Method and an apparatus for setting up and plunging a skiving tool with respect to a work piece, on which a rotational-symmetric, periodic structure is to be manufactured with application of the skiving tool, wherein a radial feed motion in the direction of the work piece is performed, so to bring the skiving tool in contact with the work piece for the first time, and the skiving tool is plunged from the moment of the first contact down to a predetermined depth in a radial plunging movement, before the proper skiving of the rotation-symmetric, periodic structure is carried out.

There are numerous methods for the manufacturing of gear wheels. In the chip-cutting soft pre-machining, one distinguishes between hobbing, gear shaping, generating planing and skiving (also called power skiving). The hobbing and skiving are so-called continuous methods, as will be explained in the following in more detail.
In the chip-cutting manufacturing of gear wheels, one distinguishes between the intermitted indexing process (or also called single indexing process) and the continuous method, which is partly also called continuous indexing process or face hobbing.
In the continuous method, for example, a tool comprising corresponding cutters is applied in order to cut the flanks of a work piece. The work piece is being cut ready continuously, i.e., in an uninterrupted method, in one clamping. The continuous method is based on complex, coupled movement sequences, in which the tool and the work piece to be manufactured perform a continuous indexing motion relative to each other. The indexing movement results from the coordinated, respectively coupled driving of several axle drives of a corresponding machine.
In the single indexing process, one tooth gap is manufactured, then for example a relative movement of the tool and a so-called indexing movement (indexing rotation), in which the work piece rotates relative to the tool, are carried out, before then the next tooth gap is manufactured. A gear wheel is thus manufactured step by step.
The gear shaping method mentioned initially can be described or represented by a cylindrical gear transmission system, because the intersection angle (also called intersection angle of axes) between the rotation axis R1 of the shaping tool 1 and the rotation axis R2 of the work piece 2 amounts to zero degree, as represented schematically in FIG. 1. The two rotation axes R1 and R2 run parallel to each other, if the intersection angle of axes amounts to zero degree. The work piece 2 and the shaping tool 1 rotate continuously about their rotation axes R2 and R1, respectively. In addition to the rotary movement, the shaping tool 1 performs a stroke movement, which is referenced by the double arrow shx in FIG. 1, and removes chips from the work piece 2 during this stroke movement.
Some time ago, a method was developed, which is called skiving. The basics are approximately 100 years old. A first patent application having the number DE 243514 on this subject dates back to the year 1912. After the initial considerations and investigations of the starting years, skiving was no longer seriously pursued further. At that time, complex processes, which were partly empirical, were necessary in order to find a suitable tool geometry for the skiving method.
About in the middle of the nineteen-eighties, skiving was taken up again. It was not until the present-day simulation methods and the modem CNC-controls of the machines, that the principle of skiving could be implemented in a productive, reproducible and robust method. The high wear resistance of present-day tool materials, the enormous high static and dynamic rigidity and the high performance of the synchronous running of modem machines aid in skiving.
In skiving, as shown in FIG. 2A, an intersection angle of axes Σ between the rotation axis R1 of the skiving tool 10 (also called skiving wheel) and the rotation axis R2 of the work piece 20 are predetermined, where the angle is different from zero. The resulting relative movement between the skiving tool 10 and the work piece 20 is a helical movement, which can be divided into a rotation portion (rotatory portion) and an advance portion (translative portion). A generation helical type gear transmission may be considered as a drive technology-related analogon, wherein the rotatory portion corresponds to the rolling and the translative portion corresponds to the gliding of the flanks. The greater the absolute value of the intersection angle of axes Σ, the greater translative movement is required for the manufacturing of the work piece 20. It effects namely a movement component of the cutting edges of the skiving tool 10 in the direction of the tooth flanks of the work piece 20. Thus, when skiving, the gliding portion of the relative combing movement of the engaging gear wheels of the equivalent helical gear transmission is utilized to perform the cutting movement. Only a slow axial advance is required in skiving and the so-called pushing movement, which is typical for the gear shaping, is dispensed with. Thus, a reverse stroke movement does not occur in skiving.
The cutting speed in skiving is influenced directly by the rotation speed of the skiving tool 10 with respect to the work piece 20 and by the utilized intersection angle of axes Σ of the rotation axes R1 and R2. The intersection angle of axes Σ, and thus the gliding portion, should be selected such that for the machining of the material, an optimum cutting speed is achieved for a given rotation speed.
The motion cycles and further details of a previously known skiving method can be taken from the previously mentioned schematic representation of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2A shows the skiving of an exterior tooth system on a cylindrical work piece 20. The work piece 20 and the tool 10 (here: a cylindrical skiving tool 10) rotate in opposite directions.
Further relative motions occur. An axial feed sax is required in order to be able to machine the entire tooth system width of the work piece 20 with the tool 10. If a helical gearing is desired on the work piece 20 (i.e. β2≠0), then a differential feed SD is superimposed on the axial feed sax. A radial feed Srad may be employed in order to influence the crowning of the tooth system of the work piece 20.
In skiving, the vector of the cutting speed νc results essentially as the difference of the two velocity vectors ν1 and ν2 of the rotation axes R1, R2 of the tool 10 and the work piece 20, which axes are slanted with respect to each other by the intersection angle of axes Σ. Here, ν1 is the velocity vector at the periphery of the tool 10 and νc is the velocity vector at the periphery of the work piece 20. Thus, the cutting speed νc of the skiving process can also be changed by the intersection angle of axes Σ and the rotation speed in the equivalent helical gear transmission. The axial feed sax has only a small influence on the cutting speed νc, which can be neglected and is therefore not shown in the vector diagram with the vectors ν1, ν2 and νc in FIG. 2A.
The skiving of an outer tooth system of a work piece 20 using a conical skiving tool 10 is shown in FIG. 2B. In FIG. 2B, the intersection angle of axes Σ, the vector of the cutting speed νc the velocity vectors ν1 at the periphery of the tool 10 and ν2 at the periphery of the work piece 20 are shown again as well as the helix angle β1 of the tool 10 and the helix angle β2 of the work piece 20. In FIG. 2A, the helix angle β2 is different from zero. The tooth head of the tool 10 is referenced with the reference numeral 4 in FIG. 2B. The tooth breast is referenced with the reference numeral 5 in FIG. 2B. The two rotation axes R1 and R2 do not intersect each other, but are arranged skew relative to each other. In a conical skiving tool 10, the calculation point AP is heretofore commonly chosen to be on the joint plumb of the two rotation axes R1 and R2, because a bending of the skiving tool 10 for providing relief angles is not necessary. The calculation point AP coincides with the so-called contact point here. The rolling circles of the equivalent helical gear transmission contact each other in this calculation point AP.
It is known from the German patent application DE 3915976 A1 that in skiving one can superimpose a radially directed movement on the slow axial feed in order to achieve modifications of the flank line. In this way, the crowning of a tooth system can be influenced.
In addition, it is known from the international patent application WO 2010/060733 A1 that by superimposing the axial feed with a radial movement, tooth systems can be generated, the tooth grooves of which phase out at the respective end radially and axially into the surface of the untoothed work piece. The mentioned international patent application concerns primarily a so-called multi-cut strategy, as indicated schematically in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the phasing out of a tooth groove 7 of a corresponding work piece 8 is shown. FIG. 3 shows several traces, which the skiving tool has formed in the work piece 8 during the multi-cut strategy. Due to the superimposition of the axial feed with the radial movement, a phasing out profile results at the end of the tooth groove 7, where the profile is composed of several curved segments in the area 9. The mentioned international patent application does not address the generation of completely generated tooth gaps.
In order to increase skiving productivity as much as possible, for example when utilizing modern cutting materials such as hard metals for the dry machining, the glide portion of the relative movement between the skiving tool and the work piece must generate sufficiently high cutting speeds. In skiving, the cutting speed νc is influenced directly by the rotation speed of the equivalent helical gear transmission, by the effective radii of the work piece with respect to the tool and by the intersection angle of axes Σ of the rotation axes R1 and R2. The possible rotation speed is limited here by the allowed rotation speeds of the machining apparatus (skiving machine) utilized. The size of the work piece is fixedly predetermined. The possible size of the tool is limited by the working space of the machining apparatus (skiving machine) and for inner tooth systems also by the inner space of this tooth system itself. Thus, sufficiently high cutting speeds can often be generated only by correspondingly high intersection angle of axes Σ.
In skiving, a tool 10 comes to application, which comprises at least one geometrically determined cutting edge. The cutting edge/edges are not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The shape and arrangement of the cutting edges belong to those aspects, which must be taken into account in a concrete design in practice.
In addition, in skiving, the tool itself inheres great relevance. In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the skiving tool 10 has the shape of the straight-toothed spur wheel. The outer contour of the base body in FIG. 2A is cylindrical. However, it may also be bevel-shaped (also called conical) as shown in FIG. 2B. Because the one or plural teeth of the skiving tool 10 engage along the entire length of the cutting edge, each tooth of the tool 10 at the cutting edge requires a sufficient relief angle.
