A gear drive apparatus for converting a rotational input provided by a drive device, such as a wind power generator rotor, into a predetermined rotational output for driving rotation of a driven device, such as a generator, includes a large gear coupled to the drive device and a pair of output pinion shafts coupled to the driven device. A first gear level includes eight primary level pinion shafts each having gear teeth meshingly engaged with the outer circumferential gear teeth of the first large gear. The eight primary level gear or pinions are coaxially secured to the eight primary level pinion shafts for driving rotation thereof. Four secondary level gears and four secondary level pinion shafts form a secondary gear level which rotates the pair of output pinion shafts.

The present invention relates to a gear drive apparatus with power branching for converting a rotational input into a predetermined rotational output.
Appended or add-on gear units having internal power branching in the form of a planetary arrangement or an axially freely adjustable gear with a herringbone tooth arrangement are known, whereby the gear unit typically includes an input shaft and an output shaft. Such add-on gear units, which are used, among other purposes, for driving generators in response to rotational inputs by rotors of wind power arrangements, are most often connected via a press fit coupling with the shaft of the rotor. In this conventional configuration, the hub of the press fit couplings is, most typically, a component of a planetary gear support and located inside the gear housing. The planetary gears of the encircling planetary gear carrier mesh with the inner gear teeth of a gear which is fixedly secured to the gear housing and these planetary gears mesh with, at the same time, a sun gear through which the power is combinatorily integrated. The levels of such planetary gear units can comprise three, four, five, or even, six, planetary gears. The power from the shaft of the sun gear in the primary level of such arrangements is converted either by an additional planetary gear level with a spur gear level which is driven by the output of this primary gear level or by two serially arranged spur gear levels, each of which is configured with a simple helical gear arrangement, and the power is then transferred to a generator.
The known gear drive arrangements are too complex for the higher level power output classes, as well as being too heavy and are subject, due to the high torque or torsional moments in combination with the relatively large dimensions of the arrangements, to large deformations and the non-uniform load distributions which result from such deformations. Such known gear drive arrangements include large assembly dimensions. Moreover, in the event of a repair of such a gear drive arrangement on the tower of a wind power arrangement, typically, no toothed components or bearings of the planetary gear arrangement can be exchanged. A disassembly of the complete gear drive arrangement or larger sub-assemblies of such a gear drive arrangement requiresxe2x80x94in particular, in connection with offshore arrangementsxe2x80x94relatively expensive crane capacities. A further disadvantage is that, with increasingly larger gear drive arrangements and 4 pole generators in the 60 hertz level, such gear drive arrangements are increasingly heavier and it is difficult with conventionally available shaft bearings to realize a sufficiently long bearing operational life for the high rates of rotation without exceeding the maximally allowable revolutions per minute stipulated by the bearing manufacturers.
The present invention provides a solution to the challenge of providing a gear drive apparatus which is characterized as a relatively compact and non-heavy assembly which is, moreover, simple to mount and assemble as well as to disassemble.
The gear drive apparatus of the present invention can be deployed as a gear or speed step-up drive as well as a gear or speed reduction drive. The gear drive apparatus has, for a speed step-up arrangement at a rapid speed, an input shaft and two output shafts. In connection with a configuration of the gear drive apparatus as a speed reduction arrangement to reduce the output rotational speed to a relatively slower speed, two motors drive a single rotational output shaft via two input shafts. The gear drive arrangement, which is preferably configured as an add-on arrangement, is advantageously deployed as a speed step-up arrangement in connection with the drive of wind power generators. In connection with a deployment of this type, the gear drive apparatus of the present invention provides the most significant advantages. In connection with a speed reduction arrangement, the gear drive apparatus of the present invention can be deployed, for example, to drive the operation of rod mills or cutting heads of excavators or shovels.
Due to the particular bearing support and location of the individual shafts to one another, the gear drive apparatus of the present invention provides a symmetrical drive arrangement with a center of mass located in the principal axis. Up to two pinion shafts having gears can be deployed for meshing engagement with the large gear and all of the gears and bearings of such an arrangement can be disposed in a gear housing with three parting lines. In connection with the use of the gear drive apparatus of the present invention in a wind power arrangement, a virtually complete disassembly or a virtually complete exchange of parts on the tower of the wind power arrangement is possible with the use of only limited crane capacity.
Due to the power distribution and gear arrangements of the gear drive apparatus of the present invention, the power transmission capabilities of the teeth of the large gear are optimally used or exploited and, thus, the torque conversion is optimally exploited.
Via the arrangement of the anti-friction bearings of the eight pinion shafts operably connected with the large gear in two parallel and torsionally mutually stiffened gear housing walls, which are, at the same time, configured as torque or torsional moment fulcrums, there is provided a very torsionally stiff gear drive apparatus, whereby the disadvantageous deformations of a planetary gear drive apparatus are not present.
The present invention provides an optimal access to all of the bearing locations and the gear teeth meshing locations for the purpose of providing lubrication thereto and for conducting a temperature monitoring of the bearing locations.
Due to the reproducibility of many of the internal components of the gear drive apparatus of the present invention, a cost favorable production of the gear drive apparatus of the present invention is possible with proportionally reduced rigging costs and a cost favorable replacement part outlook.
The position of the rapidly rotating output shaft is selected such that the two generators of the wind power arrangement can be optimally located relative to one another. The distance between the generators provides sufficient access.
The gear drive apparatus of the present invention makes possible, in contrast to a conventional planetary gear drive apparatus, the disposition of a press fit disc or cinch collar for transferring the torque of the rotor shaft in the hollow access or shaft of the gear drive apparatus at both the output side and the input side of the gear drive apparatus. With the gear drive arrangement of the press fit disc or cinch collar on the rotational output sidexe2x80x94which is not possible in connection with a planetary gear drive apparatusxe2x80x94it is possible to achieve the smallest possible total assembled length.
In connection with the operation of the gear drive apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to deploy the gear drive apparatus as an add-on gear drive apparatus for a rotor shaft separately supported at two locations or, at the same time, as the second bearing support of a rotor shaft as has often typically been configured. The gear drive apparatus of the present invention can also be configured as an add-on gear drive apparatus without a bearing support function between the bearing supports of the rotor. This has the advantage that a large distance between the bearing supports of the rotor shaft can be achieved.
A bore for the passage therethrough of a control conduit to control a change of pitch of the rotor of the wind power arrangement can be directly configured in the rotor shaft so that the need to provide a special purpose conduit, as has heretofore been required, for achieving a change of pitch of the adjustable pitch rotor, can be dispensed with.
In the event of a fall out or stoppage of a generator, the gear drive apparatus of the present invention is still fully capable of functioning because the power integrations of the individual gear lines occur independently of one another.
Due to the power branching and/or the power integration by means of two axially freely supported high speed output shafts having herringbone gear teeth, the shaft dimensions are smaller than those of a mono-generator drive. Due to the absence of axial bearing supports for the shafts, it is also possible, in connection with very high excess or overspeed revolutions per minute of these shafts, to deploy conventionally available shaft bearing supports which bring with them sufficient bearing operational life.

Gear drive apparatus with power branching for converting a rotational input into a predetermined rotational output


A user terminal, method and apparatus receives first redistribution parameters from a first cell as a serving cell of the user equipment, performs an inter-frequency redistribution procedure in which a target cell is selected from a plurality of cells operated at different frequencies based on the first redistribution parameters, starts a predetermined timer, determines the target cell as a serving cell of the user equipment, and receives from the target cell as the serving cell, system information including second redistribution parameters. The inter-frequency redistribution procedure is performed when the predetermined timer expires and the system information received from the serving cell does not include a specific information element. The specific information element indicates that the user equipment shall only wait for a paging message to trigger the inter-frequency redistribution procedure transmitted from the serving cell.

In the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) which is a standardization project of a mobile communication system, a technology for selecting, from a plurality of cells operated at different frequencies, a target cell to be used as a serving cell has been proposed.
Specifically, when start conditions are satisfied, the user terminal measures quality of neighboring cells adjacent to a current serving cell and selects, from cells satisfying selection conditions, the target cell to be used as the serving cell.

User terminal and mobile communication method


A process for the production of acetate esters by the catalytic reaction of an alcohol of the formula ROH and carbon monoxide in contact with a homogeneous catalyst system of rhodium metal atom, a phosphorus containing ligand in which there is present at least one oxo (.dbd.O) oxygen atom attached to a phosphorus atom or a carbon atom to form a Z group and the ##STR1## group is located at least one carbon atom removed and preferably from 2-4 carbon atoms removed from the phosphorus atom of the molecules represented by the formulas ##STR2## and a halogen promoter, under mild reaction conditions, wherein R' is H, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl or alkyl, and wherein 1 or more of said R' groups can be substituted with a Z group but not more than 3 of said R' groups in the molecule are so substituted; a is an integer from 0-4; b is an integer from 0-3; and Z is P(O)R'R'; --C(O)OR" or C(O)R", wherein R" is R'; and wherein ROH is methanol or a mixture of methanol and at least one higher alcohol.

