The turbulence of the air stream in which the drug is conveyed may increase collisions between the liquid droplets, and increase the diameter of each liquid droplet of the inhaled drug as a result. Any change of the diameter of liquid droplets affects the site where the liquid droplets are deposited after inhalation. In addition, the turbulence may increase the tendency of the drug to become attached to the inner wall of the air flow channel. In the latter case, the amount of drug that is not inhaled after ejection is increased, resulting in waste. Such increase is not preferable from a hygienic standpoint.
The present inventors have studied an air stream in the case where the direction of drug ejection is generally parallel to the direction of the air stream, as in the case of the mentioned National Publication of International Patent Application No. 8-511966. For example, it is assumed that a cubic ejection head cartridge is installed in a cylindrical air flow channel. FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C illustrate the simulation results on the flow of an air stream in such an air flow channel. FIG. 11C is a view illustrating flow patterns formed by liquid droplets ejected from ejection ports 5 on the same cross-section as in FIG. 11A. FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C are views schematically illustrating the results, and FIG. 12C is a view of the air flow channel 4 and the ejection head cartridge 3 placed in the air flow channel 4 as seen from the direction of the inhalation port. An array of ejection ports 5 is arranged parallel to the direction of a longer diameter of the ellipse of a cross section of the air flow channel 4. The cross-section taken along the line 12A-12A of FIG. 12C corresponds to that taken along the line 11A-11A of FIG. 11B, and the cross-section taken along the line 12B-12B of FIG. 12C corresponds to that taken along the line 11B-11B of FIG. 11A.
The conditions used in the simulation were as follows. The aspiration rate through the inhalation port 6 was 30 L/min, so that it was assumed that air having momentum equal to the water droplets of 1.4 ml/minute was ejected through the ejection ports 5 (at a discharge rate of 1.2 L/min). The air flow channel 4 had a longer diameter of 25 mm, a shorter diameter of 10 mm, and an overall length of 25 mm, and a length from an ejection-port providing surface to the inhalation port of 15 mm. The ejection head 3 was adapted with a cube of 10 mm×10 mm×10 mm. The ejection-port providing surface included four inlet boundaries of 0.2 mm×6 mm, the longitudinal directions of which were the same as those of the ejection port arrays. The arrows in FIGS. 11A and 11B represent the vectors of wind speeds of the air flow at the start point of the arrow. That is, the length of an arrow represents the magnitude of the wind speed, and the direction of the arrow represents the direction of the air stream.
As the outlines of the results of FIGS. 11A and 11B are shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, it was found that after the air stream that rises along the side surfaces of the ejection head cartridge 3 passes the outer peripheries of the ejection-port providing surface constituting the top head portion of the ejection head cartridge, the flow of the air stream is divided, and is likely to approach the ejection ports 5. Therefore, the air stream was found to be directed inward, and another air stream that was not parallel to the direction of drug ejection was generated. The flow patterns formed by the liquid droplets in the case where drug is conveyed in the above-described air stream are illustrated in FIG. 11C. It was found that the flow patterns formed by the liquid droplets are distributed in a narrow space at a high density because the air stream tends to be directed to the center, particularly around the outlet of the inhalation port 6.
If the air stream illustrated in the cross-sections in the direction parallel to the ejection port 5 arrays (FIG. 11A and FIG. 12A) is directed inward, the probability of collisions between the liquid droplets ejected from the ejection port arrays is increased, which is not preferable.

Ejection head cartridge and inhalation apparatus the same is attachable thereto


Described is a heating means for thermally connecting two objects each having a plastic material, wherein, during the connecting, a first inner object is surrounded at least partially by a second outer object, and the heating means surrounds the first inner object at least partially along a complete circumferential course around the first inner object, and is located between the first inner object and the second outer object. The heating means has a ribbon-type structure. The ribbon-type structure has an auxiliary heating material, which is inductively heatable, wherein the auxiliary heating material is spatially distributed or arranged along the circumferential course such that an electrical conductivity is interrupted at at least one position along the complete circumferential course around the first inner object. Further described are an arrangement and a system each having such a heating means as well as a method for thermally connecting two plastic objects.