Starting from a straight-toothed or a helically toothed conical skiving tool 10, as shown in the FIGS. 4A and 4B, one recognizes that such a skiving tool 10 has so-called constructional relief angles due to the conical base shape of the skiving tool 10. That is the relief angles at the head and at the flanks of the conical skiving tool 10 are predetermined due to the geometry of the skiving tool 10. However, the profile of the cutting edges of a conical skiving tool 10, must satisfy certain conditions in order to actually enable a regrinding. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, a conical skiving tool 10 is shown during the cutting of outer teeth on a work piece 20. The so-called constructional relief angle αKo at the cutter head of the conical skiving tool 10 is visible in FIG. 4B. The intersection point of axes AK and the contact point BP of the rolling circles of the skiving tool 10 and the work piece 20 coincide in FIG. 4A and lie on the joint plumb GL (not visible respectively shown in the FIGS. 4A and 4B) of the rotation axes R1 and R2.
In FIG. 5, a further illustration of a straight-toothed or a helically toothed conical skiving tool 10 and cylindrical work piece 20 is shown, wherein the view of FIG. 5 has been chosen such that both rotation axes R1 and R2 extend parallel, although the two axes R1 and R2 are skew with respect to each other. In FIG. 5, the joint plumb GL of the two axes R1 and R2 is visible. The contact point BP lies on the joint plumb GL as shown in FIG. 5.
In the FIGS. 6A and 6B, a constellation of a cylindrical skiving tool 10 and a cylindrical work piece 20 comprising outer teeth is shown. The skiving tool 10 is not only arranged skew with respect to the rotation axis R2 of the work piece 20 (as can be recognized in FIG. 6A on the basis of the corresponding intersection angle of axes Σ), but is positioned with respect to the work piece 20 such that it is also inclined away from it by a small angle αKi (as can be seen well in FIG. 6B). By the insetting-in away of the skiving tool 10, an effective relief angle can thus be generated, which is shown in FIG. 6B for the head cutting edge as αKi. Also at the side cutting edges of the tool, effective relief angles are generated by the insetting-in away. However, these turn out to be smaller than on the head cutting edge. Generally, these relief angles are only half as large.
Starting from a straight-toothed or a helically toothed cylindrical skiving tool 10, as shown in the FIGS. 6A and 6B, one recognizes that such a skiving tool 10 does not have so-called constructional relief angles, neither at the head nor at the flanks. If such a cylindrical skiving tool 10 was clamped in the conventional manner, no relief angles would be provided. By the insetting-in away of the skiving tool 10, a kinematic relief angle can be generated, as already described. In practice, the insetting-in away of the skiving tool 10 is achieved by an eccentric clamping of the skiving tool 10 in the machine, in order to thus effect an offset of the cutting face from the intersection point of axes AK. Due to the insetting-in away of the skiving tool 10, the contact point BP of the rolling circles of the skiving tool 10 and the work piece 20 no longer lies on the joint plumb of the rotation axes R1 and R2. The corresponding offset is also called cutting face offset e and can be recognized in FIG. 6A. The further the skiving tool 10 is inclined away, the greater the effective relief angles become. The relief angles required for skiving are in the range between 3 degrees and 5 degrees. In order to prescribe these relief angles, an insetting-in away of cylindrical skiving tools 10 of up to 10 degrees is required and common in practice.
In FIGS. 7A and 7B, further illustrations of a straight-toothed or a helically toothed cylindrical skiving tool 10 and a cylindrical work piece 20 are shown, wherein the view in FIG. 7A has been chosen such that the two rotation axes R1 and R2 extend parallel, although the two axes R1 and R2 are skew with respect to each other. In FIG. 7A, the joint plumb GL of the two axes R1 and R2 can be seen. In the FIGS. 7A and 7B, the contact point BP is located above the joint plumb GL. In FIG. 7B a so-called contact view (also called side projection of contact plane) is shown, in which the contact point BP is visible. In the representation of FIG. 7A, the contact point BP is hidden behind the work piece 20.
Own investigations of previous skiving methods have shown, that a sudden failure of the skiving tool may occur. More detailed considerations and evaluations have shown that extremely negative rake angles may occur during the skiving, among others. Simulations of the totality of the trajectory points of the cutting edges, which cut into the material of the work piece have shown that in the complete cutting of the gap, the effective head rake angle becomes particularly more and more negative from the beginning of the chip formation up to the exit of the skiving tool from the gap. That is more precisely, during the ablation of a chip in the common skiving, the chip thickness increases starting from the generator line, wherein the effective rake angle decreases continuously starting from approximately zero degree initially. At the end of the formation of a chip at the cutter head, this effective rake angle may amount to for example up to −60 degrees or in very unfavorable cases even less than −60 degrees. This aspect may lead to a premature wearing of the skiving tool.
The movement of the cutting tooth 6 of a skiving tool 10 through the material of a work piece 20 is represented schematically in the FIGS. 8A to 8C. The FIGS. 8A to 8C show the effective progression of the rake angle at the cutter head, respectively at the cutting tooth 6, over the course of the cut during the complete cut. Due to the superimposition of the coupled, i.e. mutually synchronized rotational motions of the skiving tool 10 about the first rotation axis R1 and of the work piece about the second rotation axis R2, and of linear axial movements of the skiving tool 10 relative to the work piece 20, in a record of the totality of the trajectory points of a cutter, there result a sort of trough- or hutch-shape, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, 9, 10 and 11A, 11B. In FIGS. 8A to 8C, 9 and 10, the corresponding trough is referenced with the reference numeral 11.
FIG. 8A shows the relative movement of the cutting tooth 6 of the skiving tool 10 in the material of the work piece 20 in a first snap shot. The orientation and position of the cutting edge 6.1 of the cutting tooth 6 is represented by a thick line. The trough 11 results from the totality of the trajectory points of the cutting edge 6.1 of the cutting tooth 6 lying in the gap 22 of the work piece 20 for one engagement of the cutting tooth 6 in this gap 22. The subsequent engagement of a further cutting tooth (this may be the same or another cutting tooth of the tool) also generates a trough 11, which is offset within the gap 22 in the axial direction due to the axial feed and the differential feed coupled therewith. Thus, the trough 11 moves stepwise (at least virtually) through the material of the work piece 20 during skiving. FIG. 8A shows a line 12 which divides the trough 11 in a left and a right section. The masked portion of the line 12 is shown as a dashed-dotted line. The line 12 delimits the superposition of two troughs from each other, which differ in their position by the feed between two directly successive engagements of cutting teeth. That is, the line 12 characterizes the intersection curve of the two troughs. For an infinitesimally small axial feed, this intersection curve corresponds to the so-called generator line. The total tooth gap can be considered as a set of such generator lines, which run through the material of the work piece 20 in the cutting direction. In the conventional skiving machining process comprising an axial feed, material is ablated by the driven cutting edge 6.1 from the work piece 20 only in the section starting from the generator line (i.e. in the concretely shown representation: to the left of the generator line). Material has already been ablated by the previous engagement of the tool in the cutting direction before the generator line (i.e. in the concretely shown representation: to the right of the generator line).
FIG. 8B shows a second snap shot of the simulation, wherein the cutting tooth 6 of the skiving tool 10 has moved in the material of the work piece 20 with respect to the situation in FIG. 8A by a distance further to the left in the cutting direction SR.
FIG. 8C shows a third snap shot of the simulation, wherein the cutting tooth 6 of the skiving tool 10 has moved in the material of the work piece 20 with respect to the situation in FIG. 8B still a distance further to the left in the cutting direction SR. In FIG. 8C, it is clearly visible that the cutting face of the cutting edge 6.1 of the cutting tooth 6 forms an acute angle with respect to the trough 11. The corresponding "critical" section is characterized in FIG. 8C with the reference numeral 13. Hence an extremely negative effective rake angle results in the section 13, as already mentioned.
During the skiving process, the effective rake angle of the head becomes particularly more and more negative, as already mentioned. In skiving, the blade angle of the cutting tooth 6 to the imagined bottom of the gap at the work piece 20 remains approximately constant. The head cutting edge of the cutting tooth 6 "grinds" over the bottom of the trough.
A section of a work piece 20 comprising plural teeth 21 and tooth gaps 22 is shown in FIG. 9. Now, if one considers the total progression of the movement in the skiving machining of a work piece 20, it is visible that the trough 11 moves through a tooth gap 22 until the tooth gap 22 is completely accomplished. The movement of the trough 11 through the tooth gap 22 is indicated by a directional arrow VR, which points in the feed direction. This feed direction is composed of the axial and the differential feed.
The above-mentioned investigations of the rake angle during the skiving hold in particular for the generation of a complete chip in the ongoing skiving process. However, they also provide important insights on the start of the skiving process, at which one must first "pierce" into the gap. In the common infeed of the skiving tool in the axial direction of the work piece, a first contact of the cutting tooth 6 with the work piece 20 occurs with a clearly negative effective rake angle. Thus, previously, the first chips are generated with conceivable bad chip cutting conditions. Due to the large negative rake angle at the first contact, the load on the cutting edge 6.1 is very high. The forces acting on the cutting edge 6.1 (in particular the edge of the cutting edge) thereby increase suddenly, which may lead to an immediate destruction of the cutting edge 6.1. This high load may explain the sudden, abrupt failure of the skiving tool 10 which has partly been observed. In the ongoing skiving process according to FIGS. 8A to 8C and 9, the adverse effective rake angles do also occur as mentioned above; however, the load on the cutting edge 6.1 is established continuously and not abruptly hereby. Thus, different wear or failure phenomena are concerned.
In the axial infeed which has been practiced previously, the trough 11 is guided at the side along the tooth gap 21 such that trough edge of the trough 11 having the worst cutting conditions touches the work piece 20 for the first time in the section of the front side 23 as shown in FIG. 10. This first contact occurs typically with the head section of the cutting edge 6.1 at the side of the feathering flank. The axial infeed is indicated in FIG. 10 by the arrow ZB. Hereby, the arrow ZB runs parallel to the rotation axis R2 of the tool 20.