The production of organic compounds using synthesis gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, or from carbon monoxide as one of the reactants has been known for a significant period of time. It is well known that one can produce methanol directly from synthesis gas and that methanol can be further reacted by hydroformylation, homologation and carbonylation reactions to produce acetaldehyde, ethanol and acetic acid or its methyl ester, respectively. It is also known that alcohols, esters, ethers, and other organic compounds can be reacted with synthesis gas or carbon monoxide to produce oxygenated organic compounds. The difficulties. however, have resided in the ability to carry out any one of these chosen reactions to produce the desired compound at acceptable efficiency, conversion rate and selectivity.
In almost all instances the reaction is generally catalyzed using a Group VIII transition metal compound as the catalyst and a halogen as the promoter. It is known that many other metal compounds and promoters can be used. In addition, the prior art has disposed the use of secondary activators or ligands in conjunction with the metal catalysts and promoters. These secondary activators can be other metallic salts or compounds, amines, phosphorus compounds, as well as a multitude of other compounds that have been disclosed in the published literature. Thus, a typical catalyst system contains the metal atom catalyst, promoter and, optionally, ligands, solvents and secondary activators.
The prior art has taught that a wide variety of Group VIII metals and a halide promoter will catalyze the carbonylation of methanol to methyl acetate. For most Group Vlll metals the catalyst system requires extremely high operating pressures. Several patents describing such processes are discussed hereafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,989, issued to Isshiki et al.. on July 15 1980, describes a process for producing carboxylic acids or their esters by reacting an alcohol or an ether with carbon monoxide using a Group VIII metal catalyst and an iodine promoter. The reference contains no disclosure or suggestion of the production of acetate esters employing a specific rhodium complex under mild reaction conditions.
Japanese patent publication 55-160743. filed by Mitsubushi and published on Dec. 13, 1980 discloses reaction of methanol with a mixture of syn gas and an aluminum catalyst to produce methyl acetate and methyl formate.
The catalyst is charged as aluminum acetylacetonate or the like. Halide promoters are not required. The reaction is typically carried out at pressures from 1700 to 3000 psi with the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide ranging from 1:1 to 0.1:1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,189 issued Aug. 28, 1979 discloses a process for preparing branched methyl esters by the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a zinc iodide catalyst. Metal acetate was observed only in trace amounts, with the principal products being methyl pivalate and methyl-2,2,3,3,-tetramethylbutyrate. The carbon monoxide partial pressure in the reaction mixture is said to be preferably greater than 1000 psia and the reaction temperature is most preferably from 200 to 280.degree. C. There was no co-feed of another alcohol with the methanol.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-104839, filed by Kurrary and published on Aug. 20, 1981 discloses that methyl acetate may be obtained by reacting methanol and carbon monoxide employing a heterogenous catalyst, which includes nickel and/or cobalt-rare earth oxide-and a metal from the platinum group. The rate of methyl acetate formation is very low, usually much less than 1.0 mole per hour and there is no disclosure of co-feeding an alcohol with the methanol.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,856, issued Dec. 24, 1974 discloses that methyl acetate may be formed by reacting methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a catalyst of the formula Co--I--Pt--ER.sub.3, wherein E is N, P, As and R is an organic moiety. Operating temperatures are generally preferred to be from 100-200.degree. C. and preferred operating pressures are in the order of 1000 to 4000 psig. The rate of methyl acetate production is less than 1 mole per liter per hour and there is no disclosure of employing mixtures of different alcohols for the alcohol feed.
Japanese Patent Publication 51-80813, filed by Mitsui Petro Chemical was published on July 15, 1975 and relates to forming methyl acetate by reacting methanol with carbon monoxide employing a Re-I catalyst. It was reported that at 200.degree. C. and 1100 psi the methyl acetate production rate was 1.0 mole per liter per hour and the selectivity was above 40%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,912. issued Jan. 16, 1979 teaches production of methyl acetate by the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a Ni--Sn--CH.sub.3 I catalyst. Although it is stated that a wide range of temperatures is suitable it is disclosed that best results are employed when the reaction temperature is from 125-225.degree. C. The process is said to be carried out at partial pressures from 1 to 10,000 psi, but in the actual results reported, the reaction pressure was maintained at from 350-500 psig.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,329 issued Feb. 10, 1981 discloses preparation of esters by the reaction of an alcohol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a halide promoter and a catalyst of the general formula: BxMN[M'(CO).sub.a (L).sub.b ].sub.2, wherein N is a Group II A metal; Bx is a Lewis base, such as pyridine or THF; M' is a Group VI, VII or VIII metal; L is a derivative of cyclopentadiene and/or BR.sub.3, where B is N, P, As, or Sb and R is an organic alkyl. That catalyst is different from the novel rhodium catalyst employed herein.
It is also said in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,329 that where the carbon monoxide pressure ranges from 1000 to 4000 psig. ester formation is favored. Such reaction conditions especially reaction pressure, are rather harsh. It is further said that reaction temperatures from 100-200.degree. C. favor ester formation. It is also noted that the process is applicable to production of unsymmetrical esters, such as by mixing methanol and isopropanol to yield methyl acetate, isopropyl acetate and small amounts of methyl propionate and methyl isopropionate. Such reaction conditions, especially reaction pressure are rather harsh.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,329 issued Oct. 30, 1973 relates to forming acetic acid by carbonylating methanol with a Rh-I
In several examples, notably Examples 27-29, a process for producing methyl acetate is illustrated. In those examples the reaction temperature was 175.degree. C. and the reaction pressure, 500 psig. At such conditions well beyond those of the instant invention the methyl acetate rate was about 3 % moles per liter per bour and selectivity was 90%.
The above-noted patents demonstrate that a wide variety of Group VIII metals and a halide promoter will catalyze the carbonylation of methanol to methyl acetate. In general, however such catalysts require high operating pressures, usually, on the order of from 3000 to 5000 psi. A rhodium catalyst functions at somewhat lower operating pressures on the order of 500 psi but only when reaction temperatures are maintained on the order of 180.degree. C.
Typical prior art processes employing various Group VIll catalysts to produce acetate esters require rather harsh reaction conditions of temperature and pressure to obtain satisfactory yields of products. Such r.RTM.action conditions require use of expensive reactors engender excessive energy cost, often lead to undesired by-products and cause excessive corrosion problems.

Production of acetate esters from alcohols using rhodium complex catalysts

Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc.


Disclosed are selectivated transalkylation catalyst compositions and methods of making the same. The selectivated transalkylation catalyst compositions have a zeolite framework structure of MWW, FAU, BEA*, or MOR, or mixtures thereof, and are selectivated with a selectivating solution. The selectivating solution includes a dissolved ion of at least one element in Group 1, Group 2, Group 15, Group 16, or Group 17 of the Periodic Table. Also disclosed are processes of producing ethylbenzene and cumene using the selectivated transalkylation catalyst compositions.

Historically, the commercial production of ethylbenzene was dominated by liquid-phase aluminum chloride catalyzed processes until the early 1980s when the first vapor-phase zeolite-based process was introduced. The zeolite vapor-phase technology subsequently achieved commercial success because it proved to be more efficient and avoided the difficulty of handling aluminum chloride. However, vapor-phase processes operate at high temperatures and produce considerable by-products. While improvements were made over the years, it was not until the arrival of liquid-phase processing in the early 1990s that zeolite-based technologies could produce a high-purity ethylbenzene product.
More specifically, to produce ethylbenzene, polymer grade ethylene can be reacted with benzene that is in stoichiometric excess under liquid-phase conditions in a fixed-bed, multi-stage alkylation reactor. Ethylene conversion is essentially complete, with selectivity to ethylbenzene in the alkylation reaction at over 90%. Unreacted benzene is then separated and recycled back to the reaction section. Ethylbenzene product is recovered from polyethylbenzenes. Polyethylbenzene is then fed to a fixed-bed transalkylation reactor and converted into additional ethylbenzene product by reacting with excess benzene. The molar yield of ethylbenzene for the overall process can exceed 99.5% relative to both ethylene and benzene. However, the non-molar yield of 0.5 percent can include trace compounds such as sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, iron, titanium, sulfur and zinc that can result in undesired byproducts.
Cumene is an important intermediate in the chemical and polymer industries, with global cumene production currently exceeding twelve million metric tons annually. Cumene is generally produced by the alkylation of benzene with a C3 alkylating age (e.g., propylene) in the presence of an acid catalyst. Early cumene plants used solid phosphoric acid as the catalyst, but more recently most cumene manufacturers have replaced the phosphoric acid with molecular sieve catalysts. Examples of benzene alkylation processes employing molecular sieve catalysts can be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,185,040; 4,992,606; and 5,073,653.
Processes for production of cumene using molecular sieve or zeolite-based catalysts can be conducted in either the vapor phase or the liquid phase. However, in view of the improved selectivity and decreased capital and operating costs associated with liquid phase operation, many commercial cumene processes now operate under at least partially liquid phase conditions.
The selectivity to the desirable ethylbenzene and cumene is important to the economics of the catalytic transformation of both feed stock and recycle streams for zeolite-based catalysts used in liquid phase alkylation and transalkylation systems. Improvements in selectivity can advance raw material utilization and debottleneck existing processes. For example, ethylbenzene can be produced in very high molar yields under liquid-phase conditions in fixed bed, multi-stage alkylation reactor using zeolite-based catalysts. Yet, certain "non-selective" catalytic sites exist on otherwise "selective" catalyst and result in increased yields of undesirable byproduct during reaction and reduce the selectivity to the desirable products.
A need exists, therefore, for methods that suppress "non-selective" catalyst sites on transalkylation catalysts and cause the non-selective sites on the surface, or within the interior channels, of the catalysts to become inactive so to avoid the production of undesired byproducts and improve selectively of products to be produced.