Objects made of plastic may be thermally connected to each other by inserting an electrically conductive material between the two objects to be connected and by heating the former by an alternating electromagnetic field, which is generated by a specially embodied generator. In the so-called induction welding of plastic objects, an electromagnetic coupling is effected between a magnetic and electrically conductive material and an induction generator substantially via a magnetic field, which is variable in time and which is generated by a coil of the induction generator.
The principle of induction welding is used in particular in the thermal connecting of ends of two plastic pipes by a plastic bushing (or sleeve), which is pushed (or slipped) over the two ends to be welded together. Herein, a magnetic and electrically conductive heating means is introduced between the plastic bushing and the lateral surface of each respective end section of the two pipes to be connected and is heated inductively such that the outer sides of the two end sections as well as the inner side of the plastic bushing are molten on and assume a permanent welding connection during a subsequent cooling down.
Methods of induction welding for plastic casing pipes are disclosed for example in EP 2 886 285 A1 as well as in DE 10 2013 021 667 A1.
However, a technical problem in induction welding consists in that the amount of heat and/or the thermal energy, which is supplied via the heating means, is to be adjusted such that a stable thermal welded connection is ensured on the one hand and the form stability of the objects to be welded together is not endangered on the other hand. Only in this way, "good" welded connections can be achieved by induction welding.
However, for a "good" welded connection, it is not only necessary to exactly determine the total amount of thermal energy, which is used for a plane welded connection. Rather, it should also be catered for that this thermal energy is distributed as homogeneously as possible over the total surface of the welded connection. In particular, so-called local "hotspots" should be avoided, which may lead to a local overheating and damage in particular of liquefied plastic material.
For example, in the welding of insulated long-distance heat pipelines, it has turned out that punctual overheatings in the welding process of a casing pipe of an insulated long-distance heat pipeline change insulating materials (e.g. PU foams), which are arranged thereunder, such that the according insulating values change and/or diffusion barriers become permeable. Furthermore, overheatings and in particular local overheatings in crystalline raw materials or partially crystalline raw materials (e.g. in high density polyethylene, HDPE, which is a preferred raw material for plastic pipes) may result in pronounced irregularities in the formation of crystallites at least in a subsequent cooling-down process. Typically, mechanical disturbance zones are formed thereby, which represent mechanical predetermined breaking points as a consequence. In addition, strong undesired local overheatings may result in a rupture and/or a break of polymer chains, which is also referred to as so-called de-polymerization. Also, de-polymerizations represent mechanical weak points in the microstructure of the corresponding plastic material. In addition, an even stronger local heating may even result in a decomposition and thus in a highly undesired formation of gas bubbles (or gas pockets). Also, in this relation, it is obvious that the mechanical stability of a welded connection suffers thereby.

Inductive welding of plastic objects with electrically interrupted heating means


The invention relates to compounds of the general formula (I)

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to novel halogen-substituted compounds, to processes for their preparation and to their use for controlling animal pests, in particular arthropods and especially insects, arachnids and nematodes.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that certain halogen-substituted compounds have herbicidal action (cf. J. Org. Chem. 1997, 62(17), 5908-5919, J. Heterocycl. Chem. 1998, 35(6), 1493-1499, WO 2004/035545, WO 2004/106324, US 2006/069132, WO 2008/029084).
Furthermore, it is known that certain halogen-substituted compounds are insecticidally active (EP1911751).
In addition, it is known that certain halogen-substituted compounds have cytokine-inhibitory activities (WO 00/07980).
Modern crop protection compositions have to meet many demands, for example in relation to efficacy, persistence and spectrum of their action and possible use. Questions of toxicity, the combinability with other active compounds or formulation auxiliaries play a role, as well as the question of the expense that the synthesis of an active compound requires. Furthermore, resistances may occur. For all these reasons, the search for novel crop protection agents can never be considered as having been concluded, and there is a constant need for novel compounds having properties which, compared to the known compounds, are improved at least in respect of individual aspects.

N-(3-carbamoylphenly)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxamide derivatives and the use thereof for controlling animal pests

Abstract: in which the radicals A1, A2, A3, A4, L, Q, R1, T and W have the meaning given in the description and to the use of the compounds for controlling animal pests. The invention furthermore relates to processes and intermediates for preparing the compounds of formula (I).


An optical disc drive is has a voice coil motor that carries and moves focal optics to focus a laser beam onto an optical disc The voice coil motor is responsive to input signals which are based on a calibrated temperature. A temperature measurement is made at the voice coil motor for an operating temperature, and a difference is calculated between calibrated and operating temperatures. The temperature differences are used to calculate adjustment in input signals used to drive the voice coil motors.