Robust method for skiving and corresponding apparatus comprising a skiving tool


Systems and methods for processing an image on a mobile device, including a mobile device with a camera for capturing a digital image, a display for displaying the captured image, and an image processing module configured to detect one or more types of information contained in said captured image. The image processing module is configured to overlay the detected information as a separate layer over the captured image for view on the display. The system further includes a wireless connection coupling the mobile device to the remote server such that the captured image and detected information may be uploaded to the remote server for further processing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to image capture and processing, and more particularly to image capture and processing via a mobile device.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable information devices, such as PDA's and smartphones are constrained in user interface capabilities for the input of information due to the size and numbers of the physical information input controls (buttons, keys). Input information is also usually intended for immediate use for secondary information processing, and information transfers from input methods other than keyboard typings are usually not seamlessly integrated, causing disruption of user operations and lack of intuitiveness.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide improved image capture and recognition functionality to mobile devices. At least some of these objectives will be met in the following disclosure.

Mobile device visual input system and methods


An integrally molded dust door latch/spring for a video cassette and related method of assembly are described. The latch/spring includes: a planar latch body having a flexing member formed between a first upper end and a second lower end. The first end includes two lateral supports and a projecting, substantially planar perpendicular member. The second end includes first and second projections which enter openings formed in the cassette base. The latch/spring is assembled in the cassette such that the first end is fixed between the cassette base and cover, but the second end can flex or deflect via the flexing member relative to the first end. The method includes the steps of: (1) locating the two projections in the openings formed in the cassette base; (2) locating the supports in receptacles formed in the base; and (3) placing the cassette cover on the base so that the first end of the latch body is fixed relative to the cassette and the first end can flex relative to the first end via the flexing member.

This invention relates to a tape cassette and, more particularly, to a video cassette dust door latch having an integral spring.
For convenience of reference, when describing the tape cassette of the prior art and the present invention, "inward" means in a direction toward to the interior of the cassette from its sides, "outward" means in a direction toward the sides of the cassette from the interior, "upward" means in a direction toward the cassette cover from the cassette base, and "downward" means in a direction toward the base from the cover.
A conventional tape cassette usually has a flat, substantially rectangular, configuration which may be formed of a suitable plastic, and includes a cassette cover and base, each having side walls. Tape reels are usually suitably located in side-by-side relation within the cassette so as to be freely rotatable, and a magnetic tape is wound between the tape reels.
Such cassettes also usually include a hinged dust door and a biased latch for temporarily locking the dust door closed. The dust door protects the tape in the cassette from dust, abrasion, etc., when the cassette is not being used in a tape player/recorder, e.g., during transport and storage.
Conventionally, the latch has been made in the form of a substantially flat, rectangular latch body, pivotably supported by lateral pivot pins which rest in the cassette base. The latch body is urged outwardly by a spring attached to the latch body and abutting a wall of the cassette. First and second projections on the outward side surface of the latch body extend through corresponding openings formed in the side wall of the cassette base. The first projection engages an opening in the side of the dust door when the door is in a closed position, thereby locking the door. The second projection is exposed on the outside of the tape cassette, adjacent one end of the dust door, to allow access by a movable pin on the tape player/recorder when the tape cassette is inserted into the tape player/recorder. The second projection is automatically depressed by the pin, the latch pivots, releasing the first projection from engagement with the dust door, and the dust door is allowed to open to expose the tape for use in the tape player/recorder.
One type of spring conventionally used to bias the latch is a separate, coil spring connected to the latch body, as described in Assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,700. The drawbacks associated with this type of latch/spring assembly are the cost associated with manufacturing and assembling multiple parts and the difficulty of handling, attaching and pre-loading the coil spring. The present invention is not directed to this type of separate spring, but is directed to a type wherein the spring is formed integrally of the latch.
Integral springs for dust door latches are known. More particularly, as described in Gebeke U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,207, a latch includes an integral spring in the form of a "U" or "S"-shaped polymeric material extending from a rigid body portion slidably mounted in a housing of the cassette body. However, this structure is sensitive to precise molding and interior wall location, and is also vulnerable to storing and shipping damage.
On the other hand, Giannis et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,583, discloses, as shown in FIG. 1 herein, a dust door latch generally designated by element 10. The latch 10 is mounted for rotational movement about a substantially horizontal axis "a" between a latching position at which the latch 10 locks the dust door (not shown) in its closed position, and an unlatching position in which the dust door is unlatched for opening. The rotational movement is provided by a pair of well-known, rounded pivot pins 12 and 14. Pivot pin 12 rests in a rounded notch 16 in a forward wall 18 of the cassette base 20. The other pivot pin 14 rests in another rounded notch 22 on the top of an interior wall 24 which extends upwardly from the bottom wall 26 of the cassette base 20. The usual operable projections described above (not shown) extend outwardly from the latch 10 through openings (one shown at 36) formed in the cassette base 20 side wall 38. The cassette base also includes a conventional light hole 40.
An elongated resilient arm 28 is formed on the latch 10 to extend downwardly toward the interior of the cassette base 20 and in the direction of rotation of the latch 10 toward its unlatched position. Arm 28 is attached at one end 30 to the latch 10 in an integral, one-piece relationship. The opposite end 32 of arm 28 is biased against an inner wall 34 of the cassette base 20 for urging the latch 10 toward its latching position.
The drawbacks associated with this conventional, integral dust door latch/spring 10 are that: (a) it is costly to produce since the arm 28 must be carefully molded to ensure proper installation and retention of its biasing ability over time and under different temperature conditions; (b) assembly of this small part is difficult due to the need to hold the arm 28 in during assembly to prevent obstruction with the wall 34 and to properly preload the spring 28 in the cassette base 20 against the wall 34; and (c) the pivot pins 12, 14 must be accurately molded and received by the notches 16, 22 or else the latch 10 will not pivot as required, and the dust door will not open.
Further, as with any mass-produced, consumer item such as video cassettes, there is always a desire to eliminate parts and assembly steps to decrease overall cost.
Although the prior art described above eliminates some of the problems inherent in the tape cassette door latch art, the prior art still does not teach a biased door latch capable of the most cost efficient production nor the most time efficient automated assembly.

Video cassette integral dust door latch/spring


Methods and devices for controlling the viscosity of the slag in incinerating kilns. The alkali content is measured in the stream of the off-gasses, and additives are added in order to counteract the effect of the alkalis on the slag viscosity. The rate of addition of additives depends on the alkali analysis and the off-gas temperature in the kiln.