Transalkylation processes and catalyst compositions used therein


A semiconductor memory device includes a substrate including cell block, a balancing block, and a sense block. A plurality of cell bit lines are formed in the cell block of. A plurality of cell plugs are formed adjacent to side surfaces of the bit lines. Cell inner spacers, air spacers, and cell outer spacers are formed between the cell bit lines and the cell plugs. A plurality of balancing bit lines are formed in the balancing block. A plurality of balancing plugs are formed adjacent to side surfaces of the balancing bit lines. Balancing inner spacers and balancing outer spacers are formed between the balancing bit lines and the balancing plugs. The balancing bit lines and at least some of the cell bit lines are connected to the sense block.

1. Field
At least one example embodiment of inventive concepts relates to a semiconductor device including a balancing capacitor connected to a sense amplifier, and/or a method of forming the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In an open bit line DRAM device, as the size of a dummy block reduces, various methods of improving operation characteristics of the DRAM device are being studied.

Semiconductor devices having balancing capacitor and methods of forming the same


A contextual similarity measurement system computes a similarity model for a reference document using a prediction by partial match method. The system further computes a similarity measure between a compared document and the reference document using the similarity for the reference document.

Similarity documents comparison measures the similarity of documents based on the content of each document. These measures have uses in different areas that utilize the similarity or dissimilarity of two or more documents. For example, clustering techniques groups different documents according to the similarity of the documents.
However, some similarity measures return a vector instead of a single value metric. A vector similarity measure is more difficult to use than a single-valued metric to determine whether documents are more or less similar For example, consider a vector similarity measure with two components, and three documents A, B, and C. In this example, the vector similarity measure between documents A and B is (0, 1), and the vector similarity measure between documents B and C is (1, 0), This measure does not provides information to determine whether document B is more similar to A or more similar to C.