Optical discs, such as compact discs (CD) and digital versatile discs (DVD) are forms of computer readable media which provide extensive storage for digital information. One side of an optical disc may contain data and is referred to as a data side. The data side may be read only, or may also be written to. The other side of the optical disc that does not contain data may provide for a label and is referred to as the label side. In particular cases, a side or both sides may provide for both data and a label.
An optical disc drive (ODD) of a computer may be used to read from and may write to a data side of an optical disc. An optical pickup unit (OPU), included within the optical disc drive, is configured with a laser and sensors adapted for reading, and possibly writing, data. Various ODDs and OPUs are available, and are manufactured to specifically read and write to the data side of optical discs.
Using emerging technology, the OPU assembly may be used to produce an image on the label surface of an optical disc configured for such a labeling process. Producing the image includes defining tacks which are concentric circles of the optical disc where the image is written, and focusing focal optics of a laser beam that performs the actual printing of the image on the optical disc.
An ODD typically includes a voice coil motor (VCM) configured as a sled motor that moves an OPU assembly in a radial direction to a position that is adjacent particular tracks of the optical disc. An OPU assembly may also include a VCM configured as a focus motor that moves focal optics to a particular distance orthogonal to a surface of the disc such as a height above or below the disc, to focus a laser beam for labeling. The VCMs are responsive to an input signal (voltage or current) and move to a particular location when a particular input signal is applied. Therefore, when an input signal is applied to the sled VCM, the OPU assembly is moved adjacent to a particular track. Likewise, when an input signal is applied to the focus VCM, the focal optics are moved to a particular focus position. The VCMs are typically calibrated to move a particular distance when a particular input signal is applied. The calibration is performed at a particular temperature.
However, a VCM includes metal windings whose electrical conductivity is affected by temperature changes. Therefore when the VCM is heated, the resistance of the metal windings goes up and electrical conductivity increases. Since a VCM is calibrated at a particular temperature to move a particular distance based on a particular input signal, not accounting for temperature changes can result in inaccurate positioning. For example, if a VCM is operated at a temperature different from the calibration temperature, a particular input signal may move the OPU assembly to an incorrect track position or the focal optics to an incorrect focus position.
Accordingly, a need exists for the present invention.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An electrophotographic color printer includes a photoconductor and a printing unit for producing a toner image on the photoconductor. The printing unit is removably provided in a receptacle in the printer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an electrophotographic printer for printing a final image carrier, having a transport for transporting the final image carrier, a first printer unit for generating a first toner image on the basis of a first arrangement of color particles on a first photoconductor, at least one further printer unit for generating a further toner image on the basis of a further arrangement of color particles on a further printer, and a transfer apparatus for direct or indirect transfer of the first toner image from the first photoconductor and of the further toner image from the further photoconductor onto a surface section of the front side of the final image carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term a color separation generally refers to a toner image that was applied by a single developer station. A multi-colored print image consequently arises by superimposition of a plurality of color separations.
A printer which uses color separation is disclosed, for example by European published application EP 0 659 569 A1. Given the printer described therein, the first single-color toner image (or color separation) is fixed by the first printer unit before the second toner image, which is likewise of a single-color, is applied onto the already fixed, first toner image. An exactly registered multi-color printing is not possible with the known printer since it cannot be assured that the two toner images are printed exactly on the same surface section of the carrier material. As a result thereof, the picture elements of the first toner image and of the second toner image may also not be aligned exactly relative to one another. The result is that undesired superimpositions or empty spaces between picture elements of different toner images arise (this also being known as registration error). High quality color printing is ultimately not possible. Given graduated, planar color printing, color errors and color seams arise. Further, unsharp and/or color-falsified image details arise in the region of the lines and written characters when printing lines and written characters.
The printer according to the above-cited published application is also inflexible with respect to an being adopted to different printing jobs. When, for example, printing is to be carried out with only one color, then the second printer according to said published application is superfluous. Moreover, a color pallet of four predetermined colors can only be selected when printing with the printer according to the European patent document EP 0 658 569 A1.
Published German application DE 44 34 081 A1 discloses a printer for multi-color printing that contains four printer units, each having a respective photoconductor. The apparatus disclosed therein for avoiding registration errors requires a complicated adjustment procedure wherein what are referred as eccentricity phases must be taken into consideration.

Modular electrophotographic color printer


An apparatus and a method for intelligent analysis of device compatibility and adaptive processing of multimedia data are disclosed. By performing a unique intelligent analysis of device compatibility, the present invention provides a full application-level compatibility between the apparatus performing the intelligent analysis and an external device operatively connected to the apparatus even when device driver-level information of the external device is unavailable. Furthermore, a unique intelligent analysis for adaptive processing of multimedia data between the apparatus and the external devices enables an efficient and flexible usage of storage space in the external device for a multimedia data transfer from the apparatus to the external device.