Incinerator kilns, and especially those of the rotary type, have an outside metallic shell, usually steel, the inside of which is fully covered by a thick ceramic or refractory, usually in the form of fire bricks having a total thickness exceeding in many cases 25 cm. These kilns usually operate at a exit gas or off-gas temperature in the range of about 1,600 to 2,400.degree. F. The ceramic or refractory walls, however, are very vulnerable to erosion and corrosion, due to the hostile conditions created by the nature of incinerated materials and high temperatures, especially, if alkali metals are present. If the viscosity of slag in the kiln is adequately high, it may form a rather thick viscous coating on the refractory and thus protect it from the hostile environment. However, when the viscosity of the slag is very low, the slag contributes to the erosion and corrosion of the ceramic, both chemically because it serves as a solvent and mechanically, as it allows foreign big pieces of abrasive material to act against the ceramic walls. If the slag is viscous to the point of becoming substantially solid, or if it has never been formed as a liquid, it becomes ineffective in promoting combustion of organic matter, and also in capturing toxic heavy metals. Therefore, it is imperative that the viscosity of the slag is very carefully monitored and controlled within a range of values. Thus, one of the objects of this invention is to control the viscosity of the slag in incinerating kilns.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,621 (Vassiliou et al.), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes methods and devices for slag viscosity detection through image analysis of dripping slag within rotary incineration kilns.
U.S. Pat. 5,228,398 (Byerly et al.), which is also incorporated herein by reference, describes methods and devices for controlling rotary incineration kilns by determining the position of the kiln outlet at which the slag is exiting.
U.S. Pat. 5,158,024 (Tanaka et al.) discloses a combustion control apparatus for a powdered coal-fired furnace that monitors noxious substances contained within the burning waste gases, unburned substances with the ash and the power data of a pulverizing mill in order to operate the combustion furnace safely and efficiently. The combustion control apparatus infers from the current states or data optimal control amounts that will maintain within the minimum allowable ranges the noxious nitrogen oxides and the in-ash unburned substances that affect the combustion efficiency and thereby controls the combustion furnace with good stability. The combustion control apparatus qualitatively evaluates as fuzzy quantities the density data of the nitrogen oxides contained within the exhaust gases of the unburned substances contained within the ash, and the power data of the pulverizing mill. Based upon the evaluation results a fuzzy inference is formed so as to determine the optimum control amount of the two-stage combustion air ratio for minimizing the nitrogen oxides and also the optimum control amount for the fine/coarse gain separator so as to extract powdered coal of a grain size most effective for minimizing the unburned substances within the ash.
U.S. Pat. 5,010,827 (Kychakoff et al.) discloses an apparatus for detecting the presence of carryover particles in an upper region of a furnace, such as a smelt bed boiler, includes plural spaced apart detectors. These detectors monitor discrete portions of the interior of the furnace for the purpose of detecting carryover particles in such monitored portions. Signals indicative of the carryover particles are processed to obtain a count of the carryover particles. The carryover particle count may then be displayed. For example, the signals from all of the detectors may be averaged with trends and overall changes in count rates then displayed. In addition, the counts from the individual detectors may also be displayed to assist an operator in locating the source of excessive carryover particles in the furnace. An image sensor, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) detector, may be used to provide a visual display of detected carryover particles. The information on carryover particle count may be used in controlling parameters affecting the performance of the furnace directly, or indirectly by way of operator input.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,083 (Serbent, deceased) discloses a method for the production of a product which can be dumped or utilized, the mineral substances being subjected in a rotary kiln to a thermal treatment at a temperature at which the charge of the rotary kiln is transformed from a pasty to liquid slag phase. The composition of the charge is so selected that a slag phase is produced in which the main components, which constitute a matrix, are in the range from 60 to 72% SiO.sub.2, 10 to 30% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and 5 to 25% CaO+MgO, of said matrix, wherein the total percentage of SiO.sub.2,+Al.sub.2 O.sub.3+ CaO+MgO equals 100, the total of the main components SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, CaO and MgO amounts to more than 60% on a dry and ignition loss-free basis, of the mineral matter which is charged to the rotary kiln. The slag phase discharged from the rotary kiln is cooled and the exhaust gas from the rotary kiln is purified.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,958 (Caffyn et al.) discloses an incineration system for processing solid, semi-solid waste material and sludge includes an incinerator unit which has a horizontally disposed rotary primary oxidation chamber and a generally vertically disposed secondary oxidation chamber which receives gaseous products of combustion from the primary chamber. Baffles within the secondary chamber provide a tortuous gas flow path through the secondary chamber. Gaseous emissions from the incinerator unit pass through a heat recovery boiler, a baghouse and a scrubber tower before being discharged to atmosphere. A control system controls rotation of the primary oxidation chamber and an auger/shredder which feeds waste material to be burned into the primary oxidation chamber. The control system may include a programmable computer for modifying the control functions in response to programmed data relating to the characteristics of material processed in the incineration system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,557 (Makuch) discloses a method and apparatus for controlling additive delivery to and circulation within an air pollution control system. The system of the invention controls the scrubber recycle flow rate and additive-to-fuel delivery ratio in response to an established pH operating level in the scrubber. The established pH operating level may be varied within limits in response to the sulfur oxide content of the gas leaving the scrubber for optimum additive usage.
Japanese Pat. 60-259816, issued Dec. 12, 1985, (Yamashita) has as purpose to automatically reduce the operation in response to the amount of emission by detecting the amount of pollutant emitted. It discloses a computing device, which, upon being inputted air pollution information from an input device, performs a predetermined computation to arrive at the operation reduction rate of respective pollutant releasing installations, in response to the inputted information. That is, by respective detectors, the amount of emission of pollutants in the exhaust gas that is released from the pollutant releasing installations is detected, and its result is inputted to the computation device via an information transmission device. Further, the computation result given by the computation device, via an information transmission device, which amounts to be the operation reduction rate for each pollutant releasing installation, is transmitted to and indicated by indicators a number of indicators.
None of the above references discloses, suggests, or implies the use of alkali analysis in the off-gases of incineration kilns for slag control, and especially for preventing the slag from assuming unacceptably low values.

Preventive slag viscosity control by detection of alkali metals in the off-gases


A method of water treatment comprising: providing an electrolysis device comprising an electrolysis vessel; providing feed streams to the first salt water chamber of the vessel, second salt water chamber of the vessel, acidic chamber of the vessel, and alkalic chamber of the vessel, the acidic chamber producing an acidic solution and the alkalic chamber producing an alkalic solution; directing at least a portion of the contents of the first and second salt water chambers into a precipitation tank; directing at least a portion of the alkalic solution into the precipitation tank, thereby increasing the pH in the precipitation tank to produce precipitate; and removing the precipitate from the precipitation tank.

1. Related Application
U.S. application Ser. No. 12/123,521, filed May 20, 2008, and assigned to General Electric Company, which is herein incorporated by reference.
2. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the use of an electrolysis device for water treatment.
3. Description of Related Art
The presence of scale forming species in aqueous systems, such as brackish water and cooling tower make up or blowdown, lead to an increase in system maintenance and a decrease in system yield. Accordingly, a need exists to decrease the presence of scale forming species in aqueous systems.

Water treatment using a bipolar membrane


An image editing method for a digital copier implements image editing in any of various erase modes which include an inside erase mode and a paint-out erase mode. The inside erase mode is to erase an image or images lying in a marked area which has been marked by a marker, while the paint-out erase mode is to erase only an image which has been painted out by a marker. When a mark provided by a marker is detected, any of the two different erase modes is selected automatically.

The present invention relates to an image editing method for a digital copier.
With a digital copier which is attracting much attention today, an editing function is available for editing a document image in various manners so as to reproduce it in a desired form. For example, in an editing system generally referred to as a marker editing system, use is made of a pen or marker for marking a particular area of a document image to be edited, instead of picking up coordinates on a digitized by a pen. The marked area is detected by real-time processing to edit an image or images lying in that area in various manners. Typical of editing techniques known in the art is masking, trimming and negative-positive inversion. The marker editing system has various advantages over the other editing systems heretofore proposed, e.g., it eliminates the need for a digitizer and other special devices, limitations imposed on independent areas and those imposed on the shape of areas to be marked. However, limitations are still unavoidable because the marked areas themselves have to be further clearly distinguished from the other areas. It follows that, when a number of areas of a single document image are marked, unexpected processing is apt to occur to prevent a desired image from being produced. To cope with this problem, there is an increasing demand for an alternative marker editing system which is free from the conventional concept, i.e. a marked area.

Image editing method for a digital copier


The invention describes a structure and a process for providing ESD semiconductor protection with reduced input capacitance. The structure consists of heavily doped P+ guard rings surrounding the I/O ESD protection device and the Vcc to Bss protection device. In addition, there is a heavily doped N+ guard ring surrounding the I/O protection device its P+ guard ring. The guard rings enhance structure diode elements providing enhanced ESD energy discharge path capability enabling the elimination of a specific conventional Vss to I/O pad ESD protection device. This reduces the capacitance seen by the I/O circuit while still providing adequate ESD protection for the active circuit devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the structure and manufacturing process of a FET semiconductor device for ESD protection of electronic circuit devices and more particularly to a structure with a guard ring for low capacitance input ESD protection.
2. Description of Prior Art
Because of high input impedance and thin oxide gate structures, the problem of electrostatic discharge damage (ESD) with field effect transistor (FET) devices can be severe. Therefore the input/output (I/O) circuit locations or pads usually have a protective device connected between the I/O pad and the internal circuits which allows the ESD current to be shunted to an alternative voltage source, typically ground, protecting the active internal circuits from damage.
There can be several different types of device structures used for these protective devices, such as single diodes, stacked diodes, field effect transistor (FET) devices, and silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR).
With prior art devices, the capacitance associated with the ESD protection device on the active circuit input pad could be a concern as circuit speeds increase. A typical prior art protection circuit scheme is represented in FIG. 1A. The active circuit input-output (I/O) terminal or pad 10 is connected to the ESD protection circuit devices ESD-1 element 12 with associated parasitic capacitance C12 and parasitic diode D12, and protection device ESD-2 element 14 with associated parasitic capacitance C14 and parasitic diode D14. The I/O pad 10 is also connected to the input or output stage of the active logic circuits A. Also shown in FIG. 1 is the protection devices ESD-Vcc element 16 with associated parasitic capacitance 16 and parasitic diode D16 that protects against high ESD voltages occurring on the circuit power lines Vcc and Vss.
A positive ESD voltage at the input pad 10 would turn on diode D14 and ESD-1 12 providing a suitable discharge path for the ESD energy. For a negative ESD event on the I/O pad 10, diode D 12 is placed into a conducting mode, as is ESD-Vcc 16, again providing a suitable discharge path for the ESD energy.
Typical prior art protection devices are shown in schematic form in FIG. 1B. Protection device ESD-1 is shown as a N channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) 12, and ESD protection device ESD-2 is shown as a P channel MOS (PMOS) 14. The ESD-Vcc protection device is shown as a NMOS device 16. FIG. 1C shows a representative cross-section of the ESD protection circuit devices. NFET 12 has its source 12 S connected to its gate 12G and to the Substrate 20 P+ contact 22 and to a second voltage source Vss, typically ground. The NMOS 12 drain D12 is connected to the ESD-2 PMOS protection device 14 drain 14D. The gate 14G of ESD-2 PMOS protection device 14 is connected to its source element 14S and to the source 16S of ESD-VCC NMOS protection device 16 and subsequently to a first voltage source Vcc.
Although the prior art circuit shown in FIG. 1B provides ESD protection for the active devices, the stray or parasitic capacitance C12 and C13 impose undesired capacitive loading to the I/O pad and logic circuit input stage A.
The invention provides a unique structure and method to eliminate some of this capacitance on the I/O pad while still providing appropriate ESD protection.
The following patents and reports pertain to ESD protection.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,066 (Lee et al.) shows an ESD structure with a third ring shape serving as a guard ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,784 (Ker et al.) reveals an ESD structure with guard rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,900 (Ker et al.) shows an ESD structure with P+ guard rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,413 (Duvvury) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,287 (Hirata) show related ESD structures and guard rings.