An improved cycle transmission comprising 1) a freewheel cluster rotatably coupled to the rear wheel of a bicycle and in axial alignment with the rear wheel axle; 2) a crank assembly having one or more laterally moveable chain rings rotatably coupled to a front section of the bicycle frame and in axial alignment with the pedal axle; and 3) a drive chain entrained around both the freewheel and chain ring. In a first embodiment, the crank assembly comprises a single chain ring which is laterally moveable with respect to the cycle frame. Lateral movement of the chain ring occurs in direct response to changes in the position of the drive chain on the freewheel cluster. The lateral movement of the chain ring allows the drive chain to maintain itself within a single plane relative to the chosen freewheel sprocket, thereby eliminating lateral bias. Accordingly, with no lateral bias, the entire grouping of freewheel sprockets can be accessed with the single chain ring, which eliminates the need for a chainwheel derailleur and complex shift patterns, and simplifies the operation of the transmission. A dual chain ring embodiment of the moveable crank assembly and transmission is further described. Additionally, a simplified method of operating the improved transmission of the present invention is disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to transmissions used typically in multi-wheeled cycles such as bicycles, and more particularly to mechanisms that allow for smooth shifting of such transmissions between gears of varying ratio.
2. Description of Related Technology
Multi-geared bicycle transmissions have been known for many years. Most bicycles achieve multiple gear ratios by utilizing an arrangement of sprockets on a front sprocket assembly, commonly called the chain ring or chainwheel, and a rear sprocket assembly, called the freewheel or cassette. Typically, the chainwheel comprises two to three sprockets of varying diameter. The freewheel assembly typically comprises five to seven sprockets, also of varying diameter, but each smaller than the diameter of the sprockets on the chainwheel. More recently, freewheels with as many as 9 sprockets have been introduced. A drive chain coupling the chainwheel and the freewheel make up the drive train. As the chain is coupled to different sprockets on both the chainwheel and freewheel assemblies, a different effective drive ratio of the transmission is obtained. Each combination of chainwheel/freewheel sprockets in use by the drive chain represents a different gear ratio, and a different gear. Obviously, the more sprockets on both the chainwheel and the freewheel, the greater the number of available gear ratios, and, consequently, the greater number of gears.
For almost as many years, manufacturers and cyclists alike have recognized the need for efficient, smooth shifting from one gear to another, all the while maintaining a positive drive connection during the shifting process. The standard front and rear derailleur, which comprise the shift mechanism of choice for the vast majority of multi-geared bicycles, forces the chain on a holding sprocket toward an adjacent or receiving sprocket until a tooth of the adjacent sprocket catches the chain. The drive chain thus becomes entrained around a different combination of front and/or rear sprockets. Because gears are defined by the ratio of the front holding sprocket to the rear sprocket, the shift from one holding sprocket to an adjacent sprocket of different diameter results in a different gear ratio on the drive chain.
Several systems for effecting such changes of gear ratio are present in the prior art. One such system involves mechanisms for indexing the shift control such that either a front or rear derailleur moves laterally (e.g., transverse or perpendicular to the rotational plane of the sprocket) in response to a predetermined amount of movement of a shift lever, thereby causing the drive chain to move laterally upward or downward among the sprockets in the free wheel cluster (or chainwheel). This type of mechanism is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,247, "Bicycle Shift Mechanism".
A second prior art system involves a complex lateral displacement of the rear derailleur in relation to the sprockets in a freewheel cluster. In these types of solutions, the rear derailleur starts in a first position in which the drive chain is entrained around one of the cogs in a freewheel and around the wheels of the rear derailleur. Movement of the shift control forces a lateral movement of the rear derailleur to a second position such that the trailing portion of the drive chain that is entrained around the wheels in the rear derailleur becomes aligned with a separate sprocket in the freewheel cluster. This lateral movement, together with a change in the angular position of the rear derailleur with respect to the bicycle frame, forces the drive chain to "jump" from one freewheel sprocket to another.
One embodiment of the aforementioned system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,451, "Devices Enabling Shifting of Gears on Bicycles" issued to Lacombe, et al. Lacombe teaches a means of assisting the lateral movement of the rear derailleur along an axle slidably engaged within a housing having multiple control teeth, each tooth being adapted to permit lateral movement corresponding to one shift in the free wheel cluster.
Another embodiment of this type of mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,720, "Bicycle Transmission" issued to Browning, et al.
However, the foregoing prior art systems fail to address two fundamental shortcomings of modem, multi-geared cycle transmissions; specifically, 1) the high degree of redundancy and overlap between the gears; and 2) the inability to shift gears under a heavy load. To appreciate the significance of these problems, it is necessary fully to understand the operation of the drive train.
The diameter, or size, of the chainwheel and the freewheel sprockets is measured by the number of "teeth" on the sprocket. Chainwheels typically include sprockets having from 36 to 53 teeth. Freewheels include sprockets having from 11 to 34 teeth. Thus, a typical maximum and minimum gear ratio for bicycle drive trains with these sizes of chainwheels and freewheels is 4.82 (e.g., 53/11) for a maximum, and 1.06 (36/34) for a minimum.
Bicycle gearing is typically measured in "gear inches". This concept is derived from early "high-wheeler" bicycles, the gearing for which was measured based on the diameter of their front wheel. A high-wheeler with a 50-inch wheel diameter was said to be geared at 50 gear inches. A bicycle with a 25 inch wheel diameter and a two-to-one gear ratio in the drive train achieves the same forward motion with each pedal revolution as does the 50-inch high-wheeler, and thus is also said to be geared at 50 gear inches. Gear inches are computed by multiplying the drive wheel diameter by the effective gear ratio on the drive train. Using the maximum and minimum drive train gear ratios set out above, and using the normal diameter of a bicycle wheel (27 inches), the minimum gear inches would be approximately 28.6, and the maximum gear inches would be 130.1.
Experienced cyclists are well aware of the significance of gear inches. The greater the number of gear inches (i.e., the "taller" the gear), the more difficult the pedaling due to lower mechanical advantage. Conversely, the lower the number of gear inches (i.e., the "shorter" the gear), the easier it is to pedal. Depending on the gradient of the terrain (and the direction of the cyclist's travel with respect to the gradient), selecting the appropriate gear is not an insignificant task. Pushing a tall gear on the order of 130 inches would be quite difficult going up hills or even on flat terrain, and is consequently usually reserved for pedaling at high rates of speed down steep hills. Pushing a short gear of 28 inches (the so-called "granny" gear) is much easier and is useful in going up steep inclines while carrying baggage on the bicycle. Between these two extremes, there is a virtual continuum wherein a wide selection of gearing is possible. Gear inches of between 30 and 60 are likely adequate to accommodate most hills, reserving the shorter gears for the steeper hills. Gear inches between 60 and 90 are appropriate for travel on level ground, with the taller gears reserved for fast pedaling at high speeds. Gear inches above 90 are appropriate primarily for traveling down hills.
While the frequency and magnitude of gear changes varies in accordance with both the terrain and the degree of rider fitness, most riders prefer a gear change if their pedaling speed, or cadence, increases or decreases by more than ten percent. Gears spaced apart by seven to ten gear inches allow the rider to adjust the gearing up or down, and still maintain a cadence within the desired ten percent variance. Gears spaced closer than seven gear inches produce such a minimal impact on pedaling efficiency that most riders will not notice the difference between adjacent gears. Gears spaced further apart than ten inches will create a larger jump than is comfortable.
To achieve an optimum overall gear range and to provide adequate gear spacing, a common practice in recent years has been to include as many gears as possible on the bicycle in order to accommodate the widest range of terrain. Road bikes (and racing bikes) often have two-ring chainwheels sized at 42 and 53 teeth, and a 8-cog freewheel ranging in size from 13 to 24 teeth. This arrangement will result in the shortest gear being approximately 47 inches, and the tallest gear being 110 inches. Off-road bikes, or mountain bikes, usually have three-ring chainwheels with a typical sizing of 28, 42, and 52 teeth, and a 7-cog freewheel ranging in size from 13 to 34 teeth. This arrangement will result in the shortest gear being approximately 22 inches, and the tallest gear being 108 inches. Obviously, many different combinations are possible, but the foregoing examples are typical.
Because substantial overlap exists in the effective gear ratios of the aforementioned exemplary systems, a sequential "stepping up" through the gears from the shortest gear to the tallest gear is not a simple matter of starting at the shortest gear (achieved by entraining the drive chain around the smallest chainwheel and largest freewheel--42/24 or 47.2 gear inches) and progressing sequentially through the remaining freewheel cogs, and then shifting the drive chain to the larger chainwheel and starting anew at the largest freewheel. Rather, a back and forth shifting between the chainwheels and the freewheels is required, resulting in complicated shift patterns. The shift pattern varies in accordance with the particular type of gearing arrangement.
One such prior art shift pattern is known as the "half-step" gearing. Half-step gearing starts with a freewheel cluster having sprockets spaced at even distances apart. An example of this spacing would be a freewheel selection wherein each successively larger sprocket on the freewheel is about sixteen percent larger than the next closest smaller sprocket. Assuming a five cog freewheel for purposes of illustration, the resulting freewheel would have the following sprockets: 14, 17, 20, 24, and 28 teeth. The half-step approach then selects two chainwheel sprockets that are half as far apart as the sprockets on the freewheel-in this example the spacing would be eight percent. (i.e., 48 and 52 teeth). With this arrangement, the front derailleur shift is half the rear derailleur shift, and results in well spaced and useable effective gear ratios. However, the shift pattern to accomplish a sequential stepping up through the gears in this example is as follows: 48/28; 52/28; 48/24; 52/24; 48/20; 52/20; 48/17; 52/17; 48/14; and 52/14. As can be seen, the half-step pattern requires the rider to shift both the front and rear derailleurs simultaneously to reach four of the ten available gears. Remembering such a shift pattern is a difficult task, and effectuating such shifts consumes more of the rider's attention and time.
Another prior art shift pattern is the so-called "Alpine" pattern which is available on most bikes. The Alpine pattern is essentially the same as the half-step, but uses one and one-half steps. The freewheel spacing of sixteen percent remains the same, but the chainwheel sprockets are selected to be one and one-half times that spacing, or twenty-four percent. This results in two chainwheels of 40 and 52. The Alpine shift pattern suffers from even greater disadvantages than the half-step arrangement, in that 1) simultaneous shifting of both the front and rear derailleurs is necessary for seven of the ten gears; and 2) a large jump exists between the tallest and next-to-tallest gears. Furthermore, the Alpine arrangement involves an more challenging shift pattern, as follows: 40/28; 40/24; 52/28; 40/20; 52/24; 40/17; 52/20; 40/14; 52/17; and 52/14.
A third prior art shift pattern is known as the "crossover". In the crossover arrangement, the freewheel cluster is divided into a first group of closely spaced large freewheel cogs for hill climbing, and a second group of closely spaced small cogs for the flats. Crossover uses the smallest chainwheel in combination with the largest freewheel cogs for hill climbing, then crosses over to the larger chainwheel which is used in combination with the smallest freewheel cogs for the flats and downhills. Small gear steps are used for the flats and larger steps are used for the hills. While this arrangement allows for some gears for hills and some for flats, the division results in fewer gears than would be available with other patterns.
A fourth prior art shift pattern is known as the "wide-step" and is closely related to crossover. Wide-step uses a comparatively large chainwheel step (e.g., 36 to 53) and closely spaced freewheel steps. This permits a low range of gears for hill climbing and a higher range for the flats and downhill. To step up through the gears, a rider would utilize all the gears available with the small chainwheel sprocket, and then switch to the large chainwheel sprocket and repeat use of half of the freewheel sprockets. Effectively, the wide-step pattern creates a bicycle with two independent gear ranges. However, the larger freewheel cogs are not utilized with the larger chain ring.
Regardless of the shift pattern used, one consequence of the multiple chainwheels and freewheels is a high degree of redundancy in the gearing. The chart below illustrates the gear inches that can be achieved by the exemplary prior art road bike previously described. Bicycle A is a 12 speed bicycle which achieves gears of 49.3 inches on the short end, and 110 inches on the tall end. However, two of the twelve gears are within two gears inches of two separate gears, and two other gears are within four gear inches of yet two different gears. Bicycle B is a 16 speed bicycle which achieves a short gear of 47.2 gear inches and a tall gear of 110 gear inches. As was the case with Bicycle A, several of these gears are redundant-four of the gears are spaced within two gears inches of four separate gears. Two other gears are spaced within four gear inches of two separate gears. Thus, while Bicycle A, and Bicycle B have 12 and 16 separate gears, respectively, the practicality of the gear spacing renders four of the gears for Bicycle A, and six of the gears for Bicycle B, redundant of other gears. The end result is an 8-speed Bicycle (Bicycle A) and a 10-speed Bicycle (Bicycle B). [It should be noted that many different chainwheel/freewheel sizes and combinations are possible and result in different levels of redundancy and gear spacing. The following charts simply illustrate two common arrangements.]
Bicycle A Bicycle B 42 53 42 53 13 87.2 110 13 87.2 110 15 75.6 95.4 14 81.0 102.2 17 66.7 84.1 15 75.6 95.4 19 59.6 75.3 16 70.8 89.4 21 54.0 68.1 17 66.7 84.1 23 49.3 62.2 19 59.6 75.3 21 54.0 68.1 24 47.2 59.6
Most manufactures recognize the redundancy in gear ratios, but deem such redundancy necessary to achieve a sufficient number of tall and short gears to meet the expected riding conditions of a typical cyclist.
In addition to gear redundancy, a second factor operates to limit the effective gearing of multi-speed bicycles. A study of the table for Bicycle B presented above shows that the rider could utilize all of the gears in the drive chain comprising the 42 chainwheel and the freewheel cluster to achieve a sequential stepping up through the gears. Crossover to the large chainwheel would not be necessary until after the rider had utilized 42/13 and achieved 87.2 gear inches, at which point, the rider would simultaneously shift both the front and rear derailleurs to 53/15 or 95.4 gear inches and finish stepping up to 53/13.
A smooth transition during the sequential stepping through the gears is not as natural as it would appear. As can be immediately understood by a physical inspection of an ordinary multi-speed bicycle derailleur system, the smaller chainwheel (the 42 chainwheel in the case of Bicycle B above) is positioned on the inside of the larger chainwheel. This positioning aligns the small chainwheel with the inside portion of the freewheel cluster, usually comprising the largest three or four cogs on the freewheel. Accordingly, the small chainwheel is not directly aligned with the outside, smaller cogs on the freewheel cluster. In fact, when the drive chain is entrained around the small (inner) chainwheel and the smaller, outer freewheel clusters, there is a significant lateral or transverse bias present in the drive chain. Referring again to Bicycle B as an example, when the drive chain is entrained around the 42/13, 42/14 and 42/15 gear combinations, the portion of the drive chain which is engaged by the chainwheel is closer to center of the bicycle frame than the portion of the drive chain which is engaged by the freewheel. The resulting lateral bias places undue stress on the chain, reduces pedaling efficiency (due to the force necessary to overcome the additional friction created by the lateral bias), and renders shifting out of one of these gears an often difficult task, particularly when climbing hills, accelerating to high speeds or other situations when the drive chain is under a high load. To avoid the lateral bias in the case of Bicycle B, the rider would need to shift off the small chainwheel after the 42/16 gear and proceed to 53/19. This maneuver would require a simultaneous shifting of both the front and rear derailleurs and would render virtually useless three of the gears--42/13, 42/14 and 42/15.
The same circumstance exists with respect to the large, outside chainwheel and the large, inside cogs on the freewheel. Again using the case of Bicycle B as an example, the gearing represented by 53/19, 53/21 and 53/24 places the drive chain in a lateral bias position in the opposite direction as the previous example (e.g., the freewheel portion of the chain is closer to the lateral frame center than the portion engaging the chainwheel). The difficulty of shifting under load is equally prevalent and, again, three additional gears are virtually useless--53/19, 53/21 and 53/24.
The aforementioned lateral bias problem is another practical reason why many multi-speed bicycles cannot utilize their full range of gearing.
The dual problems of redundancy and lateral bias defy a synergistic solution. Any attempt to solve the redundancy problem using standard components would require resort to a large jump between the sizes of the small and large chainwheels so that the gears could indeed step through short to tall gears by running sequentially through the entire freewheel cluster within each chainwheel. However, this attempted solution merely exacerbates the lateral bias problem by necessitating use of the inside/outside-outside/inside chainwheel/freewheel misalignment. Alternatively, focusing instead on avoiding the lateral bias problem by ignoring the gears where lateral bias is most prevalent requires greater redundancy to achieve an adequate spacing between gears. The net result is that multi-speed bicycles do not effectively utilize their full complement of gears due to high levels of redundancy, and cannot efficiently utilize their full complement of gears due to lateral bias.
Hence, an improved cycle transmission and method of operation are needed which overcome the above-identified disabilities associated with gear ratio redundancy and lateral bias. Such a transmission would also ideally be sized to fit on existing cycle frames and be comparable in weight and size to existing systems.