The present invention generally relates to intelligent analysis of device compatibility and adaptive processing of multimedia data based on requirements and limitations of a connected device. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for intelligent analysis of device compatibility. Furthermore, the invention also relates to an apparatus and a method for intelligent analysis of multimedia data and electronic devices for optimal and error-free adaptive processing of the multimedia data transfer between electronic devices.
More emphasis are placed on today's new electronic devices to communicate seamlessly with other electronic devices. A cellular phone which was primarily used as a standalone voice-communication electronic device twenty years ago is now expected to be connected to a user's computer, a vehicle communication and audio system, and numerous kinds of portable electronics. In order to satisfy consumers' ever-increasing demand for device compatibilities, many consortiums of companies have formulated standardized wireless and wired communication protocols to provide an ease of communication compatibilities among a plurality of electronic devices. Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11-based wireless LAN protocols, and IEEE 1394 "FireWire" standards are current industry examples of standardized device level interfaces to provide device compatibilities.
The industry trend today is minimizing the burden of manual device configurations from users for more satisfying user experience. However, in most cases, a complete application-level compatibility requires at least one device to possess some driver-level information of a connecting device. In one conventional case, the driver-level information of a first device is already present (e.g. pre-installation, and etc.) in a second device before the first device is connected to the second device using a common standardized protocol. In another conventional case, the driver-level information of the first device is transferred to the second device during or after a hardware-level detection of an operative connection (e.g. physical wire connection, PHY-level wireless protocol connection, and etc.) between the first device and the second device. Some application-level initial device connections require manual configurations of device drivers, while others are automated upon physical-level connections.
Another example of the present limitation of providing user-friendly device compatibility is a well-known compatibility concept called "Plug-n-Play", which enables a peripheral device to be recognized by a PC when the peripheral device is plugged into a PC communication port (e.g. serial, parallel, EISA, PCI, and etc.). "Plug-n-Play" was largely popularized by Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system released in the mid-1990's. Although "Plug-n-Play" allows a computer user to plug-in a peripheral device for an auto-initialization of the peripheral device, it still requires a device driver to be either pre-installed in the PC or installed to the PC during the auto-initialization process. Therefore, in today's conventional methods of establishing compatible application-level connections, an electronic device which does not have or does not have access to driver-level information of a connecting device typically fails to provide a full application-level compatibility.
Therefore, it is highly advantageous to devise an apparatus and a method for intelligent analysis of device compatibility which enable a full application-level compatibility even without device driver-level information of a connecting device. Furthermore, it is also often advantageous to perform an intelligent analysis of multimedia data and electronic devices for optimal and error-free adaptive processing of the multimedia data transfer between electronic devices, typically after the intelligent analysis of device compatibility.

Apparatus and method for intelligent analysis of device compatibility and adaptive processing of multimedia data


A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a first conveying guide that has a first conveying face of a conveying path; a second conveying guide that has a second conveying face opposed to the first conveying face; and a guide portion that is provided at any one of the first conveying guide and the second conveying guide, the guide portion has an elastic member that is fixed to one of the first conveying guide and the second conveying guide, and a rigid member that is provided on the face side of the elastic member on which the sheet passes and that has a surface more rigid than that of the elastic member, and the elastic member is deformed by pressing of the conveyed sheet when the sheet passes through the guide portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer and in an image reading apparatus such as a scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image reading apparatus such as a scanner includes an image reading portion that reads an image of a sheet, and a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys the sheet from a sheet tray to the image reading portion. In addition, an image forming apparatus such as a printer includes an image forming portion that forms an image on a sheet, and a sheet conveying apparatus that supplies the sheet from a sheet tray to the image forming portion.
Such a sheet conveying apparatus is provided with a guide member that applies a force to the sheet to be conveyed by an elastic body.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-76438 discloses a biasing member which applies a force to a sheet to one side in a sheet conveying path using strength of stiffness of a film member, employing the thin film member formed of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin as an elastic body.
In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-162354, a guide member which guides a sheet to a pivot shaft side of a sensor flag provided in a sheet conveying path using strength of stiffness of a film member, similarly employing the thin film member formed of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin as an elastic body, is provided. As described above, it is possible to reliably sense the sheet by the sensor flag by providing the guide member.
However, in the guide member based on the elastic body formed of the thin film member proposed hitherto, the guide member itself may be worn out by an edge of a leading end or trailing end of the passing sheet.
Particularly, the shape of the guide member of the related art described above has a bent portion which is convex with respect to the sheet passing face. When the number of passing sheets in such a shape gets larger, the bent portion may be worn out and sharpened by the passing sheet. In addition, when the worn-out proceeds, the downstream side of the sheet in the conveying direction is torn off from the bent portion of the guide member, and may be conveyed to the downstream in the sheet conveying apparatus with the sheet.


A connection member that includes right and left side walls; a shaft support portion that is swingably fitted onto a support shaft that is provided at the blade main body; upper and lower pieces that are formed so as to be continuous from the shaft support portion; and projections that come into sliding contact with inner side surfaces at the opening are formed on outer side surfaces of the right and left side walls, wherein: the shaft support portion and the upper piece are integrally formed so as to bridge the right and left side walls, the lower piece is formed so as to be separated from the right and left side walls by a groove, and outward projection amounts of the projections are larger at the lower piece than at the upper piece.

The present disclosure relates to a connection member.
There exists a connection member (U clip) that is attached to a blade main body in order to connect a wiper blade to a tip end portion of a wiper arm. The connection member is swingably attached to a support shaft at a side of the blade main body. A U-shaped tip end portion is formed on the tip end portion of the wiper arm so as to fit and connect onto a U-shaped connection that is formed between right and left side walls of the connection member. As a result, the connection member can swingably attach the wiper blade to the wiper arm (see Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2569487 and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H11-310110, for example).
Outer surfaces of the right and left side walls of the connection member are made to slide on side plates at a side of the blade main body in order to prevent vibration (jounce) in a wiping direction of the wiper blade. However, the connection member is structured such that its connection part, whose outer surfaces are U-shaped, is vertically open. That is, upper and lower portions at the right and left side walls are open so as to be lip-shaped. After resin molding, such resin is apt to be drawn inward due to resin shrinkage, for example. As a result, the slide with the blade main body side is insufficient, and a vibration problem thus occurs at the time of wiping, for example. In order to overcome the problem, proposed projections are formed with the same projection amounts on the outer surfaces of the right and left side walls of the connection member so that the projections can securely contact and slide on the side plates at the blade main body side (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-330835, for example).