Method for four direction low capacitance ESD protection

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A personal floatation apparatus comprising a central body portion, adapted to float in a body of water, with a propulsion structure pivotally coupled to the body having an elongated rod member with upper and lower portions and a fin member pivotally coupled intermediate the respective portions. The upper and lower portions are inversely pivotal relative to each other, wherein when the upper portion is disposed forwardly and the lower portion is disposed rearwardly, relative to the body, and vice-versa. The fin member is adapted to extend substantially perpendicular from the body when the lower portion is moved from the forward to rearward positions, thereby encouraging forward movement of the floatation apparatus caused by water resistance acting upon the fin member. The fin member is adapted to lay substantially parallel to the body when the lower portion is moved from the rearward to the forward position, thereby encouraging continued forward movement in a gliding manner.

The present application relates generally to personal floatation devices and, more particularly, to personal floatation devices that are manually propelled in a body of water.
It is well known that personal floatation devices, such as air-encapsulating inner tubes and the like, can be propelled by a user with simple hand and/or foot movement. It is also well known that such movement can be maximized and enhanced with the utilization of fin-like structures, typically coupled to a user""s foot, to maximize water resistance to cause the floatation device to travel in the desired direction. However, a limitation of such a design is that hand and leg movement are not synchronized and thus can be counterproductive. Further, when returning the fin-like structure to the origination point to begin another cycle, the fin-like structure generally increases water resistance in the return stroke, consequently degrading and hindering travel in the desired direction.
It is also well known that simultaneous and synchronous hand and foot movement can be achieved via a ski-like machine on land, wherein an interconnecting structure, such as an elongated rod, is used to coordinate hand and leg movement. However, such a structure is not readily adaptable for water usage, let alone buoyancy. As such, there exists a need in personal floatation devices to incorporate the benefits of simultaneous and synchronous movement of the hands and legs.
The present application discloses a manually propelled personal floatation apparatus. The apparatus comprises a central body portion capable of being buoyant in a body of water and a depending propulsion structure that is pivotally coupled to the body portion.
The propulsion structure includes a fin member pivotally coupled to an elongated rod and is adapted to extend substantially perpendicular from the body portion, thereby acting as a sail, to propel the floatation apparatus forwardly and to lay substantially parallel to the body portion to encourage continued gliding of the floatation apparatus. The elongated rod is pivotal between forward and rearward positions relative to the body portion. As such, when the rod is pivoted from the forward to the rearward position, the fin member extends perpendicular from the body portion, consequently affecting forward movement of the floatation apparatus caused by water resistance acting upon the fin member. When the rod is pivoted from the rearward position to the forward position, the fin member lays parallel to the body portion where water resistance with the fin member is minimized, thus encouraging continued forward movement of the floatation apparatus in a gliding manner.
A foot-holding structure, adapted to secure a user""s foot or leg to the elongated rod, may be coupled adjacent to the lowermost terminus of the elongated rod. In such an embodiment, the user""s foot or leg can assist the manual movement of the elongated rod from forward and rearward positions relative to the central body portion, and vice-versa, thereby assisting in forward propulsion. dr
For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages, should be readily understood and appreciated.
FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a floatation apparatus in accordance with the present application;
FIG. 2 is a reduced side view of the floatation apparatus of FIG. 1 depicted in use by a user with the foreground fin member disposed in the substantially parallel position;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the foreground fin member disposed in the substantially perpendicular position;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged, side elevation view of the floatation apparatus of FIG. 1 with the fin member disposed in the substantially parallel position;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional front view taken along line 5xe2x80x945 in FIG. 1 with a propulsion structure removed for clarity purposes;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged, rear view of the pivoting structure of FIG. 1 with the vertical bore and bottom surface shown with hidden lines; and
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but with the vertical bore and the top surface shown with hidden lines.

Manually propelled personal floatation device


The instantaneous interruption detection apparatus includes a noise removing section to remove a noise component from an in-cylinder pressure signal inputted thereto, and output a noise-removed in-cylinder pressure signal, a derivative signal calculating section to calculate a detection signal which is a function of a derivative value of the noise-removed in-pressure signal with respect to the crank angle of an internal combustion engine, an instantaneous interruption determining section configured to make determination that instantaneous interruption of the in-cylinder pressure signal has occurred when the detection signal has exceeded a detection threshold, and a threshold setting section configured to set the detection threshold to such a value that the instantaneous interruption determining section can make the determination in accordance with the noise-removed in-pressure signal which is dull compared to the in-cylinder pressure signal inputted to the noise removing section depending on a gain-frequency characteristic of the noise removing section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instantaneous interruption detection apparatus for detecting instantaneous interruption of a signal transmitted from an in-cylinder pressure sensor mounted on an internal combustion engine, and an internal combustion engine control apparatus including the instantaneous interruption detection apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an internal combustion engine having cylinders and a crank is provided with in-cylinder pressure sensors to measure the pressures inside the cylinders. The in-cylinder pressure sensors are connected to an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). This ECU controls the internal combustion engine by determining fuel injection timings, for example, in accordance with the in-cylinder pressure signals indicative of the in-cylinder pressures received from the in-cylinder pressure sensors. However, there may occur a case where transmission of the in-cylinder pressure signal from the in-cylinder sensor to the ECU is instantaneously interrupted due to corrosion or wear of a terminal provided for connection between the in-cylinder pressure sensor and the ECU (referred to as "instantaneous interruption" hereinafter). If such instantaneous interruption occurs, since the ECU is inputted with an incorrect in-cylinder pressure signal, and accordingly, improperly controls the internal combustion engine as a result of which harmful substance in exhaust gas is increased, the vehicle drivability is lowered, and the engine noise is increased.
Hence, it is strongly desired to develop an instantaneous interruption detection apparatus capable of detecting the instantaneous interruption of the in-cylinder pressure sensor. Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-56271 describes a method of detecting noise superimposed on the in-cylinder pressure signal. It is possible to use this method to detect the instantaneous interruption of the in-cylinder pressure sensor as explained as follows. The in-cylinder pressure gradually changes with the change of the crank angle (the rotation angle of a crank of an internal combustion engine). Accordingly, since the derivative signal of the in-cylinder pressure signal is kept below a predetermined threshold as long as the instantaneous interruption does not occur, while if the instantaneous interruption occurs, it exceeds the predetermined threshold. Hence, by determining whether or not the derivative signal of the in-cylinder pressure signal exceeds the predetermined threshold, it is possible to determine occurrence of the instantaneous interruption.
Incidentally, in some cases, a noise eliminating means such as a filter circuit is provided between the in-cylinder pressure sensor and the ECU to remove the noise component from the in-cylinder pressure signal. In these cases, the ECU is inputted with the in-cylinder pressure signal from which the noise component has been removed (referred to as "noise-removed in-cylinder pressure signal" hereinafter). The waveform of the noise-removed in-cylinder pressure signal is dull compared to that of the in-cylinder pressure signal from which the noise component is not removed. Accordingly, it may occur that the deviation signal of the noise-removed in-cylinder pressure signal does not exceed the threshold even if the instantaneous interruption has occurred, because its value is smaller than that of the in-cylinder pressure signal from which the noise component is not removed by the noise eliminating means. As explained above, when the noise eliminating means is provided, there is a possibility that the instantaneous interruption of the in-cylinder pressure sensor cannot be detected, while on the other hand, when the noise eliminating means is not provided, the noise component cannot be removed from the in-cylinder pressure signal.

Instantaneous interruption detection apparatus and internal combustion engine control apparatus including the same


A periscope includes an object window 4, a first reflector 5, a second reflector 6; and an intermediate port between the first reflector 5 and the second reflector 6. The first reflector 5 is arranged to reflect light from the object window 4 towards the second reflector 6 through the intermediate port. The second reflector 6 is selectively movable between a first position of use in which the second reflector 6 reflects light from the first reflector 5 towards a viewing position and a second position of use in which the second reflector 6 closes the intermediate port.