One example embodiment includes a tilewave material. The tilewave material includes a fiber and a first tile, where the first tile includes a first surface and a second surface. The tilewave material also includes a second tile, where the second tile includes a first surface and a second surface. The tilewave material further includes a first attachment means, where the first attachment means attaches the first tile to the fiber, and a second attachment means, where the second attachment means attaches the second tile to the first fiber.

The use of textiles stretches far back into history. Many of the same fabrics and weavers used in today's textiles were first used hundreds or thousands of years ago. Nevertheless, new materials and new cuts mean that the fashion industry and the way people dress continues to change quickly and dramatically. Additionally textiles are used in our cars, on our floors, even on our walls. However, one constant remains; the material retains a single appearance once manufacturing is complete.
So called reversible material is often actually two materials sewn together, or a material in which the two sides differ in appearance from one another. However, when used in clothing, the material must be removed in order to change the appearance. Thus, no change of appearance can be affected in public. Additionally, the user can only select from one or two appearances without gradation between the two appearances possible.
One solution to this problem is the use of reversible sequins. The sequins are attached to the material and can be turned over to show a different face. The exposure of one face versus another can be used to change the overall appearance of the material and to create a new look. Nevertheless, reversible sequins suffer from a number of drawbacks.
The sequins are often held on inadequately. Sometimes, a single thread will be used to hold the sequin in place. Moderate force applied to the sequin can break the thread thus removing the sequin from the material. Repeated loss of sequins can lead to a degradation in the appearance of the material as gaps begin to show in the appearance. Further, repair of the sequins is difficult because the broken thread is part of the weave of the material, thus any repairs will not exactly match the original.
Additionally, the reversible sequins can tangle one another. The sequins either overlap one another or are far enough apart that they are independent of one another. If they overlap, the sequins can be forced into an unintended arrangement. Specifically, an edge that is intended to remain above an adjacent sequin can be forced under the adjacent sequin instead. This can lead to distortion of the image and prevent the sequins from being flipped over, thus ruining the appearance of the material.
If the sequins are far enough apart that they do not touch one another, then lateral force may force them into contact with one another. This can damage the sequins or cause them to stick, thus creating strain in the material that can lead to failures in the material. Additionally, stuck sequins may be prevented from flipping over and changing their appearance.
Reversible sequins require the user to be patient as they check to make sure that each sequin Is in showing the intended face. If the material is worn, then normal use can result in flipping of the sequins, resulting in a discontinuity in the appearance of the materials.
Finally, the sequins are limited in size and shape that can be used. The colors may be limited, thus preventing the material from truly taking on radically different appearances as desired. I.e., the appearance of the two sides of the sequins may be limited in how different from one another they can be because of limitations inherent in the use of sequins.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a material that can change appearance but that can be done without removing the material. Additionally, there is need in the art for a material that can withstand the rigors of everyday use without quickly failing. Further, there is a need in the art for a material that can change appearance in grades, according to the preferences of the user.

Systems and methods for producing a tilewave fabric


A piezoelectric ceramic composition is provided, which includes a ceramic composition expressed by a general formula: Sr1-x-yM1xM2yBi2(Nb1-aTaa)2-zTizO9, wherein M1 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ca and Ba, M2 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of La, Y, Dy, Er, Yb, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd, and x, y, z and a in the general formula respectively are in the range of 0.0xe2x89xa6x less than 0.9, 0.0 less than y less than 0.3, 0.0xe2x89xa6z less than 0.3, and 0.0xe2x89xa6axe2x89xa61.0. This makes it possible to provide a piezoelectric ceramic composition that is free of lead and has a larger electromechanical coupling factor than a conventional bismuth layered compound, and a piezoelectric element using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric ceramic composition that is free of lead (Pb) and mainly contains Sr, Bi, Ti and Nb or Ta, and a piezoelectric element using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, as piezoelectric ceramic compositions used for piezoelectric ceramic elements such as a piezoelectric ceramic oscillator and a piezoelectric ceramic filter, ceramic compositions containing lead zirconate titanate (PZT: Pb(TixZr1-x)O3) or lead titanate (PT: PbTiO3) as a principal component have been used. (For example, see JP 5(1993)-148016 A and JP 5(1993)-139824 A.)
However, the piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing PZT or PT as a principal component contain a great amount of lead, leading to a problem that uniformity of a product declines because of the evaporation of a lead oxide during a manufacturing process. Further, many of the piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing PZT or PT have a Curie point of about 200xc2x0 C. to 300xc2x0 C. in practice. Since they become paraelectric at a temperature higher than the Curie point and lose piezoelectric properties, they are difficult to use in applications under a high temperature. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for the development of lead-free ceramic compositions in order to prevent damage to the environment.
Under such circumstances, as ceramics for a sensor/actuator that is free of lead and applicable even at a high temperature, piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing a bismuth layered compound such as SrBi2Nb2O9 as a principal component have become a focus of attention. (For example, see JP 11(1999)-322426 A.)
However, although it is generally desirable that a material used for a piezoelectric ceramic element, especially, a piezoelectric ceramic oscillator, have a large electromechanical coupling factor, which is an efficiency of converting an electric energy into a mechanical energy, there is a problem that the conventionally reported piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing a bismuth layered compound as a principal component do not have a sufficiently large electromechanical coupling factor. Also, when piezoelectric ceramic filters, piezoelectric ceramic oscillators or the like are produced using the piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing a bismuth layered compound as a principal component, there is a problem that the rate of change in a resonance frequency according to temperature becomes larger compared with the conventional case of using the PZT or PT.
Owing to these problems, the piezoelectric ceramic compositions containing the bismuth layered compound such as SrBi2Nb2O9 as a principal component have not yet been in practical use.
A piezoelectric ceramic composition according to the present invention includes a ceramic composition expressed by a general formula: Sr1-x-yM1xM2yBi2(Nb1-aTaa)2-zTizO9, wherein M1 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ca and Ba, M2 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of La, Y, Dy, Er, Yb, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd, and x, y, z and a in the general formula respectively are in the range of 0.0xe2x89xa6x less than 0.9, 0.0 less than y less than 0.3, 0.0xe2x89xa6z less than 0.3, and 0.0xe2x89xa6axe2x89xa61.0.
Further, a piezoelectric element according to the present invention includes a piezoelectric body formed of a piezoelectric ceramic composition including a ceramic composition expressed by a general formula: Sr1-x-yM1xM2yBi2(Nb1-aTaa)2-zTizO9, wherein M1 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ca and Ba, M2 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of La, Y, Dy, Er, Yb, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd, and x, y, z and a in the general formula respectively are in the range of 0.0xe2x89xa6x less than 0.9, 0.0 less than y less than 0.3, 0.0xe2x89xa6z less than 0.3, and 0.0xe2x89xa6axe2x89xa61.0.