A container with an applicator, which is, although simple in structure, capable of solving a problem of residue adhered to a scraping section ejecting to a mouth of the container. The container with an applicator includes a container body and a lid body having a shaft body at the head of which an applicator is installed. A scraping section is provided on the container body mouth and an annular projection is provided on the shaft body of the lid body. Further, small air circulation holes are provided above and below the annular projection of the shaft body, and the holes enable air to circulate through the inside of the shaft body.

Many makeup cosmetic compositions such as mascara, a liquid eyeliner, a paste-like lipcolor, a paste-like lip gloss, and manicure material have a certain degree of viscosity, because these cosmetic compositions must adhere to eyelashes, the area around the eyes, lips, nails, and the like. In many cases, the products of these cosmetic compositions consist of a cylindrical container containing the composition and a lid equipped with an applicator. Since an excess amount of the composition having a high viscosity frequently adheres to the applicator, many cosmetic containers have a scraping section to remove the excessive composition near the mouth of the container.
However, air circulation between the inside and outside of the container would be inhibited if such a scraping section is provided. A particular problem is ejection of residue produced from the composition adhering to the scraping section from the mouth of the container due to a pressure change caused by inserting the applicator.
An attempt has been made to overcome this problem by appropriately designing or selecting the form and material of the scraping section, appropriately designing the form of the brush shaft attached to the applicator, appropriately adjusting the distance between the scraping section and the brush shaft, and the like. However, it has been difficult to overcome the problem of residue ejection, while satisfying excellent usability.
As one of the means of solving this problem, a method of providing small holes for ventilation on both sides of the scraping section (a sweeping member) has been proposed (e.g. refer to Patent Document 1).
However, providing small holes in the area apart from the center of the scraping section involves a difficult operation requiring a complicated process. This method thus appears to have a problem in practice.
A method of providing a hollow brush shaft and circulating air through the hollow shaft so that there may be no pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container has also been proposed (e.g. Patent Document 2).
The container for viscous solutions proposed in the Patent Document 2 has a long air circulation passage in a hollow brush shaft. A porous material that can adsorb the composition is provided in the lid on the preposition that the composition comes out from the air circulation passage. However, providing a porous material in the lid makes the structure complicated. In addition, pores of the porous material are ultimately filled with the composition and may lose the air circulating function.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-238741
Patent Document 2: Examined Utility Model Publication 60-33868


Ornamental and decorative light display utilizing LEDs constructed of two or more individual diodes. Each diode or portion of a diode is alternately selected and energized at a sufficient frequency that colors can blend to produce another color. The system provides for an extremely large configuration of LEDs to be driven at a low average power and at the same time to allow the user to select individual lights to be constantly illuminated or flash in response on oscillating voltage source or allow multicolored patterns to be generated using bicolor LEDs.