Periscopes are used in a number of military applications to provide the occupants of a vehicle, such as a tank, with a view of the outside environment. In addition to the optical view from the periscope, such military vehicles are often also equipped with cameras that may provide digitally enhanced views of the outside environment, for example night vision or thermal imaging. There is also other information that may be presented on screens, for example speed or position. It would be desirable to provide a periscope in which the user could switch between views, including an external optical view and an electronically generated display without changing the viewing position. Such a periscope system is desirably relatively compact in order to allow retrofitting into existing vehicles without affecting the comfort or ease of exit of the user.
It is also desirable that the periscope system does not reveal the position of the vehicle by transmission of ambient light from the interior of the vehicle to the outside world. Similarly, light from the outside world may wash out other displays desirably observed within the vehicle under low internal lighting conditions.

Periscope with a reflector forming a light tight seal


A flapping-wing aircraft includes a support frame, a motor coupled to the support frame, a pair of wings coupled to the support frame, and a linkage assembly coupled to the support frame and configured to translate an output torque of the motor into flapping motion of the wings, wherein the linkage assembly includes a first link coupled to a rotational output of the motor, a second link pivotably coupled to the first link at a first pivot joint, a third link pivotably coupled to the second link at a second pivot joint, and a fourth link pivotably coupled to the support frame and slidably coupled to the third link, and wherein the fourth link is coupled to a first wing of the pair of wings.

Biomimetic, hover-capable mechanical flyers are one of the most challenging and fascinating aircraft in the development arena of new and novel micro air vehicle (MAV) platforms. While the flight line is dominated by multi-copter aircraft utilizing fixed, continuously rotating rotors, biologically-inspired two-winged, flapping-wing systems are being developed back in research hangars out of interest in the superior flight capabilities of natural flyers like hummingbirds, honeybees and fruit flies. The flight capabilities potentially offered by flapping-wing systems include large accelerations, high maneuverability and agility in tight spaces, and gust tolerance, demonstrated repeatedly during high speed transitions between flowers swaying in the breeze and point hovering in space.
The ability to change the direction of the lift instantaneously gives biological systems these capabilities, which rotary wing platforms are so far unable to achieve, reducing maneuverability and gust rejection. Beyond these issues, low Reynolds number conventional rotors generally have degraded performance and can be quite susceptible to aerodynamic disturbances. On the other hand, flying robots that mechanically mimic two-winged biological flight have the potential for having the same exceptional flight capabilities as flapping-wing natural flyers. Thus robotic hummingbird platforms may be an exceptionally capable system for civilian or military missions that require extreme flying performance. Such operations could include tasks such as infrastructure inspection or crop surveillance and soil mapping over a wide range of wind conditions which is currently infeasible with rotary wing systems. Search and rescue operations for law enforcement purposes or in disaster relief efforts can be more efficient with an agile, robust aerial vehicle. Additionally, clandestine surveillance operations in constrained environments can be done routinely with flapping wing systems, since they generate significantly lower noise levels than rotors. This reduced acoustic signature on a quiet, natural looking system can make wildlife monitoring remarkably stress-free and non-disruptive. Because flapping wings naturally operate in low Reynolds number unsteady flow regimes, problems associated with aerodynamic degradation of the flow on conventional small-scale rotors are mitigated or eliminated, and aerodynamic performance are enhanced.


A fishing lure comprising a dense body portion having a bore therethrough; a recess formed in the body portion, the recess communicating with the bore, the recess sized to accommodate and receive the eyelet of a hook, said recess having non-resilient walls and a mouth; and a resilient obstruction adjacent the mouth of the recess, the resilient obstruction inhibiting passage of the eyelet of the hook until a force is exerted upon the eyelet to cause the resilient obstruction to yield and allow passage of the eyelet. Additionally, a fishing lure assembly, for ordered array upon an fishing line terminating at an eyelet of a fishhook, the lure including a forward piece having a bore and a rearward directed semi-spherical recess; a generally spherical bead having a bore and a spherical radius slightly smaller than the radius of the recess of the first piece; and a rearward piece having a bore, a forward directed semi-spherical recess of a radius slightly greater than the bead, and having rearward directed means for releaseably holding a fishhook eyelet.

The present invention relates to fishing lures, and in particular, sound-producing fishing lures. The present invention also relates to fishing lures designed for use with live bait, such as for example, worms.
It is well known to fish with a worm impaled upon a traditional fishing hook. It is also well known to incorporate a weight on or near the fishing hook/worm combination in order to appropriately locate the worm and hook at the bottom of a water body thereby increasing the chances of catching a fish. One method of weighting such a hook has been the attachment of a weight adjacent the hook. However, such an arrangement is plagued by the disadvantage that a fish, beginning to take the bait, has to lift the weight and thus may be scared away from being hooked. The traditional answer to such a problem has been to provide a weight with a aperture through which a fishing line is attached to the hook. As the fish attempts to take the worm, the line slides freely through the aperture of the lure and the fish does not easily detect the situation. Occasionally, fishermen desire to maintain the fixed connection between the weight and the hook and thus will force a small piece of wood, such as a toothpick, into the hole of the weight forcing the line against the outer wall of the aperture and preventing any slide of the weight upon the fishing line. Such a process is known as "pegging." Pegging, however, tends to generate a flat or weakened portion on the fishing line, thus increasing the possibility of a break in the line under tension when a fish is being caught. A more recent solution to provide reversible, fixed attachment to a fishing hook is disclosed in the Link U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,689. The Link patent discloses a fishing weight with an aperture and a rear recess. The recess is substantially filled with a rubbery material and within the rubbery material is a cavity having two openings. One of the openings communicates with the through aperture and the other opening restricts passage of the eyelet of the fishhook. In this manner, the eyelet of a fishhook may be inserted in the cavity thereby forming the fixed relationship between the hook and the weight, or alternatively, the fishermen may extract the eyelet from the cavity thereby creating a sliding relationship of the weight upon the fishing line and allowing the hook to be pulled free by a fish. One distinct disadvantage of the Link invention is that the outward opening of the rubberized cavity may become worn or torn by repeated usage. This, in turn, causes the ability of the weight to be "pegged" to the hook to be lost.
It is also desirable in the fishing lure industry to increase the attractiveness of lures by incorporating the ability to generate a sound. To the best of the inventor's knowledge, the combination of a peggable weight and sound production have not previously been combined in a single fishing lure.


An apparatus and method of correcting skin color in an image is disclosed. The method may include extracting skin colors; analyzing the extracted skin colors to calculate axes of a different vector space; transforming the extracted skin colors to the different vector space; using the result of the transformed skin colors to identify a color from an input image as a skin color; and correcting the color identified as a skin color. The different vector space may be a principal components analysis (PCA) vector space. Extracting skin colors may include detecting a face region as a skin region in an input image and extracting skin colors from the face region. A lookup table be generated according to the result of projecting the skin colors to fewer dimensions of the different vector space. Extracting skin colors may include extracting colors from a training image of skin colors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for effectively correcting skin color on an obtained face image, and to a digital photographing apparatus using both.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the developments of digital photographing apparatuses, image processing is rapidly shifting from analog to digital. Viewers of images captured by digital photographing apparatuses such as digital cameras and digital camcorders are particularly interested in the quality of the colors of the face or the skin of a person captured in the images. Therefore, skin color correction is important for improving the performance of the digital photographing apparatuses.
However, to correct skin colors in a captured image to more natural colors, it is first necessary to identify the skin in the captured image from similar colors of non-skin such as background colors and non-human subject colors.

Method and apparatus for skin color correction and digital photographing apparatus using both


A glove puppet manipulating system comprises a control module for generating control signals base on movements of human hand and a robot electrically connecting the control module installed inside a glove puppet. The robot has a body manipulating apparatus disposed on a foundation to manipulate the body of the glove puppet to rotate, a pair of hand manipulating apparatuses disposed on the body manipulating apparatus to manipulate the hands of the glove puppet to swivel, and a head manipulating apparatus interposed between the hand manipulating apparatuses on the body manipulating apparatus to manipulate the head of the glove puppet to nod.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic controlling system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic controlling system for manipulating a glove puppet.
2. Description of Related Art
Taiwanese glove puppetry (also called budaisi) is a traditional art, which was first introduced to Taiwan more than 200 years ago and is still popular in Taiwan.
The small glove puppets used in classical glove puppetry are about 30 centimeters in height. The glove puppet's head uses wood carved into the shape of a hollow human head. The head, palms, and feet are made of wood, the puppet's torso and limbs consist entirely of cloth costumes. At performance time, puppeteers put their hands inside the puppets and bring them to life. They can make the puppets dance, drink, write letters, and even fly through the air.
However, when many puppets perform in a single scene, the narrow stage is crowded with puppeteers, which is not only uncomfortable but also limits the performance of the puppets.
Therefore, a new glove puppet manipulating method and system is needed to solve the above problems.


Fabric structures having elongation yarns and ground yarns that form a sheath are provided, with the structure having two connection segments and at least one expansion segment in between the connection segments. Heat treatment of the one or more expansion segments shrinks the length of the elongation yarns during manufacture. A tensile load applied to the fabric structure stretches the elongation yarns and unfolds the gathered sheath. The elongation yarns absorb energy as the fabric structure elongates. In some embodiments, the fabric structure has more than one expansion segment so that the deployment force of the structure is not constant. In some embodiments, the fabric structure includes a band in some portions.