Piezoelectric ceramic composition and piezoelectric element using the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A robot system with a robot that has a camera and a remote control station that can connect to the robot. The connection can include a plurality of privileges. The system further includes a server that controls which privileges are provided to the remote control station. The privileges may include the ability to control the robot, joint in a multi-cast session and the reception of audio/video from the robot. The privileges can be established and edited through a manager control station. The server may contain a database that defines groups of remote control station that can be connected to groups of robots. The database can be edited to vary the stations and robots within a group. The system may also allow for connectivity between a remote control station at a user programmable time window.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of robotics.
2. Background Information
Robots have been used in a variety of applications ranging from remote control of hazardous material to assisting in the performance of surgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,458 issued to Wang et al. discloses a system that allows a surgeon to perform minimally invasive medical procedures through the use of robotically controlled instruments. One of the robotic arms in the Wang system moves an endoscope that has a camera. The camera allows a surgeon to view a surgical area of a patient.
There has been marketed a tele-presence mobile robot introduced by InTouch Technologies, Inc., the assignee of this application, under the trademark RP-7. The InTouch robot is controlled by a user at a remote station. The remote station may be a personal computer with a joystick that allows the user to remotely control the movement of the robot. Both the robot and remote station have cameras, monitors, speakers and microphones to allow for two-way video/audio communication. The robot camera provides video images to a screen at the remote station so that the user can view the robot's surroundings and move the robot accordingly.
The InTouch robot system can be used to access any number of robots from different remote locations. For example, a hospital facility may have a number of tele-presence robots that are accessible from different remote computer stations. A physician can become connected to a robot by merely logging on through a laptop or personal computer. As the number of in-field InTouch tele-presence robots grows, it is desirable to set and edit the connectivity between various remote control stations and different robots. It is also desirable to provide a means to control the parameters of the connectivity. For example, it may be desirable to control connectivity so that multiple remote control stations can receive the audio/video provided by the robot. It may be desirable to restrict the audio and/or video provided to one or more remote control stations. It may also be desirable to establish a time window of connectivity between control stations and robots.

Server connectivity control for tele-presence robot


A video signal processing apparatus inputting a plurality of video signals, making the plurality of video signals in parallel in order to display them as one image and setting peripheral parts of images which are adjacent to each other when they are placed in parallel as overlapped areas, and being able to execute a necessary correction processing about the video signals corresponding to the overlapped areas comprising: a remote controller being able to set the correction starting position and the correction end position, a correction data memory storing the correction data corresponding to the correction starting position and the correction end position set by the remote controller, and a control portion reading out the predetermined correction data from the correction data memory based on the correction starting position and the correction end position in a case where the correction starting position and the correction end position have been set.

The present invention relates to a technology being useful in forming a large sized image in composing video signals of more than two.
Recently, it is known to the public to form a large sized image on a screen by using a plurality of projectors to display split images in making them be adjacent to each other in generating video signals corresponding to respective parts of an image split into predetermined areas.
FIG. 6 shows a drawing for explaining an example of an image display system using a soft edge matching device (hereinafter referred to as SEM device taking the first letters of the device) which enables to form a good image in correcting the joint (overlapped areas) of respective split images when the images are displayed being adjacent to each other.
As shown in FIG. 6, for a video signal source 50 for forming a composite image, for example, a personal computer device 51, a work station system 52, a hard disk data base device 53, a video playback device 54, or other variety of playback devices can be used. It is also possible to form split images from the image photographed by a video camera, or the like as photographing means though they are not shown in a drawing. These playback devices are typically shown in parallel in FIG. 6; however, all of them are not necessarily needed, and each device can be individually used or a plurality of them can be simultaneously used.
It is also possible to form a video signal source 50 with one unit of a playback device such as a hard disk data base device 53, a video playback device 54, or the like, and a video signal output from one unit of equipment is stored once as video data in the computer device 51 or the work station device 52, and by splitting an image on the screen, a plurality of video signals are generated corresponding to the split images, and output them as R, G, B component signals. In this case, a synchronizing signal can be superposed, for example, on a G signal or it can be treated as a separate signal and output through a cable to be solely used by it.
The plurality of video signals corresponding to the split images output from the video signal source 50 are respectively supplied to the SEM device 60. The SEM device 60 performs signal processing for a plurality of signals to make the overlapped areas corresponding to the end parts of respective images (joint parts of divided images) be continuous, and supply them to the projector devices, 70A, 70B and 70C, corresponding to the plurality of split images. FIG. 6 shows a plan view showing three projector devices; however actually there are provided projector devices corresponding to the number of video signals (number of split images) supplied from the video signal source 50.
The signal processing in the overlapped areas is executed by the operation of various kinds of operating keys disposed in the remote controller 61.
The projector devices 70 (A, B and C) convert the video signals to projection images with ordinary cathode ray tubes of high luminance, and project the images as a composite image on a screen 80. It is possible to constitute the projector devices 70 (A, B and C) with liquid crystal projector devices.
FIG. 7 shows, for example, images A and B, as two split images being disposed adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and a typical drawing for explaining an example displaying adjacent end parts being overlapped, and the screen 80 shows a case where the projected image A and the image B are disposed being adjacent to each other.
The adjacent parts of the image A and the image B, that is, the joint part is the overlapped area Q where the images are overlapped, and in the overlapped area Q, it is a prerequisite that the video signals are supplied to make the image A and the image B the same image. For such a video signal, an image may be produced considering the adjacent parts before hand, or the adjacent parts may be formed for an existing image with a personal computer device 51, or the like.
In FIG. 7, the video signals corresponding a horizontal period of the image A and the image B are shown as a video signal VA and a video signal VB, and the area hatched with the lines downward to the right corresponds to the overlapped area Q. Therefore, the video signal VA and the video signal VB comprise the information which makes it possible to form the same image in the overlapped area Q. Thereby, an image having no joint visually can be displayed.
However, in the Q area, even though the same video is formed and a desired image is formed, since a plurality of video are overlapped, the luminance becomes high partially, and it is needed to perform the luminance correction. Therefore, in the case of the video signal VA or the video signal VB, the correction starting point AE and the correction end point BS are set and the signal processing is so performed that the luminance level between the above-mentioned two points, AE and BS, of the video signal VA has a fade-out characteristic and that of the video signal VB has a fade-in characteristic. The overlapped area Q shows an area where the same video is to be formed, so that the correction starting point AE and the correction end point BS do not always coincide with each other.
In short, when two images are projected on the screen 80 using two units of projector devices 70 after the signal processing (luminance correction process) as mentioned in the above, the luminance level in the overlapped area Q of the screen 80 becomes the same level as those of the other parts in the image A or the image B, and the joint of these two images becomes unnoticeable.
Since the overlapped area Q shows an area where the same image is to be formed, the correction starting point AE and the correction end point BS do not always coincide with each other. When an area close to the left end of the video signal VA is made to be an over-scan area OS and an area close to the right end of the video signal VB is also made to be an over-scan area OS, it is possible to prevent the appearance of the edges of the image A and the image B on both ends of the screen 80.
Further, for example, when a composite image is displayed with three units of projector devices 70, video signals, Va and Vc, (Only those in a horizontal period are shown.) on the left and the right sides as shown in FIG. 8 correspond to the video signals, VA and VB. In the case of a video signal Vb to form an image in the central part, the end area `ae` of the video signal Va and the starting area `bs` of the video signal Vb are made to be an overlapped area Q. The end area `be` of the video signal Vb and the starting area `cs` of the video signal Vc are made to be an overlapped area Q, and the signals there are processed to be the same video signals.
Then, in these areas the fade-out process and the fade-in process are performed, and it is possible to perform the luminance correction of the edge parts of the images at the two boundary parts produced when three images are placed to be adjacent to each other.
In the prior art, it is arranged that the position setting of the correction starting point and the correction end point is performed for the waveform data to be corrected being set beforehand in the SEM device 60 and the desired correction data are calculated in performing a predetermined process based on the positions of these points. And the image status in the overlapped area Q is improved by superposing the calculated correction data on the video signal.
Therefore, the SEM device 60 has to perform an operational processing for obtaining the correction data, thus a control means is burdened to perform the operational processing.
For example, there is a method known to the public in which a detailed setting is performed using a computer, or the like and even fine adjustment is possible. However, there remains a problem that the operation to perform such a detailed setting is troublesome and an optimum correction data is not easily obtained.

Video signal processing apparatus and composite image adjustment method


A solid oxide fuel cell includes a plurality of tubes, with each tube including an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte, A mechanically compliant anode current collector is associated with each tube. An interconnect portion may be attached to the anode current collector. A cathode current collector is also associated with each tube. The interconnect portion provides an oxygen barrier between the anode current collector and the cathode current collector.