Ornamental and decorative light displays utilizing incandescent lamps with plugs and sockets interconnected by flexible wires has long been a commonly accepted technique for carrying power to the lamps and allowing flexibility in forming the display. This same arrangement is also used to supply power using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The nature of the LED allows both static and dynamic operation, single and multicolor. That is, the device can be operated by both constant battery voltage or an oscillating voltage. This oscillating voltage can be a two level signal, of varying amplitude, or pulse width modulated.
Bedmars/Electro-Harmonix in U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,845 uses a plurality of generating means for producing a plurality of sets of binary signals of different periods. The configuration of the LED arrays described in this patent are also in common use such as LED bar graph displays in both matrix and linear configuration. This patent also makes no allowance for low power or minimization of numbers power conductors.
Holiday and other ornamental lamp systems have typically utilized the socket and bulb approach where an incandescent lamp is threadedly engaged with a complementary threaded socket. These systems use an extraordinary amount of power for the light generated, particularly given the purpose, have a relatively short life span of about one thousand to ten thousand hours of use, require substantial surge current when placed in operation and are generally not reliable. In addition they are rather difficult to store. Since the incandescent lamps are typically made of thin glass bulbs, they are exceptionally fragile and often will break when stored or sometimes when in use. In addition to the deficiencies discussed above, there are certain safety factors which detract from use of incandescent lamps such as the heat that they generate and the potential for shorts causing shocks and fire hazards if the shorts and the heat are generated in or around particularly dry or otherwise flammable material.
LEDs have been used in certain instances in an ornamental manner but have found rather limited use due to their design and configuration. LEDs have been mounted on a tape to permit certain configurations of numbers which can be adhered to a relatively flat surface. As ornamental lights used in the holiday season are particularly price sensitive, the manner of fabrication, the configuration of the elements and their ability to withstand wear are factors normally weighed by consumers and producers in arriving at an economically marketable item.
The invention described herein overcomes many of the problems discussed above. An advantage of the lighting system of the invention revolves around its simplicity of manufacture, a configuration which is highly durable and lends itself to permanence in addition to a long life and low power requirements. Applicant's invention utilizes LED lamps which operate from a low voltage direct current power such as batteries or typical alternating source with a transformer rectifier for converting the household alternating current to direct current for use with the lights. Both systems utilize the same light strings each having thirty to fifty-two individual lamps. The lifetime of the individual lamp is typically one hundred thousand hours. If used continuously the lights can be expected to burn for over ten years. The power unit is fused and provided with 115/230 volts selection compatible with domestic and international markets. The light strings are designed to further overcome the necessity of plugging each string into the power source. Rather the system provides the user with the ability to plug one set of lights into the power unit and the second set of lights into the first, the third and second etc.
Much of the problem with incandescent lights is the deterioration of the sockets from one season to the next. The sockets are inexpensively made and corrode causing poor or intermittent connections. The wires in these lights are wrapped around the contacts and there is no positive joint as would be found if the connections were soldered. Connections between the lamp terminals and the metal contact is a pressure only.
The invention described herein uses an insulation piercing connection with the lamp and socket being a single molded assembly. The wire is conductive stranded similar to stereo speaker wire where a number of conductors are housed in the same insulation package or can be separately insulated. LED lamps are highly shock resistant and provide significant advantages over incandescent bulbs which can shatter when shocked or vibrated in the on condition. These LED lamps do not radiate heat; and the non-photon (or heat) energy is dissipated through the lamp leads. Incandescent lamps on the other hand radiate considerable heat through the lens. In addition, no surge current in a LED system is experienced contrary to the incandescent lamp situation when cold. Because of their configuration, shock resistance and other features, the LED lamp system can be mounted permanently without having to replace individual lamps. Incandescents are generally mounted in sockets which can be as expensive as the lamp itself. Not only does socket deterioration add to the unreliability of operation, but also incandescent lamps often must be replaced over the lifetime of the system.
A further embodiment of the invention allows for the use of light emitting diodes constructed of two or more individual diodes. These devices are fabricated in two configurations and are generally intended to be used as multiple state indicators. For example, a Bicolor Red/Green diode can indicate "Stop" or "Go" depending on which color is selected. However, if each color is alternately selected at a fast enough rate, the colors can blend to produce yellow. Further, if the proportion of red to green is varied, orange and amber as well can be produced. If it were technically possible to produce a true chromatic blue-green LED, the red and blue-green could be modulated to produce a white light.
Perhaps most importantly, particularly where a large number of strings are used, the LED system described herein operates at less than 13% of the current and less than 0.5% to 0.7% of the power as an incandescent tree light. Due to the fusing of the transfer system the low power or current draw and isolation from the household power source the LED system is significantly more safe than the incandescent and other system available for ornamental tree lamps. Since the LED system described herein is practically shock resistant it is easier to store than the incandescent light system.
The present invention provides an improved decorative lighting means using LEDs, CMOS integrated circuits and high current MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) transistors. The invention provides for an extremely large configuration of LEDs to be driven at low average power and at the same time allow the user to select individual lights to be constantly illuminated or flash in response to an oscillating voltage source or allow multicolor patterns to be generated using bicolor LEDs.
The LEDs are connected by flexible current carrying wires attached to individual plugs and sockets that accommodate the LED and a series current limit resistor. Three such conductors are provided. One wire provides connection to the positive side of a constant voltage source the second to a "low-side" switch to ground of the same constant voltage source. The third wire allows connection to a secondary oscillator that derives power from a first or primary oscillator.
In the non-flashing mode of operation, the LED lamp is mechanically connected from the positive voltage wire to the "low-side" switch. The LEDs are electrically in parallel across these two wires. The length of the wires is limited only by the ohmic resistance of the wire and the size of the voltage source. For convenience, the number of lamps can be limited and connectors provided for plugging more of the same identical wiring configurations together maintaining a three wire parallel electrical connection. The immediate implementation of the invention allows for four such combinations to be driven from individual "low-side" switches connected to the primary power source and oscillator. The switching occurs at a frequency such that the human eye cannot detect the on/off condition of the diodes, 1250 Hz for this implementation. Each parallel configuration of LEDs is in the on-state for 200 microseconds and off for 600 microseconds. No two configurations are on at the same time. The connection to ground through the low-side switch is alternately applied to one of the four configurations, each configuration being turned on for 200 microseconds once each 800 microseconds.
The main oscillator allows this basic frequency to be varied to the upper limit of the LED response and to a lower limit which is detectable to the human eye.
The secondary CMOS oscillator derives power from the primary oscillator via the positive voltage rail and the intermittent switching of the low-side switch to ground. This switching action causes a capacitor storage element to charge, through an isolation diode, toward the voltage of the positive supply rail. The diode prevents the capacitor from discharging through other parts of the system and therefore can only discharge into the secondary timing circuit. The second oscillator frequency is set for an on/off cycle of five seconds. This period can also be varied. The output of the oscillator drives a "high-side" power MOS transistor switch that applies the second timing pulse to the third wire. The lights are mechanically rotated in their socket so as to break the connection with the first, positive voltage rail, maintain contact with the low-side ground switch and connect with the third secondary oscillator high-side switch. The present implementation allows the high-side switch to be connected to the positive voltage rail for three seconds and disconnects the LEDS from this source for two seconds. In this way, individual lamps connected to the secondary oscillator can be illuminated constantly by connection to the positive voltage rail and the low-side switch or can be made to flash by physically rotating them to permit connection to the output of the high-side switch and the low-side switch. These combinations can be extended until the switching frequency of the main oscillator reaches a rate that can be detected by the human eye, approximately 100 Hz. If the on-time of the individual configurations of LEDs is maintained at 200 microseconds, 50 (fifty) such configurations could be driven. The present implementation has 38 LEDs in parallel per light string with two light strings per configuration connected via a plug/socket. This two string configuration is driven by a MOS power low-side switch. This means each switch is driving 76 LEDs at a peak current per LED of 25 milliamps or a total of 1.9 amperes peak. The voltage source is 6.5 volts, sufficient for driving at least 2 (two) configurations. This represents 6.5.times.1.9=12.35 watts peak. Since each configuration is on for only 200 microseconds out of 800 microseconds, this represents a duty cycle of 25% and the average power is 12.35.times.0.25 or 3.08 watts. This method of illumination, especially when applied to ornamental and seasonal decoration, is extremely safe compared to conventional methods.