People at elevated positions above a floor or other relatively lower surface are at risk of falling and injury. For example, workers and other personnel who have occupations that require them to be at elevated positions, such as on scaffolding, are at risk of falling and injury. Safety harnesses are often worn to stop a person's fall and prevent or reduce injury.
Safety harnesses typically have a harness portion worn by the user and a tether or lanyard extending from the harness portion. The lanyard connects the harness portion to a secure structure. If a person falls from the elevated position, the safety harness stops the person's fall when the lanyard is straightened.
A load limiter on a seat belt system can be worn to secure the occupant of a vehicle in the event of a sudden stop or collision to reduce the risk of injury. If a person is subjected to inertia due to a vehicle's sudden stop, the load limiter limits the forces felt by the person during the person's forward movement and also limits the person's forward movement when the load limiter is extended.
Lanyards that attempt to absorb the shock of a person's fall or sudden stop are known. Current lanyards have been made from two separate webbings assembled together. One webbing is a narrow, flat webbing woven of partially oriented yarn (POY webbing) and the other webbing is a relatively higher strength tubular-shaped webbing. After manufacture of the two webbings, the POY webbing is inserted into one end of the tubular-shaped webbing and pulled through the tubular-shaped webbing. A hook or other device inserted into the opposite end of the tubular-shaped webbing is then used to pull the POY webbing through the tubular-shaped webbing so that the POY webbing extends inside of the tubular-shaped webbing from one end to the opposite end. The relative lengths of the POY webbing and the tubular-shaped webbing then must be adjusted. To adjust the relative lengths, while holding the POY webbing in place, one end of the tubular-shaped webbing is moved closer to the opposite end to place the tubular-shaped webbing in an accordion-like position over the POY webbing. The relative length adjustment of the webbings is performed manually and is a significant disadvantage of existing lanyards. After the manual adjustment of the relative webbing lengths, the POY webbing is essentially in a straight, linear orientation inside of the accordion-shaped orientation of the tubular-shaped webbing. The two webbings are then attached to each other by sewing at the ends. Any excess POY webbing extending out of the ends of the tubular-shaped webbing is cut off and discarded.
Because conventional lanyards are made from two separate webbings that must be assembled together, manufacture of the lanyards requires costly and tedious assembly processes, such as inserting the POY webbing through the tubular-shaped webbing. Moreover, after the insertion process, an additional manual process is required that adjusts the relative webbing lengths by placing the tubular-shaped webbing in the accordion position while maintaining the POY webbing in a straight position. Then, another process is required to attach the two separate webbings together while maintaining the POY webbing in the straight position and the tubular-shaped webbing in the accordion-shaped position. The relative lengths of the POY webbing and the tubular-shaped webbing is critical for proper functioning of the lanyard. The manufacturing process is complicated by proper control and manual setting of the critical relative lengths of the two webbings.
In addition, existing lanyards using POY webbings have a constant deployment force, which refers to the energy absorption or energy dissipation rate provided by the webbing. A deployment force is often shown in graphical form as the applied force to a load. Deployment force is determined by the number of POY yarns in the lanyard. Because the deployment force of existing lanyards is constant and consistent throughout deployment, the lanyard is not well suited for all types of users. For example, a lanyard having a relatively high deployment force may not be suitable for use with a child, who would experience more shock associated with a fall or sudden stop if the force of the fall or stop was not enough to activate the shock absorbing feature of the lanyard. Similarly, a lanyard having a relatively low deployment force may not be suitable for use with a heavy user if the configuration of the lanyard is not sufficient to stop the fall or limit forward movement.
Existing lanyards that purport to reduce shock can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,981; 6,085,802; 6,390,234; and 6,533,066 and WIPO Publication No. WO 01/026738.


Hernia repair using a mesh patch and a placement tool is described. The placement tool includes a plurality of adjustable blades and a control to move the adjustable blades between a clustered position that allows the blades to be inserted in an opening in a ply of the mesh patch and an expanded position to spread the mesh patch out in a planar fashion. Repair of a hernia includes compressing the mesh patch, inserting the adjustable blades of a placement tool into the opening in the mesh patch, inserting the mesh patch and tool into a patient, moving the adjustable blades from the clustered position to the expanded position, affixing the mesh patch to the patient, moving the adjustable blades from the expanded position to the clustered position, and removing the placement tool from the mesh patch and the patient.

Repair of hernias, most commonly in the abdominal wall, is one of the most frequent surgeries performed today. Surgically implantable mesh patches are often used for the repair of these hernias and intended for permanent placement within a patient's body space. A mesh patch is implanted in the patient to provide structural strength and minimize the chance of hernia recurrence. An example of such a hernia mesh patch is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,539 of Eldridge et al.
Hernia repair utilizing mesh patches, however, typically presents at least the following difficulties. First, mesh patches typically do not have enough memory in the mesh material to easily return to a planar position once the mesh patch is inserted within the abdominal cavity. This makes accurate placement of the mesh patch difficult, as it will not easily hold its shape once inserted. Second, mesh patches typically lack points to secure sutures or other protection that would keep the surgeon from injuring anatomical features under the mesh during fixation. This aggravates the problems in accurately and evenly placing the mesh. Third, once a mesh patch is inserted into a patient, it can be difficult to manipulate, place, and hold the mesh patch in the correct position over the tissue being repaired. These issues encountered during the installation of patches may lead to non-uniform and unequal attachment of the patch to the abdominal wall around the hernia, which subsequently may lead to complications for the patient and, in some cases, may be life-threatening.
Modifications have been made to the mesh hernia patches in an attempt to address these issues. For example, a mesh with a "memory ring" has been developed to address the first issue. The memory ring is a mono-filament that is contained in the perimeter of the patch. The mono-filament has sufficient spring tension and memory to keep the mesh planar once in place. This memory ring, however, is bulky and sometimes does not work well. Further, it leads to additional foreign material being placed in the patient, which may also lead to medical complications.


Cell separation systems, and methods for separating cells from microcarriers, and harvesting the separated cells, are provided, wherein the system comprises a cell separation device, a cell settling device, and a cell screening device.

Cells can be cultured for a variety of uses, for example, to manufacture biological products and pharmaceutical products. Some cells are cultured while attached to microcarriers such as beads, and the cells are separated from the microcarriers and subsequently harvested for further use.
However, there is a need for improved devices, methods, and systems for separating cells from microcarriers, and for providing suspensions of single cells. The present invention provides for ameliorating at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art. These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description as set forth below.

Cell separation device, method and system


The present invention is directed to an exercise apparatus that includes a frame housing a weight stack. A sliding assembly is coupled to the frame and weight stack. The sliding assembly includes, but is not limited to, a guide column, a sliding element disposed on the guide column, a pulley attached to the sliding element, a first mount disposed at one end of the guide column, a second mount coupled to the sliding element, and a first cable disposed in the pulley. The first cable has a first end attached to one end of the guide column, an intermediate portion disposed in the pulley, and a second end terminating in a handle. A second cable may have a first end attached to the sliding element or the first mount and a second end attached to the weight stack. In one embodiment, the guide column, first mount, and second mount are rotatable independently of each other.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exercise equipment. More particularly, this invention relates to exercise equipment wherein the angle of application of force continuously changes during utilization of the exercise device.
2. The Relevant Technology
Various types of exercise apparatus are known wherein a pulley and weight are combined for limited range muscle development. In these exercise devices, a cable is led through a pulley or series of pulleys and is attached to a weight. The free end of the cable usually terminates in a handle or is coupled to a handle. The angle of pull of the handle is sometimes adjustable, but once adjusted, the angle of pull is typically constant. A person using such devices for exercise must change the angle of the body to work a muscle from a different angle so as to compensate for the limit/range ratio. It would, however, be desirable to provide an exercise device which can be used for full range muscle development without requiring such body movement. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an exercise device wherein a wide range of muscles are developed by utilization of the exercise device.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pulley and weight type exercise device wherein the angle of pull is continuously varied as the exercise device is utilized.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an exercise device for more specific full range muscle development, particularly of an antagonist group.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a sliding assembly which may be implemented in a variety of exercise devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sliding assembly which may be used to strengthen various muscles in the human body.
In summary, the present invention provides an exercise apparatus that includes a frame housing a weight stack. A sliding assembly is coupled to the frame and weight stack. The sliding assembly includes, but is not limited to, a guide column, a sliding element disposed on the guide column, and a pulley attached to the sliding element. The sliding assembly also includes a first cable having a first end attached to one end of the guide column, an intermediate portion disposed in the pulley, and a second end terminating in a handle. The sliding assembly may also include a first mount disposed at one end of the guide column, wherein the first end of the first cable is attached to the first mount.
A second cable may have a first end attached to the sliding element and a second end attached to the weight stack. The sliding assembly may also include a second mount disposed at and coupled to one end of the sliding element, wherein the first end of the second cable is attached to the second mount.
In one embodiment, the guide column is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the guide column. The guide column and first and second mounts may be rotatable independently of each other.
In one embodiment, the sliding assembly is coupled to a wheel assembly, the wheel assembly being coupled to the frame. The wheel assembly allows the sliding assembly to be rotatably positioned substantially 360xc2x0 about an axis transverse to the guide column. In another embodiment, two sets of pulley assemblies are mounted to a lower portion of the frame to form an exercise device which is useful for arm curl-type exercises. In yet another embodiment, two sets of pulley assemblies are mounted to an upper portion of a frame to form an exercise device which is useful for pull-down-type exercises. It will be appreciated that the sliding assembly described in following description is applicable in a variety of exercise devices.
These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.