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs) is a type of fuel cell which reacts a fuel gas with an oxidant to generate DC electric current. SOFCs may have an anode, an electrolyte and a cathode, and have been made from a variety of materials and in a variety of geometries. Fuel processing is required to render hydrocarbon fuels (such as propane, butane, etc.) suitable for SOFCs. For example, known designs for fuel processors include those done with a separate external reactor where a catalytic substrate processes a hydrocarbon fuel such as butane (C4H10), propane (C3H8) or diesel fuel (JP-8 or JET-A) to a suitable fuel gas such containing carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). CO and Hydrogen gas are then oxidized at an active area of a SOFC to carbon dioxide and water, with DC current generated. Non hydrocarbon fuels such as ammonia (NH3) can also be transformed into SOFC fuel using one or more catalytic reactions.
Current collectors are used on known SOFCs to collect electric current generated by the fuel cell. Good electrical conductance is important for increasing recovery of the electrical energy generated by the fuel cell. However, the harsh environment of a fuel cell can make current collection difficult. Fuel cell current collectors must be chemically and thermally robust, as they are exposed to oxidative stresses, reductive stresses, and operating temperatures in the range of about 600-950° C. Known current collectors used in tube-shaped SOFC designs include the so-called "Westinghouse" design where a strip of a lanthanum-chromite ceramic runs along the length of the fuel cell, and a nickel felt electrically connects an electrode of one tube to an electrode of another tube. This design is disadvantageous for several reasons, including the expense of the ceramic, the fact it is a relatively low strength and brittle material, and that each tube must be rigidly connected to its adjacent tube. Portable fuel cell designs can be subject to physical stresses and shocks, etc., and low strength, brittle materials are ill suited for such use.
It has also been known to use silver wires as current collectors, as they are capable of operating in high temperatures and are resistant to oxidation. Known designs have used silver wire wrapped around the cathode of a tubular SOFC in a spiral fashion. Such spiral wires, however, do not make reliable electric contacts as they can move with respect to the tube. This is true even if tightly attached when assembled, as elastically tight fits are relaxed at the high operating temperatures of fuel cells.
It would be desirable to provide a solid oxide fuel cell with a current collector of a simple, lightweight design which is also robust in construction and capable of withstanding thermal cycling and expected physical stresses.

Solid oxide fuel cell with improved current collection


Described are systems, methods and products for the shipment of passenger or other traveler containers, e.g. containing personal items for use during travel. In certain aspects, systems and methods for such shipment involve the use of transport vessels other than those that will be occupied by a passenger during travel, e.g. cargo vessels or vehicles.

The present invention relates generally to travel, and in certain embodiments to systems, methods, and products which facilitate the ability of a traveler to ship, rather than carry, luggage and/or other belongings from an origin to a destination and back.
As further background, it is conventional for travelers to carry their luggage with them to the airport, train station, etc., and to have that luggage travel with them on the transport vessel to their destination. Similarly, on the return trip, it is conventional for travelers and their luggage to travel on the same transport vessel back to their point of origin. In connection with these activities, travelers must transport their luggage through airports or train stations, during transfers, to cars or buses, and to their final destinations. Often times, these efforts have associated waiting lines (and ever more restrictive security measures) and charges for tipping, carts or otherwise. Travelers with small children or disabilities face additional difficulties. As well, these activities complicate the business necessarily conducted by the transport vessel.
Accordingly, needs exist for improved and/or alternative systems, methods and products related to the transportation of belongings for travelers from their point of origin, to their destination, and back. The present invention is addressed to these needs.

Systems, methods and products for shipping passenger/individual belongings for travel


A method for estimating maintenance dates includes steps of obtaining one or more differences between detected values and maintenance values of parameters, and determining whether the differences are beyond predefined values. The method further includes a step of implementing or recommending an initiation of maintenance if any of the differences are beyond their respective predefined values. The method also includes a step of estimating the maintenance date according to the differences and variation values representing changes of the parameter per time unit for the tool, if none of the differences are beyond their respective predefined values. An apparatus for estimating maintenance date in this fashion is also presented. The apparatus includes a controller, a database, and a connection unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication systems and, more particularly, to integrated maintenance scheduling systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Equipment used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry can be extremely expensive and complicated. Engineers must typically execute preventive maintenance (PM) by following standard operation procedures (SOPs) to ensure reliability and stability of the manufacturing equipment. Because of the wide variety and large numbers of equipment, managing the maintenance of equipment manually can be inefficient. Mistakes arising from manual management as well as any lack of completion of the required maintenance procedures can cause equipment failure and can delay schedules of production, thus decreasing enterprise profits.
Manual processes of implementing PM have included paper documents or application software on the managers' personal computers for carrying out the various periodic or aperiodic maintenance plans for all equipment. The engineers, in turn, would execute the maintenance according to the maintenance plans. The maintenance plan typically consisted of preparing the PM sheet that described the maintenance items and of executing the items on the PM sheet. When the engineer completed the maintenance, the engineer would record the data on the PM sheet and send the PM sheet to the manager for review and cosigning. Finally, the engineer would put the PM sheet into a folder as a reference record. When the result of a maintenance item was a failure, the engineer would fill in an Out of Control Active Process (OCAP) provision on the PM sheet.
Many undesirable traits can be associated with the aforementioned manually driven processes. Without integrating with other computerized information systems, it is easy to get data inconsistencies that can affect the quality of maintenance. Moreover, manual processes can be time-consuming. Most equipment has an interface that a PC user can use to communicate with the equipment and get the parameters of the equipment. The parameters of the equipment can be key factors in determining whether or not to execute the maintenance. Maintaining equipment requires time of an engineer for approaching the equipment, for recording parameters, and furthermore can require time for correcting manual data errors that may occur by the engineer during for example the recording. Also, when the maintenance period and specification of the maintenance item is changed, the manager must update the plan of maintenance and the PM sheet; otherwise, the data on the plan of maintenance and the PM sheet may be inconsistent. It is also inefficient for the manager to manually re-schedule all plans of maintenance for such a change. Much time and effort would be invested into manually coordinating the new maintenance requirements with production needs. When for example a manager tries to execute a new plan of maintenance, all engineers must update the maintenance status immediately upon performing the maintenance. Manual management can create inconsistencies between the original plan and the actual result.
Any equipment requiring aperiodic maintenance must be effectively managed to make sure all maintenance will be carried out. Maintenance may be forgotten and the maintenance plan may not be carried out. Under these conditions, the reliability and stability of equipment can be uncertain.
Furthermore, manual management and paper work can waste manpower and paper. Employees using manual management can expend too much effort and waste too much paper in recording maintenance data. Moreover, the paper documents can be difficult to store, query, and analyze. Paper data cannot be effectively used to improve the future maintenance parameters. After a tool is checked and the examiner obtains parameters, the examiner judges whether the tool needs to be maintained. Therefore, there is no schedule for this kind of irregular tool maintenance.
A need thus exists in the prior art to determine the maintenance date for an irregular tool based upon its varying real-time parameters. A further need exists for the automation of the parameter data collection, the calculation of the maintenance date, and the entry of the maintenance date into the maintenance schedule.

Method for estimating a maintenance date and apparatus using the same


The invention provides a technique inhibiting luminance unevenness among pixels. An active matrix substrate has a plurality of pixel electrodes PXB each connected to a corresponding one of gate lines 13 and a corresponding one of source lines 15. The active matrix substrate includes a common electrode 14 facing each of the pixel electrodes PXB, and an auxiliary line 17 connected to the common electrode 14. The active matrix substrate further includes a plurality of drive circuits disposed in part of a display region and each configured to drive a corresponding one of the gate lines 13. The drive circuits are each connected to a control line provided for supply of a drive signal. The drive signal has first potential and second potential lower than the first potential alternately at constant cycles. The control line has a line portion 161 extending substantially in parallel with the gate lines 13. Between the line portion 161 and a capacitance forming region r where each of the pixel electrodes PXB connected to gate lines 13(n) and 13(n+2) switched into an unselected state during potential decrease of the line portion 161 forms capacitance between the pixel electrode PXB and the common electrode 14, the auxiliary line 17 is connected with the common electrode 14.

WO 2014/069529 A discloses an active matrix substrate including drive circuits disposed in a display region and each configured to switch a corresponding one of gate lines into a selected state. Each of the drive circuits includes a plurality of switching elements and an internal line connected to part of the switching elements, and these components are dispersed in a plurality of pixels adjacent to the corresponding one of the gate lines. The active matrix substrate is further provided with a control line for supply of a control signal to each of the drive circuits. The internal line in the drive circuit has potential varied in accordance with the supplied control signal, and the gate line receives a voltage signal that causes the gate line to come into the selected state or an unselected state.

Active matrix substrate and display device including the same


In a portable wireless key, decoration fitting portions provided at ends of a pair of side portions of a metal decoration member are fitted in decoration receiving portions of a wireless key body, and a decoration engaging portion provided at a connecting portion of the metal decoration member is engaged with a decoration engagement portion of the wireless key body. Further, a switch operation cover is fixed to an assembled unit of the wireless key body and the metal decoration member. Thus, durability in dropping can be improved without complicating an assembling work of the metal decoration member and without increasing the number of components and costs, and it is easy to address switch variations without increasing initial costs.

In recent years, an electronic key system, such as a smart entry system, has a portable wireless key to perform a control pertaining to locking and unlocking of a vehicle door lock. Such a portable wireless key is carried by a person like a mobile phone, and thus requires durability in dropping. Further, metal decoration members made of zinc die-casting have been widely used in portable wireless keys in order to improve design (decoration). In this case, the weight increases as compared to a conventional resin component. Therefore, a holding structure satisfying the durability in dropping is largely required. As a result, a fixing structure of the metal decoration member is complicated, and a workability in assembling increases. In addition, a component to make the holding structure for the durability in dropping is necessary, resulting in increases in the number of components and costs. In the portable wireless keys, the number of switches (operation portions) is different depending on vehicles, and designs according to the number of switches are necessary. Even when the number of the switches is the same, functions and arrangements are different. Thus, a large number of switch variations exist. To address the switch variation, for example, a patent literature 1 describes to make case components for respective switches. In such a case, however, initial costs increase.