A method of operating navigation system having location based services and temporal management comprising selecting a temporal component including a time of interest in a client, a server, or a combination thereof; filtering navigation and location based information with the temporal component by the client, the server, or a combination thereof, for forming time of interest relevant information; and communicating the time of interest relevant information between the client and the server for display by the client.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a navigation system, and more particularly, to a method and system for a navigation system having location based services.
2. Description of Related Art
Rapid growth in consumer electronics is evident with mobility as a ubiquitous feature. Consumer electronics products, such as music players, digital camera, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phones, and notebooks, offer means for users to create, transfer, store, and consume information almost anywhere, anytime.
One consumer electronics growth, where mobility is quintessential is in location based services, such as navigation systems utilizing satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. Location based services allow users to create, transfer, store, and/or consume information in order for users to create, transfer, store, and consume in the "real world". One such use of location based services is to efficiently transfer or route users to the desired destination or service.
Navigation systems and location based services enabled systems have been incorporated in automobiles, notebooks, handheld devices, and other portable products. Today, these systems aid users by incorporating available, real-time relevant information, such as maps, directions, local businesses, or other points of interest. The real-time information provides invaluable relevant information, when available or in service areas. The relevant information is also invaluable when service is not available, as well.
Currently, there are mainly two types of navigation system having location based services. One is client based navigation system. All map content, location based services, and navigation software are stored on the client. And the client based navigation system can be specially designed standalone GPS navigation units, normally called Personal Navigation Device (PND), with large memory device to store maps, location based services, etc. on board; or using standard PDA or smart phone with memory card. The second one is thin client and server based navigation system. This is very typical of cellular phone based navigation system. In this case, the map data, location based services, and other Points of Interest (POI) data are stored at server. The data is loaded to the phone to provide navigation service through the phone, each time its user requests the navigation service.
The drawback of the client based navigation system is the inconvenience to update data or information. Also, it is more costly and typically larger in size since it needs larger memory to store large amount of information, such as maps and POI data. Because of limitation of the memory card, and the large data size such as for the street audio prompts, the typical standalone navigation device does not provide audio street name prompts. Another drawback is that some information, such as traffic routes, may be dynamic or updated in a predetermined manner while others are static, such as location based services or other points of interest. The advantage is that it can be used in areas without wireless coverage, because it does not depend on wireless service as the thin client navigation system.
The drawback of the thin client navigation system is that it always needs a wireless network to load the map information to the client to navigate. So when there is no network, the user is then unable to access the navigation service. Another drawback, as mentioned earlier, is that some information, such as traffic routes, may be dynamic or updated in a predetermined manner while others are static, such as location based services or other points of interest.
The advantage of the thin client system is that its map data is always updated because it can be done at server by the service provider, rather by users. Also the static POI data can be updated as well from server depending upon route and location. It can also provide other real time information to the thin client through wireless network, such as gas price or weather information. Also since all street audio prompts are stored at server, the thin client system can play audio street prompts, because they are loaded to the phone together with map and route information when the user requests the navigation services.
Although conventional navigation systems download present, real-time navigation data information, the conventional systems do not present convenient and meaningful information from the typical massive data downloaded of the current system. A navigation system is needed to address above drawbacks of either client based system or thin client based system, and at the same time take advantage of the merits of both systems.