A multilayer dielectric substrate that mounts a semiconductor device in a cavity formed on a substrate. The multilayer dielectric substrate includes an opening formed in a surface-layer grounding conductor on the substrate in the cavity, and an impedance transformer, with a length of about ¼ of an in-substrate effective wavelength of a signal wave, electrically connected through the opening to the cavity. The multilayer dielectric substrate further includes a short-circuited end dielectric transmission line with a length of about ¼ of the in-substrate effective wavelength of the signal wave, a coupling opening formed on an inner-layer grounding conductor in a connecting section of the impedance transformer and the dielectric transmission line, and a resistor formed in the coupling opening.

In a high-frequency package mounted with a high-frequency semiconductor device, which operates in a high-frequency band such as a microwave band or a millimeter-wave band, in consideration of environmental resistance and operation stability of the high-frequency package, the high-frequency semiconductor device is often mounted in a cavity hermetically and electrically shielded by a cover, a seal ring, or a grounding conductor.
However, resonance occurs in a frequency band with a cavity dimension, which depends on a member such as the cover, about a half or an integer times as long as that of a free-space propagation wavelength. As a result, an operation of the semiconductor device in the cavity and a characteristic of a transmission line become unstable. Particularly, in a high-frequency semiconductor device that operates in a millimeter-wave band (30 gigahertz to 300 gigahertz), a dimension of the device and that of a propagation wavelength corresponding to a signal frequency come close to each other. Thus, it is difficult to make a dimension of the cavity for housing the device a half or less of the propagation wavelength corresponding to the signal frequency. Consequently, a high-order resonance mode tends to occur. In particular, in a millimeter-wave radar that operates in a 76-GHz band, a free-space propagation wavelength is about 4 millimeters in this frequency band and a size of a cavity necessary for mounting a plurality of high-frequency circuits with a size of 1 millimeter square to 3 millimeters square is about 10 millimeters. Thus, cavity resonance is likely to occur.
To control such cavity resonance, Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional technology for forming a radio wave absorbent and a resistor film in a region inside a cavity such as a rear surface of a cover.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H8-18310

Multilayer dielectric substrate and semiconductor package


Peptide-based molecules for modulating expression or accessibility to the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) are disclosed. Cell-permeable peptide-based molecules having a PDZ-decoy domain or PDZ-binding domain are used to modulate the expression or accessibility of CAR molecules, thereby affecting the ability of viral molecules, or molecules containing viral sequences or proteins able to bind CAR, to enter host cells.

The performance of viral-mediated gene therapy could be enhanced if there were treatments that had the ability to modulate expression or accessibility of the viral receptors on the cell surface. Such increased expression or accessibility of viral receptors could increase the efficacy of a virus-based therapeutic molecule which, in turn, would allow for a lower burden of gene therapy vector administered to the individual undergoing treatment.
In particular, modulation of the expression or accessibility of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptors (CAR) is an especially desirable target because most gene therapy technologies rely on adenovirus based systems or any of the Coxsackievirus-based systems being developed. The success of a gene therapy system relies both on the copy number of modified viruses delivered to a single host cell and the number of host cells infected with the modified virus. More copies of the modified viral genomes entering into a host cell allows for higher levels of beneficial gene expression and higher therapeutic protein production to treat the target disease. Similarly, if more host cells take up the therapeutic gene, than the greater treatment/correction of target diseases. Therefore, increasing the amount of viral receptor available on a host cell will increase the number of genetically modified virus that enter a host cell and/or will increase the number of host cells that take up the beneficial virus.
In addition, Coxsackie B viruses, adenoviruses, and Swine Vesicular Disease Virus are serious disease-causing viruses. Currently, no specific therapy exists to treat or lessen the chance of infection from Coxsackie B viruses, adenoviruses, and Swine Vesicular Disease Virus. Supportive care remains the standard treatment. With an ability to modulate the expression or accessibility of CAR, new treatments could be made readily available that protect the host by reducing the amount of viral receptor available on the cell surface thereby (1) decreasing the chance that a virus will enter into a host cell, (2) decreasing the amount of virus entering into a host cell to slow the ability of the virus to take over the cell, (3) allowing the immune system of the host more time to react if a smaller number of viruses do enter the host cell, (4) decreasing viral-induced disease by slowing the time course of infection, (5) blocking or limiting spread of the virus to other cells or organs if an individual is affected or (6) limiting the spread of progeny virus to other individuals in the community by decreasing the number of infectious virions produced.
The current invention shows that certain peptide-based molecules can modulate expression or accessibility of CAR, allowing for better success with gene therapy or treatment of Coxsackie B viruses, adenoviruses, or Swine Vesicular Disease Virus.

Peptide-based molecules for modulating car expression or accessibility and uses thereof


A component operating with surface-proximal acoustic waves, in particular a filter with novel structure, has interdigital transducers arranged in serial and parallel branches, which are acoustically coupled with one another in different configurations. The component provides a loss-poor filter with simultaneously space-saving arrangement of the filter elements.

The invention concerns a component working with surface-proximal acoustic waves, in particular a filter with a network structure, in which component resonators are embedded.
Today, SAW, or surface acoustical wave, filters are predominantly used as bandpass filters in the RF range in the front end of end apparatuses of mobile communication, for example in mobile telephones. These are significantly fashioned as reactance or DMS filters.
Circuits of DMS filters with reactance elements are also known, in particular with one-port resonators executed in SAW technology. Thus, for example, a DMS filter is known from DE 198 18 038 A in which two DMS filters circuited in serial or in parallel are circuited in series with reactance elements on the input or output side. Moreover, it is proposed there to arrange both DMS filters inside an acoustic track and two adjacent DMS filters are to be divided via intermediate reflectors.
Further known filters are also two-port resonators that, however, can only seldom be used in the RF range due to their narrowband transmission characteristics.
Depending on the desired characteristic profile, one of the technologies can be preferable. For example, with closely adjacent frequency bands for selection, higher demands are made on the skirt steepness of those passband edges that are close to the respectively adjacent frequency band. Different skirts can favor different technologies. Reactance filters are additionally characterized by higher power stability. A desired demanding characteristic profile for an RF filter, in particular for a new transmission technology, can often no longer be realized with known, "pure" technologies. Thus, for example with reactance filters, an unwanted "ripple" occurs in the transmission range that is based on the finite length of the series resonator. Likewise, the insertion attenuation is increased based on the finite length of the resonators used in reactance filters.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,800 C1 it is known to serially arrange a plurality of identical interdigital transducers directly adjacent to one another within only one acoustic track such that an acoustic coupling of the interdigital transducers ensues. The interdigital transducers are electrically connected in series, whereby a parallel branch connected to ground respectively branches off between two interdigital transducers. In the type of ladder-type structure, a further parallel interdigital transducer is arranged in every parallel branch. A plurality of parallel interdigital transducers can also be arranged within an acoustic track and likewise be acoustically coupled. Each track with acoustically coupled interdigital transducers can be bordered on both sides by one acoustic reflector.

Filter with acoustically coupled resonators


A device, system, and method are directed towards determining a start and/or an end time for a spontaneous event. A mobile device user creates a group for the spontaneous event, and sends the members an invite. During the event, members share media content and/or text messages with other members. Based, in part, on a flow of media content and/or text messages between the members, a determination of a start time and/or end time of the spontaneous event is automatically performed. The start time may be based on when the group is created and/or revised when a flow rate of the media content and/or messages exceed a threshold. The end time may be based on the flow rate being less than another threshold. The location of the spontaneous event may also be determined based on a location of the member's mobile devices during the event.

Tremendous changes have been occurring in the Internet that influence our everyday lives. For example, online social networks have become the new meeting grounds. They have been called the new power lunch tables and new golf courses for business life in the U.S. Moreover, many people are using such online social networks to reconnect themselves to their friends, their neighborhood, their community, and to otherwise stay in touch.
The development of such online social networks touch countless aspects of our everyday lives, providing instant access to people of similar mindsets, and enabling us to form partnerships with more people in more ways than ever before.
One aspect of our everyday lives that may benefit from online social networking technology involves the aspect that social gatherings may often occur in a less than organized, impromptu fashion. For example, people may decide, online to get together at some restaurant, club, or the like, almost immediately. Some social gatherings, while known by some members of a social network may be unknown by others, until so informed that the social event is presenting occurring, or is about to occur.
Once at these events, people may wish to gather and share various media content associated with the event. Sharing of media content has become prevalent on mobile devices and has changed our everyday lives. Users are able to send and receive media content from a variety of mobile devices. However, managing of such shared media content by multiple people is sometimes difficult and confusing. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.

Collecting implicit information for determining context of event actions