This invention provides waterborne polymer compositions stabilized against gelling due to the addition of a poly(alkylenimine) by post addition of certain anionic surfactants. The waterborne polymer compositions of the invention are useful in a variety of coating formulations such as, for example, paints, inks, sealants, textile back coatings, adhesives and the like. Methods of making stable waterborne polymer compositions are also disclosed.

In an increasing number of industries, aqueous coating compositions continue to replace traditional organic solvent-based coating compositions. Paints, inks, sealants, and adhesives, for example, previously formulated with organic solvents are now formulated as aqueous compositions. This reduces potentially harmful exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC's) commonly found in solvent-based compositions. While the move from organic solvent-based to aqueous compositions brings health and safety benefits, the aqueous coating compositions must meet or exceed the performance standards expected from solvent-based compositions. The need to meet or exceed such performance standards places a premium on the characteristics and properties of waterborne polymer compositions used in aqueous coating compositions.
Waterborne polymer having various functional groups have been used to impart and achieve desired properties to a particular coating composition. For example, a coating composition should exhibit good film formation, print and block resistance, as well as adhesion and tensile properties. Polymers having acetoacetoxy- and enamine-functional groups represent one example of waterborne polymers which have such properties, may carry different functional groups, and are useful in aqueous coating compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,530 discloses a quick-curing coating prepared from a polymer having acetoacetyl groups, in which substantially all of the acetoacetyl groups have been converted to enamine functional groups. This conversion occurs, for example, by treatment with ammonia or a primary amine. Coatings so prepared cure more quickly under sunlight or ultraviolet light than coatings which contain the acetoacetyl functional polymer but which have not been converted to an enamine form.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,484,975 and 5,525,662 describe the preparation of polymers containing functional acetoacetate groups and then, following the polymerization, reacting the acetoacetate group with a functional amine to form an enamine. The resulting polymers are reported to have a variety of uses including coatings, sealants, adhesives, and saturant applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,659 discloses polymeric formulations comprising an aqueous carrier, at least one polymeric ingredient, a non-polymeric polyfunctional amine, and a base. The polymeric ingredient has both acid-functional and acetoacetoxy-type functional moieties. The aqueous polymeric formulations produce crosslinked polymeric surface coatings on a substrate.
Japanese Pat. No. 61-21171 describes a fast-curing adhesive of two separate liquids. The first liquid is an aqueous solution and/or aqueous emulsion of a polymer compound containing an acetoacetyl group. The second liquid consists of polyethylenimine.
Even with current waterborne polymer formulations, a need remains for improved aqueous coating compositions and waterborne polymers for use in those compositions. In particular, a need exists for waterborne polymer compositions which may formulate as a single, stable composition but which undergo crosslinking upon film formation imparting one or more desired properties to the resulting coating. The present invention meets such needs.

Stable waterborne polymer compositions containing poly(alkyleneimines)


A fuel cell system that employs end cell heaters in the end cells of a fuel cell stack in the fuel cell system that consistently maintain the temperature of the end cells above the operating temperature of the stack so as to reduce water in the end cells. In one embodiment, the temperature of the end cells is maintained within the range of 80° C.-85° C. across the entire output power range of the fuel cell stack. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the end cells are electrically coupled in series, and the control signal for controlling the end cells heaters is selected to heat the warmest end cell to the desired temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling the current flow to end cell heaters in a split fuel cell stack and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling the current flow to end cell heaters in a split fuel cell stack where the end cell heaters are controlled to maintain a predetermined temperature in the end cells above the operating temperature of the fuel cell stack.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer electrolyte proton conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).
Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode reactant gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen reactant gas that flows into the anode side of the stack. The stack also includes flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
The fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack, where the bipolar plates and the MEAs are positioned between two end plates. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow channels are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. Cathode gas flow channels are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. One end plate includes anode gas flow channels, and the other end plate includes cathode gas flow channels. The bipolar plates and end plates are made of a conductive material, such as stainless steel or a conductive composite. The end plates conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells out of the stack. The bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
For automotive applications, it typically takes about 400 fuel cells to provide the desired power. Because so many fuel cells are required for the stack in automotive fuel cell system designs, the stack is sometimes split into two sub-stacks each including about 200 fuel cells because it is difficult to effectively provide an equal flow of hydrogen gas through 400 fuel cells in parallel.
The membrane within a fuel cell needs to have a certain relative humidity so that the ionic resistance across the membrane is low enough to effectively conduct protons. This humidification may come from the stack water by-product or external humidification. The flow of the reactant gas through the flow channels has a drying effect on the membrane, most noticeably at an inlet of the flow channels. Also, the accumulation of water droplets within the flow channels from the membrane relative humidity and water by-product could prevent reactant gas from flowing therethrough, and cause the cell to fail, thus affecting the stack stability. The accumulation of water in the reactant gas flow channels is particularly troublesome at low stack output loads.
The end cells in a fuel cell stack typically have a lower performance than the other cells in the stack. Particularly, the end cells are exposed to ambient temperature, and thus have a temperature gradient that causes them to operate at a lower temperature as a result of convective heat losses. Because the end cells are typically cooler than the rest of the cells in the stack, gaseous water more easily condenses into liquid water so that in the end cells have a higher relative humidity, which causes water droplets to more readily form in the flow channels of the end cells. Further, at low stack load, the amount of reactant gas flow available to push the water out of the flow channels is significantly reduced. Also, at low stack loads the temperature of the cooling fluid is reduced, which reduces the temperature of the stack and typically increases the relative humidity of the reactant gas flow.
It is known in the art to heat the end cells with resistive heaters positioned between the unipolar plate and the MEA so as to compensate for convective heat losses. These known systems typically attempted to maintain the end cell temperature the same as the other cells in the stack by monitoring the temperature of the cooling fluid out of the stack. However, lower cell voltages for the end cells are still a problem even with the addition of such heaters.

Stack end cell heater control methodology


A transmission device includes an interface configured to acquire, from a base band unit having a communication destination that is one of remote radio heads, communication destination information relating to the remote radio head of the communication destination, a receiver configured to receive signals of given wavelength from optical termination devices, and a transmitter configured to transmit a first signal that includes wavelength information indicative of the given wavelength and the communication destination information to optical termination devices, wherein, when the receiver receives, from an optical termination device of the remote radio head of the communication destination from among optical termination devices, a second signal of the given wavelength according to the first signal, the receiver sets, between the receiver and the optical termination device, a relay path that relays communication between the base band unit and the remote radio head of the communication destination.

With the spread of mobile terminals such as smartphones the traffic between a base station that couples a mobile terminal to a wireless communication network and an exchange office is increasing. It is examined to dispose a base band unit (BBU) in an exchange, office and dispose a remote radio head (RRH) in each base station such that the traffic of a mobile front hall of the RRHs is accommodated on a passive optical network (PON) having a large transmission capacity. The BBU and each RRH are coupled to each other through an optical line termination (OLT) and an optical network unit (ONU) in the PON.
As the PON applied to the mobile front hall, for example, there is "next generation (NG)-PON2" that uses wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). It is to be noted that "NG-PON2" is prescribed in international telecommunication union telecommunication standardization sector (ITU-T) Recommendation G.989 series.
Examples of the related art include Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-165614 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-110574.
The RRH is disposed in a small cell base station having a cover area smaller than that of an ordinary base station, and a large number of small cell base stations are provided in an ordinary macro cell to increase the transmission capacity of the mobile front hall. However, if all small cell base stations operate, there is the possibility that the power consumption may become excessive, and therefore, small cell base stations whose traffic is low are controlled so as to be placed into a sleep state in which the power consumption is low.
On the other hand since a great bandwidth is required for a small cell base station having high traffic, to the ONU coupled to the RRH of the small cell base station, a channel of point-to-point (PtP) WDM prescribed as a function of "NG-PON2" is allocated upon activation from the OLT. Consequently, since the OLT and the ONU communicate one to one, the RRH may communicate with the BBU occupying the bandwidth of the channel.
However, in the case where a plurality of ONUs remain in a non-activated state in the PON, the OLT activates only the ONU from which a registration request is received earliest, and therefore, it sometimes activate an ONU other than the ONU coupled to the RRH of the communication destination of the BBU. In this case, the ONU coupled to the RRH of the communication destination remains un-activated, and no link is established between the ONU and the OLT. Accordingly, since the BBU fails to communicate with the RRH, there is the possibility that hindrance in provision of a communication service may be caused.
Taking the foregoing into consideration, it is desirable to provide a transmission device, an optical termination device, a transmission system, and a transmission method that make communication between a BBU and an RRH corresponding to each other possible.

Transmission device, optical termination device, transmission system, and transmission method