Navigation system having location based service and temporal management


Various embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, devices and method of frequency synthesis that generate in-phase and quadrature-phase clock signals at a programmable frequency. The generated frequency, which can range from a fraction to multiples of the input reference frequency, is generated by dividers following a phase-locked loop, thus avoiding the use of a low input reference frequency as well as frequency doubling.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of electronics and data communications, and more particularly, to a programmable frequency synthesizer that generates both in-phase and quadrature-phase clock signals over a wide bandwidth.
B. Background of the Invention
Frequency synthesizers are electronic components for generating specific frequencies in reference to a fixed frequency provided by an external reference oscillator, and they are widely applied in modern communication systems, including radio receivers, mobile telephones, GPS systems and satellite receivers. The reference oscillator is normally a crystal oscillator that includes a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material, so the reference frequency is maintained precise and stable. The core of a frequency synthesizer typically comprises a phase-locked loop (PLL) that aligns the phase and frequency of the output signal with the input reference. To obtain a fractional division ratio, a prescaler is used to reduce the input reference frequency by an integer ratio before it is sent to the phase-locked loop.
At a low reference frequency, the performance and cost efficiency tends to be degraded for the phase-locked loop. A typical phase-locked loop comprises a phase detector (PD), a charge pump (CP), a loop filter, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), and a feedback frequency divider. The phase detector detects the phase difference between the output of the feedback frequency divider and the reference input; and the charge pump converts this phase difference to current. However, at a low operating frequency, the small charge-pump current increases the implementation difficulty. Moreover, the subsequent loop filter requires the use of large capacitors to reach a narrow bandwidth, typically less than one tenth of the input reference frequency. Regardless of this loop filter being on- or off-chip, cost efficiency of the entire component may be significantly reduced due to the large chip area or additional on-board components. In addition, with a low cutoff frequency, the frequency synthesizer requires a long time to settle; for example, for a loop bandwidth of 5 kHz, the settling time may last 200 μsec. Therefore, frequency synthesizers functioning at low frequencies are undesirable due to performance and cost efficiency degradation of the phase-locked loop.
Most communication systems only require their internal clock signals to be programmed to a number of frequencies within a limited range. However, for data transmission applications such as the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), the clocking frequencies must vary over a wide range from fractions to multiples of the reference frequency while both in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) clock signals are required. Due to the aforementioned limitations of the phase-locked loop, the conventional frequency synthesizer needs to be modified to accommodate low reference frequencies. One solution is the digital Σ-Δ fractional PLL. In the Σ-Δ PLL, the feedback frequency divider is usually a dual-modulus divider with the modulus control being the output of a digital Σ-Δ modulator. This approach not only increases design complexity but also introduces undesirable jitter and spurious sidebands. A need exists to provide a convenient solution to generate programmable clock signals covering a wide bandwidth.
A quadrature-phase clock signal is a signal delayed from the clock a quarter of cycle. A typical method of generating the quadrature-phase signal is to double the input clock, and then followed by a divide-by-two counter. Conventionally, frequency doubling is implementable using XOR logic gates or inside the VCO. However, doubling the frequency increases design complexity, power consumption, and may inject high-frequency glitches to the output signals. A need exists to output clock signals while avoiding frequency doubling without increasing the design complexity or power consumption.
Programmability and I/Q outputs present challenges for clock generation, especially for high-performance, low-cost and easy-to-implement solutions.

Programmable frequency synthesizer with I/Q outputs


A tool for remotely installing a plug in a steam line of a reactor vessel. The tool has a strongback assembly on which a plug is securely mounted, a collapsible structure (e.g., a scissors jack assembly) which supports the strongback assembly and is movable between an extended state and a collapsed state, a hanging bracket assembly for hanging the collapsible structure inside the reactor vessel, and a rotatable actuating screw coupled to the collapsible structure. The collapsible structure moves between the extended and collapsed states in response to rotation of the actuating screw. During this operation, the plug is carried from a retracted position outside and aligned with the steam line nozzle to an inserted position inside the nozzle.

During disassembly of a BWR, the steam outlet nozzles must be plugged to allow maintenance and testing of the main steam isolation valves in parallel with reactor refueling and servicing operations. The steam line plugs are used to seal the steam lines to prevent the flow of water from the reactor cavity during servicing of the safety valves, relief valves and main steam isolation valves.
Historically, plug installation has been performed using an overhead crane and service poles manipulated by hand. This conventional operation is attended by problems. First, this current method of installing the plugs requires that personnel be located in the reactor cavity to position and maneuver the steam line plugs as they are being lowered by the overhead crane. Second, the current method of installing the plug requires that personnel push the plug into the steam outlet nozzle from the opposite side of the reactor vessel using a pole. Third, the steam line plug installation envelope should allow for unobstructed removal of the steam separator. Conventional installation tools interfere with or obstruct the removal of the separator and must be disengaged from the plug and removed after the plug has been installed.